#so why wouldn't i love them on someone else?

[holy-mother-of-whumpers]

I'd like to explain why I disagree.

Disclaimer.

I have not been around TikTok stuff so I have no idea what is this against. Maybe I'd agree with them against it, but just don't know. All it follows is NOT against the book tok culture but just a polite disagreement of this post or what it made me think about.

This is not about booktok

"If someone told me... There is an enemy to lovers... Why are you spoiling the story?" -> spoiling is bad and marking the tropes is spoiling.

Spoiling is bad.

Spoiler works on some kind of content, like Marvel, which is a lot of surprise value and 'disposable' stories. If the narrative is good a spoiler (provided it isn't about the plot twist) doesn't decrease the enjoyment but enhances it (there is a whole thing, may even be called spoiler effect? Spoiler paradox?).

If spoiling or knowing the content would ruin things, there wouldn't be classics. Nobody would read LOTR, dracula, the Iliad/Odyssey, Count of Monte Cristo. Yes there are always going to be people who come at it free of previous knowledge, which is great for them, but usually people are aware of the story bits (like that the suspicious count in Dracula is in fact a vampire - I knew that and yet the book was an absolute blast, very suggested! It even got me trying epistolary novel as a format) and read it anyway. More, they read it because they kinda know what they are getting into.

So no, not all spoiling is intrinsically bad, in fact nobody would read a story they know nothing about. I'd say the trick is to 'spoil' the setting and the character dynamics... Just NOT something the author was playing as a reveal. Of course at this point we shouldn't even use 'spoil'.

What can we call the setting and character dynamics?

Marking the tropes is spoiling.

We can call them tropes and genres, they are broad characterizations that help people have an idea of what they are getting into. We all prefer a few genres.

What if we were allowed to prefer a few tropes as well, or just be free to avoid those we don't like?

The entire discussion that happened about fantasy romance (before it had a name) was that people got into what they thought it was fantasy but ended up with just romance, with basic characterization, minimal world building, no intrigue or epic battle between good and evil. It was very unsatisfying; so more classification of the book is better than less (with common sense, nor I nor anybody else wants a list of every single thing that's in there).

'Classification' as in to guide to to find the book you like or to let you know if you want to try something different than usual or again, you found a trope you never knew (like me with the reincarnation trope in webtoons) and you want to proceed and eat that in copious amounts until you have wrung every last bit of serotonine/dopamine from it.

If you don't want to know, you should be allowed to know where the trope markers are, so to avoid and go in blind (like I do with movies I know I'm interested in: I just don't watch the trailer. A legit choice I'm allowed to make and happy because of it).

Conclusion: if you think marking a trope is spoiling, they probably did it wrong, because it shouldn't. It should be supposed to give you an idea, so you aren't buying a book for the pretty cover.

Note! From fanfiction to published books it would be a good idea to use warnings, to some extent - I'd love to skip historical novels with gratuitous sa because it's 'realistic'... At this point it's its own trope which I'd like marked so I can avoid it. I have had enough of it ok. No hate but I want to keep away.

I'd like also a protagonist marker, examples, Reluctant Protagonist (no hate, just dislike) or pov protagonist (especially in fantasy romance so I know they aren't going to do anything and we are admiring together the brooding tragic-backstoried main lead).

Saying: 'I am annoyed by this thing' is legit and I support presenting narratives in a way that allows people to choose how much to know about it. Like a general summary behind, a tropes list inside the cover (or something) for those looking for the tropes. Saying 'you can't use fanfiction terms' is incorrect, tropes aren't fanfiction terms, and wrong in the 'you', because 'you' (publishing industry?) should cater to people taking into account that different people want different things and consume the book in different ways, nobody should be forced to consume a book any other way that the one makes them happy :)

Second post.

Again, I don't know about booktok so I'll keep to "encourages authors to built their entire story around marketable tropes [...] turn more of a profit".

The placing (<- marketing term) of a book on the market is hella hard ok. Like, so much. Very often what makes a book great is subtle, hard to explain, and people have a short attention span anyway. Building a story around a trope may be a bad idea, but many writers start the story around a image or a scene floating in their mind, all stories are Bron from an idea. Tweaking the core idea to a marketable trope make the author sell. "Turn more of a profit" yes?? Yes please??? Begging here??? If I have spent like the last five years working on this story I want people to a) find it interesting (thus I am brought to play on the main tropes in there) and b) make money out of it. I worked on that story for the last five years. Am I so evil to think I want a revenue so I can focus on my next book instead of doing so in scraps of times in this capitalistic hellscape? Yes I want the money so I can do what I want with my life and time (writing in this case) and give people meaningful stories.

If the trope-marketed story isn't meaningful I'm afraid the problem is the writer didn't care for it - which leads to another entire can of worms, kinda related (writing for the money and not for the story is an unfortunate rotten compromise for people who need money and can write but aren't paid enough to afford the time for a proper story).

So: writing a story around tropes is bad if it's demanded from the publisher like this, and with limited time to develop it, because it's what is popular now.

Using the tropes inside the book to market it, is just how you market a book. Who never ran into a great book which never got the popularity it deserves? It's because it was marketed wrong, or unsuccessfully.

Again placing and marketing a book is HELLA hard and often it's what makes it or breaks it for the book itself, even more than the content.

Let's cut authors a break on this ok (lol we can harass publishing companies though, just a little tee hee).

Third post

Do you know I actually dislike long posts??? How did I get here. Ah yes, frustration.

Why is fanfiction considered easier. 'cheaper' narrative?

Because you already know and care about the characters. Making people love our little guys is also rather hard.

If it works you will end up caring though, and people will put them in Coffee au.

This third post seems to misunderstand what tropes are. Characters are kinda always in a trope. You know that joke, after reading the vocabulary all books area remix? Tropes are how we categorize stuff happening in books (technically the recurrent things, but once we have given a name to all thing (and we have actually) everything is low key recurrent). Yes it often devolves into cliches, when a trope is cheap and obvious and kinda gratuitous. But they are 'places' where the characters are.

I, a living person, am always in some place or 'surroundings' since I am made of matter which occupies a space surrounding me. A trope is the surroundings of the characters.

You can made to care about original characters in a coffee shop, like if you are reading a cozy (example) and slowly get to know the people meeting for coffee.

The post seems to suggest that characters in books exist outside tropes. Not really. But also not a crime, I hope I explained politely why I disagree.

Why should you care for some randos meeting in a coffee shop? Well, if this is a book, consider it an essay explaining you exactly that ✨

More disclaimers.

Again, this isn't about booktok

This isn't against the publishing industry, if you have critics of them I'll probably agree.

If you take one of the things I said to the extreme to make it absurd, that is cheap, argumentative and I will ignore you. Same if you warp something away from what I meant, or your reply is based on an incorrect knowledge of this stuff, or you are just being provocative for the sake of it. Be polite and chill people.

