#this was nonsense going in about 6 different directions but i think about this a lot and i didn't want to lose this one in the ask box

[hekateinhell]

I sometimes wonder how the Armand/Daniel power dynamic works in tandem with the fact that Daniel is nearly twice his mortal age. Running with the idea that one's impulses/emotional regulation remain similar to the cognitive control of the age that a vampire was turned at, I think about Armand and his Coven Master Freakishness contending with the fact that at 500-something years old, he still wants his boyfriend to baby him. Pre-bedtime thoughts.

Gosh, I think about this all the time! Armand's power dynamics are my bread and butter (I don't make a lot but it's good, honest work).

Because yes — if we go with the theory that at the biological level, vampire brains simply cannot mature past the point that they were turned — it opens up this entire minefield of contradictions. I usually draw on Lestat for comparison and inspiration when it comes to this sort of Armand meta, just because we hear so much from Lestat's perspective and he is the closest to Armand's mortal age within their little cohort.

But enough about Lestat.

Devil's Minion (being only what, thirty six pages? it's unbelievable) leaves a lot of room for headcanons and various interpretations of what happened when. For the most part, I just don't see Daniel and Armand's big fights and Daniel running away from Night Island until much closer to QotD era (~2 years or so).

What I always noticed is how much more direct Armand seems to be with Daniel than Marius was with him. He cries openly! He expresses his emotions! He doesn't beat him bloody because he doesn't know what else to do with himself! (Because Armand totally and easily could've). It's not great but he's trying! Was Armand better than Marius? In some ways, yes. Was he worse? Also yes, in some ways. This is a whole other conversation though RIP.

Thinking about Armand's ability (or inability) to self-regulate and how much closer he allows (or is unable to keep) his authentic emotions from bubbling to the surface... it's a very raw and youthful trait! And perhaps it's a testament to how close he feels to Daniel, and how affected he is by their arguments and the discord in the relationship.

I wanted to be somewhat saccharine here and instead I'm rambling on, but I also do like to consider what their day-to-day life as a long-term couple would've looked prior to 1984-1985 (when Daniel really started deteriorating and then ran away for the final time).

What did it look like when maybe Daniel made a joke that Armand took the wrong way and then brooded about it or some similar scenario? Because even if he could read Daniel's mind, he couldn't reconcile the intention with the words that came out of his mouth. I wonder if Daniel ever straight up told him, "Babe, I can't read your mind, you have to communicate better than this." And Armand is just shocked that someone can acknowledge where he's at emotionally and guide him in the right direction.

There's a lot of things to factor in here, including what Daniel's own brain development would've looked like due to the lifestyle they lived, but I think either way, he would have definitely had the advantage over Armand in that sense at least.

And how does a perpetually seventeen year old, ferocious vampire tell his boyfriend he just wants a cuddle and a kiss and the reassurance that — for this night at least — everything's okay and he's not going to walk out on him? Probably wallows in passive-aggressive silence and hopes Daniel shows him affection first. Indulges the feeling for a few minutes (because he feels safe enough to do so) before he snaps back into his caregiver/pest role and being the far older and more powerful of the two.

[lightofraye]

Debunking Nonsense Against Jared

There's apparently some crap about Jared that is just absolute nonsense. Full of lies and bullshit.

It'd be one thing if people just didn't like him. It happens. Not everyone is likeable. You're not expected to like him. But don't pull up lies to explain why you don't like him. Especially when they've been debunked again and again and again.

1. The "racist" tattoo. Y'all, this is nonsense. It's been debunked over and over and over. It's not a racist tattoo. For one, it's lacking the logo of "Come and take it", which would make it a racist tattoo. But a lone star above a cannon does not a racist tattoo make.

Jared is a proud Texan. He also donates to many a charity and organization that help people, speaking out about them often. Not to mention, prior to pro-gun rights appropriating the symbol and logo, it stood for a proud history in Texas. Jared would've known.

So how about instead of focusing on a mere tattoo, come up with more proof that Jared is a racist? Hmm?

Besides, if you're mad at Jared's tattoo, are you then mad at Jensen's t-shirt, which did show the saying as well?

2. Fighting with fans online. Oh come on. Misha's done it. (Misha's done worse, in fact.) Danneel's done it. Jared doing it does not a bad person make. And I don't think he's done it in a long time.

And of course, people will go "Danneel was hitting back!" And? What's the difference? Jared was hitting back too. Danneel went a step farther most of the time, siccing her followers on them, threatening them with Clif, even ran crying to Clif because people were being "mean".

3. RE: Prequelgate. Give me a fucking break! Jared was right to be upset! He called and texted Jensen for hours before he gave up and responded to that tweet about The Winchesters announcement. Jensen also lied about not being allowed cellphones on The Boys set. When they weren't filming, they were allowed. (Of course they can't have their cellphones on their person during filming, unless it suited the scene!) Besides all that, Jared honestly didn't know about it! Kripke was even shocked when he learned Jared didn't know! Supernatural and its legacy is as much Jared's as it was Jensen's! The whole freakin' industry gave Jensen a massive side-eye for his unprofessional behavior. Kevin Smith, a man who has directed, written, and acted in the industry, thought it was uncool. Also, Jared wasn't drunk.

4. Supposed bully accusations. I'd need to see more of this to believe it, but outside of occasionally putting Misha in his bullshit place, I've never heard of Jared bullying anyone. Everyone he's worked with has sung his praises. The only one who hasn't is Misha and that's because Jared won't let Misha put him down. And in fact, has had to step in to stop Misha from torturing Jensen. So fuck off with your noise.

5. His fanbase. Is he now responsible for his fanbase? I never knew that. What about Misha's fanbase sending Jensen death threats for denouncing Destiel? Has Misha ever stopped that? What about AAs hoping for Jared to suicide after Walker was cancelled?

6. What about Genevieve? Oh come on! Do I like that Gen is featuring the kids a lot? Myself, no. But if Jared was truly bothered by it, I'm sure he would've spoken to Genevieve. And Gen isn't any different than many other mommy influencers. I'm not keen on exploiting the kids like that, but would you say the same about Danneel abruptly grabbing the kids at Wales Comic Con and dragging them out for a photo op? All because she had no one in line for her autographs and desperate for attention?

7. Jared's Hair. Apparently there are some claiming Jared had gotten hair plugs. My response to that is: So what? Misha's had plastic surgery (trust me, it's obvious--his eyes and clearly lip fillers). Danneel's had worse--her hair is fried, bad extensions, plastic surgery galore that has ruined her hair line because of facelifts, fillers, Botox, and breast implants (twice!). Jensen's likely had a bit of work too.

So. Fucking. What. About Jared's hair?

--

Come up with truthful reasons to hate Jared, hmm? Not bullshit.

[maxdibert]

“Sirius killed people-“ so did Snape, supposedly loved Lily but betrayed her location to Voldemort because he was jealous of James actually winning her heart, not to mention convincing Harry the abuse was his fault, nearly giving Neville PTSD to the point where his boggart was Severus Snape himself, being a racist pos to anyone born of muggle parents, and becoming a high ranking member of the death eaters so what? He could protect Harry?

“It’s easier to cry in a Ferrari-“

it’s easier to defend a terrible character and play the racism and eat the rich card when you can’t understand context and inference clues that JK Rowling laid out.

What’s easy is inventing canon. What a load of made-up nonsense, mate.

1. Learn to read. I didn’t say Sirius killed anyone, but he did attempt murder. And he did it because he thought it was funny to torture Severus.

2. There’s no evidence that Severus killed anyone before Dumbledore asked him for euthanasia. This is made quite clear when Dumbledore talks about his concern for Draco’s soul, and Severus immediately questions him about his own soul. If Severus is so worried about it, it’s implied he hadn’t killed anyone before—or at least not in cold blood.

3. Have you even read the books? The only person who knew the Potters’ location was Peter. He’s the one who betrayed them.

