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horizon-verizon · 7 months ago

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Honestly as a neutral party I would prefer Jaehaera living to Daenaera being introduced. Jaehaera is an innocent, mentally disabled child and her death is needlessly cruel. Her death is the least plot relevant of all of the child deaths that have happened in the dance and it's reasonable for people to want that changed since it comes off as pointlessly cruel. Killing Alicent or even just focusing on her imprisonment more is enough to show that the greens have paid for their betrayal. At least Daenaera can still be introduced and do something else in the narrative even if she doesn't marry Aegon.

I've already explained why Jaehaera's death was plot relevant HERE and HERE.

Daenaera's entire narrative purpose was to marry Aegon and have his children to propagate the Targ line AND to become part of Aegon's mental rehabilitation from the effects of the civil war and watching his own mother get eaten burned/alive by a dragon. This is also reason why she's a fan fav in the first place; it's seen as a noble undertaking to some and a way for the Targs to move away from the greens finally. What other narrative use would you have her have?!

We can't bring up how after the War of the Roses the two fighting houses (Yorks and Lancasters) were successfully brought together in marriage to justify Jaehaera marrying and having a family with Aegon. Because:

Elizabeth of York wasn't disabled like Jaehaera

neither her nor Henry Tudor were little kids when they married

this is a fictional tale that, while modeled after some real events and people, is using them as springboards for a specific, purposefully created "message" unique to the author's

and imagine what it would being pregnant several times really be like for a very mentally incapacitated and traumatized girl like her?!!

Much less the other traumatized boy who's to be her husband? What the consummation and all the...impregnating times looked like?! Then, imagine what the family life would have been like, with these parents unable to ever connect thus the resentment is worse and their kids seeing that?

This doesn't justify Unwin Peake murdering Jaehaera, but no she never should have been married off to Aegon or anyone in the first place and that was not Unwin's doing but a larger group's--Aegon's council/patriarchal feudalism. This is what GRRM's trying to tell you, stop resisting it.

I can believe that it is the way she died and the other context of so much violence men and adults perform against women and girls in this world is what really offends people enough for them to say that somehow, this a narratively irrelevant death. Because they're just that horrified.

The feelings are valid. But the action to erase the significance of the death is not valid. You definitely can wish for a much less violent one, like a poisoning that puts her to sleep or something. The death is supposed to be tragic and make you feel that it wasn't deserved, was horrible, etc. Because it was all those things.

And to say such an untrue thing as "not narratively relevant" also leads me to suspect that some people don't like Jaehaera's death either bc they just:

wanted the greens to win in some way bc they favor them and their cause (my second linked post)

you--knowing that Daenaera will likely be black in the show IF they ever get to the Maiden's Ball--go so hard for Jaehaera bc she at least is a white girl in the universe of HotD

want excessively centrist politics to sway the story at the expense of actual understanding of why we should change and upend the status quo entirely (here the feudal entrapment of girls and women); deny a reality, discourage learning to the oppressive status quo can prevail [on this trend of neutrality]...the truth is the villains/antagonists were always the greens

AND/OR, are avoidant of facing ugly, sordid truths of oppression because they are close to it in real life and haven't found ways of separating that from collective understanding of oppressive systems/coping mechanism

Look anon, Alicent's imprisonment doesn't make up for mass death. Because it's not even just about Alicent as the individual, the grandmother, the mother, etc. It's the effect of her actions on a population. Jaehaera was one of many girls Otto AND Alicent endangered (another being Halaena). Though her actions became something much bigger than her & things went out of her control, that doesn't stop them from being hers AND having affected thousands of lives. Her main aim was to accrue power through her kids and grandkids--who she chose to risk by usurping Rhaenyra and beginning the war--the consequence is she loses said kids and grandkids through other's similar ambition. Again, bc even though those kids were noble and were supposed to be relatively safe, because they are all technically heirs or adults around them can use them accrue power (whether by killing them or through marriages or whatever), they were also targets. We could say similar for Rhaenyra's children, as what happens to her youngest 2; all of them in one way or another die because they were or could be used. however, they AND the greens' kids were all safer if the greens had not usurped Rhaenyra.

The greens were the aggressors and transgressors. The ones who started this war and looked for something out of it. They tried to act worse against Rhaenrya before/during the war AND the whole of Westeros before/during/after, thus they get the worse punishment and lose more than she did.

The entire point is that the greens lose everything, because they went after "everything". They lose everything, including their kids bc they relentlessly and hypocritically ran to obtain more power for themselves by attempting to exclude a woman from the position she never would have had without the will of a man.

They went on the basis that a girl/woman should not rule or become an heir before any direct male relatives...so Jaehaera was cut out of the line of succession by her own side of the family, thus she was also less prioritized, thus she was made into a baby factory for Aegon III. She became their last chance to get their blood to at least be part of the future line, but even that's dashed by a man who had similar ambitions as Otto and Alicent.

In trying to go against the king's word/an actual law, the greens also made it much more justified for someone to not care much for Aegon II's claim or authority...bc if you can so easily flout a king's word, why should you care about the guy you're trying to make king?! And using people who themselves are willing to be so dishonest creates a higher likelihood that they'd betray you, as similar to Ulf and Hugh betraying Rhaenyra. (And somehow, Rhaenyra is the only naive one when she expects people to follow through with their oaths 🙄)

Have you ever thought, anon, about those other girls who were maimed or terrorized into not appearing before Aegon III in the Maiden's Ball? Sure, most of them weren't disabled (Priscella Hogg was, I think), but what happens to Jaehaera is because she was girl in the way of a man's ambitions and not because she was disabled. What about all those Tumbleton folk, Bitterbridge refugees (the raped septas and girls as young as 8!), and riverland peasants--most of them children! Undoubtedly, you will have disabled children in those populations, anon. Why is Jaehaera's death so much more valuable than these mass deaths of also children? Remember that Alicent raised her kids to easier justify committing these atrocities. Maelor and Jaehaerys' deaths also reflect these events. Jaehaera's death was markedly different in meaning from theirs (to open up space for another girls who's being used) because she was female. In the first linked post, I talk about why and how people used Jaehaera's marriage to Aegon and how that reflects on her death being unique from her brothers' because of her gender.

GRRM comments, through Jaehaera and these girls and Rhaenyra what one pattern of F&B has: being female is dangerous because it is to be more of an object or property in lieu of self-concerned ambitious men to the point where the most vulnerable and those who cannot practice some of the same sort of agency can experience gruesome consequences--sometimes to become terrors themselves in their attempts to gain denied agency or defend themselves.

#jaehaera targaryen #daenaera velaryon #asoiaf asks to me #jaehaera's death #fire and blood writing #the greens vs the blacks #fandom critical #hotd fandom #green stan nonsense #fandom nonsense #jaehaera targaryen's characterization

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ghhoste · 9 months ago

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Title: THE LOVE I HAVE FOR YOU IS STRONGER THAN THE BEATING HEART IN YOUR CHEST…

TW: dead (nothing graphic)

Zuko x reader

The creation of heartbenders comes from my brain, please, no plagiarism or ask before copying (put my name, I would love to read your fics talking about Avatar <3)

English is unfortunately not my mother tongue, sorry if mistakes are present in this fic!

Aang was the last airbender. He disappeared after learning that he was the next avatar. Completely reclusive from his old world. He did not know how to save the world. He could not have the courage to save the world from the destruction of the fire nation. But he remembered that he knew a family that could help him learn the power of the land. The Y/N family of the Earth nation.

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

The group had just arrived in a temple of the nation of the Earth. It was rare for the people of this nation to accept strangers especially people who came from the fire nation. Zuko was uncomfortable but his uncle was even more so. He had been sent to this temple to destroy it in the early days of the war and the men of the fire nation had decided to remain in the vicinity of this temple. Iroh, Zuko’s uncle, had been sent to the land nation to capture and kill the heartbenders. For many, heartbenders were abominations of life and when he was younger, Iroh thought so too. But after the loss of his son, the rumors of the heartbender abomination had become untrue to him. He had seen the warmth and the angelism of the power of life, but the horrors committed by the nation of fire, could not be repaired. Indeed, the men of the earth nation from this temple had a secret: it had a different type of earth power. He had the power of life. He had the power to revive plants but also humans. Heartbenders had become increasingly scarce. Because of the war. But also the devastation done in this temple. The Y/N family, the most important family in this temple since this family had decided to protect the back of the different avatars that had been there for generations and generations. Aang knew a man named Yuan Y/N, the great-grandfather of the Y/N family. He had known the young avatar during his early years and Aang had decided to visit him so that heHere comes to help him master the power of the earth but with other than the basic ability, he wanted to learn the power of life and control the dead.

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

Aang began to speak so that his friends would know what to know about this people. He was not like other people on earth. He remained reclusive to avoid war but also heartbender trafficking.

“Yuan was a child of the people of Kyoshi Temple. These people did not like strangers because the Y/N family was the last family of heartbenders.” He heard slight exclamations after saying this sentence, Aang smiled. Yes, the Y/N family was really great and he loved to have as a friend this frail boy yet so generous. “Heartbenders are increasingly lonely and Yuan was one. He could grow plants but also revive them. His power was one of the most beautiful, no one can make me say otherwise. I don’t even know how or why people are chasing them when their powers could bring peace to the land and allow us to get along with everyone on the land— But the heartbender hunt was declared shortly after I was promoted to my role as an air nation monk and I was no longer allowed to approach Yuan. We lost contact shortly after he had his twelfth birthday…I would like to know how he is now…”

“Aang, this man must be over 112 years now… And even more so if he was a heartbenders… These men and women were considered traitors among all the nations…. I’m sorry, Aang, but your friend has unfortunately passed away.” Katara looked at the young avatar and she saw the tears coming in her friend’s eyes.

“Hey… Whether he’s still alive or not, maybe he has grandchildren? Maybe he has a family that can help you?” Sokka looked at his friend trying to comfort him. "And even though he has no family, he is still here." The boy of the water nation pointed to the heart of the young avatar and he saw a slight smile appeared on the face of the air boy.

