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starrylayle · 4 months

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Marauders Fandom > "There is no canon !!" and other rhetorics

Guess who's back in their marauders phase after 2-3 years of being dormant lmao?? ((spoiler its me lol)). Anyways, a lot has changed since 2021 in this fandom so I just wanted to talk about the direction i think it's going.

I remember in 2020-21 the fandom started to boom in popularity on tiktok --> esp with the rise wolfstar + atyd. I remember people were so suprised with remus' characterization as 'rougher around the edges' instead of the 'soft boi' thing, and how that influenced the new wolfstar dynamic. [Just want to add that the atyd characterisation is much more complex than this and its one of my fave fics --> I'm more talking about the fandom at large's reaction to this)

And since fandom is incapable of having two nuanced and characters who are not stark opposites,, their roles were basically reversed and now Remus is the toxic dom alpha male and sirius is the cute girlyboy twink --- which um,,, the oc-ification is so real its embarrassing but whatever (omg don't even get me started on jegulus 💀)). I just assumed these would stay as headcanons. But now we have people saying, that 'we barely know anything abt the marauders in canon' or 'isn't the whole point of fandom to make shit up?' which i have sO many issues with so let me just try and compile my thoughts into dot points for the sake of coherency.

'we barely know anything abt the marauders in canon' ---> First of all, Remus, Sirius and Severus are fully fleshed out characters in the og series -- why do you think people would care enough to create an entire fandom based on their backstories if they were 2d flat characters in canon?? Like bffr. I saw a post on here (forgot who it was by, let me know if u know!) that said, 'I didn't cry over sirius' death in OotP just for ppl to say that we know nothing abt him in canon'. Like, its just mind-boggling to me lol.

'isn't the whole point of fandom to make shit up?' --> Ok y'all. For a fandom to work, there have to be some guidelines, some kind of source material, some point of reference so people can build upon it and make content. I think we can all agree on that. One reason why HP is such a popular place for fandom is the world-building and potential plots/storylines. I see some people argue that jk rowling was a shit writer anyways so might as well contradict everything she says. Now, I don't disagree with that point in particular, Jo is a pretty mediocre writer and a terrible person. HOWEVERrr, I'd argue that it is a lot more fascinating when people expand or work on the concepts in HP. JK Rowling has a lot of great ideas but executes them terribly -- I love when fic writes do this, which prolly explain why I love atyd as it is still very much canon compliant but executes themes on class, disability and queerness that jkr could barely do in subtext. This doesn''t mean I only think canon compliant fics are valid. That's not the case! I think as long as the charcterization is consistent to the character and the particular circumstances/world they're in, its fine! In fact, I love seeing how the same character would function if in a different place! I also love seeing explorations of the magic and magic systems in aus or fix it fics (or even canon compliant ones) that still fit in with the canonnical system that we know.

I guess what I'm trying to say I wish the marauders fandom explored the world and charcterizations more deeply instead of creating shallow oc-fied version of the characters that fit into whatever's trending -- like just write your own book or smth lol -- booktok will eat it up i promise.

Also, kinda related kinda not but um,,, why are we romanticising fascists -- like babe no evan rosier is not your babygirl he canonnoically tortured multiple ppl and became a death eater soo... not saying that I wouldn't want an exploration of his character or even a relationship with barty -- (who's not some cool dairk-haired edgelord but a actually a cowardly fascist murderer with blond hair -- yes the blond hair is important) -- I'd just want them to be portrayed as the not morally good people they are. Like,, if u want to oc-ify a character like pick someone whos not a death eater or has little info on them like dirk cresswell or frank longbottom,,, or ya know,, one of the MANY female characters in the fandom ((This fandom also has a problem with women and sapphic ships in general but that's a whole other issue lol).

I know this 'babygirlification' of death eaters doesn't mean to do this, but it also ends up watering down the themes of oppression, bigotry, etc and leaves us with not nearly as complex characters. Also one of the issues I had with the og HP world is that JK will introduce concepts like wizard racism and slavery and then just like,, not really do anything about it or just have half-arsed redemption arcs whilst not ever actually exploring the root of the issue. And now i feel like the fandom is following in those footsteps unfortunately.

Anyways, i've been rambling for too long so I'll just leave it here. Sorry if this came off as mean spirited in anyway,, I just have a lot of thoughts™ and my family is sick of hearing them lol. These opinions are not set in stone however so I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject! At the end of the day this is fandom and we're supposed to have fun -- so yeah !! thanks for reading if you made it this far!

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protect-namine · 6 months

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compiling everything about gnoses, visions, and curses (as of v4.2)

okay it's been more than two years since my initial thoughts on visions and uhhhh. interesting lore has been revealed since then!! it's kinda cool to see how our understanding of the game can change from year to year. so this needs an update.

I'm trying to make sense of how visions/gnoses/curses work and there's just. so much. so for my own sake, I'll compile all the updated lore/speculations in bullet points under the cut. writing things out is how I make sense of things.

this has two parts. the first is just me listing out everything I think is relevant to the topic; the second are just a list of outstanding questions I have that genshin still hasn't answered even after 3y into this game lol.

part i: what we know so far (as of v4.2)

btw when I talk about elemental mastery here, I'm talking about absolute control over an element, not the character stat.

on gnoses, authority of the ancient dragons, and elemental mastery:

TL;DR authority = elemental mastery. gnosis = elemental amplifier that resonates with celestia, embodiment of celestia's control over teyvat, created from the remains of the third descender. archons can control the elements without a gnosis.

"authority" over teyvat originally came from the dragon sovereigns. neuvillette is a reincarnation of the hydro dragon sovereign who became a fully-fledged hydro sovereign after focalors destroyed the divine throne of the hydro archon, returning the authority back to him. apep was the dendro dragon sovereign, but she has no authority since the dendro archon exists. it is NOT confirmed (as of this writing) if dvalin and azhdaha are sovereign-related. dragons can exist without being a dragon sovereign (e.g. durin, vishaps, natlan's dragons).

focalors (masquerade of the guilty): "were [the heavenly principles] not guilty of the same crime? egeria stole the power of the primordial sea, and the heavenly principles stole the power you ancient dragons possessed."

neuvillette (masquerade of the guilty): "for me, the 'authority of the ancient dragons' refers to absolute control over the hydro element."

"gnoses" were crafted from the third descender’s remains so that the heavenly principles can exert control over teyvat. specifically, because the primordial one could no longer "subdue and control the resentments and loathing of the world." (neuvillette's vision story)

the archon war was a way to select the seven wielders of the gnoses, who would be the envoys of the heavenly principles that would uphold the new "laws" of teyvat.

both dragon sovereigns and archons can manipulate the elements without the gnosis in their possession. the gnosis seems to act more like an amplifier. e.g. rukkhadevata used hers to make the akasha, and sustain it even after her disappearance; nahida used the electro gnosis to unlock rukkhadevata's realm of consciousness; zhongli used his to create mora; scaramouche could control the weather with the electro gnosis; the hydro gnosis powered the oratrice mechanique d'analyse cardinale.

gnoses typically reside inside the archon and resonates with celestia, but can be materialized outside as a chess piece. venti (prologue ending note, aka the Q&A portion): "each archon has an internal magical focus that resonates directly with celestia itself… knows as a gnosis."

gnoses can house a person's ambitions and obsessions. travel log summary from where the boat of consciousness lies: "[nahida] walks forward and takes the gnosis away from the balladeer. having lost the gnosis, which now houses all his strong obsessions, the balladeer falls out of his giant mechanical shell in despair and drops to the ground."

on visions, and how they relate to gnoses:

TL;DR visions = fragment of elemental mastery of the person with authority over that element (archons + neuvillette). archons do not control the distribution of visions, nor do they even know who receives them. the process is controlled by celestia. visions house a person's ambition, and are granted on a moment-to-moment basis (the granting of a vision does not define the character). furina is an exception, because neuvillette as a non-archon authority is an exception.