4. There’s no evidence he was a racist. First off, equating racism with the concept of blood purity not only trivializes a serious social issue but also makes it clear that some of you have no idea what racism is or its history. The discriminatory dynamics and their foundations are completely different. But anyway, putting that aside, there’s no evidence whatsoever that Severus discriminated against Muggle-borns. The only time he makes a comment is during the incident with Lily—which, conveniently, happens when James and Sirius are sexually assaulting him, and Lily seems to smile at James. I don’t think you can judge someone’s ideology based on a comment made in an extremely tense moment. Canonically, Severus doesn’t treat Muggle-born students worse in class or make comments about their heritage. Nor does he badmouth Muggles. At most, he makes condescending remarks—which, let’s be real, all the characters do, even the “good ones,” because they’re ridiculously patronizing toward Muggles.

5. Severus was literally a double agent and reached the highest ranks of the Death Eaters to, yes, protect Harry. That’s literally why. He’s following Dumbledore’s orders. Like, have you read the books, or are you just pulling this stuff from fanfics? 99% of what you’ve said so far is pure fantasy, mate.

6. Yes, love, it’s actually pretty easy for me to defend people whose actions are a direct consequence of their life circumstances, and whose poor decisions were directly influenced by a lack of opportunities, security, and the violence of their environment. In fact, that’s literally my job. That’s what I do for a living.

Look, I don’t give a damn if you’re a Sirius fangirl. You can love a character while admitting he was a massive piece of crap. I love The Penguin, and there’s no way to justify him at all. Like, it’s fine, you know? You also have every right to feel sorry for him—I’m not going to judge you for that or anything. I’m not invalidating other people’s feelings if they think Sirius’s life was super tragic and feel a lot of compassion for him. Everyone has their own feelings and points of empathy. But that’s not the case for me. I don’t feel sorry for him. There’s no excuse for being an abusive bully with sociopathic tendencies toward someone who was canonically in a position of social and economic disadvantage. If Severus had come from a good family, with money and power—or if Sirius had been someone without a name, wealth, or status—then I’d view the situation differently because they would have been on equal footing. But just like the Black family chose Muggle-borns to torture because they knew they could, Sirius chose Severus because he knew he could. He’s a hypocrite and a piece of garbage. At least Bellatrix admitted her tendencies.

[thatguywhodoesstuff]

Some Unsorted Thoughts Regarding Murder Drones Episode 7 & Episode 8

Hopping back online for a moment to post a bunch of unsorted thoughts & mini-theories about the upcoming episodes:

Nori and Yeva are well and truly dead, and didn’t fake their deaths like I’ve seen others theorize. Despite this, I can picture them directly being involved with the plot via some convoluted Absolute Solver related shenanigans.

Personally, I like to think all Drones can save, edit, & transfer copies of their memories in a manner akin to saving files onto a flash drive to transfer over to another computer to be modified. This isn’t all that far fetched given how V and N’s memories were altered and how Uzi managed to help recover them.

Going off of the above points and the fact that each episode lampoons a different horror genre, I feel that we are due a good ol’ fashioned psychological thriller. I can easily imagine the under depths of the labs being loaded with all sorts of Eldritch nonsense (like those decidedly organic hands that drag off N during the trailer) that will undoubtedly push everyone to their breaking point before episode 8 even happens.

I’ve always had the long-standing theory/belief that Khan actually knows more than he lets on. I know there isn’t a lot to back this up, but it’s just something I always thought would make sense given everything he’s managed to live through.

I am of the mind that Nori was not the one to cause the core collapse that wiped out the humans on Copper-9. If anything, I think it would be neat if the core collapse was a complete accident that actually prevented/delayed the Absolute Solver from destroying Copper-9, with the event simply happening to coincide with whatever hell Nori was undoubtedly raising at the time.

I’ve seen a number of people point out how Uzi seems to be in control of herself when she grips N’s hand, and while a number of people seem to interpret this as her being mad at him for keeping secrets, I’m not convinced that’s the case. My crackpot theory is that Uzi is going to learn some hard facts about her mother and she is not going to handle them well and, with everything else going on, needs N now more than ever for emotional support, probably at the expense of his own mental well-being.

The cathedral under Cabin Fever labs was either built by Drones already under the thrall of the AS or Drones like Alice who got trapped in the facility and went insane from the experience.

As for what purpose the cathedral actually serves, I feel it could’ve an actual place of worship for the Absolute Solver, just as easily as it could be a conduit to broaden the area of influence of the malevolent “program”. Then again, it could just as easily serve as both, sort of like a giant transmitter/receiver with a decidedly gothic style to it for added flair.

There is this weird feeling in the back of my head that we won’t get a proper confrontation between the gang and Doll and, in true subversive horror fashion, something will happen to her that takes her out of the plot, at least for the rest of the season.

Part of me wonders if the reason Tessa acted so strange during episode 6 is rooted in the trauma from CYN’s massacre. After witnessing that and implicitly having been seriously injured, it wouldn’t surprise me if Tessa is poorly coping with the situation at hand. I also can’t help but wonder if she’s got a touch of robophobia directed towards Solver infected Drones.

Out of everyone, I feel that N is the least likely to perma-die in the upcoming episodes. In pretty much every horror series I’ve ever watched the nice one (when they aren’t one of the first people to die) typically lives the longest so that the narrative can torment them, regardless of whether or not they eventually earn their happily ever after. I doubt that N is any different, and I fear that his suffering has yet to begin in earnest.

Doll also doesn’t seem likely to die just yet (but given how Liam doesn’t seem all that shy about killing off major characters when needed…), and I have a feeling that if given the chance she could become a valuable ally, even if the alliance itself would be pretty unstable at best.

Of the four, Tessa and Uzi have the highest number of death flags waving around them. One has to wonder which is worse, losing an old friend who didn’t dehumanize your every action, that you just recently remembered/reunited with or losing the first friend/love you have had in a long time, who has also helped you recognize your own self worth. Either way, N is going to be crushed by the loss, especially given the likelihood of it being at his own hands.

If Tessa dies, I imagine her final moments will involve her bemoaning how N has doomed everyone… only to impart words of encouragement to him and assure him that his loving nature isn’t a weakness and may be instrumental later down the line.

If Uzi dies (I wouldn’t put it past Liam to pull this), it will be in an intense heat of the moment situation that won’t immediately register to her or N. I also think that if Uzi does die, it will only happen in a physical sense. My logic being that since Uzi became N and V’s new Administrator in episode 5, she could continue existing as a voice inside N’s head (sort of like Zane and Pixel from Ninjago), which could also result in N developing Solver powers. Alternatively, Uzi just straight up dies and N has to live with the pain of losing two of his closest friends and his first and second loves… Not to mention the fact a dead Uzi gives the Absolute Solver the perfect ammunition to use against N in the future.

TLDR: That trailer gave me a lot of thoughts and with everything going on in real life, I haven’t been able to put them into text until now. Thank you for taking the time to read the inane ravings of a burnt out college student/part time shut-in. Likes and Reblogs are greatly appreciated…

…I really hope Uzi and N kiss in the season finale.

[jackalopetrope]

I'm experiencing The Locked Tomb again, and the Second Reading (or listening in my case, I'm doing audio books this time), is absolutely DELICIOUS. It's like, a whole different book. Littered with details that couldn't possibly be enjoyed without having read the subsequent story beforehand!!

I've had to pause and jot some things down just because they make me feel ways (this is obviously full of spoilers):

In Chapter 6:

1) Aiglamene is teaching Gideon how to wield a rapier and tells her, her hands "Shouldn't be twins, but sisters", that they have different roles, but should be aware and support each other or something. And I was, Tamsyn are you sending me secret messages about the Third?

2) Harrow is speaking to the congregation and Gideon is thinking about how full of shit she is, but then Harrow says something like how no one will ever love the Ninth like she does, that "her heart is interred here", and Gideon is like well actually that bit sounded sincere. Oh boy. It sure is Harrow. Sounds like Ninth Poetic Gothic Nonsense, but in Hindsight, really quite literal. Well done Muir.

3) This one is a little less direct but when Gideon realizes she may never return to the Ninth and thinking that that somehow makes it seem fragile, that by turning her back on it, not looking at it, it might fall apart. Likes she's destroying it... Omg 😰 Just sort of rang like a precursor to how she felt about Harrow "turning her back on her" with the lobotomy y'know?

