stupidsexpotflanders
Bullshitting my way through life
5009 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
horrortamer-archive
MOVED TO SCARLAMAGNE
themissingandthelost
The Missing and the Lost
originalcowboyperfection
Untitled
xocanary
xo Canary
Text
I like to think that at least once, the Avatar cycle seemed to skip the Water Tribe—like people knew it was the water tribe’s turn, everyone was looking for them, the tests are done on all the kids, but like 60-80 years go by and no avatar until some Earth Kingdom kid shows up. People wonder if the cycle skipped a generation or what, but nothing serious was going on at that time so they shrug and move on.
It’s only many many years later that someone is researching Swampbender oral history and someone tells the story of “Ol Stinky Jess, she was a funny one, could light the swamp on fire an’ all sorts o’ shenanigans! Best catfishgator catcher in the tribe, she was” and thats literally it, she just lived a totally chill life in the swamp and nobody knew what an avatar was at the time so they just rolled with that funny gal’s odd bending ways.
45K notes
·
View notes
Text
the whole series is good like it is set up PERFECTLY but last olympian really GOES OFF
10K notes
·
View notes
Text
Demigods who made it into their adult years is a fun concept because I'm just imagining a random son of Athena on his late thirties who's like, a Math teacher or something, watching the news about "the storm that was destroying half the country" and seeing through the mist that that's fucking Typhon and seeing his mom and the other gods fighting him and just. Wondering what the fuck did he miss lol
19K notes
·
View notes
Text
Remember when at the end of AGOT Sansa was about to push Joffrey to his death but she was stopped the last moment by Sandor. At the end of TWOW she will push Littlefinger through the Moon Door and this time no one will be there to stop her. Martin told me himself.
67 notes
·
View notes
Text
sansa and lady in the godswood at winterfell
401 notes
·
View notes
Text
I'm going to be blunt and say that I can't see canon!Nikolai as someone genuinely heroic. He seems just as fake and self-serving as the politicians from my country. The main difference I see between Nikolai and the politicians of my country is that Nik is a young piece of ass. The only way I could see Nikolai as someone with genuine good(ish) intentions is if they used the Fold as a geographical division between two Ravkas,then had him as a caring leader who wanted independence from the East and to not waste their resources on that country. It could be the easiest way to introduce grey morality - both leaders want their people to thrive and are willing to get their hands dirty to achieve their ends. The difference would be that, despite being a possible bastard, Nikolai is a royal, charming and charismatic.
“I think sometimes people want to be told who is good and who is bad. They want it to be very clear, with some definitive line. I believe that the people who are the most dangerous are not the people who enter your life wearing a sign saying “I’m a bad guy”, and they’re not the people who are missing a nose like Voldemort. They’re the people who are charming and manipulative and also probably carrying their own wounds, their own baggage. They can be brooding and beautiful and be monstrous. That’s what I was setting out to show with the Darkling.”
- Leigh Bardugo
Generally, she's not wrong here. In real life that's how the bad guys mostly are and there are even real life examples (like Josef Mengele) who used charm and lies to fulfill their own cruel purposes.
But with the Darkling it fails because he has a selfless goal and was never a self-centred character. She presented a character that has lived for hundreds of years, witnessed first hand a genocide that was still ongoing by the start of the trilogy and is one of the victims of this persecution.
It's very easy to judge with your finger while sitting at the comfort of your house but when you are being hunted for powers that you are born with, when they cut you to pieces like a guinea pig, when they burn you alive to pyres and when there is no safe place on Earth to stay, rest easy and live then the terms "good deeds" and "bad deeds" feel unimportant in the face of survival.
And the Darkling felt responsible to try and save thousands of them. He felt that with his near immortality and power he could do something to shift things on a large scale.
And how can things like that change?
With big decisions.
But, alas, these same decisions needed to be cruel and therefore condemned him to be seen as evil and a monster.
So even though her view is not wrong, she tried to present it with the wrong character whose goal was sympathetic and incredibly difficult to fulfill since he was surrounded by people that didn't want him and hated his guts.
#anti Mal#anti Baghra#Nikolai Lantsov#Baghra Morozova#grishanalyticritical#The Darkling#Grishaverse#Grisha trilogy#anti leigh bardugo#bad writing
55 notes
·
View notes
Text
Character motivations - Why so many people side with the Darkling
Character motivations are a big part of them - why they are liked, how their actions come across, so on and so forth. How motivation is written can make or break a character - and TGT fails at this spectacularly.
The motivations of the “good guys” are unclear at best and plot-dependant at worst, while the “bad guys” - the three that we’re introduced to - have extremely understandable and valid ones.
Motivations of the Darkling and his supporters:
Darkling: Wants to stop wars and persecution of the Grisha everywhere in the world.
Ivan: Wants to stop the endless wars that killed his entire family.
Genya: Wants to take revenge against her rapist and probably the people and system that enabled and furthered that abuse, for herself and all the man’s other victims.
Everyone else: Presumably either want end of the wars or Grisha persecution as well.