visions are fragments of an archon's (or dragon sovereign's) elemental mastery. neuvillette's vision story: "when a person's wishes reach the heavens, the [archons] are duty-bound to grant them [a vision]. though they might know nothing of who or what wish has stepped into the threshold of the sacred, the seven archons still had to impart a shattered shard of their mastery to that person."

as fragments of an archon's (or dragon sovereign's) elemental mastery, visions allow humans to use the elements. venti (prologue ending note): "visions are external magical foci that only a small minority of people possess. they use these visions to channel elemental power. [archons] don't need primitive tools like visions."

no new electro visions have been handed out for over a year, coinciding with the vision hunt decree. alrani (endless research): "it seems that nobody has obtained an electro vision for a whole year now. I've also heard it said that inazuma's electro archon has proclaimed a 'vision hunt decree'".

archons do not deliberately control the distribution of visions, even if visions are fragments of their mastery of an element. ei (about the vision): "really? so in all this time, no new electro visions have appeared in the outside world? well, what I can say on this topic is subject to certain constraints, but… it is not by my will that visions are granted or denied. the key is people's desire, and… well, there's another side to it too." see also: the line in neuvillette's vision story about how archons know nothing of who or what wish the vision responds to.

plus, if ei can just revoke visions, she wouldn't need to create the vision hunt decree (I know that in the background this was just a front for the fatui's delusion market. but regardless.)

it's likely the celestia is still the one in control of the process of distributing visions. loading screen tip: "rumor has it that when someone's wishes are extremely powerful, the gods will peer down upon him, and a vision will appear..."

xiao's vision story: "but do adepti receive their visions as a form of acknowledgment from celestia, like humans do?"

adepti can manipulate the elements without a vision. xiao wears his when he's in human form to blend in. developer insight #4: "the 'three eyes' part of the adepti's title refers to the "third eye" possessed by those with the ability to manipulate elemental energy, which for humans takes the form of a vision. for adepti such as cloud retainer and mountain shaper, the human understanding is that they must have an 'inner eye' that serves the same purpose as a vision. xiao, however, typically appears in a human form, so he dutifully wears a vision to comply with the expected norm."

reiterating how archons can have elemental mastery without the gnosis: yae held the electro gnosis for centuries, but ei was still the archon and we've had elecrtro vision wielders in that time.

visions house the ambitions/obsession of the person, and separating them from the owner will: 1) remove their ability to use the elements; 2) completely change the person's hopes, feelings, and memories (inazuma quest act i).

kurosawa kyounosuke (to treat the well-meaning well, inazuma act i): "it would seem that I forgot many important things when my vision was taken from me. so many memories, gone forever, no matter how hard I try to remember."

this does not always have to lead to a negative outcome (jiangxue, nobumori) and sometimes may not lead to changes in a character's personality or ambitions (itto and kuki).

characters can activate a vision from a previous owner, or from a masterless vision (e.g. ningguang, kazuha, mona)

characters can activate multiple visions. i.e. multiple ambitions can be granted a vision. (kazuha ganing an anemo vision and re-activating his late friend's electro vision)

visions respond to a person's ambition on a moment-to-moment basis, but don't necessarily define their whole character. chongyun's vision story: "one day, he will become the greatest exorcist in liyue, control his abundance of yang energy, and rid the world of evil spirits. perhaps it was this resolve that earned him the gods' favor — that said, the vision granted to chongyun was one of "cryo" rather than "pyro." as to which of his goals it was that the vision responded to, that is also a mystery." here, chongyun stated three ambitions, but only one of them manifested a vision.

traveler's vision story: "is it wise to allow a moment's ambition to dominate one's entire life?"

a notable exception is furina's vision, which was granted by neuvillette. furina's vision sotry: "visions are usually objects that appear in response to humankind's most fervent wishes, but this one, in particular, seemed more like a reward for her past deeds."

vision wielders have their fate mapped to constellations in the sky. the stars comprising these are called stella fortuna.

scaramouche/dottore: the sky is a hoax.

lisa (more about lisa v): "a vision may seem like a great tool, but one day, the power one accumulates always finds a way to turn back on you."

visions can malfunction. childe was unable to control his vision in fontaine. childe's vision (item): "it appears as if childe lost control of the elemental power within it before. the vision has lost its glow now that its owner has left it behind."

on traveler, statues of the seven:

TL;DR traveler is an alien descender who can wield multiple elements without a vision once they resonate with a statue of the seven. they use memories instead of stella fortuna.

traveler can wield the elements without a vision by resonating with a statue of the seven.

characters require stella fortuna to activate their constellations. travelera, in contrast, require memories. trivia: anemo and geo memories are not provided by statues of seven like later elements. instead, they increase the maximum stamina of characters.

additional abilities unlocked after interacting with a statue of the seven: seeing aranara, swim underwater in fontaine.

traveler has been likened to a pawn. celebration mechanicus (namecard): "you claim to have seen all mechanisms, but have you ever considered playing yourself as a pawn?"

traveler came from another world. traveler vision story: "you, for your part, can never receive a vision, for an alien lifeform does not belong…" see also: first game cutscene, descriptions for wings of descension and sword of descension.

the fatui lists traveler as the fourth descender. descenders are not merely visitors from the outside (i.e. aloy is NOT a descender) but are visitors with very strong wills. narzissenkreuz ordo note #1: "this, too, is my goal, for not all that comes from beyond may be as one that 'descends.' that title belongs only to wills that can rival an entire world. that is what I seek, the way to become just such a will, one that can protect the world, sustain the world, destroy the world, and create the world."

nahida (end of sumeru quest): "I'm very interested in your future. it's a journey that can't be observed or recorded by this world. if fate is the ultimate knowledge, then [the traveler]'s future will be the ultimate fate."

on ascension:

traveler's vision story: "celestia is the realm of the gods, and the wielders of visions walk the earth below. when they depart from this world, the chosen will ascend."

venti (prologue ending note): "in truth, every wielder of a vision is one who can attain godhood and ascend to celestia. we call such people allogenes (原神/yuán shén/genshin)."

neuvillette's vision story: "and when [a vision wielder] completes their duty… the gift the gods would receive in return would be more abundant still."

zhongli (about the vision): "visions… are also a type of contract. you should know that all power comes at a price."

on curses, delusions, dead gods, and masks:

TL;DR curses = phenomena from remains of dead gods. curse-like phenomena or items: gnoses, delusions, tatarigami, forbidden knowledge.

skirk: "to live is in itself a blessing. but once a person dies, the bonds he had with this world shall all turn to curses."

skirk: "I can finally catch the scent of your power… what it's made of. It is the authority of the planet's primordial dragons, but with something very similar to a god's 'curse' mixed in… it's quite a novel blend. I'm sure I've encountered something like this before. what was it again… ah yes. you should have the remains of the third descender on your person, yes?"

delusions are also created from the remains of deceased gods and allow wielders to use the elements or have enhanced abilities, but at the cost of the user's vitality. characters who have died from using a delusion: crepus, teppei

in the manga, crepus and diluc used delusions created from injecting the remains of ancient gods (mistranslated as "archon residue", but it really refers to gods that were around before the archons) into human subjects, like collei. cyno has shown the ability to seal them. cyno in ch12 of the manga: "it doesn't mean you'll be completely rid of it, since we're just putting it into a dormant state, sealed inside your own body. but if it is awakened again, it will overtake your consciousness completely."

the delusions manufactured in yashiori island used crystal marrow, which are remains from orobashi and contains the tatarigami curse. crystal marrow description: "in inazuma, 'tatarigami' refers to the corpse of a divine being and the strange phenomena it creates." tatarigami spawned from orobashi's will after its death. tatarigami also plagued yashiori island with sickness, an ever-present storm, contaminated soil, and other calamities. it also corrupted the kagotsurube isshin sword, which led it to possess people in its goal to rival the gods. the curse was suppressed with narukami pillar wards, which were destroyed by rogue members of the watatsumi resistance and restored again later by the traveler.