Sorry it’s early but you really can’t use fanfiction terms in a non fanfiction context like if someone is trying to sell me a book to read and they tell me there’s an enemy to lovers I would be annoyed because why are you spoiling the story lol

[corvidaerook]

I saw a post the other day that said Lucanis isn't really a pet-names sort of person and I reblogged it so fast because it was painfully accurate. However. my one personal exception is that I think that man is good for an occasional "my love."

Rook's having a bad day and Lucanis hits them with one of those and suddenly there's a rainbow in the sky and a skip in their step.

[erinwantstowrite]

A while ago you liked a comment of mine on TikTok where I said that there should be no second Batman bc having Bruce retire/die means his fight should be over and he should be able to rest properly, (idk if that’s exactly what I said but I think it’s in the ball park) so can I ask what you think about a legacy Batman? And who would you have be the second Batman? Also your art is amazing and I love leap of faith, hope you have a great day

i remember that comment!!!!

i honestly believe that having a "legacy" for every single hero is just,,, boring. the reason this happens is because they are never going to NOT have Batman. how else would they make money??? so they just keep giving us reasons why his mantle has to be there. just like the Joker HAS to always come back, why new characters are always tied in to existing characters somehow, etc.

in a perfect world, we'd get new characters sometimes and overarching storylines that aren't regressed the second we make any headway on character development. we'd have new villains by now that make a name for themselves outside of the original villains, we'd see an impact on our settings and characters, all that jazz. and in this perfect world, we wouldn't have so many legacy mantles

and i mean, like, one of the supers taking up the Superman name? that's cool. they're a family, thematically it works. even with the Flash family, I accept how they do it (though I hardly keep up with their comics)

but Batman?????

STOPPPPP

Every other Batfam member has an arc where they branch away from Bruce and the name, save for Tim and Cass, I think. Tim is... a gray area. I only put him here because he's back to being Robin (because DC can't let go of that money maker!). It's an insult to their characters to put them into the Batman mantle, but in universe, this keeps happening because "Gotham needs Batman."

No! No they do not! They do not need Batman specifically. They need his ideals! His kids do not need to be Batman to have Batman still be around after he's put up the cape or died, because they are that future without the cape! There is no magic tied in to that stupid cowl, they just see it that way because Batman is this larger than life figure. Of course they think their dad is impervious to the world, that the cape that protected them is special, that they need Batman. But that is NOT the case.

Just like with any family, life will move on. The legacy continues through the lessons that the kids learned. In many ways, they are better than Batman because they learned from his mistakes, too. Just like every kid does with their parent.

But they don't want to be Batman. And it's kind of insane to keep putting them in someone else's suit, basically someone else's identity. Dick is a great Batman, but his biggest fear is losing himself in Bruce's shadow. What happened to Jason was because of Batman's failure, and it isn't healthy to put him in the Batman suit. Tim should be allowed to move on from Robin and finally get his own mantle because he has always used someone else's. (Yes I am purposefully forgetting that Drake existed do not remind me.) That and the existence of Gun Batman. Do NOT put him in that suit!!!!!!! Damian is branching out of vigilante life altogether, which is so so so good for him. Him becoming Batman after struggling so much with his identity, purpose, and blood ties, is a spit in the face to character development. I think Duke should get to choose his own name for a hero mantle (because Bruce thought of Signal), and thematically I don't think he fits into the Batman role. He is a shining light the way Robin was, but this time more literal because of his powers. Batman is very human, that's what makes his character. Duke deserves more than being Batman.

The best person for that job is Cass.

Not only does she understand the No Kill Rule in the way that Bruce understands it, she is also his equal or superior in every way. Whether it's her physical abilities, or her intelligence, or her morals, Cass fits the bill. She's one of the strongest members of the Batfam and I think she would be able to take on the burden without crumbling under the pressure or feeling scared of that responsibility. She's fit in to the Batman role before, has mirrored him in many ways, and is also her own character (and man I just really love Cass). She strikes the same amount of fear into people that Batman does, a master of the shadows, the dark, and she has a hope that I think Gotham could need.

But she doesn't need to be Batman to do it. She just has to fill in that role. Sure, she could pick up the name Batman, it won't kill me. But so long as she fills in the space that Bruce left behind, becoming the next leader and mentor, she could be anyone.

I think it's more powerful that way to show that the time has passed. That Bruce's time as a vigilante made an impact. Gotham has changed. His kids have grown up. And the Dark Knight is still there, at home.

[kitthenameless]

It's Omeluum time! And by that I mean, let's talk about some of the things many people don't seem to know about Omeluum and some of the things that commonly come up when people compare it to the Emperor.

(As far as I know, Om exclusively uses it/its, so that's what I'll use.)

One way in which the two illithids differ is that the Emperor doesn't have the same choices or opportunities as Omeluum to escape elder brains. He's a lot more at risk of being controlled again. Om just happened to be lucky enough to be born with magic that helped it.

Omeluum then worked with a lich. The Emperor eats criminals, and though we can't be sure that's all he's ever eaten, there is evidence in the game to support his claim. Did Om and its lich friend try to stick to criminals? We don't know. But even if they did, that still makes Om equal with the Emperor in that regard. And if they didn't, well, if Om felt like it couldn't stop the lich, maybe it figured this was at least less waste. Or maybe it didn't care either way. The point being, I wouldn't call this any more ethical than what the Emperor has been doing. (I'm not arguing about the ethics of eating brains in general, just that Om's choice is not ethically better than the Emperor's.)

After it tells you about that, Omeluum then ominously says it now eats people who "act against the Society's goals." It even pauses to carefully consider its words, and the words it chooses leave a lot of leeway and room for interpretation. (Such an underrated line and delivery. I love it.) Technically YOU are acting against the Society's goals if you refuse to give the gith egg to Esther, since it's the Society that wants the egg.

Omeluum sees itself as part of illithid-kind in a way the Emperor doesn't, using terms like "we" and "our" when talking about them, even referring to illithids as its ancestors after you tell it about the nautiloid.

Omeluum seems detached and more curious than anything about your problem and the whole situation, at least when you first meet it. But that's speculation, I can't say for sure what it's feeling.

It does however eventually realize that this brain taking over would be a bad thing for the entire plane. Which is in part why it is willing to die in order to save the Duke in the Iron Throne. This makes sense from a ruthlessly pragmatic standpoint---the Duke's life is more important for the city---and pragmatism is a very mind flayer thing (though I still can't imagine a typical mind flayer enthralled to a brain would think another race's life is worth more than its own). Omeluum is willing to risk or sacrifice in some scenarios to achieve its goals. The Emperor is also willing to risk his life in some scenarios to achieve his goals, like going with you directly into battle to fight the brain. Neither wants the Grand Design to actually happen.

And that ring it gives you (or rather makes you pay it for in some form, unless you persuade it otherwise)? It lied about that. But it did so for what it felt was a good reason, just like how the Emperor withholds info and lets you discover some things for yourself, in order to not overwhelm you and make you lose hope.

Ultimately, Omeluum gives you some elixirs or whatever if you save it and then gets out of town and lets someone else deal with the nether brain problem. Om is a scientist, not a fighter. Just like the Emperor is not a scientist and hence isn't trying to create a brain substitute the way Om is. They each have their strengths.