4) So Harrow and Gideon are getting on to the shuttle to Canaan and tension is high, they are not happy with each other and Harrow says "I want to watch you die", and Gideon, just super hyped to finally be escaping, smugly saying "Well you won't do it here." (Here being the ninth) 😭 Tamsynnn

Chapter 9:

When Ianthe catches Gideon hiding in dark, listening in on the third, she refers to "the necromancer of the third house", necromancer SINGULAR. Nice little drop there.

Chapter 14:

Harrow says "I'm not equipped to deal with a spirit attached to a live nervous system, you're so noisy!", implying Harrow is equipped to deal with spirits NOT attached to live nervous systems, like say, a bunch of dead kids haunting you???

Chapter 15:

Harrow says "She never liked that cursed thing anyway" in regards to Gideons longsword, said she always felt it was "judging her". Which is a weird thing to say about a sword Harrow

Also my current crazy theories that may debunked during this book or the next two because I don't remember all the lore:

1) Teacher is John? The colorful belts and the bracelets mentioned on Ianthe and Kiriona are like... Control belts or something. John needed a way to "be" on that planet without going to the system. John got hyper paranoid after all his Lyctors betrayed him, and wanted security measures on his Princes?? Like clearly he isn't aware of what they doing all the time, but maybe he can, remote in? Idk. Crazy theory.

2) Cytherea is the only reason Gideon made it through the aversion trial. Or Harrow rather, because I'm not convinced Gideons body didn't die. (Or do her escape death trick). During that sequence Gideon starts throwing up blood and seems like it's going to end very quickly then Dulcinea is like No! And the blood dries up, and the soul sucking pain is described as moving around Gideons body... I don't think Harrow would be experienced enough to adjust her siphoning like that. Also Dulcinea was clearly very intent on that key. At first I thought in half memory of the scene that maybe she was just interested in seeing if Gideon COULD survive the trial. But I don't think she cared who got her that key really.

Idk! I'm only on Chapter 20 of Gideon. I've gone completely nuts about these books.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

Ok i just saw the finale and Jen has to be a link to Bloody Rose, right? Something about her just doesn't sit right with me. I think maybe next season they reveal she is a bad guy? Idk if you've talked about this but I had to share with someone.

Throughout the season, I thought this was a possibility, since it was hard to know what was real about Jen and what wasn't, since she was caught in several lies. I thought that it might be other secrets, not necessarily Bloody Rose related, but I really thought she had a secret that would come out. I was surprised that there was nothing new revealed about her before the end.

Then in the finale, I definitely thought things were going in that direction when she pointed Noa towards Johnny and Christian, and then they both had incriminating evidence around to be found immediately afterwards. It felt like a planned set-up (I mean, it was presumably a set-up by Wes, but Jen pointing them out just at the perfect time to send Imogen and Tabby off to investigate and find the planted evidence was apparently coincidental). I was very convinced throughout the season that someone's love interest would betray them, and when we got to the finale where Ash, Shawn, Henry, and Greg were nowhere to be found, and Johnny and Christian had highly incriminating evidence show up with over half an hour left in the episode, I thought it would be her. I also thought that would explain why they spent so much time on the love triangle this season. I was very convinced that would have a bigger role in the story than just relationship drama.

Another thing that pinged on my "this might be a clue" radar (to be clear, if this were a different genre of show and I weren't analyzing everything to look for lies/manipulation, this probably wouldn't stand out that much to me) was that Noa repeats Jen's exact words when she brings up Christian and Johnny. This kind of gave me the vibe of "she doesn't realize how influenced she even is by Jen, because she's literally got Jen's words coming out of her mouth." But that turned out to be nothing.

I read (but have not seen a cited source, so take this with a grain of salt) that they didn't actually know who Bloody Rose was going to be until they were writing episode 6, and if that's true, then it very much makes me wonder if there was just too much possible set up (if they were ever considering Jen for being part of that plot) for her character that they didn't remove when they decided she would not be involved. Honestly, I don't like this writing style. I know it's not all that uncommon in TV, but I am firmly of the opinion that when you're writing a mystery, you need to know the answer to it from the beginning. You don't necessarily have to know exactly every step along the path, you should be flexible enough to make changes when the writing takes you a certain direction, but you should not just be making it all up as you go. And a red herring should be an intentional red herrings, not just leftover bits from you being indecisive about the solution.

I think this style of "we'll just write and see where it goes," is exactly what made the OG have so many underwhelming and nonsensical villain reveals the further into the show they got. When they were sticking more closely to the general guidelines of the books, people mostly liked those reveals, and when they wandered off on their own without a plan, things got too messy. This is an area that I would really like to see improvement in if there are additional seasons of the show.

[good-omens-classic]

I just watched all 6 episodes of season 2 in a row and I am having a very hard verbalizing the way I'm feeling.

I am speechless, and not in a good way.

For five and a half episodes, I was on board. I didn't expect to like this, but despite myself I found myself laughing and getting emotional and getting invested in the story, in a way I haven't been since first reading Good Omens and falling in love with it all those years ago. Nearly a decade ago at this point. I had problems with season 1 and the way the fandom changed, but that felt mostly natural and just like differences of opinion and interpretation.

The ending of season 2 feels actively malicious. Especially coming from someone who couldn't stop touting over and over on Twitter about what a nice queer love story this is.

Everything wasn't perfect--but it was...nice. It was something. It was engaging and I was starting to feel excited again, not like I'm going to start writing fanfiction again excited but at the very least I'm thinking, I can enjoy watching people enjoy this from the sidelines.

And then the second half of the last episode came. And Aziraphale wants to go back to Heaven to lead the angels. Not only is that a completely nonsensical thing for Metatron to invite him to do, but Aziraphale's entire character is that he's happy on Earth. He's happy on Earth with Crowley. OF COURSE CROWLEY REFUSED TO GO BACK TO HEAVEN. The entire fucking point is they belong ON EARTH, together, with the humans. Our own side, their own side, the humans' being neither good nor evil but full of potential and power and them learning they can be that way too.

That's the point. That's always been the point. NEIL GAIMAN KNOWS THAT'S THE POINT. Aziraphale was clearly very unhappy with this decision, and hesitant. The show made it VERY clear he was unhappy and unsure after Crowley gave him a reminder of what they were supposed to be about...and he just went anyway.

And he did this right as Crowley declares his love and FUCKING KISSES HIM. In this, supposedly the cutest best queer love story. Nobody can even say "Well they just don't have that kind of relationship, they don't need to say I love you or kiss or hold hands" anymore because THEY LITERALLY DID KISS. And then IMMEDIATELY said goodbye to each other.

Tragedy is not just about making the audience unhappy. Tragedy is making the audience ache because of something sad and unavoidable, of knowing the characters could be happy in a better world. Good omens has always been about building that world, to me. I thought maybe they were going to go in that direction, with Aziraphale and Crowley building a non-apocalypse, at peace world on Earth together, with Aziraphale's newfound authority to teach all the angels and demons the benefits of humanity. That is, in my mind, the culmination of the themes of the original story, and the one I thought season 1 mostly got right except for some stumbling blocks. But this... This feels like a slap in the face.

The tragedy here is not that Aziraphale and Crowley can't be together, but that the writers....that Neil Gaiman threw away everything in the original story, everything from season 1, Hell, everything from earlier in season 2, about Aziraphale's character development and the most important themes of the story. And for what? Who finds this ending narratively satisfying, let alone is happy with it?

I was enjoying this. Maybe it was just because so much time has passed since season 1 that I've been able to more effectively separate the versions and think of them as different stories, and just enjoy them for what they are separately, or maybe it's because there was no other version of this story for me to silently constantly compare it to, but I was enjoying this...a lot more than I enjoyed season 1. I thought it was cute, I thought Gabriel and Beelzebub deciding to basically do WHAT CROWLEY AND AZIRAPHALE SHOULD HAVE DONE and make a "third side" was a great extension of the themes of the story, and all the Aziraphale and Crowley flashbacks set it up so perfectly for Aziraphale to realize at the end: The problem IS systemic, and Heaven isn't the "good guys." and Aziraphale clearly realizes this! And yet he doesn't act on it. If the last half an hour had just been Aziraphale going "I don't want to lead Heaven actually, I belong here on Earth if you want to come to me on how to run things the Earth way," and then he skips off holding Crowley's hand. To me that would be not only the happiest AND most narratively neat, wrapped up conclusion for season 2, but also THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE. and ALL the character development s2 had been setting up in the first five fucking episodes.