“Thank you Sokka, thank you so much for comforting me!” Aang sighed before turning his gaze to a mountain where a statue of Kyoshi could be seen from afar. "Here we are, friends!"

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The village was right in front of them. They had walked for long hours to reach this village hidden by a dense forest. The men and women of the nation of the earth knew how to hide in their element.

While Sokka was at the front of the group, a weapon dangerously approached his neck. He could not believe his eyes. He had not seen the weapon appear and fell to the ground. Katara approached his brother but he was forbidden to approach. Aang moved to avoid being seen, perhaps this village was with the fire nation.

Suddenly, a masked figure appeared in front of them. "What are you doing here? How did you find my village?" The man who spoke was slightly larger than Sokka and was much more muscular than him, he dominated them all.

Aang approached the man and began to speak. "My name is Aang. I am an airbender and I am also the avatar everyone was waiting for.” He was cut by an exclamation of the man who seemed septic. But who wouldn’t, the airbenders were all gone a hundred years ago now. “I came to see an old friend and his name is Yuan. That’s why I know the location of your village so precisely. We are not with the fire nation and we will never be.

“Well…” A voice was heard behind the masked man. “I didn’t expect to see the young boy who accompanied my father as a child again.” A woman stood and looked at the young avatar. His eyes looked like Yuan’s. Warm and full of joy. As if the war had not touched him.

“Mother…You had to stay in the village…” The masked boy took off his mask, revealing his face to the other people around him. He had a very beautiful face and his C/E eyes allowed to see all the horrors he had already seen.

“I know, my son! But…” The woman looked at her son and winked at him. The young man broke down on the spot.

"And do you know where she left?" The young man began to run towards the forest and disappeared quickly, so dense was the forest.

“I feel sorry for my son. He never liked it when people approached our village. War leaves irreparable scars for the men and women living on this land.” Aang’s group was completely charmed by the woman. "Oh, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Y/M/N Y/N and the man you are looking for is my grandfather…and unfortunately he passed away over 50 years ago… He died for protecting our village…May his soul be at peace…” Aang felt his throat cut. He expected it a little, many of his friends had died but he felt more and more alone as time passed.

Katara, seeing that no one was answering the woman, decided to answer her. “Good morning, Madam… We wanted to find a heartbender-" The look on the woman’s face changed to show fear.

“Please…Don’t say this power too loud… The men of the fire nation may have followed you and if they know we are hiding heartbenders, they may kill us for treason…” Aang looked at the woman’s eyes and turned to where her boy had gone.

“One of your children is a heartbender?” Iroh watched the woman decompose. “We don’t want to harm your children… The young man needs someone to train him in this secret power of which your people are the last to know the characteristics of this power and thus form Aang.”

“My daughter is not here yet and the heartbenders were killed in one of the fire nation attacks…” The woman looked back at the group. “But we can wait for her, she will return as always. Let the feast begin for the return of the Avatar, our savior and our hope.”

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Zuko had decided not to participate in the party that had been organized for the arrival of the avatar. He did not feel comfortable with others and he did not want to participate in a feast with a people who had suffered death because of his nation. He saw people tired of this war, crying when one of the statues representing the soldiers of the nation of the earth became black which announced the death of the soldiers. His uncle had tried not to show himself too much. He felt pity for those men and women who lost family members because of his brother’s madness. The madness of his brother who had caused the death of thousands of people.

Zuko walked for long minutes when he heard two voices talking behind a tree. He recognized the boy who had faced Sokka, thinking he was a killer-archer. He was protecting the girl with Y/C/H hair who was with him and who never seemed to leave him.

The boy had just asked the girl beside him. Zuko hid behind a tree so that he could continue to listen to the conversation of the two young people of the nation of the earth.

“Well, one is the avatar, so it’s okay for mother to want him to stay here and learn a little bit more about the power of heartbenders…” The girl had just spoken and Zuko looked at the girl’s hand, whose flower magically appeared. He looked at the girl with incomprehension. The heartbenders had disappeared during the temple’s first attack, so how is it possible that a girl could have a power gone?

“Stop Y/N! I beg you to stop using this silly power. If someone finds out, they’ll throw you into a war you don’t need to be in. You don’t have to.” The boy had just pulled the flower out of the hands of the presumed Y/N. Zuko could not let go of his gaze of the girl.

“But N/A…My power is to protect people…I want to save…” Y/N started a sentence but stopped seeing his brother’s disappointed look. He never looked at her like that, and she knew that he only wanted her well. He wanted her to stay alive, he wanted to be crazy. He was selfish and N/B knew it. He prayed every day that the war would spare his younger sister. He wanted her never to have that stupid power. That cursed power.

The power of heartbenders was a power that many nations wanted to have. It allowed to control the life of the forests but also the life of the men who surrounded the heartbenders. Heartbenders could kill people who were around them but they could also heal serious wounds and revive people. This power was known to few but the leaders of the different nations knew that this power existed and that if they captured heartbenders, the war would end.

“Listen Y/N, I don’t want to lose you…” Suddenly, Zuko heard a cracked branch on his left side. He turned his head to the side but saw only flowers appear. He turned his face Y/N and Y/B but found no one. They had disappeared and Zuko did not know where he could have gone. As he decided to turn back, he felt a blade slipping on his neck. He turned his body to see his attacker and fell face to face with Y/B. The boy’s C/E eyes pierced his skull as the blade pressed harder and harder on his neck.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The boy of the earth retreated slightly when he saw light flames appear at the fingertips of the boy whom he kept under his blade. “You’re a spy of the fire nation…What are you doing here? Your people have already done enough harm to the temple of Kyoshi, my people have suffered because of yours…” The young man’s blade clung even stronger to his neck.

“I’m not with the fire nation… I ran away from my life to help the Avatar Aang, I’m with him, you can ask him if you don’t believe me.” Zuko looked at the boy and he found a resemblance to the girl who was with him, before they disappeared.

"Are you with Avatar Aang? I don’t believe you." Y/B looked away for a few seconds to cross the eyes of his sister, Y/N. But these few seconds of exchange allowed Zuko to defend himself and sent him slamming on one of the trees behind the two men. The tree sucked the young man from the ground as if to protect him from the impact and thus afford to have a plan to protect his sister. The main person protected was his younger sister and he could not afford to lose her. He could not lose another family member and most importantly, Y/N had to stay alive to rebuild the forests destroyed by the fire nation. Heartbenders were born to accomplish this mission and until it was not fulfilled, heartbenders could not rest in peace. They were reborn endlessly, until life was calm and peaceful again for the people remaining alive.

"Why don’t you believe me? I wouldn’t lie about something so serious." Zuko couldn’t understand, he didn’t know how to do it. And if no one believed him when he said he was no longer part of the fire nation. "I hate the fire nation as much as you do. I hate her from the bottom of my soul. I betrayed my homeland to help Avatar Aang as your family betrayed the nation of earth to help Avatar Kyoshi… Your family is no longer part of the nation of the earth, that’s why no one stays with you and people want to capture you more and more. They want to take your sister, Y/N, right?”

“DON’T TALK ABOUT MY SISTER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE HER NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!” Zuko had just hit a nerve. He had touched the rope that held the power of Y/B’s earth in perfect constant. The powers of the earth were connected with the feelings of the person and sometimes, when the people of the nation of the earth lost control of their powers, accidents could happen because no one could make them go back in the right way. When an earthbender lost control, it was difficult to regain control of his men. The land began to crack under Zuko’s feet and the fire nation boy began to panic, he did not want this to happen. He was not to upset a member of another nation, especially the land. Their emotional instability was far too strong for anyone to beat.

“I’m sorry…Stop…” Zuko begged the young man because he seemed really about to kill him. Suddenly, C/H hair appeared before his eyes and he let go a slight smile.

“Y/B. Stop, you don’t have to fight in front of the Kyoshi statue. She’s going to get angry.” The girl approached her brother and touched his cheek. She turned to Zuko to see if he was okay. "Are you all right, son of the fire nation?"

“My name is Zuko and I prefer you to call me that…” Zuko lowered his head but fingers touched his chin to raise his head.

“Raise your head. The men of the fire nation are not all the same. Many men have deserted the ranks of this nation. You don’t have to lower your head, you’re a strong person.” Suddenly, a bell rang in the forest and Y/B reached out immediately.

«THE VILLAGE IS UNDER ATTACK!» Y/N had just screamed and Y/B looked at her sister, making her understand that she had to go somewhere else. "To my Gods, the temple is defenseless."

The girl began to run as the trees closed in her path so that no one could pass into her lair and kill the young heartbender.

"Follow my sister! Protect her at the risk of your life! I beg you, she is the hope of my village. When the war is over, it can help our nations rebuild nature, but if it dies before, the omens made by the gods will be more and more present… And it is not war that will kill us, but nature around us…” Y/B rushed in the opposite direction of his sister and he disappeared, absorbed by the earth, so he was an earthbender.

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Kyoshi’s temple was one of the most beautiful that Zuko had seen. The wood and the mother-of-pearl color complemented the other colors that were present on the temple. The sunset reflected, giving yellow and golden colors on all the towers.

He arrived in front of the wooden door, with different flowers on top and it was slightly open. He chuckled slightly, realizing that the girl was extremely naive, thinking that no one would know that no one would be there. He thought back to the fire nation, to his family that he expected to wait impatiently while the reality was quite different.

Zuko whispered this sentence calmly, but this simple action reverberated against the walls of the temple. The phrase he thought harmless was ultimately something extremely catastrophic but whatever this simple resource could allow Zuko and Y/N to possibly postpone the war in the temple.

"Oh my gods!" Zuko turned and heard an insult behind his back. "Zuko, didn’t you?" The young man nodded and the girl gave him a slight, proud smile. “You have to watch the temple door while I collect the urns from the men and women of my village. To survive, I have to plant them in the forest but I never had time to do it because of the men of the fire nation who were spying on my family… I’m sorry you’re the one who has to put up with me, usually it’s -". She was cut by hot lips on hers, preventing her from continuing her rambling. She felt Zuko’s lips twist to form a smile and her breath became more erratic.

