#i understand the conflict tho

[thelonelyshore-if]

Me I want....

Jay 🫲🫲 but also I want 🫱🫱 Ravi

But the the problem is I can't have both. 😒 bc the problem isn't them it's me....

I don't like to share. 😅😭

Haha, I was going to say that you can have both, but if sharing is an issue then I see your problem ;)

Unfortunately my only advice is either picking whoever works best with your MC...or multiple playthroughs 😔 Good luck Nonnie~

[wardensantoineandevka]

it's kind of funny that we're back at the start, as it was known from the very beginning, as the story always was, the old lore: "the Divine Gate was built in response to the destruction and suffering of the Calamity as the Prime Deities realized was far too much and, as such, they needed to also remove themselves from Exandria to protect it from the ruin that the gods dwelling here brings"

[chironshorseass]

the thing is, we were never meant to sympathize with luke when he betrays percy. we aren’t meant to see his inner turmoil. we aren’t meant to see hesitancy, or regret. it’s meant to be a slap in the face. luke takes percy to the woods knowing full well what he’s about to do. in tlt kronos orders him to kill percy because he’s too volatile; kronos said so himself when percy hijacked luke’s dreams and began to figure out there were bigger things at play. the thing is, when kronos orders luke to kill percy, he doesn’t hesitate. that’s the point!!! it is essential that luke is so blinded by rage and vengeance for the gods that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants (the god’s destruction). percy accuses luke that kronos is using him, but he just retaliates that the gods do the same, and they do!!! but see, the thing is, luke’s whole point is that he’s so focused on the god’s injustices that he forgets what’s important. he goes for the “greater good” but he destroys his family, his life, in the process. by attempting to dismantle a system, he turns to another system that follows the same oppressive logic. THAT is why luke fails. THAT is why it’s so important he be blinded by rage, because it’s his inevitable, tragic end. he’s doomed by the narrative from the start. yes, we’re meant to be surprised by his betrayal because of how cold and calculating it is, but also it’s important to set the grounds for luke’s character to be this angry, vengeful boy because later on we come to understand why it is that he made those choices. we see annabeth’s side of things and percy’s side. we see luke’s side. we see many sides. we see a man who is too far gone yet comes to understand, in the end, that he’s been doing more harm than good to those he was supposed to protect (annabeth is the most obvious example). we get a complex character who won’t hesitate to kill but who also won’t hesitate to sacrifice himself so that he can save the family he has left.

the thing is, luke was supposed to be angrier in the show. percy was supposed to be angrier in the show. they’re both foils. luke is what percy could become, if percy lets his anger win. so, to change—even if it’s only slightly altering—their characters, is to change the point of the story. because luke tries to kill percy in his betrayal and later percy tries to kill luke but then percy starts to understand luke…until luke is gone and kronos is gone yet the gods don’t change but percy does. and percy’s initial anger is supposed to transform and he’s supposed to see what luke saw and the cycle continues. the thing is, it’s not even one of the worst changes the show made, yet it’s still so, so telling that they failed to see why it’s important to let your characters do bad things, to make mistakes, because that’s how a story can carry on. that’s how you give a story depth.

[vaguely-concerned]

It's really interesting that Wynne actually has quite a measured, bordering on downright sympathetic response to hearing what Jowan did in the prologue -- if the mage Warden says "I still can't believe Jowan was that stupid", her answer is something like a thoughtful "Stupid, or desperate, or merely curious?". She seems to think of Jowan as a kid who got in over his head, rather than any less charitable interpretation. I do believe she genuinely is as against blood magic as she publicly expresses and as the Circle party line demands, but as a private person she clearly has a more nuanced and potentially kinder understanding of the reasons why someone might resort to it, at the very least.

(related: when she says that part about Irving telling her what happened, there's no dialogue option in the first stage of the conversation (except choosing the 'leaving the conversation' one) that doesn't net you +2 approval! no matter how the warden feels about it, she is ready to recieve it. I think that says something sweet about how Wynne conceptualizes younger mages and the honest real affection she has for them. if you didn't snitch on jowan and say you stand by that decision, though? +3 approval, apparently! what Wynne says and what Wynne thinks is not always the same thing indeed, her idea of where personal loyalty and integrity stands vis-a-vis a mage's responsibility to the circle may be more flexible than she'd have people believe, you'll be surprised to learn lol)

I have always liked wynne and found her interesting, in all her hypocrisies and her earnest care, but with slightly older eyes she's extra fascinating to me in the same ways that Iron Bull is -- seeing someone whose mind has had hollows carved out in it by the need for double-think and compartmentalization imposed by the oppressive systems and ideologies they live under, and the quiet fight of the self to still preserve vital parts of itself that the system deems unacceptable in the hidden backstage areas of the soul, as it were. (and for both of them part of that self is love and protectiveness of specific other people, beyond what their 'role' dictates is acceptable for them.) I think Wynne has managed to sneak more of her internal self through the meatgrinder relatively intact than Bull overall, but it's the same logic underlying it, for me, and it makes me feel such intense affection and compassion for them both to see how hard they try

[soapyakships]

