#like obviously I have my endgame ideas for them

[dirtytransmasc]

MarkRex fandom, how are we feeling about the pilot?

[the-river-rix]

Hodgins x Zach is growing on me tbh

[gxlden-angels]

the only person who was actually right about the world and human nature was Max striner everyone else is a fucking moron

Striner? I hardly know 'er!

Anyways, I'm not a philosophy expert. I'm just some guy. I like the egoist belief that there isn't a universal moral truth. I like the absurdist belief that, because nothing matters, we should be radically sincere. I like the christian belief in a place without suffering after this life. I like the Universal Random Number Generator idea my therapist and I talk about

All of them have their flaws though. Egoism gets used to condemn social movements and civil rights advocacy. Absurdism and the RNG can create a sense of existential dread and a loss of motivation. Christianity encourages the loss of identity and free will

I'm just some psych student with a weird ass therapist that understands my weird ass brain. He encouraged me to look into absurdism since I took a class on absurdist literature my freshman year of college and he said I might enjoy looking into the actual philosophy. And I do! At least a lot of it! I like the idea of a chaotic universe and us humans trying our best to control it. I like the idea of letting that go and living authentically instead of with a direct purpose. There's chaos and mayhem and entropy and I'm just here to react to it. And I can react in ways that makes others happier if I wanted just because I can

Egoism/egotism feels too disconnected from the human need to connect to me. It traps me into that feeling that doing something good for someone is selfish if you're doing it to feel good. I'm actively working to get out of that spiral Christianity put me in now

I don't know, though, anon. I'm just some college student with an ex-christian tumblr blog and a lot of trauma. I like to believe there's some Universe-sized Abstract Computer with a random number generator that causes the chaos we call home. I skim wiki pages and reddit posts and decided if I want to engage any further/look for textbooks. I could possibly be looking at the wrong page about the wrong philosophy. I'm honestly just on this earthly plane for the bit

[thydungeongal]

I've made passing reference to my idea of "the best dungeon game I can imagine" and it's not like a coherent game concept but more like a grab-bag of ideas from other games/hacks/articles that, to me, would result in the ideal dungeon-crawling game

Exploration procedures in the style of Break!! and Errant. While calculating feet can sometimes be fun sometimes you can sacrifice a bit of granularity to give players discrete high-level choices. Exploration that is room-by-room, turn-by-turn sacrifices a bit of resolution but makes for easier top-down decision-making.

The overloaded encounter die can help reduce some of the mental overhead of resource-tracking. When it comes to resource-tracking there's an issue I haven't found a satisfactory solution to elsewhere: there's very little incentive for players to keep track of character resources in a system that mostly does depletion, which means that keeping track of when players need to count down character resources will often fall on the GM. Making the loss of resources part of the grind and making it a clear result of a mechanism outside of the GM and players' control simplifies it.

Speaking of abstracting some things to make them easier to keep track of on a top-down level, I think a Break!!/Old School Hack style system of measuring distance in areas can actually meaningfully allow for "theater of the mind" play while still allowing for informed tactical play.

Look I think d20+modifiers where you want to roll high is good, the feeling of rolling a natural 20 is unparalleled imo.

I feel keeping track of experience points is important in the context of a dungeon game because that type of gameplay benefits from objective goals that players can pursue for rewards. Most importantly, I think exploration in and of itself should be encouraged, so a system similar to the one used in Neoclassical Geek Revival where each new room explored grants cumulatively more experience points would be interesting to utilize.

The combination of an inherent incentive for the act of exploring in and of itself AND making the resource grind random actually has an interesting effect: while players can manage risk by making informed calculations like "okay with 1 ration per character our party should be able to explore for six turns on average which means that if nothing goes wrong we can expect six rooms' worth of experience points this trek" but they can't count on it. Managing risk is still the name of the game.

Idk I kinda like Break!! style character creation. As much fun as random character creation is I kind of ultimately prefer the flowchart where players can make informed choices about their character.

One issue I have with the traditional D&D endgame of domain management is that it often feels completely separate from the dungeon gameplay. I think it's great to have something to look forward to at higher levels besides more dungeoning in deeper dungeons, but as such I would like to make the domain management part of the gameplay from level 1. Maybe the characters need to go into dungeons to get resources to upgrade their base? Something like that.

Anyway this is like. Really high-level and barely even touches on what the potential character options would be and how the game would distinguish itself from other dungeon crawling games beyond obviously having the best list of hand-picked mechanics and systems all in one. And I haven't really thought about the interaction between all these systems at all. But anyway a girl can dream

[literaryavenger]

Careless

Summary: Part 2 of Thoughtful.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avengers!Reader

Warnings: My poor attempts at being funny. No use of Y/N. Fluff. Angst. Tony being kind of an asshole. Bucky's self-deprecating thoughts. Reader being clueless.

Word Count: 1K

A/N: I keep having no idea what this is, I have no endgame but I hope you enjoy!

Masterlist | Part 1

Stark parties are a hassle. Tony always insists on the team dressing up, cocktail dresses, tuxedos and all that.

So that’s why you’re all dolled up right now, a black sparkly floor-length gown that highlights your curves perfectly with a slit that goes up your left thigh with black stilettos, your hair curled perfectly and your make-up on point thanks to Natasha and Wanda, gold hoop earrings finishing the ensemble.

The only thing that looks like it doesn’t belong on your right now are Bucky’s dog tags hanging from your neck.

Things with Bucky have been going relatively good, you’re not really dating but neither of you let a moment pass without trying to flirt with each other. You enjoy the attention he only gives you and he enjoys making you flustered.

You’ve even managed to make him blush himself a few times.

