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byunpum · 4 months

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Safe heaven | Part 3

Pair: Neteyam x Human!reader (sully family, others na'vi)

Warning: Neytiri being a bit(a lot) controlling, forced pairing, cozy moments, comfort moments, All characters are adults.

AVATAR MASTERLIST | Ko-fi

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4[final]

Neytiri could not believe it, she was so upset and frustrated with her eldest son. He had a great future, a future that for a while was changed for the good of the family. But now that he could regain all that he had lost, ruining it with a horrifying idea. Why yes, the idea that neteyam was interested in a human, was something she could not understand. How could this situation be possible, right now she couldn't even see her own son. She was very upset, walking as fast as she could away from the hut. Not realizing that she was about to crash into Jake. "b-babe?" jake tries to stop neytiri, but she pushes him away and continues on her way. Leaving a confused jake, what must have happened had to be very loud. Jake walked to the hut, entering carefully.

He found mo'at comforting his eldest son. Jake swears it's the first time he's seen neteyam cry…never since he grew up has he cried. And now he's holding his knees to his chest, head buried in his legs. While mo'at hugged him, and took care of him. "Hey…what's wrong?" asks jake. Approaching one of neteyam's sides, sitting down next to him. "nothing" says neteyam in a clipped voice. Jake notices that his son doesn't want to look at him, jake looks at mo'at and she signals for them to go talk away from neteyam. They both get up and leave the hut, "What's going on? Why is neytiri so upset?" jake is confused, neteyam has never done anything to upset his mother like this before. Mo'at clears her throat and takes a deep breath. "Jake… neteyam has already decided who he wants to pair up as a mate," mo'at says. Jake dries up a little, throwing his hands up in the air. This is not bad news. "So what's going on? That's supposed to be good news" jake can see the look of frustration on mo'at's face. "The partner he chose is Y/N…that's the problem" mo'at says.

jake's face falls in shock, he could not believe what mo'at was saying. He was surprised…but not upset. You had always been very close to his family, Jake considered you as just another daughter. But he had to admit that the whole situation of a na'vi and human…being a couple was very strange. He could see why neytiri was like this, she must feel betrayed. "jake I want to tell you…that my position right now is to support neteyam and y/n" mo'at says. "But…don't you think" jake was speechless, you didn't know what to say in this situation. "I know from experience…that things shouldn't be forced and if eywa has allowed this relationship to get to this point, it's for a reason" mo'at speaks, she knew this was crazy. But she could feel the sincerity in neteyam's voice, she could tell he loved you. And she was sure you loved him too. She was not going to be the cause of their separation. Jake entered the hut, he wanted to talk to his son. But he found an empty hut. "Where did he go?" jake looks at mo'at, the woman was behind him. Looking everywhere, but nothing. "He went to look for her, didn't he" jake speaks, shuffling his head in frustration. Mo'at only replies with a "hmm" as they both stare at each other thinking about what was going to happen.

On the other hand, you had just left the lab, you were in front of the facility setting up some boxes. When you hear the familiar voice of neteyam. "Y/N!!!" shouts neteyam, you look up and begin to feel worried. His voice was desperate and he was running towards you. When he was finally close, you could see how agitated he was and you could tell he had been crying. "Neteyam what's wrong?" you speak, taking his hand. You wanted him to calm down, the boy was looking all around, as if he was seeing if no one was following him. "Neteyam?" you raise your voice a little to get his attention. Neteyam looks at you with concern, "everyone already knows…I want- I need to talk?" neteyam couldn't form a complete sentence from how agitated and nervous he was. "Hey…come on let's go inside, shall we?" you invite neteyam into the lab. You knew he wasn't a fan of the lab, but it was the safest place now. Following in your footsteps, as you dragged him inside. Taking an oxygen mask, placing it around his neck. To let himself be guided to a chair. "I'll get some water…easy" you let go of his hand, running to the kitchen.

You quickly reach for the giant glass that norm always uses when he's in his avatar body. Filling it with water, you run to neteyam. To your surprise, he was already calming down. He's slouching a bit in the chair, and looking down at the floor. While his tail was wagging anxiously, taking a breath of air from his mask. "Here it is" you offer him the water, watching as he hurriedly takes it. You place one of your hands on his chest, near his neck. Stroking his skin a little. "Hey…easy, you can drown" you chuckle a little, watching as his ears twitch a little towards your response. After he calmed down…you drag a chair to stand in front of him and let him tell you everything.

And so he did, neteyam told you everything that had happened in the last few hours. And how he had disappointed his mother, how he didn't have the courage to speak up and defend their relationship. He felt he had failed. He as your partner was supposed to stand up for you, to protect what you two had and he didn't have the courage. "I don't know what to do…that's why I came to see you, you always know what to do" says neteyam, looking up waiting for you to say something. And for the first time you didn't know what to do… this whole situation was very difficult. "I don't know what to do either…" you speak, seeing how the whole room fell silent. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but one of frustration. You both wanted this to be solved…but how.

Neteyam keeps looking around, but his attention is drawn to the human clothes you were wearing. It's been a long time since he saw you with it on, it was strange to see you like that. Stretching out his hand, he quickly grabs your shirt. Pulling it up a bit, revealing a bit of your breasts. "And why are you wearing this?" he asks, turning his head to the side. "You don't like the na'vi outfits I made for you anymore" neteyam says, looking at you with frustration. You laugh a little. "Ahh this…it's too cold here and this is warmer. But if you want…I can change" you speak, and you see his ears fall back. "Oh, why are you sad again?" you ask, rising from your seat to stand between his legs. To hold both sides of his face with your hands. "You see… here the problem is me. You are capable of changing everything about yourself, just to make me happy. And me…I can't even tell my family how much I love you" neteyam lowers his head, if you can feel and hear how he starts to cry. "No…honey calm down!!!" you try to comfort him. "You're not a problem…don't ever say that again, ok?" you scold him…watching as he wipes away some tears.

alarm

You look back recognizing the sound, but neteyam is a little surprised. "What's that sound?" he asks, looking over to where the strange device was making the noise. "It's our alarm" you walk away, walking over to the table to turn it off. "Pandora's hours can be a little strange…and sometimes we forget the times. It's time to go to bed" you speak. Turning off the alarm and walking back towards neteyam. "But I've shown you how to tell what time it is in the day" neteyam speaks, watching you laugh. "It's a bit complicated!!!" you complain, feeling neteyam take your hand pulling you into his body to hug you fully. "Can I sleep over here?" asks neteyam. "Here…with me?" you pull away a little to make sure he was serious. "Yes" neteyam can see a smile appear on your face. "Sure…but mmmm we have to do some things, come!!!" you stand up and take his hand leading him to your room.

Neteyam had a hard walk, because the road to your room was very difficult for him. And if you count that he was bent all the time. But he didn't care, you were so happy. You opened your door, and walked in with him. Your room was small. It had a small circular window, your bed in one corner and a lot of things stuck on the wall. Many of them were photographs and objects of memory. Many of them neteyam had given them to you, there were pictures with them and spider, even of your parents. It was cozy. "Well…I'll have to make you a bed, on the floor. Because my bed is too small" you speak. Neteyam smiles at you, watching as you pull some boxes out from under the bed. Taking a fabric, placing it on the floor. Creating a kind of bed.

After a while, everything was settled. Neteyam was sitting on the sheets, and you were next to him. He couldn't stop looking at you, always trying to make him comfortable, always thinking of him. There you were calibrating his oxygen machine, so he could sleep with it on. "Ok, all set… now you can sleep comfortably and not die" you speak, seeing how neteyam let out a laugh. Taking the machine. There is a small silence, until you speak. "Neteyam?" you ask, seeing how he looks at you carefully. "You…you're going to see that girl? Will you do what your mother told you?" you ask. "No…I won't, I already chose with I want to share my life with…and I will do anything to be by your side" neteyam takes your hand, to give it a squeeze. You laugh a little, adjusting your hair a little. "Well…let's rest!!!" you speak, starting to get up from the floor. But you feel neteyam hug you tightly, pulling you into his arms. "Ah ah you stay here with me…both of us in the uncomfortable bed" neteyam teases, laying you down next to him, as he gives you multiple kisses on your cheeks. You wrap your arms around his neck, to look at him for a second. "You know I would do anything for you…anything" you speak. "I know…and I would for you" neteyam gives you a quick kiss on the lips, to snuggle more. "You're right" neteyam says. "About what?" you look at him. "It's cold in here" neteyam says, hearing you laugh. Feeling you squeeze him tighter. "Well, I'm going to make you a lot warmer" you joke, knowing that you barely covered a piece of his body.

On the other side of the camp…

Neytiri had been out all day, and returned home very late. Meeting Jake outside the hut, he was looking at his weapons. Pretending he hadn't been waiting for her all afternoon. He wanted to talk to her, and find out how she felt about the situation. He knew this had to be difficult for her. Neytiri approached, sighing loudly. "I imagine you already know what's going on," Neytiri says. Watching as jake drops the gun, and looks at her. Jake sighs a little, he already knew neytiri wasn't going to be happy with his answer. "Yes…and I want you to know that I agree with whatever choice neteyam makes" jake says, getting up from the ground. Noticing how neytiri pulls away from him a little and pouts. "You're losing your mind… she's a human. Our son wants to mate with a demon-" neytiri paused, and lowered her head. "So was I…and you still chose me." jake speaks.

He was too tired to argue with life's destiny any longer. He didn't want his children to see him as the enemy, he wanted to give them his support. Sure… this was crazy. And who knew if this was going to work, but Jake was going to support him. "Jake…you were a na'vi" neytiri reaches over placing her hands on jake's chest. She was frustrated, for once in her life she wanted everything to go right. "Hey, baby look at me" jake takes neytiri's face. She was teary eyed, it was neteyam they were talking about. She wanted a great future for him, for him to take the place that once belonged to her father. Things were getting back to normal and boom, this was happening. "Neteyam will be fine…y/n she's a good girl" says jake. "I don't care if she's good or not…. she's not a na'vi. And she never will be" neytiri walks away from jake. And starts to walk into the hut, but not before stopping and turning to look at jake. "I'm never going to accept her as part of this family…never," says Neytiri, leaving Jake alone. What was Jake going to do with Neytiri, she couldn't control everything… she had to understand her son. Otherwise she was going to lose him. Jake took one last look into the distance, to see if neteyam was coming. But he knew he wouldn't see him again until the next day. Norm had told him he'd seen neteyam go into the lab, so Jake assumed he was with y/n.

The next morning…

You two were up early as usual, you had barely opened your eyes when neteyam was leading you out of the lab. He loved being with you that night, but it was driving him crazy how confined and small the place was. You're stretching and leaning back when you notice the sun rising between the entrance to the camp. "What a beautiful day" you speak, looking at neteyam. He had a worried look on his face, he knew he had to go back to face everything with his family. Barely paying attention to you, you squeeze his hand. "Hey…if you want I can come with you?" you suggest, but you see how he refuses. "No…I don't want anything to happen to you" says neteyam, kneeling down so you can get closer to him. "Are you going to go see my grandmother?" neteyam would rather she be in a safe place, and being with mo'at is best. He knew his grandmother supported him and she wasn't going to let anything happen. "Yeah…but you're going to go see me" you pout, watching as he laughs. Giving you a kiss on the crown of your head. "Sure baby…I'll come see you. But promise me you'll stay in mo'at's hut" neteyam makes you promise and you make a cross on your heart. "Promise" you speak, neteyam is relieved and stands up saying goodbye to you and starts walking his way home.