Motivations of Alina and her side:
Alina: Wants to live a quiet and peaceful life with Mal, sometimes, maybe. Or rule over Ravka as a Living Saint. Maybe. Possibly. Or die. It varies.
Mal: Want to bang Alina and have her undivided attention - preferably while she gets none herself, I guess. And maybe kill the Darkling because… he liked Alina? Is Grisha? Kills people? Unclear.
Zoya: The Darkling killed her only decent family members, so now she wants revenge (established retroactively).
Nikolai: Wants to rule Ravka, because the current monarch and the actual heir are incompetent assholes and he decided that the “Living Saint” is better ally than the “scary and evil Darkling”.
David: Doesn’t like killing people and feels bad for being part of a mass slaughter that included civilians.
Genya: ? Probably because the Darkling is the Black Heretic and therefore deserves a worse fate than her rapist, I guess.
Everyone else: “Darkling evil”? “Monarchy good”? Are Sun cultists? Who knows, certainly not the reader.
Motivations of miscelaneous other characters:
The royal family: Wants to keep their position of power.
The Apparat: Wants more power, which he plans to gain by controlling the Sun cult in Alina’s name.
Baghra: Wants to “redeem” her son, whatever that means. “Making sure he only cares about her, himself and nobody else” being a strong possibility for the meaning of it.
To be fair, I might be a bit hyperbolic with the lack of motivation on Alina’s side, but their motivations are really the muddiest.
And that’s an issue when they’re the ones who we’re supposed to root for.
Especially when the villain not only have much clearer motives, but they’re actually really fucking good ones.
The system is broken, the world is fucked up and full of prejudice and violence. The “villains” want to fix the system and have a concrete plan how, the “heroes” either want to keep it the same, don’t care about the issues or want to fix them, but their idea of how to do it is “ask the people commiting literal genocide to pretty please stop”.
I don’t know what else to call this but Boomer logic. In a book whose target audience is teenagers.
It’s no wonder so many people like the Darkling and his side better than Alina and hers.
385 notes
·
View notes
Text
Why do I have the feeling his “curiosity” only fed his prejudice?
First Army’s unhappy with the Lantsovs? Why are there no revolutionaries from their ranks? Why does it turn into The monarchy-supporting Saint vs. The evil shadow wizard? I’m glad there were at least West-Ravkan separatists in the show, but what about East Ravka?
So, let me get this straight:
First Army knows they’re fucked, because the King is a lazy prick.
The King’s a lazy prick, because the Darkling’s doesn’t want them to have better technology, so they can’t get rid of the evil Grisha.
No wonder Ravka’s losing those wars… The logic is almost as bullet-proof as average First Army soldier.
As for Malyen, he doesn’t care Fjerdans have better technology. He only cares, because Grisha are needed. What do you think will happen once they’re no longer useful? Pyres and witchhunts. #TheDarklingIsRightAgain
The Darkling “running a country” seems to be wide-spread rumour, yet there’s not a single “proof” so far. Not even an obviously fabricated one. Kinda shame if you ask me. I’d love to read more about mental gymnastics absolutely-not-Grisha-hating Ravkans do to justify their contempt.
Where did the rumour start? Is it because he’s doing something? People don’t see the King, but the Darkling’s constantly travelling between the fronts?
It’s like the fact she’s ever interacted with the Darkling is something inherently shameful.
Shadow and Bone- Chapter 18 (Leigh Bardugo)
67 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello! I loved your post about Baghra and how she is a glorified egoist and super toxic!!!
I would like to know your opinion about Ana Kuya, the terrible woman who screwed and oppressed Alina when she was still a child!!!
⚠️TW!: Domestic violence and abuse!⚠️
Thanks, anon!
Apparently that's a similarity that they share, the Darkling and Alina. They both had shitty, abusive mothers. And in Ana Kuya's case it's pretty much the same. She was physically abusive and Alina and Mal remember her fondly. And that's the problem. Instead of having the characters admit that she was a horrible mother figure, we have them look back on her punishments as something...worth to be remembered fondly??
Let's dive in her most fucked-up moments.
Talking shit about the children she's assigned to look after. Alina and Mal both heard her but she's still an icon in their eyes! 😍
No 'cause imagine comparing your mother figure to some blood-thirsty creatures with sharp claws and teeth that live and thrive in darkness.
Uhh...
Excerpt No. 1, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
A LETTER?!
Girl, if I were you I would say adiós and never look back. What letter are you talking about?? 😭
Ana Kuya being responsible of Alina's shame for wanting to get it on with a man. This woman and her morals are imprinted in her mind.
Imagine having to spend your last day with your love and choosing to talk about her. And the memory is again toxic 🥹
Other couples: "Let's talk about our happy memories"
Malina: "Let's talk about how our mother abused us"
They have literally zero good memories from her. Only shouting and beatings.
Now that's a woman to admire!!
Do you hear that Alina?? You must kiss their shoes otherwise you would be like that poor girl on the road! 😠
Excerpt No. 2, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
Excerpt No. 3, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
Excerpt No. 4, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
If a child refuses to eat a food, beat it!