It just all got thrown in the garbage.

I'm tired. This could have been such a good, good story, and I was prepared to be disappointed, but nothing could have prepared me for this. When the clip of Aziraphale and Crowley kissing got leaked, I was bracing myself for it to be some sort of like....joke, or dream sequence that didn't actually happen. I was not prepared for THIS.

Someone please convince me it wasn't this bad. Someone please spin it in a way I hadn't thought of before that makes it make sense. Someone please disagree with me and explain why.

[spaceorphan18]

Sorry to talk about glee when you have mainly switched to Bridgerton. I just had some thoughts re Kurt and wanted to ask your opinion.

People seem to think he didn’t have a good friendship with Santana. Whilst I think they had their moments - especially Santana’s rant at him, I think overall she was supportive of him and wanted him to be happy, especially with Blaine. She certainly approved of the engagement and them joining her wedding, and never talked them out of being together.

People who don’t like Blaine like to think Santana didn’t either, when she mostly did, the only awkwardness was about Perfect or thinking he would get all the solos in season 3. To say Santana hated Klaine and would have been happy if they had split permanently is kinda just not right, imao.

This got me thinking that if certain characters had been around when Klaine split before season 6, those friends would have really tried to talk Kurt out of it - mainly Santana, Elliott, Mercedes or Sam. Season 6 just sits wrong with me because of this.

So. First of all. Guys. Seriously. This is a multifandom blog, and I'm really happy to talk about anything. And, I mean, just because I don't shut up about Bridgerton, doesn't mean I don't want to talk about Glee. Honestly, I'm one of those people who just collects new things and doesn't really let go of the old ones, hence the giant multifandomness of the blog.

<3 <3

Alright then. Kurt and Santana, canonically, become friends after they share their living space in Season 4. At no point after that do they stop being friends -- that includes the nonsense that went on during Season 5 with the Santana/Rachel fight. Kurt never took a side in that, and Santana really didn't have any beef with him.

Yes, Kurt fucked up by being an ass during the proposal -- especially since it was about him, and his own issues, and really nothing to do with Santana or Brittany. And Santana was right to call him out on it. (Now, as an aside, do I like her rant -- no, it was Ryan and Co's way of handling it, which was not funny, but she was within her right to call him out.)

That said -- it's weird that fandom takes these things and uses them as a black and white justification to define the relationship. Do people not get in fights with friends? Are people not doing any kind of conflict resolution with the people in their lives? Is everything really all sunshine and roses?

I don't understand why people hold fictional characters to way higher standards than their own relationships -- and I fear it's mostly because they want the text to fit the narrative they're trying to sell, in this case that Santana and Kurt don't like each other. When, you know what, they like each other fine. -- Do I think they're bffs? No, I don't. But I do think they like and respect each other and Kurt's one screw up doesn't negate all of that. Even Santana is fine after she's said her peace.

(I wrote up a whooooole thing about the Klaine and Brittana friendship where I go in depth about the different dynamics of the couples in relation to each other, I'll try to dig it up.)

Meanwhile, the people who don't like Blaine are going to find any reason to not like Blaine, and they're just wrong in their analysis of the text and even more so, they don't care that they're wrong because they want the story to fit their liking.

But ultimately, their opinion does not matter. Yours does, Nonny. Do you like Blaine? Do you like Santana? Do you want them to be friends? Even if they were dead enemies in canon, it doesn't matter. If that story means something to you -- then fuck what the rest of the internet says.

Going in a different direction, I'll preface what I have to say with -- I don't expect you to agree, nor do I expect you to feel better or worse about Season 6 because of this -- you are welcome to your opinions and feelings about it.

But... I think Kurt needed to take that journey. I don't think it was anyone else's responsibility to manage Kurt's feelings. If he wanted to break up with Blaine, that was his prerogative. And that's okay. So, even if his friends were around (and I'm sure at least Elliot was), it's not their place to push Kurt in any direction one way or another.

Thanks for the ask, Nonny! Always love hearing from you guys <3

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What do you think about the claims that Omashu could still parallel Zutara because

1. When they “Bonded”, they were in Ba Sing Se, whose motto is “There is no war in Ba Sing Se”.

2. Zuko wore “yellow” during the catacombs scene and it happened while they were in a cave with similar colored crystals.

3. Katara defeating Azula is somehow a better parallel to Oma’s rampage than Katara’s anger at Aang nearly dying.

4. Oma or shu was holding an Olive branch and Katara offered to heal Zuko’s scar.

5. Aang can’t be a reincarnation of Oma or shu because neither was mentioned to be the avatar whereas Katara and Zuko could be their reincarnations.

I've already explained how nonsensical this "Oma and Shu is about Zutara" is, but MAN, the points you brought up only made it look even stupider.

1 - Being FORCED to be in a place together to bond is very different from willingly meeting each other. Ba Sing Se DENYING there's a war going on is very different from two people having to meet in secret because the war is THE ONE THING everyone in both rival groups is talking about. The situations are not just different, they're complete opposites.

2 - Zuko was wearing Earth Kingdom clothes because he HAD to blend in to survive. He did for the entire season, it makes no sense to connect that to a legend HE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF. And obviously the cave of Ba Sing Se, an Earth Kingdom territory, is gonna have the same color pallete of Omashu's cave, since it is also EK, and this show is aimed at 6-year-olds. That's why we have things like everyone in the WATER tribe having BLUE eyes.

Also, he and Katara were in a cave with crytals - but Katara and Aang were ON THE ACTUAL CAVE OF OMA AND SHU, and had their first kiss there, which they both seemed to enjoy. If simply having a conversation in a cave counts as parallels to Oma and Shu, Zuko opening up about his personal struggles to Aang (whose soul wasn't even there) in the North Pole and the Kataang dance in the secret party also count.

3 - Like you pointed out, Katara AND Aang fighting Azula, who had not even attacked Zuko at that point, cannot mean her grief over him parallels Oma grief for Shu (especially since, again, Zuko was fine). Meanwhile Katara was five seconds away from going Koizilla mode after Azula KILLED AANG IN BATTLE, aka the same way Shu died.

4 - FINALLY, a halfway decent point! Yes, the Crossroads scene was absolutely about two enemies maybe seeing eye-to-eye for once and realizing they're not so different - that's a theme that is constantly repeated through all three seasons of Avatar, through many different characters and dynamics.

But that doesn't change the fact that empathy/compassion is not the same as "I'm in love with you", nor the fact that, unlike Shu, Zuko REJECTED the peace offering - funny how Zutarians always ignore that part, huh? Once again, the situation is not just different, it's the direct opposite.

5 - The Avatar is the only confirmed case of reincarnation in Avatar. It's very possible that there are more (and Momo was originally going to be Gyatso's reincarnation), but we cannot say any character other than Aang is a reincarnation of someone else because the show did not ever say that was even possible.

And even if it IS, that does not mean Katara and Zuko HAVE to be Oma and Shu. There were literally THOUSANDS of people on opposite sides of a war on that show, and like I said, they were not even the only two characters to have a moment in a cave AND Zuko never even heard of the legend. He is not connected to it at all, unlike Aang.

(And while history repeating itself IS a theme in Avatar, cicles being BROKEN is also important narratively, so Zuko rejecting Katara's peace offering in Crossroads shows that even if, against all odds, he WAS Shu, their romance won't repeat itself, at least in this life)

Also, there's a big difference between saying "Katara and Aang are Oma and Shu reincarnated" and "The writers used Oma and Shu's story to further Katara and Aang's plot."

So yeah, bad, terrible, awful "arguments" just to pretend the Kataang centered episode was secretly about Zutara all along. These people gotta learn to the L already.