You haven’t taken his dog tags off since that morning Bucky put them on you, and that’s not gone unnoticed by the team who have had a field day teasing you about it. Just never enough to bother you and make you want to take them off.

Until now.

“Come on, they look so out of place!” Tony says while chuckling as you roll your eyes, drink in hand while you stand in the middle of the party while talking with Tony, Scott and Maria.

“Leave her alone, Stark.” Maria comes to your defense and you give her a grateful smile. All the girls think it’s adorable that you wear Bucky’s tags.

“He’s not wrong, though.” Scott chimes in. “That’s a beautiful get up, but the tags stand out, and not in a good way.”

Anyone else, you’d be creeped out, but you know Scott is in a happy relationship with Hope and he doesn’t mean anything by it. He’s more of a girlfriend at this point.

“I don’t care.” You say simply, sipping your drink. “I like them, and I’m not taking them off.”

“You haven’t taken them off in weeks.” Tony points out, a dangerous smirk starting to grow on his face. “Could it have anything to do with the particular soldier that gave them to you?”

You roll your eyes, knowing where Tony’s going with this because he’s gone there countless times now.

“It has nothing to do with Bucky, I just like them.” You say causally.

“You like him.” Tony says childishly while the other two snicker at your groan. “Maybe you even love him.”

You scoff and almost glare at Tony. “I don’t love him.”

“Then prove it.” Tony says without missing a beat. Obviously he has you exactly where he wants you. “Take them off.”

“What would that even prove?” You roll your eyes again.

“Prove to me that they don’t mean as much to you as I think they do. Take them off.” He keeps grinning at you, challenging you.

“You’re a child.” You say simply, having no intention to accept this silly challenge.

“Yes, I am.” He says and all four of you chuckle, before Tony takes it one step further. “Take them off for a week and I’ll give you ten thousand dollars.”

You give him an unimpressed look. It’s not a surprise, Tony’s known to do this kind of thing all the time. He once bet Sam twenty thousand dollars if he went streaking for at least 4 blocks around the tower.

His ‘falcon’ was on the paper the next day.

“Come on, if you’re so sure I’m wrong, why not make some money off my arrogance.” Tony says with a smirk when you narrow your eyes at him, he knows you’re considering it.

“Fine.” You say after a pause. You hesitantly take the tags off and put them on Tony’s outstretched hand. It’s only a week and it doesn’t mean anything, you tell yourself.

Unbeknownst to you, Bucky saw the whole thing from a distance. And it meant plenty to him.

He couldn’t hear what you were saying even with his enhanced hearing because you were far away and the party noise was almost deafening, but Bucky saw you clearly as you took off his tags and gave them to Tony.

To Tony.

Did they not mean as much to you as they did to him? Was this whole thing just a joke to you? Was he making a fool out of himself thinking you liked him as much as he liked you? Maybe you just liked the attention. Maybe you were fucking with him, having fun at his expense because he convinced himself you like him, because how could he even think someone like you actually likes him? Maybe you’ve been laughing behind his back while he’s been falling for yo-

“Hey, Sergeant Grumpy.” His thoughts are interrupted by your playful voice that just a minute ago was the single greatest sound that he wanted as the soundtrack of his existence for the rest of his life.

But right now, it’s making his nostrils flare with barely contained anger while he almost glares at you.

You think nothing of it, convincing yourself that maybe the party is making him anxious like it usually does. After all, Bucky doesn’t do good with strangers.

Or maybe Sam has been getting on his nerves more than usual tonight. Whatever it is, you want to make him feel better.

So you wrap your hand around the tie of his suit and pull him towards you a little, copying the move he’s now done countless times with his dog tags around your neck.

“You wanna hear something funny?” You ask playfully, wanting to tell him about the bet you just made with Tony and thinking Bucky will get a kick out of it and it’ll take his mind off of whatever has him in a bad mood.

But you get no chance to say anything more since he takes your hand away from his tie.

“Leave me alone.” He says with a harsh tone you’ve never heard him use towards anyone, let alone you. “Forever.”

That said, he walks off and out of the room in the direction of his quarters without giving you a second glance, leaving you to look after him, too dumbfounded as your mind tries to play catch-up.

What the hell just happened?

Requested Taglist: @marvelcasey05 @ordelixx @alltoounwellread @capswife @sapphirebarnes @rio-reid-whoreee @theunknownmarveluser @alltoowellread @a-very-fictional-girl @geeky-politics-46 @winters1917 @yujyujj @blackhawkfanatic @hot-cheeto5739 @shortnloud @disneychic8 @unaxv @ziyahs-world

[thefandombringer]

Season 3 Milkvan is not nearly as cute as I remembered it being 4 years ago

So I’m rewatching s3 for the first time in a hot minute because I remembered that being the most milkvan heavy season but what I’ve realized in this rewatch is that there is not a single scene between Mike and El where Mike does not have to put up some sort of facade. We see a lot of Mike’s genuine character in the first two seasons, especially when he is happy (playing D&D with the party, spending time with his friends and Will) so we as an audience can tell that all the times where Mike appears happy in season 3—especially in scenes with El—are NOT Mike’s genuine personality.