But there was no time for kisses in this war. Zuko promised to kiss him even harder when this battle was over.

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Zuko was fighting the men of the fire nation. He was trying to prevent them from entering Kyoshi Temple. If they came back, he wouldn’t forgive himself. The young heartbender had asked her not to bring anyone into the temple until she had removed the ballot boxes of the various men and women who had died during the first attack on the village. But the men of the fire were more and more numerous and Zuko could no longer fight, the wounds and burns became more and more painful and he could no longer bear it.

Suddenly, as he was fighting, an arrow fell on the torso of the man who was going to impale him with his weapon. He turned his gaze like the enemy men who were surprised to see a man with bad points with serious injuries on his upper body. Injuries that should have killed him. How is it possible that someone could survive such serious injuries? But his answer was quickly answered when he saw Y/N, black smoke surrounding him and he could see the urns of the men open, making him quickly understand that she had just used her power.

"Y/N?" Zuko looked at the girl who was in trance. The powers of heartbenders were likened to bad spells or black magic. But when Zuko saw Y/N trying to protect him so hard, he felt his heart beat stronger. No one had ever defended him and he had always been alone. When he saw a girl, whom he considered weak at the base, showing his power to people who wanted to harm him, he could not feel so confident. His flames mounted on his arm and he approached the girl of the earth.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked the girl who was looking at him with fear.

“Are you asking me if I’m okay when you’re literally dying on me? Are you serious? I don’t even know what to say so that…” She was cut off by the young man’s loud laugh. “Stop mocking me, Zuko…”

“No one has ever worried about me…I don’t even know what to say…I mean, thank you!” Zuko looked at the girl with a bright smile and in his eyes he saw the hope he had been waiting for years now. He no longer needed to return to the nation of fire, he could stay with that girl who had become his beacon of hope and life.

“Well… I’m glad I could give you back your courage… I don’t know how I did it, but you’re a big guy and you don’t have to think otherwise…” The girl leaned towards the young man but was interrupted by a fireball, touching her left cheek. She looked at the young man with disbelief, her cheeks becoming increasingly red. She stepped back and got up, embarrassed by his behavior.

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The last soldier of the fire fell to the ground, face down. Zuko had just killed him with his flames and his shoulders relaxed when he saw no one standing. No one standing?

His eyes turned from left to right and his heart fell into his chest when he saw the body of the girl he was supposed to protect. His lungs could no longer give him the breath he needed and a cry resounded in the forest where only he could hear his purpose. Tears running down her cheeks making her breathing increasingly complicated…

pt2?

#avatar the last airbender #prince zuko #zuko x reader #earthbender #iroh #aang #<3

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the-phantom-otaku · 9 months ago

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I recently learned that apparently Cazador not only let Astarion be buried, but he left him there in his grave for a year before going to retrieve him. (I know this info is found by using the Astral Tadpole. I think he'll tell you if you're trying to convince him or once he's convinced to take it.) Edit: This is actually untrue. I originally heard this over on twitter and didn't look up a clip to verify. The person I heard this from actually misinterpreted this scene, in which you use the Illithid powers to search his mind and you find the memory where he was locked in a tomb for disobeying. I think they thought it was a memory about how Cazador left him dead and buried rather than another way to find out about the harshest punishment Cazador ever gave him. Doesn't have too much of an affect on the rest of the post, but I want to correct myself. Tho I will say Cazador leaving him dead and buried for a year before finally awakening him as a spawn is a neat headcanon, and like I said before, WOULD make a lot of sense. People would be sure to notice that the recently murdered magistrate is suddenly back and luring commoners back to the Szarr palace.

Anyway, I had thoughts regarding the whole thing.

Astarion's body had to be tended to and prepped for a burial, and those bite marks are not subtle even 200 years later. Do you think Cazador paid off or threatened whoever dealt with his body? Or maybe he just had one of his servants do the preparations. Maybe he approached Astarion's grieving family and offered to not just pay for the burial expenses, but to deal with the whole process "so the family could grieve in peace." Anything so people don't think there are vampires roaming and so his family thinks he's dead and gone for good.

Astarion also destroyed his own coffin just a year later when Cazador woke him up. I wonder if his family thought his grave had been defiled and robbed of the corpse inside. Maybe people blame the Gur. They were the ones who killed him (from everyone else's perspective). They also took issue with his ruling, which led to the attack in the first place. To everyone else, it would make perfect sense for the Gur to rob his grave. Not just for revenge, but with all the rumors around, I bet people speculated that they used the young magistrate's body as bait for a monster or that they performed some ritual on it so his soul would suffer for eternity. Perhaps Cazador is even responsible for starting these rumors and stoking the fires to keep suspicion of him low.

Speaking more on his family, I wonder if the reason his grave is overgrown and unkempt is bc they left Baldur's Gate, either after the murder or after his grave was "robbed." As in, it wasn't bad enough to lose their child, but then he couldn't even rest in peace, and they couldn't bear to be in the wretched city anymore after the tragedy. Or perhaps Cazador forced them from the city via string pulling. It just further ties up any loose ends and gets rid of people Astarion could reach out to for help.

Anyway, I think that's about all I wanted to say. The whole thing with him being turned is so vague that I couldn't help but turn some ideas in my head.

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate #bg3 astarion #baldurs gate astarion #baldur’s gate iii #astarion ancunin #baldur’s gate astarion #baldur's gate astarion #cazador szarr #bg3 cazador

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starbeltconstellation · 5 months ago

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So I gotta ask, do you have any headcannons(or cannons I guess since you're the author) about Melanie and Anakin that you can share without spoilers to much.

I'm going through Rewrite the stars withdrawal lol

Awww, thank you so very much for the ask, dear! (And so sorry again about your Rewrite the Stars withdrawal. 😭 Things have been crazyyy in my life. My bro was in the hospital for a while, but he’s okay now though. Also just me fighting my never ending depression spells 🙃). 😅😂

I would be happy to offer some “head” canons! Or canons, technically, as you said. 😂 Lol.

Essentially, this has become like one big, long SW meta analysis and meta analysis on my SW fic, Rewrite the Stars, and Anakin and Melanie’s characters. Sorry for the long response. 😭 I got really into explaining my thoughts. Haha.

I’ll put this under a read more, as it’s VERYYY long:

I’ll just say that the entire reason I started this story is because well, I wanted a fix it fic of course. 😂 But also just because I wanted to write this kind of grand, epic tale in general, just like Star Wars is supposed to be.

A lot of fics I’ve seen like this completely demonize the Jedi most of the time and blame them for their own genocide. And the ones that don’t, also flip it the complete opposite way around and demonize Anakin to where he’s nothing but a cackling demon who kicks puppies for fun (and well… would he do that AFTER the prequel trilogy when he’s in his emo Darth Vader era? Probably. 😂 But he wouldn’t be CACKLING while doing it. He’d be very bitter and callous about it, because Anakin likes to take out his anger on the world when he’s in pain, so by GOD the entire galaxy is gonna be in pain along with him).

But anyways, I’m kinda getting off track.

My point is: the whole reason I started my SW fic is because I wanted to write the type of epic, grand tale of a fic that I’ve been looking for that treats all of its characters with love and respect while ALSO still calling out their flaws and allowing them to grow. That includes everyone: Anakin, Padmé, Ahsoka, Barriss, Mace, Obi-Wan, Dooku, Satine, etc—EVERYONE.

I feel like fandom has become this toxic environment where if you’re criticizing a character, then… (le gasp 😱)… you don’t really LIKE themmm. (Untrue. 😂).

I love, love, LOVE Anakin. He is my hot, insane, child killing bastard of a mans.

… But I also hate him too. 😭😂

I HATE what he’s done and what he believes in after the war and how he just wallows like a child in his pain. I HATE how selfish he is (while at the same time heavily relate to his fear of death and losing those he loves to them dying/growing older). And I also HATE how damn close he was to making a better choice, but he DIDN’T, because in the end, it didn’t MATTER if Anakin technically knew the ‘right’ way to act. He purposely went against it, because he was just too selfish to let go of Padmé (he kinda did a self fulfilling prophecy with her death, but we’re not gonna talk about that part right now), and so he decided his happiness meant more than the entire galaxy, and burned down his childhood home like a school shooter and helped genocide his friends just for the CHANCE to save his wife.

And all of this, in the usual fics I’ve seen, can somehow be undone, just by changing a few little moments in Anakin’s life where he doesn’t get his feelings hurt: ie; Obi-Wan faking his death, Ahsoka leaving the Order/being framed by Barriss, or Mace/Qui-Gon/whoever-the-fuck-you-want-to-say being assigned as his Master instead of Obi-Wan.

And just… no. 😂

As shown through this wonderful SW blog here:

Anakin doesn’t do what he did because, oh, “This, this, and THIS happened to him”, and if you take that away and help him avoid it, he’ll suddenly change and be all warm and fuzzy inside and won’t burn the whole fucking galaxy just because HE cannot handle Padmé (MAYBE) dying and leaving him alone (when he wouldn’t even really BE alone, but Anakin also clearly puts Padmé/romantic love above all else. He might care for his friends and family, but he’d throw them all under the bus if it came down to the wire between them and Padmé). This is something I will go into in the fic as Anakin slowly starts to take a look at himself as he realizes: “wait… wtf? Do I even KNOW what Rex does outside of work? 🤔😨” for him to realize that he’s so obsessive over one person… that everyone else is slowly becoming put to the wayside.

Stopping one or two little things in Anakin’s life during the Clone Wars isn’t going to magically make him see the light and not be a currently ticking time bomb.

That is not how change WORKS. Not REAL change anyway. All of the fics I’ve seen written, usually hand wave a lot of Anakin’s misdeeds and flaws away, and pretend like if you hold Anakin’s hand through certain parts of the war and help him avoid THESE certain moments, that he’ll suddenly just magically become a better person who understands what being selfless and less greedy actually means.