Neteyam already knew what was in store for him, an argument and a lot of complaining. But this time he was not going to keep quiet, this time he was going to stand up for what he felt. He was tired of having his life chosen for him. It was time for him to decide his own life. Neteyam was approaching the hut, on the way he could see the figure of his father approaching. He stops, expecting his father to start arguing, but is surprised when jake approaches silently. Placing his hand on his son's shoulder, tapping him a few times. "Neteyam…are you okay?" asks jake, neteyam only replies with an uncomfortable smile. " Dad…I want to talk to you" neteyam was about to start talking and be able to explain everything to his father. But jake interrupts him. "Son, I know what's going on…about your mother and the situation with y/n" jake speaks up. "Dad I'm not going to change my mind" neteyam pulls away a little, but jake now places his other hand on his son's shoulder to reassure him. "I know…and I'm not going to oppose anything, I will support you in whatever choice you make" jake speaks. The truth is that Jake was tired of trying to control his sons life, he was looking for some peace of mind now. He also didn't want his relationship with his children to be damaged. After arguing for a while, and setting the record straight. Jake says goodbye to Neteyam. But not before saying "You need to talk to your mother" says Jake. He knew that neytiri wouldn't accept anything, but neteyam was still his son. Sooner or later she would understand.

Neteyam decided to stop by the family hut for a moment, he had to get some things for the day. As he arrived and approached the entrance. He can see his mother, neytiri was sitting there fixing some jars. She knew that Neteyam had arrived, but she didn't even look at him. Neteyam didn't speak either, he just walked over to his area and started to pick up some things. He had planned to stay with you until things calmed down, but now he wanted to join you. The best thing was for him to leave and start his life with you. "I see you're already packing up your things," says neytiri, as she continues to work. "Yes… I am leaving with my partner" says neteyam, he is a little scared when he hears the thump of one of the jars being hit hard to the ground. "You know she can't bond with you…only a na'vi, accepted into the clan. Joined and introduced to eywa can be your mate. If not…it's all in vain" says neytiri, she was getting furious. But she hears neteyam's footsteps approaching. "Then I will solve it…but I will bond with her, because I love her" neteyam looks at his mother, seeing how she looks up. She was teary eyed, and upset. "Goodbye… when you want to talk to me I will listen to you mom" neteyam leaves the hut, with her things. Neytiri slams another jar on the ground, out of anger…she couldn't believe all this was happening.

On the other hand, minutes later neteyam arrives at mo'at's hut. He knew he would find you there and he was right. You were sitting next to his grandmother talking. When you see him enter, you smile and get up to greet him. But you stop for a moment, seeing that he had some bags in his hands. " So what's that?" you ask, and watch as neteyam laughs awkwardly, leaving his things in the corner of the hut. "Don't tell me you're leaving your parents' hut," speaks mo'at. "I have to…the atmosphere is awful" says neteyam, taking your hand to join him in sitting down. He sits across from his grandmother, and you sit next to him. "Well, you can sleep here…I don't have any problem. Besides…" mo'at pauses, taking some fruit to offer him. "I think you'll be able to live together soon," the woman says, noticing how both young ones look at each other curiously, then glance at her. "How?" you ask. You were aware that the pairing process was complicated.

In order for two na'vi to mate, they must both be accepted into the clan as useful members. They must also be accepted and introduced by eywa, and she would decide if you were worthy of joining her circle. All this was a ritual, which could be performed in large or in private. But always with the tsahik of the clan. Mo'at already knew what she was going to do…she had a plan. But she wanted to make sure you were completely sure. "Grandmother, how is this going to be possible?" asks neteyam. "Listen… there is a method. It's a rather complicated ritual, but I want to be sure that y/n is ready," says mo'at looking at you, she could see the nervousness in your gaze. "And what should I do?" you speak, looking quickly at neteyam, while he holds your hand tightly. "Well… the first phase is already done, you have grown up here in the clan. And I'm sure every member accepts you" mo'at pauses. Noticing how neteyam coughs a little, it was clear that he was thinking about his mother.

"But the second phase…it must be done with caution" mo'at swings forward a little, to take your free hand. " I want you to know…that once you present yourself to eywa, you will no longer be part of your species. You will still have the same human physique…but your soul…your self, will be na'vi. Only if eywa accepts you" mo'at is speaking seriously. Neteyam was looking at you all this time, he knew this was a difficult choice, he could see how your eyes were moving nervously. And he could feel you trembling. "I…" you try to speak, but mo'at interrupts you. "This is a choice you have to make calmly… think about it, yes?" mo'at comes over and kisses you on the forehead. She wanted you to do this… this ritual would bond you to her people, bring you closer to her. Mo'at considered you as a daughter…but she wanted you to make the best decisions.

After a while…Mo'at had left you alone, she had gone out to do her daily chores. Neteyam had you sitting on his lap while he ate some berries. Meanwhile you were playing with some beads of your clothing. You couldn't stop thinking about what mo'at proposed to you. You wanted to do it…but you were afraid. Neteyam looks down and notices you lost in thought. He takes a berry and places it on your lips, making the 'ahhh' sound and you open it and start chewing it, but you don't even speak. "Are you still thinking about what mo'at proposed to us?" speaks neteyam. You look up and look at him with concern. "baby…you don't have to, I don't want you to do anything for me" neteyam holds your jaw, patting your skin. " yes I do…there is nothing in this world that I want more than to be with you…but I'm scared" you speak, watching as neteyam chuckles softly. "how about we start with everything…and if you feel uncomfortable, we stop and look for another solution" says neteyam, seeing how you nod your head. He didn't want to force you, he wanted you to accept…but this decision was yours to make. He knew you had your doubts…maybe he wasn't worth it.

Taglist <3 : @cardi-bre91 @klowicherry @smolbeanzzz

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echo-lover · 3 months

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I wanted to share my thoughts about the first three episodes of Bad Batch season 3 immediately after watching them, but I was too emotional about everything I saw that I needed some time to calm down a bit.

It's beyond my expectations, just perfect! From the plot, to the characters, through the beautiful graphics and wonderful music, everything was epic. This season will definitely be much more mature and dark than the others. I love Bad Batch with all my heart and words cannot describe how important these characters are to me. I don't think I will focus on each episode separately, but I will show my general feelings and thoughts.

Something that touched my heart deeply was how Omega becomes so much like Hunter. Her facial expressions, her eyes, tactical skills and that characteristic whistle! I immediately thought of Hunter. She became so mature, strong, decisive and calm in stressful situations. It's clear that she's no longer the same little child we met on Kamino in the first season. She has changed so much... Even Crosshair seems to see this, as he let her lead during his escape from Mount Tantiss. He was her support, did not question her ideas and did not hesitate to follow orders. I love watching their bond become stronger. Every day Omega came to his cell, talked about her day... and he listened... he had no choice because he couldn't just go, but I think they both needed each other's presence. They knew they were not alone and encouraged each other, in some way.

It is clear that Omega still misses the rest of her brothers and strongly believes that she will be able to return to them again, together with Crosshair. She can't imagine leaving him, it's out of the question. No matter how hard Crosshair tries to make her believe that he is not worth saving, she will still be on his side. I think Crosshair realized through her that his brothers never really wanted to leave him and were willing to take him back at any time if he just wanted...

Even though Omega has become more mature, she is still a child. Being locked in a cell, the routine and monotony of life must be very exhausting for her, because she is by nature a lively, active and curious sweet girl. She spent most of her life locked up and the only good memories she had were of freedom and her brothers, even though it wasn't for a long time. She even made herself a doll like Lula, who stayed on the Marauder with Hunter and Wrecker. This parallel symbolizes their connection, despite the enormous distance that separated them. And Batcher... Omega doesn't want to forget, she wants to remember her brothers, the love she had for them and received from them, all those good memories together... Ouch...

Somewhere in another part of the Galaxy, two brothers are desperately looking for their little sister. Their worn armor shows that they have fought hard during this time. Hunter also has different bandana... I've seen a theory that it's similar to the band Omega wore on his wrist in season two. This way, maybe Hunter wanted to always have her close to him, at least a part of her, I wonder if he can smell her scent... Oh Force, I'm gonna cry...

The sight of Hunter having difficulty working with Tech's Datapad, how desperate he is to do everything he can to find Omega, how exhausted he seems... Maybe it's just me, but he looks thinner and has paler skin than before. This breaks my heart. I'm sure he was thinking about Tech who could do the job in a second. The sight of his goggles resting alone, the empty space he once occupied... Marauder never looked so lonely... Let me tell you, I shed a tear.

I really liked how Wrecker was the voice of reason in his conversation with Hunter. It's beautiful how one look, a nod of the head, or a hand on the shoulder can bring Hunter down. They support each other and it is clear that after everything they have lost, they have become even closer. They need each other to keep from going crazy.

Even though they are the only two left, Wrecker still considers Hunter to be the leader and waits for his orders even though he knows he doesn't have to. He remains loyal. When he was talking to the little cadets on the Marauder, I was so happy when I heard his laughter. Honest, loud and heartwarming. I think he's needed this for a long time. He definitely misses the company of a child on board, he loves children so much...

I also love that little scene where Hunter is working and looks at Lula out of the corner of his eye, thinking about Omega. He can't live without her... I feel like if they were separated again, he wouldn't be able todeal with it and would just explode, showing all the anger and despair he was holding, possibly doing something stupid in the process... He loves his little Omega too much that he can't imagine life without her. He is ready to drop everything just to be able to hold her close to him, to keep her safe. I'm so scared for him.

On the one hand, I was surprised that Echo didn't stay with the boys to look for Omega, but I expected him to join Rex. They may also be searching, but I think their main goal is to free prisoners and gather as many allies as possible to create the Clone Rebellion.

I could talk for hours and still not express all my thoughts and emotions that these episodes made me feel. I can't wait for next Wednesday.

#the bad batch #star wars #clones #never stop loving clones #the bad batch season 3 #the bad batch season three spoilers #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #tbb omega #tbb tech #personal thoughts

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ezziefae · 8 months

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Things I'm excited to see in The Prisoner's Throne (March 2024)

I still can’t believe we have to wait till march 2024 for prisoner throne, y’all don’t understand the amount of excitement I have about going back to the world of Elfhame and seeing my favorite beloved characters. Here’s a list of some things I’m really looking forward to see or find out.

Taryn’s Child

Like we’re finally going to meet Taryn’s Child (who I’m assuming is a boy), I wonder if Holly Black has any plans of making them a big part of this book or if she has any plans of writing a separate book with the focus on Taryn’s kid.

