#they don’t even care what the one being confronted did wrong it’s WAR

[ir-abelas-vhenan]

Don't mind me, just revisiting the plot (again) and dying over this line (again). (These screenshots are going to be abysmal, but you'll get the point).

"To stop now would dishonor those I have wronged to come this far."

Yeah he's talking about Mythal (earned or not) and Felassan and Lavellan and Varric...but the way it applies to HIM, too, is what absolutely guts me.

Long post ahead...

Solas realizing that Lavellan doesn't care about how others see him or want to use him under the inquisiton, that HIS motivations as he has shared them are enough for her and worth defending against those who would tell him he's something he isn't. Solas, for the first time, being confronted with the realization that one these new elves he does not see himself in will still go to bat for him.

"You came here to help, Solas, I won't let them use that against you."

(Is he duplicitous? Yes. But intent on working against Corypheus? Undoubtedly).

“How would you stop them?”

“However I had to.”

“...thank you.”

Solas grappling with the fact that it wasn't just a one off, that this Dalish woman being faced with "hypotheticals" he's desperately been trying to get her people to entertain is jumping in head first, pushing back and disagreeing with him but never treating him worse for their differences and always admitting when he's helped shape a changing perspective. Solas daring to ask for help and marveling at the fact that he receives it, that the same woman who asked if it might some day be possible to live alongside spirits, who did not immediately shoot down his critique of THE CHANTRY REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE SPIRITS AS LEGITIMATE BEINGS (GAH), who did not laugh at him for saying he preferred their company most days, this woman, is going to drop time and resources during war time preparations to personally help his friend.

And then, when he is too late and has once again failed someone he considers a friend, he disappears within himself, where he has always gone to exact punishment for the weight of the lives he believes he's betrayed. It almost works, too.

Psych. Lavellan doesn't want him to grieve alone, to stare at the place in the Fade where his friend used to be and think of all he should have done differently.

“The next time you have to mourn, you don’t need to be alone.”

“It’s been so long since I could trust someone.”

“I know.”

“I’ll work on it. And thank you.”

And still she unbalances him, accepts him, wants more. Solas is sharing a personality that brings him the closest he has ever been to his spirit form, and it is ENOUGH for her. Existing as he has always dreamt of is all takes to earn her loyalty, respect, and eventually love.

But does she stop there? No. She doesn't chafe at this random apostate who speaks with certainty and unapologetically delves into a past he believes worth preserving, even at the cost of questioning her culture as it currently stands.

The very woman he once thought of as a mistake that HE unleashed upon the world is asking to be a part of his, not because of what he can bring to the table, not because she needs a right hand man, and certainly not because she thinks he has some well of power and intelligence critical to winning over enemies she’s willing to join for "supervisory" purposes (cough cough hi Mythal). She bears the weight of choices that can and will lead to death, to pain, and when it wears on her she relies on him, not for solutions but so that at the end of it all she might smile with someone who knows her heart and the good she tried to do amidst a sea of terrible options. She wants to be known, no inch of her unturned, and worse, she thinks she knows him. But how could she? This is no longer who he is, it is merely the remnants of what he destroyed to make a world at Mythal's whim.

“You’re an admirable man. Not many people know who they are the way you do.”

“Thank you. Both for saying that and…for seeing that. Few in this world can see me instead of just seeing a pair of pointed ears”

She. Sees. Him. Every part he slowly is realizing he wants to be known for and even a few he thought he could hide. And then he gives it all up. Because he woke to a new world where spirits and elves and mages were so far removed from the role they played in Arlathan that it can only be yet another mistake he caused and must fix, never mind the fact that the dwarves have forgotten why they fled underground millennia ago in the first place.

The friend who tore him from the world he loved, urged him to take physical form? She is dead, too, never mind the fact that she ignored his urging for a different path, nevermind that he killed and tore and hurt in her name because otherwise what was losing the part of himself he loved for?

"A spirit becomes a demon when denied its original purpose.”

“It hurts. It always does, but I will survive.”

“You bound it to obedience, then commanded it to kill. That is when it turned.”

He may no longer recognize where the Dread Wolf ends and where Solas begins, but if he gives up now and permits himself the chance to remember, the pain he caused himself and others means nothing, because he did it all for Mythal and in his final discussion with her, regardless of what Veilguard tries to convey, she does not release him from his position as her agent.

And maybe that's part of why I'm so angry, because EVEN BEFORE TRESPASSER, the fragment of Mythal that ends up in Morrigan could have freed him, but she does not.

"I am sorry." He whispers.

"The failure was mine," he tells her, voice trembling. "I should pay the price."

Silence.

And do we get that "what we did, we did together" psuedo-fake ass-absolution, the one that, if given enough time and safety to put himself first he may have realised he doesn't truly need to pursue the things he deserves, that make him feel finally like himself again? No the fuck we don't.

"As am I, old friend." She murmurs.

Looking through the lens of Veilguard, this isn't an apology, it's a condemnation. It's Mythal tormenting him one more time, twisting the knife deeper, agreeing that it is Solas alone who has brought them to this point, who deserves to be punished. And then she reminds him what they are to each other, what he is supposed to be to her. What he must become again.

"It isn't abuse if I ask," Cole says in his personal quest.

"Not always true," Solas shoots back.

So he recommits to the friend he gave up his nature for, he refuses to let himself remember that Lavellan learned the full truth of his identity and still begged him not to mourn alone. Even so, he still cannot quite forget.

Var lath vir suledin. Our love will persevere.

I wish it could, vhenan.

And so he pushes onwards, spending almost a decade denying himself his true nature and regretting that he ever gave it a chance to come through because now he KNOWS that this world is different and a little broken, but it's a world he could be a part of because of the woman and the friends that made a place for him. It is a world that doesn't necessarily need to be restored as much as it might need renovation, but that is not the world Mythal demanded of him when she let him kill a remaining piece of her. And any solution but that means the hurt of taking a body, of hurting the titans, of time and time again being called on by one evanuris to fix a problem they all caused, was for nothing.

And a Pride of that magnitude, that sinister an origin, has a long, long way to fall.

And then that same uppity little shit has the audacity to tell him it's not too late, that he can turn back.

He kills again. He kills again. He kills again.

He kills a friend.

He fails to prevent the Evanuris from wreaking havoc a second time, wrenches another innocent into his war, and when they ask him about the woman he calls vhenan, he feels the mask stifling him begin to suffocate. But he never lets it fall, because to surrender now is to place her broken heart atop the pile of regrets he's been holding up like Atlas crumbling beneath the weight of the world itself. Because he still thinks it selfish to want the things that make him feel like himself again, so they need to be taken off the board entirely.

"To stop now would dishonor those I have wronged to come this far."

If he gives up now, his entire corporeal life has been a betrayal of many, but worst of all, he will have ruined himself for nothing.

But then she's there. A little older, a little sadder, and still looking at him like she did the night he almost broke and instead carefully removed any suggestion that she had ever belonged to anyone but herself.

"Didn't you hear me?" Her every action screams as she kneels to meet his gaze like he did the day he took her arm (another failure, another sacrifice he cannot let be for nothing).

The tombstone in the fade is his greatest fear, but it is not his fate. Why? She will not let it be. It cannot be his din'anshiral if she is not beside him.

Lavellan may not have understood the depth of exactly WHEN Solas first came somewhere foreign and uncertain to help, but she never once failed to keep her promise. She refuses to let his initial desire to do good be held against him any longer. And when she sees him accept that not-quite-absolution-definitely-more-of-a-power-play from the god that saw what he was capable of and molded him into a weapon, she finds her in to make sure he doesn't walk off alone to mourn again, never again will she lose him to the expectations others have of him. No doubt she wants to find a way to sink the fingers of her good hand into that spectral visage and tear it away like he wishes to do to the veil. But she is not here for Mythal. She is here for her heart, and for the man who has been carrying it since the moment her lips met his in the fade ten years ago.

“No orders to kill, no conflict with its nature, no demon.”

She forces him to see that the only remaining betrayal is to lock himself away one more irreversible time. All that's left to lose is the piece of himself he cherishes more than his greatest victories: all that he has to gain comes from making sure the love that was given to him at Skyhold, in the moment where Varric saw all he was capable of and still tried to bring him back home, was not given in vain.

"There is no fate but the love we share." She tells him as soon as Mythal's too-little-too-late platitudes send shudders through his body.

Banal nadas ar lath'ma vhenan.

It will not be so terrible a place, so unforgivable a betrayal if he can finally dare to put himself first. If, unlike that night in Crestwood, he finally gives in not to break, but to make himself whole.

There's a codex entry in Inquisiton about a spirit of wisdom who is summoned by researchers and only after a very pleasant conversation do they realize they made a mistake and never successfully bound the spirit in the first place, that it chose to speak with them of its own accord.

"I am not certain the spirit would have talked so freely had it been shackled at the time," writes the author of the entry.

I keep thinking about this alongside the datamined line of Morrigan saying, "And so, the Dread Wolf is stopped by, of all things love."

But that isn't quite right, is it?

Because in the end, of course the Dread Wolf could only ever freed by, over everything, love.

[coffeegnomee]

The psychological analyses that can come from that conversation with Ash is insane. And then the convo after with chat. 

 ASH: “WAIT. ZAm is accepting hearts from people That Kill? That’s not very peaceful of you zam. That goes against your oath. You’re just accepting heart that has, that puts blood on your hands. I’m not even joking about this” 

ZAM: “I-, I don’t. I don’t think it does.” 

ASH: “You’re benefiting from the spoils of the death that you claim to be so against” 

Zam physically JUMPS away from the conversation at the same time. Visibly unsettled by what Ash just said, because this exact stance has come up in chat in the past weeks. 

But nonetheless he proceeds to talk very calmly and practically. 

ZAM: “If kills have already happened what am I supposed to do to stop it. I only care about myself not killing people” [parkouring over to the roof of the house] 

ASH: “You literally-” 

ZAM: “not other people. The server can do whatever the fuck it wants. I don’t care” 

PANGI” aaahhhhh”

ASH: “That’s the most. That’s the most selfish view”

Hold that line for future analysis. In the moment Zam moves past it instantly, settling in the safe arms of being misunderstood. Nobody understands PrinceZam. 

 PANGI: “He’s like switzerland, you know. Like trading with uh germany and trading like england and [france?] in the middle of a war” 

ZAM: “nobody understands. Nobody understands princezam.” 

ASH: “that doesn’t make. That makes you a rat more than anything” 

(A snitch betrays his teammates for something in return, but a rat goes behind his teammates back to save his own cowardly ass.)

ZAM: “[cobs ash/under ash and jumps into it] nobody understands princezam” 

ASH: “maybe I will eventually. Why did you try to do- what?” 

ZAM: “I learned from you! The best side to play is all sides, right? That’s what you said” 

This is the FIRST time Zam has accepted this role. He has debated and worried about accidentally playing both sides, worried how each team will react, it has been WEIGHING on his mind that he DOESN’T want to play all sides. But in the heat of the moment, in the face of being called a hypocrite, he EMBRACES it to get Ash off his back. 