[elliemarchetti]

Gwynriel Weeks Day 6

For this day of @gwynrielweeksofficial I would like to propose, in addition to a subversion of the usually male-driven realization of the mating bond, also a possible friendship between Gwyn and Elain. I hate when authors pit women against each other for the sake of a man, and both characters, who I find could get along extremely well, are very dear to me, so I hope you could enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it (on company time, so please don’t be mad if you find some mistakes).

Prompt: Mates

Words: 1021

Gwyn had never been very interested in the concept of mates before meeting Elain. Nesta's younger sister, but not the youngest of the Archerons, had the High Lord himself take her to the library to find out more about what could happen in case she decided to reject the bond tethering her to Lucien Vanserra and stayed at the House for a few nights, waking up early in the morning and going to bed late at night, her lovely button nose buried in the pages and her back bent over countless books. At first, Gwyn hadn’t approached her. Something had happened between the lady and Azriel, and although she had no right to be jealous, she had felt a note of annoyance at the idea. She had felt guilty, because the priestesses had taught her not to be possessive, and childish, since Azriel didn’t look at her like that, but in the end curiosity and kindness had won, and when Elain had asked her for help, they ended up chatting. She was different from how she had imagined her, not a warrior in the physical sense of the word, but a resilient creature, still torn between her mortal and Fae selves.

“I shouldn’t bore you with this nonsense,” she told her one afternoon, over a cup of hot tea. But Gwyn wasn’t bored, on the contrary, the more she listened, the more she understood about herself too. She had suffered a little when she saw her leave, declaring that her mind was clearer but she still needed to think before deciding, but she soon rejoiced when she saw her return, a basket full of apple and cinnamon biscuits, which she had told her were her favourites.

“I’ve realized I can’t choose if I don’t leave the Night Court’s comfort zone. Here every time I meet him I’m monitored, with Rhysand and Feyre watching my every move and Nesta and Azriel ready to slit his throat at the slightest hint of discomfort on my part. They don’t seem to understand ours isn’t a normal bond, and before establishing a relationship there will be moments of sadness to face together, embarrassing conversations that will have to be had in order to figure out if we want to continue in that direction, and maybe some mistakes will be necessary too to make things right,” she had said once they were alone.

“So you mean to leave?” Gwyn had asked, and unexpectedly she felt her heart tighten in her chest at the idea of losing her.

“Not permanently,” her new friend had replied, “and whenever I will return, I will come here to tell you about my travels and ask if you would like to join us. Rhysand would be thrilled to know that in addition to two emissaries, one of his spies would have free access to all Courts.”

Gwyn had blushed at that implication, she was still in the midst of her training and no one should know about it, but Elain had mentioned it so casually she had probably seen her succeed in one of her visions. They had never talked much about her powers, except when she told her she had seen images of her and her mate together, making her not particularly surprised when, on the third or fourth visit, she announced with a beaming expression that she had accepted the bond.

“I prepared a great dinner, and forced him to eat everything like a civilized being before approaching me,” she had told her, and they had laughed at the matter, exchanging the recipes mentioned and whispering like little girls who feared being caught discussing something forbidden when the details of the frenzy became obscener. Gwyn had never spoken that way to Emerie and Nesta, who knew what had happened to her in Sangravah, but she still found it refreshing, and it helped her delve into some of the more suggestive reading that her friends had never recommended to her. Not that she didn’t talk with Nesta about her relationship with Cassian, but the Lord of Bloodshed and her fellow Valkyrie were more tumultuous, caught up in constant bickering that ended in wild, noisy sex. It was a different bond, because they were different people than Elain and Lucien, all properness and secrecy, but they made her curious about other mated couples. The most obvious was the relationship between the High Lord and Lady, a connection based on sharing: he was part of her, they spoke telepathically, they flew together with those special wings only they possessed and they had a death pact, to go down the road to death at the same time. A little codependent, for Gwyn’s taste, but after all it wasn’t up to her to judge, since she didn’t have a mate of her own.

Obviously, like any girl, she had thought about the characteristics she would like her Cauldron chosen to have. A strong male but capable of infinite sweetness, who knew how to work with his hands and at the same time caress her as if she was the most fragile creature in the world. An intelligent Fae incapable of presumption, who listened to her talk endlessly about the things she had learned and in turn had something to teach her. She would’ve liked them to have shared interests, and she had revelled in the idea he was someone who didn’t constantly need external reassurance, someone who saw her and her truth as enough, but it was only a daydream, qualities she could’ve found in anyone and not necessary a mate, although every now and then the idea of belonging to someone who could understand her soul, she who had no certain roots and who had lost her entire family, intrigued her. But it was just a game, definitely not something she expected to find far from Prythian, in an unknown village, in the middle of a dangerous mission, in the form of the only non-foreign person within miles. A wave of panic washed over her at the overwhelming realization that Azriel Shadowsinger was her mate, and under no circumstances should he find out.

[horizon-verizon]

https://www.tumblr.com/horizon-verizon/763989616788406272/i-think-theres-a-certain-irony-in-the-fact-that?source=share

If I were to say that this actually satisfies me? Alicent fans didn’t complain about all the changes in the first season since they benefited her by giving her a victim storyline. They didn’t care how much the first season strayed from her book counterpart like they do with the second season because they liked those changes. The problem isn’t the changes or how far they deviate from the book—the problem is that they no longer benefit her. What they really wanted was for the show to create a hybrid between Show Alicent and Book Alicent. They wanted Book Alicent but with Show Alicent’s backstory so they could victimize her and justify her actions.

If you pay attention, most of the things her fans use to victimize her are based on changes the show invented ("a 14-year-old girl manipulated by her father and forced to have children," "her friend lied to her after she tried to help and support her, which got her father fired," "she married a man as old as her father," "she had to care for her husband who abused her and rule for 6 years while he rotted away," etc.). None of that happens in the books. The fact that the writers didn’t give them what they wanted is hilarious. Rhaenyra’s character was sacrificed in the first season to give her a storyline, and the fact that the writers also ended up sacrificing Alicent for that “rhaenicent” nonsense, going in a completely different direction than what they expected, makes me respect Condal just a little.

The problem isn’t the changes or how far they deviate from the book—the problem is that they no longer benefit her. What they really wanted was for the show to create a hybrid between Show Alicent and Book Alicent. They wanted Book Alicent but with Show Alicent’s backstory so they could victimize her and justify her actions.

YUP, very much all this. Although I do see how many women in Alicent's position would and feel entitled to their sons put before an older daughter from a previous marriage in succession lines--what with how she had to "sacrifice" her body and put her life at risk (even though she may not know the extent of how risky pregnancy was bc they don't teach people nothing, esp not young girls), Alicent is still objectively also wrong to go after Rhaenyra under the goal of upholding patriarchal destruction of women.

Though 18x29/30 is still pretty weird for it all being legal in the U.S., it is also true that they deliberately made it worse for Alicent as they did for Aemma, Rhea Royce, Rhaenys, Laena, etc. Which gives off an impression that what happens to these women canonically "wasn't as bad" and is more acceptable, really.

Yes, Alicent grew up indoctrinated...doesn't mean she didn't also have the choice to not go weird in canon against a kid 3 TIMES--Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra's Aegon, and her own granddaughter Jaehaera--or choose to participate in provoking a war to give said sons the kingdom when there would likely have been a relatively more peaceful transfer of power.

Yes Alicent grew up into the mindset where she would fear Rhaenyra might kill her kids due to history...except since only the Targs have dragons, there were oaths made, etc., there si also the more objective fact that there was really no threat to Rhaenyra except those kids who no one else can be a threat to in turn....so why was there no attempt to see how Rhaenyra felt about her siblings or how Rhaenyra would/wouldn't bow to others' attempts to turn her against said siblings? And do we know how much Alicent's own desire to be "first lady" informed much of her fears for her kids, the "ratio" for that? Not saying she shouldn't have ambitions or seek to be first-first through her son becoming king, but it appears that people wish to over-rely on the notion that bk&show!Alicent was mostly or only afraid for her kids when she keeps doing & saying things that belie that idea. Meanwhile, I'm pretty comfortable with saying that Rhaenyra absolutely wanted the throne for herself, prove a point/reap the benefits after similar experiences of women being excluded from power, AND to protect her kids. And the consequences of the war/violence/sexism was that she lost her kids and was murdered for merely following convention in a way by affirming her heirship.