chouji's mother can resist the tatarigami's corruption. pharmacist's notebook ii: "it seems that the energies of the tatarigami did not corrupt her. instead, they flow freely inside of her. the patient's mind and body were not affected, but the consistent fever and the small amount of occasional bleeding are extremely hard to control… though these symptoms are not lethal, I cannot be sure that they are not contagious…"

diluc (in the manga), childe, and signora wear masks when they wield their delusions. diluc in his alternate outfit (where he wears a delusion and looks like a fatui skirmisher) doesn't wear a mask. hillichurls can also manipulate the elements without a vision, and they too wear masks. ominous mask: "no one really knows why hilichurls are so fascinated with masks. some say it's because they don't want to see their own reflections in the water."

funerary mask: "the fatui often face the world from behind their masks, and it is said that this is because all they mean nothing once they become fatui, and thus must they forsake their true names and face alike."

signora's cryo delusion kept her alive from being burned by her own previous transformation with the art of living flame. it's implied to it also suppressed her memories. (see descriptions from stainless bloom, molten moment, hellfire butterfly)

forbidden knowledge can also be seen as a curse, and has functioned thus far similarly to curses brought by the remains of dead gods, although this time sourced from foreign powers outside of teyvat. nahida in rukkhadevata's realm of consciousness: "the pollution of her consciousness here is severe. there is madness, chaos, and pain all around us… each of us need to be mindful of the state of our own consciousness while we are here. even with the gnosis' protection, we must always keep a clear mind. otherwise, we could go mad at any moment."

results of forbidden knowledge: oozing filth (chasm), eleazar and the withering (sumeru)

the dark sea also contains the remains of dead gods. a drunkard's tale, vol. 3: "this wasteland is said to be a land beyond the dominion of the deities, inhabited only by the grotesque ghostly remains of fallen gods, where the former palaces of the seelie now stand empty."

(there's probably something to say here about osial and liyue but this post is getting too long now and I think I've referenced enough material...)

part ii: outstanding questions and speculations

I'm trying to remember so hard, but like. did they ever explain why childe's vision stopped working properly? I'm guessing it's to do with the whale. so can external forces actually interfere with how a vision functions?

a vision corresponds to a constellation which corresponds to a person's fate. when kazuha had both an anemo and electro vision active, did he (at that time) have two constellations? two fates? is that possible?

if neuvillette shares parts of his elemental authority deliberately and willfully, does that somehow still follow celestia's laws or will it introduce loopholes? for example, what does that mean for furina's "fate"/constellation?

if adepti can manipulate elements without a vision, why does celestia grant them visions anyway? is it to prescribe a certain fate for them to follow?

supposedly, venti can sleep for hundreds of years and has only been awake in the present time for at least three years. does this mean celestia granted anemo visions (imparted fragments of his anemo authority) even when he was asleep? I suppose that's possible, considering how there have been electro visions in the centuries when ei was in her solitary "eternity"

how come electro visions were not handed out during the year of the vision hunt decree? archons don't willfully distribute visions, but do their beliefs affect the way celestia does? was there something in the inazuma archon quest that prevented celestia from tapping into ei's elemental mastery, when they've done so easily in the years ei was hiding away?

we've seen how people act when they lose their visions. it's also implied that the electro gnosis housed scaramouche's ambitions and obsessions. how does this affect the archons who have lost their gnoses? or maybe, like itto, kuki, and jiangxue, it doesn't? since most gnoses have been peacefully given away (I still think venti "let" signora take his vision, but who knows with him...) is it possible that if an archon had their gnosis forcefully taken away, they would drastically change in personality the way some characters did in inazuma during the vision hunt decree? (natlan please give me this scenario...)

what happens when a person completes the "fate" prescribed to them by their constellation? is this the same as "ascending"?

if a masterless vision is re-activated, does the person receive the same "fate" as their previous owner? can celestia recycle fates?

both delusions and the gnoses are made from the remains of divine or divine-like beings. is there really a fundamental difference to them, besides perhaps the scale and refinement of power?

also, yes, there's a theme going on with having to wear masks and delusions. but from a lore perspective... why is it that wearing a mask seems to make it easier to use a delusion? or manipulate elements? or is this a case of "correlation is not causation"?

forbidden knowledge, "archon residue" (mistranslation), tatarigami, and other such corrupting curse-like energies derived from foreign powers or remains of dead gods... is there also fundamental difference amongst them? their existence all threaten teyvat's "laws" and the order celestia imposes. how different really is eleazar and the withering in sumeru (due to forbidden knowledge) to the sickness/hallucinations and storms/contaminated soil in yashiori island (due to tatarigami) and what collei experienced when she was injected with remains of dead gods? do you think it's possible that collei's experience show us the same phenomenon on an individual-scale; tatarigami on the scale of an island of people (yashiori); and forbidden knowledge on a nation (sumeru) or continental/historical (teyvat) scale?

I also wonder if the way cyno subdued the "archon residue" in collei is connected to how chouji's mother was resistant to the tatarigami because she somehow can let it "flow freely inside her"

are all allogenes vision wielders, or can you ascend without a vision? it's not known if vennessa had a vision. zhongli mentioned that visions are like a contract, but since the traveler didn't really "get" a vision and their fate can't be controlled, then they don't really have to pay the "price" for a vision they never received

but we also know that the traveler has been likened to a pawn. in chess, once a pawn reaches the end of the board, it is mandatory for them to be promoted to another piece...

if the above analogy holds, then: when the abyss twin reached the end of their journey, what did they do instead of being promoted (ascending)? is this related to why information about them is hard to find in irminsul, or why they are not listed by the fatui as a descender? nahida: "but just as [the abyss twin's] journey was about to reach its conclusion, the irminsul records on them suddenly became fuzzy. all I know for sure is that somebody, for reasons only they can know, is deliberately obfuscating [their] fate"

so much new lore, yet I feel like we only really gained more questions...

#mine musings #liveblogging genshin #this is like 3k words of me just organizing my thoughts so like. skip reading this lol #or skip to part ii bc i have sooooo many questions and idk i couldn't find the answers to them #and i've been reading the wiki and scouring recordings of the quests for like. six hours...................................#genshin lore

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silver-wield · 5 months

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hmm in the premise that SE is definitely set out to be killing a non existent ship in the trilogy (preferably in part 2 already), I just don't understand how anyone can think the story would go astray from it's array of chekhov's guns. Tbh, when I first watched AC, as a kid, in my mind I just assumed tifa was his gf and z and a were like his comrades who died. The part where he called him "mother" did help tons for me to think of it this way. It was only after 15 years? That I discovered there was even a debate? So I spoiled myself and by the principles of storytelling, FF7 seems to have the trope of quite literally any amnesia tropy kdrama plot I've ever seen that also exist in jp media. Aka, anything that happened during his amnesia phase does not count after finding out who he is, because he was most party manipulated to not remember things by the narrative and its character. Mind you, this is just me spoiling myself for a small context of a game i haven't played yet and only have superficial understanding of the characters. Also, the part in lifestream really sells it lol, he gets himself back? Because he was false before? It's so weird why this is even confusing.