Oak’s POV

Holly Black confirmed that we will see Oak's perspective of Elfhame, which wasn't discussed in TSH due to Wren's POV. From my understanding, there’s a lot of problems in Elfhame that we still don’t know about. All of the unknown will finally be revealed in Prisoners Throne, and that’s sooooo exciting!

Jude and Cardan

Its obviously very clear that everyone who is a fan of TFOTA series is very excited to see how the King and Queen of Elfhame are doing!!

I am very excited to learn more about Jude and Cardan. They have been together for around 9 years since the time of The Queen Of Nothing. I am eager to see what challenges they have faced during this time and how their relationship has progressed. We will not be reading about their teenage years, but rather their adult years. I am looking forward to seeing how Holly has portrayed their growth and transformation !!!! LIKE HELLO, MATURE CARDAN AND JUDE?? I just know both are going to give DILF and MILF energy, Jurdan fans will not survive. I will not survive.

Taryn and The Ghost?

It's possible that this book will give us insight into whether Taryn and the Ghost are romantically involved. In TQON, there were some hints that The Ghost had feelings for Taryn. It's worth remembering that Taryn saved The Ghost and they were both victims of Locke's abuse.

Some people don't think the Ghost and Taryn should be together because they find it strange. They have two main reasons for this. One is that the Ghost is about 100 years older than Taryn. The other reason is that some people don't think Taryn is good enough for the Ghost. (People don't like Taryn. Do I blame them? of course not)

Any opinions of this? I have a feeling that the ghost might of become overprotective of Taryn and owes her debt for saving his life. Could they be romantically involved? Maybe, we’ll have to wait and see!

Wren’s Family

In some way Wren will finally reunite with her human family. How?…i have no idea with the nature than the stolen heir ended in. But i’m excited to see how that goes, Wren deserves her happiness. It will probably be emotional, i’ll probably cry.

Jude, Cardan and the idea of having children?

OKAY!! I made a seperate post about this months ago (if you haven’t read it, please do!! click here)

Opinions on whether Jude and Cardan should become parents are divided among fans. Personally, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea. It's important to remember that Jude and Cardan are now adults and have grown since the last time we saw them.

Holly Black has already confirmed that Jude and Cardan are aware of the idea of having children. “they are all aware of it, it will be talked about more in Prisoners Throne”

Flowers blooming in Mab’s grave have fans speculating and making theories that Jude could be possibly pregnant.

According to Holly, it would be complicated for many people if Jude and Cardan had children. This is because if they did, Oak would be removed from the throne line. However, if Oak were to become the King of Elfhame, any children that Jude and Cardan have would also be cut from the line.

I still don't see why Jude and Cardan having kids would be complicated, I think it would make perfect sense. Oak wouldn't have to rule, and Jude and Cardan could keep their Power.

We’ll see where Holly goes with this in Prisoner's Throne.

Oak becoming King of Elfhame?

Okay soooo, Oak has already stated that he does not want to be King of Elfhame, we’ve known this since the beginning of TFOTA.

If Oak were to become king, Jude and Cardan would be forced to relinquish their throne and all of their power. Personally, I would prefer that Jude and Cardan maintain their position. The people adore Cardan and are terrified of Jude, which has been their longstanding desire. I don't want them to lose it all just so that Oak can take the throne.

There’s been theories that Oak will become the King of the Court of Teeth along side Wren. But that’s the part that confuses me, Wren never wanted to become queen, neither does Oak. So i’m wondering how that’s gonna work.

Oak and his sisters

I’m excited to see them all together again. Vivi, Taryn, Jude, and Oak. Holly did say something about how the the siblings dynamic will be important in Prisoner’s Throne. UGH I MISS THEM.

Madoc, The Traitor of Elfhame

With the ending events of TSH, i’m curious to see what’s gonna happen to Madoc. I soooo doubt Jude will forgive him. Madoc is known to be a traitor, If Madoc's exile is lifted back by Jude and Cardan, it may not be well-received by the folk. It will not look good for Jude and Cardan. Will Madoc betray them again? will he fight against Jude? or will he reedeem himself?

Tiernan and Hyacinth.

Soooo this is very ANGSTY. Tiernan and Hyacinthe were in a relationship, but things fell apart when Madoc betrayed Elfhame. Tiernan remained loyal to Elfhame, while Hyacinthe joined Madoc, turning them from lovers to enemies.

To make matters worse, Hyacinthe later became loyal to Wren, who is a new enemy to Elfhame. (Things do not look good for Hyacinthe). This turn of events is quite tragic, and it leaves us wondering how they will resolve their conflicts. So it’s TRAGIC, and i wonder how they’re going to resolve it all. Like where the hell do they go from there??? HOLLLYY TELL USSSS

The Undersea

It was repeated throughout the entirety of the book that the undersea is in chaos. Queen Orlagh is not doing well, and Nicasia is too weak. Will they be dethroned? Will Jude and Cardan be involved? (I'm guessing they will)

Jude’s Political Problem

I made a seperate post about this, click here to see.

. Holly has confirmed in a livestream that Jude will have a political problem by the End of Prisoners Throne. She didn’t say Jude AND Cardan…no, she said only Jude's name. So….MISS HOLLLY BLACK WHY ARE U TORTURING US. i'm dying to know what the problem will be.

(Id also like to point out that I think holly might’ve accidentally spoiled the fact that Jude and Cardan will still be king and queen of Elfhame by the end of prisoners throne)

Wren’s Magical Powers

Wren is a scary woman now, and she’s POWERFUL. Is she more powerful than Jude and Cardan? maybe? i hope not, but maybe. She was able to “kill” her abusive mother by speaking it into EXISTENCE. WTF. Have mercy Wren!

How Elfhame will approach Wren

Our girl Wren has made Elfhame her enemy by making the ONLY heir to Elfhame her prisoner. It’s obvious Jude will be furious, not just with Wren but with Oak. For going against her and Cardan’s orders of saving Madoc. Will Elfhame go to war? will Jude be angry at herself for freeing Wren in TQON?

Lady Asha

So, I'm assuming she still lives in the palace along side Jude and Cardan. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Jude kicked her out and sent her away. This lady is a B*tch. I'm curious to know what Lady Asha has been up to or rather what she's been scheming.

WHY DID JUDE KICK WREN OUT OF THE PALACE OF ELFHAME??

(Note: Jude is so petty for this, although I believe there is more to this than we might currently know, maybe Jude didnt do it, maybe it was Oriana or Lady Asha)

It was revealed that Jude ordered her guards to remove Wren from the palace. but WHY?? Why didn’t Oak intervene? Why did jude do it?

In TQON, Jude suggested to Oak that if he decided to wed Suren, then she could reside in the palace with them. This implies that Jude was comfortable with Suren living along side them in Elfhame. SOOO IM CONFUSED!!! I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS! and I want ANSWERS HOLLY BLACK !

Family Reunion: Oriana, Madoc, Oak, Taryn, Jude and Vivi.

Jude lives in the palace, while Madoc has been exiled and captured. Taryn has a kid and lives in Locke’s estates, Vivi lives in the mortal world with Heather. It's evident that they have gone their separate ways. It’s not TCP chapter 1 anymore, where they all eat dinner together and play games.

i have to be honest and say that i miss them together. and so does Oriana. In TSH she admitted to missing and wishing they were all together again. I hope to see some kind of reunion.

"I know," She [Oriana] said. "I cannot hope for one side to win neither. I used to wish that Madoc never went looking for those girls, and now all I wish is that we could be together again as we once were." (TSH, Chap 3, pg 55)

Locke’s Father

Holly has said many times that she wanted to do something about Locke’s Father (Yes, he’s still alive) I wonder if he’ll be introduced in this book.

Vivi and Wren

Wren was very hurt when Vivi stated she wanted wren away from oak in TQON. I want to see them together, maybe Vivi will apologize. Maybe they’ll become besties.

i hope they do, they just HAVE TO.

I’ll probably make a part 2. But what are you guys excited to see?

#jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #holly black #jurdan #the folk of the air #the stolen heir #oak greenbriar #the cruel prince #elfhame #the prisoners throne #IM SO EXCITED #TPT predictions

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sailorblossoms · 4 months

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(some stuff about the perception of Simon and sex and horniness)

I've hinted at this (and maybe have even just said it, can't remember) in the past but now I'm just gonna say bluntly it because well, I use this blog to rant, and who gives a shit, this is long enough nobody will pay attention to it anyway. (This rant is brought to you by "anyone can do whatever they want obviously but I can't help but wonder... do people think this is actually in character? why?”)

Canonically, Simon is horny. He shows high libido. Canonically, these things are centered on Baz. "Baz is the only person I have ever wanted," he thinks in the context of thinking about having sex. "Maybe I'm some kind of Baz-sexual," he says, in the context of thinking about sexual attraction ("Maybe I'm only sexually attracted to Baz," he's saying.) And sure, libido is a separate thing from attraction, but good ol' Simon still centers both things on Baz...

I have no idea where the idea Simon would be the type to sleep around comes from, or why that idea is more often associated him than Baz (which I have wondered when considering "people think character is hot and so the people just want to see character fuck" – a tale as old as time, which is something I get, as opposed to "this is in character," which I do not). To be clear: I don't have anything against characters who enjoy a life of slutdom, I think such characters can be very fun to read, ya boy here likes erotica novels, etc. My specific issue is that I don't get where the idea Simon is the type comes from, and when picking up everything he's putting down, it kinda feels like a disservice? Like we're taking someone who challenges expectations, who moved past them because they were limiting and insufficient to help him understand himself, and... confining him to certain expectations, anyway?

This is someone who's not even comfortable wearing pajamas outside of the room he shares with Baz (very telling, that). He's not the type to even go into the bathroom to masturbate (no appeal to it if you don't know what you're into or what type of touch you even tolerate, anyway). He's not someone who will be down to get naked (while fully conscious and willing) in front of someone he doesn't, at the very least, know and trust. His one sexual experience outside of Baz is described as something he didn't actually want to do, as something he felt he had to do because “that's just what happens” when you have been dating someone for a long time.

I know "character is good at sex" is a logical continuation to "I want to see hot character fuck" but the idea that Simon would be good at sex in general, based on what he does... would he, really? I mean, it's perfectly fine if he's not. He has no reason to be! He has never done anything without any sort of guidance. Simon shares "the talk" he had didn't cover the truly important things, and we see him discovering "the point" and appeal of sex (for him) with Baz in real time (as closeness and intimacy). "He's good with his hands" – personally, I don't think knowing how to incapacitate, decapitate, or break someone's neck would translate into "knows how to touch someone in a way that's even remotely pleasurable." I would think those type of touches require a different set of skills, but that's just me. I mean, if you think about it, Baz describes Simon's hands as "being everywhere" as in, Simon wants so much he can't decide how to touch him, but also, he doesn't even know how to touch him. Simon jumps Baz like an animal in heat (literally dry humping him in the library!). Sometimes, Baz can get aroused by Simon in spite of the way Simon touches him (because is Simon). Simon is so rough he's bashing Baz's head against a bookcase at some point, probably without realizing (which makes sense for a fighter who has only ever know how to touch violently) (also, some scenes have made me wonder whether Simon, in his eagerness and without realizing, is grabbing and biting and pushing hard enough that if Baz was a regular human, he probably would just find painful).

