#i thought they would say something about it bc they shown for years they care about fans & their opinions

[red-dyed-sarumane]

ive seen a lot of utaite & producers brush off this type of hate from fans but the fact theyre going to this extent really makes me think 1) it was not the intent to have that impression and they absolutely do care and 2) the death threats were getting to them

[mashmouths]

they were so caught up in having a woman wear pants in elizabethan england that they forgot they didn't have to involve antisemitism for historical accuracy's sake. in the witch and vampire show.

so i started this show and it just gets worse and worseeeee not only did it lift the romance subplot directly from twilight (and not well) but they also are trying to play the forbidden love angle hard in the fantasy racism vein except it's a "cross-species" relationship between the two whitest people i've ever seen in my life and there are three people of color in the whole (first season of the) show who aren't villains and it seems that every other episode (and sometimes ebery episode and sometimes twice an episode!) there is a man physically or magically subjugating a woman and i keep waiting for the big reveal at the end to be stolen from fucking rainbow rowell

[simonsrosebud]

andrew finding out what nicky did after neil got drugged at the nightclub in book one. probably after the events of the book

prefacing this: Neil's reaction in this shouldn't be confused for forgiveness bc it's not, Nicky does not need to be forgiven for what he did. This was quite hard to write because trying to imagine how Andrew or Neil would react is kinda impossible- Andrew has limits and rules and Neil's approach to these kinds of things is almost just blindly accepting that it happened and moving past without confronting it (for ex: Jean participating in waterboarding Neil but Neil still looking out for him in TSC in his weird way. Nathan almost killing him and Neil kind of blocking it out after Baltimore is over bc the Foxes are his again and he has championships and Andrew to focus on. Granted, so very different than this, but Neil is very different)

All we know of Neil and Nicky's interactions after Neil's first night in Eden's is what Neil tells us, and he really doesn't say much about it afterwards. The reactions from both him and Andrew are very much up to interpretation from person to person. I can't begin to get into their minds and thoughts about this, which is why it's in Nicky's perspective.

cw: talk about past SA, confrontation about past SA, choking, knives, bit of blood (pls lmk if i missed anything else)

Nicky doesn’t do it on purpose.  Spill the beans, that is.

Well, to be clear, he doesn’t mean for Kevin to spill the secret on purpose.  Nicky himself, however, had kind of been prepared to take this to his grave.

Kissing Neil was inadvisable.  Kissing Neil to drug him was inexcusable, and kissing Neil after Andrew told him no was just asking for it at that point.  Neil hasn’t forgiven him, he doesn't think, even a year and a half later, but Nicky doesn’t expect him to.  It hasn't been brought up since that fall, after all. He doesn't want to bring it back up. He wouldn’t have forgiven himself if he was Neil, he just didn’t know how else to get the cracker dust into his system when he was being so adamant about not drinking.

Well, and then Nicky found out that Andrew already succeeded in drugging Neil which made him feel worse because he could have avoided that kiss entirely and-

Nicky takes a breath.  Betsy has shown him techniques on how to breathe in a way that doesn’t tear his lungs apart.  God, Nicky can already imagine the look on Erik’s face if someone has to tell him that his fiancé died because he couldn’t get a grip.

Nicky pinches his thigh and glances at Andrew, tight muscles and face vacant of anything- it’s what scares him the most.  He doesn’t know what lies underneath.  And really, Nicky should have just told him least year, but a drugged Andrew was more unstable than a sober one.  He didn’t wanna be stabbed.

Until Kevin.

“Never have I ever kissed Neil,” Matt says, and no one except for Andrew drinks.  Neil doesn’t even glance by Nicky, doesn’t even care to acknowledge it because they haven’t since Nicky apologized, because the thought of being kissed by anyone makes him swivel his head towards Andrew so fast that he almost forgets about anything else.  He’s happy and healthy and enjoying the tinge of pink on Andrew’s ears until Kevin suddenly has a hand on Nicky’s shoulder, drunk and slow and saying, “You gotta drink, Nicky.”

Nicky can feel the exact moment that Andrew clues in (which, of course, is right away).  He zeroes in on Nicky and his grip on his whiskey glass tightens.  “Something to share, Nicholas?”  

Nicky flits his eyes between Andrew and Neil, both sitting still and stony, and tries not to throw up right there.  “Um, it- at Eden’s,” he says quietly.  “The first time he went.”  And he wants to explain.  Wants to tell Andrew that he didn’t know how else to drug someone without being caught, because even the shadier Eden’s workers wouldn’t appreciate seeing him pour cracker dust into someone’s mouth.  That he was feeling lonely and thought it was a creative solution; that trying to justify it in his head only worked because he was wasted and high; that he felt nauseous the entire next day from the moment he told Erik on the phone.  Saying it out loud made it real, and making it real only made the guilt in his stomach feel like molten lead.  Heavy and constricting and sickening.  And then Neil avoided him like the plague every time he blocked out the image of blown pupils and fear and worked up the courage to apologize to his face.

Except he can see in Andrew’s eyes that he doesn’t need to explain, that Andrew doesn’t care for his pathetic excuse, and Nicky winces because he knows.  Andrew had been with Neil from the time they’d gotten there to the time he released him into Nicky, Aaron, and Kevin’s hands, drugged and slippery.  He knows that any kiss shared after that couldn't have been shared mutually.

In German, Andrew says, “Give me one good reason not to kill you.”

Fuck, shit, this is not how he planned this day to go.

Nicky wipes the tears welled in his eyes at the look on Neil’s face, guarded and a little pissed off, he thinks.  It's deserved, Nicky knows, but that doesn't make him feel any better.

Your feelings are the least of their concerns, he tells himself.

“I-I just did it to get the cracker dust in his mouth- when we took him to Eden’s the first time!  You-You told me to keep him high and-“

“I told you what I’d do if you touched him.”

Nicky flinches as Andrew stands.  He knows Andrew keeps his promises and just because he’s finding out a year and a half late does not mean he won’t still apply it.  Now he’s moving quietly towards Nicky across the room, and his heart is pounding so loud he barely hears the cracking of the glass as Andrew drops it at Nicky’s feet.  He thinks he hears him say whoops, but then Nicky is hauled to his feet and slammed against the wall.  He fits into the drywall in a way that he suspects might lead to a hole behind his ass, but then he’s got more pressing matters because there’s a tight hand around his throat and he’s pretty sure he’s got a blade to his abdomen, but if he just doesn’t breathe he won’t feel it.  If Andrew tightens his grip he won’t be able to, anyway.

Nicky’s voice comes out brittle and thin, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Andrew don’t-“

“Andrew,”  Neil says, and his voice comes through Nicky’s foggy brain loud and clear.  It’s not enough to stop Andrew from digging his fingers into Nicky’s throat and teasing his skin with the tip of a knife, but it’s enough for him not to push it all the way through.

Andrew doesn’t exactly sneer, because his facial expressions are far and few between, but Nicky can feel the rage roiling through him regardless.  “I will kill you,” he says, so low Nicky isn’t sure anyone else hears it.

Neil says, “Andrew,” again.  He comes to stand beside them, not getting too close because he knows this isn’t between him- it’s all Nicky.  In German, “What he did was not okay,” Neil is saying and god Nicky hopes that just this once, God will help him out because the air is tipping into the same dangerous territory that it did when Allison slapped Aaron; when Andrew choked Kevin; when Andrew almost killed those four men.  “Let him go anyway.  This is between me and him.  You said you’d stop fighting my battles.”  Nicky clenches his eyes tight, praying that he’ll live to see the end of the day.

“I said I’d kill him for touching you, too.”

Neil is closer, now, by the sound of his voice when he says, “Fine, then you should hit me afterwards.”

Nicky hears Aaron softly, saying the fuck? and Andrew is looking fiercely at Nicky when he peeks an eye open.  His lip twitches in anger, but he freezes.  “Neil,” he warns.  Nicky doesn’t know what it’s supposed to mean- has Neil done something similar?  But no, he wouldn’t.  He-

“You told us not to touch your things.  A lot, actually.  But me and Kevin have gone at it, and I punched Aaron at the cabin last year.”

Good god, Neil, this was not the same.