So, I had a conversation with my bro about this and he's a debater, I told everything about the "LTD" and it's a long talk but he says, it's a non-debate. Since cloti is sourced explicitly in the game and sources, answering cloud's feelings as the main question.. the ltd asks "what does he feel for a?" But the thing is, it can also be asked "what does he feel for z?" Easily can be romantic IF we base thier "logic" of ca on zack + cloud. Canon wise both are stated as friends to him. But romantic? For both, it LITERALLY doesn't exist. It's not as to make it vague per say, but that the writers, story, and characters have no idea that it's even needed to be answered. Aka it is by default platonic. Not vague, it's platonic as stated by canon sources as it's the only one that exists. The LTD is a cult like idea that continued to persist in the fandom of FF7. But never in the mind of it's creator. This is their mistake. They find this as an activity of the fandom, but reality is, it undermines their work greatly. Destroying all the characters, and story they've made and for what? Cheap pity fan service? That's lazy. This isn't a charm of the game, but a mistake of its delivery. I mean as evident as how many pitied tifa in AC. Essentially it's like 1+1=2 (canon) but someone says it's 3. In short it's BS, but a lot are biting on "maybe it is 3" and ignoring all the proof for the sake of negating. Hence a non-debate because canon has already won and will always win.

Now, I saw a zerith point out how they're so happy they're even getting anything. Tbh I found this strange, a good story would utilize the successful built up if zack and they are thank god. But why do I see this as a random person? And they don't? I feel there's trauma in this fandom, and I hate that for all of you and a story that has intense potential. Which leads me to a "funny" thought. It seems for so long, cas have been going on about their way to misinform everyone, thus encouraging incels, dudebros, bandwagoners alike. This does not seem to sit well with devs, I sure hope so. I feel like the fact that they've been this toxic, is the reason why SE is extra mean to them and is even planning to finally give them an answer to the "what does c feel for a?" After all these time? A question that was never important to begin with because it's already platonic by default but copers want more. It is because of this desire, most likely "he doesn't feel romantically inclinde, even if you as a player did, he does not, never will, never did" would be the answer. SE could have let them have their merry way, but they've been pos. So they made the compilation, imperfect, but there's Zack, now Zerith is coming around and with closure, Cloti is being emphasized. They added stuff for cloti and more important, reduced what was "theirs". Had cloud's mocap actor emphasize cloti and downplay ca. We even had a trailer quite literally exposing to the whole world how disgusting the idea of ca is, and if you liked it? Lol get help , your morals are astray. There's so much much more, and for some reason if this is successful, if SE actually gives a shit for art and not cheap money? Then lmao, cas made all of this happen just because they can't stop fcking things up. The existence of a problem, that needs to be fixed. Because of that, ZA will be pushed on their faces, and they will definitely not like CT more with all the sexual built up in part 1. I'm obviously joking to " thank them", of course, the devs who lost their patience are to be thanked as they've been inspired to take responsibility for their shortcomings as well. But yeah, if everyone understood OG on the get go? And AC didn't get much shit? Nobody pitied tifa? doubt we would be even getting this much content for cloti, maybe cloud, and quite especially tifa.

It's a strange journey, but I hope I'm right about them having integrity. I sure hope so. I hope they don't leave room for pity, I hope they are ruthless with it. I don't think I ship anyone but I am a sucker for a masterpiece, and I very much want this to be one.

None of the devs have ever thought about that ship, and even when asked point blank Nojima was all "idk" and had to come up with something on the spot but even that was negative because he stated Aerith cares more about the planet than she would Cloud

Which is obvious from how she has zero respect for him

#ship war #for the fandom

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thesullengrrrl · 6 months

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tbosas thoughts lol

it's been a while since i consumed anything related to the hunger games. i remember borrowing the books from the university library and enjoying them very much, especially the first one! at the time, i never thought a book could feel like a mini series unfolding before me. cliffhangers were the best parts in every chapter.

i wasn't really hyped with this because i was looking forward more on saltburn, poor things, wonka and the like (which would probably be released here next year). fast forward to last saturday and i met up with a friend to watch it. i have a vague idea on what the film is about (it's about coriolanus snow and lucy gray baird that's it lol) but i'm glad i went in semi-blindly. i didn't read the book!

the length. i saw the actual book and i'm surprised they didn't chop it into two parts like its predecessors (hp, breaking dawn, etc). i'm glad about that because franchises can be so blatantly cash grabs these days. it was divided into three parts which was a little surprising since i have not watching something like that in a YA film (let me know if there are other YA that has done this). was it written in three parts in the book as well? the film was almost 3 hours long and we were glued to our seats. no breaks!

the acting. it's my first time seeing rachel zegler act and miss ma'am ate it up. i even forgot why the internet was angry at her. that singing scene when she was reaped? EAT YOUR HEART OUT, CAPITOL! tbh her singing made me feel a little little cringe but heyyyyyyy what do i know? the internet says it's part of lucy's character (she's part of a band for pete's sake, self!) she sings well and i hope i can hear her more in the future.

it's obvious how viola davis is enjoying her role and love that for her!!

peter dinklage gave us dystopian dr. gregory house (compliment) (morphling, vicodin...) and that picture of him with the rubber chicken. work.

my white boy of the month, tom blyth. chef's kiss. that man ate up his blond wigs and buzzcut and i never thought i'll have a crush on a blond man again after matthew crawley. his performance as snow made me feel what god intended: make me feel safe then push me from that beam-- snow landing on top of me with (my) blood on his hands.

sejanus...well, first of all, why suzanne? why the name? janus could've been fine already. (what's with names ending with anus!) we love our human rights king! josh andres rivera's take on sejanus is a breath of fresh air in the middle of capitol's cruelty and nonchalance to it. the anger that he gave to the character would make you wish for a better future for panem's children.

lucky flickerman. jason schwartzman did not hear "cut!" he heard "cunt!" and he gave us that. "smile. that's why we have teeth" is an instant classic for me. i could watch an entire compilation of his scenes on youtube for a whole day and not get bored.

last but not the least, hunter schafer as tigris? i totally get now why tigris smiled at the idea of katniss killing snow in mockingjay. you fed the boy, you dress the boy, and he fires you? fuck off, snow! snow melts anyway!

the costumes. it has a mixture of the elements of turn of the century america. influences from the 30s-50s are evident to the costumes and i love it. very different from the costumes in the hunger games trilogy. it added to the sense of separation from the earlier films. why is dean highbottom dressed like a monk? that ombre lab gown and docs of dr gaul? looooove. it looks so comfy and chic. snow's academy uniform? he looks so uwu baby girl cherub you can't do anything wrong you are an angel you look so trustworthy uwu bb

i enjoyed the movie. i had fun! the battle sequences made us hide behind our hands because it was brutal! we swooned on snowbaird moments and we laughed and we screamed. i'm so glad i watched it with my friend whom i haven't seen in a long time.

to be honest, i wanted to savor the story and characters more. i would have preferred it to be a mini series. i like little moments from books to be on screen and i've read that the film missed some of it (understandable). i might pick up the book if i chance upon a paperback copy. i'd like to know more about snow's inner thoughts since it was not shown in the movies.

with theories, mine is this: lucy gray escaped and lived somewhere outside panem, if such place exists in this universe. maybe a south america counterpart lol. then she went back as an old woman and lived as greasy sae. lucy and coryo did love each other but only for a brief period of time. they both needed each other at the time. that bonds people. however, maybe they prioritized survival over their emotions. lucy wants to live freely with her music and nature and the covey. coriolanus wanted money, power, and glory. probably coryo didn't realize her long lasting effect on him until he was old lol. she haunted him until his death and...that's good. he deserved it.

thank you suzanne collins for writing this and thank you to the cast and crew who breathed this book to life.

ps. if i missed some context or whatnot in the story or the characters i'm sorry, i haven't read the book yet. :-)

#tbosas

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eorzeashan · 1 year

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THE FINAL CHAPTER: a rather chaotic compilation of some truly throne-ending stuff, KOTET (Battle of Odessen to Eternal Throne)

Theron: Using yourself as bait is a dangerous game. You're gonna need some help.

Aww Theron... that's nice, but Eight would be so adamant about fighting Vaylin alone since he feels it's his duty to protect them. Plus being bait means you're supposed to be the only target. Self-sacrificial lone warrior whose only ever relied on himself psych eval yadda yadda. Not that Theron or Lana would listen either, which results in an ugh fine from our favorite operative.