Last but not least (actually it is sort of least), Omeluum won't trade with you unless you do its quest first, which I find more annoying than anything the Emperor does 😅 And it doesn't give you the aforementioned reward until you help it in Act 3. Which wouldn't normally be a valid argument, but people say the Emperor is evil because he won't help you unless you help him. Well, Omeluum won't either.

But I did laugh at these few lines I found, though I'm not entirely sure it was being funny on purpose.

And we don't really know anything about Omeluum beyond that.

Anyway, my point is only that the constant comparison between it and the Emperor with the conclusion that "Omeluum = Good Mind Flayer, Emperor = Bad Mind Flayer" doesn't hold up in any meaningful way and lacks nuance, especially when there's so much misinformation. (If I've gotten any facts wrong, feel free to let me know, I don't want to add to the misinformation.) Neither one is a typical mind flayer, and we can love them both!

[simply-mei]

timebomb

am i the only one who doesn't like timebomb? i mean theres nothing wrong with liking the ship i obviously wouldn't judge others for having a different opinion than me, but lots of things about the ship just doesn’t sit right with me personally.

like for example ekko was in the au for only two days (he showed up two days before his au self was supposed to show off his project and left the night before which means he was only there for two days) yet in those two days he managed to fall in love with someone who tried to kill him and has killed many of his friends multiple times? i get that he had an obvious cute little crush on her when they were kids (if you pay attention it was pretty obvious and also kinda cute) but that wasn't long lived because she literally switched sides after that and for the next 8 years they weren't in contact (not much contact other than her trying to kill him or/and his friends anyways) like idk about anyone else but i personally wouldn’t fall in love with the person who killed many of my loved ones let alone falling in love with that person within two days that’s just impossible. i understand that he probably still had some lingering feelings for his universe's jinx and that’s why it was so easy for him to fall in love with au powder in just two days but in my opinion it's still too rushed and unrealistic. i couldn’t even begin to imagine myself falling in love with someone who simply talked bad about me behind my back let alone someone who’s killed my loved ones and has tried to kill me too.

i like the IDEA of them like two former childhood friends turned into enemies who are lovers in a different universe and only one of them obtains the knowledge of the fact that they’re lovers in a different life, and so the only one who knows is left yearning for that kind of connection in their current universe as well??? Like that’s such a good trope. normally i’d eat it up, but the way it was portrayed messed it up for me personally, so now i’m left only liking the idea of the ship but not actually fully liking the ship itself, and i don’t think i ever will tbh.

now this is just my personal opinion i didn’t make this post as an opening for people to argue with me or try to change my mind in the comments nor did i make this post to bash anyone who likes the ship since its an overall nice trope and they’re conanly together so i dont see why i’d bash anyone who likes this ship i simply made this post to see if anyone else agrees and to just share my opinion and simply yap on MY blog cause i can do that since its MYYYY blog (say this for the sensitive people who will try to attack me)

[stanliestduo]

I saw that ask you got and i just wanted to say that it's so funny to me when people are like "why would you ship stancest ew" acting like they didn't sail off into the sunset together after DECADES of Stan openly pining for Ford. If they weren't written as siblings they would hands down be the most popular ship of the show

There's a long answer, and then there's the tldr at the bottom marked in red text. Long answer: If they weren't siblings, you literally wouldn't be able to escape this ship. It would have been THE ship of tumblr after the finale had aired, considered the "healthy" ship and the good ending, would be considered canon even if they didn't kiss, and it would be the standard by which all the other ships are judged. You would have people writing essays about how they literally took off on a ship, guys! It's so obvious and a metaphor for marriage and and- But here's where I can extend a bit of empathy that perhaps they wouldn't give me, as well as look at things from the perspective as someone who has seen shipping culture their entire lives. First off- most people don't want to fuck their siblings. I know, shocker. Most people who ship Stancest probably do not want to fuck their siblings, but people who don't CERTAINLY do not want to. It's the most repulsive thought in the world to them. There is such thing as being in such a close platonic relationship that it's an impossible thought. I think a lot of people who want Stancest shippers to die or whatever find that kind of desire utterly repulsive, that and let's be real, 1nc3st in real life is rife with abuse. It isn't a healthy thought to get those wires crossed. People who do not like this ship are empathizing with either of the brothers and projecting their own repulsion onto them. But here's the other bit. I'm not shipping Stan and Ford because they're siblings. Most of my ships are not 1nc3stuous. I don't find that element hot or cute, and while I'm not here to harsh anyone's vibe, if that's the only reason you ship Stancest I really don't want to talk with you about these characters. People see ships as inherently sexual, as inherently sexualizing, as "you must only ship this because you want to see the characters fuck". And mind you, with Stancest I don't see it as a bad thing at all to draw them doing things or being attractive together, etc etc. Not at all, and I'd be a hypocrite for saying otherwise. My point is, that's where people's minds go, that's the assumption that they make. They find 1nc3st repulsive, and clearly the ONLY reason I would ship it is because I like sexualizing that and only that aspect about it. Basically, they assume I must LOVE 1nc3st in and of itself, because otherwise why would I ship brothers? Now here's where I go back to the first statement, because most people I've seen don't just ship them for that reason.

You ever seen that meme about "if they have chemistry, I can't make them NOT have chemistry"? That's why I'm here. EVERYTHING about how Stan and Ford are written is tailor made to be SHIPPED. Aside from literally bounding away on a ship, they have a closeness and codependency that most brothers in fiction do not. Alex himself has said they need each other, Ford in the third journal said he was going to spend the rest of his days making up to Stanley. Stanley has spent his entire life wanting NOTHING but his family, his brother by his side. He seems more bonded to his brother than to any one he's ever tried to date, and Ford likewise. I'm sorry, but these two are not getting a "healthy" ending. They aren't going to be with anyone else. There's no version of them in which they find separate partners after having a little adventure around the world for a year or two then just go off in separate ways. This is the most "childhood friends to lovers" story I've ever seen. These two are NOT healthy to begin with, why would anyone expect them to start when they're that old and that hurt by everything in their pasts? I don't believe it inherently has to be sexually 1nc3stuous, but it could be. Wires are already being crossed. It's rare for anyone to be loyal for 30 years to one person when they aren't in love, and Stan wanted to get his brother back so badly that he forgot his own goals and even threw away his own identity to get him back. His entire life was for Ford, and after Journal 3, it should be obvious that Ford's entire life is for Stan now, too. What I'm trying to say is, while this ship isn't the healthy ending, it is the BEST ending for either of them. I think people who wanted Stan to be able to deny going with Ford don't understand him or his character, or what his character NEEDS, same as Ford. And I think people who try to separate the bros for shipping purposes or who don't want to do 1nc3st or accidental emotional 1nc3st are not fully reading the same things, watching the same things that we are. If they weren't brothers, everyone else would see exactly what we're seeing. They would see this as the love story it is. TLDR: I understand why people won't ship this ship, and I try to be empathetic, but these two have been given the kind of story that would ping the lovers radar to anyone if they weren't brothers and I'm not going to ignore that just because they are.