Nicky can feel himself trying not to hyperventilate.  He looks at Neil instead, a safer target, almost.  Not any less scary, but his attention is fixed on Andrew instead.  “Let him prove himself.  He’s kept my boundaries thus far, hasn’t he?  I don’t- He did it to me, Andrew.  Not you.  It’s not your decision on what happens to him because of it.”  Then quieter, more icy, “He was listening to your orders, after all.  You should have left the task to Aaron if you wanted someone drugged the way you wanted.”

The look Andrew shoots Neil is borderline murderous, but Nicky can feel the hesitation in the grip on his neck.  Neil’s accusation is harsh and puts partial blame on Andrew, something that Nicky hopes they get through as a couple or… whatever they are to one another.  Having Andrew and Neil on the loose again without each other’s voices of reason was terrifying.

Andrew’s grip bruises Nicky and makes him wheeze when he tightens his fist for a few seconds, but when Nicky finally reaches up to claw at his hands he finally lets go and steps back.  Andrew’s hand is bloody, fingers pressed too tightly to the blade he held.  He drops it to the ground, wipes his hand across Neil’s shirt and effectively ruining it, if the blood stain says anything, and slams the door open on his way out.

Nicky isn’t surprised that the only ones at his side as he crumples to the ground are Aaron and Renee.  Kevin too drunk to be of any help and Matt and Dan too shocked by the whole encounter.  Matt knows all too well what it’s like being drugged by Andrew, and Dan knowing the feel of crackers on top of her existing resentment of the Monsters.

Neil looks down at Nicky, fingers flexed at his sides and face almost as blank as Andrew’s gets.  “This,” he gestures between himself and Nicky.  Saving, Nicky assumes he means.  He’ll never be able to repay the debt.  He’ll move across the country if Neil asks him to, he thinks.  Perhaps Germany will be far enough.  “Will never happen again.”

[itsvenera]

I don’t know if someone headcanoned this before but im curious… Headcanons about Itachi’s s/o feeling sad bc they think they are like Izumi’s substitute (in the Itachi novel he said that he couldn’t correspond her love but this was the closest to an Itachi’s love interest)

author's note: I love when people sending me ideas like these and they always inspire me so much! I really, really enjoyed this one and I hope you do to! Thank you for requesting! <3

I've said this before, but I do imagine Itachi with someone who is was born and raised somewhere remote and far away from Konoha. Most likely they did not knew anything about him, his clan or the massacre prior him telling them.

In this case, it would be Itachi that would share with them that there was once a girl in Konoha, with whom he was close. He won't go into a lot of details, thus leaving his partner to fill the blanks with their own imagination.

It's quite easy to get the impression that their relationship was more serious than he tried to portray it, especially when he explained how he put her into a genjutsu, giving her a sense of long and happy life by his side.

The initial reaction of his s/o is to embrace him or rub soothing circles on his back, comforting him and thanking him for sharing something so intimate with them.

But as the days passed, they started to think more about what Itachi has said about Izumi.

What exactly was their relationship? Did he love her? Would've they been together if the massacre didn't happen? Did he still thought about her? Was his s/o just some kind of rebound?

His s/o would start overthinking and overanalysing, but won't say anything to the Uchiha man. Deep down they would feel embarrassed by all these thoughts - it concerned his life before he met them and this girl has been dead for years now. If anything, it shouldn't bother them at all.

But it did. A LOT.

Now, at this point Itachi would've known his partner for quite a while, so he will immediately pick up the small changes in their behaviour.

He would probably wait a few days up to a week, just to see if they are going to tell him what is bothering them. When they don't do that, he would sit them down and confront them himself.

He is an extremely smart and calculating man, so he already had an idea why his s/o was behaving strangely, especially since this change happened after he opened up to them.

His partner would initially deny something was up, but after a bit more pushing from Itachi's side, they would finally vocalise their thoughts about how they are nothing more but a replacement for Izumi.

The man listens quietly, only nodding his head from time to time and mentally scolding himself for even letting such thoughts get to his s/o head.

After his partner finish their little rant (I would imagine that at this point they are quite upset, spilling all the doubts and worries that have been torturing their mind for weeks.), he would gently take their hand and lay a small kiss on the back of it.

He calmly explains to them that while Izumi did indeed had feelings for him, he never seen her in a romantic light. The genjutsu he used on her is an image of how her dream life looked, not how he imagined his. He gave her mercy, not love.

His s/o would seek some final validation for his feelings toward them, which he would gladly provide in the form of both verbal and physical affection.

However, if his partner remains somewhat unconvinced, he would get hurt and offended. Has he not shown many times that he loves them and only them?

He is also not the type to discuss the same topic over and over again, so he expects that one time clarification is enough. If their partner decided to bring it up again in the future, he would probably be a bit annoyed.

Itachi would always remain open and honest with his s/o, but since that "slip up" he would definitely take more care about how he word his thoughts.

cc artwork: Jae Cheol Park

[hellobitchlet]

Thoughts on Natlan act 3 and 4:

Act 3-

- there is seriously no point to giving Traveler an ancient name. They're very obviously just being given one bc the writers want to show off how amazing they are at everything again. If the whole point of ancient names is that it's solely a Natlan thing, then there's no point in Traveler getting one. Why were they and Paimon scrambling to get one? You're already being praised and given new abilities constantly, you don't fucking need it.

- that aside, Xilonen gave a decent explanation of how ancient names and the night kingdom work. I didn't feel like act 1 or 2 explained anything properly beyond "it sure exists and is important to the super special archon's plans", but Xilonen explaining that deeds have to happen inside of Natlan and be recorded and acknowledged by the Wayob (who will only acknowledge ppl from Natlan) was easy to understand and made perfect sense. My only problem here is that it should've been explained this cleanly back in act 1, before we started using ancient names for drama. Because, you know, maybe I would've cared more about it then?

- the Ororon stuff would've been much more interesting and tense if it wasn't introduced by... being randomly told to you. In the middle of an unrelated plotline. And then spending the whole fucking time assuring you that he's a great person while you follow a trail. And doing nothing else except experience Citlali's inner thoughts. That was literally the entire build up to meeting him.

- despite it being handled in the most boring way possible (and god, do I want to emphasize that they handled it in a boring way), I do like the plotline between Citlali, Ororon, and Capitano. It's a lot more interesting than the basic ass saving Natlan plot, which is about as much of a stereotypical hero plot as they could've made it. I honestly adore Citlali and Ororon now, they're definitely my favorites of the Natlan cast. Like, they had actual on screen conflict with one another for a few minutes! They care sooo much about each other and it was shown through their actions and interactions with each other instead of just monologuing it to Traveler. The bar is below the fucking ground...

- I especially enjoyed seeing Citlali getting drunk and accidentally spilling about her problems. However... it's funny (read: annoying) to think about how long it's taken for this to actually fucking happen when Kaeya and Venti have been here since the beginning, and about how much Kaeya and Venti have been shit on for being alcoholics. It was probably one of the best character building moments I have ever seen from Genshin, but man, a newly introduced Natlan character should not have been the first one to do this.

- "we've only known each other for a few days, right? What would you think of me if I were to start dumping all my complaints on you after we've only just met?" Oh thank god she has some actual self awareness. I wish other characters (playable and npc) would stop infodumping their entire backstories the moment they're introduced. Ultimately, the awkward telepathy moment that they're probably never going to explain served the same purpose. But that wasn't something she was doing on purpose, so I'm willing to forgive her for it and pin it on the writers instead.

-it really sucks that they're being so confusing about Citlali's age. You know it's because of Hoyo's refusal to make playable characters that aren't 1000% conventionally attractive. They're seriously trying to give us a teacher/student relationship in which the teacher is supposed to be significantly older than the student and NOT give her a single wrinkle. She also kept saying stuff that implied she would age to be hundreds of years old, so I want to be interested in that, but it just got caught up in the confusion of "wtf is her age?!"

- I got increasingly annoyed every time Traveler shared the Capitano stuff with others. You fucking idiot!!! He specifically told you not to do that!!! You barely even doubted Mavuika even though you barely know her and she's mostly just been standing around going "trust me on this bc I know what I'm doing" this whole time!!! Are you sure you even care about what he had to say?! Because he specifically said he would tell you if you actually fucking listened to him, which you are going out of your way to NOT do!!! Just a few real life months ago you were acting all buddy-buddy with Arlecchino!!! Can you be consistent about your opinions on the Fatui for one second!!!