From 7/18/24, 33:20 ZAM: “I really don’t like the idea of playing both sides, but like, like- I’m trying my hardest not to, I’m just kinda like, at spawn and people are confiding in me. It’s like really awkward. Like maybe I’m leaning into it a little bit, I think, just because it’s like, easy. You know? Like if you shove 100 dollars in my face like I’m probably gonna take it right? Like like [giggling], it’s just like, ugh, it’s so stupid [laughing] i don’t like this. I don't know, I’m opportunist I guess. I’m just an opportunist I guess because I'm pacifist and I don't wanna die. So. But like also I really just don’t like the idea of being someone who plays both sides, it’s so awkward” 

Interestingly enough, we weren’t even talking about playing all sides. We were talking about taking bloodied hearts. Goes to show what is really on PrinceZam’s mind. 

ASH: “I mean, yea. I mean. Uh. okay. I guess we’re both insects then damn.” 

[zam laughs as he stutters his way around] 

ASH: “whatever bruh” 

ZAM: “hypocritical as fuck” 

ASH: “I mean, I’m not claiming to be any good person, I’m just saying your whole oath and code of honor is” 

ZAM: “I’m not either. I’m trying to be a good person but, hey” 

PANGI: “You’re doing a really bad job I can tell you that, Zam” 

ZAM: “yea. [pauses and then swings around to confront pangi] coming from you is crazy” 

PANGI: “[indignant] what do you mean coming from me, what did I do wrong?” 

ZAM: “hey guys my name’s pangi, my bit for today is I’m going to go inside this guy’s house and then what’s it called, frame him for doing drugs and take him to an obsidian box and lock him up in there” 

PANGI: “It was pretty funny. I thought that was pretty funny” 

ZAM: [now notably staying in one place for the conversation] yea you thought it was funny? It was HORRIFYING for me. Fuck you [punches him a couple of times]” 

That Pangi bit was not lore just the other day, but now it is. And it was horrifying. Love it.

PANGI: “Did you not find that video funny?” 

ZAM: “I didn’t enjoy that one bit, no.” 

PANGI: “suuuure buddy. Sure” [zam starts parkouring again] 

ZAM: “I don’t think pangi’s a pacifist” 

Classic deflection! It wasn’t Pangi’s pacifism that was in question, it was Zam’s. But Pangi’s pasifism is on Zam’s mind, so he’ll dredge up everything that’s been on his mind to make Pangi look bad so Zam can win the moral high ground. Or the highest low ground. 

In my mind, he’s starting to subconsciously not believe in his stance. Someone who believes in their beliefs fully doesn’t need to stoop to calling out everyone else’s flaws. He’s uncomfortable with the topic, which is why it became a lore moment with chat after, but even so, this is an early sign of cracking I think. He feels BAD about playing all sides, but puffs up that he doesn’t. He was SO worried about it the day he watched the bros vs empire fight. And again on gossip city day, but now he brings it up as a defense.

And also about receiving bloodied hearts, we’ve had this debate to chat before and Zam acknowledged that it is an ethical dilemma:

From 7/20/24, 4:51:10 “imagine flame goes on a killing spree just so he can pay you to make more builds lol’ (citrus) dude. Is the blood on my hands then? That’s something I was wondering, what if this becomes bad. To where they’re like murdering people just for the sake of like, whats it called, paying me. ‘Yes youre evil then’ (sin) aw shit. It’s my fault. I mean I guess it depends on how bad it gets. I felt really bad when they killed jepex for me. I can’t lie, in the moment I thought it was really funny but looking back, it’s literally the same as like. Like I think me asking them to kill someone is the same as me killing them myself, it lowkey does not matter. So I’m lowkey like having another moral dilemma right there, on that one. I’m gonna stop asking people to fucking kill people for me that’s stupid, i don’t want to do that anymore”

And then he debriefs the conversation with chat: “‘you’ve only done build commissions for incredibly violent people huh’ (arch) that is something to consider huh, am I [sharp breath in] let me put on the lore music hold on. Am I. and I, I don’t think I’m the worst person to- okay. No. you know what? It doesn’t matter. Because there are worse people on this server. So I’m not that bad by comparison. It doesn’t matter. Heh. it doesn’t even matter like, like, by comparison I’m not that bad it’s fine. You know I’m doing better than I did last season So I’m okay. I’m happy with my choices I feel like. I dunno. I mean like gaining, gaining hearts is not the worst thing in the world, it’s kind of like the point of the server is it not? I dunno. Hmmm ‘i mean violent people are the ones who have the hearts’ (citrus) exactly! Yea, my only, the only people I CAN do business with is the violent people.”

“But by taking hearts from them am I not encouraging them to kill more? Yea, that’s something to consider as well, you know? Cause, but it’s like. Ugggghhh let me read through the oath again. ‘Are they killing other violent people’ ‘or innocents’ (arch) that’s true! I mean. They kill innocents when they feel like killing innocents it depends on the person i’m dealing with. I don't know.. How often does mapicc kill innocent people?”

Him having to reference the oath in order to figure out if he’s okay, if he’s “in the right”, whatever that means subjectively, he needs the reassurance that he’s okay. Because he does not feel okay.

“Yea, there’s no stopping the violence on lifesteal obviously that’s just how the server works so I, I’ve only, it’s only about like, me. You know? ‘Can’t extend beyond yourself or else it would drive you crazy’ (mer) exactly I can’t control what other people do. It’s not selfish [heavy emphasis. Meaning ashsawg’s comment] it’s just like, me controlling what I can control. You can only control, you should only worry about what you can control, and what I can control is limiting myself. Umm from all that stuff.”

Because this isn’t about true pacifism, this is about Zam stopping Zam from being the joker again. And he can’t be the joker again because it was damaging to the server (7/9/24, 5:28:18 “‘it was fun tho’ (chips) it was, but it was fun at the expense of others. It was fun… but it was damaging to the server.. It was. I dunno. I don’t think it’s who I want to be.”)

So Zam’s form of pacifism, not killing anyone himself, is precisely Not Selfish because it’s saving the server by preventing the joker form coming back. 

But everyone observes him as trying to be classically Pacifist, which means being against all violence.

And then new chatters start bringing up the Planet kill. 

“‘you got one kill’ ‘you killed planet’ okay okay okay you killed planet okay. I hate how many people are talking about that. Can i talk about how I hate how many people talk about that? Cause like, it’s absurd that people are even bringing that up. I shot at him and he took off his fucking armor, what do you mean!? It obviously was never going to kill him, are you stupid? Like why are we why do so many people talk about this? Like it’s an actual point. ‘YOU CANNOT DENY IT ZAM’ yes I fucking can! Yes I fucking can! Because I shot at him as a fucking like bit, because was obviously never to kill him, and he took off all his fucking armor. I’ve been over it! I have been over it like a million times it’s insane! I gave back the heart too like what. [opens statistics] Like it doesn’t even count. [closes statistics without scrolling down] It does not count. ‘You’re still killing’ [mocking] you're still killing. Okay actual like bot opinion. Bot take. Actual bot take is what this is. Insane. Like actually insane. The fact that people are still on this is craaaazy like actually crazy. ” 

I love talking about the Planet kill (not in chat tho) because it’s such an interesting character moment that Zam is trying to retcon as not being important or meaningful at all. It Should be meaningful, he was shooting that bow, he went up to the closet moments before. He came up with a sword moments before. Murder Was On His Mind. He didn’t mean to, but that just enriches the character more. But also, it is wildly interesting to have him, as a character, retconning it from a character perspective. Getting mad about it is so much better than being dismissive of it. Or ignoring the messages. He is bothered by it, that’s why he gets so mad. And that has potential.

And then my favorite part:

“‘PANGI HASN’T’ oohhhh that’s what this is about. That’s what this is about. That’s what this is about, it’s about pangi, and and pangi being better than me okay. That’s what this is about. It means nothing to me. Means nothing to me. I don’t care. PANGI LITERALLY- okay. Okay. okay. Okay. okay. Okay. okay. Okay. [giggle laugh] pangi is a pacifist because he wants to be. But that’s like. Dude, woogie 1 for 1 took my thing. Dude, it’s crazy how many people are pacifist why did everyone like take my thing. I mean like the whole point is proof of concept is prove that it’s possible, right, but like heh heh. It’s also lame that other people are taking my thing. [more deranged leaning giggles] ‘everybody wants to be princezam.’ (mer)”

Here comes out the truth as to why he turned on Pangi in the Ash conversation. It’s on his mind that Pangi and Woogie are also being pacifist, and that “by the definition” they are “better” than him. Better. That one word that boils Zam’s blood. Because incompetence is his trigger. He always gets cynical and mean when someone is dumb or messes up.

And he thinks Pangi is bad at being pacifist, kill count not included. He's removing the Dirtica walls, getting into conflict with his stream bits, he's looking for violence while not being overtly violent.

And then Pangi is talking about a villain comeback when he stops pacifism. And Zam, you can tell, has no faith that Pangi is good enough at pvp to pull it off. Is it because Zam’s self conscious about his own potential return to pvp and the scariness of just loosing every battle? Is it because he’s constantly defending himself against the “weak player” allegations from his chat? He projects his own insecurities on Pangi, and then gets frustrated at him because he’s copying his arc, the arc that he so confidently and happily said has never been done before. 

A lot is boiling up under the surface of PrinceZam. 

[kjwaikiki]

Hotd Jace centric idea:

Jace did not react to Ulf and Hugh Hammer well and I can understand why. Also I know what they do in the books so while it looks like the tv show is making them more nuanced and palatable to the audience Jace is still my #1.

That being said I have an idea. Jace is a big brother, in my mind that is a very big part of who he is, and now one of his brothers is dead and the rest have been or will be sent away. He is effectively alone being kept away from the war with only Baela for company, but even Baela can’t be there very often as she has to patrol.

This brings me to my idea. Ulf and Hugh need someone to teach them how to be dragon riders and with no one else available it falls to Jace. Jace is not very happy about this but he is dutiful so he will do it. However, Jace is not the most patient teacher and often snaps at Hugh and Ulf when they don’t pick things up very quickly. Eventually Ulf and Hugh get sick of this and impatient to actually mount their dragons (Jace has mostly been teaching them Valyrian, how to direct their dragon, and the history of House Targaryen). Somehow they are able to mount Silverwing and Vermithor but things start to go wrong. Hugh can’t control Vermithor and Ulf is hanging onto Silverwing by a thread and bloodying his hands in the process.

Jace comes to their rescue and is able to corral Silverwing and Vermithor to land. He goes off on Hugh and Ulf berating them for being so stupid and lecturing them on how they could have been killed or killed someone else and how dragons are not pets or tools. He ends the lecture by telling them to show him their hands. Jace is not pleased to see Ulf’s bloody palms and while Hugh’s hands are better off (he has more callouses than Ulf) they are still scratched up. Jace goes to his saddle bags, pulls out some ointment and bandages and treats their wounds.

This shifts something in their dynamic as Ulf and Hugh are surprised that Jace is taking the time and effort to take care of their wounds. Jace is mostly just annoyed at the two men’s foolishness but doesn’t see anything odd about looking after them as they are his responsibility. Before he is done Jace states that he will not tell anyone what they tried to do and he’ll make the necessary excuses to the Queen but he expects them both to never do something so foolish again and for them to actually pay attention to their lessons now.

Ulf and Hugh do go to lessons now and are a bit bolder with Jace now. This means that they are both more likely to ask questions now than they were before. Ulf because he now believes Jace will help him and Hugh because he is no longer afraid Jace will report him to his Queen mother for every grievance. Jace answers all their questions even if some of his answers are curt.