Im not sure quite how to explain it, but the main scenes that come to mind are the opening scene with them making out in El’s bedroom, Mike’s phone call to El when he lies about his Nana, and the scene in the pool with that human dummy thing. Two of these are scenes where Mike is supposedly happy and joking around with El, but they have a very superficial vibe to them—which will be the first . I’m pretty sure that anyone can clock those moments if they watch those on their own but, as someone that does a lot of acting, mannerism and vocal inflection shifts are key when playing different characters. The way Mike holds himself and delivers his lines do not feel like the same Mike that we grew to know and love in the earlier seasons and, since Finn is obviously not a terrible actor (he is, in fact, quite a good actor), we as the audience are meant to realize that Mike is not being his true self or, in other words, playing another character. He can’t be his genuine self around El (which is also demonstrated very very clearly in season 4 but this shows that these issues did not come out of nowhere), which heavily contrasts the other significant relationships in the show, especially throughout season 3 (Jancy, Jopper, Lumax) who are their authentic selves with each other and are able to bicker and match each other’s energies while still very clearly loving each other. Milkvan is not like them, and not in a good way.

The second portion of this (and why I mentioned the phone call scene) is the fact that Mike talks to her like he has to dumb himself down/like she is much younger and unable to understand how he would talk to her normally. I really don’t has a way to describe this other than just recommending that you watch those scenes again to see what I mean. It’s obvious that he cares about her and really does enjoy talking to her, but in a way that I would talk to my younger siblings/cousins. Is this how a healthy relationship should seem? I certainly hope not. This is doubled by the fact where in that one interview (I have no idea where to find it so if someone has it please link it!!) Finn says that when he first met El, it was like taking in an alien like in ET. Again, not very romantic. It is also explicitly shown that this is not how everyone talks to El, so it’s not like she can’t understand the standard level of conversation. Such a big emphasis on El and Max’s friendship and the fact that Max treats El as an equal and helps her find her own personality instead of babying El and keeping her sheltered and controlled. She can be treated like a regular person and is so much better for it. She’s not you pet, Michael.

Notice how both of these major problems are never found between Mike and Will. All of their conversations and interactions within the show are 100% genuine and authentic and never feel superficial or forced. Their relationship is also taken much more seriously throughout the whole show when contrasted to Milkvan, but that’s a whole separate post. Mike and Will’s fights are serious and real, while Mike and El’s (with the exception of the “From Mike” fight, which is pretty telling) are comedic and surface level and played for laughs.

BYLER ENDGAME BYLER ENDGAME

[nikjima]

Bit of a question, if you're open to it. You discovered the Wedding Chapel. What do you guess it was supposed to be used for?

The Chaphael, my font of madness. 😔

Thanks for the ask! It's hard to guess, really, but going over what I know about it:

It has the CTY prefix, not the BGO or GLO prefixes, which is what the rest of the HoH has, so I don't believe it was part of the House of Hope.

Only a small part of it is actually walkable, and parts of the wall are not 'solid', and can be walked through, so from my experience of other scene behaviours It was most likely intended for a cutscene.

The background sound when in the area is also one of the default dungeon environment sounds, not Raphael's theme or any music from the HoH.

It is very incomplete, there are gaps between the wall pieces, the floor is uneven, there are almost no 'triggers' in place, such as those for cameras or lighting, and it's very sparsely decorated, so whatever it was for seems to have been abandoned early, though there is evidence in the game files that suggest it was looked at as late on in development as patch 5.

My delulu theory is, of course, that it was made specifically for the player character to marry Raphael in, after giving him the crown and him making them his consort. I want it to be that so very badly it hurts.

What I think it's more likely to be is either:

a - a spot in the city we could visit to trade with Raphael for rare items using soul coins, as we've been told in the past that Raphael was at one point going to be a trader who we could barter with using soul coins. (as an aside, there's some info in the game files that indicates Raphael would have been able to assist us as a summoned ally, there's a spell named "Diabolical Ally" with the text "Summon the crafty devil Raphael to fight alongside you." The spell summon data contains the UUID for a character that doesn't exist, sadly, so I have no way of knowing what form he would have taken. It isn't set up the way the endgame allies for the final battles are, so maybe it'd have been attached to something you could barter from him? 'Use this ring to call upon my aid once per day' kinda deal. Fun idea) This one is unlikely if it really is a cutscene area, of course, though it could have been a case of 'enter building, cutscene begins, complete trade in cutscene, exit'.

b - a scene where we'd see some kind of cult of Raphael scenario going on, post-epilogue. (Archdevils have cults after all, so surely the Archdevil Supreme would have a real fancy one). Perhaps he chose to desecrate a wedding chapel for his cult base because doing such a thing amused him, all the pomp and ceremony of weddings would obviously appeal to him, and corrupting the location a religious ceremony would be held would be extra delicious. Maybe Hope really liked weddings so it was an extra little 'fuck you' to the cleric who denied him, too. There's an unfinished 'Raphael Punished' area, presumably where we'd witness Mephistopheles eating him, so why not have a counter version for those of us who side with him where we see the fruits of his labour?

c - Raphael actually does take the player character as his consort, binding them to him for eternity as a sort of trophy (I rule the hells and have the Hero of Faerun who slew the Absolute in my retinue, in your face dad, your dragon ain't shit), and being the ostentatious so-and-so he is, decided to have a full ceremony to announce it. It probably lasted 9 days and involved 666 different poems about how great he is. He wrote the vows, and once the player character recites all those infernal words it means they're his possession entirely.

Okay, that last one was veering wildly back into the delulu realm. Let me dream. 🥺

Thank you again for the ask, people rarely ask my thoughts on things, it was fun to go back over the Chapel again. I only spent like 4 hours poring over it this time, not 2 days. Improvement! 🙌

To have and to mould into whatever my heart desires. In your sickness and my health. Not even death shall part us, Little Mouse.

[latteenightss]

Okay so I just finished obx season 4 and I need to give my honest opinions

So let me just start off, the ending? Awful I’m so disappointed. JJ’s death was such a stupid decision, I get that it was probably more Rudy’s choice than the writers because we know Rudy wanted to leave but.. I’m genuinely so disappointed.