- they were really trying super hard to make Capitano wanting to save Natlan mysterious, and make him have ulterior motives (like literally every other harbinger since Scara), but like... First off, this is the last gnosis the Fatui doesn't have, and second, he directly said that Mavuika failing would be bad for the rest of Teyvat as well. He already had perfectly good reasons. You don't need to make yet another harbinger have ulterior motives.

- I almost liked the Chasca and Chuychu moment. But I say almost because... there was no fucking point to it except to tell you that the Fatui found an ancient relic. You were just stuck in dialogue box hell that made a weak attempt at pretending there was gameplay by putting a timer on single dialogue options (not even being given multiple options? really?). That whole thing should've been a sneaking sequence with Traveler. There's literally no reason why it wasn't one. It wouldn't even require good writing to add that. Just have Mavuika say that someone found a large Fatui camp, and have Traveler volunteer to sneak in to check it out. Then, you could've had Traveler finding the relic, and maybe finding Capitano and Ororon and follow them to the domain while they discuss their plan. There you go. That would've saved you a lot of time stuck in dialogue boxes, by removing this sequence and the Ororon memory sequence and replacing it with an extended period of gameplay.

-However, the role reversal and the actually showing how good the sisters are at working together improved their characters a lot for me. Chasca doesn't feel as much like a Shenhe copycat when fighting with Chuychu. But even then, it was very annoying when it turned into "don't worry, we don't actually mean what we say! We're just stubborn!" immediately after their sequence. I could fucking tell, Genshin. I'm not a child.

Act 4-

- ...in theory, initially fighting with Capitano and eventually convincing him to help us is an okay storyline. But none of this felt like fighting him! We literally spent the whole fucking time following him and his troops around and debating what his intentions are! And no, a single fancy cutscene unrelated to Traveler doesn't count! We never got to hear his side of the story until after he failed, and he just had a 10 second spat with Mavuika, revealed that he's from Khaenri'ah, and reluctantly agreed to Mavuika's plan within 5 minutes.

- also, after Fontaine offloaded the majority of Furina's backstory onto an inner monologue in act 5 that just reiterated what we already knew about her, I am not a fan of poor Ororon getting a similar treatment in the end. It's not as bad bc it served a purpose in the story besides "look at how sad he is!", but suddenly becoming one of the special heroes his super special archon wanted and having no objections was a really boring ending to what started off as the first on screen playable ch vs playable ch conflict we've had since like... Childe in Liyue I think? Hoyo is lucky that it has cultivated fandoms that see monologues and sudden info dumps as good writing.

-I'm glad that seelies are finally confirmed to be angels, and that we're getting more proper Celestia lore, but once again, Hoyo is lucky that it has cultivated fandoms that see monologues and sudden info dumps as good writing.

- I have mixed feelings about Capitano's backstory and intentions. On one hand, I like that he's from Khaenri'ah, and I'm very glad that he knows the abyss sibling and Dain. I really like the Khaenri'ah related parts. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of the Natlan parts of his backstory. As I've said before, I'm really fed up with Genshin tailoring harbinger backstories so that they're part of the lore of the nation they show up in, instead of Snezhnaya. And I'm even more fed up with them making every harbinger have different goals that are unrelated to the Fatui. I've talked about this before in this post.

-going back to the point about his goals, his backstory can still perfectly serve as an explanation for why he's helping the Tsaritsa, with or without the Natlan part. You still didn't need to pull any of the special motives stuff. It would've made perfect sense to say that Capitano (+ Tsaritsa as well maybe) was afraid that the destruction of Natlan could interfere with their plan, so Tsaritsa has been sending him and some troops to deal with the situation and try to get the gnosis in the process. But, of course, Mavuika would fight back and be a powerful opponent, so this mini war between them has been going on for a while, which would tie back to Varka's letter from Weinleslfest first mentioning him going to Natlan 2 years ago.

-...oh, wait. That Weinleslfest moment and Mika's backstory was probably just to remind you that he and Varka existed and foreshadow him being in Natlan and didn't actually mean anything. I know this isn't related to Natlan at all, I just felt like saying it. We don't talk about Mika enough, okay?

- with all that being said, after how much I hated Arlecchino, and Dottore being used as a scapegoat to make playable harbingers look better, I had little interest in Capitano initially. But I do actually like him now. Maybe even just as much as I like Citlali and Ororon?

- speaking of the Fatui, I have to mention how weird it is that the pyro gnosis being the last gnosis the Fatui doesn't have isn't treated like a big deal at all. The idea of Capitano even bringing the gnosis to the Tsaritsa is barely even mentioned. We're literally going to Snezhnaya next, and the Fatui screen time is STILL not focused on the Tsaritsa's plans?! There is no worry about what will happen if he succeeds in getting the gnosis? No talk about what the Tsaritsa's plans could be? No talk about what it could mean for Natlan or the rest of Teyvat? No connecting this story to the overarching plot beyond a few lore reveals? Nothing??

- Genshin is seriously bad at stakes. THAT WASN'T A FUCKING WAR, THAT WAS A SINGLE BATTLE! It just... suddenly sprung up, and it took about 10 minutes, but I almost started feeling tense. There were actual corpses all over the place, and I was fighting non stop instead of being stuck in a dialogue box, even if the mobs themselves were fairly boring, and then... Chasca suddenly became one of the special heroes and everything was over. All of that was like... half an act of fighting? Literally any other game would have at least finished the 'war' at... the end of the story? Obviously? We couldn't have at least waited to finish this in act 5?? Seriously?? This whole thing was just a vehicle to quickly make Chasca one of the heroes, finish the 6 heroes plot point, and then show a hint of the false sky??

- gameplay wise, why did the handle the 'war' like that? What was with the slow ass hot air balloon I was forced to use 3 times- but was allowed to teleport to places the rest of the time? Why was I forced into a situation where I couldn't leave, when I was literally just in Natlan and not a domain? Why did we suddenly switch to a different dialogue box just for a few minutes?? Someone PLEASE explain to Hoyo that adding new stuff doesn't automatically make it good. Or, I guess 'novel', as their surveys put it.

- Chuychu was the closest I've ever come to actually being sad for an npc's death. Probably because I actually saw someone react to it, instead of Genshin just expecting you to care because Paimon is telling you to. Because of the Chuychu stuff, I'm actually starting to like Chasca, and I'm glad for it. Liking a character in theory despite canon is much better for rewriting stories than disliking them entirely and not knowing what to do with them (*glances at Fontaine*).

- I'm starting to see that the 6 heroes plot is probably just their current ploy to place the focus on the characters who have come out this update, or are coming out next update. Act 2 has Mualani becoming a Special Hero, because her first banner was up at the time. Then act 3 and 4 had Ororon and Chasca becoming Special Heroes, because Xilonen already is one and they're coming out next update.

- that being said- I feel bad for Kachina and Mualani. Kachina was the obvious 'main character' of act 1, with Mualani and Kinich as supporting characters. But then in act 2, the focus was shifted over to Mualani, because she's a 5 star and her first banner is happening, so they need to convince people to like her. And in the process, Kachina was screwed over in what should've been her plotline, becoming a supporting character whose role is to prove how good at The Power of Friendship Mualani is and introduce us to the 6 heroes stuff. ...and then both are screwed over in the very next update because they're already out and don't have anything else to do.

- I know that she'll presumably get more screen time when she comes out, but it's greatly worrying me (for reasons that should be obvious) that Iansan is barely being given any screen time. I am so worried that they're trying to pull a Xinyan or a Candace with her, because of course they would.

- literally what response are you expecting me to have to Xilonen slowly dying for Traveler to get an ancient name when it's revealed in the randomist and calmest way possible?? It's obviously supposed to be cheap emotional fuel, but both Xilonen and Citlali are being so calm about this random reveal that I didn't end up caring either. I don't care so much that I almost forgot to mention it in this post.

Overall, not impressed at all, but there are a few tiny gems in here that will be good for when I eventually have to get to it in my rewrite lol.

[mzannthropy]

Edmond and Haydee in The Count of Monte Cristo limited series (Sam Claflin)

This is for Edmond x Haydee shippers and includes spoilers for the series.

So I know it looks like the series does not support this ship, Haydee making her last appearance in the penultimate episode and the final scene being Edmond and Mercedes on the beach. However, I have a different take. I maintain that the ending is ambiguous enough to allow one's own interpretation. I think the showrunners left is open-ended and up to the viewers to decide.