I imagine their relationship shifts even more when one of them asks Jace why they need to learn this. If it’s Ulf he is asking out of genuine curiosity and if it is Hugh it is because he is annoyed and slightly confrontational. Jace gives them two answers the first is that the Queen has accepted them as dragon riders and this has accepted them into House Targaryen, they will have an education worthy of House Targaryen (Rhaenyra did not mean to do this but I think Jace would have a little better perspective on this matter, he would know that after the war they can’t just send them back to what they were before). The second reason is that they will be going to war and as Crown Prince he will see them prepared, he will not allow another dragon rider to perish to Vhagar’s jaws.

This makes both Hugh and Ulf look at Jace differently. Suddenly they don’t see an arrogant and perpetually annoyed princeling, instead they see a young man who has lost his brother and is desperately fighting to keep what remains of his family alive. For a moment they see how afraid Jace actually is but they also see how determined he is, at that moment they swear their is fire in the prince’s eyes.

Ulf is much more willing to listen and follow Jace after that and sings his praises to anyone who will listen. This causes Jace to soften a bit towards Ulf. However, Hugh is still wary of Jace. The big revelation their relationship is when, for some reason, Ulf, Hugh, and Jace get drunk together. Ulf is passed out so it is just Hugh and Jace still drinking. Hugh has some liquid courage in him so he asks if the reason Jace doesn’t like them is because of their silver hair.

Jace is a bit taken aback but the drink has actually mellowed his temper and looking at Hugh’s face he can’t seem to muster up any anger. Instead, Jace tells Hugh that he grew up with Aegon and Aemond and that when they were young he used to follow after Aegon everywhere, that he idolized his uncle. Of course later after Driftmark any goodwill vanished but they were still family. Now, his brother and Princess Rhaenys are dead because of Aemond and Jace has no doubt that the rest of his family will follow if the Greens have their way. Jace goes on to say that he doesn’t hate them but that they have dragons and the Targaryen looks, if the uncles he grew up with could betray them that badly what is to say that two strangers won’t do the same. In a way Hugh and Ulf are even more dangerous because they have no reason to be loyal and their dragons could kill them all much easier than Vhagar who is all the way in King’s Landing and who everyone is watching out for.

Hugh is a bit taken aback. He asks Jace if he believes they will betray him because they aren’t true born. Jace actually snorts and says that he isn’t that much of a hypocrite. He goes on to say that he doesn’t know them and that regardless of his own personal feelings he has to protect his family (the unspoken bit is that he has to protect them if no one else will, Daemon is not here and Rhaenyra is not making the best decisions in who to trust at this point in time).

There is a shift between Hugh and Jace, a new found understanding. If nothing else Hugh respects Jace more now than he did before. Jace continues to train them and as the time when they set out to war get closer he becomes more exacting. Ulf and Hugh don’t complain as they know now that Jace is trying to give them the best chance of coming back alive. Right before they fly out Jace presents them with expensive riding gear in shades of black and weaved through with chain mail, expensive leather gloves to protect their hands, new boots, dragon glass dagger, and small pins made of Valyrian steel in the shape of a three headed dragon with rubies for eyes.

Ulf and Hugh are touched and Ulf hugs Jace while Hugh gives him a respectful nod. Jace gives him an awkward nod back and tells them to watch out for arrows and to remember that dragons are not pets or tools. They part there and Ulf and Hugh go to war where they are actually two of Jace’s most outspoken supporters. A lot of people are doubtful about Rhaenyra’s reign and Ulf and Hugh try to reassure everyone by saying that Jace will be a great king.

I like to think that Ulf and Hugh do well and eventually the question is brought to Rhaenyra about what will be done about them. Addam is going to be Corlys’ heir but what about Ulf and Hugh? Rhaenyra is very vague and just says that they will be rewarded. Jace however speaks up and says that there will be empty keeps and lordships available after this, and that as dragon riders of House Targaryen they should be rewarded with a keep.

This sparks a fight between Jace and Rhaenyra as she thinks that giving Ulf and Hugh lordships wills upset their allies and that it is enough that Ulf and Hugh will be given gold and possibly stewardship of a keep. Jace points out that they can’t just expect Ulf and Hugh to be content with a few gold dragons and being hidden away in a keep after the war is done. By her actions Rhaenyra has ensured that Hugh and Ulf will always be linked to House Targaryen, and giving them keeps and a title mitigates them as a political threat as it keeps them content and acknowledges their service to the crown. Jace and Rhaenyra go back and forth a bit with the argument ending in a stalemate and neither person happy.

Somehow the argument reaches Ulf and Hugh on the frontline and while neither are happy with Rhaenyra but everything they hear about how Jace defended them just cements their loyalty and good opinion of him (the tale has been a little distorted by the time it reaches Ulf and Hugh. Now it sounds as if Rhaenyra wanted them to be sent back to where they came from with a few gold coins while Jace pushed for them to be elevated to Lord Paramounts). It also helps that everything Jace has taught them, all his advice, and even his gifts has saved both Ulf and Hugh’s life more than a few times from an arrow or an ambush while they have been at war.

I imagine that the story progresses with Ulf and Hugh becoming more and more loyal and devoted to Jace while Jace has to constantly defend Ulf and Hugh from other people (at some point Jace has assumed responsibility for the two men, they aren’t his brothers or even family but they are part of House Targaryen and as Crown Prince he has a duty to see them taken care of). At the same time Ulf and Hugh grow more disillusioned and discontent with Rhaenyra with only their loyalty to Jace tying them to the Queen’s cause.

Of course eventually Jace dies at the Battle of the Gullet and everything falls apart. Rhaenyra’s response to her heirs death is to hole up in Dragonstone which endears her to no one but least of all to Ulf and Hugh. The two men want blood and they blame the Triarchy and Rhaenyra for Jace’s death. In their minds Rhaenyra should have ordered someone else to go, gone herself, or provided more dragons and ships. It boggles their minds that Jace and Vermax were brought down by a few arrows and so they have constructed a narrative where it is not only the Triarchy’s fault but also Rhaenyra’s and the Blacks.

Some men, like Cregan Stark, still follow Rhaenyra to honor Jace. However Ulf and Hugh resent Rhaenyra and eventually betray the Blacks. In the end they twist everything Jace said and did for them and interpret it as them having just as much right to the throne as Rhaenyra. Jace did say that they were dragon riders of House Targaryen and Jace taught them everything they know about dragons and House Targaryen, surely one of them would be a worthier heir than Rhaenyra or one of the Greens. Inevitably they die.

I don’t really know where I was or am going with this. I just really like the idea of a Jace who comes into his own by teaching and looking after someone else after all his brothers are either dead or sent away. I like the idea of Jace being a good King and leader and that many people followed Rhaenyra because of Jace. That begs the question though of what happens when one of the big reasons people supported you is gone?

[justaz]

yknow what…..im thinking about it. (american) gen z grew up surrounded by talk of climate change and actual school shootings where peers and friends literally die at age 11 and that was just like our norm. the economy is shit so we cant buy houses and can barely afford food, our schools were a war zone, and our planet is dying. that was our youth, death at every turn. a lot of gen z (i think i can go global here, not just america) will tell you like “yeah i didn’t ever see myself living past fifteen much less eighteen. i thought i’d be dead by now” and so now we have like no idea wtf we’re doing and we’re just trying to make the best out of our shitty lives.

anyways merlin also kinda grew up like that as in his very existence was a death sentence and if the wrong person found out he’d be dead. growing up hearing from your mother that you cant tell anyone the truth bc what you are, how you were born, is wrong in this world and that many people would cheer to see you die….yeah what if he had the same thought process and was like “yeah fuck guess my death is inevitable” and just stopped giving a fuck. he’s confrontational and picks fights without regard for his opponents strength or numbers bc hey if he goes out this way then at least he was doing something good and standing up for what he believed in, if he doesn’t die then cool he made a difference. that’s why he goes toe to toe with arthur even after finding out he’s the prince of the most powerful kingdom in albion that started the whole campaign calling for his head.

just merlin being kind of like a medieval gen z lmao like taking no shit and taking all these risks bc hey he never thought he’d make it to twenty so wtf else is he meant to do?? live a life of paranoia and wariness? no. he’s gonna die in the end no matter what, if it happens sooner rather than later….well…he never thought he’d make it this far so he did better than he originally expected. this is why he gets on with gwaine so well bc they both have like passive suicidal tendencies where they take all these risks and make all these choices that put their lives at risk bc they don’t particularly care one way or the other how it turns out. real recognizes real.

[set-wingedwarrior]

After today’s episode I saw, well within reason, a lot of people talking about Prospera’s brainwashing of Suletta, and I wanted to share my two cents.

First of all, my (probably) unpopular opinion: Prospera was kinda right this time.

DON’T KILL ME, LET ME EXPLAIN PLS.

So, Prospera’s technically right: they are being attacked my terrorists, they are in mortal danger, and they need to fight back to survive and save everybody, and that will mean most likely taking lives. Like, that’s fair. War isn’t pretty and survival demands sacrifice.

What’s really wrong and fucked up is:

 1) the way she says and explaines it. Her whole voice and behaviour, the words she chooses, so calm and chill and apparently comforting but actually really dismissive (and kinda creepy imo). She approaches Suletta and the whole situation as if it’s not a big deal.

But at the same time, she does underline that they’re in danger, even pressing on Suletta’s rightful fear in order to have her move forward and fight.

This isn’t a “this is unfortunate, but it’s either us or them” kind of speech, but a “we must get to our goal at all cost”. The line is thin, but there’s a difference. And, most importantly, it is portrayed as if it’s a natural progression and not just a situational thing.

The thing is, we saw Suletta impacted by death, and these words alone aren’t enough to wipe away your morals. That brings me at point two, the most fucked up and vicious:

2) how Suletta has been raised and educated until then. She’s always following her motto with a smile, and helping others, never letting anyone (aside her mother) see her sad or overwhelmed. And what’s her mother’s answer every time she comes to her? “If you run, gain one. Move forward, gain two”.

After Miorine confronting her, we know that Suletta is scared every time and every time her motto is her way to cheer herself up, wear a smile, and keep going. The focus is always on moving forward, on the goal, and it NEVER AKNOWLEDGES OR QUESTIONS HER PRESENT FEELINGS.

It’s very likely that growing up, every time Suletta had to face something scary (harmless growing up stuff), she’s always been encouraged to move forward with that stupid motto instead of processing her feelings and thinking things through. Prospera just never taught her.

So, what does Suletta do instead? Say her motto like a mantra, and move forward withouth questioning anything, actively ignoring and burying her unprocessed feelings under a smile to the point that she doesn’t even realize it (it’s no surprise why she’s also so terrible at social cues and stuff).

Her whole bubbly happy persona is the product of her whole life having to face scary things withouth learning how to process how that made her feel, ignoring everything in favor of putting up her happy persona.

The result? Going from this

to this

because she doesn’t know any other way to “keep moving forward” that isn’t “do what you must and brush everything else off with a smile”. But what’s the result? Saving Miorine at the cost of their relationship because she’s rightfully horrified.

The problem isn’t even that Suletta killed a man; we already estabilished that this is a survival, and even if you can argue that she could have simply incapacitate the terrorist, considering that she’s been fighting for their lives until then it isn’t too unbelievable that instinct woul kick in and end it all the same way.