I think it makes the most sense that Simon would struggle like this. It makes him relatable! Sex starts to be good between Simon and Baz when they start communicating. Sex is good for Simon when he's pleasing Baz, which is also about Baz and his feelings for him, specifically. I don't know how that turned into "sex is good for him when he's pleasing someone, anyone" – those are very different things! That there are areas in his life where he cared about what others thought and wanted to fulfill expectations doesn't mean that would translate into the sexual area, there are other things that would factor into it. This is someone who never once thinks about his cock unless it's close to or in contact with Baz's person. The entirety of his desire, of sex being good or enjoyable for him, of wanting to please (linked to wanting to take care of/make Baz happy) is all centered on Baz. Simon ties desire and the appeal of sex to intimacy with the person he's in love with. There's nothing fucking casual about Simon when it comes to sex and romance, even before he properly identifies those feelings and who he actually has those feelings for. ("I think I'm going to marry the first person I've ever dated" – you couldn't get any further from "casual" with that shit, even if he didn't really believe it was going to happen because he thought he would die, which is also not casual). "But Simon doesn't think––" he thinks a whole fucking lot, actually! He avoids processing, but everything is already inside of him, waiting for him to have the tools to process it and understand it. It's already on his radar. That doesn't necessarily translate into "enjoying casual sex" either.

And then there's horniness. Being horny doesn't mean one would turn to sex. Simon is insanely horny, but not in general... he's horny for Baz. And even then, horniness didn't always mean he was trying to have sex with him, or that he even knew what he wanted to do with it. By awtwb he's very much jumping Baz in a sexual way when he's horny, but Simon literally tells you "when I was horny for Baz, I used to pick fights with him." Before getting together with Baz (and even when he's with him) trying to blow off steam for Simon meant going to activities that are not at all sexual. Perhaps practicing with his sword until he gets tired. Picking fights, as mentioned. Getting moody and irritable and bitchy. As I said, he's not the type to ever even felt comfortable masturbating (being sexual) before he's thinking about how much he wants to cum on Baz. This is a "going to a late night run" type of person, a "engage in a form of combat to not feel so stressed" type of person, not a "casual sex enjoyer" or "one night stands" type of person. He's way more likely to go out to pick fights with strangers than to try to pick up a stranger for literally anything else.

#there have been comments in my mentions that can only be explained as 'these people dont read'#because why are you telling those things to me specifically #like what part of my posts gave you the impression that i would agree #simon snow #snowbaz #baz pitch #carry on #simon snow trilogy #simon x baz #baz x simon #baz grimm pitch #awtwb #wayward son

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thankskenpenders · 1 year

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MORE behind the scenes Sonic info and other tidbits from the BumbleKast as I continue to get caught up. These range from September 2022 to early December. (This means there are spoilers for Frontiers in here.)

They're doing episodes even more often now, so I've got a lot to catch up on and I'm sure most of y'all do too!

1. The IDW comics are, in fact, canon to the games now. Ian was a little coy when first asked about it, saying he "would not argue against it" if people said the IDW comics were canon to the games now. "I have made it clear that the comics follow the lead of the games, so… as long as there's no contradictions anywhere, we're good." So, yeah, come on. The comics are canon.

2. Ian apparently pitched another idea for incorporating Sticks into the IDW series last year that was once again shot down, although he says this only makes him want to dig his heels in and try harder. (I'm assuming most of you are already aware of her shout out in Frontiers, confirming she's out there, somewhere...)

3. If Surge was a streamer, Ian thinks she would just grief people on Fortnite

4. On the October 7th, 2022 show, Ian says there is a behind-the-scenes answer for how the depiction of Silver's future in '06 can fit together with Rivals and Rush... but he can't talk about it right now.

It's hard to convey his tone through text, so just imagine he's saying all this with a big, defeated shrug:

"Here's the thing. Working on something else, I actually did get a straight answer, and it was... frustratingly simple. And, it's like, 'That works. [sigh] Okay!' No, I can't get into it - that's all private work stuff - but maybe it'll come to light eventually. But... there is an answer. And it works. And I kinda feel dumb for not thinking of it."

I honestly have no idea what this could be if it's something Ian hadn't considered, because he has talked about popular theories and readings before, such as the reading that Blaze was transported to the Sol Dimension at the end of '06. Maybe we'll hear about it in the comics, since Silver and Blaze are both back right now, or maybe they'll be the subject of a TailsTube episode.

5. Froggy is not sentient in any way he really is just a frog

6. Unrelated to Sonic, Ian was asked "who is best pony" and he said Fluttershy. My longest yeah boy ever dot jpeg

7. With Surge and Kit originally being pitched as purely synthetic beings before Sega suggested they be cyborgs instead, Ian says they would've struggled with whether or not they're even real, as opposed to the end product where they struggle with not knowing who they were before Starline modified them

8. When the female cast of Archie Sonic stopped getting drawn so busty all the time that was, in fact, a very specific editorial mandate from someone at Archie. Sega, on the other hand, has never cared.

9. Now that we're back to Classic and Modern being part of one nebulous timeline and the divide being more of a branding thing, Ian explicitly confirmed that the Classic-themed IDW Sonic comics are set in the past of the mainline IDW Sonic comics. They're set sometime after the events of Mania, and before all the Modern stuff. Just don't think too hard about it

But hey! If it's any consolation, this now means all the Classic characters like Mighty, Nack, and Honey are out there off-screen in the world of the regular comics, even if the casts are remaining separate for branding reasons for now. It also means Shadow is out there being held in a pod in a maximum security off-shore military prison during the events of all the lighthearted Classic comics lmao

10. Ian reiterates yet again that he's still pushing to try and get the Freedom Fighters back in some capacity where he can (as are others). He also says that he's pushing for them to return as a group rather than requesting individual members because he believes that's the best shot at getting any of them through Sega's approval process.

(I can't remember when the last time this came up was, but Ian has also implied that he thinks their best shot is to return as Classic characters since their one game appearance is Spinball.)

11. Ian outright confirms that the forward-looking character arcs in Frontiers are reflective of what he would like to see out of the main cast moving forward in the games. Not surprising since that's, like... the whole point of those arcs! But nice that he wants it to only be the beginning.

Ian does also say, however, that he's not guaranteed to return as the writer for future games since he's still a freelancer, but to editorialize here, I don't see why they wouldn't want him back for the next project.

12. On the subject of Amy's characterization in Frontiers, Ian personally pins her general seriousness mostly on the fact that she's the companion for the first island, where the mysterious and somber tone Sega wanted for the story is being established and Sonic is still trying to figure out what to do. He says that she'd probably have been more bubbly if she was interacting with Sonic on the second or third island, after he starts to get his bearings. I hoped this was the reason why she felt a little dry compared to Knuckles and Tails, so it's nice to hear this isn't the new direction for Amy or anything.

13. While "officially" Sage's name is just an anagram of Sega and a reference to her wisdom, Ian seems to be cheekily implying that it's also a nod to the annual Sonic Amateur Games Expo. Hell yeah.

14. When asked to clear up some Frontiers lore from the Egg Memos, Ian explicitly confirmed that some of the Ancients left the Starfall Islands and went on to devolve into the Chao as we know them today over the course of tens of thousands of years. He says, however, that this doesn't mean that Ancients and Chao are literally the same species, comparing it to the difference between humans and australopithecus. But yes, they're related.

#secret bumblekast knowledge

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g1deonthefirst · 6 months

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wasn't alfred a hedge fund manager? i get where ur coming from re: the class divide post otherwise btw but am somewhat stumped ab this bc he was definitely the one making the most money and likely highly educated as well, and ended up a cav. ig it is STEM/nonSTEM divide?

hi! yes, alfred was a hedge fund manager — he was also augustine's brother and so comes from a similar (presumably very wealthy) background. this exception doesn't really disprove the rule to me: either way, john was disproportionately likely to make people who were highly educated necromancers and people who were not cavaliers. i want to walk through a couple possible reasons for this.

the first possibility is that john (1) believed that people who were more "intelligent" were more likely to be able to understand necromancy and (2) implicitly believed that people who were academically high-achieving like scientists, lawyers, doctors, etc. were more "intelligent." clearly, john and the lyctors all seem to think pretty highly of their own intelligence. john in particular went from being a poor māori kid to being an accomplished scientist, and i don't think it's a stretch to say he probably believed he deserved it on the basis of intelligence.

in contrast, both alfred and cristabel have their own talents and intelligence disparaged — john describes alfred as "useless, but a darling" and augustine describes cristabel as "not hav[ing] the intellect you'd ordinarily find in a sandwich or an orange." additionally, necromancy is talked about in scientific terms, which lends itself to the idea that you might need some scientific understanding to be good at it. i think it's entirely possible that john consciously decided that some people wouldn't be intelligent enough to hack it and made them the cavaliers, a problematic assumption chiefly in that it equates academic achievement with innate intelligence.

the second possibility, and to me the more likely one, is that john simply made the people closest to him necromancers while making people he wasn't as close to (essentially his friends' friends) non-necromancers. it's pretty clear that the people john made necromancers were people who directly worked on john's original cryogenics project with him, while the cavaliers were all people who got dragged into his cult by those original project members. alfred is a perfect example of this — he's there because he's augustine's brother. other people have made posts about the possibility that john did this to intentionally separate his friends from the people they loved.

but either way, i think this demonstrates who john as a character cared about. john, as a successful scientist, surrounded himself by people who were highly educated and successful, predominantly (as you note anon) people in STEM. people who are disproportionately likely to be white, neurotypical, and cis, or at least disproportionately likely to be able to conform to white/european, neurotypical, cis standards. not only is john not as close to people in his project-turned-cult that aren't as highly educated, but poor people aren't present at all. there are no janitors, no retail workers, no manual laborers, no farmworkers. i don't get the sense that john ever really unpacked his internalized biases or questioned why he primarily values people who are highly educated.

"but," i imagine my hypothetical reader who's somehow made it this far protesting, "of course he's surrounded by highly educated people. he's working on a cryogenics project!" well...precisely. tumblr user sophelstien's scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds essay touches on how this project demonstrates that john is not as progressive as some people assume he is, but what i'll say here is simply that john didn't have to make the people in his cryogenics project the leaders of his new society. and by installing the very people who our society rewards into positions of power, john — consciously or not — shapes the new society he's creating with the old society's inequalities.

#asks #tlt #realizing as i write this out that i have a lot more thoughts on what the people who john made lyctors says about the nine houses #like as anon points out they're nearly all in stem #and i think that has some crazy implications for the nine houses that tie back to john's disregard for pregnant people #on the cryogenics project which evinces a disregard for scientific ethics more generally #(which is also seen in the human experimentation on canaan house)#i also have a lot of thoughts on the supposed necromancer-cav intelligence divide #that i think fandom really buys into as you can see in people who believe pyrrha must be a necromancer #and on what john prioritized when shaping the culture of the nine houses #but i think this post is long enough #also would you believe i accidentally inserted a poll halfway thru this post and couldn't get rid of it so i had to like #copy paste all my individual paragraphs into another program discard the post and repaste them all here

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raifuujin · 2 months

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M27 Spoilers

Okay, so. My thoughts.