That last shot of Edmond and Mercedes only showed the two of them standing next to each other. They did not kiss and nothing in their dialogue indicated they will get together. The last line, from Mercedes was: "love can heal". She did say "love" but she didn't say whose love. It can be taken in any way. There is more than one kind of love, there is romantic love, but also love between friends, familial love (found-family in Edmond's case, as he doesn't have anyone), love for your pets, and most important of all, love for your own self. Edmond, a seaman at heart, also loves the sea. Another thing is, her tone did not come across as romantic, IMO. She said it more like a good friend, or a wise older person--it's something abbe Faria would say. It's came off more as a proverb, you know, how, for example, you would say to your friend or a family member who has been through a lot: time heals all wounds. If the show wanted to present an Edcedes endgame, they would have made it more conclusive. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that Edmond needs some healing first of all, he should sail away to some retreat and then come back when he's ready for relationship. And Mercedes too is only recently widowed (doesn't matter that she didn't love Fernand, she had a 20 (?) year marriage with him) and her whole world has been turned upside down. She might be done with men, for all we know. Not to mention that neither of them is the youthful idealistic person they were when they got engaged.

Now, about Haydee. We all know that they were never going to adapt her storyline straight from the book. I personally liked it (I don't mind content that is considered problematic or controversial, I just like good stories), but they would not get away with it in the year of our lord 2025. I didn't expect the Edmond x Haydee endgame in any case, so was not disappointed, though I hoped to see their relationship at least be familial or platonic. Karla-Simone Spence is 10 years younger than Sam Claflin, which is not that big an age gap (his previous onscreen wife, Camila Morrone, was 11 years younger). Sure it would have been good if she had got more screentime, but I'm also a quality over quantity person; I don't mind less time as long as it's good. I've not rewatched the show yet (though I saw ep5 twice) but I specifically kept an eye on her and the count's interactions. It also made me chuckle bc I thought to myself, that is some very careful writing. So, as you know, Haydee arrives at the count's house and is shown into her rooms, but she refuses to stay there and sits down on the stairs. (Someone is spreading fake news that she cries--if you've watched it, you know she doesn't.) She demands to know what the count intends to do with her and calls him "master". To which he says "we don't do that here, you are free" and then they sit down together and have a talk. All throughout, the count is very gentle with her. In fact you can say it's unlike him. He's not like that with anyone else, (except when he gets emotional with Mercedes, but that's a different thing). They may have done it that way bc they had to be very careful with their writing, but that's irrelevant, bc the end result is that the show is actually favourable to the ship. He also buys her dresses and takes her to the party at the de Morcerfs, as his plus one. Mercedes even remarks that "people will talk". I can't think of what the purpose the line served other than a wink at the shippers. (Or even if there is another purpose, it still works as a wink at the shippers.)

When Haydee leaves after giving her testimony at the parliament, as she gets to the coach, she gives Edmond a half-hug. That's more than anyone else got. She didn't need to do that at all. It might have been yet another wink at the shippers, but I'll take it. She responds to Edmond's "we got him" with "but at what cost?" The show constantly hammered it into viewers' heads what his revenge will do to him, but it can also be looked as Haydee caring about his well-being. It's the last we see of her. However. I always argue that as long as, at the end, both characters are alive, on good terms with each other, and can easily reach each other, the ship doesn't contradict the canon. I say this for Jon Snow and Sansa on Game of Thrones as well. You can't say it's canon, but. You can't say it's non canon either. Sometimes you just have to apply your imagination. (Ask Anne of Green Gables, lol.)

It would have been better to see Edmond actually sailing away (the Pierre Niney film scores higher on this), but whatever, I'm not gonna spend time sweating over it, I decided to be positive bc I had enough shit with Sam's last limited series book adaptation, and I'm not going through that again. Maybe the showrunners just liked that beach shot, it makes a nice picture, that is true enough. But who's to say that Edmond won't meet Haydee again on his travels? What if she already fell for him, but knows he needs to find inner peace before he can love again? What if Jacopo or Isabelle noticed something there and will now play matchmakers? I'd say this gives plenty of fanfic material.

This got longer than I intended, so thank you for reading if you made it this far.

[moonspirit]

Since we're giving Armin parent trauma...

HC that he's not used to small acts of affection. Mate gets a headpat and bluescreens.

Source?

We, we know that Eren and Mikasa care for him. He knows that Eren and Mikasa care for him. But those have always been big acts of affection. Eren pulling him out of the titan. Mikasa kicking the blade out of his hand that one time and then threatening to kill Levi. Scene he was unconscious for. Eren hugging him post Titanification.

Thing is, those are big things. I love mikasa but I'll be honest, up until the taking of Shiganshina, i was not sure she cared about Armin as much as she tolerated him bcs he was Eren's other soulmate.

( Armin and Mikasa would not pass an Eren based Bechtel test, but that's a rant for a diff time if anyone's interested)

My point is, Armin is not used to outward expressions of affection. If we are to add the " parents were more preoccupied with travelling than him" and the " you were the better choice to Erwin from a logical side", i feel like it could be interesting if Armin had a hard time accepting that people like him as a person.

So yeah, this is my rant/hc that Armin would be completely unprepared for casual affection and that Connie, Jean and Sasha would take advantage of that

( Annie too post canon. She leans into his ear and sais something sweet and Armin blushes worse than if she'd suggested exhibitionism)

Heeeelllo!

I agree y'know? I feel the same way. As you said, Armin knows Eren and Mikasa love him; it's not like he's oblivious to it.

His problem is that it's hard for him to take in this love and really absorb it because he doesn't see anything in himself worth loving. The things you've mentioned, i.e., his parents leaving him behind, the survivor's guilt + the pressure of living up to Erwin and failing - all meet here at this common point. He knows people love him, he knows they care and he knows it's not just because he can be useful in some ways. But as much as he can feel the love and even be comforted by it for a few moments, it's very hard to sustain that feeling over long periods of time.

I believe what will benefit Armin the most is to know that he's wanted.

Not 'needed', because the military needs him (a working brain + able bodied soldier), Mikasa needs him (to get through to Eren sometimes), Eren needs him (someone to talk to), the 104th needs him (because "sometimes" he comes up with good plans right?), but does anyone truly want him? Just for being him and nothing more?

Cuz if his parents didn't want him (a question he might have as he grows up), then who will? He was their only son after all.

So, back to what you say, any act of affection that drives home the point that Armin's simply wanted by the people around him is bound to affect him to the moon and back. He'll blush and stammer and not know what to do because it's an overwhelming surge of feelings he's not sure he deserves but they're there anyway, arresting his heartbeat.

This can be extremely wonderful to see during his cadet years if Jean, Sasha and Connie sling their arms over his shoulders and take him shopping because "We want to go shopping with you Armin!" or Marco and Reiner save him some special kind of bread in the mess hall during a morning he's running late for breakfast since, "We know you like this bread, Armin."

That aside, my personal favourite thing is to see him receiving this kind of love post rumbling because he's so broken and damaged at this point of time having committed more heinous crimes, and therefore being told and shown that he's wanted, so very very wanted, no matter how silly or serious or even sexual, over and over again across years, will really heal him.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, this made me very happy :3

[yuri-is-online]

I’ve had this thought in my mind for awhile, but I think there’s even more lore(?)/more to Haku & Tohma’s relationship. That’s shown I mean! Hear me out: in the first episode MC is unable to find a ride. All of the cars seem to be ignoring her. The trains were stopped bc of an earthquake. MC uses catsmo. Totally not coincidentally, Haku joins the ride. I’m assuming Tohma was behind both the earthquake (stigma) and the cars ignoring her. A part of me is like, what if Tohma had contacted Haku to intervene? Tohma appearing out of nowhere to bring her back would definitely give away that he’s keeping watch. So Haku, the only other ghoul that she knows/that could show up (Taiga being restricted, Jin never leaving his room), is the go to dude.

All of this then leads me to thinking- what if Haku had gotten the skeleton key from Tohma? The other option would be the Chancellor or a Professor. Either or, there’s some level of trust for him to have it. Unless he stole it LOL.

Also… The campus run-in scene between them both is so interesting?? To me at least haha. I’m torn between: Tohma being unhappy to see Haku because he’s the spy/or the main suspect of it hence calling him a snake (dodge viper). Or the comment stemming from Haku transferring out of Frostheilm thus being a snake in that sense. Or both, it could be both fr.