The problem is, obviously, how she reacted to it. I’d bet anything that, despite being still shocked, if Suletta just stayed serious (maybe still ignoring what she did in in favor of checking on and take care of Miorine because, again, this is a “live or die” situation) then Miorine would have understood and seen Suletta’s actions differently (”she made a sacrifice by doing something terrible to protect me”). But Suletta fucking laughed! How fucked up is that? Was she having fun?

All of this isn’t caused by Prospera’s words alone because they do have some merit in the given circumstances. No, this is about the way she speaks them and the way she knows how Suletta would perceive them.

She spent years raising her to move forward no matter what, withouth ever questioning if moving forward even is the smartest choice (and we saw with Guel the consequences that come from not thinking it through). Raising her to make her the perfect little soldier.

And she succeeded.

[dreamwritersworld]

What if..? Final part(Sully Family x reader)

I hope you enjoy! 💞

“Ma’Jake? What’s wrong?’

Jake turns to a confused Neytiri.

“I-I uh I don’t know…I guess I just ran out of memories..I keep rewatching the same ones”

Neytiri smiles at Jake’s small frustration…he finally wanted to see more of Y/n.

“I can show you mine! We can both connect on the same branch.”

Jake didn’t think much of this…he’d just be happy to not see a haunting version of Y/n….

*their vision*

“Mom?”

Neytiri turns away from Jake to look at Y/n only…her smile completely went away seeing the heavily injured girl.

“M-mom help me! I’m trapped! I-I needed you…I needed him.”

Neytiri ran to a bleeding out Y/n…while holding her she tried to pull away from the vision, they both tried to.

“Ma’jake! What’s happening Jake? Help me!” Even then…Jake couldn’t do it.

“I wanted your love, I wanted it bad…but there were so many red flags.”

Suddenly they were in a hut…watching Y/n from afar as she held a gun to a sneaky Navi’s head…not caring that her older brother was watching her.

“I’ll be the one who breaks out at night and cuts your throat while you sleep.”

“Let’s be clear I trust no one.”

Jake was getting major headache, freaking out about Neytiri finding out about the accident. While Neytiri was extremely anxious…what was going on? What’s Y/n trying to communicate?

There they were…they could see themselves…Neytiri watching as always staying silent while Jake yelled at Y/n…It was after the fight, after a girl bullied Y/n…telling her how she would always be forgotten by her father while he cared for everyone else.

“…stay home for all I care. Your a mess outside by yourself. Do you understand?

It was written all over Y/n’s face…she wasn’t fine.

‘This isn’t fair. I was just trying to do good!’

…there it was…Y/n crying her eyes out….suffering a panic attack as her mind ran a million miles per hour.

‘What’s wrong with me! How could I be so stupid? I should’ve just let her say those mean things…she’s right anyway…but she was talking badly about my family…about me. They see it too….they know my dad treats me differently…as if I’m some disease. I’m sick. I am nothing. Just like he said, I am nothing without him.’

Jake and Neytiri were struggling to catch a breath just like Y/n…struggling to survive…and on their last gasp of air, the setting changed again, they were now watching themselves eat with Y/n. Jake begins confronting Y/n about how ‘dirty’ Tuk was…how there was a mess of crayons on the floor, of course that wasn’t allowed for Y/n.

They heard the sweet words Y/n was saying to Tuk after telling Jake how wrong he was to do this in front of his other child…for Tuk and Tuk only she fought till the end.

“No more food Tuk? You sure did eat huh sunshine? Let’s go clean you up and put you to sleep while Mom and dad eat.”

‘Maintain a smile…his words mean nothing.’

“You did not break me…I’m still fighting for peace.”

and suddenly…it went quiet…they slowly walked to the crash site, there Y/n’s body laid.

There was flashes of the war…

Blood splattered

Flames erupting from behind

Smoke being inhaled and…

Y/n.

Her body was struggling to form words but she was silently begging and pleading for her father to take her.

He didn’t.

“dad…dad? no…please no…dad help me…d-don’t leave me please dad.”

Lo’ak’s voice was louder, Neytiri heard it, Jake heard it…Y/n heard it while she was struggling to call out

“Dad! Y/n! She was with us!”

Jake didn’t hesitate to leave her saying she’d find her way home.

Neytiri could feel her.

every flame erupt in her lungs…

her heart breaking…

the mind growing tired…

body asking for a little bit of sleep…just a little bit of peace.

“You never saw me fall apart until then…when I was right in front of you. I didn’t close my eyes, and I know that I could’ve survived…right dad?”*

They were pulled from the vision.

“…Jake? You- how could you! How could you do that to her? To our daughter! My daughter.”

Neytiri couldn’t even explain what she was feeling…utter betrayal.

Little did they know Tuk was approaching, rushing to her mother that was screaming and had slipped perfectly into Tuk’s small arms as she fell.

“Mom? What happened?”

Neytiri was shaking, struggling and contemplating on saving her mate from the flame Tuk was now going to be the one to erupt in jakes lungs.

“Y..Y/n.”

That was all it took before Tuk looked up with the most disappointed and disgusted face she’s ever shown. They were going to see the cold version of her…the version of her that formed when Y/n died.

“It was you! It was fucking you! I knew it! How could you! You didn’t deserve her. You never fucking liked her. To her, you were everything…she was just ‘the chore’ to you.”

Tuk dropped right next to her mother…crying her eyes out. Jake watched horrified as Tuk looked up from her hands, laughing.

“I want you cold and broken…I had her blood on me…every drop. You were the reason she died. You took her from me. You’re a really shitty fucking father…you may have tricked me or treated me differently than you did with her but you listen to me when I say you will never, see her again. Not in your visions, or any stupid fucking memories you have with her. It’s over dad…everyone knows now. she’s going to be at peace and you won’t see her again.”

Neytiri gained the strength to stand beside Tuk and walk away from Jake as she desperately asked him to stop…give her time. He did, and she stupidly forgave him. Tuk couldn’t watch it anymore, so she told her siblings to go to the tree of souls with her to see Y/n one more time…together.

They all connected all at once and they saw a beautiful scenery. Y/n turned around happily to her siblings as they all rushed to her. You can hear her beautiful laugh from under all of them except one…Tuk.

*Y/n’s pov*

“Alright guys I love you too!…Where’s Tuk? I haven’t been able to connect with her fully. I need to see her again.”

They all got off, still laughing as I got up and then I saw her…my sunshine. We ran to each other, clashing into one another for a hug.

“Sunshine!”

“Y/n!”

Both of us cried tears holding onto each other.

When Tuk was finally able to speak to me I realized that…All this time I had been waiting for her. I had been waiting so long…I was afraid she wouldn’t come…

“Oel ngati kameie, Y/n”

“Oel ngati kameie, sunshine”

I grab her hand and yell out from a far to my other siblings.

“There’s a beach here! A beautiful beach! Down the hill! I’ll race ya!”

Their visions slowly shifted as they ran.

“We lived in a forest Y/n! How could you get such a beautiful beach?!”

I laugh and smile to my clueless brother.

“This was supposed to be my future! It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

The siblings smiles faded but their heart warmed at how Y/n happy was.

The siblings laughed and played amongst the clear blue waves….Y/n pulled Tuk to the side.

“I know what you’re thinking tuk…you want to leave, to run away from home. I know that’s why you brought them to me one last time do not do it sister, look around you! I may not be there for you to see but I’m always around watching you from afar and so are they…our siblings love you. I love you. I have found peace and closure in my death, you will too soon someday.”

Tuk was crying happy tears realizing what she heard her sister ask for silently in her dreams, was now given to y/n…peace and closure.

“Ok sunshine! Enough tears, let’s play!”

I was finally playing with my siblings, and living out the childhood I missed…I stepped back to take a breath and hold onto the moment.

I snapped a photo of my siblings…I loved the way a photo could capture a moment before it was gone.…nobody really notices when we leave. At best you might hear a whisper…or a wave of important memories tumbling down.

My name is Y/n Sully, like the goddess of the moon! I was 14 years old when I was murdered on a day…only meant for spotting.

I turn the camera towards me and snapped a picture…

I was here for a moment…and then I was gone.

I wish my sunshine Tuk, and siblings a long and happy life.

!💜!

I’m literally crying AHHHHHH. This is officially the end of this era! I’m so sad to let it go but I think it’s time! 💕 it’s definitely bittersweet but im ready to move onto another sad series if you guys have any ideas feel free to message or request it 💞 I truly mean it when I say I appreciate all the support ! I love reading your comments and funny comments! I’m sending hugs and kisses 🫂 hope you feel better after this series cause ik I need to

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[rainingstarz55]

Sneak Peak Scene: Eden confronts Raziel.

Raziel: “You are avoiding me. Is there a reason for your actions? Perhaps something you are keeping a secret? You know you can always share it with me”. 

Eden: “Is that what you are attempting to imply? That I am hiding something from you on purpose?” 

Raziel: “It is the only logical reason I could think of as to why you seem to shift into avoiding me. Afterall, wasn’t I the one who ensured…”. 

Eden: “Don’t even go there Raz! You know I do not like revisiting the past.” 

Raziel: “Very well...then answer my question. Why are you avoiding me?” 

Eden: “Because you are becoming just like him”. 

Raziel: “…..”. 

Eden: “Samael”. 

Raziel: “Elaborate…”. 

Eden: “Haniel…”. 

Razel: “What about her?” 

Eden: “I know what you did to her, and it’s cruel.” 

Raziel: “You misunderstand, she wasn’t living up to her expectations. She was failing the role of which was given to her. I was ordered to fix the issue and that is exactly what I did”. 

Eden: “Fix? You call torturing someone fixing?” 

Raziel: “What else would you have suggested I do? Let her continue to ruin herself? Let her mope, whine and complain like a....” 

Eden: "A mortal?"

Raziel: ......"She should've understood that Angelic beings like us must not allow our emotions to disrupt our duties. I did what was needed to be done. Otherwise how else could I have possibly solve the issue?"

Eden: “How about actually listening too her and figuring out how…heaven could have helped make things easier for her?” 

Raziel: “I’m afraid that it is entirely impossible. If anything, you are suggesting that the entire cosmos should change because of one, insignificant angel?” 

Eden: “That is not what I mean. I just think there could’ve been another way around this that didn’t require hurting someone”. 

Raziel: “Sometimes we must inflict pain onto those who are deemed unfit or incompetent, as a means of preventing a repeat of what happened in the past”. 

Eden: “I understand ever since the war things have changed and that we must be careful. I know things have been tough for everyone. But I believe Haniel never meant to cause any issues. I do believe she generally wanted to make things work and tried hard.” 

Raziel: “Then she should’ve tried harder…it doesn’t matter now, what is done is done. The problem has been fixed”. 

Eden: “You’re unbelievable. And I thought your brother was the only cruel one. Seems I’ve been proved wrong”.

Raziel: "If you have nothing else of importance to discuss, then I suggest we end this conversation. You may still be half a mortal, but you are also a guardian. I suggest you do not make the same mistake".

----------------

omgosh, what a diiiiiiiiiiick Raz is! Lol.

I began writing some scenes for a story and wrote this scene of my OC, Eden. Really need to draw her, lol. But yeah, she's pissed at Raz for what he did to Haniel. Poor thing. Or course Raz isn't going to care much....not that he ever did, but still Eden isn't just going to let it go so easily.