That… is not true change. TRUE change is Anakin HIMSELF realizing slowly but surely as the war goes on that he’s slowly becoming someone he doesn’t recognize in the mirror anymore (*cough* Mel line drop from upcoming chapter? 👀✨ *cough*). TRUE change is Anakin HIMSELF working through his flaws and inner demons, before he gradually begins to realize with a sense of sickening horror that he has been WRONG: ie; massacring an entire Tusken village down to the last child while never telling another soul except Padmé about it and whistling happily to himself without a care in the world as the war rages on.

TRUE change (as you might’ve started to guess from the most recent chapter of my fic) is Anakin HIMSELF slowly but surely starting to question his actions, by comparing them to other people he respects and cares for.

Which brings us to your question on “headcanons”.

The entire purpose of the relationship between Melanie and Anakin (besides me living vicariously through her 😂) is that they are a MIRROR for each other.

Melanie and Anakin, while very different, aren’t COMPLETE and total opposites. There are purposeful parallels between them: their moms, their care of droids, their fear of losing those they love to death, and the PURPOSEFUL CHOICE GIVEN TO MELANIE BY THE SHOPKEEPER 👀 that parallels the choice Anakin is given at the end of ROTS by Palpatine himself in their choice to help the galaxy or be selfish and choose themselves/their own wants instead.

There is a quote I have based their relationship off of. I will share it here (if you are still with me, because I know I ramble a lot 😅😂):

People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake.

—Elizabeth Gilbert

Melanie and Anakin are meant to have parallel journeys, even though their personalities are very different. But it’s more than that: their fatal flaws are in direct conflict with each other.

Anakin’s fatal flaw is: greed/selfishness.

Melanie’s fatal flaw is: fear/judgement.

BUT as they are forced into working together… the more they interact with each other… the more their fatal flaws are FORCED to be challenged by the other.

Anakin’s more selfish nature is challenged more and more by just being in Melanie’s presence and watching how she acts with complete compassion and selflessness in certain situations, which makes him slowly start to look at himself internally and take a look at his own actions and thoughts, gradually beginning to realize how selfish he’s slowly become without even realizing it.

Melanie, in turn, has the purposeful flaw of judgment, which can make her self righteous at times (even if she IS correct most of the time 😂), and also the flaw of fear, which as readers have seen, makes her a bit more cautious than she should be in her actions on trying to outsmart Palpatine to save the galaxy.

It’s kind of ironic: just being AROUND Anakin slowly begins to challenge Melanie’s fatal flaws (since she was completely fucking terrified of him the very first moment she realized she was in the SW universe and realized Anakin/Darth Vader was real now 😂). She sees things in such a black and white way at first, but as time goes on, Anakin’s need to be gentle with her and prove himself to Mel, makes her question her judgment with him, which allows her the ability to give him a chance. In turn, just being in his PRESENCE challenges her other fatal flaw on fear, since he’s a walking nightmare PTSD trigger for her pounding heart (and not always in the fun way 👀💓❤️‍🔥☠️😂).

Anyway, my point is that they aren’t just meant to be together romantically to be TOGETHER. It’s because I have purposefully tried to develop a romantic slow burn relationship that comes with my story to weave itself against the original theme of Rewrite the Stars, which is this: TRUE change and atonement/redemption.

Anakin physically CANNOT get closer to Mel, until he forced himself to take a step back and give her some space. If he wants to get anywhere with her, he HAS to start looking internally at himself to try and change and be more gentle with her.

Melanie, in turn, CANNOT outsmart Palpatine and win the war without Anakin’s help and working together with him over the next three years of The Clone Wars. She HAS to get past her judgment and allow herself to swallow her terror enough to give him a chance, because she NEEDS him to win.

This is a chess match between her and Palpatine, remember? And if you lose the king, you lose the game.

ANAKIN is the king. 👀

I bet you can’t guess what chess piece Melanie is. 😂 Lol.

Anyway, I feel like I’ve done a whole lot of taking in circles (sorry about that 😅), because I wanted to go ahead and explain my whole process for this fic while I had the time, so I can also refer this post if I ever need to again.

Now! Getting into some more FUN Stuff:

Idk if you’ve looked up my fic on Wattpad, but I have a lot of cool graphics posted there from my mind and from other artists/authors that have gifted me such wonderful cover art ( @shoniwake ! 👀✨❤️), and in a certain subsection, I have a whole playlist page dedicated as a type of ‘outline’ for the entire story of my fic (fair warning, it’s a lot 😅), just because I think it helps me with planning stuff out.

I won’t tell you all of them, of course. But I’ll share a few of my favorite songs that I always think are the PERFECT songs for Melanie and Anakin’s relationship and their slow burn romantic development. 😭🥺💔❤️💕✨

Innocence by Nathan Wagner

Stronger Together by Lou & SQVARE

Now I See by Lou & SQVARE

I love these three songs so much, because of their theme of two people coming together as a team and/or learning to open up their hearts to the other and to help the other person the see world in a different way. 🥹❤️💕

This is basically what I want for Melanie and Anakin. Their relationship isn’t just about having a romance in the story (although that’s part of it. Haha 😂💕). It’s about how their relationship meshes in with the rest of the themes of the story: TRUE change and growth into something better.

Melakin is purposely written to be in direct contrast to Anidala (which is still written with care and not erasing their genuine affection, by the way! I think it’s extremely lazy writing to write a canon relationship OOC just to prop up your OC’s own), which shows the difference between a more healthy developing relationship that is based on genuine care and respect (Melakin) and in contrast with one that is more based around idealizing the other person/ignoring their faults and putting them up on a pedestal that is sure to lead to disappointment (Anidala).

This is, as you know from reading the fic, slowly starting to be shown in how Anidala acts with each other in their trash fire (in my opinion! Don’t kill meeee! 🙌😂) of a marriage, which has them basically talking past each other/not really caring about anything that isn’t SPECIFICALLY RELEVANT to the other person (ie; them. Not anything with their family or job. Just THEM. Because while the love is genuine, it’s also eerily obsessive, which was GL’s whole point of them being star crossed lovers that burn out from their own flawed choices in regards to being together and trying to have it all).

This is also shown in my fic with Melakin vs Anidala contrasting each other in Anakin’s choices and how he interacts with them. Anakin REMEMBERS stuff about Mel’s life and choices that really he has no need to care about, but he does anyway. In contrast, there is a scene in the latest chapter of my SW fic where Anakin forgets a very… important member… of Padmé’s family 😭 (If you know, you know 👀🫣😬). 😂

I guess what I’m saying is is that I’m trying to not PREACH to the readers of my fic. I’m trying to write scenes that SHOW them what I believe to be true in regards to Anidala’s toxic relationship/the Jedi being scapegoats that everyone cruelly blames for their own genocide/how the Jedi culture might not be how THE READERS want to live, but it doesn’t change the fact that it IS a valid culture/way to live, and it doesn’t deserve to be eradicated just because you don’t understand/like/agree with it.

I’m trying to lead up into the themes and lessons of my fic as I go along, is what I’m saying. 😂 Which is a really heavy feat, considering how long it’ll end up being as a grand, epic tale. 😩

And a big part of the theme of my SW Fic: genuine change and growth into something better than you were before (ie; TRUE redemption) cannot happen to Anakin as easily as some of the time travel fix-it fics/other fix-it fics I’ve seen written on A03 before. Changing a few little things so Anakin doesn’t have to deal with a few moments in his life is not GENUINE and TRUE change. What that is is essentially placation. It’s PLACATING and CODDLING someone dangerous, which allows them (for the MOMENT) to calm down, because they are generally happy and have the things they want and aren’t under stress like Anakin was in the ending of ROTS when there was nobody there to hold his hand for him to ‘guide’ him in the right direction.

For TRUE change and redemption to happen for Anakin, he has to admit to himself that he was WRONG.

He has to ADMIT and ACKNOWLEDGE that actions he has taken are horrific (the Tusken Massacre), and accept people’s/the Jedi’s judgment on it without becoming defensive and acting like he’s being unfairly attacked and punished for something not that big of a deal. He has to ADMIT and ACKNOWLEDGE that his thought process has slowly but surely become corrupted over the years without him even realizing it, whether that’s from the war or Palpatine stroking his ego or from the trauma of his childhood making him cling to things too hard—it doesn’t really matter. He has to RECOGNIZE that he has become someone over the years that he can’t even recognize in the mirror in relation to that little nine year old boy on Tatooine (about how selfish he has become), and what he can do to change that.

I know some fans will think I am attacking Anakin and that I hate him or something (and well… I DO hate him… but I also love him 🫣☠️❤️😂), but that is not the case. I LOVE Anakin’s character and truly relate to him on such a deep level in terms of how terrified he is of losing the people he loves to death. I can recognize myself and some of my worst fears deeply in him.

However, at the same time, I can also acknowledge that Anakin’s trauma from his childhood (from slavery/his mother dying in front of him), has essentially made his entire personality completely self serving. Because yes, Anakin can care about other people. He cares about and loves his friends. He’d do anything he could to keep them from harm (at least in TCW era 🥶☠️), but the hard truth is… he doesn’t think of his relationships and saving them from death in terms of what his LOVED ONES deserve or what THEY will lose if they die. He thinks about it in terms of what HE will lose if they die.

He straight up says it in the scene with Mace and then the scene with Palpatine: He NEEDS to keep Palpatine (who he KNOWS is an evil Sith Lord) alive, because it’s the only way he can keep Padmé alive. HE can’t live without HER.

There’s genuine love there. I am not denying that. Anakin isn’t a cackling villain like Palpatine (it’s the whole reason Anakin CAN be talked into coming back to the Light Side by Luke, whereas Palpatine would melt Luke’s fucking face off without hesitation if he tried). He cares and loves his family and friends and wife and kids… in a TOXIC way. In an OBSESSIVE way. In a way that is essentially all about HIM: ie; selfish.