Rhaena the Black Bride, after all the stuff with Maegor and her own family excluding her for Rogar, wanted power/Dragonstone/affirmation of being Aenys' heir to defend her peace and bc it was the most available way to affirm her dignity; these two women of the Dance wanted power to affirm their dignity nearly the same way but not only.

Those writers said they will not satisfy anyone, but in a way that they some didn't anticipate.

[cosmic-consumption-au]

Chapter 6 - A Two Star Consolation

That night you have no real dreams of note, the only one you can remember being you riding on a strange small ride of sorts in a darkless void. You woke up after losing your last coin that supposedly kept the ride going in a grate that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

You are confused.

Either way, you try to not think about it too much seeing how nonsensical it was. You have something else to worry about today, and it’s not traveling.

When you all gather for breakfast, Loop is surprisingly still asleep on the couch, positioned like they’d just been hit by a wagon.

(They deserve to sleep in…just a little longer.)

However, Bonnie will not let this atrocity go unpunished. They stomp up to them, inhale, and scream before you can take action to stop them.

“LOOOOOP!!!!” You and your friends flinch at their volume, and Loop seemingly jumps up like a cat in surprise with a scream.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING, IS THE WORLD ENDING?!?!” Since they’re in their star form, the sparks and sparkles are much more visible and you can’t help but laugh.

“HAHAHAHA!!! You look like a cat!” You point at Loop, who looks rather angry at you for this comment.

“Oh, haha. How funny,” They sit up and roll their eyes at you. They do their strange ripple-like transformation back into their more humanoid form with a stretch. “I really need to find some way to make this stick…” Loop seems a little…disappointed by this.

Nonetheless, Loop joins the rest of you and eats as if they were starving once again. Only this time, they feel the consequences of fast eating, placing their face down on the table with a pained groan.

“Yeah. Can’t gorge yourself,” Odile lectures with a chuckle and a smirk as she shakes her head.

After everyone gets everything set up, Mirabelle realizes something and turns to Loop. “Oh! Loop! Since we’ll probably be outside for a while, do you need some sleeping supplies?”

Everyone kind of side-eyes them in a similar question.

“Not really,” Loop shrugs. “I’ve been rather warm to say the least, so less stuff on me the better.”

You still aren’t sure just how hot Loop is, being a star and all. When you fought them, they felt like an overheated person rather than a flame though.

(Grabbing their face didn’t burn me, and neither did pinning them down. If it did, that fight would have had a very different outcome.)

You kind of shudder, wondering what would have even happened.

(Best not to think about it.)

The party heads out of the city, luckily having to wade through a less crowded street. Since you’re changing directions, it will take longer than expected to come across another town by night.

Walking along a path through a grassy field in silence is…you could cut the tension between you and Loop with a knife. You occasionally look over at them, but look away when they notice you. However, when you notice them looking at you, they don’t look away.

(That look…you’ve seen it before. Back in the loops…)

“Ya know,” Nille says, looking back at the two of you. “You two kinda look like siblings!”

Her chuckles make it seem like a little joke, but it unintentionally leaves the two of you kind of uncomfortable.

“Teehee! I guess we do, huh?~” Loop laughs it off with a forced smile.

“Maybe that’d be a good cover story?” You raise an eyebrow at them.

(It’ll be easier to tell strangers we’re related than the same person.)

Odile overhears your plan, and hums an agreement. “It would be more believable.”

“Guess it’s settled! Me and stardust are siblings, as far as the world is concerned,” Loop nods.

Even if they’ve fooled everyone, you know Loop isn’t exactly stoked about this idea. Having a proper face already gave them away, but you can see faint sparkles come off them for a moment.

All of you keep walking in a tense silence, everyone obviously wanting to say something but not having the guts to do so. Even Bonnie seems hesitant to start a conversation.

By the time it’s noon, you all settle down for a lunch break on a nearby field of lush grass. Loop, despite having socialized with them yesterday, diverts from the group to sit alone. Everyone seems a little worried, looking at one another with questioning looks.

“Did we do something wrong?” Mira asks, looking at you with an anxious stare.

“Um…” You aren’t sure what to say. “Maybe they’re just…recharging? They did talk to you guys a lot yesterday.”

Everyone seems to be satisfied with that answer, but Bonnie got another idea by ‘recharge’.

“Oooh, so they’re like glow-in-the-dark?” They seem convinced of this hypothesis.

You laugh at this. “Yeah, maybe!”

“Well, since you’re kinda them,” Bonnie takes some praline chips out of their bag. “Could you give them these? They said they like bananas, and pralines are close enough, right?”

You take the chips with a nod. “I’m sure they’ll be thankful for these! It’ll help recharge their glow.”

Isa chuckles a little at you fueling their little theory, and you respond with a cute wink at him.

Loop’s sitting still, their new hair ruffled by the wind. You still feel the tension between you two as you shuffle closer to them.

“Hey,” you say in a nervous tone, “got some praline chips for you…”

They hum an answer, extending a hand for the chips. They look over them with a stoic look.

“Praline chips, huh?” They chuckle coldly. “I suppose enough time has passed.”

With a shrug they eat the chips. You’re honestly sick of this tension, and decide to be blunt.

“Ok, what is it?” You stare down at them, and they look back with a raised eyebrow. “I thought we made up! Why do you still have this…this problem with me?! Did I do something? Why can’t we just move on?”

You didn’t mean to be that blunt, but your emotions got the better of you. Loop looks up at you with raised eyebrows, seeming shocked by this outburst, but not surprised.

“Guess I haven’t been…the most transparent when it comes to my thoughts and feelings lately.” They rub one of their arms nervously. You sit down next to them, so you two are more or less at equal height. “Ok,” they sigh out, looking a little less tense. “So I did talk to…them yesterday. That wasn’t a lie. But…I didn’t tell them about our little…disagreement at the end.”

You can’t really blame them for leaving that part out. You’re not sure now they’d take it, but odds are; not well.

“I just…I miss them, you know?” They continue, looking up at the sky. “They aren’t…them. Just your versions of them. I really thought…I was going to see them again, after our fight. Either that or dying, I was happy to take either one. But…The Universe just…repurposed me, I guess. I looked like a star, so I was a star. Seems like solid logic, right?” They laugh darkly at this, seemingly bitter about this. “It wasn’t that bad to be honest. Even if I missed them, I had developed a sickly pleasant heartache that was oddly…comforting. So in a twisted way, I kind of liked the isolation. I was able to see the stars up close, and felt at some kind of peace. But then I…”

They slow their words down, and wince before rubbing their temples. “I saw…” They look in pain at the mere thought of whatever they’re remembering, and you worriedly reach a hand towards them.

“It wasn’t good, I can tell you that,” they eventually respond, still rubbing their head. “It’s similar to our country, I think; the headache thing that keeps happening to me?” They explain in a half questioning tone, looking to you for some kind of confirmation. You nod a little, putting it together that they really can’t explain what they saw out there.

“Either way, it was enough to snap me out of my bittersweet bliss, and caused me to fall back here. Blinding hurt, but I’m still standing here aren’t I?” They look over to you with a small shrug. 

You think back on the dream you had, seeing some similarities.

(Was this some kind of connection to them? That’d explain the wish acting up suddenly.)

Even when you try, you can’t pin down what it was you saw that caused you to fall away from the stars. But you can agree with Loop on one thing.

Whatever it was, it was bad.

“Aside from the Universe deciding to just let me see horrors beyond comprehension and throwing me back here,” Loop continues with minor annoyance in their tone, “I…I still…I’m still mad at you. I still kind of want to…I don’t know, take your place? But honestly, we both know that’s a stupid idea. Even if I could easily morph my body to look more like you, steal your clothes, and say you just ran away or something…it’s too much of a hassle for me.” They wink with a smirk as if to write it off as a joke.

Even as a dark joke, it still makes you shiver for a second.

You smile and laugh nervously to brush it off too.

Loop sighs and looks away, their face dropping from its almost manic expression.