[wrenkenstein]

CLONE X OC WEEK

DAY 2: QUALITY TIME

Ya girl is a bit early today - college calls, and I need to go to bed early tonight. But... why not indulge in some cute clone content before I sleep? ;) And even better, I get to spotlight some of my favorite artists who've drawn Juntech before as well!

As usual, here are some important links:

Juno's bio website

Juntech informational hub (outdated!)

And the tag! @clonexocweek

Without further ado, here's todays content!

What does 'quality time' look like for Tech and Juno?

For two braniacs of similar prestige, Tech and Juno have a lot of ways they like to spend time together. But quality time for them isn't always just working on shared projects!... Even if that's something they enjoy doing to wind down. No, Tech and Juno have multiple ways of sharing each others space...

Museum hopping

Art by my beloved @cloned-eyes

It makes perfect sense that two nerds would enjoy such activities - a perfect excuse to be in eachothers company, AND one where they can engage their minds? Museum's are a favorite place for Juno and Tech to visit whenever they stumble upon civilized planets, and they always make an excuse to take a "Rsearch venture" to the local museum, if possible. But the trips to the museum do more than just give them an excuse to be learning on-the-go; there's quite a bit to be said about how such an excursion is made even more enjoyable by having the right company around. Tech and Juno adore being able to have an excuse to just... talk to one another about their interests. Not that they needed one beforehand, but being surrounded by so much intrigue prompts discussion, and they indulge hours of informational exchange - and cute comments sprinkled in, where Juno will compare Tech to a particularly strange bug, and Tech will feel his cheeks flare a bit.

Shared invention

Art by my perfect @echojedis

Working together on shared projects might seem like a chore, but to these two, it's something they adore. Being able to throw themselves into invention and work together offers them great alone time, and keeps them engaged and constantly bouncing around better and better ideas together. Tech is happy to have someone so invested in building like he is, and Juno is happy to be able to assist however she can - even if her expertise lies more in science and experimentation than it does engineering and assembly. Tech uses this time to actually teach Juno how to be a better and more informed engineer, which has already proved to pay off, as Juno is rapidly growing more and more fluent in the art of inventions and design - and she's already capable of keeping up with Tech. And Tech? Well, he feels adored just having someone around who cares enough to learn.

Discussions... long, long discussions

MORE @echojedis ART

What did you expect out of the two chattiest people around? It seems fitting that the other has finally met their verbal match, as Juno and Tech love to talk. Either jumps at the excuse to continue in-depth discussion about various topics of interest - astral engineering, planetary biology, diversity between biological fauna, you name it. These two will never shut up. Crosshair wants to kick them both in the mouth for how often they keep him up at night, chattering away like two eager birds. But nobody has the heart to stop them - this is the first time in their lives they've had someone else willingly engage in thoughtful dialouge with them about their interests. Who wouldn't want to spend hours talking with their favorite person?

Sleep

Art by bloodbroox

Sleep is a touchy thing for Juno, who has never allowed herself to sleep near another living soul. During missions, she'd stay up all night keeping watch, using it as an excuse to never fall into the vulnerable state of sleep - and this was a habit she intended to continue abiding by... until Tech showed up. Tech figured out pretty quickly that the level of vulnerability and saftey sleep required made it something Juno rarely sought out, to the point it was affected her abilities. So? Under the guise of research and improved efficiency, Tech suggested they start napping together. (linked is a fic, if you want a detailed read of how it happened. ;))

And it didn't just work. Juno became addicted to the feeling of another warm body, and soon, she became dependent on needing Tech around to sleep properly.

Tech is more than happy to accomodate - he can sleep anywhere at any time, and it just seemed logical to help Juno break her clans destructive habits and embrace sleep. It's a test of trust, one of their unbreakable bond, and Juno tests that trust every day whenever she sleeps with Tech... and Tech has no intention of breaking that promise to keep her safe.

[holyblanchett]

Not a Agathario thing but simply an Agatha thing I'm mad about.

Billy knows more magic and engages with more magic than Agatha. It fucking pissed me off and I have let it simmer for too long. We got more scenes of Billy talking technical magic than Agatha which is utter bullshit, Agatha as established in Wandavision is someone who loves the analysis, she loves picking apart what makes a spell work, why it works and more, she's the type of witch to have a grading system for all the other witches like she's Ash Ketchum who's going to be the Pokemon master and defeat all the other trainers.

Comics Agatha yaps so much about magic it gets annoying, in an endearing way but like yeah this woman knows what she's talking about and she sure as hell isn't stupid enough to not be able to survive without her 'purple' (it's adorable okay I love that Nicky calls it that). In the finale we have Agatha do like three spells, three? Motherfucker that lady forced the scarlet witch down the trauma central memory lane and had enough audacity to comment about her dead parents after she watched them die, she's got guts, she's got balls. She's not gonna mess around when it comes to a battle unless she's playing her opponent, she's fucking ruthless. like the whole scene with her having a noose around the twins' necks? You think that lady will whip out three spells and just not do anything else????

It is simply not realistic. Especially when it's against Rio, because let's be for real these two probably go hard in their fights as shown in the first episode. To have that condensed down to a little play fight of a thing so Billy can come in made me flip the fucking table.

It's stupid af, for a comics comparison it's like having Magik aka Illyana put down her sword forgo her wards and spells to karate chop someone or bringing a nerf gun when your opponent has an ak-47.

Agatha has two fight modes, fucking go for the kill or, slowly manipulate everybody give and give Doofenschmirtz monologues while she does it then bite heads off. Both end the same way. Agatha uses wit and charm alongside her magic.

If Jac really wanted high stakes she wouldn't have nerfed Agatha or have her go out without a proper verbal battle and one weird Billy thought invasion. So yes I'm beyond fucking mad.

Can I just say I shouldn't have laughed so hard at this (affectionate). I'm telling you if Jac had saved her coins for the final battle the show would have been so much better. I was craving a Agatha/Rio showdown. Mama had her magic for not even two minutes and even then she was struggling?? Rio knocked her on her ass one time and she was laying there like wtf??? I think another Anon referred to it as a light show and they werent wrong. It's so crazy to me. Hell, Comic, even What if...? Agatha is goated and so powerful. I get she had the darkhold in Wandavision but she's always been gifted she does not need it. She was done so dirty in her own show i will never forgive them 😭😭

[moriitis]

Okay, well.. I hope this doesn't sound too crazy.

I wonder what Toby's reaction would be when he sees that his partner has a twin brother? And that their relationship reminds him a lot of his own with Lyra?

We know that a person with the appearance of her sister would be a completely different case... But a person who is a very good brother ?(I don't want to compare her to Lyra) How would Toby react... Or what would he think?

Same.. let's say his victim has a sister.. and she's doing everything to protect him from him?.. I don't know.. I feel like his sister is the only thing that keeps him human.. and that kind of situation that involve brothers... It's my Roman Empire.

Obviously, it would differ on the situation -

How would Toby react if his partner has a twin sibling?