Anyway, hope you like the scene, sorry if my writing is crap. Let me know what you think.

[sokkastyles]

i’ve seen people argue that it was selfish/unethical of zuko not to kill ozai when they were alone during the eclipse since he had the chance and placing that burden on aang’s shoulders (even though it had been on aang’s shoulders since the start of the narrative.)

aside from the fact that, from a doylist perspective, aang is the main protagonist and the audience would have been disappointed not to see HIM driving the final confrontation with ozai, i also think it would diminish zuko’s arc as he lets go of the control ozai once had over him, as not allowing himself to be goaded into violence and only defending himself when attacked is defiance in and of itself.

i can’t help thinking, though, what would have happened if he had, and i only see two/maybe three logical outcomes—none of which would have actually helped the team, anyway. either zuko IS goaded into a fight (not in line with his arc at this point, but for the sake of argument) and ozai kills him (because i do still think ozai would be manipulative enough to stall/prolong combat until the end of the eclipse), or zuko redirects lightning at ozai, which maybe kills him. (though iroh survives getting struck by lightning with, like, no healing in book two, so… who knows? not me!) whether it does or doesn’t, zuko would likely be arrested as a traitor (at best, though it seems unlikely execution wouldn’t be on the table), and if ozai did die, i can only imagine that would mean azula, who still actively upholds imperialist ideals and actions, ascending to the throne and carrying on with her father’s plans. i guess there is some small chance zuko could escape after an assassination (attempt), but i find “zuko is either killed or imprisoned, aang never gets a firebending teacher, and the team has a much harder time winning the war and/or they don’t” a far more likely chain of events.

i don’t really know what the point of this is, other than that i can’t stop thinking about it, and i’d love to hear your thoughts if my rambling happens to inspire any <3

Not only has it been Aang's burden to begin with, but another reason why Zuko should not be the one to kill Ozai is for the same reason Iroh shouldn't. It would look like an attempt to steal power from within the royal family. The burden has to be on Aang's shoulders because as the Avatar, he acts as an ambassador of all nations. That's the whole purpose of having all four elements in one body. If Zuko kills Ozai, he actually runs the risk of threatening the peace Aang is trying to create. What would it look like if word got out that the firelord's son did what the Avatar failed to do, after 100 years of people already losing hope in the Avatar? Part of the whole deal is returning that hope to the world, that faith in the harmony that the Avatar symbolically represents. Otherwise, why should the other nations care that one fire nation royal deposes another?

As you say, a number of things could go wrong. One is that Ozai goads Zuko into a fight and kills him, which was Ozai's plan in the first place. Like, does anyone think that Ozai was trying to get Zuko to do this for Zuko's benefit? Ozai is absolutely trying to manipulate Zuko in that scene and goading him into a fight, goading him into being angry and emotional and vengeful in the hopes that he makes a mistake, is one way to do that.

Any of the other possibilities, such as Zuko being arrested or branded a traitor or Azula taking the throne, would only increase the discord in the Fire Nation. Like I said, the Avatar is not just important as the Hero(tm), he is a political symbol. Even those who reject the spiritual significance of the Avatar would have a hard time disputing it if Aang has the backing of an army and several world leaders, whereas it would be too easy to paint Zuko as someone who acted alone, a son trying to steal power from a father. And those who supported Azula would recall how Zuko had been banished, how he had always been second fiddle to Azula, and look, it turns out he's also lied about killing the Avatar in an attempt to steal his sister's glory! Those who support Aang but distrust the fire nation would be suspicious of Zuko killing Ozai seconds before the coup, who again, looks like he is acting alone. Zuko could end up being killed or imprisoned by either side, and since Aang and co. don't know he plans to join them, they wouldn't know any different, either. Imagine the gaang showing up to Zuko, who has been their enemy for the past three seasons, being like "hey guys, I killed the firelord for you!" Do you think they are likely to trust him?

Also, man, these people will do anything to preserve Aang's moral purity but think it should be fine for Zuko to murder his own father? Where is Zuko's lion turtle in this scenario, I wonder?

[wellwrittenevilbitch]

Who is the better written evil bitch!

Propaganda

Elktaur:

He hated himself being a centaur and believed that if he were human his life would be perfect. He cut off his antlers while doing research and then separated himsel into a human and an elk. Turns out both halves posessed the same level of intelligence as a full centaur. 

His human part proceeded to decieve the love of his life and get literally everything he ever wanted while his elk part watched from the shadows in despair, until it finally turned into a monster whos only goal was to terrorise the world so that everyone felt as much pain as he did. 

Horrible war broke out, and instead of choosing to end it (if one half dies the other does too) his human part desided to play the hero battling against elk's minotaur army without any intention to make it all stop.

Elktaur was later confronted, put back together and executed by his love. 

Gustavo

Don’t get me wrong, he was one of the better criminals in the series—looking at YOU, walter—but he has done some pretty terrible things in the name of vengeance.

He frames this young man and manipulates a bunch of people, but he’s fair when it comes to deals and such. He’ll betray people only if they betray him first.

Also, the friendship between him and Mike and Jesse was really nice. You get the sense that they’re the only two that really cared about Jesse, ironically. (Minus badger, skinny pete and his girlfriends. But they didn’t know the extent of what Jesse had done.) Even knowing how Jesse was sent to kill Gus they still liked?? Him??? 

It’s revealed that Gus is a criminal with morals—he won’t harm children as they have nothing to do with gangs. Unlike some people.

It’s also shown that Gus did all those bad things to take revenge against this kingpin for putting a bullet in his partner’s head many years ago. That’s why he’s downright vicious towards people in that same gang.

The viewers are able to understand Gustavo’s motivations but at the same time not agree with what he��s done. Definitely morally superior than most other criminals there, but still irredeemable. Well written guy! He was supposed to be a side character but the actor was so good that he was a major antagonist on the show.

[irontragedyreview]

I don't have much to say about this new chapter, there are things that I liked, and others that I don’t care about. On the other hand I was pleased to be right about Izuku and him naming her his hero, because many in the fandom prefer to ignore the relationship and importance of Ochako over Izuku for fighting over ships (we all know what I'm talking about). Besides I wasn't wrong when I said that what Horikoshi, did after the hasty fight between Izuku and Tomura could be fixed, it's like the poisoned apple that reaches everything else, some said we had to have faith and that Horikoshi knew what he was doing, I sincerely believe that Horikoshi doesn't care because if that were the case the confrontation between Tomura and Izuku would not have been the mediocrity that it was.

Regarding the chapter in question, I liked the moment between Ochako and Izuku, especially because of the pain shared between them by Tomura and Himiko endings’. We can discuss if this was taking the easy way out, that’s getting rid of the villains because from all of them Toga was the one who had the best chance of surviving out of the entire LOV due to the lack of physical injuries. Although Toga's death is a sign of sacrifice towards the only person who tried to reach her, it’s also a way of saying that she had no place in that society, one of the things that Toga said to Ochako during her fight was if Ochako's plan was to offer her blood and visite her in jail (this occurs when she was still rejection Uraraka). At the end of their fight her sacrifice was also the way in which she didn’t have to give up being herself, the words she says are more or less exact "I am Himiko Toga and I lived as I wanted." I'm not trying to belittle the entire confrontation between Ochako and Toga during this war (in fact, I consider it the best of all), even so, her death seems very similar to Tomura's to me, the fact that both characters die maintaining their convictions, it’s as if living the way she wanted was incompatible with the society in which she lived, so death was the only way out that allowed her to be herself, with Tomura feels the same. Something I'm going to celebrate about Tomura's end is that his convictions were maintained until the end. I think there was nothing Izuku could have said to him that would have made him stop or desist from his own vision of the world, his most memorable phrase for me it's "Even if all my hate fades away and nothing remains of me, I still want to be a hero for the villains”. Honestly I don’t think that the black and white vision that prevails in part of the fandom satisfies me, nor does the part that says he was a monster that had to die, but neither does taking him as a simple victim (not because he wasn’t, but because many times, this vision detracts Tomura's convictions and simply reduces him to the victim or AFO’S puppet and I don't like that)

Getting back to the topic, was Toga's death necessary? I don't know, especially considering how all the important casualties are from the villains, while the heroes maintain their lives, even characters like Edgeshot survive, but the characters of Toga, Tomura and even Touya (who is on the way to his grave), simply seem to die because the society doesn’t have a place for them that isn’t away from the population. This last chapter wants to show us that there is a change in society no matter how small it may be, and that people in general becomes more involved and  not a passive actor, which is why we see the woman who ignored Tenko not commit the same mistake, the idea of ​​reaching out to help others, arriving before the tragedy happens, arriving when it isn’t too late, however these are baby steps and that mentality would still have pushed characters like Touya, Toga and Tomura to expulsion because for society the moment to reach them had already been lost.

The idea of ​​"I wish I had arrived before that everything happened, if I could have been the support that person needed, maybe things would have been different, maybe we would have been different", that words are on Midoriya's side, Ochako's words are a reflection of his own thinking and desire, it doesn’t change the mediocre confrontation between them, it doesn’t change the disaster, but it shows that Horikoshi isn’t mediocrity enough, Ochako's words resonate with him and his thoughts are no different from hers.

[amigac0debasic13]

hey guys. Do u even care about what I have to say. Thats right baby. It’s a mini rant. Young Garmadon edition and the horrors of white boy Star Wars core.

Okay so. Erm.? I don’t like garmadons child design in the show. This guy is way too twink coded as a young adult for me and that’s wrong. He’s a beast. And also))??? Lots of paragraphs on Wu depression. Thats the synopsis now look below for further horro r

Hello??? Dang man tatooine is calling ???? IM. SORRY THAT WAS MEAN. I’ve always felt like the spinjitzu bro books did a better job with his design, but brunette just isn’t it. Black hair. Right now. Make it naturally white but also make him fucjing stupid so he dyes it with Ink because he doesn’t want whit4 hair cause he’s DUMB.

Look alive. Make him wear a ponytail and give him the black dyed hair COWARDS.

Anyways that parts over. Now I’m going to talk about my issues with how people draw him in his human form a lot.

I feel like the twinkification is real. All human designs I’ve found of Garmadon that don’t use legos ambiguous yellow color are pasty white and this madness must STOP!!! I think if u wanna make him a cracker it’s ok. It’s fine. But it is a little boring seeing the same designs scatter my Garmadon picture wall(/J I DONT HABE THA)

‘And also while I’m at it, I’m gonna be real and say that any design for wu in the series is pretty good. Still mad he looks like a normal guy. TBH. Many fan designs give him more dragon like traits, and I think that’s so cool, but I’ve always had a specific idea I’ve never seen executed personally. I think Wu would chop his horns off if he had them permanently out.

Wu clearly isn’t a fan of just showing off his dragon or Oni traits. He straight up doesn’t do it, even as a kid (he should honestly be shown with those traits cause he really doesn’t give a fuck as a child) and I believe that his tormented old man position (see the many drawings and tweets from the shows authors and writers) he wouldn’t exactly be drawn to having his traits on display. The completely reasonable solution? Scar himself permanently by wacking them off with a blade. Sounds like something he’d do in young adult hood. His horns being out insinuates he can’t just shapeshift to make them go away, so erm!! Pretty smart solution ngl!!!

‘’Now it’s time for Wu trauma oooooooo!!!!! Oh my god part of his soul is GONE????