JJ was a beloved character, there are so many people that watched obx FOR JJ. FOR JIARA. Obx in general was peoples comfort show, JJ was a comfort character. He brought the comedy but also angst and Jiara??? EVEYONE knows Jiara is the most loved couple, PEOPLE watch this show because of them…

They should not have killed him at all but specially not in this way. In season 3 we see JJ start finally opening up, he tells Kiara he loves her and we get some development that just made sense yk, but then in season 4 they throw all of it away.. JJ finds out his dad isn’t his biological father which don’t get me wrong- I don’t think that was a bad plot but they made JJ do all this stupid shit and then they have his father stab him to death?? Like what

JJ is such a big character and that’s all you can do??? We had no development, his death felt so forced and didn’t give him any justice.

I also wanna get back to Jiara, like I said they are THE couple of obx, but we literally got almost nothing of them.. it’s so ridiculous. Not a single kiss in part 2.. nothing, we got some cute monologues but that’s all and that is far from enough.

I’m just so disappointed. This was not the ending JJ or Jiara deserved. I also don’t wanna say anything bad about Rudy- love him but if it really was his decision (it probably was, I just don’t know for 100%) then that’s really sad. The drama behind scenes should NOT affect the show.

Obx was literally supposed to have 6 seasons- that was the original plan. 3 seasons of the gold and 3 of whatever this is now. I think why they changed it to 5 is because of Rudy leaving..

And yes I’d love to think JJ is coming back but we saw him get buried and the directors unfollowed Rudy.. as heartbreaking as it is he’s probably not coming back. This is the end of JJ’s story.

When season 4 part 1 came out I honestly thought it was amazing, better than season 3 but they really ruined it with the ending. That’s how I’m gonna end it.

When it comes to season 5, I think it’s going to be Kiara’s season and I think we might get more scenes of Rafe and Kiara. Obviously Kie will want revenge, she might kind of go into this idgaf mode and just break, maybe they’ll even kill her of in the finale? Like girlie was with the whole group, her and JJ were supposed to be endgame. I honestly have no idea what they can do with her now other than that..

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every Day Until Season 5

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ Day 7: The soundtrack . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Here is a little one for you today since I'm a little tired and busy today, but I'm still keeping my promise for you guys DGAHSGDJ hopefully I can keep this up yknow <33

One of the things that I think that writers just can't explain to me if byler isn't endgame is the fact that some of these soundtrack choices cannot be coincidences. If byler isn't endgame then I will have to really really question why the two soundtracks in season 4 titled 'Being Different' and 'You're the Heart' are perfectly lined up!!!!!

Here is a youtube video with the lining up of the audios after putting the two tracks together: X

Being Different is the track that plays during the van scene. It has the motif and the chord progression of the famous ones in 'The First I love You' and 'The First Lie'. However, it is very much incomplete. In my opinion, this soundtrack piece correlates to the one titled 'The First Lie' because it is the very first lie that Will has told to Mike before, making it a very impactful moment.

You're the Heart is the track that plays when Will encourages Mike to say I love you to El, which he then does, and it plays while he's monologuing. This one is also incomplete. This soundtrack piece may correlation to the one titled 'The First I love you', obviously because it is the first time he's really said I love you to her, but this is not genuine love because the L in the the 'love' in the title of that song is not capitalised.

So when you put them together and they are linked, make a complete song rather than utter rubbish, this tells me all I need to know.

'You're the Heart' cannot be complete without 'Being Different.'

Mike's monologue speech cannot be complete without Will's speech to him in the van.

Going through this much effort to make these two songs match up so perfectly with each other is not coincidental. If it symbolises something like this, why would this then end in having Mike and El end up together without anything changing due to the Painting and its impact?

It maybe shows what we already know even more: that Mike could never have made his speech without Will's words. He could never have felt like he loved El without those words. But they weren't El's words, so Mike only loves the idea of her. The idea that in reality is Will.

[saintsenara]

Thoughts on remadora?

thank you very much for the asks, anons!

while they are by no means my otp, i really enjoy remadora as pairing - and i think they’re fully up there among the canon couples in terms of being an amazing vehicle through which to explore all sorts of questions about life and love - which i am aware is a sufficiently controversial statement that it involves an immediate engagement with some discourse…

because remadora girlies [gender neutral] get an enormous amount of shit within the fandom, particularly from fans who consider wolfstar to be a more plausible pairing for lupin than tonks. i have seen remadora shippers called homophobes for simply enjoying the couple, justified with the bizarre idea that it disrespects remus' relationship with sirius [so... the non-canon one?] to put them together. i have seen tonks turned into a pathetic shrew who is trying to keep remus from the real love of his life by trapping him with an unwanted baby. i have seen remadora shippers get a lot of the usual stuff that people who prefer the canon-endgame couples do [that to ship a canon pair is boring, that it is indicative of a lack of talent, that it indicates an uncritical support for jkr] magnified to eleven because tonks has the temerity to be a barrier to remus’ relationship with the fandom’s favourite hot and brooding man.

obviously, this is bullshit - primarily because its unreasonable and cruel to invest so much time and energy being mean to people because of their harry potter shipping preferences [fandom should never be that deep].

but it’s also a disappointment to me personally because it means that it can be very hard to find the sort of remadora i like without looking like i’m coming to contribute to the pile-on. because where many remadora fans and i don’t see eye-to-eye is that i have absolutely no interest in thinking about them as a relationship which is actually functional. and, all too often, i find myself sifting through fics which do prefer to interpret them like this - as romantic and passionate and stable - largely, i think it’s fair to say, as a defensive move against the tide of “urgh, imagine shipping that” nonsense - even though all the evidence of canon is that they are… very much not.