So uhhuh mizu5 trailer how are we feeling chat (I'm ripping my walls)

hrmm going insane maybe

[spacedlexi]

the way the ericson group were at the outbreak just a bunch of troubled kids who made various mistakes or committed crimes and were judged by a system that punished and abandoned them instead of giving them the support and love they needed, are then nearly a decade later put into a situation where now they must judge a troubled child for the mistakes and crimes hes committed against them. and 5 to 3 vote them out 😭

[incesthemes]

as i've rewatched seasons 1 and 2 of supernatural i've been pondering and hypothesizing reasons why john was so adamant on not letting sam know about his destiny. why he was so intent on keeping this secret, why he didn't want sam knowing about monsters, why his role in their hunts appeared to be research-oriented and thus away from the action. my perspective on ignorance and censorship is that it enables further harm, so if john were going to effectively protect sam, it would stand to reason that sam should have a comprehensive understanding of his destiny and what he's up against: give him the tools to fight.

this is obviously not the route john went, so then i have to question why that is—what about censorship was so appealing to him that he thought it not only the best way to keep sam safe, but perhaps even the only way to keep him safe, based on how he begged even dean to keep sam's fate a secret from him in his final words?

so i got to thinking. namely, about the fact that azazel wants sam to be hunting: he killed jessica with the intent to drag him back into the life, which implies that if sam is hunting, he is going down the path azazel wants him to go—he's following his destiny. this aligns with the everpresent theme throughout season 1 that hunting is a monstrous lifestyle, that hunting turns people into monsters. if sam is destined to become a monster, then hunting is the most sure-fire way to get him there.

if azazel wants sam to hunt, then john would need to take the logical opposition and keep sam out of hunting—so, he wouldn't tell sam about monsters until he has to, he'd give sam more passive roles once sam is participating in hunts, he'd train sam in self-defense but not explain why. and importantly, he wouldn't talk about mary, who is the root cause of this lifestyle, the impetus for their revenge quest, more than he has to. if the goal is to keep sam as far away from hunting as possible, and if john is someone who thinks ignorance keeps someone safe, then this more or less explains most of how sam was raised: on the fringes of the family, excluded and sheltered.

but weirdly enough, it wasn't until i was reading east of eden the other night that i finally understood the perspective being presented: late in the novel, the character lee says "when the first innocence is gone, you can't stop."

it made me remember that sam picks. he is a character who wants to understand the world around him and his place in it. if something is bothering him, he turns it over in his head until it consumes him. dean places doubt in sam's head in 2x10 and it obliterates him by 2x11. he's convinced he's going to become some horrible monster because he never stops thinking and trying to figure things out. when his memory is wiped in 4x17 and normal guy sam wesson finds out his coworker is the guy from his weird dreams, he pursues him relentlessly until they're back hunting. when he discovers the wall death put in his mind to keep his hell trauma out in season 6, he pushes and can't stop until it starts crumbling around him. he's intelligent and clever and he wants to know everything. and when he doesn't know, he picks.

and the only way to stop a person like that from picking is to not let them know that there's something to pick at in the first place. that's what the quote from east of eden means: once you catch wind of something, you want to pursue it until you're satisfied. curiosity kills the cat.

and what john is up against is fate itself. something that isn't supposed to be messed with, something that's supposed to be unavoidable. so trying to thwart it is tricky business. he has to be careful.

i think working under that logic his response makes sense, even if it wound up being a self-fulfilling prophecy anyway—sam was always going to find out, and sam was always going to pick. there was nothing john could do in the end to stop it, and trying to keep sam ignorant only made him that much more desperate to know. but that's the great tragedy of it all: john was given an impossible choice, and he's a deeply flawed character. he did what he thought was best, and it only made things worse.

i like this interpretation because it ties all of john's choices together really well; it explains a lot about his character and gives a nuanced and rather reasonable explanation for why he did what he did: a dad who wants the best for his kid does what he believes will set him up on the path to success. when the first innocence is gone, you can't stop—so john does his damnedest to keep sam innocent, even to his dying breath.

the problem comes down to that someone's damnedest isn't always good enough, and that sometimes someone's damnedest ends up benefiting the enemy instead.

[mintygreencake]

When you at an instigating contest but Derek's ass is already there

[ladystoneboobs]

"So long as Theon Greyjoy sits in your father's seat with your brothers' blood on his hands, these other foes must wait," Catelyn told her son. "Your first duty is to defend your own people, win back Winterfell, and hang Theon in a crow's cage to die slowly. Or else put off that crown for good, Robb, for men will know that you are no true king at all." From the way Robb looked at her, she could tell that it had been a long while since anyone had dared speak to him so bluntly. -Catelyn II, aSoS

no, but the way that even in asos post-jaime release, catelyn's still the only one who can speak to robb so bluntly, with no pushback from him here (only a hint of defensiveness, but no assertion of kingly authority), but only bc she's urging him onto violent vengeance befitting a warrior king. the detoriation of their relationship had a lot to do with him being crowned and the reverse in power dynamics, but there was also a shift in messaging from catelyn. when they first reunited after ned's arrest, she wasn't happy about him leading the army but agreed it was too late to turn back, and furthermore, more importantly agreed that they had to go to war regardless as the only way to save their family, bluntly telling him victory on the field was the only way to do that and that if he lost they'd all die. afterwards, once ned was beyond rescue, she changed her tune to talk of peace to save her daughters. being a woman is not too much a dealbreaker in itself for robb or most of his vassals (see mormont women fighting in all robb's battles) but acting too soft, too much like a worried mother, and later treating the king himself as still a child to be protected, that's just going too far. a warzone is no place for a woman who can't fight and worse, can't even be gung-ho enough to support all her son's violence while worrying about the danger he's in and the plight of her other children.