I guess he got so stubborn he wouldn't even let Theron on the back of his speeder (which was a glitch where Theron could only run behind him like a pet) in an attempt to leave him behind for his own safety, lol.

To make this whole outlandish scenario worse, Theron not only could not stealth the entire chapter ("Theron, you're ruining my speedrun." 'Theron!' "Well I'm sorry I don't have stealth generators like you two!") he also lost his blasters and started fistfighting Vaylin. Yes, he also fistfought the prior mobs. I was very confused as to why the enemies weren't going down fast enough with 2 comps until I looked over to see him punching skytroopers with all the damage of a wet bagel.

This is why he tried to leave you behind, Theron.

One defeated Vaylin and a storming of Zakuul Palace later, and Theron still was having the same problem of aggro-ing all the mobs due to having no stealth and only his fists, so I tried to stealth out of combat and call him over to see if he could evade them........instead, he died while Eight and Lana buried their faces in their hands.

Which was fine since it let Eight and Lana stealth for the rest of it without him, but his dead body kept showing up after them and it gave me a mental image of the two of them dragging his unconscious body behind them by the legs after he accidentally got caught in an explosion.

Not his best moment.

Valkorion: The Sith who fled her empire. And the charming spy, sired by Republic heroes. Do they truly serve you? Or do they plot your downfall, to claim the throne for their respective factions?

Eight: I'm done listening to you, old man.

"Idiot. It's the other way around," as Eight would say. He's fully aware Valkorion is making a desperate ploy right now to turn him against them, but he has thought about their loyalties ever since the start. It doesn't matter to him: he's bounced between both sides and has no right to judge. Even if they held no thought for him in the end, with him as the means for their own goals.....he'd still have fought for their sake.

Also, I lost count of how many times Eight called Valkorion a decrepit old geezer and told him to shut up these chapters.

Me, shocked: How is he tanking that lightning without a flinch?!

Then again, he did do the exact same thing during the Arcann fight, so maybe it's a combination of his sheer endurance/pain threshold as well as getting used to it. Either way, what a way to stunt on Valkorion. I'd be reeling if I threw lightning at an agent and they stood up. Extremely badass glitch.

Eight: My head's not a halfway house for immortal Sith, but I guess you found that out the hard way.

The only house it is for is Jadus, and you're no Jadus! Get lost!

Arcann: The Outlander didn't kill us. You did.

Oddly enough, I found I liked this ending more than the LS spare everyone version, most likely because it felt more cathartic for Vaylin and Arcann to face Valkorion with their full rage. Eight and Vaylin for some reason....saw eye-to-eye in their brief and vitriolic interactions, which sounds insane to say but can be attributed to how they understand primal emotion more than anything else.

It also felt more rewarding to fight the whole family with little to no help-- as an Echani warrior and one who fights alone, Eight would have it no other way; anything less than their full power would besmirch the honor of their duel and if he cannot have honor anywhere else, he'll make damn sure to have it on the battlefield. No help. No mitigation. Just his own strength, and theirs.

Lana: Theron!

Theron: Go. Save yourself. I'll cover you.

Lana: We fight together, we die together.

Theron: Now that's more like it.

The besties....;_; And poor Theron's sad face getting injured, he looks like a kicked puppy?? Why is he sad? Did it hurt that much? I really love them looking out for one another-- I rarely ever got this moment because it was always Arcann and Senya, so seeing them literally go ride or die was insane. They're lucky Eight can't hear or see them; he'd have thrashed that whole room to bits. What kind of agent would he be if his keepers had to die for him?

EAT THIS RIGHT HOOK VALKORIONNN

Eight followed Theron's example and decided Valkorion's crusty ass was overdue for a massive whoopin', and there's nothing he wanted more than to beat him to death with his bare hands. No powers. No poison. No blasters. Just the feeling of having your skull bashed in with mortal fists. As a martial artist, it was his duty to bring that Sith Lord who'd relied too long on power borrowed from others crashing back down into the cold, hard earth... starting with his body.

Can you imagine the absolute bewilderment he had to feel seeing this goddamn agent crack his knuckles and decide to go mano-e-mano to his godly self? It's the ultimate humiliation.

He beat him. He had to. For Jadus. For himself. Valkorion stood no chance at conquering his mind, to be honest-- for that to work, he himself would have to have a mind like people and on the inside....he is not that.

I'll write out exactly how I imagined it soon, but there's something about Valkorion stepping in and expecting a man, and finding instead what can only be called a wolf in his place.

I also headcanon he only used Eight as a stepping stool to get to Jadus, who shares the other side of the force bond and is his real goal to possess; but where he expected an easy fight he got a mind he couldn't break because it in no way resembled that of any other sentient he'd met. Eight's other personal stake in this is that Valkorion is blocking both sides of his and Jadus' force bond, and for this arrogant Sith to take away what had given him meaning in his life would instill a rage like he'd never known.

Eight: No more nightmares. No more interruptions from a crusty old ghost. I can get used to this.

It's finally fucking over. This was an ultimately tragic part of his life despite the good it meant for others around him and the galaxy; but it had left him isolated and more soaked in blood than the entire agent chapter. It was his duty. It was his burden. It was his wound to bear.

He's laid the dead to rest, and now he will leave. Whatever that means for him.

#swtor #kotfe/et au #it's....crazy how the Alliance usually becomes a home for other characters and it was the exact opposite for Eight #like a duty that had been hoisted on him that he had no choice to fulfill #it fed the side of him that wasn't a person but a weapon and a beast more than anything else until it was fat on blood #and....oh Eight you'll never find what you seek like this #still he leaves victory in his wake #as he always does

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discet · 2 years

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Uh-huh. Well. That was. A lot. I'm gonna need a while to process this one. What I can say immediately is that I am curious about how much Anne will be appearing in s2. You've said it's mostly a Sasha season in the way s2 was mostly a Marcy season, so I guess I'm just worried she'll drop off the map... mostly because she really has some apologizing to do. Which is interesting, and certainly not a position that canon Anne is ever really put in. Cause correct me if I'm wrong, but Marcy was feeding herself by age 6? Is that what I'm getting from "She heated some leftovers and opened the Gladiator box that housed her new Nintwodo Double Screen. She spent the night hopping and jumping through Sanrio World Deluxe."? Cause if so, YIKES. Again, her taking Anne and Sasha was definitely a bad choice. But to a child in a home like *that*, it may have been her only choice. What I find interesting is the implication of child abuse from Sasha's end, given how Marcy talked about not wanting to tell her because "nothing was happening to her". Which creates an interesting possibility that didn't exist really in canon, which is for Sasha to call Anne out on something, and be completely right to do so. As for Valeriana... wow, can't believe the newt is homophobic, could not be me. (sarcasm). But yeah, the fact that she just... showed up when Anne was at her lowest to whisk her away, and the fact that "cult" shows up twice over in your s2 chapter descriptions... I get the sneaking suspicion that you're leaning into the "Valeriana orchestrated the events of the plot" angle, to which I say *interesting.*

Hey Cynda! I was wondering when you would come by, gonna compile my answers to this and your other asks right here for efficiencies sake, but let me start by saying thanks for leaving such thoughtful questions/comments for me ^_^

Anne's Prevalence in An Alchemist Abroad

So not gonna get too deep into it here, but I will say that AU!Anne will be around more than C!Sasha was in Season 2 of the show. Just to give a ballpark.

Marcy's Home Life & Motivations

It wasn't every night, but Marcy definitely was feeding herself when things got too busy. Which is awful terrible quietly tragic a great show of resourcefulness! And I'm glad that Marcy's motives are sympathetic. That was a big goal of that chapter and this season in general. Not justified mind you, but sympathetic.