Aha! So she does acknowledge it, huh? But what does it matter? We forgive her in this house😍❤️
(also can we talk about how they wanted one of their friends to meet her? Like guys whyy??😭)
Thank the heavens actually.
In my opinion, children need mostly love and understanding. But they also need discipline, yes. But NOT through physical violence. NOT through constant screaming. This is wrong but it's very possible that in Ravka it's accepted and forgiven? Because I also remember reading somewhere that when Nikolai was a child and misbehaved, they were punishing his best friend physically (I haven't read the duology so please correct me if I'm wrong). So even the royal family found it normal.
But having the characters look back to it as something that was okay? And they adored her?
I'm sorry but I didn't shed one tear when she died. Botkin's death affected me more than hers ever did.
Alina when she died: "Oh my God!"
Me when she died: "Oh thank God!"
43 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello! I loved your post about Baghra and how she is a glorified egoist and super toxic!!!
I would like to know your opinion about Ana Kuya, the terrible woman who screwed and oppressed Alina when she was still a child!!!
⚠️TW!: Domestic violence and abuse!⚠️
Thanks, anon!
Apparently that's a similarity that they share, the Darkling and Alina. They both had shitty, abusive mothers. And in Ana Kuya's case it's pretty much the same. She was physically abusive and Alina and Mal remember her fondly. And that's the problem. Instead of having the characters admit that she was a horrible mother figure, we have them look back on her punishments as something...worth to be remembered fondly??
Let's dive in her most fucked-up moments.
Talking shit about the children she's assigned to look after. Alina and Mal both heard her but she's still an icon in their eyes! 😍
No 'cause imagine comparing your mother figure to some blood-thirsty creatures with sharp claws and teeth that live and thrive in darkness.
Uhh...
Excerpt No. 1, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
A LETTER?!
Girl, if I were you I would say adiós and never look back. What letter are you talking about?? 😭
Ana Kuya being responsible of Alina's shame for wanting to get it on with a man. This woman and her morals are imprinted in her mind.
Imagine having to spend your last day with your love and choosing to talk about her. And the memory is again toxic 🥹
Other couples: "Let's talk about our happy memories"
Malina: "Let's talk about how our mother abused us"
They have literally zero good memories from her. Only shouting and beatings.
Now that's a woman to admire!!
Do you hear that Alina?? You must kiss their shoes otherwise you would be like that poor girl on the road! 😠
Excerpt No. 2, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
Excerpt No. 3, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
Excerpt No. 4, in which the protagonists talk about Ana Kuya's physically abusive behaviour.
If a child refuses to eat a food, beat it!
Aha! So she does acknowledge it, huh? But what does it matter? We forgive her in this house😍❤️
(also can we talk about how they wanted one of their friends to meet her? Like guys whyy??😭)
Thank the heavens actually.
In my opinion, children need mostly love and understanding. But they also need discipline, yes. But NOT through physical violence. NOT through constant screaming. This is wrong but it's very possible that in Ravka it's accepted and forgiven? Because I also remember reading somewhere that when Nikolai was a child and misbehaved, they were punishing his best friend physically (I haven't read the duology so please correct me if I'm wrong). So even the royal family found it normal.
But having the characters look back to it as something that was okay? And they adored her?
I'm sorry but I didn't shed one tear when she died. Botkin's death affected me more than hers ever did.
Alina when she died: "Oh my God!"
Me when she died: "Oh thank God!"
43 notes
·
View notes
Text
Thinking about Luke and Percy again… Do you think Luke ever saw Percy as the child he was? Was Percy, in the beginning, just a tragic - not even tragic, tbh, maybe unfortunate at most - casualty to Luke’s true desires? Did Luke think of him as an avatar of the gods, the physicalized representation of the system Luke vowed to tear down? Was Luke dismissive of Percy, or projecting on him?
When Luke gave those cursed shoes to Percy, did he feel bad about it? Or was it just as good as cursing the gods themselves to Tartarus?
36 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hello I’m rereading some of my favorite reading-the-books fics again and man
It actually makes PERFECT sense for Luke to have been afraid of Percy
Can you imagine? Nineteen years old, the best swordsman in three centuries, probably hasn’t been beaten in years - and some twelve year old disarms him the first time he holds a sword?
Forget the boost from the water. Forget underestimating him. Neither of those things should have been enough of an advantage to overrule the fact that Luke has probably a decade’s experience on Percy in that scene.
Of course Luke was scared of Percy.
90 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hey, remember when Percy flipped the fuck out because Nico lured him to Hades?
Remember how the last time someone Percy trusted lured him somewhere, it was Luke?
62 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Lovers || Charles and Silena
The lovers: attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome. But it can also mean Failure, and choices, such as a temptation of the heart.
My reasoning for choosing the lovers for Charles and Silena is due to their love for one another, but the tragedy of it all due to Silena’s temptation with Luke (Kronos).
859 notes
·
View notes
Text
moodboard
2K notes
·
View notes