In one of the spinjitzu bro books Wus soul is forced into a little puppet. At the end of the book, the puppet is still alive and moving. When the ninja ask to see a puppet show before Wu recounts this, he has a physical reaction.

so. Wu is having a great time. Also, in one of the comics (forgot the name and I can’t for the LIFE OF ME remember where I read this) he confronts. Basically the embodiment of his fears. Basically he doesn’t want to become like his SHIT father who is literally god. leave him ALONE.

So. Uhm. In conclusion. Whirlwind (wus canon nickname) and Softie (Garmadons canon nickname) need to get their shit together <33333333

[bestworstcase]

I feel like (different anon) half of the fandom doesn’t even care about Salem in the sense that regardless of what Her goal is? To be fair in my corner I’ve seen more individual character hatred rather than “this plot doesn’t make sense” hatred. Or ppl just saying the plot sucks without offering why they think so which is the majority of rwby “criticism”. But Salem being the key to the end of the show has been very well telegraphed since the end of volume 3. She started as this faceless monster, a creature to hate, the one who killed their headmaster and plunged the world into war. Then we learned that Oz was also keeping secrets and outright lying, so that knocked him off of the Trusted Adult pedestal (tho he has always been kinda shady but in terms of story formula that’s what I mean). Volume 6??? The Lost Fable?? Still so amazing. Salem very literally gets humanized in the eyes of our characters. She still did all of those awful things but she’s a Person now rather than an Entity. Those moments of confrontation (Ironwood’s office with Ruby, Yang while in the whale, Oscar.” We get to see her talking to her Evil Guy Crew. We see her have emotions.

AND THEN THE BROTHER GODS once thought of as entities much like how Salem was seen by the cast in the beginning. Yes they are still gods but not in the sense that at least I was thinking. They came From somewhere. And yes Salem was the first to discover they were fallible but knowing what V9 told us helped me put it into perspective

So the last arch being about fully learning what Salem wants and then, probably possibly, deciding how to help alongside with it. I think ppl get upset bc they view that as “oh yeah all the ppl she killed and lives she ruined don’t matter she’s our bestie mow” kind of Joining with Salem. When im seeing it as a more Neo agreeing to work with Cinder type deal. If Salem wants to stop the gods, get revenge, make them humble, and the gods return and want to wipe out remnant For Good, I’d say that’s a common goal our kids can get behind.

rwby is a cool show with cool villains and I enjoy it a lot and also your thoughts about it sorry this is so long

the thing with salem and the, like, common fandom interpretation of her and where her arc is headed is that. at least since v9 it’s less about resistance to the idea that the final confrontation being team rwby vs the gods as it is the way folks assume salem fits into that, namely that most of the fandom still takes completely at face value the idea that she’s selfish, arrogant, and needs to learn her lesson about the value of life and death. so you get these wild takes that the gods were assholes who punished her out of proportion for what she did, paired with this implicit idea that salem does actually deserve this punishment because she Still RefusesTo Learn Her Lesson, and thus she needs to be redeemed by team rwby proving her wrong somehow.

but like

salem did nothing wrong. praying to the gods was not wrong, reacting emotionally when they were cruel to her was not wrong, recognizing their fallibility and unworthiness was not wrong, rallying people against them was not wrong, vowing to keep fighting after they massacred everybody was not wrong, cursing them after they left and blaming them for ending the world was not wrong, jumping into the pool of grimm was not wrong, BEING grimm is not wrong, rejecting the divine mandate after ozma hid it from her for years was not wrong. frankly continuing to be a thorn in his side since then is, i would argue, also not wrong, because she’s made herself the immovable obstacle preventing him from summoning his genocidal god back to remnant to kill everyone again; it is laughably obvious that the ultimatum is not a game humanity can win. and then factoring in the part where ozma is obsessed with finding a way to destroy her, what else is she supposed to do besides live in exile. and of course if you close off every other door except violent rebellion you are eventually going to invite violent rebellion. 

so like. Salem Is Right, and seems to be taking what she considers the path of minimal destruction (the grimm held beacon but pull out of vale within a few days; her plan for haven was nearly bloodless and left mistral untouched; she made no move to attack mantle and began her siege with a grace period for her to leave in peace if the relics were surrendered), which means that she’s likely willing to negotiate methods if other less destructive paths are opened to her. her villain -> hero arc can’t turn on team rwby persuading her that she’s wrong, because fundamentally her position is “the genocidal divine tyrants do not deserve our obedience and we can and must defy them” which is, um, correct. but if they adopt that position themselves and then negotiate How i think they’ll find she’s a lot more reasonable than they’ve been led to believe, and i do not think the wider fandom is prepared for that whatsoever

[envihellbender]

Black Eagles and Blue Lions guys as yanderes ?

Fire Emblem: Yandere Houses

(Male characters from the Blue Lions and Black Eagles x Gender neutral reader)

CW: physical abuse, obsessive behaviour, stalking

Black Eagles

Hubert:

Hubert would start off apprehensive and distant from you, and you don’t realise he cares until you notice him everywhere. You’re sat in the library and he’s sat a desk away, his eyes fixating on you as you try and do your research.

The next thing you notice is how differently people respond to you, the baker who normally chats to you with a cheery smile simply hands you your bread without a word. He won’t even look you in the eye, and you notice there’s fresh bruising on his cheekbone.

When you finally confront Hubert, you find your words failing in your throat. He stands a little too close to you, and the way he towers over you and his gloved hands stroke your hair as you speak make your feel like a small little pet. As if you exist for his amusement and there’s no one else in the entire world.

Ferdinand:

As with most things with Ferdinand, he falls for you hard and fast. From the first date he announces you as his betrothed, and he’s such an excited puppy about the affair you don’t have the heart to tell him he’s coming on far too strong. He doesn’t let go of you for the entire meal, he pulls you as close as he can and he’s enraptured, hanging on your every word.

When Ferdinand catches you speaking with someone else he becomes quite and despondent. He remains by your side, you’re both still joined at the hip to a smothering extent but he won’t say a word. He just scowls grips onto your arm a little too hard. He pulls you away from anyone who tries to speak to you, in the dining hall he insists you sit by yourselves and he cuts up your food for you.

Ferdinand didn’t ask if you wished to sleep in his quarters at Garreg Mach, you simply discovered your key to your room no longer worked and Ferdinand informed you he had your belongings moved. He picked which clothes were worth keeping and which ones needed throwing away, the room is still predominantly his. It doesn’t feel like yours, nothing feels like yours anymore. You’re becoming his.

Linhardt:

At first Linhardt seems perfectly normal, he sits with you in the library and in the dining hall. Sure, he rolls his eyes if anyone else speaks to you, and his questions are a little intrusive… but nothing that suggests anything other than a slight socially awkward nature.

It starts small, you notice you begin to get anxious when you go a few hours without seeing Linhardt. You almost can feel if he is approaching, the further away he is the more terrified you become and a sharp pain begins in your temple. When you speak to other people it feels wrong, as if you’ve told a lie or stolen someone’s possessions. The only time you feel comfortable is when you’re with Linhardt, then your body is drained of anxiety and filled with joy. It’s like you’re addicted.

Linhardt takes a long time to admit what he’s done, he watches you spiral and get more and more anxious about your bizarre symptoms. It’s only when you slam him against the wall and desperately shake him asking what he did to you does he admit the experiments. He tells you how he developed a magical device which he injected into your shoulder, one that manipulates your brainwaves to result in your body being addicted and dependent on him.

Caspar:

Caspar hasn’t even had a first date with you when it starts. It begins with the subtlety of a war axe to the face, a handsome young man approached you at the market and before he’s finished his question Caspar appears beside you. You didn’t even notice he was at the market with you, you wonder if he was following you but dismiss that thought. Caspar demands to speak to the man in your behalf, standing in front of you and shoving the stranger to force him to keep his distance. When you confront him afterwards, Caspar insists he simply noticed he shared the same description as a con artist who’d been hanging around the market place. You want to believe him.

As Caspar gets closer to you, his behaviour gets more erratic. He not only seems to always appear when a stranger wishes to speak to you to defend you from them, it starts to happen with everyone. The shopkeepers you speak too regularly, your classmates, and the servants of church, they are all extremely wary of you. They all become wary of you, sometimes you witness Caspar threatening and attacking them, he does it before your eyes. It’s as if it isn’t just about the others any more, it’s a threat to you and what will happen if you leave him.

The collar is an addition that shocked you, but perhaps given Caspar’s behaviour it shouldn’t have been a surprise. When you awoke and you began getting dressed he stood by you as always, and instead of asking for your permission as you buttoned up your shirt he slips a thick leather collar around your neck and fastens the buckle. Before you can object there is a click, something small, cold, and metal lands against your neck. A padlock. You pull at it, you try to create a little bit of room for your throat but the collar has no give. You scream at him to take it off, he refuses. He simply grabs your hair and tells you you’re his.

Blue Lions

Dimitri:

Dimitri worries about you, constantly. You notice that the Professor isn’t taking you on missions anymore, there’s no more fighting bandits and monsters, simply staying in the monastery all day frustrated and bored. When you complain about it to Dimitri one day he goes quiet, he acts as if he barely heard you and avoids your gaze. When you push him all he says is “at least you’re safe this way.” You try to argue saying you can protect yourself, but when Dimitri replies with a simple “so could my father.” And you don’t know how you can possibly respond to that.

You try to go to the Professor to explain how much you want to be taken on missions, how your restless and bored. Especially since the guards of Garreg Mach seemed to get stricter about what times you can leave the monastery and what times you have to be back by. The Professor doesn’t give you a straight answer, he says it’s nothing personal and that he will take a look at the roster to ensure you’re included soon. Soon never comes.

One day, when you’re trying to enter the training grounds to spar everyone avoids your gaze. The training master tells you that they aren’t offering training to you anymore. That is the final straw, you confront Dimitri directly. You’re prepared for him to bring up his dead father as an excuse as you look him directly into his sapphire eyes. You say he needs to loosen his grip on you, that you need to be able to leave the monastery and train. Dimitri argues a recruit broke his collarbone training and he couldn’t live with himself if the same happened to you. When you argue, when you threaten to leave him something evil appears in his eyes. He grips your hand too tightly and pulls you impossibly close. You know in that moment you’ll never leave.

Dedue:

Dedue is more affectionate a partner than you expected. He shoves his love through acts of service, when you wake up you’re greeted with a beautifully made breakfast brought to your bedroom. Occasionally with a plant or flower from the greenhouse. There’s nothing wrong with that exactly, you can’t explain it. They are lovely gestures, you feel adored. But it’s so much. You can’t wake up without Dedue being there, he is constantly at your side and desperate for your attention.

Soon, Dedue is making all of your meals. His cooking is delicious, that’s not the issue. The issue is he treats food made by anyone else as if it’s poisoned. One day when you went to the bakery he was horrifically insulted that you would buy food instead of asking him to make you some. To everyone else he just seems caring and sweet, all you can do is stay whilst you feel Dedue’s breath down your neck.

One day, you wake up and the door to your quarters is locked. You also notice that Dedue seemed to have moved his things in in the night. Dedue appears with your breakfast and the key is hanging around his neck. You fold your arms and refuse to eat, scowling as your eyes fixated on the golden key on a silver chain. Dedue strokes your hair, telling you to eat with a tone one would usually reserve for an animal. It was a mistake to throw the plate of food against the wall, it was immature and the actions of a petulant child. It felt good, but when you turn to Dedue a dark anger has filled his face. He grabs your throat and hair, he tells you how all he wants to do is take care of you as his rage grows.