Sorry for the long ask! I’m just really enticed by whatever’s going on

Long asks are welcome here, be not afraid to ramble if my ask box is open you are free to yap.

So first off, I highly doubt that Haku got the skeleton key from Tohma. Tohma specifically says that he got permission to use the key from the school, something he is able to do due to having a good relationship and reputation with Darkwick's staff. It is not his artifact, nor is it in the care of Frostheim; that makes me think it is an artifact similar to the Fox Robe, something that the school keeps on hand for missions that ghouls can either request use of as needed or they have multiple of, but only if it is deemed necessary by the staff. Professor Moby appears to be the one in charge of artifact permits from Taiga's bond story, and he is also the advisor for Hotarubi, so if he is the one you would get permission from Haku might have an even easier time than Tohma does. Haku is also someone that the Chancellor seems to trust, "Have I ever lied to you?" wouldn't be a convincing argument otherwise.

Their relationship seems tense based off of that campus event, but they seem to have been close at one point. Tohma refers to Haku by his surname Kusanagi, while Haku calls Tohma by his first name. Tohma offers him a smoke, but Haku says he's been trying to quit... they still haven't added the damn affection chats back so I can't see what's up but from what I understand Haku also seems to have transferred dormitories and people see this as him "switching sides." Remember! Tohma wasn't in Frostheim until half a year ago and we don't know when Haku transferred. I'd assume it was around the same time as you typically need special permission to transfer, but the fallout of the Clash seems to have resulted in multiple transfers to help smooth over the balance of power. We know why Tohma went to Frostheim, he wants to use Jin for some reason, so why did Haku go to Hotarubi? And what was his previous house? Was he also in Vagastrom with Tohma and Alan? Or was he somewhere else?

While Tohma could have been behind the earthquake due to his stigma, the cars ignoring her felt more like the result of her curse or the sage's ring than anything he could realistically pull off. I doubt he would ask Haku to go get the MC when he is someone he doesn't refer to by his first name and calls a snake to his face... it's possible of course depending on when he begin to suspect him but we don't know enough about their previous friendship, if one existed at all, to make that call. To me Haku finding the MC suggested one of three things: 1) Darkwick is watching MC due to her history of running away and tasked Haku with doing that, 2) Haku has been watching MC of his own accord for his own purposes or 3) Haku knew MC would try to run away because we are stuck in a timeloop and she did this before. I like option 3 best myself, but anything is possible at this point.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, I worry I'm a bit too sus of Haku for my own good that I neglect to think about all the ways Tohma is too. I should do that a bit more, no one wears a monocle that isn't weird af

[inastarlesssky]

In Defense of Dramione - an essay

Okay, time for another Ted talk/ soapbox/ pointless rambling...Putting it under the cut because I have opinions.

In Defense of Dramione - an essay

First of all, I want to say I ship Dramione. Which is a recent thing, specifically about half a year ago. I didn't always because well it never occurred to me that you could. Of course, that's how ships are. We ship some ships bc they're canon, okay, fine. But we ship a whole lot others that aren't because you name whatever reason (they've got chemistry, they WORK, they're better than the canonically approved pairings whatever the hell else, idk). My point is, it had never crossed my mind that I myself would actually like the idea of Draco and Hermione. Bc naturally, you look at them and you think, "He did insult her when they were children. He was an asshat, etc etc." But...BUT.

You know that trope Enemies to Lovers? Ever heard of redemption arcs? Yeah, those are things. Of course, I don't speak on behalf of everyone in the fandom because we all have our reasons for why. But I ship them because there is potential in Draco's character for growth, for repentance, for redemption. I believe that he's capable, when he's an adult of realizing that he fucked up and that the beliefs he was spoonfed as a child are not the law of the land. I've read more fics than I can count that describe this character arc for him and they do it masterfully. Honestly, I think he's a pretty complex character and I believe that we see a sliver of that in the last few movies. Like look, in 6th year, Harry hit him with Sectumsempra and nearly killed him. But when the Golden Trio were at the Manor and it was on Draco's shoulders to identify Harry and basically seal their doom, did he do it? Did he rat them out? Nope.

Maybe this wasn't exactly Draco "forgiving" Harry, admittedly. But Draco saw that Harry was their only hope for destroying Voldemort or for having some sliver of a winning chance, of a possibility of surviving the mess Voldemort was orchestrating. He obviously deemed it important enough to dare to lie, especially knowing that Bellatrix would have summoned the Dark Lord himself in the next few moments. If Draco really didn't care about the outcome of everything, he wouldn't have done that. If anything, we see that he cares at least about the safety of his family because that could have also been the motive. But that gets me thinking, couldn't he also have confirmed Harry's identity? Voldy would have arrived, perhaps praised Draco and spared the Malfoys to die another die. So really, Draco might have gotten more out of it if he HAD confirmed Harry's identity. Hmm food for thought.

Second point, I'm not going to judge anyone in the fandom because of reasons stated above, but I will go so far as to say, please, if you don't ship Dramione, that's okay. Everyone has their own cup of tea, but please, do NOT claim that all of us (that every single one of us who happen to support this ship) are and I quote "are just a bunch of horny teenagers desperate for some pretty boy and pretty girl sex". That isn't fair and it frankly isn't true, so please don't. I know many wonderful people who have crafted amazing stories and shown great talent through their writing to express the complexities I've just spoken about.

I'll end by saying that we all have our ships, and that's okay. There's no real right or wrong inasfaras who you ship with whom. But it's a basic gesture of respect, I think, to let others love the pairings that they love. Spreading hatred, ill-will or just unkindness toward those of us who enjoy a particular ship, that's not cool and that's what brings us down in what should be something we all enjoy and go to find joy and share that joy with others.

Okay, it seems I really defended Draco more than Hermione here but I will die on this hill and defend my dorks. Fight me on it (joking here but really though. XD) Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[cottagecorrosive]

*Tears of the Kingdom SPOILERS*

Okay, so I've seen some fanart that may line up with my thoughts, but I just have some stuff I wanna say after beating tears of the kingdom. The ending was very sweet and wholesome and it is literally the best ending possible for the circumstances. HOWEVER, I think it would have been more appropriate (may not be the right word) if Zelda stayed a dragon and LINK completely lost his arm.

So like, it was stated many of time that consuming the forbidden fruit gummy would result in an unchangeable and unthinkable transformation. I'm glad Zelda came back in the end, but as far as themeing goes, I feel she should have stayed a dragon. The monumental sacrifice to transform yourself into something you wouldn't even recognize to MAYBE get this decayed weapon to your companion thousands of years into the future so they can defeat the apocalypse (again). Although, the reason Zelda did so was because she had unwavering faith in Link - and vice versa - even though she is completely unaware of his state in the future. The last thing she saw was Link falling with her and his arm and his sword completely busted. But she still had faith because Link is the only thing in Hyrule that she can rely on. No matter what happens, Link will be there. So she makes this sacrifice to become a dragon and help Link kill the Demon King. There are a few moments throughout where there is some longing between Link and Zeldragon, which are quite somber. And by Link slaying the Demon King and ridding Hyrule of evil, her sacrifice was not in vain. In my opinion, her transforming back into human form takes away from the impact of that decision. While her initial decision believed she would not come back, within the themes of the story it makes it feel less (to me at least). And think about the bittersweet ending it would've been if everything was better and Hyrule was safe and Link just looked up to see her at all times. Sad, yes. But without her Hyrule wouldn't exist.

In addition, I believe Link should have permantly lost his arm. As stated at the beginning, the damage was beyond repair so Rauru just gave Link his arm / power for a bit. And in the end he used said power to heal both Zelda and Link's arm. However, I think it would've been way rad if Link, along with the help of the sages, took on the Demon King and they had to use all their collective powers to do so. And to land a final blow (since the Demon King is literally the most powerful being in Hyrule) they used Rauru's hand to weaken him, and tear away from Link's arm (though it's just a smooth stub now), and use the master sword to finish him. (And I feel the final fight was a bit lackluster but that's neither here nor there). Link would then straight up not have his right arm anymore. And it would've been cool if either Purah crafted Link a new arm from sheikah technology or if he simply lived without it bc disability doesn't need to always be "fixed." I was thinking something similar to Finn from Adventure Time honestly.