Marcy's View of Sasha's Home Life

So Sasha's home life is complicated and bad in a very different way from Marcy, which we will get to in S2. However I will say that Marcy has also downplayed her own needs/wants for most of her life both with her biofamily and her friendship. So her undervaluing the hurt she has felt is not out of character.

Edit: Whoops forgot to Address Val lol

Valeriana

While I get why everyone is angry at her. I will say in her defense, she didn’t force, manipulate, or even prod Anne to leave. She just gave her a second option when Anne felt she had none.

No, that was a funny guess. It wasn't super intentional, its very much a thing that I think I will explain and people will go 'oh that makes sense'. There wasn't a super clear wink/nod

That would be very funny though

Oh man that would be so mean! Holy shit. Man I had considered leaving a coy 'Guess We'll See ;)' kind of answer, but honestly no thats not in the cards for this AU. I could see Sasha possibly going for it, she doesn't know they had dated, and probably wouldn't care if she did. Marcy would probably let it happen, considering her own self worth/guilt complex at the moment. I think the deal breaker here is Anne though, in that even as hurt as she is, I don't think she would be that spiteful given the circumstances. God so much drama if she did though.

Sorry to disappoint but that was a typo, wherever it was. 20,000 words is a lot to work through. I probably left out or missed the 's' key.

#awiw #marcy wu #amphibia

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hijitae · 1 year

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What would everyone’s reaction be to these two getting together

This is a fun question! I’ve thought about it many times for fics. Once again, I apologize for the delay, but now my answer compilation is finally finished.

I’ve even entertained a scenario in which Tae and Hijikata don’t tell anyone for awhile until they can no longer keep it secret from Shinpachi and Kondou – simply because Hijikata mainly doesn’t want a ton of attention (especially from people like Sougo and Gintoki, both of who won’t miss an opportunity for a little teasing) drawn to his private life. Tae is content either way, even finds the secret-keeping fun.

Secret or no secret, here are some thoughts I have about everyone’s reactions:

SHINPACHI: Well…boy goes through all the stages of grief at first, lol, but gradually comes to accept Tae’s relationship. I mean, he did say during the Yagyuu arc that whoever Tae found happiness with, he would accept them. Sougo might persuade him to ruffle Hijikata’s feathers a bit now and then, but otherwise, I think Shinpachi will accept Hijikata in the end, knowing he will treat Tae well. And if Shinpachi stops to think about it, he has more in common with Hijikata than he thinks. Shinpachi runs the Otsuu Fan Club like Hijikata, so hey, free leadership advice from a future brother-in-law. Lots of funny situations would result from a protective and suspicious Shinpachi, as he gradually gets used to mayonnaise appearing weekly on the Shimura grocery list. I think he’ll also feel some relief when he sees how happy Tae is because she’s looked out for him his entire life, and now someone is looking out for her in a different way, instead of Tae having to shoulder that burden.

KONDOU: By now, Kondou has long since let go of his romantic feelings for Tae, and they are great friends instead. I think Hijikata would talk to Kondou before moving forward into a relationship, because he knows how Kondou used to feel about her. Kondou would be surprised at Hijikata entering a relationship but not too surprised that it’s with Tae because Kondou was in love with her before and knows she is a good woman. I think he’d be happy for Hijikata because of his past with Mitsuba and how that has caused Hijikata a lot of pain. Moving forward in this case represents healing and forgiving oneself, so Kondou would throw his full support behind the two of them. He knows they will take good care of each other. Maybe he’ll be a little too supportive when he tells Hijikata, “Toushi, if you need romance advice – wink wink – just come to me and I’ll answer any questions you might have about love!”

KYUUBEI: Like Kondou, Kyuubei will also have let go of their feelings by the time Tae enters into a romantic relationship with Hijikata. However, they still care very much for Tae, so, naturally, they will be protective of her and will probably disapprove of Hijikata simply because no one will ever be good enough for Tae in their opinion. For Tae’s sake, Kyuubei will accept whoever makes Tae happy. But it doesn’t mean Kyuubei has to like that person, and it certainly doesn’t stop them from making snide remarks about Hijikata whenever they happen to be in the same room. Perhaps they might even join forces with Sougo, Kagura, and Gintoki (and occasionally Shinpachi) in casually insulting/teasing Hijikata together as a group, whispering behind their hands and then nodding their heads in agreement while Hijikata fumes and demands to know what they’re saying.

SOUGO: Oh, man, there is plenty of comedy ahead with him! But on the serious side of things, besides Sougo being Sougo, I think he’ll be both surprised and doubtful. He’ll not easily forget what happened with Mitsuba, but he also has his own journey to go on regarding that. Sougo and Hijikata obviously don’t ADORE each other, but they do like each other enough to watch each other’s back in battle; their friendship goes a lot deeper than surface level. I think Sougo might threaten Hijikata in a roundabout way, concerning if he were to ever leave things unfinished with Tae the way he did with Mitsuba (or reject her coldly without explanation). It’s not like Sougo cares that much about Tae, but the parallels are too similar. Besides, Sougo knows Tae is a strong-willed woman, who won’t let Hijikata leave things uncommunicated. She’d confront him if that were to happen, and Hijikata is determined NOT to make the same mistake twice. In the end, Sougo will carry on with his agenda to annoy Hijikata for the rest of their lives, but with some restraint because Tae scares Sougo a little – not that he’ll ever admit it!

GINTOKI: I think he’d be a mixture of surprised and not surprised. Gintoki tends to read people well enough; he often knows more than he lets on. So, I think he suspects the connection between the two before most people know, but he’s still sort of surprised to see how well it works out because there will always be some things he doesn’t know or understand to the fullest. HijiTae are one of those mysteries; Gintoki knows and gets that it could work (especially since he remarks that mayonnaise is the only thing keeping Hijikata alive with Tae’s cooking and that all of Tae’s meals are that much worse with mayonnaise added), but it’s still bizarre to him. He’s also one of the few who is aware of Hijikata’s past concerning Mitsuba, so Gintoki, being a close friend of Tae’s, may also wonder and doubt, but, in the end, it’s not really his business, so he doesn’t get hung up on it. He’ll certainly have fun with it all, though, because now he can make more snide remarks about Hijikata in the romance department. Of course, he better watch out for Tae’s retribution!

KAGURA: Tae is like Kagura’s big sister, so Kagura will be protective of Tae, too, and not at all opposed to making snarky comments about Hijikata. Unlike Gintoki and Sougo, though, Kagura isn’t “afraid” of Tae when she teases Hijikata, especially since Kagura’s teasing doesn’t bother Hijikata that much because Kagura is Kagura. It’s the other two who annoy him more. Besides, Kagura has called on Hijikata for help before (“Toushi!!”) and she knows Hijikata will be true to Tae. In the end, like Gintoki, Kagura isn’t bothered by it as much as Shinpachi would be. Life goes on. (Of course, Hijikata will have to buy her sukonbu now as Tae’s “little sister.”)

TSUKUYO: Tsukuyo will be happy for her friend, and, like most everyone, find the idea of HijiTae a little surprising, but otherwise, she’s fine with it. Tsukuyo doesn’t know Hijikata that well yet, despite the fact that they share some similarities. This can lead her to play the Straight Man well with others who are trying to understand HijiTae. For example, Tsukuyo doesn’t understand what the big deal is when Kyubei and Sacchan express concern and disgust when Tae tries out a dollop of mayonnaise on her meal during Diamond Perfume dinner nights (it’s a different story when Tae gets Tsukuyo to try it, though). Knowing the extent Tsukuyo went to help Hotaru seize her second chance at reuniting with the one she loved, Tsukki will be nothing but supportive for Tae and Hijikata’s unexpected love.