Felix:

It starts off small, when you are with your friends you can see Felix pouting and turning away with folded arms. Occasionally he stays with you whilst you speak to those you’re with, usually he sits a table or so away, and throws looks at you. You try to ignore him, knowing he has no say in who you associate with. There is however a twist of guilt in your chest, when you try to confront him he refuses to discuss it. He makes a sarcastic, irritated comment in response, as if he’s punishing you. You try asking Dimitri or Sylvain for help, all they do is shrug and say Felix must really like you. You don’t have a choice but to simply deal with it.

It would be easier to deal with it Felix actually seemed to enjoy having you around. He makes scathing, awful comments to your friends making them not want to come near you anymore if he’s present. And these days he’s always present. However, when you try to bond with him he scowled and speaks in a tone laden with sarcasm. It’s almost impossible to tell if he likes you or if he’s punishing you. Every now and then he reaches for your hand, his fingers are thin and cold around yours, and he kissed you on the forehead. The slight glimpse of affection almost makes it all worth it.

Felix is quite blunt when he tells you, he begins simply saying why you can and can’t associate with. The baker, the shopkeepers, the grocer, most of the students at Garreg Mach, and far more are all on this list. When it comes to who you can associate with, you can only speak to them with Felix present. He grabs ahold of your wrist tightly until bruising appears under his thin hand and on your arm. It doesn’t push him to let go, he simply pulls you around after him like a ragdoll.

Sylvain:

At first you assume your little tryst with Sylvain is a one time thing like with all of his other conquests. However, it soon becomes clear that Sylvain wishes for more. He appears in your bed first thing in the morning, whether you remember him getting there or not. He is always asleep or watching you, and given how aloof he is in every other circumstance you try not to give it too much thought. He does keep sitting far too close to you in classes though. However, his false cheerful demeanour wavers whenever you try to pull away from him, a scowl grows and his tone darkens. It’s terrifying, and all you can tell yourself is that at least it’s only happening once or twice. It’s not a problem, right?

It becomes clear that Sylvain’s rules don’t apply to him. If you so much as look at someone else, Sylvain is furious - but he is still hooking up with a new woman every night. It angers you, Sylvain does nothing but grip you too tightly and insult you if you look at someone else for too long. When you try to explain how you feel, Sylvain dismisses you and tells you you’re being bitter and twisted. He says that you’re holding too tight a grip on him, and that you need to give him space. You give a humourless laugh and mention that you might spend some time with Dimitri tonight. You don’t make that mistake again; the bruises on your neck take weeks to heal.

When Sylvain is the one who gives his brother the killing blow be becomes far more clingy, and at first it’s fine. It’s better than before when he was dating women right in front of your eyes. At least now when he’s being overbearing you know you’re the only one in his mind. He speaks about what his brother did to him in brutal detail, it’s overwhelming and you want him to stop. But if his attention is purely on you, maybe it’s okay. Maybe you can save him.

Ashe:

Ashe doesn’t have much experience with relationships, his perception is what he’d read in books and that’s precisely what he wants. He wishes for a fairytale where he saves you, he wants you to be completely his with your focus on no one else, and he’s determined to make his dream come true. When he first lays eyes on you, he knows you’re the one who he must bow to. He wishes to be your knight, and that’s how he approaches you. It’s sweet, really. His green eyes are so wide and excited, and you do enjoy his company.

It begins to get strange when you’ve been with Ashe a few weeks, he starts to take on your responsibilities at the monastery, your turn on cooking duty, your turn for the greenhouse, and more. It’s … fine, you suppose. It’s a little condescending but you know Ashe means well. However, when he insists you can’t possibly handle the task when the Professor asks for help moving some heavy boxes, that’s when it goes too far. You tell Ashe as much but he looks at you with wide green eyes and says he just wants to help, you relent, and he looks like an excited puppy. You tell yourself it’s cute, and you try to believe it.

It gets worse day by day, until the tasks Ashe doesn’t think you can do become things like dressing yourself, cutting up your own food, and showering. You try to argue, but it’s been so long you start to almost forget small things. You want to cook, but when Ashe asks you how long something needs to boil you don’t remember. He looks at you smugly as if this proves his point, and when he tries to show you can’t carry heavy boxes you realise your muscles are tense and weak from months of not moving. He’s broken you.

[nowis-scales]

Ryoma Birthday Headcanons

It’s the first day of May, and so that means that it’s Ryoma’s birthday! Per the usual when there’s a Hoshidan royal with a birthday, I have to write a set of birthday headcanons to celebrate them. Hopefully you enjoy this year’s round!

‣ So you know how for years, there’s been that joke about that Ryoma’s probably like, really annoyed that Xander is taller than him? My hot take on this is that initially, he didn’t really care. Whatever, right? It’s not like he can control his height by sheer force of will, and Ryoma quite likes not having to duck through the average doorway. However, once everyone else started pointing out as a big deal to him… yeah, admittedly, he started to get more grumpy about it. Only problem is, he won’t admit to being grumpy about it, so he’s just standing there like “yeah whatever, I don’t care” when it is just so, so painfully obvious that he cares.

‣ You remember how last year, for Sakura's birthday, I mentioned that one of her siblings lost a tooth by falling down the stairs when they were little? Yeah, that was Ryoma. He was about six when it happened, and of course it was on one of the big stair cases leading up to Castle Shirasagi. Thankfully he was one of those kids that was just like, strangely durable, so he didn’t really cry when it happened. He was far more excited that one of his teeth had been knocked out, and kept trying to excitedly show Sumeragi and Ikona, who were so busy checking him over for cuts and bruises and whispering to each other “oh my gods we’re such terrible parents” to initially understand what their son was trying to show them. Sumeragi used to love to tell that story to people. Fuuga still laughs about it.

‣ According to the 4koma anthology comics, Ryoma is for the most part pretty honest, but he’ll still soften the blow on a lot of things if he can. However, if you really want to see Ryoma at his peak honesty, just talk to him when he’s sick. He doesn’t have the energy to put things into a nicer delivery. Oh, you want him to do politics with a fever, chills, and upset stomach? Fine, but you’d better be prepared to paraphrase literally everything he said in response to that daimyo’s questionable idea, because there’s no way you’re going to be able to deliver anything Ryoma said upfront. And don’t even bother asking about Ryoma’s general symptoms unless you’re the healer — he’ll tell it to you in grouchy, pouting detail.

‣ One of Ryoma’s worst fears is being helpless in any situation. When he’s put into a position where he can’t do anything, he’ll start to panic. This often means that he will do anything he can get to get out of it, even if it means doing something underhanded or against his typical moral code. That's also part of the reason why he can be characterized as impulsive or stubborn at times: he cannot give into a helpless situation. He needs to be able to take some sort of action to make things "right". If he doesn't feel that he has sufficiently acted, then he can never make peace with what happened. In the back of his mind he knows that this is probably a trauma response from Corrin's kidnapping in childhood, but he doesn't really want to have to confront the idea that it might be the wrong thing to do sometimes.

‣ Loves dogs. Loves them. When he was little, he was always pestering Sumeragi to let him have one. Obviously, because of his age, Sumeragi didn't think it was a good idea, but said that he might let him have one when he got older. Unfortunately, he passed before he could see that promise through. For a long time Ryoma largely forgot about getting a canine friend, too focused on other things to consider that that was something he could do for himself... but after the war drew to a close, he finally adopted that pup we see in the art piece Kozaki did of him.

‣ Though Ryoma’s hair may look like it’s spiky, it’s actually more so fluffy than anything. That of course doesn’t make it any easier to work with, but the texture probably isn’t as bad as you’d expect. Unfortunately, this still means that it gets all matted and tangled at the drop of a hat, so Ryoma is constantly wrestling with it to keep it under control. Most of the time he just ties it up to keep it out of the way, but he leaves it down in battle because he’s been told it makes him look more intimidating. It has led to the occasional embarrassing moment when it’s been caught in parts of his armour, though.

‣ His position makes him kind of emotionally distant at times. It's not necessarily something he wants to be, but the whole being a prince thing/being the "head of the family" by Hoshidan standards does kind of make him feel isolated. He tends to act on that in turn, and though there are times where he does try to connect with those around him, it still comes across as awkward and stilted from time to time. He finds it difficult to have close friends, and can never seem to connect with Takumi and Sakura the way that he wants to. To some people, this comes across as him not thinking much of them, but he honestly just doesn't know the right way to engage a lot of the time so he just... doesn't. It's something he would like to improve upon.

‣ One of Hoshido’s most eligible, if not the most eligible, bachelors. He’s not particularly crazy about this status. It’s not like he never wants to get married — he knows some day he’s going to have to, for the good of the kingdom and whatnot — but he hates being in a room full of people or corresponding with people he knows are just trying so desperately to impress him. The entire experience just feels terribly inauthentic, and he’s worried about if any of this is really enough to found a relationship on. Tack on the fact that he barely notices flirting from the average woman, and it just becomes overwhelming to even think about choosing a partner in those circumstances. He would much rather fall in love where it's possible.

‣ When it comes to pettiness, the man is like a crow. If you have wronged him or his family, he can and will remember it. And he doesn't hesitate to take revenge for it at times, either. There's still one nobleman who can't figure out why the crown prince seems so much colder than him than to everyone else. Hinoka asked Ryoma about it one time. Apparently, when they were younger, the nobleman mocked Hinoka's interest in battle and suggested she was a faulty woman. He apparently did so when Hinoka was in earshot, but she doesn't remember a thing. Ryoma, however, has kept this little grudge of his close to his heart and refuses to let go because how dare you talk about my sister that way!!

‣ While we know his English and Japanese VAs can both sing quite well, I feel like Ryoma is just not a very good singer. He's not necessarily always out of tune, but he just... sounds awkward. I don't really think of him as the singing type, to be honest, so whenever he tries it's probably more of that mumble-singing you do in the car anyways. He tends to stumble over lyrics or occasionally hit the wrong note, and when that happens once it's just going to throw him completely and keep happening, so it just tends to be a very mediocre performance. He probably once got Shiro to stop crying as a baby by singing to him, but purely because Shiro was so focused on Ryoma's second-rate lullaby that he couldn't remember to be upset.

[syndullqs]

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫? — 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒅𝒚

summary — you’re nearly killed by your lover, commander cody, when order 66 is announced. when you wake up, the war is over and you have to confront what happened.

warnings — gn!jedi!reader, so much angst, minuscule amounts of fluff, established relationship, mentions of death, mentions of injury, order 66

requested by — @starlit-epiphany

note — i listened to ‘what was i made for?’ by billie eilish for this whole thing and…well let’s just say it was inspiring.

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍’𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 morning thinking the universe was going to implode. the bad feeling in your gut was because of your up and coming mission, not that the chancellor had everyone fooled.

you stood on the landing pad with the 212th in utapau. your arms were crossed, your face twisted with discomfort. something was wrong, and you didn’t know what.

“you’re in your own little world, aren’t ya?” the pleasant and comforting voice of your lover interrupted your thoughts. you peered up at him and smiled at him. despite jedi not being allowed romantic attachments, you couldn’t help it when it came to obi-wan kenobi’s commander.