In conclusion, I believe Zelda should have stayed a dragon and Link should have fully lost his arm because it would fit better with the themes and make for a more interesting story. What I think both Zelda and Link's arm represent are sacrifice and loss for what you believe in. They were both willing to give up a part of themselves (though Link kinda unintentionally) to protect those they care about and safeguard their home. The end would've shown that their actions were not in vain and that it was worth it. I feel getting things back to "normal" takes away from these themes and the impact of these events. This is my headcanon bb. In addition, all the cute zelink stuff could've taken place between botw and totk so you could have both "haha cute couple" and "I lost my arm and my gf is a dragon now. That's rough, buddy" at the same time. :)

P.S. This is just my opinion I promise pinky. I heavily enjoyed this wonderful game (I finished it after all) and think the ending is really wholesome and great for Link, Zelda, and everyone else. Maybe I just wanna see my little guys suffer. Who knows.

[devastatinglygreen]

You know, I’ve given so much attention to sticking up for Colin and the absolutely brain dead takes I’ve had to read about him since S3 Part 2 how are we still focused on the entrapment line?? HOW?? that I am just getting to the point of analyzing what Pen’s thought processes are in eps 7 & 8.

Pen never seems to indicated a doubt in his love for *her* after the LW reveal, even though prior seasons have shown reason to fear his rejection. I mentioned before that I think show!Penelope is not allowed to stick up for herself more bc they’ve made show!LW much more powerful, so there’s this combination of not getting her hopes up with Colin bc she never thought she’d have him and bc she knows he has a right to be upset about Whistledown. Do you think Pen was thinking about what their future looked like post reveal/the wedding or do you think she was taking it a day at a time/waiting for him to reject her or leave?

pls...the entrapment comment, i can't. it's so stupid to focus on such a singular comment made nearly directly after his childhood friend, his closest friend, his love, and his future wife had been caught lying to him for years.

it wasn't a great comment, there's no doubt about that but at least it was private unlike penelope calling him fake (which was true but very unkind and also not how you treat someone you care about) in print for everyone to read. idk man, being humiliated in public would hurt me worse if i found out it was someone i cared about.

even eloise sort of accuses penelope of planning a marriage to him and everyone shrugs it off. she has no reason to think that other than pen is LW but it's only a big deal when colin says something in the middle of emotional turmoil and i have no idea why? getting me to defend a man is a feat, let me tell you. and yet.

alright i got distracted but to answer you i think this is where the people who are big mad penelope didn't run off when it got rocky need to understand just how much book material they pulled for our season. penelope is not willing to give colin up. she even admits in the book she'd rather have everyone's scrutiny and endure colin's anger if it meant having him.

girlypop is down bad. colin's degree in downbadism was him majoring in pathetic with a minor in yearning and we love him for it but penelope has years of being stoic about it. which is also brought in from the book, she's been in love quietly with this man for years, she knows how to handle her business and go about her life. colin...not so much. he falls apart within days. nerds.

so while i'm sure she was thinking about what the future of their marriage would be, they added a girlboss veneer in the show for the modern audience and the need to keep LW going as a plot point but i think she was terrified he'd take the out she offered at the end even if she had a brave face about it.

penelope knows colin isn't a liar. if he says he loves her, she believes him. she also knows him better than anyone so if he says something out of anger she knows he needs to be reassured and met with patience not punished. she wanted him to choose her and she gave him all the honesty possible and the means to leave if he wanted.

but like he was never going to, that man is just as insane about her as she is about him

[rollercoasterwords]

Hi rae!! The new chapter was like a punch in the gut and yes i say this after every chapter u can sue me

So yes. Sirius fades away every passing chapter i'm feeling so sad on his behalf my poor baby :(( him not accepting when remus offers to go to his place because he thinks he cannot bear that intimacy at the moment and also him not being able to feel a spark even when he was with his moony :((((

And remus not being able to bear the sight of s when he seemed hollow despite it was actually probably the highest point for s in a while... Like yes remus is the king of denial and he might pretend there's nothing substantial between them but he cares so much and it shows between his cracks and it's devastating

Like this part rly broke me a little, the way he turns to reg for support even though he doesn't like him, bc maybe he thinks reg is the only one who could understand and back him up? He risks the ultimate mission bc he saw sirius at his low™ and it only rly gets worse for sirius since they spend the night together. And he knows but he can't even do something about it. And to think that the sirius he's so worried about isn't even his sirius bc his sirius betrayed his trust when the trust in question took maybe years to build. His fight for his feelings, the contrast between his views and the things sirius has done, his final acceptance of sirius, his confession, all thrown away in a night. Also the irony that the betrayal of sirius came from a place of loyalty to the group and to the mission in a way, when the initial distrust of remus was bc he thought s was the opposite of these traits. In his eyes sirius finally changed, but also that change was the thing that split them apart <//3

And sirius accepted risking his life for the mission even though he can't really feel what he once felt for the group, he can't really understand (even if it makes sense to him that he would do the things he is shown doing) bc he has no recollection of actually living through the past years. And despite that he still risks his life because sacrificing himself for his brother and the people he might have loved seems alright to him? Even though he cannot remember loving those people? Even though he hasn't seen his assumed dead brother in years? It has always been loyalty for sirius and it's tearing me apart :((

So thank you for the new chapter it's great in an emotional torture-y kind of way so naturally i loved every second of reading it <33 hope life is being kind and delicate with you <3

hiiii love these little chats of ours xx

i love writing a character spiraling what can i say...especially love when it happens 2 s i want him dead inside etc...would apologize but i'm not very sorry am i xx

& literally was giggling & kicking my feet writing that scene w r lol i was like hehe s is gonna see a memory of him being devastated...they will never actually talk about it in person of course <3 perfect...

& yes u get it like. the irony of it all...s becoming a better person being both the thing that results in love & simultaneously erases it (literally!). i love when relationships r doomed sooo fun!! & yeah him accepting this mission now is like. partially that loyalty but at the same time coming from the fact that like. much of his past self-preservation has been eaten thru by his rapidly deteriorating emotional state...like before he was scared of dying but more scared of his loved ones dying. now he's still scared of his loved ones dying but is also like. well maybe it wouldn't even be so bad if i died...

anyway. u r welcome of course ty 4 the kind words etc <3 <3

[one-idea]

i’m so excited to see where you take your reverse strawhat au, especially brooks and jinbei’s counterparts, once you get further along into the series

i just essentially binged your posts and i love how you’re going about it. i love the whole concept with sabo and ace possibly meeting in marineford that would make them reuniting in dressrosa so heart wrenching, same with sabo possibly taking luffy’s fruit

idk if since those posts your thoughts on it have changed but if sabo took the fruit i think it’d be really interesting if he never awoken his fruit, and really interesting to see luffys reaction to sabo having his fruit

it could even go as far as luffy helping sabo awaken it and almost teaching him how to embody joyboy/nika in more than just a revolutionary way

idk i’m just thinking lots of thoughts about it bc your au has fully taken over my mind, i just love it so much and the care you’ve put into it is just so cool like i can’t even describe it

Thank you so much!!

I really love this au. Right now a lot of the ideas are fluid as I get new information about the characters and learn more about the world. Oda is really good at setting something up several arcs before it happens so I’m trying not to get to far ahead of myself, that way I don’t have to scramble to force an idea into place. I want it to feel like its own world while paying homage to the original and the characters.

As far as Sabo and Ace go…… (and this is ALL fluid)

I am still in love with the idea of them meeting at Marineford. It’s so brutal. Sabo being there but not realizing who these people are to him. Him and Ace essentially getting in each others way for all of impel down (they fight in the beginning but figure out how to work together) only to fail so horribly at Marieford.

And you know both of them spent the next two years thinking over that day. Playing impel down and Marineford over in their minds again and again.

‘Maybe if Ace/weird masked dude (Sabo) hadn’t shown up I could have gotten Luffy out of impel down.

Maybe if we had worked together quicker we could have gotten to him before the marines moved him.

Maybe if more revs had shown up to the fight.

Maybe it the crew was there.

Maybe if Sabo had known who they were he would have fought harder.’

They torture themselves over it for two years. It makes their reunion at Dressrosa hard. Because I’m sure Sabo shows up wearing that same dumb mask. (How can he face Ace) and Ace knows this man. And he’s angry (with himself) and this guy got in the way of saving Luffy (for like two fights in Impel down. They both would have died down there without the other and Ace knows this but he’s mad at the world right now) so he starts yelling.