SACCHAN: Sacchan is surprised and cynical at first about Tae’s relationship with a government dog. It’s been a long time since Sacchan has seen Tae as a rival for anyone or anything, but the fire between them as rivals, going head-to-head with their wits, is still present – sometimes the bickering is just too fun, after all. Sacchan will make her usual snide remarks about Tae’s new relationship (maybe remark on a few things about love and such that might make Tae blush before she bites back). But ultimately, Sacchan will support Tae and even offer her services to eliminate Hijikata if he ever hurts Tae in some way. Hijikata is, of course, irked by her casual threats, and he’ll find himself bickering with Sacchan more than usual. But these are a couple of ways of how Sacchan shows that she cares. Like Tsukuyo, Sacchan was quite relieved when Tae woke up after being unconscious for some time during the end of the first battle in the Silver Soul arc. Diamond Perfume consistently demonstrate that they are there for each other despite their occasional rivalries and personality clashes.

YAMAZAKI: Yamazaki knows about Hijikata’s past about Mitsuba – maybe not completely, but he suspected it early on and probably pieced together things for himself. Yamazaki may be the butt of jokes for everyone, but he’s smart and observant in his own right. He’ll be surprised for sure, especially since Kondou used to fancy Tae for a long time. Zaki might even wonder how the subject of Mitsuba will come up, although he knows it’s not his business how that plays out between HijiTae. However, in the end, Yamazaki will think the relationship is a good thing, especially when he notices Hijikata is slightly less volatile and decreases the amount of seppuku demands to those who commit minor infractions. In a weird way, Yamazaki benefits from the relationship and does his best to stay in the good graces of both.

KATSURA: So, it’s not like Zura hangs out with Tae OR Hijikata on a regular basis, some reasons more obvious than others. But he’s still a major part of Gintama’s collective social circle. He has also advised Hijikata on matters concerning the Shinsengumi before and what they ought to do during the Farewell Shinsengumi arc. I don’t think he’ll give romance advice to either one, and Hijikata would probably be too embarrassed and proud to ask anyone else except for Kondou. But Katsura will certainly notice the change in Hijikata, who looks like his shoulders are lighter now because his relationship with Tae. He’ll be surprised, like everyone else, but not too surprised, like Gintoki. Zura has proved himself observant and a good judge of character. He believes both Tae and Hijikata are in good hands with each other.

I think that’s it for characters largely relevant to HijiTae. I was going to include Tetsu, but his reaction would be, more or less, the same as Yamazaki’s.

Hope that satisfies your question!

#answered anon #hijitae #such a good question

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jade-of-mourning · 2 years

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lychee’s fics

@salixys (carthaginian_berries) on ao3

avatar: the last airbender / avatar: the legend of korra and now i hope you’re alright / i just wish you had died - 1/8** - i. if she seems as lonely as me - 61.8k, 10/10

in the well (a fleeting glimpse) - 1/?* - i. leave this all behind (empty shores) - 6.7k, 1/1 - ii. never heard a whisper of you - 3.2k, 1/1

ebony knives snaked in washed out flame - 2/4** - i. blades of nerium, shrouded in shadows - 6.2k, 1/1 - ii. wreathed in the smoke of smoldering japonica - 6.2k, 1/1

singles - floating dead above myself - 18.2k, 1/1 - a crack in the glass (eye) - 2.0k, 1/1 - greys turned vibrant - 2.0k, 1/1 - lawbending - 3.8k, 1/1 - not to decry the simple life - 1.6k, 1/1

boku no hero academia the sun sets late in the summertime - 1/?** - i. swallow the summer sun - 5.4k, 1/1

singles - headcase (the color of boom) - 37.6k, 3/3 - i fell for you the way you fell for life - 8.3k, 1/1 - high above the floodline - 4.3k, 1/1

other fics - infinity train: seven hundred thirty-eight minutes - 2.6k, 1/1

works in progress [as of 3/14/24] - a:tlok — rose beds and gasoline veins — 10.9k, 0/1 - a:tlok — snowglobes don’t shake on their own — 1.7k, 0/10 - a:tlok — hotel full of bones — 1.8k, 0/1 - bnha — buried in copper mines — 11.0k, 0/1* - bnha — the time of now — 3.2k, 0/1* - a:tla — to keep white roses in their eyes — 2.1k, 1/5* - bnha — the duality of lightning — 7.0k, 1/31, 0/5* — i. friction — ii. cypher — iii. gravity — iv. anvil — v. release - ranger’s apprentice — remind me of who i could’ve been — 11.0k, 0/1* [collab with fairy527] - a:tla — learning life’s (un)lyrical lessons — 2.6k, 1/7*

* not currently being worked on, but will hopefully return to one of these days. ** probably abandoned

you should be able to find some info about most of these wips by tag on my blog, but if not, feel free to drop an ask :P

(tragically, i have many other wips that did not have enough of a plan for me to think to finish.)

#lychee's word trash #thought i would make a compilation for the sake of doing so lol #it's weirdly enjoyable #*coughs at self doing this instead of writing fic*#haha ignoring your wips who?? i would never. i could never

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butmakeitgayblog · 2 years

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Aaalright. I finally had time to read your new CI snippet, I waited the entire day and now, finally, I did it. In the wise words of Kristen Wiig: Hello Julia aka Hallelujah.

But anyway.

I L O V E D it.

I like a little bit of possessiveness or jealousy (expect when is definitely too much) and CI Clexa are perfect for this dynamic in my opinion.

And even though Clarke is a little shit that loves to provoke Lexa, you can definitely see how much she loves her and she obviously ignores everyone else.

It's a little game, a game that Lexa lose every time it seems 😁 but I don't think she is sad for it and as you said in other occasions, she shows her affection with her actions so they balance each other. They are super cute. Super lethal but super cute.

After this plethora I had a question though.

I was rereading - because I fell in the loop of reading all the previous snippets again - the one in which Clarke and Lexa confront Hellen and the one in which Clarke tries to comfort Lexa because is her dad's anniversary.

So, two things:

1. In Clexa vs Hellen's snippet I never noticed that you compare Lexa's grace to angels' grace. Eheheh I very much appreciated it. I don't know if you did it on purpose, but nice. 😏

2. In Gus' anniversary snippet, Lexa said that Hellen doesn't give a damn about Lexa's dad anniversary (in fact Hellen and Jake are on holiday that day) so for years it was just Lexa and her mourning and she doesn't want to do anything (or at least is what I perceived) and Clarke is the first person that tried to help her get through that day. So, my question is: in the distant future, maybe when they are even married, what does Clarke on that specific day to help Lexa and what does Lexa to help Clarke when she feels nostalgic of her mom if she does? Because I understand that they have this kind of special connection (and you are so good in underline it in every snippet) where they actually understand each other without telling much, sometimes they understand each other way before the other one reach the point.

Sorry. It's a long message in a not very clear English, but... I hope is readable enough. 😂

💕💕💕

Thank you, I loved this so much 🥺 I'm really glad you're liking it and yeah you totally see them. Cute, but lethal lol

And don't apologize! Your English is great and long comments/messages are a writer's lifeblood 😩

Putting this under the cut cuz it's a longer answer than I thought

///////

As for your question, when it comes to her dad's anniversary, Lexa has a tendency to become melancholic. Clarke always notices she gets a little quiet on the days leading up and does her best just to be there. Not imposing, just present. She knows Lexa needs time and silence sometimes to collect her feelings and be alone in her thoughts. Needs time to remember her dad and allow herself to miss him rather than giving in to the impulse to try to be strong and grit her jaw through it. Clarke would be the type to compile all the pictures of him she can find over the years. Secretly harass all the employees of the company who worked with him from before Lexa was even born, track down old school friends and classmates and photos from yearbooks and get them framed. Take pictures of him and baby Lexa, from their first picture together with her little chunky butt swaddled in his huge arms, to every birthday and family vacation thereafter, and make a whole new album just for her. One a lot less tainted with the sour notes of Hellen.