Example 1:

Out of context, this sounds very romantic and simply just a reasonable amount of worry. But in relation to all the other things Anakin will end up saying while referring to Padmé as essentially a possession, I’m placing it here anyway as perhaps a sign of his darkening thoughts.

Example 2:

Yes, yes, I knowwww… some of you ladies will be like: 🥺💔 at the sad murder puppy moment. And I suppose it’s still very evil wet cat bastard level/blorbo of him in a intoxicating way for people who want to feel loved—at the same time, he’s essentially saying: look, man, I don’t care if I gotta murder some kids and betray my friends and descend the galaxy and Republic into darkness (which I know my wife will be fucking horrified at). It’s very important that I DO NOT have to deal with this pain, okay?? 😭 Everyone else can be in pain, but not meeee. I’ll crush and stab my friends in the back just so I won’t be left alone from my wife dying.

Very sad. Very wet cat villain blorbo of him.

And yet—VERY selfish and evil. 😭🤷‍♀️👀😂

He’s essentially saying—fuck the galaxy. Let me get mine, and I’ll go home. ☠️

Example 3:

This one’s pretty obvious. By this point, he’s lost his shit. His mind’s already cracking at the seams as he tries to keep justifying the actions he’s taken, which will eventually lead into his 20 year long dissociation where he essentially goes, “Nahhh, that wasn’t meee. That was DARTH VADER. Anakin didn’t do that, because ANAKIN is still a good person (he mutters to himself over and over like a maniac at night in his emo villain lair), whereas I AM THE DARK INCARNATE. 😌🖤” so he doesn’t have to admit to himself that HE—yes, THAT he, Anakin fucking Skywalker—has become an actual terrible fucking person with no heart. 🤷‍♀️😭😬

I don’t see why this is so hard for SW fandom to get. It’s a METAPHOR George Lucas uses to say Darth Vader killed Anakin (and also just a way to plug up the plot hole of what Obi-Wan originally told Luke in the first movie). It doesn’t mean that Anakin’s consciousness is sleeping inside Vader’s head like a fucking cat. Lmao. 😭

Not only would that not make SENSE in terms of how GL wrote it, but it also just essentially makes Anakin’s ‘redemption’ (I don’t really view it as a true redemption. More like just the Christian version of salvation for his soul by the skin of his teeth. Although GL did say Anakin was redeemed in the eyes of LUKE only, because he said some crap about being redeemed in the eyes of our children) all but useless. 😭 You can’t say on one hand that Darth Vader’s ‘redemption’ is the most iconic one of all time, while at the same time saying on the other hand that “Anakin never did any of those things. It was DaRtH VaDeR! 🤪🤪🤪” because then you’re essentially absolving Anakin of all of his crimes while on the Dark Side, and if Anakin is absolved of all of his crimes… then wtf is there TO make him the most iconic ‘redemption’ of all time??? 😭🤷‍♀️ I mean, like—what IS there to ‘redeem’ at that point??? Ya can’t have both, kids. Lol. 😂

This is also essentially what Anakin wanted in terms of his relationship with Padmé and the Jedi Order. He wanted it ALL. He wanted BOTH. Sureee, he TALKED about quitting the Jedi Order eventually after the war to be with Padmé in a little space cottage. But could he WALK THE WALK? Could he really give up the thrill of chasing an enemy, or the twitch of his fingers in reaching for his lightsaber? 😑🤔 Me myself has some doubtssss.

He wanted it ALL. He wanted to be married while ALSO having the strength and power that came from being a Jedi Knight. He didn’t WANT to choose. He even SAYS it.

Example 4: Essentially this SW meme

He doesn’t want to CHOOSE. And it’s why it’s BS when it’s argued he was put in this position by the Council’s rules on marriage, because it’s LITERALLY just like a vow of a priest at a Catholic Church. They can’t marry either, just like the Jedi Order. BUT (unlike what fandom likes to believe), the Order isn’t some cult, and you are free to leave at any time (and hell, they’ll even build a statue after you leave, apparently, if the one they built of Dooku that’s in the Archives (I think) is anything to go by), just as a priest is free to leave the Catholic Church at any time. Because it’s a COMMITMENT to that place. And people might think it’s dumb/stupid/not like it—or even understand it! And you don’t HAVE to like something from a religion/culture/belief, or understand something, to still respect it (another theme drop for the next chapter of my SW fic? 👀😂).

So, what some people will probably wonder is—“But, Starbelt! (Le gasp 😱) Then how is the Jedi culture going to be respected in my fic, if Melakin is still endgame at the end of their slow, slow burn?”

And to that question, I say, “I am not a by-the-book-to-the-very-LETTER interpreter of the Jedi Code (although I’m not saying the code of an entire culture is gonna be ‘changed’ for legit one person/couple. Lmao. 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️😂), but I AM a Jedi lover who is of the belief that—even if you don’t completely AGREE or even UNDERSTAND the Jedi Order and their code—it shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t be difficult to respect it. It shouldn’t be difficult to not scold a culture on their beliefs, while essentially saying that belief is the reason it is ‘good’ for The Force/galaxy that they were genocided as a ‘clean slate’. 😬🤦‍♀️☠️”

What I WILL say, is that I am going to explore the Jedi Order and the different interpretations of the Code and The Force in general in this fic, and what that means in terms of coexistence, instead of the frankly childish notion of just painting an entire culture as emotionless and wrong in their beliefs, like they are some kind of stuck up, snooty and rich culture that ‘deserved what they got’. 🙄🤦‍♀️😬☠️

ANYWAY, back to my point with Anakin, and how my fic is trying to complete the most massive and epic of all writing tasks: making Anakin slowly change and grow out of his greed and selfishness into a better person in such an organic way, that perhaps may one day be compared with the likes of Zuko’s redemption from ATLA (I know, I knowww. Pretty high hopes for myself. Lol. 😂).

So, essentially, in the original “timeline” of ROTS, Anakin is freaking losing it, and since nobody is there to hold his hand, he descends right into the core selfishness that is buried inside of him, where he basically just decides, “Fuck it,” and throws all of his morals out the window so he can keep himself from the pain of losing Padmé (ie; it’s really about HIM and his fear, and not about Padmé deserving to live and see more beauty in the world) by cutting off Mace’s hand to stop him from killing Palpatine, because—in Anakin’s OWN words:

Example 5:

Like… 🤷‍♀️😭.

People like to sing “Lalalala,” and plug their ears by pretending Anakin is just so shocked in this scene (le gasp 😱) that Mace is being so UN-JEDI-LIKE, and that it just convinced him that the Jedi Order truly has been ‘corrupted’. 🤦‍♀️🙄

Now see… that might hold some water if Anakin literally didn’t scream “I NeEd HiM! 😡” at Mace like an unhinged five year old, which literally PROVES that the only reason Anakin wants Mace to keep Palpatine alive and not to kill the guy yet is because he needs to learn the super-secret-Dark-Side-magicy way of how to save himself from the pain of losing Padmé to dying in childbirth.

… Because like some may recall, Anakin LITERALLY beheaded Dooku himself all but like… what? 12 hours ago? 😭🤦‍♀️

Essentially, this meme:

So, essentially, what I’m getting at here is: Anakin is a goddamn hypocrite. 😂

Now, in relation to my SW fic? What I essentially am TRYING to accomplish, is to have Anakin slowly CHANGE HIMSELF as the war goes on and he interacts more with Melanie and witnesses her compassion, while in turn comparing her actions to his own.

Melanie isn’t supposed to ‘fix’ or ‘change’ Anakin. Anakin is supposed to be INSPIRED to change from how he grows to care and admire Mel’s choices and who she is inside her heart as the Clone Wars rages on.

I do all of this, so in the HOPES that when he is presented with this scene again, it makes perfect sense to all readers of my fic that his choice may become different—essentially choosing for ONCE, a more selfless route, out of no expectation that he will gain anything in return (that only happens with Luke like—20 years later—and it’s not like he had many other options at that point. 😭🤷‍♀️ Lol.).

(And as I said—MAY become different… 👀 After all, Melanie still has a long way to go before the end of the war… 👀)

But yeah—that’s my plans with my SW Anakin x OC Fic, Rewrite the Stars, and how I’m planning it and Melakin’s relationship to go. I placed a big feat on myself. 😂❤️💕

If you wanna see some of my like… ideas/notes on what I have planned to eventually place in there somewhere, I will show you a few things, because it’s not really SPOILERS, since I already talk about the Jedi genocide a lot anyway (it drives me up the wall when SW fandom refers to it as ThE FaLl Of ThE jEdi 🤪🤪🤪). Guess it makes it easier to blame them all for their own deaths that way if you refer to their genocide and slaughter as a “fall”. 😭🙄 Idk. 🤷‍♀️

I also have some stuff with the history of Churches splitting into different factions (ie: The Great Schism of 1054), which I will be weaving in as a parallel at some point. 👀👀 I will not explain why, as that would be too spoilery, but I’m sure some of my more in depth analysis readers on my work could guess if they thought about it hard enough… 👀

There are also some comparisons on the Jedi genocide in the SW universe, and how it parallels the Air Nomad genocide in the ATLA universe pretty much to a T in terms of how fast it all happens in one day, and also how any survivors were hunted down and lured out with relics of their own culture, not to MENTION just the fact that both of these cultures are just non-western inspired in general (seriously, what is with people and killing monks in Temples? Lol. 🤷‍♀️😂). It’s also just an interesting comparison in general, because where the ATLA fandom usually is quite sympathetic to the Air Nomad genocide, on the other hand, the SW fandom is so nauseatingly nonchalant and cruel about the Jedi Order’s genocide that it’s almost downright weird. It’s almost like the SW fandom has this THING about never calling the Jedi’s “Fall 🙄” what it actually was—a horrific genocide. I swear to Godddd, SW fandom must be allergic to the word. 😂🤦‍♀️

I also threw in the ‘Hero’s journey’ thing I’ve been using for Melanie to try and make her a relatable protagonist, while also still having her own character arc along with Anakin’s. It was really important to me that she had her OWN arc away from Anakin, and that she had more connections and relationships in the SW universe than just him. Not only does it weaken her character if she had been made to be all about HIM, but it also just makes a certain… choice… 👀… with The Shopkeeper (her antagonist who parallels Palpatine, Anakin’s antagonist) hit all the more harder, because saving the ENTIRE GALAXY isn’t even about saving ANAKIN at all for her. Not at first, anyway.