First off, the cousins thing. I'll be honest, I fully thought the movie was going to go with a common ancestor route instead of the more direct dad's being brothers. Obviously that didn't turn out, but considering they also brought in Okita and his face, it would have made a lot more sense to just go further back and also leave explanation for the other same-face Gosho boys that are scattered around. But I guess that wouldn't have been dramatic enough, so oh well.

I'd still probably ship KaiShin. The cousins thing really doesn't bother me when they don't even know (because nobody in this series talks about any family until it has maximum audience whammy). I see some people who are lamenting, because it makes things uncomfortable for them, and that's fair. I don't see it quite as bad as like. Leia and Luke from Star Wars, or the more personal Layton and Descole from PL, both pairs being direct siblings instead of first cousins, but plenty of people still probably view it as too close. Also, if anyone is familiar with the hiimdaisy Ace Attorney comic with Apollo and Trucy and Phoenix is supposed to tell them they're related and Does Not time it well. -finger guns- It would make a great parody comic idea for this KaiShin situation. (I might do it myself if no one else does, but would Not be soon.)

Other people bring up that Gosho mentioned much, much earlier that there was a reason Kaito and Shinichi look alike. Which I did remember, but the thing about that is. That I don't trust Gosho in the slightest. Like, did he actually plan out Yuusaku and Toichi's separated twins backstory at that time, or did he have a general idea that he'd be making them familial related somewhere in their tree? Some people truly thought Kaito and Shinichi could be the brothers, with the Kuroba's adopting for some various fandom-created reasons. Or other, far more dramatic direct relation. Could Gosho's comment have just been him making a joke that the 'reason' was him thinking about them having the same inspiration? How serious was he meant to be taken 20 years ago?

Many people saying 'of course they're related, they look exactly alike':

1) Sameface syndrome with characters goes well beyond Kaito and Shinichi. There were so many protoypes of characters, or just matching looks to character types, of course not everyone is gonna hop on the 'well duh, they must be related' train. It's nice to feel vindication for headcanoning them as family, but don't make it sound like people are stupid for being upset. There's very little to tell what's lampshading and teasing vs 'no, really, they're gonna be related to each other'.

2) The common ancestor explanation would have worked perfectly fine, and honestly, the fact that Toichi and Yuusaku are twin brothers separated through divorce who happen to both have stayed in the Tokyo area (mostly) while both being internationally famous and maintaining contact with each other and sending gifts even when one of them is publicly dead. Sounds goddamn stupid. (The brothers idea would probably have been fine and plausible, it was all that Extra that pushed it into 'okay just stop, this sounds like a load of contrived bullshit'. How did no one during the 'reveal' of that go 'um, I know this is how you want this connection to go, but can we make it sound more plausible/real?')

Because, Gosho clearly didn't plan on them being related all along. That's probably what actually bothers be about the contrived connection (since the real impact to KaiShin is relatively small). It's very obvious that he just drew his male protags for quite a few stories looking very similar. (Usually in his image, to an extent, though that's usually just mentioned for Kaito, specifically.) It was also clear that when he had Kid make a surprise appearance in DC, there really wasn't supposed to be a connection. Did he come up with it on his own? Only after people asked about it? Did he go 'you know, I might could connect the two for fun'? I don't know. I don't trust a man who created Sera's concept based on a cool female detective and wrapped her up with Akai and made the whole stupid family thing, and who changed Amuro's planned role as a bad guy on a whim because he was too cool to be bad, to have actually planned out this family connection all along.

And even with all that, there's also the issue of revealing this information in a movie. People have had arguments about movie canonicity for years, and yet this all gets mentioned for cinema shock value. I don't mind the using extra characters, or making things more action packed than the manga would allow, or even stupid things like Kidnichi 200 times. But this? This is asking for chaos. It feels like a big clusterfuck of yes, no, maybe, for how important this is going to be going forward, because we don't even know if Gosho means to make use of this info for the mangas at all, or if it's going to remain background information from a movie that may or may not even be relevant to know. Except as a wink to the audience and a middle finger to shippers, I guess.

(There are pluses to this, which is general thinking about the implications of this family dynamic and how chaotic things could actually get or how things got to be how they are already. I'd like to know what exactly Yuusaku knows about his brother's status and if his 'friend from interpol' could be used to connect to Toichi's whole. Legally died but is still alive and being an a-hole to his son by letting him go into the profession that was trying to kill him.) ((Yes, we're still gonna murder Toi, especially since his amnesia out is clearly off the table. We don't know enough about what Yuusaku knows, but I can't even say he's on thin ice because the chances of him knowing a lot about Kaito's situation is too damn high to let him off the hook.))

...Anyway, that's obviously the main drama, but side note that I'm also mad because movie being canon or not aside (I adopt movies as canon, especially newer ones, but people can also ignore them without loosing manga compliance really), the issue I have is the further blurring of MK and DC connection. At this point, it literally is just Akako being the crux of the 'are they the same universe or aren't they' argument, and it's literally never gonna get answered because Gosho refuses to even let her show up in DC for anything. You truly can argue either way when she's just not shown. And even though it won't happen, it's to a point where they feel so obviously the same universe that I hope Gosho just let's Akako do a cameo at the end of DC just to mess with people. But regardless, making MK only characters directly related to DC characters is. Maddening for that whole argument. (Sure, Toichi has appeared in DC before, however, the movie goes out of the way to add that extra 'fuck you' to the audience by revealing not just Toichi being alive and texting Yuusaku casually, but the reveal is in his fucking. Corbeau outfit. Which. Corbeau is 1000% MK only knowledge, so there's not getting around that no one would know that character unless they've read MK.)

And last note, the one other spoiler I've seen mentioned is the failed Heizuha confession and just. The reasons for failing get dumber and dumber and just add to the mess of spoilers coming from this movie. Oh no, Iori, the former government agent dude working for the rich girl love rival for Heiji's affection, dropped a flashbomb at the exact time Heiji confessed, so Kazuha never heard it. I don't think the spoilers I saw ever clarified if he was doing something and it was coincidence, or if it was intentional, but. God the fails being turned into elaborate jokes is getting. Ridiculous. I don't even care if they get together in canon, I'm not super invested in the ship, but I feel like even if I did want them to get together, there's. Literally zero hope for any build ups at this point. You can't keep leading up to it and pulling it away, people are gonna stop caring. At this point, half the people invested are just going to give an exasperated 'finally' when it happens, instead of actually being excited at this point, it's just tiring.

I hope the rest of the movie is at least entertaining. Fun action packed eye-candy fluff to help numb the stupid 'important' scenes. Spoilers might feel ick, but it's in a vacuum of reading words about scenes on their own. (Which probably won't change the Yuusaku scene at all, but Heiji's confession is. Probably an 'okay, here we go, what happens this time' thing that's better if you're already just there for entertainment.)

Edit: Someone has now basically confirmed with their own watch that the movie is fun, and the bombshell of lore is at the very end.

#dc spoilers #That's one post V:#Maybe I'll wait until all the MK chapters are out to make a post about. The thing going on there #I also am not a fan of that writing for being a lazy made-up-when-people-showed-interest-in-something. Thing

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olderthannetfic · 8 months

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https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/729708592592306176/how-about-a-different-discourse-death-of-the

What this ask is missing, a bit, is that Death of the Author *does* mean that the author’s take on things is no more or less valid than anyone else’s. It’s about decentering authorial intent in analyses of media. Barthes is pretty clear and quite pointed about it in the original essay.

What bothers me about misuses of it and what I think this anon means to say is when people start decentering the actual *text*. The idea behind Death of the Author is also that the text stands alone. You don’t need to look at any extra shit to understand it. As you said, it was a response to a mode of analysis that obsessed over plumbing through author biographies.

The issue with what people do in fandom is they ignore the text. “I don’t like this element of canon, so it doesn’t exist.” (Which is different from arguing that it’s there but it sucks because of XYZ reasons, so I’m going to consciously ignore it in my fan works. This is when people just act like it isn’t there in the text in the first place.) “You have to take my bizarro world out-of-nowhere headcanon that is based on nothing except that I want it to be true, that I love this character and I wish they were XYZ therefore they are” and take it just as seriously as headcanons that actually engage with what’s in the show/video game/book/movie/whatever and use that as their basis (like building off something that is subtextual in the original work).

Granted we all do this to some degree, we all come to a text with our own biases and you can’t *always* easily separate those out, and that can affect, for instance, your interpretation of what the subtext is, but I think the irritating fandom behavior is when this kind of ignoring-the-text-to-substitute-your-own-reality is this very deliberate sort of laziness. The annoying thing in my current fandom is people who are fans of this one ship that they insist is the most progressive and other people just don’t see the scintillating “subtext” of because we are bigots or whatever, between two characters who don’t interact that much for two MCs and when they do it’s not at all shippy (but these characters both have very shippy subtext with different characters), but where these people think the ship *should* exist because of their identities. And their “evidence” for the ship is always gifsets taken way out of context and not including the dialogue that makes the non-shippy context for that scene very clear (including that it might actually be shippy for conflicting pairings). It’s like this bizarre version of “close reading” that strips out the largely context *deliberately* in order to make a particular conclusion seem more compelling than it actually is.

Anyway, all that ignoring-the-text stuff is STILL bad analysis per DOTA. Since the point of DOTA is to go based on the text, if you’re obscuring the text you’re kind of just installing yourself as a new author.

This is why DOTA doesn’t mean “anything goes.” It just means “authorial intent is just one interpretation that doesn’t have to matter.” It doesn’t mean other stuff we use in analysis doesn’t matter, and if anything the point is to make it even more text-centric than the older author-centric analyses were. People can still disagree about what the text says, of course, but they should both be going back to it in how they construct those arguments, and not, like those shippers, deliberately ignoring chunks of the text that weaken their arguments.

I don't think all of them are consciously throwing out actual canon, but they are often throwing out all context that would help evaluate subtext.

Like... if you're analyzing a Marvel movie, you might ignore what the director said in an interview, but you probably shouldn't entirely ignore the fact that it is a Marvel movie and apply assumptions that make sense for some arthouse film.

And, yes, if you're arguing for shippy subtext, even unintentional on the part of creators, "I like this ship because..." needs very little, but "This ship has more support than this other ship" requires going back to the actual text and looking at it in its totality.

There's a lot of faux-intellectualism around garbage like TJLC where people try to make themselves feel smart by using the language of close reading while having the media literacy of a bucket of rotting fish.

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theflyindutchwoman · 6 months

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Given recent discussions in the fandom and because I’m curious to hear others’ opinion… would you want to see a Chenford breakup next season?

All right, let me start with my usual disclaimer : this is only my opinion and it has no more (or less) value than anyone else's. And this isn't meant as a personal attack either, regardless of which side of the equation you're in. I actually enjoyed reading other people's takes on this, particularly the ones who want a breakup, to see their perspective on the subject. It was truly interesting (no sarcasm).