i am aware of the pottermore article which smoothes the edges of lupin’s canonical reaction to tonks’ feelings for him in half-blood prince - but, while i read this as something of a retcon to make the relationship more palatable, i also don’t think that assuming that both tonks and lupin’s attraction to each other was sincere precludes them being as dysfunctional as they canonically are. i don’t go in for the common anti-remadora argument that tonks “forces” him into a relationship with her - it’s clear in half-blood prince that it’s not only her who has discussed her feelings with molly and arthur weasley, lupin is definitely flirting with her when they pick harry up in order of the phoenix, lupin is an adult man [no matter other power imbalances between him and tonks - such as the fact that she is an agent of the state which oppresses him] who possesses the capacity to refuse her advances, and - since teddy’s conception is not immaculate - he has no issue with enjoying a sexual relationship with her even if he then wants to run away from the product of that.

instead, what i like with remadora is that they reveal something which goes against the grain of the rest of the series: that love is not always enough. throughout the seven-book canon, we see time and time again the idea that love - and, crucially, love-as-noble-suffering and love-as-sacrifice - is enough to overcome any problem. entire civil service collaborating with a terrorist regime? don’t trouble yourself, love has won. your mother dying in childbirth leaving you to be neglected in a state institution? your own fault you’re not interested in love.

i understand the genre reasons for this, but i also love the way in which lupin especially exists on the margins of these genre conventions [just as he exists on the margins of wizarding society!]. i’m always struck in deathly hallows that he’s the only person who’s actually realistic about the demands of war - particularly when he tells harry that it is breathtakingly naive for him to think he can get through the fighting without having to shoot to kill - and that part of him having to be shuffled out of the way when harry tells him to return to the pregnant tonks is because, were the story focused on realism, the idea of a wanted man who is considered an unhuman by the state fleeing in order to guarantee the safety of his wife and unborn child becomes eminently reasonable and harry's defense of the nuclear family embarrassingly unradical.

and so i like the idea of lupin seeing tonks - and tonks seeing lupin - initially as just a bit of fun, as the two of them being just two chill single people who think the other is hot and interesting and want to bang because of it.

[which is something fandoms in general really struggle with as a concept. we like epic love stories - and you won't find me objecting to that! - but we're less good at thinking about casual sexual attraction or transient friendships, and how these can be transformative and meaningful without having to end up going any sort of distance.]

and i then like the idea of the relationship being forced into a profundity it doesn’t really have the juice to sustain by the sheer avalanche of grief which besets the two of them - sirius, dumbledore, mad-eye, ted - and by the pressure of the war and the fact that the order is scrambling and the hangover of remus' self-destruction in half-blood prince which makes each cling to the other as a life-raft. i like remadora as something codependent and messy and strange and sad, and i don’t think this prevents it being sincere and fun and based in mutual attraction, but instead that these positive qualities can exist in conjunction with the fact that, without the war, it would have been a summer of fucking and that was probably it.

on tonks herself, i don’t think i can say it better than @evesaintyves in this meta on her character. i’ve been really uncomfortable with quite a lot of stuff i’ve seen recently which has taken against the idea that tonks can be meaningfully read as queer on the basis of what we find in the text, above all because it so often comes with the implication that one cannot imagine her in her canon endgame pairing and presume that she’s something other than straight or cisgender. eve sets out an excellent case for tonks as bolshy and liberated and in tune with herself and fun and confused and in flux and still figuring stuff out about who she is and where she’s going - and this translates, may i say, to an astonishingly beautiful way of writing her, lupin, and the dysfunction inherent between them which i highly recommend you read.

[helluverse-rewrites]

I saw your rewrite for Stoliz and it got me thinking about them for my rewrite, actually helped me decide between a few ideas! First thing's first, in my rewrite Stolas isn't like... *vague gesturing to the show* that. He's closer to biblically accurate Stolas, a peaceful demon who rules over stars, gems, plants, and math (something that leads into Andrealphus later). He still has flaws of course, the power dynamic between the two is still a huge thing and will be treated with more importance, as will the whole cheating thing that comes in later. Second, the deal isn't about sex. At first at least Stolas isn't looking for sex, and obviously Blitz, who at that point has literally just been caught mid-theft by this bird, is not looking for that either. What Stolas is looking for is knowledge, and maybe gaining a friend from the imp. He allows him to take the book if he comes back every full moon for the full day to be with him, talk and discuss with him. He knows their worlds couldn't be anymore different, and is curious what a life like that could possibly be like. Third, they are not endgame. At best they end up as friends, the first ones each have allowed themselves to make for years of their lives now. I don't know if I'll have Blitz end up with anyone, or a mix of Fizz and Striker, but that's unimportant to now. Now this might be where I lose you for a moment, but they would get together for a short while at some point, trying to do what they think they're supposed to do cause neither has had a friendship that was close that didn't lead to something like this, but quickly would find out that what they feel about each other isn't right for a relationship like that, sexual or just romantic. Stolas still looks down at Blitz even when he thinks he doesn't, he grows apathetic to the issues that pop up like he did in his marriage, blames Blitz for the issues that start pushing them apart, and it ends up with them not speaking, broken up, and Blitz scrambling to find a way to keep paying his employees as Stolas takes his book back. Stolas isn't the only one who messes up in the relationship of course, it'd be hypocritical to put all the blame on him when I critique the show for doing the same to Blitz. Blitz can't talk about things that get under his skin cause he doesn't want to shove Stolas away, but that ends in him yelling at him about things that seem so small in the end when his anger gets to him, he uses Stolas' money as he pleases for whatever random wants he has, and encourages him to drink with him despite knowing about his alcohol issues at this point. I'll try to cut this down a bit to not just be a mile long ramble- but that's the main points! Stolas would try to apologize- actually truly apologize by giving Blitz money and an Ausmodeus crystal so he wouldn't be forced to see him again if he didn't wish to. That's all I've got so far, gonna keep workin on it!

my actual reaction

This is so much better than whatever Viv tried to do with Stolass

Like... It's so easy to have Stolas take responsibility, it's extremely easy actually

[nothoughts-onlywomen]

proof that lumax is NOT bones

ok look, i know we’re all freaking out a bit right now (see here for context), but i feel i have tangible proof that lumax will have a satisfying ending come s5.