Instead, from the very beginning, it’s all about how Melanie grows to care and feel compassion for the people she meets in the SW universe and becomes friends with, and how she cannot turn away from them and leave them behind to die, when she has knowledge that can help change their fates. It was SO important to me that Anakin is not even on Mel’s RADAR at first. She doesn’t hate him or anything. She doesn’t want him dead, but it’s not really about SAVING him either (if that happens along the way, it’s a happy bonus for her). Because—as you know—she’s TERRIFIED of him in the beginning, and just plans to avoid him like the plague.

And in doing so, she grows closer to others in the SW universe: Ahsoka, Rex, Yoda, Fives, Obi-Wan, all of the other clones, etc. ALL of that is so important for a certain choice she makes with The Shopkeeper (which I won’t spoil for any new readers who may stumble across this post and want to read my work 👀😂).

So, essentially, my fic is a grand, epic tale, that our main protagonist, Melanie Bains, is going on to save millions of lives in a galaxy far, far away from death and suffering.

No pressure, huh? 😂😬

That’s definitely going to crack and fracture at Mel’s psyche as time goes on… 🥶 The weight of such a feat on one’s shoulders essentially all alone becomes overwhelming. 😓💔 (*Cough* Hint for next chapter? 👀 *cough*).

So I’m really trying to follow that ‘Hero’s journey’ format. I already have her character arc outlined with a clear beginning and end. I just have to find the will to write the thousands and thousands of words to get there to that point. 😩😭😂

It still makes me so happy how many people relate and enjoy Mel. 😌🥹❤️💓🥰

Some planned themes I am going to weave in as the story goes along:

Example 1: Genocide

Air Nomad genocide propaganda from ATLA:

Jedi Order genocide propaganda (Not sure if it’s from before or after Order 66. Either way, it’s meant to rile the populace up against them and demonize the Jedi as ‘other’, like emotionless wizards that are barely human and aren’t capable of true compassion since they’re a ‘cult’ and not from ‘true’ familial structures, unlike the ‘good ol’ regular populace with their attachments 🤪’) from SW:

Example 2: Church factions splitting up/The Great Schism of 1054

Example 3: Hero’s Journey (Mel’s character arc)

… Now, moving past that long meta ramble, here’s some more songs from my playlist on Wattpad for Melakin’s developing romantic relationship and it’s slow, slow burnnnn. 👀💓❤️‍🔥😂

Borderline by Florrie

Let Me In by Michael Corcoran

The Chain by Ingrid Michaelson

Minefields by Faouzia & John Legend

Unlike the previous songs in the earlier part of this meta post, THESE songs are more about Melakin struggling to open up to each other. I’ll admit, a lot of it is more focused on Anakin trying to get Melanie to open up to him, because he doesn’t understand why she’s acting so terrified of him at first.

The one song that’s more about both of them trying to find common ground is “Borderline”, which is meant to be them both reaching out and trying to meet each other halfway. 😊🥰🥺❤️💕

And if you’re wondering what my favorite song is out of all of them?

It’s the “Innocence by Nathan Wagner” song. WITHOUT a doubt. It’s the PERFECT Melakin song that is basically what the whole arc of their relationship is supposed to be. 😭🥹❤️💔💕

Whew, that was a long post! So sorry about that. 😅😂🤷‍♀️ I just got really into talking about my fic and my writing process. I think this has even helped me with motivation! Losing hyperfixations is a bitchhhh. 😖😖

The only other thing I will add is this to hopefully ease your and everyone else’s minds: I may have to go on hiatuses every now and then because of writer’s block or a family/life problem like the recent one with my brother being in the hospital for a while. BUT! No matter WHAT, I will NEVER abandon this fic. It is literally gonna be my damn life’s work—I swearrrrr. 😖✊😂

To end this long SW meta off, I’m going to link another two great Pro Jedi SW meta posts from the wonderful Pro Jedi blog I mentioned earlier. Feel free to check it out if you want, because it’s a lot of Mel’s thoughts on the Jedi, and part of the problems she has to find a way to solve as the war goes on by trying to keep the Jedi in favor of the public’s eyes:

To any new readers that stumble across this and are curious enough to check out my fic:

Tags:

@ensomniaa

@heartfairy

@fangirlteallie

@xreadersunite

@shoniwake

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blackbullet99 · 4 months ago

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I don’t understand why Zutara shippers are so obsessed with hating Aang (or Kataang).

I understand they wish Zutara was canon, and that’s perfectly valid. I get why people ship it, and even though a good chunk of the toxic side of the ZK fandom say some pretty racist stuff, the ship is harmless. But the hate is vitriolic. You got to people like the-badger-mole, sokkastyles, longing-for-rain and they spend more time whining about Aang and his relationship with Katara than they talk about Zutara. They say the most objectively untrue stuff about Aang, Katara and Zuko as if making false claims about these characters is the only way to make their ship look good.

For example:

“Zuko did some bad things throughout the show, but Aang is worse because he never supported Katara and sexuality assaulted her. Not to mention Katara never had feelings for Aang, he was practically her son that she had to take care of”.

What ZKs actually sound like:

“Zuko did some bad things throughout the show, so we have to make Aang look worse by comparison to ensure that Zuko is a better match for Katara, despite his own problems, because surely a poorly timed kiss is the same is sexual assault. We falsely believe Aang never supported Katara because he didn’t agree with her seeking vengeance of the person who killed her mom, unlike Zuko who helped her out, meaning that one single episode must mean he’s the only one who supports Katara. Lastly, we have to find a way to make Katara’s obvious affection for Aang problematic, so let’s blow her motherly traits way out of proportion and say that any time she shows Aang affection, it’s a mom coddling her toddler, and yes Aang is a toddler because he’s BALD. So what that they kissed, they’re a mother and child. Also Katara emotionally supporting Aang is bad, she actually hates it. Dude trust me”.

They reason I bring this up is because I don’t understand why they have to be so bitter, it just makes them look pathetic that these people, some fully grown adults are so butthurt about a non-canon pairing from a 20 year old cartoon. Their media-illiterate ramblings don’t prove Aang and Katara are a bad couple, they just make it painfully obvious to anyone with a brain that these types of pathetic ZKs are just seething and coping.

Sure, you might say “I’m not one to talk” seeing as Kataang is canon, but let me tell you, I have my fair share of non-canon ships that I love.

I love Ichigo X Rukia, I think they have great chemistry and strong bond, I wish they were endgame, they felt like the heart and soul of Bleach. But I don’t hate Orihime, such a sweetheart (plus she gave us the Leekspin meme) her and Ichigo are cute, I just think Ichigo and Rukia are better.

I love Black Widow X Captain America from The MCU, they would’ve been a cute couple, they had good chemistry, they kissed for corn’s sake. I don’t care that much for Steve X Peggy, they’re kinda cute, but whatever, although I do really like Captain America’s ending. I don’t like Nat X Bruce, seeing as it came out of nowhere, but whatever, it didn’t last long anyway and I have nothing against either character.

If anything I’m more prone to getting annoyed when a beloved canon couple are broken up, all the build up thrown away and replaced with another character whom has less chemistry with the original. Case in point, Haley and Andy from Modern Family, they were so cute, they had great chemistry and there was so much build up, only for Andy to leave in the season where he and Haley become a couple. Then later Haley and her initial on again off again guy Dylan get together and I gotta say, I don’t like it. But I have nothing against the character, Dylan’s a sweet guy who genuinely loves Haley and matured a lot, and they’re in no way a bad or unhealthy couple, there are people who genuinely like them as a couple too. I do think Haley’s character was kinda done dirty, but that had absolutely nothing to do with what guy she ended up with.

The moral of this story is, you can like a non-canon ship and even dislike a canon ship without making up ridiculous reasons why and acting like a spoiled entitled brat like the vocal minority of ZeeK freaks from the the toxic side of the fandom.

#anti zutara #anti zutara stans #anti zutara shippers #pro kataang #a:tla #atla fandom problems #atla fandom critical #ichigo x rukia #steve x natasha #romanogers #haley x andy #modern family

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waysideangel444iloveyou · 4 months ago

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I hate the wendigoon unabomber video So much. After it dropped I’ve seen so many people spreading just provably untrue things about his writing it makes me so mad. Mainly the “Ted was a nut job who hated creativity” thing. Id contest this by bringing up this part from a letter he wrote in prison. It was in response to a letter he got arguing being able to travel freely and find new hobbies via the internet is a good thing. many interpret it as ted being against creativity and having fun but if u Pay A Fucking Tention he isn’t saying art, creativity, and hobbies are “bad”. He’s saying that activities we engage in under an industrial society will always be unfulfilling, and humans can derive the most pleasure from being able to complete tasks that satisfy our basic biological and evolutionary needs.

Agree or disagree with his ideas All u want. Nobody gives a shit except actually crazy people on Reddit. But I think drawing a conclusion about him based on like two paragraphs u heard from A YouTubers video U watched with your dick in ur hand, without actually engaging with his writing is Retarded. U speak sooo confidently on a topic you literally don’t know anything about. Like a child. Maybe try reading his work a little bit before discarding it fully LOL. Also Wendigoon is ugly and dresses like a guy who stands outside of a mall spencer’s gifts Waiting for freshly 16 year old girls to appear, So he can use the fact he has a car and ability to Buy beer to make them Fuck him. I hope one of his airsoft melts and the molten plastic Drips into his mouth killing him instantly

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andreal831 · 7 months ago

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Did Jackson Love Hayley "Better" than Elijah

One of my mutuals said this today and it's a common thing I hear, even from haylijah stans. That Hayley loved Elijah more but Jackson loved Hayley more than Elijah. Which I think is blatantly untrue.