The two of you stare off for a while before speaking again.

“Well,” you say to break the silence, “I am genuinely glad you’re back! I hoped that you could get another chance. You’ve changed so much…literally!”

Their eyes shift to look at you, but they still face ahead.

You continue speaking. “You aren’t me. That’s been apparent. And it’s not just because you got all starry and stuff; it’s because you experienced the House differently. You stood by me and watched from the sidelines, a different role! You weren’t the ‘hero’ anymore. But that didn’t make you worth any less. It just gave you a different perspective. And now…you can go forward with those new understandings, and you can go on a different path.”

Loop stays quiet for a while, and you don’t look at them for a while so as not to make them uncomfortable.

Then you hear sniffing.

You turn a little to see Loop holding back tears and failing, big drops beading along their narrowed eyes.

You aren’t sure what to do, so you just worriedly look around and hold your hands in front of you.

“You blinding crab…” Loop’s voice cracks as they cover their eyes with the palms of their hands. “We both know we don’t deserve this.”

You chuckle a little with some tears in your own eyes. “You’re right.”

They look a little caught off guard as they peek one eye out at you with confusion behind the tears.

“We don’t. But you do.” You smile at them warmly, trying to reassure them with a simple expression.

They move their hands down and wrap their arms around their legs in a hug. Still crying, but a bit less than before.

(They’re probably just too dehydrated to keep crying.)

You offer them your water canister, which they take after some hesitation. They chug it for a while before they give an empty canister back to you.

You’re a little annoyed, but glad they’re hydrated nonetheless.

They go back to looking ahead of themselves, but their eyes seem to be more…focused. More thoughtful.

“Thanks, Stardust.” They say in a much better off tone. “I needed that.”

You smile and gently pat their shoulder. “Anytime, Loop. Or whoever you choose to be.”

The two of you sit up and head back to the others together to chat and get some more food. After a while, the lunch break is over, and you all head back on the road.

-

Somewhere further away from the party, but following them for afar, a stranger lurks in the tree line.

“So…these are the saviors of Vaugarde, huh? Kinda…disappointing.” They say to themselves, a pair of arms on their hips as they pout. 

“A child…a traveler…a Housemaiden…a Defender…and those two…mmm…yes, I think this will be ‘fun’. At least, those two will be something. And I can tell…they’re sick too! Sad it took people in Vaugarde too…a shame.”

A pair of arms shrug and they chuckle with a smirk before continuing their dialogue. “I’ll leave them be for now. After all…it’s not like it’s going to get more broken.” They laugh at that last line, wiping a tear away with a hand as they clutch their sides.

“Well, whatever. Everything’s rotting anyway. I’m sure the world won’t mind if I waste a few more days observing before I make another futile effort.”

Without another word, they step back further into the tree line, low hanging branches being snapped out of their way.

End of Chapter 6

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Previous - Masterpost - Next

[bladeweave]

how well could the origins characters do at being actors interviewed in a press junket where the big pr issue they were specificially instructed not to discuss by the studio is addressed point blank by the interviewer and they are asked to comment on it?

Astarion: the only one who will blatantly lie and say oh no thats not true, nothing of the sort has occured. will gladly denigrate anyone who says otherwise in a way that does not sound like an insult. whatever his real opinion is he says the opposite of that. the execs love him and the fans think hes absolutely fully of shit. 9/10

Gale: hates lying not because it's bad but because he hates conveying incorrect information. he will prevaricate around the topic for a time, speaking a lot and saying nothing, and probably says something self-effacing that suitably shifts focus away from the issue but leaves the viewers with questions. goes home and posts his actual thoughts on his priv acc. 8/10

Karlach: you may be thinking theres no way she could navigate anything delicately. you are WRONG! with her natural verve and zest she could easily say something incredibly funny that completely distracts from the topic at hand and moves the conversation in a different direction that the interviewer cant steer back on course. this is highly context dependent though i will admit. 7/10

Lae'zel: if you tell her not to talk about it she will not talk about it. point blank. hard eyed stare into the zoom camera until the interviewer gets nervous and starts spitting nonsense trying to get her to react. technically correct in that she did as she was told but her patter really needs some work. 6/10

Shadowheart: won't comment on it directly but because she loves shit stirring she is the only one who cannot resist dropping a hint of a hint as to whats truly going on. its the most replayed section of the video and gets speculators going apeshit in the comments section. which she eats up. did she spill? no. are the higher ups happy? also no. 5/10

Wyll: everything he says is so fully sincerely from the heart and simultaneously rehearsed scripted garbage. full of statements like "he's a joy to work with" and "it's really obvious how much effort he's been putting in." he really makes himself believe what he's saying and it convinces half the viewers as well. 10/10

Dark Urge: is the PR crisis. 0/10

[sniffin4sxrrxw]

01/04/2024 - A weird dream I had

I went to bed at like 5 am and feel asleep at 6-ish am and at some point I started dreaming I was in all kinds of places, at first I was in a giant discounter with what I think were supposed to be friends but there were also some people that felt like they shouldn’t have been there like a jacked man and woman that I was running around with later in that giant store, before going into it I got greeted and hugged by two women claiming they knew me who seemed vaguely familiar in terms of knowing them irl they then hugged me and proceeded to walk into the store with me; There someone told us we had credit cards that we could use and whoever spends the money on that „tier“ of card first get‘s the next tier with more money but „keeps less money“ from the „prize pool“ which was something in the millions, which I we had only been told after another part of the friend group spent the money which was only 1.68$ I think for some reason so the friend I was with said we should maybe just get some water which we did but after getting the water we were just playing catch while splashing water everywhere and just having fun; After a while and I don’t remember how or why I got there I was alone wanting to go to the second floor to go buy things there which is where the jacked guy and woman appeared and wanted to race me the door leading to the staircase which led to the next floor, which we did but for some reason the man blocked the door after we made it all there. Then I remember being outside at a place I sometimes go to on my walks at night, it was also night at that time but for some reason I didn‘t have the cigarettes I usually smoke with me but one pf those refillable vapes instead; So I sat on a bench vaping until I decided to start heading back home but there were multiple people each walking and coming from a different direction with one coming right towards me; I wanted to switch to the other side of the road or just switch to the adjacent sidewalk ykwIm anyways though I tried walking a larger circle around that person but suddenly they stood in from of me; It was a woman she was wearing glasses with a thick frame if I remember correctly but I‘m not sure about that, she either black, brown or red hair and was somewhere around my age or a few years older; She then probably asked me if she could have a few drags and I told her she could just keep it because I had spare ones at home and that a friend gave that one to me and that it is refillable she then thanked me and we were about to talk about things but suddenly I felt like I blacked out in the dream; When I was „conscious“ again the feeling had changed and the scenery or landscape of the dream and how it worked I guess but suddenly it felt like (Idk maybe if you played Webfishing before or ac) you‘ll get it but there was a chat and I was typing into it but it also being narrated by a deep and disturbing voice, I‘d call demonic there were characters in the chat I couldn‘t recognize; I tried telling her I can’t speak, I can‘t say what I want but it just kept coming out a gibberish for the most part and sometimes it might’ve just appeared to me that way because even though the characters were all fucked up and weird the structure of some sentences made sense at first glance; Then I blacked out again and suddenly I‘m in a top down game on a platform in a hellish landscape; The platform had a rectangular shape a giant window with a pentagram, showing what’s below but I couldn’t make out what it was but it the platform had sawblades, spinning blocks and holes and all of that stuff in one area so I tried passing that area but failing over and over again to the point where I remember calling out: „This is impossible!“ suddenly I was on a different platform that looked similar but with other things but it felt like they were people but everyone looked like giant disgusting piles of meat with nonsensical shapes and oddly arranged/attached extremeties; Everyone seemed to try to escape the platform as well; But then a loud voice started to speak that echoed all throughout the area-

[sjofn-lofnsdottr]

6. Who was their Azem? What were they like, and were they different from your WoL? Who were their family, friends? Or, if you don't care for the Azem angle or went in your own direction for their past self, how so? How does your WoL feel about their Ancient identity?