And Sabo just takes it. He deserves this. He failed both of his brothers and even know he’s to cowardly to tell Ace who he is. He can’t imagine how much Ace will hate him if he knows who Sabo is. And this is it for Sabo, he’ll take his only remaining brother’s hate and know that he deserves it for failing him.

But he zoned out for to long thinking about all of this, and Ace is mad mad. “Don’t you have anything to say!” He’s gotten right up into Masked dude’s face. “My baby brother’s dead because of you.” And he punches him. It’s a great left hook. So good that he punches the mask right off.

And now he’s faced with a silently sobbing Sabo. Who’s curly blond hair is so familiar. Who’s still carrying a pipe for a weapon. Who’s still wearing that stupid ruffly neck piece. Who looks at him with such broken eyes as he says “I know I got our baby brother killed.”

Ace doesn’t know what to do because “Sabo?” This can’t be real. Sabo is dead and gone and how is he here in front of Ace?

There’s more screaming (Ace) explanations (Sabo) tears (both) and finally Sabo is standing there after telling Ace what happened to him and how he’s still alive and is all “I know you can never forgive me but…” he doesn’t get to finish because Ace is hugging him so tight and crying about how glad he is that Sabo is alive, and how much he missed him. But also “I’m so sorry I got Luffy killed.” And there it is the root of their problems. The fact they both blame themselves for Luffy’s death. It will take some time but they will get better.

Again this is fluid and might change once I’m in Dressrosa. But I really like it so far.

As far as Sabo and Gomu Gomu no Mi go…..

He still saves the fruit in the coliseum, but I don’t think he eats it right away. Maybe dragon told him the real power of that fruit and Sabo doesn’t think he could handle it. Maybe he thinks no one should have that power but Luffy. Or maybe he doesn’t know anything about the fruit but because of his guilt doesn’t think he’s worthy of wielding Luffy’s fruit.

I think he gives it to Ace and the two have a long talk. (They need it) about what happened. About who they lost, and how much they’re hurting. (A discussion that hard to have with anyone else) and they come to an agreement. Maybe one day they will meet someone who embodies the sun and joy the way Luffy did, but for now Ace is going to keep the fruit safe. (Sabo won it so if anyone finds out the truth about the fruit they would go after him, not Ace. Plus if Sabo knows the truth of the fruit I don’t know if he would trust the revs with it. It is a powerful tool, but it’s also Luffy’s.

And so Ace keeps the fruit save for a while……

But I also LOVE your idea of Luffy helping Sabo learn how to wield the Gomu Gomu no Mi and awaken it.

Since Luffy is crashing into reverse Wano he’s already awakened his fruit. (Imagine your dead little brother rocking up to your fight. Saving your life. But he’s doing so as the awakened sun god. Wild day for Ace.)

It’s also the day the world government collectively shat bricks because HELLO “what’s the sun god doing here!” If I had worked so hard to hide that fruit and make sure it never fell into anyone’s hands that wasn’t under my thumb. Only to have so 19 year old show up out of no where, with that power fully awakened and using it to take out one of the 4 strongest pirates in the world. I’d question everything I’d worked for to.

But Ace and Luffy have their super affectionate reunion. (There is tears with snot, they are hard crying) Ace calls Sabo and is like “you got to get to Wano Luffy’s here”

Sabo is on the other end like “Ace I know you miss him but that’s a hallucination, stop drinking. Put Kuina in charge.”

And Luffy just grabs the transponder from Ace and yells “Sabo!!! You’re here to!”

Sabo doesn’t respond he’s already running to the nearest boat. He’s there as soon as possible.

After more crying, and explanations. The two older brothers tell their youngest about how he’s dead here. And Luffy’s just like “oh it was Ace who died for me. But don’t be sad, I’m sure this world me was happy with his choice. I would have died for my Ace if it meant he would live.” And Ace is Sobbing again and clutching his baby brother close because he hates it, but he gets it. Because he’s sure Luffy’s Ace died happy to. He would have died happy if his Luffy got to live. And he tells Luffy just that. Their both sobbing and Sabo’s sobbing because how did he fail to save one of his brother is two different universes?

They’re a wreck for days. Like the other strawhats are having big emotions but the brother are in their own little world.

Eventually they get to retelling their versions of Dressrosa. And Luffy tells them his Sabo ate Ace’s fruit. And Ace is thrilled with this news, proud that his fruit was still protecting his brothers, and there’s no one he trusts to wield it more than Sabo. But know they have to tell Luffy what they did with his fruit. Which boils down to they hid it in a box underneath one of the floor boards on Ace’s ship. And Luffy slaps them both upside the head. Mainly Sabo who thinks he’s not worthy of having Luffy’s fruit.

“Of course I want you have it! Who else would I chose!”

Sabo eventually eats it and gets to have a fun training montage with Luffy on how to use his new fruit. And it’s great because now he gets to carry Luffy with him every where and he can’t remember why he was afraid of this in the first place.

(Ace is having a great time being their opponent and training with both of his brother, though there is a moment where Sabo is practicing his Gomu Gomu pistol move and punches right through Ace’s stomach. It’s not Haki infused so Ace is fine he just turned to fire and let it pass through and laughed. Luffy is not fine and is running at Ace to hug him and cry as he has a full break down once again.)

Again this is all fluid and could change once I get a better grasp on the story and characters but I really like this idea.

Thank you so much for the ask and the support!

[nikethestatue]

so confused how people see Az as an entitled fuckboi but still ship him with their beloved Gwyn when:

1. This man pined over Mor for 500 YEARS. Not days, hours - YEARS. He is 540 and pined over Mor for 500 of those??? Insane.

2. The reason he moved on from Mor was Elain - this is not debatable, that is canon text. Cassian (you know, lord of bloodshed, the MOST reliable narrator, Velaris fashion police) even notes Az has moved on. Nesta knows WHY Az has moved on. Az clearly shows he is at the very least, attracted to elain (obsessed, head over wings, but potato potahto I guess)

3. This man was tortured by his family. He does not have good self esteem. He already thinks his position as spymaster/lead torturer is bad, he is ashamed of his own hands and struggles with feeling worthy on a GOOD DAY. He knows it’s wrong to have feelings for Elain (bc she has a mate and he was ordered to stay away from her) but HE STILL HAS them. He can’t help it, he loves her?? Is that not the most heart wrenching thing youve heard?? How is he entitled when man himself doesn’t feel worthy of even touching her NECK???

Like how can you read that bonus chapter and say “yeah Az is an incel he is a fuckboi only lusting after elain” like this dude is clearly torturing himself with the feelings he has for her ?? How is he only after sex?? Do we want to whip out Cassian & Rhys’s POVs about their mates? The same thoughts.

It boggles my mind, truly, to attempt to understand gwynriel. elucien - I don’t ship but I do understand. They have been declared mates…that’s about all they have but at least that is there.

How can they be out here saying Az is evil incel fuckboi but then ship him with Gwyn… a priestess that was SA-ed and going on her own healing journey?? It makes no sense.

“Oh but elain needs light and azriel is just darkness she won’t be able to understand him” idk seems like it’s been said multiple times they understand each other without a single word.

“Elain can’t handle his darkness, Gwyn will heal him” … heal him how exactly? Through her laughter and song and pliable bones? Like she is not a therapist. She is bad with secrets (canonically). She can’t even leave the library. So what makes HER capable of handling “azriels darkness” like ?? What is she going to do someone please genuinely tell me? I would ask a gwynriel but they will get angry and tell me I’m a monster against SA victims or some bs.

Also what the actual hell is this so called “azriel’s darkness”?? Why we doing this “I can fix him” mentality in 2024? Sure man has got self image insecurity issues but it’s something HE has to fix … himself…

All I ever see from gwynriels is the craziest shit they are trying to pass off as theory because they literally hate elain!!? They ship elucien… only so it gets elain away from NC

They send her to spring court to be with tamlin and the flowers. They send her to day court to be with sunlight(? Even tho the night court has… sun…?)