To me, Jackson didn't know who Hayley was. They knew each other for two years total, and only interacted for about eight months of that time. Sure, that is enough time to get to know a person, but we never see Jackson get to know or try to understand Hayley. Hayley is a fiercely independent but loyal person, even to a fault. This is something Jackson should be able to appreciate as a leader of a pack, however, he never seems to understand where Hayley is coming from.

For instance, when Hayley begs Jackson to help her rescue Oliver and he refuses. At this point, Hayley has more reason to hate Oliver than Jackson as no one ever discovers that he killed Eve. But Jackson is mad that he took over the pack (while Jackson put up zero fight) and Hayley is mad that he tried to help murder her child. Yet, when Oliver is in danger, she puts that aside to go rescue him, almost getting herself killed. Jackson does show up at the last moment to help and you would think he's learned his lesson about loyalty, but it never extends to Hayley. Sure there may be 101 reasons for Hayley to not be loyal to the Mikaelsons, just like there were 101 reasons for Jackson not to be loyal to Oliver, but that's not how family works. It's something Jackson understood for himself but not for Hayley. He is upset that Aiden can't have a proper burial even after Aiden betrayed him, but he doesn't understand why Hayley skipped out on Thanksgiving dinner to try and save Rebekah's life. Rebekah who had never once betrayed Hayley.

The issue with the Crescent pack is their lack of loyalty and they never seem to learn their lesson. Whether Jackson likes it or not, the Mikaelsons are Hayley's family. She met them before she even met her real family. And all of her real family is dead because of the pack's lack of loyalty (yes, I know, the Hollow had to do with it, but the Hollow didn't make Oliver kill Eve). If Mary was in danger in the bayou and Jackson missed out on dinner to go help her, Hayley would understand. Hell, Hayley, would drop everything to go help.

The other trait ties into this, her independence. Hayley grew up on her own, basically raising herself. She doesn't like to be managed or told what to do. Something we see repeatedly from Jackson. He gives her multiple ultimatums and if she chooses wrong he essentially punishes her by either making her feel bad or actually leaving her. Hayley isn't allowed to be independent or make decisions without feeling guilty that she is choosing between the pack or the Mikaelsons, both of whom are her family.

These are the main character traits we see from Hayley and Jackson doesn't appreciate them at all. On the flip side, we do see Elijah appreciate them and encourage them. Elijah is constantly telling Hayley she has a choice. Even when he is worried for her safety (like when she goes off to meet the witch on her own), he lets her make the choice. He never begrudges her love for her pack. People love to point out his prejudices against wolves, and I admit, he does have them, but it is something we see him work through because of Hayley. After he meets her, the only time he disparages the pack is when he is actively trying to push her away. Otherwise, we see him actively risking his safety to save her pack multiple times. Something Jackson refused to do for the Mikaelsons.

Elijah admires her loyalty because it matches his own. He loves how fiercely she fights for the people she loves. He also loves her independence and how strong she is.

The biggest argument people make about Elijah not loving Hayley enough is that he "couldn't tell her how he felt." And I need all of the people that make this argument to make a timeline of the show.

Elijah doesn't tell Hayley in the beginning of season one because he is giving her space to come to terms with her life and also giving Klaus time. Although he is still massively flirty to the point that everyone, including Hayley knows he is into her. Pretty early in, he decides to go after what he wants, only stopping when he sees how happy Hayley is with her pack. He doesn't want to ruin her happiness or complicate her life, so he backs off. Hayley is then living in the bayou for a period of time, only moving back after she almost dies. This is when we get their first kiss, and yes Elijah does disappear. But their second kiss is literally the next day. It's not like he went months without acknowledging it. This time, he initiates it and tells her she "always has a choice."

After their second kiss, all hell breaks loose. Hayley dies and has to send her baby away, slipping into a depression that is made worse by becoming a hybrid. It would be super inappropriate for Elijah to try and begin a relationship at this point. She was completely overwhelmed by her emotions and her grief. Elijah gave her space and worked in the background to try and help her, always being there when she needed him. He is working to bring her daughter back, prioritizing that over his feelings.

Once Hayley is reunited with her daughter, she tells him about the unification ceremony and he tells her to do it, once again prioritizing Hope, as Hayley would want him to. They spend their night together because they both know it's all they have. By the time Hayley gets her daughter back, it is her wedding day. Sure it was not the best time to confess his feelings, but he wanted her to have a choice. He didn't want her to make decisions without knowing everything. But as soon as she tells him to stop, he does. He respects her decision and then her marriage, even defending Jackson against Klaus. He loved her even when he couldn't be with her and fought to respect her decisions, her independence, and her loyalty to even those outside of his family.

I think Jackson begins to realize this in his last days. I'm not saying he didn't love her and that he couldn't grow to love Hayley as she was. But he didn't try to understand Hayley until the end.

I say this every time I talk about Jackson, I don't hate his character. I just think he is vastly underdeveloped in the show and his love for Hayley was overhyped in season 4 to try and make Elijah look bad. Jackson was always just used by the writers as a way to ruin haylijah. Honestly, his character deserved better than that.

And sure, people say I'm biased against Jackson and I am. I grew up with a very controlling person in my life and it made me wary of controlling and manipulative men. Sure Elijah has done worse things, like murder (although we don't know the story of how Jackson triggered his curse), but for a fictional character, I'm still going to root for the man that allows Hayley to make her own decisions and supported her through those decisions.

Let me know what you think or if you disagree!

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sephirthoughts · 3 months ago

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3, 15, 19 for vincent and/or genesis :3c

oooh hoo hoo making me choose between my sons, are ya? joke's on you sucker i pick both!!

3. Obscure headcanon Vincent

He's Wutaian. He's Wutaian he's Wutaian he's Wutaian. Half, to be precise, as his father was clearly not. I don't know how this is even an obscure headcanon at this point because he so clearly is (to me) that it baffles me that it's not the widespread theory.

Also I could be wrong but that seems highly unlikely as I have never been wrong ever in my life.

3. Obscure headcanon Genesis

Unlike many kids who get singled out for their hair color or other physical traits they have no control over, Genesis always loved his red hair and refused to feel weird or othered about it. No one else had red hair, so it was clearly an indicator of something special about him. He was prettier and more unique than them, so they were naturally jealous, which motivated their remarks. He believed it so firmly, that the attitude in Banora began to shift toward seeing red hair as a rare and desirable gift, rather than something weird to be mocked (it did help that he was the child of the most influential and wealthy people in the town).

Angeal always loved Gen's red hair, but he kept that to himself, because all the boys that approached Genesis immediately complimented his hair, and it stripped the uniqueness and sincerity out of what would have been a very heartfelt statement about the thing that he adored so much.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done Vincent

Vincent was a Turk, so he's certainly done some very morally questionable things. For example, disposal of witnesses. Shinra has a strict policy of leaving no evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever. It was up to the Turks to clean up whatever mess had been left behind, in the wake of the most recent PR disaster waiting to happen. Vincent knew that going in. It was part of the job, and if he couldn't do the job, he shouldn't have signed up for it. Once it was done, it was done, and you moved on to the next assignment. Guilt and regret would only lead to hesitation, in the future, and impact your performance. He understood all of that.

It's just that…some of those kids were probably too young to even understand what was happening, let alone remember and tell anyone. Was there really no other choice?

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done Genesis

He did kill his adoptive parents, but he doesn't feel the least bit bad about that, so it doesn't count.

However, in a moment of anger, as a young First, he called Sephiroth a pathetic orphan and told him being the best at fighting wouldn't bring his parents back. Sephiroth just looked thoughtful, and then nodded in agreement. The boy's quiet acceptance of his cruel but not-untrue jab haunted Genesis for years afterward. Sephiroth claimed not to recall the incident, but insisted he wouldn't have been hurt by such a patently accurate statement, anyway.

19. Vices/bad habits Vincent

Vincent smokes!!! Or, more accurately, he did. A long time ago. Most of the Turks take up smoking, to calm their nerves or kill time on shitty stakeouts, or just to socialize with the others. It's pretty much endemic to the job. Vincent was no different. That's why he isn't bothered by Cid's smoking in the least, and actually rather likes the comforting familiarity of the smell. He doesn't smoke as a habit, anymore, because nicotine has zero effect on him, rendering the activity pointless from that standpoint, but he will smoke a cigarette with Cid ever so often, from nostalgia. Sometimes it's nice to pretend to be alive again.

19. Vices/bad habits Genesis

He has a terrible habit of getting riled up, in the moment, and saying the worst/cruelest/most dramatic thing possible. He doesn't mean it, usually, and he's not actually a cruel or vindictive person—and it's not like he hasn't tried to rein it in, he has! But he literally can't control his tongue when his anger runs high (he certainly has an undiagnosed executive function disorder). Without fail, he winds up saying something nasty again, and then regretting it yet again. He always apologizes sincerely and tries to make it up to the person, but they're not always appeased by yet another after-the-fact mea culpa.

In the case that it's too late to apologize…well, those words just echo in his mind, forever, like an ugly litany, memorializing everything he regrets.

Thank you so much for the ask, these ones were really fun!! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

#ask box #inbox games #character asks #vincent valentine #genesis rhapsodos #ff7 #final fantasy 7 #angeal hewley #sephiroth #cid highwind #turks #ffvii #funsies

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markantonys · 3 months ago

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Reading Lord of Chaos now and there's SO much good Gawene content. "Rare was the man who wanted to marry a woman who, with the Power, could handle him like a child if she chose." Well this man likes it!!

It feels weird to me that people hate him, because malewives are such an important part of the Wheel of Time world of gender relationships, and Gawyn is the Ultimate Malewife.