“always,” you joked back.

“what’s wrong?” he asked you. cody was aware of the risk he took talking to you, but he saw the way your eyes were distant and your face was tense.

“it’s probably nothing, just nerves, i guess,” you shrugged it off. cody, however, didn’t. you didn’t get nervous often, you were confident in your abilities as a jedi and even when you weren’t, he was there. he was always there.

“it’s never nothing, you know. it’s gonna be alright,” oh how you held onto those words.

obi-wan readied to go, ending grievous’ life once and for all. you held back the droids the best you could. maybe that feeling in your stomach was misplaced. maybe, for once, your gut was wrong. then it was heavier, then it became harder to breathe. your eyes slid over to cody, begging him to turn to face you. he did, and there it was. the shift. your stomach dropped, your eyes filled with a fear you’ve never known before.

“cod-” you were cut short, two short blasts piercing two holes in your body. tears formed in your eyes, your body shaking. you dropped to your knees, your eyes looking up at cody again. you gritted your teeth, pain pushing through your body, both physical and emotional pain. how could you do this to me?

you laid back, your world darkening. your eyes watched as obi-wan fell, being shot at. a whimper escaped your throat as you watched your father figure fall to his death. what was happening?

darkness took over, covering your eyes. the last thing on your mind being the utter betrayal by the one you loved the most.

———

white. that was the first thing you saw. it was bright, blinding, and you had a hard time adjusting to it. you sat up, but was quickly reminded of precious events. your abdomen exploded with pain, and your chest heaved with every breath. please tell me i’m dreaming.

the door opened and in came in a medic. you stared at the medic, watching her every movement.

“what happened?” you demanded. your voice was firm and you didn’t care if you sounded mean. you were almost killed.

“i’m told not to tell you,” she spoke quietly and the irritation bubbled to the surface.

“i don’t care what anyone else says, what happened?” you demanded again. tears pricked your eyes and as the world came further to, you knew you were on coruscant. before the medic could answer, the doors opened again. your eyes flicked to see obi-wan kenobi walk through the doors.

“i’ve got it,” he nodded towards the medic, who seemed glad to leave you alone. he sat with you on the bed, his own expression sullen. your eyes were wide with a sorrowful curiosity.

“obi-wan, please, what happened?” you whispered, begging him to tell you.

“when the clones were still developing, there were chips implanted into the clones’ brains. these chips had different functions, one of them was an order called order 66, an order to kill all of the jedi,” he started, feeling the weight of it all, “we executed palpatine, managed to rescue as many jedi as we could, and…” he trailed off, his brow creasing, “and i managed to pull my padawan from the grip of the dark side,” he told you. your eyes went wide with the realization that anakin was going to turn to the dark side. the boy you considered a best friend. at least he was ok.

“are…are the clones alright?” you dared to ask. how ready were you for that answer, though?

“physically they’re fine, but the guilt over what they’ve done is unbearable,” he told you. obi-wan knew of your attachment to cody and in this moment, he didn’t care about the code. he didn’t care about following the rules to the books. he knew that you’d want to see him, but also he felt the conflict in you. he almost killed you, yet that love for him was so strong. it was persisting.

“i need air,” you breathed. he protested, but you ignored him. everything was too much, it was so heavy. the clones, from the beginning, were programmed? to kill? you wanted to go back to when you and cody would find the small moments to have dinner together, or when you’d read together, or even when you’d share moments of soft touches together. you couldn’t get those back, could you? tears streamed down your face, mourning what you had. you looked up, and your eyes fell on a familiar face.

“cody,” you breathed. he was in his blacks, but you felt the turmoil within him. he was in pain, so much pain. he almost killed you, for a second he thought he did.

“no,” he stepped back. he knew what he did, he knew what his own hands did. he never laid a hand on you prior to this order 66 ordeal, but now having almost taken your life, the love of his life, he couldn’t even look you in the eyes. he was gripping with the fact that he was just an object to the chancellor. he was used, he was programmed to be a killer. how was he supposed to feel?

“cody, love,” you whispered. you expected him to run, but he didn’t. cody didn’t run, and that wasn’t in his programming. that was his personality. the hallway was relatively empty, but you didn’t care. your heart ached at the sight of him, but it wasn’t his fault. none of it was. he needed to know that.

“it’s not your fault,” you told him, approaching him. you saw the tears brim his eyes. he never cried, and watching him on the verge of it broke you. you swallowed the lump in your throat as you walked up to him.

“i…” he couldn’t even form a sentence. he couldn’t even look at you. his eyes were towards the floor, but when he felt your hand on his face, he lifted his eyes to yours. such kindness and forgiveness swam in them, and he broke. he wrapped his arms around you, burying his face in the crook of your neck, letting his tears fall. tears that held anger, resentment, pain, guilt. his emotions all in water from his eyes.

“it’s not your fault,” you kept whispering to him as you cradled his head, feeling his grief, his sorrow. you stood there with him, taking part in his pain and his guilt. you’d stand there forever as long as he knew you weren’t angry with him. that you were ok. that it was never his fault. as you kept telling him that, cody felt himself slowly start to believe that. maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t his fault.

i am so so sorry i always get to requests late. anyways, here it is dolly! i changed some things up and i hope you didn’t mind! i think it still is to your liking! pls enjoy!

[kleooo14]

My Literary Works

“Broken Trust”

“Some of the most poisonous people come disguised as family” by Dhar Mann. In this day and age, I believe that you should trust no one but yourself. You should be able to help yourself to conquer any obstacles alone as early as now.  At least that’s what life taught me. Because even those people who are closest to you can be the ones who’ll break your heart deeply.

My father was my first heartbreak. At four years old, I experienced the betrayal of my father. I witnessed all the fighting, shouting and maltreatment that my parents did. I also watched my mother cry every night waiting for my father to come home. We even got to the point where we went to the mistress’ house to confront her about the issue. Every night, I hear my dad saying unreasonable things to my mom even though he’s at fault just to justify his actions. But at that time, the four year old me couldn’t grasp what’s really happening. All I knew was that we’re not okay at that time.

But as I grew older, I came to realize the situation that we had. I became a “man hater” and developed deep trust issues to anyone, especially men. My mother may have forgiven my dad but as for me, it’s like I cut ties with him. I totally shut him off because my childhood was totally damaged because of him. As a result, I don’t trust anyone easily and I don’t know how to forgive someone, especially when it comes to breaking my trust. It may seem wrong, but that’s how deep the pain had cost me.

Today, I learned to trust myself and no one else. I became independent with a stronger mindset. And I’m still in the process of healing and I’m looking forward to being able to forgive someone willingly. Even though it hurts, I don’t regret anything cause I believe I experienced that for a good reason. 

“The Immerse Beauty of Coron”

Palawan island is known for its tropical scenery and island hopping. Coron Island, a wedge-shaped limestone island located at the northern part of Palawan, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines and is among the most biologically diverse areas in Southern Asia. The heavenly paradise is well-known for world-class World War II era wreck diving because of the series of impressive wrecks for diving and snorkeling. There are 12 sunken wartime at the bottom of the ocean as a result of an explosion. Amazing limestone formations can be seen at Coron, which is also home to numerous crystal-clear jade-green lakes and immaculate white beaches. It offers a variety of attractions and activities for tourists to enjoy.

First and foremost is the Kayangan Lake. It is renowned for its freshwater lake with crystal-clear water and underwater rock formations. You can currently see down to a 10-meter depth due to the water's exceptional clarity. The "Blue Lagoon" lake in the Philippines is known as one of the cleanest lakes in Asia. Even visitors claim that simply taking in the lake's surroundings and gazing at them would leave you feeling in wonder.

Next is the Twin Lagoon, these two magnificent lagoons are in the most scenic position you can imagine, and they are great for swimming. This spectacular place consisted of two bodies of water divided by breathtaking limestone cliffs. The location astounds visitors with its untainted beauty and makes them question if this paradise is genuine.  With its breathtaking scenery and unmatched natural beauty, it exhibits the area's most remarkable geological characteristics and is therefore a rewarding expedition.

Coron, Palawan is definitely one of the marvelous treasures of the Philippines one must visit. For it not only flaunts the beauty of our country but also shows how we Filipinos truly care about preserving our beloved nature.

The Life of Rizal

Jose Rizal's life and works are recounted through a series of non-linear flashbacks that reflect on various aspects of his life as a writer, propagandist, lover, friend, brother, doctor, and the man who inspired a revolution. This movie was directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya.

“What matters is death if one dies for what one loves, for native land and cherished ones?” This is the quotation that is featured in the film. For his nation, which he cherished most, Rizal gave his life. This film demonstrates how Rizal gave up the people and things he loved in order to free his country and fellow citizens from the widespread servitude of the Spanish people at the time. I was on the verge of tears during the movie due to the events depicted. Because of their skin tone (kayumanggi), cultural heritage, and physical characteristics, Filipinos often become slaves. They do not receive the equality they seek. No matter what, Filipinos are on par with any other race. Rizal was deeply touched by this and did everything in his power, even if it meant risking his life.

Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Y Alonzo Realonda is a significant figure in Philippine history and a national symbol who appears in all of our history textbooks. He was short and not particularly attractive physically, but he was more than that. We remember him as the person who dated numerous women. There is a man with fortitude and bravery hidden behind that small frame of his. Two of the most significant literary works that help to define us as a country—Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo—were both written by the same person.

In the movie, I could actually see how my fellow countrymen were mistreated, held as slaves, and tortured verbally as well as physically. I'm pleased that Rizal has had such a lasting influence on Andres Bonifacio and other Filipinos, both then and now. I really urge all Filipinos to see this film, especially young individuals like me. Because freedom wasn't always a given; it had to be battled for, and Filipinos lost their lives in the process, it will teach kids to cherish life in general. For that and other Filipino heroes, I am grateful to Rizal. I think of those who gave their lives so we might have our independence every time I see the Philippine flag.

The Social Problem of Teenage Pregnancy in the Philippines

Teenage pregnancy is a worldwide problem, but it is more prevalent in impoverished and marginalized communities. Many girls feel strong pressure to get married young and have children while they are still children. Pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications are the top cause of death for young women between the ages of 15 and 19 worldwide. They are more likely to experience significant health risks and difficulties because of their undeveloped bodies. Teenagers frequently resort to illicit abortions, putting their health at risk in nations like the Philippines where it is illegal or taboo.

Teenage pregnancy affects 6% of young Filipinas. As estimated, there are nearly 20,000 teenagers who get pregnant every year. And to aggravate the situation, children who have not even entered their teenage years give birth to almost 40 babies each year. As a result, the Philippines has the second highest rate of teenage moms in Southeast Asia, based on the Philippine Statistical Authority's 2019 report.

Due to their higher likelihood of dropping out of school and their anticipated unemployment, this social issue may have negative social and economic effects on these young females. Furthermore, because children are more likely to experience poor dietary and educational outcomes, this negative outcome may also affect their offspring. This would consequently result in additional societal problems like poverty and starvation that affect not only those particular people but our nation as a whole.

Inadequate sex education and a shortage of birth control options are two factors in the high percentage of teenage pregnancies. Due to the fact that some females are unaware that engaging in sex entails accepting complete responsibility for producing children. To address the following issue, legislators have introduced legislation to provide access to contraceptives and support sex education in an effort to combat the rise in adolescent pregnancies that has resulted.