Boy, is Azem something I haven't really ... firmed up much about, as you could probably tell, given I've been sitting on this ask for longer than I normally would. It's a great big space to fill in, which is fun, but as a result, I change my mind about it all the time. But! I can answer for this moment in time, with the understanding it's not carved in stone!

I change my mind on Dusk!Azem's name all the time, but I come back to Apollo a lot. He's got stuff vaguely in common with the Apollo, enough to give him the name maybe. He has an artist's soul, he has a twin sister (yes I know about canon Artemis, shush), and Themis sort of implies Azem has some sort of prophetic nonsense going on. There's also the actual sun connection the game itself makes, and even before we found any of that out, I associated Dusk with the sun.

Personality-wise I think they're pretty close. Extremely powerful busybodies who have a lot of love for everyone they meet and the world around them, who are very stubborn in their belief they can Fix Everything. I like to think Azem sleeps better than Dusk ever has, though.

I haven't really fleshed out Azem's family at all, save for thinking he had a twin too. I haven't decided if his twin was Dawn's Ancient, or someone else. Both ideas kind of appeal to me. I don't think his twin was Artemis, though. That doesn't ... feel correct, to me.

I think Azem, friend-wise, was similar to Dusk: loads of people who consider him a friend, and he is happy to consider them friends right back, but close friends, there are only a handful.

Dusk thinks of Azem as his own separate person, just like he thinks of Ardbert as his own person. Hell, he thinks of Fray as a separate person from him. As a result, he occasionally wonders what he was like, but it doesn't usually give him any sort of identity crisis. It's more a piece of interesting trivia to him. The only time it bothers him is when he thinks back to how furious Emet-Selch seemed that Dusk couldn't handle all the light on the First ... it makes sense to him in retrospect. Emet-Selch was hoping Dusk was Azem, and he just ... wasn't. And could never be. He doesn't think that's a failing on his part, but he does think it's sad.

[clothyume]

Forgotten Homework Episode 3

(Two days later. In front of the ES building)

 Chiaki: " —Woohoo☆ Chiaki Morisawa fired up and ready to go…!"

Mitsuru: “Dash dash dash! I’m Ra*bits’ Mitsuru Tenma~!"

Kuro: "...AKATSUKI’s Kuro Kiryu. Hey"

Chiaki: "Hey now, Kiryu! Where’s your fighting spirit!" 

"Everyone’s supposed to start off with a catchphrase, right?"

Mitsuru: "Exactly, Kiryu~senpai! Even if your catchphrase sucks, you still promised to do the signature pose, right?"

Kuro: "Ah. I did a little fist pump, didn't I?"

Chiaki: "That’s what that was? It was so nonchalant I didn’t even notice!"

Kuro: "My bad. But, isn’t it weird to do a signature pose in the first place"

"Anyways. That’s it for our introductions. We’re keeping the guests waiting"

Chiaki: "Yeah, you’re right. Without further ado, let’s explain the project…! This is the mission we’ve been assigned for today!"

"Can modern people reach a destination without relying on the help of smartphones or maps?"

Mitsuru: "Ooh… It’s gonna be a tough mission"

Kuro: "People tend to rely on their smartphones when going somewhere new"

Mitsuru: Tomo-chan even taught me how to use the map on my smartphone for when I get lost!

"But, if I can’t use my smartphone, how am I supposed to get home?"

Chiaki: "That’s what we’re gonna find out today. If we can reach the destination without looking at a map, it’ll prove our point"

Kuro: "Today, we’ve split up into three teams to take on the mission"

Mitsuru: "Chia-chan-senpai’s team and Kiryu-senpai’s team, plus my team makes three!"

Chiaki: "And, each of us is paired with a reliable teammate! Let’s introduce them!" 

Kaoru: "You finally called. I was getting tired of waiting wondering when you’d call~?"

Shu: "Honestly. Isn’t it awfully rude to keep us waiting for so long despite being called reliable?"

Nagisa: "...Fufu. We were just talking about starting the challenge by ourselves at this point"

Chiaki: "Sorry, sorry!"

"So today, Hakaze, Itsuki and Ran have all come to help!" 

Kaoru: "Hello, I’m UNDEAD’s Kaoru Hakaze, I’ll be participating as Moricchi’s little helper, thanks for having me~♪"

Shu: "I am Shu Itsuki of Valkyrie. Today I will be supporting Kiryu"

Nagisa: "...I’m Eden’s Nagisa Ran. I’ll do my best as Tenma-kun’s assistant"

Mitsuru: "Woohoo, ‘God Team’ are reunited again~☆ Nagisa-senpai, let’s do our best together like we did on ‘Bogie Time’!"

Nagisa: "...I’m glad you asked me to join, Tenma-kun. I’ll do my best since you’re relying on me"

Kaoru: "Fufu, I’m starting to get fired up. Don’t you think our team pairs are surprisingly close?"

Chiaki: "Yup. Hakaze and I were fellow classmates and friends at Yumenosaki. Kiryu and Itsuki are a pair of close childhood friends"

Kuro: "The public doesn’t really know that, though"

Shu: "I haven’t exactly mentioned that I’m childhood friend with Kiryu in front of the fans"

"More importantly, explain the plan already. It’s not admirable to waste time with idle chatter"

Kuro: "Oops, you’re right. If we keep talking nonsense we won't get anywhere" 

Chiaki: "Yup. From here on out, each team is going to be blindfolded and taken to a different place"

"Once each team reaches their starting point, the challenge begins"

If we can reach the ES building by 6 o’clock without using a smartphone or map, we’ll prove its possible. If not, we’ve failed"

Nagisa: "...I have a question?"

Chiaki: "What’s up, Ran? Are you curious about something?"

Nagisa: "... I understand we can’t use smartphones or maps. But are we allowed to ask people on the street for directions?"

Kaoru: "Ah, that’s a good point"

Chiaki: "Hmm. I’ll confirm it with the staff but, it seems like we can’t do that"

Nagisa: "...So we’re testing the pure human homing instinct"

 Mitsuru: "Home-ing? Sounds like a hard word…"

Nagisa: "...It’s an ability that birds and insects were born with. No matter how far away they are from their nest, they can always return"

Mitsuru: "They can do something like that!? That’s awesome, if I had that kinda power I’d never get lost!"

Kaoru: "I guess the problem is that we know were we want to go, but don’t have the ability to know how to get there" 

Shu: "Honestly, you’re overly reliant on technology"

Is it not just a matter of reaching your destination? In that case all you have to do is explore the surrounding environment and information then return"

Kuro: "Aren’t you confident, Itsuki. Well, you’re not good with technology in the first place"

Shu: "Yes. I keep my use of technology to a minimum. Though lately, for convenience of communication, I’ve been forced to keep it with me, haven't I? 

"Even so I don’t use guidance applications. Rather than reaching my destination by looking at a mere smartphone screen…"

"Don't you think it would be more productive to carefully observe the surrounding landscape and be artistically inspired as you travel?"

Kuro: "Haha. if you’re going to say that, I trust you Itsuki"

Chiaki: "Alri~ght! Now I’ve explained everything, let’s get everyone to the starting point!"

…Phew. That’s it for filming here. We’ll go by car now 

"Everyone’s smartphones will be confiscated", huh. Alright, I understand 

Kuro: Hm? What’s this smartphone substitute?  

Nagisa: …It’s a smartphone that only has the function to make calls. It looks like only two names are registered in my contacts

Kaoru: If we get lost and want help from the other team, or want to talk about our progress we can use this handy little smartphone

Mitsuru: Can we call everyone? If that's the case then I’ll call everyone when I win…! 

It’s decided then Ran-senpai, let’s go now! Hapyu~n…☆ 

Nagisa: Tenma-kun, where are you running to? We haven’t got the car to the starting point yet

Mitsuru: Whoops. I guess you're right. Ehehe, I jumped to conclusions again  

Alright, let’s drive to the starting point! 

Shu: Speaking of which. I heard that we would be travelling blindfolded in a car to the starting point

Kiryu. Don’t you suffer from rather severe motion sickness? 

Kuro: Don’t remind me. I’ve taken some travel-sickness tablets

…They’ve never worked for me though 

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