How would Toby react if his victim has a twin sibling?

Content/Warnings; mentions of murder, death, abuse, possessiveness, jealously, vulgar language.

¬ Partner

I think it would weird him out.

The idea that he has to essentially share his partners attention with someone else at first.

Which he's good at concealing, until it becomes too much and he's nothing but a sappy, pathetic, attention seeking slut.

He'll become over protective and I hate to admit it, but he'd find ways to separate his partner and their sibling.

It would definitely be a jealously thing too.

Why are they allowed a sibling? Why not him? Why could Lyra not be here too?

If they spoke to him about this, he would apologise but honestly I do still see him being a little possessive over his lover.

I also think he would be very, very reluctant to befriend his partner's sibling.

Purely out of fear.

Because why do they remind him so much of Lyra?

It would send him spiralling, thinking that his mind is playing tricks on him and honestly, a part of him convinces himself that the sibling isn't even real to begin with.

I don't think Toby intends to be toxic so to say, he just finds himself fighting with his mind a lot.

It would be bittersweet, interacting with their sibling that is.

He'd be awkward, maybe even a little cold as he tries to come to terms with it.

Toby always acted pretty weird around his partners sibling and it wasn't until he were in a relationship, his lover understood better. Frankly, a part of them just assumed that was Toby's character and that he were just some huge, raging asshole.

There was just a lot more to it, deeper and they understood his pain in more ways than one.

So, when they explained to their sibling, it made sense too.

I think after awhile, Toby gets better and a lot friendlier, though when he's alone, he has his moments.

He misses Lyra so much, so dearly and on some days, it's hard for him to even remember what she sounds like, smells like.. what she looks like even.

His mind becoming nothing more then a messy fog.

He misses having the relationship with a sibling too.

And I wouldn't be surprised if maybe his partner's sibling tries to, in an attempt, reach out and form some relationship with Toby.

Without pushing out the idea of Lyra being his blood sibling.

If that makes sense.

¬ Victim

Wasn't what he bargained for when he first snuck into their home.

And them having a very, overprotective sibling was like a punch in a gut.

The way they stood over them, willing to take any hit out of love.

It was something Toby understood very well.

And in a blind fit of rage, he would feel nothing but shame.

Shame in his work, in his ways. In how cruel he had become.

And he would hate himself, deep down into the core.

Because no matter how many repressed memories, he could never escape his father.

Blood was blood.

And Toby was nothing but just an embodiment of his Father.

A cruel, unkind, unforgiving man.

And Toby was doing nothing but causing harm.. and for what?

He would question everything, his purpose in life, why he enjoys killing?

Because what was he getting out of it?

Though, he knows his duty, he knows that once a target is on someone's head, they have to die.

And Toby is reluctant at first.

Because he doesn't want to kill just one, he'd have to kill both of them.

He understands what it's like losing a sibling, your other half essentially.

And he couldn't do that to someone.

He'd apologise, once and twice as he overpowers the sibling and hacks them down.

Before turning to the other and doing the same.

He spends the rest of the night convincing himself he is not a bad person, he is not his father.

But deep down, Toby knows he is. Down to the hair, the DNA, the blood, the mannerisms, his character, his nose and jawline.

His father was dead.

But as long as Toby remained alive, so did his father.

hope i understood what u meant LMAO

[lovesicktrash]

Faifa: A Deep Character Analysis or Just Me Yapping (read more to find out)

ok so Faifa is my favorite character in Perfect 10 Liners. I believe he is more layered than any of the other character. While Yotha also carries a lot of trauma, Faifa deals with his in his own way. In fact, Faifa and Yotha are more similar than one might think—they represent different sides of the same coin.

Contrasting Personalities: Faifa vs. Yotha

From the very first episode of their arc, we see a stark contrast between Faifa and Yotha’s coping mechanisms. Yotha prefers solitude, retreating into his thoughts to process his pain. Faifa prefers to seek company and suppress the thoughts and emotions that may trouble him. It's not even the first day of the university and we can see that Faifa wants to socialize and explore the campus and dorm while Yotha wants to stay in.

Roots of Their Fears

While Yotha's fear was of love. That if he ever loved someone then he wouldn't be loved back. Confused because of Wa's response if his love or affection for him even was love and affection. So he shut himself off from this whole fiasco. But Faifa's fear is different.

When he was separated from his brothers and father, and became lonely at his mother's house, he has hoped to never be lonely. Faifa's fear involved him being torn away from the people he loved so he just made the habit of making more and more friends. Making a personality that cares for people more than caring about himself. He just wants to be included. A part of the group. A part of the gang. Never the lonely one.

Faifa’s Personality: Selflessness and Positivity

In the beginning few episodes, he made many friends. Every time he was on the screen, he'd be talking to someone new. But that reduced as the show went on and he started prioritizing the people he liked and giving them more time. In the second year, he took classes with Gun's friends again. He spent more time with them, forming a more deeper connection.

He loves looking at the positive side of things and giving you the comfort of being with him. He has developed a selfless personality using this mechanism which are the reasons why he helps anyone with no greed attached to it other than hoping the other person feels at ease with him. The kind of ease that he probably didn't feel himself back at his mother's house. There are many examples but I chose a few that I could find my quick rewatch:

When he lets Yotha choose the bed

When he sacrifices his own room and comfort for a friend he met like a week ago

When he buys Wine a ton of things after spilling milk on him to compensate for his mistake

When he goes for that run but ends up giving away his bottle to someone else that didn't bring one and almost died of dehydration because of it

Is Faifa people pleaser? No, while he genuinely cares for others, he isn’t afraid to stand his ground or fight for what he truly believes in. The way he fought his own brother for Gun proves how he truly cares for people.

The Impact of Faifa’s Mother

To me, his mother is the biggest cause of his mess. We can see since the first episode, how Yotha openly struggles with their mother, but Faifa's pain is hidden behind a facade of niceness and brightness. But she is the root cause of his trauma and hurt.

He treats her very nicely and gives her all the benefits of doubts even though she has treated him the worst among the siblings . Since she took him with her, he was always ready to defend her in front of Yotha.

I understand her evil game that she wanted to keep the family united by keeping Faifa away so he'd want to visit them again and again. Keeping the family together. But at least care for the kid you've brought home. One glaring example is her ignorance of Faifa’s allergies. How can a mother not know something so basic about her child? Her absence in Faifa’s life speaks volumes about the depth of his trauma.

This brings me to my next point about their mother. Her bias against Newton and Yotha. She very clearly favors Newton and Yotha. The favor could possibly root from her guilt for abandoning these two for her second marriage. However, this favoritism manifests as horrible neglect toward Faifa. She took him with her but failed to care for him, isolating him from his loved ones and leaving him emotionally abandoned.

The Unspoken Apology

In the 16th episode, as she opens up about her mistakes, she mends her relationship with Yotha by asking for his forgiveness, but what about Faifa?? Just because he doesn’t outwardly express anger or sadness doesn’t mean he isn’t hurting.