"kings aren't supposed to have mothers" is a sword that cuts both ways against mother and royal teen son. a boy who comes into power at 15 is only a year away from westerosi coming of age, "almost a man grown", and so must prove his manhood accordingly from the start. a boy of that age should become a man upon his father's death, so a surviving parent still treating him as their child is surplus to requirements. more convenient if she could be politically dead too, fading into the background and not asserting herself too much as a mother to the teen ruler. by the standards of their society, not only is he ranked above her once coming into power but it's his job to protect her as manly head of the family, certainly not the other way around. by the time of asos, robb is officially a man grown at 16, but has also made his own softhearted mistakes. first, by releasing his buddy theon no strings attached (a choice i doubt those lords who fought against balon's first rebellion liked any more than catelyn did), and then, compounding the original theon-related mistake, marrying jeyne westerling at the cost of his military cause after falling into her bed in his grief over theon's alleged murders of bran and rickon. he can publicly pardon his mother's release of jaime as a magnanimous king understanding a mother's womanly softness, but has all the more reason to assert his own manly strength once again. that prick lord karstark was the only one actually expecting the king to punish his own mother for treason, but most of the other lords, like the greatjon umber, could only forgive her in a patronizing way. "It was a mother's folly. Women are made that way." surely, they'd all think she had just proved they were right to dismiss her talk of peace before the greatjon made robb king, and surely they'd believe she'd fully proven she was not fit to be a trusted adviser after ned's death. what kind of weak mama's boy would still listen to a hysterical, grieving mother who cared more about her children's safety than winning the war? after making his own unwise choices driven by love, robb could not be contaminated by catelyn's. the king who lost the north had to lose his mother at his side too to compensate. kill the always respectful son looking to his mother for answers to let the king be born, or something.

[19871997]

.

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

man that falin realized just before she died the first time that she was willing for other people to get killed if it meant marcille and laios would live and that gave her the will to teleport them out knowing it could kill other innocent people. And then she revives without the memory of it and no one will tell her what she did and she has to learn all over again that to live is to take so she can finally stop being dragged along w other people and do what shes always wanted to do

[liedownquisition]

I'm so tired.

Bonus meme under cut:

This is both for him in general (or at least the fanon version dominating fics) and extra for him as Robin specifically tbh. Let him grow up and find an identity outside of being Bruce's emotional support child. It's not like it's actually helping anymore anyways.

[lapetitepersonne]

*head in my hands* Kelvin said to his face that the rocking chair was stupid just to hurt him (because he was hurt) when Keefe probably spent hours on it and did it all for him and even put his NAME on it even though in the precedent scene at the carpentry Kelvin told him all about how Taryn perfectly replaced him and was so looooved by everyone and no one missed Keefe (BITCH YOU MISS KEEFE AND EVERYBODY KNOWS IT EXCEPT KEEFE WHICH IS THE PROBLEM) and this basically just confirmed to Keefe that he isn't needed but he still loves Kelvin so much and he was just desperate to show him what he could still do for him as a carpenter (because he failed him as an assistant youth pastor) and made him a fucking rocking chair and Kelvin said it was STUPID

[no1ryomafan]

tomorrow I’m going to see my irl friend even if I have other shit to do I mentally need to go see my friends and sometimes the self care matters first-I should do more shit today tho-and we are likely going to watch kikaider and binge it which will be my second proper viewing of it but I still don’t fucking know if we’re just gonna spend 4 hours on it or put it on 2x speed and finish it in less time-

Cause this is my fucking friend who watched ALL of big o and casshern sins in two separate days and that’s only cause they put it on 2x speed 💀

[fremulon]

i am missing the gene that lets me get upset about things that happen to fictional characters I think

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

I like scout in a sexy way but i think he’s a top and that completely ruins 90% of fan content for me. why do the people love bottom scout and only bottom scout and what am I supposed to do as the only top scout truther in the entire world

TRUEEEE I don't like Scout in a sexy way but I'm also kind of a huge top Scout truther or at least a "if he bottomed he'd be super Fucking annoying about it" Scout truther. A real answer as to why people love bottom Scout is that there is a pervasive conflation of body type with gender presentation with sexual role (both In Fandom(tm) and just like. in real life) that regulates all comparatively "small" people to bottoming and all comparatively "large" people to topping (therefore, for example, Heavy always tops Medic, but Medic will often top Spy). For the record I think it's like, fine if you make Scout bottom, have fun do what you want, but I do think the reason it's so common isn't because of anything abt Scout's personality but because people still to this day see a skinny man and decide he Needs to bottom by definition.