LOC was the book that first got me truly invested in gawyn and in gawene! and what a top-tier line that i'd forgotten!! rare is the man who wants to marry a woman who could handle him like a child but gawyn is over here going "mommy? sorry. mommy?" god bless him. he IS the Ultimate Malewife! he's crucial to the ecosystem!

it truly is baffling that he is the #1 Most Hated WOT Character. he doesn't do anything! at most i could see people finding him boring or annoying, but the level of hatred directed at him just makes no sense. most of the Reasons Why Gawyn Sucks posts i see are just people deliberately interpreting everything he does in the most uncharitable light possible, or hating him for things that they straight up made up and that did not happen in the text lmao

but also, getting briefly into a couple instances of Narrative Malpractice (to use @butterflydm's recently-coined phrase) re: gawyn later in the series. if i'm remembering correctly, you know most/all spoilers but this is your first time reading the series, so i'm putting a cut here to be safe - i don't mention any big spoilers though, just a few things that may not make total sense if you haven't read the book in question haha (mostly with TOM and point #2)

i feel like the biggest actual, not-made-up-by-haters issues are 1) gawyn was sooooo slowburned because his storyline can't move forward until egwene's does and hers can't move forward until the ta'veren boys' do and mat is busy getting walls dropped on him and fucking around in a circus for 4 books and killing the pacing, and so the ripple effect out from that makes it feel like gawyn is sitting around stewing in indecision for way longer than he actually is.

and 2) when sanderson took over, he brought with him a hell of a lot of real-world patriarchy-rooted assumptions of what it means to be a prince, and applied those to gawyn in a way that does not make sense since gawyn is a prince in a matriarchal society (or rather, in a country with matriarchal royal succession; culturally, andor is definitely not a full matriarchy despite what reddit believes). so he invented this whole arc of "gawyn needs to learn how to be a warder instead of a prince aka how to step out of the spotlight and live in a woman's shadow" but as the son of the reigning queen and brother & protector to the future queen, gawyn was literally raised from birth to be in a woman's shadow instead of holding the spotlight himself. this is not an issue for him. he literally swore the oath "my blood shed before hers, my life given before hers" as a toddler and was raised with that mentality, which translates pretty fuckin directly to being a warder and being in the shadow of a woman who's more important than him!

but sanderson assumes that a prince would struggle to play second fiddle to an aes sedai, because that would be the case for a prince raised in a patriarchal royal family. which is a shame because it leads to takes like "gawyn hates that egwene is more powerful than him" which is patently untrue for his original characterization, as you point to with this line straight out of RJ's mouth! (and even for his sanderson characterization it's patently untrue since the conclusion of that arc is that gawyn DOES happily step into egwene's shadow.) it's also a shame because that struggle between his identity & duty as a prince vs. as a warder could have been really interesting, but sanderson approached it from the wrong angle. alas!

in conclusion, the only things wrong with gawyn are things that are the authors' fault, but gawyn himself has done nothing wrong ever in his life <3 i have faith that the show can bring more people around to him! especially because galad will be there being so rancid in comparison as a show!whitecloak.

#bedwyrssong #answered #wot book spoilers #gotta make all pro-gawene posts unrebloggable i just don't have the energy to see bad takes in the reblog tags

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utilitycaster · 2 years ago

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The wildest part about the reaction to Ashton’s comment is that Laudna herself didn’t even seem to take it personally? Her reaction to it seemed more like “ok that’s not true and I’m going to push back on it, but you’re clearly having a self destructive dark night of the soul and I want to make sure you’re okay”. Like give our girl a little more credit here.

Hey anon,

Hope you don't mind but you are getting a heavily edited and more measured part of the threatened rant because like. Yeah. That's the thing isn't it? Laudna is the one who sought out Ashton while they were drinking. And when he slips into self-pity, she tells him to snap out of it, but she's not mad. I happen to agree with this meta that Ashton isn't saying "I know loneliness and you don't"; they're saying "I know the very specific loneliness of not knowing where I came from". (I also think there's a possibility that they're saying "I know the loneliness that comes from knowing the people who weren't there when you came back to life could have been and chose not to"; it's not that Laudna didn't wake up alone the first time, it's that she was alone because everyone else was dead whereas the Nobodies could have chosen to stick by them and did not.) And then, the next day, he apologizes (something Imogen does not do), and she tells him not to be too hard on himself.

Laudna clearly looks on this conversation positively. She even brings it up when she talks with Imogen in that manner - she doesn't say "wow can you believe what that asshole said?" but rather focuses on Ashton's compliment to her. I mean, it's nothing new, for people to carefully ignore any context that might more sympathetically frame a character they hate, or to defend how perfect and traumatized their Mary Sue-ass interpretation of a female character is in such a way that it denies the actual agency and emotions of that character as portrayed on screen, but it's just as stupid every time, as is the constant insistence that the best way to have a ship is to isolate two characters such that they only have each other, that they're the only ones who can ever truly understand each other.

You know, I've seen people draw parallels between Laudna telling Imogen the choice is up to her regarding how they proceed tomorrow, and Imogen telling Laudna that the choice was up to her during her resurrection. And here's the thing: Imogen's appeal to Laudna during the resurrection failed. The goal of bringing Laudna back succeeded, but Imogen's specific attempt was a minor hindrance, not a help.

I can't help but wonder if Laudna leaving things to Imogen might end up the same; that they keep going on, together, but these hairline fractures keep building up and never healing, and perhaps one day there will be too many.

Shippers keep saying this is so beautiful because it's about giving each other choices when they've never had any, but that's patently untrue. Laudna had no choice in Delilah, but really, given how normal people even in small towns like Heartmoor Hamlet have been towards her, or the fact that she's not significantly weirder than Weva Vudol, or the fact that every shopkeeper in Exandria is, canonically, fucking bananas, there's a lot she could have done in those 30 years. I mean, she somehow made it to Gelvaan which is not exactly something you fall into from Tal'Dorei without making some kind of decision. Imogen had no choice in her powers but otherwise she's had no shortage of choices. In fact, that's quite literally what Laudna is saying: Imogen always had the option of going to live in a cottage and raise horses. Imogen has always had choices, and doesn't need to kill the gods to free herself.

For that matter, could you not draw a similar parallel between Laudna's transformation at the hands of Delilah without her choosing, and Ashton, who was part of a ritual as a young child below any reasonable age of consent that permanently changed them physically? Or FCG, who was quite literally programmed to be who they are? If you take off the shipper goggles and actually remember that there are five other characters, suddenly these parallels become far more widespread.

But also: here's the thing about leaving all the choices up to the other person. It protects you from the possibility that they might say no to you. It reframes things: had Laudna not been successfully resurrected, she's not saying no to Imogen; she's making her own choice, even though the result is the same. If Imogen goes with Otohan now, well, then Laudna can tell herself that it was Imogen's choice to side with the woman who murdered her, but at least she has the thin comfort that Imogen didn't exactly say "no" to a direct appeal; that it's merely an implied rather than explicit betrayal.

It's just...I know this campaign is a little weird in that this massive world-ending event is happening comparatively early; but also, Imogen and Laudna have known each other for two years. And obviously Imogen isn't Vex, she isn't Vax, she isn't Fjord, she isn't Beau or Yasha, but like, you know what all of those people did when they were facing a dangerous situation and thought death was imminent? They, through word or action, looked at the person they loved and didn't just say "I love you", they said "I'm in love with you", "can I kiss you," or opened the door naked. They said "I might die tomorrow and I cannot go forward without telling you that this is something more than just friendship to me," knowing that it was possible that, on the last night of their life, the person they loved might turn them down. Hell, Keyleth did initially turn Vax down, and he still did it.

Imogen and Laudna? They spent the night the same way they might have at the very beginning of the campaign - before the campaign, even. Laudna said she loved Imogen in what, episode 6? They've been sharing rooms and beds for two years. Nothing has changed in their relationship. And it is my suspicion that nothing will, until one of them actually asks something of the other. And again - that's all it will take for me to go from "this is boring and empty" to "ok, this is a ship" - for them to be able to take a risk.

I could quite honestly go on but like...this reply, which I got shortly after Laudna's death (when I said there was value in a story in which she remains dead) has haunted me since.

It really explains everything, doesn't it? It's why people were mad when I said it was valid for Imogen to be upset at Laudna about the gnarlrock; it's why they were mad that I said that there was no canonical basis for the people of Gelvaan or Relvin mistreating Imogen (in fact, it outright contradicts what we've seen in canon); it's why they hate Ashton right now. It's why if Imogen is interested in the gnarlrock as a way to find relief from her powers and gets mad at Laudna for breaking it, she sucks, but if Imogen considers starting the apocalypse to find relief from her powers it's totally fine. It's why they'll harass people for saying "you know, it could be an interesting story if Laudna dies permanently," and then turn around and offer more sympathy to Otohan - the character who would have been responsible for that permanent death - than they do to Orym, the character who has lost two family members and nearly his own life to her. Because Otohan might have murdered Laudna, but damn, at least she seems to ship it.

They don't see Imogen and Laudna as separate characters who can grow and change - they don't even refer to Laudna as her own fucking name, just as part of a portmanteau - and they are terrified whenever the two have even the slightest conflict (not unlike Imogen and Laudna themselves) because it means that the characters interact with people other than each other. Laudna dying permanently isn't a character death to them - it's "throwing [the ship] away." Laudna having other conversations and relationships is a threat to the ship, even if Laudna enjoys it - in fact, especially if Laudna enjoys it. Other people coming into Imogen's dreams with the express purpose of helping her is a threat. Because if either of the characters ever realize that this codependency isn't serving them, and that they have other people who will stand by them and won't leave them to their loneliness...well. The constant reassurances that they have each other might no longer be enough if they have other people.

That's why the shippers are mad at Ashton. Yes, because it's a possible competing ship; but also because they pointed out that Laudna had six people by her when she woke up, not just one, and that opens the door to Laudna realizing she has other people who will stand by her, and who aren't openly and repeatedly entertaining an alliance with her murderer. They do not actually give a shit about how Laudna feels.

#answered #Anonymous #long post #critical role #critical role spoilers #me @ laudna: girl your security blanket is full of asbestos fibers #anyway for those wanting more rants in this vein please feel free to ask me why this is not comparable to caleb and veth's relationship #or uh. really anything about why it's like. not good or interesting as a ship

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