To answer your question, dear Anon, no, I don't want a breakup. Mainly because I feel that so many shows go there, so I'm more interested in seeing Tim and Lucy navigate the ups and downs together.

One thing that attracted me to their relationship was their ability to talk to each other about everything and anything. How, despite their differences and their rocky start, they could always confide in each other… Be extremely vulnerable. And that is what I would love to see going forward. How this shorthand they've developed by working together can translate into their personal relationship. Don't get me wrong, just because they are usually good at communicating doesn't mean that it is perfect. It's not. Even before they became a couple. There are some cracks that became more and more visible as the season progressed. The theme of 'honesty' was their main thread in 5b. The storylines involving Sava & Jake or Isabel served to highlight that aspect. To emphasise how lies, deceit and miscommunication can destroy a relationship. Now it could be used as a foreshadowing… Or it could be used as a warning. Tim and Lucy already have a much stronger relationship, so I choose to believe that this could be a learning experience for them. Learn from other people's mistakes, learn from your past (in Tim's case).

Right now, those moments of dishonesty revolves around one common theme : work. Tim taking a desk job without consulting Lucy first… Lucy doing the five-player trade behind his back… Him trying to lie at first that he wasn't bored out of his mind… Her not saying anything about Primm (as far as we know)… Him not wanting to open up about his fears regarding undercover… Those are starting to pile up and they're going to need to address it. The sooner, the better. Particularly the undercover talk. This has been a long time coming. It's clear that Tim is terrified but doesn't want to burden Lucy with this. And she can sense it. That last scene in 5.21 was (for me) a step in the right direction where they started voicing their concerns. It's nowhere near sufficient. But they stopped avoiding that topic altogether. Like I said, they can be great at communicating… But they can also be their own worst enemies. They're both selfless when it comes to the other… they're both used to do things a certain way. And now, they need to learn how to do these things together. To talk about these moments that may seem insignificant to them but isn't to the other. To stop making decisions for the other. This is quite new to them : as we've seen in the past, they didn't truly open up to their boyfriends/girlfriends. That's something they are going to have to learn together. And that's okay : this is part of the journey of being in a relationship.

Another reason why I don't want to see that is related to the characters' growth. The thing is, I actually could picture Tim breaking up with Lucy because there is a pattern here. If he got it into his head that he is holding Lucy back, an idea already planted by Noah in 5.16, then yes, it wouldn't be out of character for him to break up, thinking it's the right thing to do for Lucy. Which is not that dissimilar to what he did in 5.02 : sure, they weren't together, but it still felt like a separation. Especially since the end of that scene mirrored so well another one from 1.12… when he decided to divorce Isabel. And if you remember, that was pretty much for that very same reason : he was afraid that being with him would only remind her of her time as an addict and bring her down. So he did what he thought would help her the most and decided to divorce her. So breaking that pattern would be a tremendous character development for Tim (in my opinion). Then, there's the fact that this is something they knew would be coming up at some point. This isn't a new obstacle. The episode before they got together had Lucy go undercover. And Tim, even more so than her, knew what he was getting into when he told her that it was worth the risk. He may not have explicitly said it but the implication that she was worth fighting for was right there. So breaking up for something that they could foresee kind of negates those words. And it would play right into Lucy's insecurities. She was so hesitant because she didn't want to lose what they have. She is finally letting go of the fears that prevented her before from fully committing to a relationship… Her certainty in them is absolutely amazing. So breaking up now would hurt her so much. (I focused mostly on Tim here because I struggle to see a reason for Lucy to break up. At least, not if this is related to her career, be it undercover work or her promotion).

Now, that's not to say that it can't be executed in a beautiful way. Sometimes breaking up can help strengthen a relationship, as odd as it might seem. Sometimes it gets too much and taking a step back can offer a new perspective and a fresh start on healthier grounds. Just like sticking in a relationship at all costs can be very damaging and toxic. I mean, take a look at Lucy and Tim in their last respective relationships… They stayed well past the expiration date. But I, personally, would rather see them work this out together. See them 'fight' and argue, like they've done in the past… that very same thing they didn't do with Ashley and Chris. See them all vulnerable with each other, like they've also done in the past. I honestly think the writers could pull off the angst and drama with this storyline, without having to resort to a breakup. But again, that's only my preference :)

#ask & ye shall receive #the rookie #chenford #lucy chen #tim bradford

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butterflydm · 9 months

Text

wot 2x5: damane (thoughts on darkfriends and other evils)

includes book spoilers through book 14: a memory of light

Very much looking forward to examining the scenes again when I rewatch this weekend, but my brain is just going... a mile a minute, so I wanted to put some thoughts down before I go to work today.

So we got to see Darkfriends Getting In Each Other's Way this episode, which is a classic. Hilarious, love it. They are selfish AF and each have their own agenda and mostly all hate each other.

(in theory, this should have been what separated Our Heroes from the Darkfriends, but in the books, Our Heroes ALSO all got in each other's way a lot so... I do feel like the show is maybe setting Our Heroes up to be more supportive of each other than they were in the books. but that is a side note. Back to the Darkfriends!)

The Clown Car of Black Ajah is already looking great! It cracked me up earlier in the season when poor Alanna was having a scene with tons of other Aes Sedai and every single other character who spoke in the scene was Black Ajah. You are Surrounded, my darling!

Thoughts: did Liandrin Compel Sheriam? (aka does Liandrin not know that Sheriam is also Black Ajah) Very possible! Sheriam and Liandrin have gotten in each other's way a couple of times this season. I was so glad that the show namedropped both Compulsion and Tel'aran'rhoid in this episode!

I have to say, that Liandrin was able to make it back to the Tower with her excuse does make me wonder if she'll be able to snag that coveted 'merger with either Alviarin or Galina' role (which would let her at least put off her Bad Book Ending for a while) after all. The problem is that if the Wondergirls make it back to the Tower at all next season, her cover is completely blown because Nynaeve knows beyond a doubt that she is shady AF.

Liandrin and Suroth absolutely despising each other and each of them fantasizing about the other one kneeling to them: chef's kiss, no notes. Liandrin fucking Suroth over in the last minute both because she immediately hated Suroth's guts and because she couldn't help but give Nynaeve a fighting chance: fascinating. I do think Liandrin was incredibly disappointed when she got the note that it was time to take the girls to Falme -- I mean, I don't think she gave a shit about selling out Egwene (and Elayne was an accident of fate) but as Nynaeve sussed out in the Ways, she absolutely wanted to recruit Nynaeve to the Black Ajah and get her on side that way.

Suroth's spikiness with Ishamael! (someone last night suggested that Ishamael is cosplaying as her truthspeaker, I think? which would make sense with how he's behaving) When she had her little tantrum and suggested that, sure, maybe the Dark One Chose him and all, but he's not BLOOD. Amazing. That's the arrogance that we expect from the Blood. Again, perfect, no notes.

Love love love that we are already getting the set up of a potential division within the Seanchan by explicitly having Turak say that they are here to fight the Shadow. The Seanchan Civil War that never happened remains one of my greatest disappointments with the books. To already be setting up some seeds for a reason for the Seanchan to split in half is great (a little while ago, someone suggested that instead of getting the Sharans, we would get the Seanchan being split in two, and I would heavily support that notion, for sure).

The show also seems to be (early on) setting up the idea that some people choose to believe that living under the Seanchan isn't so bad if you swear to their oaths... but making it clear what a selfish position that is. The New Innkeeper tells Perrin this, but then when Perrin asks about the old innkeeper, we learn that she's off following the caravan to Falme because her granddaughter was one of the girls kidnapped by the Seanchan. So New Innkeeper basically got a free inn out of taking advantage of other people's misfortune. Plus then we had Perrin very pointedly telling Aviendha (when she asked why he saved her) that people shouldn't be in cages.

(Because the Whitecloaks are ALSO 'evil but not the Shadow' much like the Seanchan are, or Aridhol was -- and, like the Seanchan, the show is already setting up the cracks of a potential division within the Whitecloaks in the future)

Verin: Investigator was also a fantastic thread. I love how she managed to get her fellow Brown Ajah Sister (I will look her name up when I do my rewatch) onto the trail of the Black Ajah just by implication. We can see the ways that she successfully has been sussing out who (else) might be Black Ajah by catching people in lies without letting them know that she's realized that. Starting the Black Ajah Hunters storyline this early can only do good things for that entire plot thread, I think.

So... Barthanes... probably a Darkfriend like in the books. Is Anveare a Darkfriend? I tend to lean on 'no' though it WOULD be funny if a Darkfriend was responsible for the Shadow's plans for Rand completely falling apart because Anveare couldn't resist spilling info to her big sister in order to impress her. (I do think that she and Barthanes might think Moiraine and Rand are hooking up tho; especially since they went off to share a bedroom at the end of the episode)

I am also intrigued by the fact that Fain is clearly still a Darkfriend in Good Standing with Ishamael, because we've definitely gotten Hints that the dagger is influencing him (the Fade nailed to the doorway). And Shadar Logoth was evil, but it was an evil that despised the Shadow.

I was also intrigued by Ishamael claiming that Mat was ~born mine~ -- because he had a shitty upbringing with crappy parents? because he was already in a bad enough place at the start of the series that he was stealing from other villagers? because... some other reason...?

I'm also trying to remember if Ingtar and Ishamael shared any Looks this episode (Ingtar definitely gave Loial some wtf looks and they both recognized Egwene when she showed up, obviously).

This episode did such a good job setting up the various 'bad guys' that will dominate the series going forward. Genuinely thrilled.

#wot 2x5 spoilers #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #the wheel of time #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #butterfly watches wot #wot book spoilers #a memory of light

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pinkandpurple360 · 4 months

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Trash Anon here:

I kind of feel bad for Stella's voice actor because how she describes Stella long before season 2 was announced that Stella had her own baggage and being a complex character in her own right only for that not to happen. Though this made me think of something:

Was Stella originally supposed to be completely different from the one we have now? Was there an outline for season 2 that was planned before Viv threw it away because it didn't fit her 'idea' of the show going forward and the reason Brandon stepped back from writing due to knowing that his idea of the show was pushed aside for this Wattpad fanfiction bullshit.

I'm only pounding none of this could not be true but now I wish we lived in a world where Brandon was the show runner and not Viv.

Absolutely, she rewrote season two, and probably the rest of the entire story, for her newfound otp. And the best she can do to sell it as romance is to have them abuse each other comedically and reference the stolitz non canon Instagrams via the horse hoody and blitzo saying “he comments on my photos”

They don’t deserve Georgie Leahy she’s just a doll. I guarantee whatever character they had planned before Viv came up with the stolas show was great. She’s an extremely talented LA showgirl, a VA, comedian, not to mention sweetheart to all the Stella fans. Only for her character to be reduced to the hate sink of the entire fandom. And you know how some stans go so far that they can’t separate a VA from a character, she’s probably received at least one nasty comment or message towards her, which makes me so sad for her. Little known fact that she and Brandon have done countless comic skits together and are friends. So…that’s weird. And it’s making me really excited for a Stella and Blitzo interaction. Ironically, the two characters are very similar.