Her adult mind games affected both her kids, Yotha and Faifa, yet Faifa’s pain seems overlooked. Where is his apology? Or is his kindness and bright attitude taken for granted???

Honestly, I need more from the mother to even think that she loves Faifa. He probably doesn't have the heart to truly say it back right now.

After the hugs and when she is talking to Gun, everyone has clearly gained their normal momentum except him. He is still reeling from the confession. New wounds have opened up for him that he probably doesn't know how to heal. After all he was the little kid that got the worst end of the divorce.

Faifa’s Current State

These days, he is more loud with his insecurities and it is getting harder for him to mask his sadness. He despises being alone and tries his desperately to avoid that. His laughter sometimes sounds forced, as if, masking an underlying pain.

Hope for Healing

Hopefully, in the future episodes, Wine gives him the space to express his emotions truthfully, I hope he cares for him and loves him a lot because after so much trauma he truly deserves some healing and genuine affection. Despite his past, he continues to shine brightly, offering warmth and kindness to those around him. Hopefully, Wine's arrival makes it better for him.

P.S. I'm obsessed with Junior now, can't wait for My Wedding Scammers

[sorceressofthesky]

No worries at all! I've seen your analyses before and I really love reading your thoughts; I'll put my own contributions under a cut.

With regards to the ventilation system - Cassandra's monologue at the start of S2E3 tells us that this was her doing, as per the following: The rise of industry in the fissures has led to the air becoming increasingly toxic. I've instructed our architects to devise a ventilation system. The people of the underground deserve to breathe. So that woman in the picture is definitely her. Cassandra is meant to be roughly the same age as Silco and Vander, perhaps a little older (I'd say early-mid 50s?). She looks a fair bit younger in that picture than she does in Season 1, so I'd agree that this shifts the timeline earlier than Silco's solo era. I'm guessing that places it either during or slightly before construction of the Lanes, with V & S 16-17ish at minimum. These are the pictures I pulled out from the time of the vents being built:

These show the precise areas believed to be affected by the Grey. From this, it looks like the Grey was thought to have originated from the pipes underground and spread to the upper levels, bleeding into the Piltovian air. I think it's possible that the "rise of industry" around the beginning of Vander and Silco's era resulted in the Grey rising much higher than it had before, and that was when the council started to take notice. We know the mines were still operational at the time because of Felicia and Connol, so the picture of miners watching Cassandra cut the ribbon wouldn't be out of place, and we do also know that the vents helped filter air in the lower levels as well as the upper levels. I guess they saw the pollution affecting the upper levels and went to investigate lower down, which brought the magnitude of the issue to their attention.

As for Silco's role during his time of solo leadership, I do still think he had some level of involvement with the council, however small. I doubt he ever met or spoke directly to the council - that seems extremely unlikely - but him at least being known to them as an "industrialist" indicates that his name has come up before. Caitlyn recognises his name too, which seems like such an odd detail; he must have made an impression either on Cassandra or on the Enforcers for Cait to have heard about him. At the very least, Silco is recognised as a prominent figure in Zaun with a lot of wealth and influence, and they've conducted investigations into his activity before, led by Marcus. Notably, Jayce doesn't seem to have heard of him ("what does this Silco even want from us" in S1E8, the phrasing "this Silco" implying that the name is new to him), so I don't think he's well known to anyone outside of Piltovian authorities.

The Council Archives shed some light on this in Vi's prison records and the transcript of a conversation between an Enforcer and one of Chross's underlings. The files there suggest that Silco's name might have come up a few times in various interrogations and through prisoners who work for him - thus warranting the investigations that Marcus claims to have conducted, which obviously turned up no evidence. I don't think the game is actually regarded as 100% canon though, so it isn't the most reliable source. Regardless of the how and why, Silco is definitely someone on the council's radar, and he himself is very fixed on a particular method of dealing with them ("we both know Topside won't listen to anything else" in S1E3). Whatever he's seen or heard about the council led him to believe that they aren't easily swayed, and I think he was expecting a lot more pushback than he got when it came to his negotiations for independence ("the boy didn't even haggle" in S1E9). A big part of that is presumably the difference between Jayce and Heimerdinger's receptiveness to change in the main timeline, which also supports the theory about Heimer helping out in the AU since he's much more open by then.

Vi and Powder's old house is something I've wondered about too; it looks like a pretty big house, with a staircase identical to the one in the Kirammans' mansion, which seems super inconsistent with Felicia and Connol being miners who - in Felicia's own words - were "living week to week". The most plausible theory I can think of on that front is that they wanted to live away from the Lanes in the early days of V & S due to the uncertainty at that time, which would have made it an impractical place to raise young kids. At the time of Felicia's first pregnancy, it doesn't sound like the Lanes have even been built yet, so there would have been inevitable risks with living in and around The Last Drop. Maybe them continuing to work in the mines had something to do with it too, since they're much better off with a stable, reliably-paying job rather than risking arrest via involvement with the smuggling operation. She essentially counts herself out of their mission when she says "you two are going to figure this thing out", so I guess she played a moral support role rather than an active role in Zaun's foundation.

As for their old house being the place where the extremely poor reside, I'm guessing that was a new development after Felicia and Connol died? We know Powder and Vi ended up living in the basement of The Last Drop, which I assume is because Vander was working there while looking after them and they were too young to live on their own. I guess others who were involved in the riot might have down lived there too, and it became abandoned when they all died? Or everyone else who lived there just got gradually driven out? Maybe there was a collapse or some similar catastrophe that destroyed everything down there and made it unlivable?

On the question of air quality, I actually don't think the air is that bad there. We see that the Enforcers wear masks in early Season 1 when Vander is in power, while none of the Topsiders who go down there during Silco's era ever have an issue - Caitlyn, Marcus, Heimerdinger, etc. Caitlyn is even able to breathe fine when walking among the Shimmer addicts, and Vi and Jinx have no issue walking through the mining tunnels in the Sump despite Jinx struggling to breathe the Grey earlier in the season. What confuses me most is why Silco is able to tolerate the Grey just fine, while the chembarons aren't, if most of them started out in the mines just like he did. Sevika and Jinx both spend a lot of time on the same level as Silco and neither of them have the same tolerance that he does. I don't think Sevika was a miner though, judging by the way she talks about her dad (she describes it as though it's new information to Silco, implying that they didn't know each other until she was a bit older), and Jinx definitely wasn't either; so I guess it's just a combination of Silco growing up in the mines and continuing to live quite deep in the underground, when no one else seems to have both of those things in common. Ekko does say that the air is "denser" in the Fissures, so it's definitely different to the air on the upper levels/in Piltover, even if it's not quite as toxic anymore.