1. she was listening to his game

i don’t know if we fully acknowledge how meaningful this is. max doesn’t go to lucas’ game because there’s a big crowd and she’s very depressed. BUT she knew the game meant a lot to him. even earlier in the episode she was the one who explained the tournament to the boys. she doesn’t care for sports (except skateboarding obviously), but she cared for lucas enough to know what was going on. and she cared enough to listen to the game on the radio even after the fact.

2. her letters

tell me she didn’t write some sentimental shit to him in that letter. we have yet to see what was in it, but my guess is that whatever’s in it, max will get a chance to say some of those things aloud. like if she wrote “i love you” or something to that effect, it’ll show growth for her character to say it aloud to lucas. which brings me to…

3. the cemetery scene

the entire point of this scene was to show that lucas doesn’t only want the good parts of max. he wants ALL of her. even the sides of herself she views as ugly. and even as max is struggling to just TELL lucas how she feels, lucas is letting her know it’s okay. he just wants her to talk to him. all this is the crux of what i believe will be one aspect of max’s arc next season. learning to SAY how she feels. especially to lucas.

4. THIS moment

another reminder that LUCAS IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO MADE MAX SMILE OR LAUGH LAST SEASON. this is another aspect of the lumax arc that i think is important. lucas makes max FEEL things, which is why the whole thing terrifies her. one of max’s reckonings in s5 will be with her own feelings. and if she ends up permanently blind or disabled, those feelings might explode out.

5. “i see you now. i see you.”

apart from the cruel irony we’ll get if max ends up permanently blind, this again echoes the idea that lucas sees max for exactly who she is and loves her completely. even in her darkest moments.

6. rv scene

lucas is the impetus of max’s HAPPIEST MEMORY. i mean writers don’t do that shit on accident. her happiest memory is KISSING HIM. that won’t change overnight.

7. cute as shit notepads

they have mutually agreed to go on a date again. you think the duffers would leave us hanging on that? have they ever let us down before? mike told el in s1 they would go to the snowball, and they held onto that shit until the end of s2.

8. fuck vecna

here’s my prediction for the “going left” that caleb mentions. while i don’t think they’ll break up or not be together in the end, i do think that vecna will possess her and use it to physically attack lucas. like i get the feeling they’re going to pull a mockingjay on us. this scene foreshadows that. she’ll be clawing at him and he’ll just be holding her off looking devastated. cue waterworks

9. i don’t even want to talk about this scene

why would they have max die in lucas’ arms if we WEREN’T getting s5 lumax in some capacity? lucas’ trauma from that will have ripples in s5, leaving him vulnerable to vecna’s attacks. because he now has that something haunting him.

10. and finally…

ok COME ON. the duffers even posted a bts picture with this in it. combine that with the other bts we’ve gotten so far? i'm not worried.

max's arc in s5 will be about connection with her loved ones. namely, her finally being able to break through her own walls to tell them how she feels. and both her and lucas' arc in s4 will lead up to that eventual conclusion. which is why we're getting our damn endgame.

[elainsgirl]

I've seen many people saying that as casual readers they always thought Elriel was endgame and I'd like to add my own experience to this.

I read the books bc my best friend really liked them and we like the same things. I trusted her and went in blind, I just knew it was about a human girl being "kidnapped" by a fae and that my bsf's favorite character was a guy named Rhysand.

We were living together at the time, so we'd often talk about my thoughts while reading. I didn't interact with the fandom to avoid spoilers and I'd ask her if I wanted to see some fanarts of certain characters. But even while she was reading the books before I ever did, she would sometimes use metaphors to describe certain situation so that it wouldn't be a spoiler for me but she would still have someone to talk about it.

And one thing she said was that at a certain point there would be a sort of "love square" instead of a triangle and I was interested ngl. You don't see that every day. I kept that in mind as I read the series, but then I finished ACOSF (shipping elriel, read the BC) and I was really confused bc obviously three of the four people were Elain, Az, and Lucien but I couldn't figure out who was the fourth one. I asked her about it and she was like "oh it's Gwyn, some people ship her with Az, not sure why🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️" (but she doesn't particularly care about elriel or elain and az as characters bc we haven't seen enough of them yet and she's more of a casual reader)

Anyway, all this to say, even after being told about a "love square", I still didn't realize it was Gwyn because there wasn't enough to support it in the books (and this comes from someone who ships people easily). And I mean, there's nothing wrong with shipping Gwynriel, I'm not actually against it. I can see the potential there. But it's the claiming the ship is canon and endgame part that bothers me. Idk why they need it so badly. I ship everyone with everyone else, but it doesn't mean I expect it to be canon and to actually happen in the next book. And tbh? That's the fun part of it

Thanks for sharing your experience anon, ik a lot of people can relate with being confused by this “love square”. A love square can typically acts in 4 ways:

2 people love the same person yet that person loves someone else -> doesnt apply

you have two established couples & one person from each couple wants each other. Again doesnt apply

connection through unreciprocated love. Only applies very loosely to Lucien who wants Elain but she doesn’t want him back. If Gwyn canonically wanted Azriel but he ofc wants elain, it would have also applied to her but again, there is nothing in ACOSF to suggest Gwyn is crushing on Az and wants him romantically

3 people loving the same person - doesn’t apply.

the acotar love square doesn’t fit any of these dyanmics. Gwyn is forcefully being pushed into the established love triangle between Az/Lucien/Elain. Gwyn doesnt want anyone romantically and none of the characters want Gwyn. She’s just there. Her stans are trying to convince themselves gwynriel want each other or at least acosf showed some romantic interest from Gwyns side - but none of that is true. As you mentioned, there’s not a lot (literally nothing) to support it in the books. One thing about Mass, is before the couples’ book - she comfirms they are mutually attracted to each other.

I dont think many people have an issue with others shipping gwynriel: crack ships make up a lot of the fandom and its fun shipping two random characters together and exploring their dynamic/concept but you also have to understand that just bcs YOU like the idea of two characters together, it doesn’t mean they’re set up to be canon within the books. I think the annoying part is Gwynriels expecting everyone else to take their ship seriously and act as though its a ship thats in the same league as elucien/elriel, when its not. And to make their ship seem better, they have to disprove elriel and oftentimes it makes them look ridiculous bcs their arguements are flawed. They need gwynriel so badly as it solves two major “issues” for them. 1) Take Az away from Elain and she will have no choice but to eventually accept her mate and eluciens have convinced themselves this is the only way Lucien can be happy 2) They dont want Az to be with someone like elain, who they’ve deemed boring, useless, plain. They want him with a sassy, badass warrior-> which Gwyn is meant to be.

[randonwilmonfan]

I'd love to talk more about the locker room scene in S2 E2 of Young Royals, where Wilhelm tries to convince Simon to get back together with him, in the process (sadly) demonstrating that he believes his mother's feeble offer to "talk" about him possibly coming out when he's 18. This takes place after his almost-removal from Hillerska.

Plenty of people have already pointed out how Henry snitched on Wille and Felice’s kiss, but apparently didn’t choose to tell anyone (as far as we’re aware) about Wilhelm almost pleading with Simon to get back together with him during that post-almost-dragged-out-of-Hillerska conversation. And that's definitely an interesting thing to chew on. But there's more...

Here are a few other things that stand out to me too:

First -

I think it’s worth pointing out the obvious — Wilhelm clearly sees Simon in his future long-term (possibly for the rest of his life). The way he casually says to Simon “So, we’d only have to keep it a secret for 2 years” implies three things very clearly.

a) He immediately and easily sees himself together with Simon in 2 years and beyond. Actually, specifically, definitely beyond. Because his eye is on the prize: coming out and living openly with Simon *after* he turns 18 — implying his focus is entirely on the intended afterwards period. He doesn’t even blink at that idea; it’s obvious to him.

b) He also really doesn’t seem to think 2 years is a big deal. For a teenager who’s only lived 16 years on this planet (only approximately ~11-ish of them in a state where they’re forming conscious memories) to think 2 years is just a drop in the bucket is kind of wild. Even 6 months feels like forever to a kid. So Wilhelm — a child — viewing time from this perspective suggests he’s likely balancing 2 years out against a much longer expanse of time; hence why those 24 months would look so minuscule and shrug-worthy by comparison. In other words: he sees himself with Simon in the LONG long term. Two years is nothing if you’re imagining growing old with someone and spending the rest of your many decades on this Earth with them. (All of this is pretty much confirmed later on in S2, when Wilhelm offers to abdicate the throne for Simon.)

c) He also doesn’t seem to think Simon should be appalled by the idea of waiting for 2 years. Yes, sure, we can chalk part of that up to selfishness and lack of mentalization / empathy for Simon’s point of view. But I’m going to suggest it’s more than that. My takeaway is that he assumes Simon also sees them as endgame, and so naturally wouldn’t be bothered by waiting a bit longer in order to spend forever together. (Sadly the conversation does not play out that way for him; ouch. Though no shade to Simon: what he said in response was realistic and fair.)

Second -

I think we have to rewatch his interactions with Simon as Henry slams a door and slowly walks past them with a raised eyebrow. Because, in S1, that Wilhelm would have immediately jumped away from Simon to create distance and try to pretend there’s plausible deniability about what their relationship has been and could be again. That’s (one) part of the whole point of S1: Wilhelm is not ready to be brave enough to face a homophobic aristocratic world and take a bold stance to stand by Simon.

Instead, in S2 E2, he sits still. He stays right next to Simon. In fact, he *leaves his hand resting directly on Simon’s thigh.* And he knows someone is coming their way! He heard the door slam inside the locker room. Obviously he knows someone else is here. But he doesn’t jump. He actually doesn’t really stir much at all.

He sits there like it’s of no importance, and he doesn’t care who sees. Or, even, who overheard this very intimate, vulnerable, and pleading conversation. A conversation in which the future King of their country is almost on the verge of begging his ex to please be his again… not just for now, but for multiple years’ time. I mean we’re like 2 steps away from Wille practically offering Simon a “promise ring” (not sure if that concept holds up in Europe, but it’s basically a very pre-engagement type thing in the US; it’s not common though). (Their convo also makes it very clear Simon was the one who dumped him and that he’s having trouble accepting that and moving on.)