It was around when Viv claims Brandon “handed (her) the reins” that the shows writing went from dark comedy with an occasional sad moment, to absolute utter “stolas is an uwu baby victim who is always correct and right and perfect” crap. And she started projecting onto him heavily, even though she really doesn’t seem like him.

They had to retcon everything, practically every single character, to make way for Stolas’ sob story. Stella is cardboard, Octavia is just impulsive and needs to cut her dad slack, fizz and Loona shill stolas constantly, Moxxie oh god Moxxie completely serves and revered stolas, and acts as his obedient minion always saying “yes your highness, of course your highness” Millie is there too I guess.

It’s clear as day, in LooLoo Land we have a heartbroken enraged woman. Her feelings aren’t invalidated, Stolas is too callous and spineless to even apologise properly, which is his flaw, and Octavia is more on her mothers side than his. As anyone would be.

In Stolas’ apology, he tried to say that he hasn’t been honest, that they weren’t in love, that she has always been (some type of quality that he doesn’t like). And it was always a two sided bickering between two people who aren’t afraid of each other, and didn’t always hate each other. Outside of the balcony scene in s2e1 this dynamic is the same. Only every word stolas says is taken as gospel.

Now he says “I’d be sorry if I’d hurt you but we both know I didn’t do that” which is gaslighting plain as day. When she hires an assassin, she says she wants the “cheating prick” dead. And in Western Energy it’s proven that this was an act of blind rage. She wasn’t thinking about the imp, or the money, only the betrayal and embarrassment. But having her throw a silly party (big fucking deal) and trying to slap him (bad thing she did, but isn’t it funny how stolas almost being slapped is awful with a full orchestral soundtrack, but moxxie and Millie almost dying trying to cover stolas’ ass is no biggie?) and stolas violating women, abusing and murdering imps, isn’t his fault. They brought it on themselves right?

#helluva boss #Stella

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being-of-rain · 6 months

Text

I wasn’t really a big fan of The Giggle by the time I finished watching it, and I liked it less the more that I thought about it. Which is a real shame, because I think it was full of a lot of great ideas that were squandered with poor execution. I didn’t really want to just post pages of negativity, so I’ll quickly skim through a list of things I think could’ve been done better, and maybe I’ll expand on some of them later or if I’m asked about them. Still, this is your warning for negativity.

The whole 'screens are evil and making everyone think they're right' felt so shallow and cheap, especially because it was set up as the main obstacle and then largely ignored. A lot of the characters at UNIT really didn't do much (I totally forgot about The Vlinx after my first watchthrough) but I think that didn't bother me much while watching because I was used to Chibnall regularly ignoring characters like that. It was nice to see Mel again, but she didn’t really serve much purpose.

RTD’s take on the Toymaker is quite similar to his take on the Master, which was sometimes fun and sometimes annoying (specifically the German accent, which lost its appeal pretty quickly for me). But he felt pretty hollow and full of wasted potential beyond that, feeling like he was there just to give the episode a villain. Although speaking of the Master, his brief inclusion was hilarious and an easy way to write him back into the show later, nicely done.

The last third of the episode had some many intriguing and potentially awesome ideas behind it. The new Doctor turning up partway through a story? Cool! The Doctor defeating his final villain alongside the next star of the show? Fun! The Doctor getting self-care and words of wisdom from his next self? So heartwarming! One Doctor retiring to be happy while his next incarnation travels off to continue the adventures? A fun use of the show's format!

But for me these ideas just didn’t work or didn’t fulfill their potential, and it’s mostly because there’s no narrative justification for them. No cause and effect. There’s no given reason for the Doctor to bigenerate, it just happens. There’s no particular reason that it was the Doctors rather than the Toymaker who won the game of catch to save the world, it just happens. Without any narrative reason the third act feels so unsatisfying, like spectacle for the sake of spectacle, and (I don’t say this lightly) incredibly lazily written.

That lack of story reason also undermines the ending, clearly the thing RTD was most interested in, by making it feel unearned. Like a first draft script that worked backwards to make it happen. The retirement ending itself I have mixed feelings about, which I’m not sure I can fully articulate. One thing I love to see is that RTD can actually do a genuinely happy ending rather than making every ending a tragedy. But said happy ending feels a little too ‘married-with-kids-and-a-white-picket-fence’ to me – though obviously I can’t stress enough how relieved I am that romance didn’t factor into it. It just felt like it wasn’t set up well enough. I’d probably like it a lot more if they made clear if Tennant’s Doctor was going to turn into Gatwa’s Doctor or if they’re just separate people now. It was sweet of RTD to try and bring a conclusion to the ‘Doctor is traumatised’ thing that he introduced to the show 18 years ago, but he did it poorly. At least it offers interesting new possibilities for the show going forward!

With all that said, in the end The Giggle felt to me like RTD retreading some of his biggest flaws as a writer, and throwing in a few borrowed from other showrunners for good measure. It was a disappointment both because of the good ideas just below the surface, and because it came after a very fun first episode and an incredible follow-up.

But like I said, I’m excited to see what the show does next! I saw talk that there’ll be lots of mythical and unnatural creatures turn up due to the Doctor’s salt thing, which is super cool. And obviously I’m excited for more Gatwa! I haven’t really felt a lot of reason to be excited about Ruby yet, but as always I’m ready to fall in love with the new companion quickly!

#my thoughts #dw spoilers #ten #donna #toymaker

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saintsenara · 2 months

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I am literally so stressed right now since school is starting up again. I was just scrolling through your posts and I absolutely adore your opinions and thoughts. If you’re still up to the ships asks, I have a few.

For some reason, I have been thinking about age-gap relationships that wouldn’t be quite possible…and added with my love of Severus Snape… 👀👀

Abraxas Malfoy/Severus Snape - I don’t know if you’ve done Lucius/Severus but I just took it a generation back.

Romulus Augustus Lestrange/Severus Snape - I remember you mentioning in Scylla and Charybdis that the two were kindred spirits (?) since they were both killed by Voldemort.

Bellatrix Lestrange/Severus Snape - maybe a bunch of sexual tension during missions? Bellatrix’s attitude toward Severus was mainly suspicion but I feel like she meant it in a ha-ha-I’m-jealous-you’re-the-favorite way, not in a oh-wait-he-actually-is-a-traitor way.

Marlene McKinnon/Severus Snape - I love your take that she was a seasoned veteran in the First Wizarding War. It never made sense to me that everyone in the First Order were all children. Majority, maybe. But all of them being Gryffindors and out-of-school never stuck to me.

Frank Longbottom/Severus Snape - I’ve read a few works for this and I like the few takes there are.

And I already know your thoughts on Lord Voldemort/Severus Snape (it’s a favorite).

I’ve also been thinking about time-travel fix-it’s in general too. How do you think Severus would react if he found himself in Tom Riddle’s era? There’s the take on him being older and aware and absolutely done with his life, and Lord Voldemort (few years out of school or maybe in his 30s to level the age in a way) whose intrigued by the sour man (and maybe gets impressed by his knowledge of the Dark Arts?). Then there’s also student Severus meeting student Tom and getting further radicalized by this young handsome man. There’s so many to explore but at this point, if I don’t get my head out of this rabbit hole, I may never be able to pass school. 😭😭

This turned out to be longer than expected, but I love reading your posts! It’s always so entertaining, especially with your interpretation of Severus Snape. I can rarely ever talk about Severus without being attacked by Marauders fans online.

thank you very much for the ask, pal! i hope this term goes well for you - and that your extremely chic recent interest in snape-related age gap relationships endures.

let's see what we have here...

abraxas malfoy/severus snape romulus lestrange/severus snape

i'm going to take these two together - since romulus is an original character who exists nowhere other than my own head - because they occupy essentially the same role in relation to snape.

i've written before about how i really like the idea of voldemort having three distinct impacts across three separate generations - the knights of walpurgis/the original death eaters, who know the proto-voldemort of the 1940s and 1950s, with his muggle name and his retail job; these men's sons, who know the unassailably powerful voldemort of the 1970s; and these men's sons, who know the paranoid and volatile voldemort of the 1990s.

so you have abraxas - lucius - draco in each of those categories [or, romulus - rodolphus - n/a...]

snape is - of course - part of lucius and rodolphus' generation, and the voldemort he encounters when he becomes a death eater is the unstoppable political force who appears to be made of pure magic - which, naturally, makes snapemort have a very different power dynamic to something like tombraxas.

but it's also clear that snape is someone voldemort takes an interest in because he recognises so much of his former self in him - the slightly feral vibes, the poverty, the disappointing muggle father, the feeling of being an outcast surrounded by posh kids and the desire to bend those same kids to your will.

this is the reason for voldemort arranging things in scylla and charybdis so that snape can lord it over mulciber and avery, and it's also the reason why he's so insistent that abraxas and romulus [and other senior death eaters he knew at school] are nice to him - he's basically enjoying reliving his youth by, once again, making his minions obey someone who is technically their social inferior.

snape lacks the teenage tom riddle's charm [and looks], of course, which means that there's far more condescension inherent in any relationship - platonic or otherwise - that either of these two would have with him than there was in their early relationship with voldemort.

but they also have a fondness for spindly lads with an obsession with magic and regional accents, which means that i'm sure that something can come out of the fireside chats voldemort's compelling them to have with snape while they're forced to host him in their houses...

bellatrix lestrange/severus snape

i am very, very fond of this as a pairing - and, indeed, have something in the works on the topic - and bellatrix's rampant jealousy of snape is exactly why.

one of my preferred ways of exploring snape's position within the death eaters is to think of him as voldemort's exception in terms of social class - that is, that he is the only marked death eater who doesn't come from an elite, quasi-aristocratic background; and that voldemort's supporters who are from lower social classes are kept, like fenrir greyback in the rank-and-file and not permitted to take the mark.

[this is why, in my writing, i always make the carrows a similar level of posh to the malfoys and lestranges - canonically they're rather one-note working-class stereotypes, but i don't think this makes sense given what we know about voldemort's structuring of his organisation during the first war. it's also why i think that peter pettigrew doesn't receive a dark mark until he returns to voldemort post-prisoner of azkaban.]

bellatrix - on the other hand - is voldemort's exception in terms of gender [and another thing i'm wedded to thinking is that alecto carrow also doesn't receive the dark mark until the second war.]

these means, of course, that both she and snape depend on voldemort's favour - especially in the first war, when he still trusts his death eaters sufficiently highly to delegate things to them - much more than the elite male death eaters do.

i think it's reasonable to assume, for example, that rodolphus may object to his wife behaving in a way which defies the gendered conventions elite pureblood women are clearly subject to - and that it's only voldemort's authority that prevents him voicing an objection publicly. or that lucius malfoy - like sirius - conceives of snape as his "lapdog", and it's only voldemort's authority which forces him to treat him as a peer.

which means, of course, that snape and bellatrix are in competition with each other for voldemort's attention in ways which the other death eaters never have to be - which explains their vibe in canon, in which bellatrix finds snape's elevation in voldemort's good books after she falls from grace after the cock-up in the department of mysteries so infuriating.