They say she will turn evil. They say it’s only lust between them. They say she looks bad in black (this girl is described as having beauty to bring kings to their knees… I don’t think people care that she allegedly cannot pull off black)

They hate elain because elain is beautiful and kind and sweet and NOT a warrior and they don’t connect with her. And the loooooove azriel bc honestly a man who doesn’t say anything is just easier to shape to someone’s own fantasies. And they looove Gwyn because she is pretty enough (not devastating beauty) and vague enough that they can self insert.

And elain is also still a character in development. But the few things we know about her were apparently dammning enough that they have written her off completely.

But the fact is she’s the only character relevant enough and has shown an interest in azriel that is reciprocated. So why are we even fighting still? It’s been over since SJM wrote “death and the lovely fawn” even after she made her mated to Lucien.

He is only an incel fuckboi when it comes to Elain though. It's never with anyone else. With Gwyn he is a gallant hero.

Yeah, I never understood what qualifications Gwyn possesses to 'heal Azriel's trauma' especially considering her extremely, EXTREMELY limited life experience. She is 28, acting like she is 13, because she's lived in a closed environment all her life, had her basic chores, but everything was taken care of for her. Then she moved to the Library, where she is in the same situation. Not denying *her* trauma, but she barely dealt with it herself, and until Nesta, didn't do a very good job at it either. She only just began functioning, though still unable to join society and doesn't want to leave the Library. Even to go to a wedding! And this is the person they think is going to 'heal' Azriel's darkness? Can 500 year old 'darkness' even be healed? I feel like Azriel is what he is and I don't think there is much 'healing' that's going to happen. He is essentially Lorcan--he'd thaw for his girl, he'll be friends with Cassian and Nesta, and that's pretty much it. And the girl who'll accept him, who already accepted him is Elain.

Also, GA girlies need to remember that it's not a woman's job to 'fix' a guy and his 'darkness'. It's Azriel's responsibility, if he so desires.

Will never hear an Elriel talking about Elain 'healing Azriel's darkness'. Homeboy better take care of that himself because there is Dusk Court shit to take care of.

[horizon-verizon]

The fact that Alicent’s stans deluded themselves into thinking that she’s the reason Rhaenyra wasn’t beset by assassins in episode 9 and did something because she raised her voice to someone but the moment her father talked to Lord Westerling she remained in silence, it was his refusal that saved Rhaenyra, not Alicent.

And sending terms for Rhaenyra to deliver her toddler sons to live under Aegon II’s sadistic will as hostages is hardly defending Rhaenyra or doing any good to her, that’s fucking miserable, it’s insane how y’all believe that those terms were good, it’s awful on the show and on the book.

I get it now Alicent spent 10 years harassing and tormenting Rhaenyra and her underage children, openly saying she wanted her father there to take her side even tho she knew her wishes meant exile or even death to Rhaenyra because she was trying to influence the inevitable and protect Rhaenyra, true love 😍

Delusion--sometimes they are fun, harmless birds caressing us into safety, other times it's a steel band slowly starving us of or own intellect.

What really irks me are the damn terms being mischaracterized as harmless stipulations as if the greens (Alicent & Otto) are far more likely to be uncharitable to Rhaenyra's children than the reverse.

[Regardless of truebornness or illegitimacy, bc w/their regard for those not-illegitimate kids when they did live at the keep, they already showed they don't care all that much for how young and vulnerable and worthy of protection a child is; Daemon is more or less under rhaenyra's thumb (or really he cares more about her, their family and them winning than his power over their entire dynasty or provin viserys wron) and no I do not care about the choking scene bc no it is NOT even consistent with DaemonxRhaenyra--if they wanted to establish Daemon was abusive towards her, they should have shown scenes of him intimidating her or something in episodes 7-8! so I do not even think of this scene as HotD "canon" and you cannot convince me otherwise! just as I do not think Criston is Dornish in the show no matter what Alicent said or what he looked like--esp since if he was Dornish, it's far more likely he'd still look pale bc the northernest Dornish--the "stony" Dornish as Daeron I later calls them--are paler people who look your "typical" Westerosi..the Martells' looks are not ubiquitous in Dorne! Write better, and then I'll perhaps respect your storytelling.]

And while there are some sweet and rational rhaenicent shippers out there, the ship simply never made sense in the way that it was written in the show. Their development as close friends was never shown, and for how different they are, it needed to be shown! Especially with:

how Alicent really didn't seem to understand Rhaenyra as a person for her to act as she does in the Sept episode and attempting to reinforce "girls don't involve themselves with the politics of men" despite Rhaenyra being the freaking heir // while this is happening, Alicent visiting the king, with there being no sign of even hesitance , guilt, or desire to tell Rhaenyra about it--similar to how Criston should have known Rhaenyra would never leave with him and abandon her family or "duty" or the prospect of becoming the first queen of Westeros after years of everyone's doubt (2)

how she uses her queenly-stepmotherly authority over her (3)

how she continues this in her approach to her in that "queenly" way, accusing Rhaenyra PLUS the implication of her disapproving of her actions despite having to have known how Rhaenyra has felt Viserys has shunted her for most of her life....(4)

From the beginning, alicent has been too much of a ruler-follower to appeal to rhaenyra AND she has thought that for rhaenyra to be happy or at least content with her life, she must also conform to the obedient social rules of feminine conduct--ignoring any presence of inner conflict Rhaenyra has had or pondering over it.

[hellobitchlet]

Here are some thoughts on Natlan, as of finishing act 1:

- this will mostly be negative, so let's start with the positives. First off, I'm happy to say that I have, in fact, found something I find interesting in Natlan! I am SO happy that the abyss has FINALLY been brought back into importance outside of hard-to-follow deep lore.

- while I still don't like that Natlan is hyper focused on sports, the idea that the pilgrimage is a glorified way to get ppl to go to war is amazing. That is such a good concept, even if it being in the archon quest means that it probably won't be acknowledged after act 5.

- one of my biggest complaints about Genshin has been that extremely few characters have been important, and connected to lore stuff. So of course, I also adore the abyss stuff for the sheer number of characters who have participated in the war. It's nice that their characters aren't entirely focused on their participation in the war either, as that's one of the big differences that makes Yoimiya better written than most Inazuma aq characters imo.

- I'm happy that the writers have finally remembered Traveler's purification abilities, even though it came out of nowhere after being forgotten about for literal years.

- I have likes and dislikes about Kachina's mini arc in part one, but it was handled slightly better than what I'd expect from Genshin. The main positives; we were actually shown that she cries in short bursts a lot instead of being told, Traveler wasn't automatically allowed to be involved and was told no for once, and her relationship to Mualani is great and accentuated both of their characters well.

- and now, let's start with the negatives. My main negatives of Kachina's act 1 arc; the fact that everyone saw her as weak bc she's lost a lot and not bc she's a fucking child was stupid, the teams portion being filled with brown skinned ppl being mean to her was gross, and the whole thing felt slightly rushed.

- considering that Traveler and Paimon usually act as the voice of 'reason' (as in, telling u what u should think), it's greatly concerning me that they don't seem to see the pilgrimage and a fucking child competing in it as a bad thing. Why were they as initially okay with Kachina dying as Mualani????

- I'm calling it now: the pale skinned npc's shitting on Kachina were pale bc they're Fatui, not bc the writers realized that brown skinned npc's doing that would look racist.

- I understand that the npc who almost died is probably important to the pyro archon, and we did end up with a decent intro to how the abyss acts in Natlan out of it, but I was so bored with the People of the Springs that the 5 minutes spent with the abyss didn't feel like it made up for how bored I was for the 20 minutes spent setting it up.

- absolutely everything about the People of the Springs makes no fucking sense. How the fuck are they a tourist destination AND regularly being attacked by the abyss at the same time?? It's so obvious that they just picked the first stereotype about Hawaii they could find and carelessly shaped their entire identity around it for the sake of it.

- I seriously want to care about Natlan's unique archon situation, but why should I when we haven't gotten an old archon who actually feels like an archon and isn't hopelessly clueless since Inazuma? Like I know that this isn't the same as Nahida and Furina lore wise, but writing wise, I'm not super optimistic about our third young archon in a row.

- seeing how Iansan acts... I definitely think that I'll be crossing off the "Iansan is an adult" part of the Natlan bingo. This point is kind of including the beginning of act 2 that I already did.

If anyone who has finished act 2 thinks that act 2 will change my opinions, don't bother 'politely' 'correcting' me. Not because I care about spoilers, but because I can decide for myself whether my opinion changes :)