Also, re: one of the chembarons being a Piltie, it's specified in The Council Archives that Chross is from Piltover - again, I don't think these are regarded as strictly canon, but it could help to answer that question. It does strike me as strange that Silco's speech wouldn't necessarily apply to all of them, especially since the lines about giving them fresh air and purpose are spoken directly to Finn. One possible solution is that, like Felicia and Connol, Finn and/or his family were still working in the mines around the time of Silco and Vander's reign (and I presume Vander's solo reign as well), and it was only once Silco took over that the underground mining operations were entirely shut down. That doesn't seem like enough time for Finn to be "too young to remember" though, so maybe Silco and Vander closed down some of the more dangerous mining tunnels. I do agree that Finn's "enterprise" line probably refers to the smuggling/trading focus during the golden age of V & S, since the Lanes are described as a marketplace. Vander and Silco essentially made it possible for Zaunites to make money in their own right, without relying on Topside for resources, but that potential was capped under Vander with the crackdown on smuggling ("keep your people off my streets", per Grayson in S1E1) - hence Finn's frustration.

I agree with both Vander and Silco taking protection money, and I could see Vander channelling at least a portion of his money back into the community. Babette tells Vi "things have changed without Vander looking out for us" (S1E5), and everyone in The Last Drop gets up from their seats when he appears to need backup - once when he's helping out Huck in S1E1, and once when Marcus taunts him about Silco in S1E2. I don't know precisely what else he was financing outside of the bar, but I get the impression that he didn't have a ton left over for himself and his kids at the end of it; probably enough to live comfortably, but not enough to fund a life of excess. In Silco’s case, Babette says that "a few tried" to stop him, but he's "got the muscle... and the money", so it sounds like Silco had to put a lot of his resources into keeping people in line. He seems to spend more money on himself than Vander did (he has much nicer clothes after S1 Act 1 and a limousine parked out the front of The Last Drop), but he still lives on the lower level, rather than close to the surface like the chembarons do, and it looks like he sleeps on the couch in his office judging by the blanket.

I think as far as Vi going after Vander herself, the best possible explanations are either that she had the most faith in her ability over those of Vander's allies (she's pretty stubborn and self-reliant, and may have deemed it quicker/safer/more reliable to go there immediately rather than waste time trying to recruit someone else to do it for her), or that she just outright didn't know about Vander's dealings (she didn't know about his deal with Grayson, so there's probably a lot that he was keeping from the kids).

@sorceressofthesky

I hope it's okay that I pull this out as the threads can have a tendency to get very long :)

Personally, I find it super hard to buy that that Silco was the one who talked Caitlyn's mom into building the ventilation systems after he took over from Vander.

Part of it is: if Silco was that good at talking to the council and getting them to do pro-Zaun things, why would he stop talking to them? Especially since season 1 shows how easily the council can be swayed into granting Zaun independence. I always read it as Silco not being interested in the council and not paying much attention to it, maybe because he has a low opinion of it. If he was already that involved with the council in the past, it just seems like big events from Jayce becoming a councilor, Heimerdinger being ousted or the Piltover reaction to the bridge massacre would be something he would show more interest in then he does.

The other part of it is that the Kiramman vents just … feel older? From the pathos of Caitlyn being handed the Kiramman key like it's a family tradition to the picture that presumably show the vents being opened. Either by a young Cassandra or by some even older ancestor. It just seems like if the vents were being built not just within Caitlyn's lifetime but also while Caitlyn is already pretty grown, it just seems like that would have come up?

The women is opening the vents together with miners in the background, evoking more the young Silco and Vander era.

And she's wearing the same or a very similar outfit to the portrait in the middle which is why people think either very young Cassandra or Cassandra's mother.

I'm not sure if I find the idea that Cassandra wouldn't know about the plight of the undercity just because tha very sheltered girl like Caitlyn didn't know all that plausible. We know she is sheltered because Cassandra even ordered for her to do boring prestige guard duty than even encounter just crime in Piltover. So if she has never been to the undercity and the papers don't write about it, how would she know?

And while the Pilties maybe are unlikely to casually care about the plight of the Zaunites, árguably them caring if it impacts their business is well in character (there's this really cool WIP by @out-there-tmblr that is just doing a plot about how the mines dug to deep, the Gray is getting worse so miners are start refusing to work those particular shafts so the Piltie engineers are coming in to install vents that imo feels plausible in "that's what Pilties would do" way).

And again, if Silco was responsible for it, why wouldn't he show up in those pictures compared to the Kiramman woman posing with miners? (it doesn't help that modern Zaun feels like it's more about factories than about mines)

So yes, I definitely leaning towards the vents being older based on the look of the Kiramman woman. But it being done within Vander and Silco's youth I think is an interesting idea.

I personally find it generally confusing how bad the air situation is. Yes the enforcers wear masks in Act 1, but none of the locals do. Then we have the sumps. The implications are that the sumps are low and "the bad parts" right?

So a headcanon could be something like:

Silco and Vander and some of the chem barons are young => The Gray is bad.

Cassandra installs the vents => air quality gets better. Maybe sections that weren't livable before are livable now.

Silco and Vander take their mining knowledge and maybe carve a middle section, somewhere between the upper levels that are already lived in by people and maybe too expensive and the sump that is still dark and shitty to live in.

There being more air systems in Silco's time could be advances in technology or it could be the factories causing a new, different type of pollution?

(an interesting facette here is the AU where the air is clearly much better but the implication is that it's done with more plant/nature based technology rather than more chemtechy one)

[complete side note, due to the 3 years Heimer has been there my head canon for the AU is that Silco and Vander reunited over Vi's death, together they made political advacements and that after a while in Heimer arrives and gave them a boost in regards to technology]

Silco saying to the chem barons he brought them up and gave them "a taste of topside" could also be explained by

the literally moved them from the lower levels to the higher levels (either by moving them to the lanes or by making them so rich that they can live even in the areas above the Lanes, just like their meeting tower is very high up even while Silco is the one who stil lives far down) after Vander was killed because they for some reason were stuck down there

or all people that lived lower moved to the Lanes when Silco and Vander "built the lanes".

or maybe a young Silco was among the miners that convinced the Kiramann's to build the vents

Finn's line is interesting, because it doesn't sound like Silco pulled him from the mines/depths. It sounds more like he was around during Vander's time watching from the sidelines and not liking how Vander was doign things. As opposed to he lived elsewhere and was lifted up.

But he also looks a bit younger, so he has a different backstory than the others (but there's generally the problem that I think the Caitlyn files said that at least one chembaron is actually a Piltie, so wouldn't at least that guy have a different backstory than the other chem barons? so when he's giving his speech to the chem barons there's at least two people in the room to whom that speech doesn't really apply?) . After all we have the "You're too young to remember what the undercity was before it became an "enterprise"."

So this exchange suggests:

there was a time where the Undercity was a lot more primitive and Vander does remember it but Finn is too young

but already under Vander the undercity became more like an enterprise (maybe because Vander and Silco turned the Lanes into a more smuggling/trade based economy rather than a mining/producing based one, or maybe also because of the protection money) at least in Finn's eyes, or at least he thought it had the potential to be one if run better

Another thing I find confusing is okay, so there's the region where the shimmer addicts live, right? And the implication to me was that is the bad part of Zaun? The part where the air is bad, where the lowest of the low live, that's why Jesus!Viktor goes there to make his commune.