[it also gives a really interesting dimension to her being completely fucking right about snape's loyalties, but being in the wrong position in voldemort's eyes for her opinion to be trusted by him. you just know she was pissed when she got to the afterlife.]

and - from a shipping perspective - having to be constantly jealous of and obsessed with each other is a very effective way of lighting a spark...

marlene mckinnon/severus snape

i do always like snape with an older woman, because i think it fits his whole vibe, so he goes very nicely with my preferred vision of marlene as a fifty-year-old hard-nosed ministry bitch who fucking loathes mad-eye moody.

the meet-cute? well, spies have to have handlers, don't they? dumbledore passing over his new turncoat death eater to one of his senior lieutenants - particularly given the fact that she's unlikely to be thrilled about this - is something i can get on board with.

frank longbottom/severus snape

frank and alice are other ones i don't enjoy seeing written as part of the marauders' generation - for them to be well-established aurors by the time the lestranges attack them, i think it's reasonable to assume that they're around molly and arthur's age [that is, around ten years old than snape et al.]

so i think we're repeating the same scenario as above - frank needs to debrief the order's new spy. if you know what i mean...

time-travelling snape!

i think that the teenage tom riddle would fucking hate the teenage snape, to be honest. the teen snape we meet in canon is someone who really obviously refuses to play along with the social conventions which govern an institution as elite as hogwarts - and he clearly stands out more for his grubby, feral demeanour, his uncouth manners, his way of speaking, and his refusal to be deferential to his social superiors than he does for his name and blood-status.

[indeed, he's one of the only really visibly working-class students we ever meet in canon - to the extent that i am increasingly convinced that hogwarts is a selective school...]

the young voldemort, in contrast, happily plays along with these social conventions for his own ends - simpering through slug club meetings and sending slughorn pineapple and doing all he can to be viewed as a suitable candidate for head boy, in order both to provide a cover for his wrongdoing and as a way to soothe the chip on his shoulder by beating the posh at their own game.

he's going to think snape's as common as muck, and snape's going to think he's a pretentious cunt.

a post-1981 snape going back in time and finding himself entangled with the young-adult voldemort, in contrast, i think could be rather compelling. it's very interesting that the teenage voldemort's willingness to play-act a fondness for the class system doesn't extend to being prepared to grit his teeth and suffer through a ministry internship slughorn procures for him - and his decision to go off and work in a shop has a slightly bolshy "fuck you, sir" side to it we don't otherwise really see from him.

this voldemort would, i think, be slightly more open to snape's whole vibe, and they could get cracking on all the things which make snapemort a hot ship - the shared love of magical experimentation, the dubious morality, the fact that voldemort's clearly responsible for snape's aesthetic, and so on - several decades early.

one question, though, is whether snape would know who he was.

i go back and forth on how widely voldemort's birth name is known - and whether it's ever connected to him following his return to britain in the mid-1960s.

on the one hand, i think dumbledore's secrecy surrounding it is nonsensical - a substantial proportion of the death eaters were clearly at school with voldemort, and those who weren't are still usually related to these men in some way [i always think, for example, that it's much more plausible to assume that the diary horcrux was given to abraxas malfoy, and that lucius was well aware that his father and voldemort had been at school together] - but on the other, i do wonder whether snape, who comes into voldemort's orbit as - as i've said - an exception would be made privy to the information about voldemort's background which was probably an open secret among the elite male death eaters.

[which also provides an explanation for why bellatrix is so shocked to hear harry say voldemort's a half-blood in order of the phoenix, while lucius malfoy doesn't bat an eyelid.]

which is to say, i am much more taken by the idea of snape - destroyed with grief over lily's death - rocketing backwards three decades, landing in the knockturn alley of 1951, and having no idea until he's in far too deep who the softly-spoken shop-boy who offers him a cuppa will turn out to be...

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #unhinged and deranged ships #snape edition

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callioclops · 5 months

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I've been trying to structure my thoughts about this for a bit, I think I'm ready to talk about Rick and Morty season 7. Specifically I'm gonna talk about the structure of the season as a whole, why it's weird, and why I think it works anyway. Obviously spoilers ahead.

So I'm going to assume you've seen the entire season, and whether you enjoyed it or not I'd take a guess that you got sucker punched by episode 5. The season 6 finale ended with Rick saying that season 7 would be him hunting Rick Prime, maybe actively in the episodes, maybe all happening in the background. After 4 episodes of hearing nothing about it except that it's happening, it's reasonable to assume that they've elected to go with the latter, and we won't get anything until a big climax. Which granted is what we get, but in the midle of the season.

Obviously this is strange, the tension in a season of any show usually takes a dip around the middle in order to build back up for the climax in the finale. But instead we're getting that finale now. Or at least, the tension you would expect from a finale. Previous seasons of Rick and Morty have always had these big flashy displays in finales with very little on that level in-between. I have a few ideas of why this break from form happened, but I want to circle back to that later and talk about the actual finale of season 7.

Episode 10 is one of my all-time favourite Rick and Morty episodes. That may be recency bias, but I think even after that wears off this will remain in my top 5 easily. But it doesn't feel like a finale; at least not in terms of scale. It's a remarkably focused episode, barely even about Rick. It's almost entirely a character exploration of Morty and his perceived relationship with Rick. It may not have the flashiness of finales like season 2 or 5, but it is one of the most intensely character driven episodes of the entire show.

And that's just it, R&M finales typically have both of these things. A central character or aspect of that character to explore; as well as flashy, climactic action scenes. But both of these episodes only have one each. Now I'm not saying that either episode is completely devoid of the other aspect, they do have some. But in each case they aren't a focus. The character moments in episode 5 exist to show that this isn''t character development for Rick. This thing he's been chasing for so long has done nothing for him, it's what he told himself he wanted while shutting out the things he needed. This isn't a conclusion for Rick, so why should it be a conclusion to the season?

On the other side of things, the actual finale shows us incredible character development from both of our main characters. Morty's fear of Rick needing him far less than he needs Rick manifesting as Diane has so many layers to it I couldn't possibly do it justice here. Meanwhile, even though Rick doesn't get much the fact that he listens to Morty when told not to go in the hole hits remarkably well. Even with the suggestion of his dead wife being in there, he trusts Morty. Personally I don't think he would've listened in season 6, or maybe even eariler in season 7. On top of that he's proud of him, enough to make sure his picture gets put on the wall to showcase his achievement (and also caring enough to keep said picture in his wallet).

Separating the action from the character not only created two very entertaining episodes for two very different reasons, but also I think symbolises where they plan to take the show. A clear favourite was chosen: character over action. If only one were to be in a finale which would it be? Now we have our answer, and knowing that answer makes me incredibly excited for season 8.

#callie's rambles #rick and morty #rick and morty spoilers

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bonzos-number-1-fan · 3 months

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TMAGP 8 Thoughts: Older Friends

Plenty of things to talk about here but very little reason for a preamble, so spoilers for episode 8 and TMA below the cut.

Okay, so first things first this one launches straight into the case. As incidents go this isn't particularly strange but does emphasise some reoccurring themes we've seen in prior statements. Notably there is a much bigger prevalence on altered spaces, and manifestations that don't neatly fit into Smirke's 14. As I may have mentioned in these posts before it seems like the Fears, or Fear equivalents, in TMP are much more capable of altering the physical world here. The current idea is that its because they're the TMA Fears in some capacity and the successful completion of "The Magnus Archives" dragged them into the physical reality of TMA and even though they were ejected from it they've maintained some capacity to influence the mundane world. Although it will be interesting to see if there emerges a clear separation between what's a manifestation of TMP's native entities (if they exist), and what's a manifestation of the TMA fears. With last episodes Hilltop escapade it's fairly hard to argue that they're not around in some form.

Alice and Gwen hate each other. More at eleven.

Okay, so this next bit will be the thing for this episode. Sam and Celia go visit Gerry to have a chat about the Magnus Institute. This isn't super surprising all in all. I've been expecting it for a few episodes. Gerry was in the same database Sam was that we got in the ARG. So the cameo is fun but not super important as far as new information goes from my PoV. Gerry does seem a lot more chipper this time around so that's always nice.

What I wasn't expecting, and what I doubt any one else was expecting, is a cameo from Gertrude. Her appearance is also much more interesting narratively. We don't know how close these universes really are to each other. Do alternate versions of the same character end up in similar places? Do they pursue similar goals? Because just from this episode, and some light conjecture about the nature of the multiverse, it's very plausible that Gertrude burned down the Institute in this universe. Gertrude and Gerry ended up close in TMA and have ended up close in TMP too. While she wasn't exactly parental in TMA she did at least get him away from his family there. It's not too much of an assumption to make that something similar has happened here. Connect that to the psychological testing the Institute was doing on children, and specifically Gerry, and it's not a big leap to assume that's why the Institute burned down. Different reasoning for it happening but the same cogs in the same machine. What's more interesting here than just that idea that she did the same thing in both universes is that this time she was successful. The reason she failed last time, Elias/Jonah, might not have been in play this time around.

It's also important to note that this could very well be the name and address Sam got emailed to him via John last episode.

The other big thing here is Georgie getting mentioned, specifically in context to her podcast, and more specifically in context to Celia's research into alternate dimensions and time travel. Because there are a few distinct possibilities here. However, I think the most likely one is that Georgie and Celia are both from TMA's universe and that they've gone through together for the same purposes. But it's hard to say too too much about it as of yet given how it's all left off. I think the stuff with the podcast and the like is probably part of establishing themselves in this universe rather than Celia looking into TMP Georgie and then guesting on the podcast. Who knows though.

DPHW Theory: 3366 is a pretty normal DPHW for this sort of thing. You've got some spooky cannibal types but they're more remarkable for what they're not than what they are and what they're not is normal.

CAT#R# Theory: CAT2RBC doesn't really mean anything more than any of the others. But at this point I do feel there should be enough to make a few stabs at what these things could mean. I haven't as of yet sat down to theorycraft so no new updates in this post but if I come up with something I'll post it in the next one, or in a standalone post if it's very compelling.

Header talk: Architecture (liminal) -/- hunger isn't super interesting on its own IMO. What is interesting is how it makes zero references to any of the monsters in this one. The incident is classified solely in respect to its architecture and not what inhabited said architecture. The mention of hunger is interesting to me, personally, because I've seen a few assertions that Hunger/Hunger is the more likely pick for the H in DPHW. I didn't think it tracked well before this but with hunger being used as a crosslink I think it's even less likely now.

This episode shows the limitations of the OIAR's methodology really well. The header is Architecture (liminal) -/- hunger, and doesn't mention anything about the uncannybals (like uncanny, i.e. the valley but they eat people). There are seemingly two distinct things, connected via a hunger, were happening here but you can only file it under one and we know that the section and subsection you choose dictates the DPHW so the spooky monsters don't appear to be a factor here at all which is why it's got a lower DP than you'd normally expect.

#the magnus protocol #tmagp speculation #tmagp theory #tmagp #klaus = kl4-u5

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