Yet he doesn’t seem perturbed or disturbed by Henry’s presence and overhearing and seeing them. He doesn’t seem embarrassed at all. He’s not ashamed of his love for Simon. Even more specifically, he’s not afraid of people (Henry) seeing him put his heart out on the line, and of them knowing that he wants Simon back - not for just a hook-up, but for a very long-term, serious, committed relationship. And he doesn’t make any moves to emotionally or physically distance himself from Simon, despite Henry’s clear witnessing of this private moment.

This is a subtle way to show that, even though Wille hasn't yet gone through his full S2 journey of self-awareness and self-growth, he has still already begun changing and growing after the end of S1. So he’s at least started to learn some of his lessons about what he needs to do differently.

Anyhoo, the whole point I’m trying to make is… gosh there were so many fascinating things happening in that scene. And they rush right past us in the blink of an eye! But there is so much meaning built into every small interaction and non-interaction there, and into every nonchalant assumption the characters casually voice.

I’m sure there’s more meaning and are more details I missed, too! What did you think? I’d love to learn more from others’ perspectives, too. :)

[dukeofdelirium]

re the El is a part of Will theory, I don't get how more people don't subscribe to it? Not only does it make so much sense - I literally cant unsee it now, esp. with all the media references ST makes - it pretty much guarantees Byler endgame (I mean we know Byler was gonna happen regardless if El was "real" or not, since Byler is the story). Seeing people get so angry over the theory, calling the Duffers shit writers over it, I don't get it... I know people like to project on El and see her as this sweet angel that must be protected but after seeing all the evidence I will be legit surprised if it doesn't turn out to be true

Yeah, I’m in the same boat. I’m curious how they will depict it all, obviously, and I have some ideas myself that may or may not happen (and I’m putting them in my WIP byler fic lol), but still. I would be surprised myself if El didn’t turn out to be a creation of Will’s.

There’s too much reference to alter egos, doppelgängers, someone’s personality being “split” in two, etc for it to be a coincidence. And that isn’t even including the media references that depict the same concept, most notably the neverending story, but there’s others too.

Here’s my theory: when Will was taken, he was originally going to be kidnapped and killed by Lonnie. However, Vecna, who was by this point basically living in Will’s mindscape (the upside down), knew this and appeared instead to basically take Will before Lonnie could. In a way, I guess you could say he saved him, for selfish reasons but still.

Anyway, Will encountering Vecna in the shed, is so terrified that he creates Eleven. He “splits”, and when he’s taken, she then appears in his place. She is strong enough to rescue him whereas he can’t save himself. So she “dies” at the end and he returns. So on and so forth.

Now I know her being created at this instant has holes because of the timeline. Some possible explanation is that if Will has the power to create, then why couldn’t her creation essentially ripple back through time, changing it so that she existed for longer, so that people have memory of her, etc? This could explain some of the time travel imagery and hints… imo, it won’t be conventional time travel. Or maybe the timeline is wrong. Idk lol, someone add to this if I’m making any sense 🤣 I think of it like a time loop

They will time travel somehow, through Will, or more specifically through memory, his memory? That’s my feeling on it. Or maybe the key is Mike.. he’s always late every season. Maybe he will be the time traveler in this scenario. Idk lol.

I could be way off on some of these thoughts, but regardless I do think he created Eleven and maybe they won’t depict it even somewhat how I picture, but the theory stands and I believe it 100%

[comfortlesshurt]

Skyler's 2025 January VLD Fic Recs

Boys, I did not read a lot this month, but I still have a couple recs under the cut! As always, sorted by least to most hits, so show the top ones some love ;_;

Letters to Lance by AsterikaMay: in progress! Klance! I usually won't touch a journal-format fic, but ughhhhh, Asterika is teaching me to let go of my prejudice against them. this isn't finished yet, but i got to read the first chapter this month and had a good time, can't wait to see the rest!

Fan the Flames by Nuri (SpicyIsopods): small oneshot! gen! makes me a little sad to see a fic from 2017 with so few hits... you're allowed to like longer, shippy content obviously but man... hurts my gen heart when these ones go ignored! quick little pre-canon, post-kerb keith angst that immediately gave me ideas for my own pre-canon longfic, so i owe it lots of love

starlight by AsterikaMay: Klance oneshot! little AU moment with some miscommunication. getting together fic. it is adorable

Common Denominator by SilenceIsGolden15: oneshot! Keith-focused gen fic! broganes, some emotional angst. do I really have to sell you on a SilenceIsGolden fic? they are THE gen keith author to me. if you read gen fic and aren't already subscribed to them, i don't even know what you're doing with your life... they have another current wip i already KNOW i'll be reccing as soon as it's done

i'm only overthinking when i'm close to you by langst: Klance oneshot! I was so lucky to get to help beta this a little bit and UGH, when I tell you el spawns beautiful stuff even in the very first draft? i'm jealous actually. this is an early seasons getting together fic with cute flirting and the team finding out and teasing them a little

let me in if i break by existwound: Klance oneshot! another one I was lucky to get to help beta >:D Keith whump, getting together, post-canon.... so many of my favorite things in one fic

You were dreaming by iybms: EXPLICIT Klance oneshot! man, okay, i'm realizing I was really into getting together fics this month, but uh.... here's another one!

Reverse Psychology by tempestbreak: EXPLICIT complete Klance multichapter! NOT FOR YOU if you're uncomfy with one-sided Sheith, but Klance is the endgame here. little post-canon friends to FWBs situation

and bonus rec! Grin and Bear It by loadingboy! zack's a friend so maybe i'm biased but UGH, the little bit i've had a chance to read so far is LOVELY, so i'm gonna go ahead and pre-recommend this bad boy. check the warnings for yourself before committing if you aren't fully on board with the range of things i typically rec! i hear this one is closer to the angstier end of what i like