But according to season 1, this is where Vi, Powder, Connel and Felicia lived. Ie the place where presumably all the fluffy Powder and Vi as kids memories from the Remember Me flashback take place. At first I thought maybe that place was like just a shack where maybe they just played and Felicia made the height charts, but it looks like a comparatively nice house with a staircase and ornaments?

Again, if this the shitty place of the Undercity, why would Vander and Silco's cherished friend live there when the Last Drop was available?

Benzo talks to Vander about "rounding up the collections",

Yes, just like Sevika talks about doing the same for Silco in season 2.

IMO both Silco and Vander were taking protection money. I personally think that they both can be seen as as a system of proto-taxes and it's more a question whether people got anything back from it. Maybe that's a reason why Vander seemed to be more popular with the people, if people saw it more as Vander building up infrastructure/houses for them while with Silco the money goes more towards building up factories or making weapons. (with factories likely being useful infrastructure as well, but maybe people don't see it because it's more indirect).

But that's kind of an interesting question in itself: What does Vander spend his money on? He seems to be living a well enough maybe "middle-class-y" lifestyle with his kids, but Vi certainly doesn't feel rich, hence her rants about how they have nothing compared to Pilties.

I would presume he has an income from the bar. So if he the bar money and the collection money, was is the money being spent on? Paying the guys who do the collections? Maybe they serve as guards/police against those unwanted elements that according to Jinx's season 2 line started fighting as soon as Vander was gone? But if Vander has like organized supporters, why on earth did Vi think it was a good idea to collect her kid brothers as support to spring Vander free from Silco rather than fetch whatever remaining allies Vander might have had? Or at the "guys" Benzo speaks off more like loose contractors, maybe not even particularly powerful people and people pay their taxes just out of fear of Vander?

(I have played around with the idea that maybe Vander spends the and Silco is more the "I will build a factory that gives you employment so you can make your own money" guy) collections on more charitable things like families in need () and that's why people remember him fondly. But with the whole "build the lanes" thing, maybe there's a chance that there are still building projects/they are still expanding? I think a big thing with the whole "building the lanes" in an engineering way that I just don't pictured neither Vander not Silco as that much of a construction/engineering guy, but who knows. Maybe just Zaunite ingenuity again)

[just-4-the-future]

Boys with acne I love you

Boys with stretch marks I love you

Boys with cellulite I love you

Boys with crooked teeth I love you

Boys with weird smiles I love you

[lgbtlunaverse]

So I've said multipe times now (here and here) that thinking nmj is just so blinded by privilege he doesn't undertand that acting out of line gets people killed is, in my opinion, a misunderstanding of his character that ignores the part where he's, you know, actively dying the whole time and thinks that's a good thing. But that doesn't mean I don't think privilege plays no role at all in how he views the world.

Specifically, his view that death (at least premature or violent death) means something.

Death isn't always a tragedy to NMJ, but it is always meaningful. If you kill an evil dangerous person for your righteous cause, that death had meaning. There was evil in the world and now there is less of it. Similarly, if you die in the pursuit of your righteous cause, that death has meaning, because the sheer dedication you gave to it that you were willing to die for it will further that cause, and your bretheren will be invigorated by your sacrifice to fight even harder.

If a death isn't meaningful, that's an injustice and it is up to the living to give it meaning. That's what cuts so deep about his father's murder. There were no consequences, no changes, no meaning. Wen Ruohan was just going to get away with it! He fights and wins an entire war to make it mean something, to make it so that the unjust murder of Nie Mingjue's father is part of Wen Ruohan's downfall.

But this is a view he can only hold because he's the kind of person who's death will be meaningful. Most ordinary people's deaths are meaningless. Not ontologically, not inherently, but they are made meaningless because no one cares. For death to be meaningful you either have to be so powerful that anything you risk your life for will be impacted in some way. (Like, say, if you sacrifice a long life for immense martial power in a faustian bargain with a blade) Or if people with that kind of power care enough about you to do so for you. For most people, this isn't true. A starving street kid has no power to change the unfair world that put them there, even if they risk their life trying, and no one will do it for them once they die.

Nie Mingjue knows this in abstract, and of course rightfully believes it's wrong. But all that does is make it yet another righteous cause people should be willing to die for. Everyone's deaths should mean something, we'll make it so or die trying!

This is what the conflict between nieyao is about at its core. Because Jin Guangyao, fundamentally, cannot conceive of his own death as meaningful. Nie Mingjue grew up around powerful men who could change the world but refuse to do so because god forbid they risk a single hair on their perfect heads. Meng Yao, on the other hand, grew up in an environment where no one of importance would blink twice if you died. He was surrounded by meaningless death. Indeed his entire early life is defined by that lack of care.

Meng Shi dies and no one cares. Meng Yao gets thrown off a flight off stairs and no one cares. He has to be the one to do the caring, and once he's gone no one else will do it for him.

So he has to live.

Jin Guangyao eventually gets far enough that he actually does aquire the power to change some things... as long as he's alive. If he changes too much, holds on too tightly to his ideals, he'll die and it'll all be for nothing. He can't sacrifice himself for his goals because doing so would immediately render those goals unobtainable. No one will care about what he tried to do. He won't be a heroic sacrifice, he'll just be trash that finally cleaned itself up.

And well... Nie Mingjue dies, and someone makes it mean something. Makes it mean so much that the entire story of mdzs would not exist without it. Jin Guangyao dies and it doesn't mean anything. Most people are glad to be rid of him, and the few that are not don't do anything to change that.

[notsogoodangel]

I'm just saying that there's no heterosexual explanation for AJ, as the Champion, having a twink actually running Parkour Civilization.

[coquelicoq]

the virginia woolf reading experience

oh god what is this syntax. brb i need to apologize to the french

[stare off into space thinking about free indirect speech and her utter mastery of narration and the complexity of thought she is able to transfer, and how the absolutely batshit syntax is part of how she achieves this]

[stare off into space thinking about the nature of consciousness]

the books that are masterpieces to me are those that cause a feeling of such profound unity in every paragraph that you want to run into the street and shout its sentences to people (to say, hey, this author gifted me a piece of the world's substance made manifest in language, and i received it, look at me receive it, and now you receive it, let me watch you receive it), but are nearly impossible to extract from because to remove any passage from the ecosystem the author has created for it/out of it would be to remove its potency. because the content and the form are so inextricable from each other and from all that comes before and after

[stare off into space thinking about the miracle and limits of human connection to other humans & the void & mystery & death & history & posterity & suffering & love & understanding & smallness & bigness & entropy]

[cry]

[flysafepapi]

after the scene we got of otto telling aegon that viserys did not choose him, and that he's only on the throne because they scene, combined with the fact that after his anger and rage about jaehaerys fades, the guilt will set in because he wasn't there either

i am on my knees begging for a scene of aegon going to visit viserys in the crypts or wherever his resting place is, or the remains of his room where the destroyed miniature of king's landing or whatever, and start talking as if viserys is listening, asking him everything he never asked when he had the chance, like "why didn't you love me, what did I do so wrong, all I wanted was your approval and you never saw me, what am I supposed to do now, please help me"