On the actual day I think she'd plan things for them to do in the afternoon and evening. Lexa likes to go into work in the morning because that's her father's legacy. She's proud of it and she knows a lot of those people miss him too. She may be a bitch but she's loyal to them for his sake. But the afternoons and evenings are them at home. It's an unspoken thing that they just spend it together. Reading, drawing, watching a movie, eating a ridiculously expensive dinner they had delivered from a place that Does Not Do Deliveries. Lexa once told her Gus always said important days are meant for family, chosen or otherwise, but they're meant to be spent with those you hold dearest. And they're each other's family now. So Clarke plans exactly that.

Clarke and her mom is a lot trickier territory. Because Clarke genuinely kinda fucking hates Abby for what she did. There's hurt there of course but Clarke's been through a lot (and I mean a lot) of therapy to help her accept that it wasn't her fault. But she's also fucked up enough that she just turned all that energy into sending an eternal Fuck Youuuuu out into the universe to wherever Abby may happen to be. I think the only times Lexa really feels the need to ever do much is when something triggers those buried resentments and hurt. In one of the snippets cooling its heels in my drafts actually has Lexa accidentally triggering it herself 😬. But it could be anything, really. Usually it surprises Clarke as much as anyone. Seeing a mom and daughter at luncheon that reminds her of when her mom would take her to these things. A movie when a parent calls their daughter 'princess'. Randomly getting a piece of gossip that somehow winds itself back to Abby's circle of elite on the West coast.

Then it's more about distracting Clarke. Not letting her go down the spiral of thinking she'll be abandoned by everyone. Remind her that she's wanted. Yearned for. Needed. Irreplaceable. It's a process of slowly drowning out those fears with the truth of how much Clarke is loved. Clarke would rather throw herself into traffic than admit that the whole Abby thing still hurts, and Lexa respects her boundaries on that subject after they're together. So Lexa knows she'll never be able to fix those feelings, just like Clarke can't fix Lexa's, but she's always there with her quiet steadiness and devotion. Her own whispered pet names and wordless touches that Clarke seems to crave in those moments.

#anon #cruel intentions au

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stardew-mermaid · 3 years

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im WEAK for my faves as parents and i know lots of y'all are too so here are

bachelors as dads vibes

(bachelorettes as moms will come soon too ❤️ under cut cause it got very long lol)

sebastian

a chill dad. when u were very little he'd let u sit in his lap while he codes and consequently u find heavy metal soothing cause he would be playing it while he works and u would always fall asleep against him

if he wasn't using his second computer u could play around on it while he works. 'existing in each other's company while u both do stuff' time becomes a regular thing even as u get older, u would do ur homework next to him at his desk and he'd help if u were confused

the first time u were deemed old enough to go for a ride on his motorcycle u were SO fucking hyped even if u had to be absolutely decked out in protective gear. sometimes while u were in high school he'd help you flex by picking you up/dropping you off on the bike

would bundle u up in his hoodies as a toddler and there's a few pics of u absolutely SWIMMING in them with the hood all the way over ur face pretending to be the grim reaper. he'd never been so proud

elliott

an eloquent dad, but still has goofy dadlike tendencies. he may be the picture of a dark academia dilf with his slacks and button ups sipping coffee in the morning over a manuscript, but he'll still make the jokes. calls u things like little one and taught u to play piano

he got u ur own little bookshelf for all ur baby books and he'd read to you every single night without fail. he'd make up stories too and u would help and make a collab tho it often got u more excited than relaxed for bed but it was worth it!!! when u were grown up u helped him compile the short stories u made up together and published it. he'd also share with u poems he wrote for you and about you over the years, lots of them to do with the wonder of watching a whole tiny person grow into a big person

would always take u on nature walks and play at the beach!!! u would find shells and rocks to give to him and he'd always look like u just handed him pure gold

u made a pact that u would sit still for him while he did ur hair if u could braid his hair in turn. u both looked very stylish

sam

cool dad!!! fun dad!!!! watches anime with u when u get into it and is forever ur player 2. if u had a skateboard or a scooter he'd always show u up by pulling off sick tricks and it became a friendly rivalry. taught u to stick it to the man at a very early age. teaches u to play guitar and took u to ur first rock concert when u were like 8

there are baby photos of u wearing sunglasses that cover half ur face and when asked about it he'd say 'u were just a rly cool baby!!!!' in some of them he's wearing matching sunglasses and carrying u in one of those front baby pouches. he'd also always sing to you as a baby and still does it idly sometimes and has written songs for u!!!!

ur #1 hypeman. praises u for everything and always makes sure u know how cool u are just for existing. he loses his mind at ur grade school talent show and at ur graduation he's there holding up his phone and crying like FUCK IT UP KENNETH!!!!! 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️

tho alongside all the fun he teaches u to be very responsible and polite and above all extremely kind!!!!

shane

has the most potent typical dad energy. the socks with sandals, the jokes, the ac/dc, the funny hobby projects, the rivalry with other pta parents, all of it. calls u squirt and kiddo and the kind to ruffle ur hair. always gives u piggy back rides even as u get older, says it helps him stay in shape. when u were little you'd always bap ur baby hands against his stubble cause heehee funny scratchy face

u loved when he was in charge of dinner growing up cause it was often takeout pizza/burgers. 'hey im making a pot of kraft dinner should i double it for u' kind of guy, adds cut up hot dogs and after ur other parent voices a need for nutrition adds frozen veggies too. VERY good at cooking all kinds of eggs tho, would always feed u eggs from his own chickens and would accept nothing less!!!

teaches u a lot about chickens and some of ur fave memories with him are in the coop or chillin in a field in spring with him and the new chicks. some other faves include the regular tea parties with him and cousin jas, and even as u both get older u all sit down and have tea together sometimes and occasionally break out one of the old barbie movies for funsies

u learned how to say fuck from him when u were 3 and he died laughing. if called and told that u got into a fight at school would reply with 'did they win'

harvey

sweet, dorky doctor dad. would get SUPER worried whenever u got so much as a cold, made u stay home and rest and HYDRATE. taught u proper medical standard handwashing from when u first learned how to turn on the tap, also taught u a lot of basic first aid. when u were fussy he would read u his old textbooks from med school and it'd get you to sleep in minutes

refuses to let u leave the house without eating something first and would often get up early to make u a big breakfast before school (it's the most important meal of the day!!!!). yes it's ok if ur late ur english teacher can wait until you've had ur veggies. when u were a baby his standard of keeping u fed was 'if i had to change less than five diapers a day it wasn't enough'. encourages taking a snack and water everywhere

as u got older u realized how hardworking he is so u make sure he knows how much u love and appreciate him, goes all out for his bday and father's day like how he goes all out for u every day and it makes him cry. he cries at ur first birthday and ur graduation too, cried when u got him a #1 DAD mug specifically for his morning coffee, he just cries a lot and it's very endearing, dad taught u it's okay to be emotional. u also gift him funky socks to wear at work and he goes bananas for them

he taught u how to assemble model planes and u would sit with him while he tuned his old radio, u liked the bwee bwee sounds. he would play jazz and swing and dance with u standing on his feet. when u were little u liked to play with his moustache and occasionally he would fall asleep while watching u but the most u ever did was add a goatee to the stache with washable marker which he thought was pretty funny

alex

strong dad!!! jock dad!!!!! would flex and let u hang off his bicep, play wrestle (u would always win), sit u on his shoulders and run around making airplane noises, play sportsball in the yard and would come up with fun challenges for u if u got bored of catch. pretty much the master of keeping ur baby self entertained and was always there to tuck u in for a nap when u got tired out

makes an extra protein shake for u every morning and loads of scrambled eggs, will also sneak u a cookie tho

he's always super encouraging and positive and enthusiastic about everything u do which u pick up fast. u go to his games and even if sports turns out not to be ur thing the fact that ur there rooting for him makes him put in 1000% effort, calls u his good luck charm!!!! he will also throw u over his shoulders and use u for weightlifting while u shout encouragement directly into his ear. this continues until ur grown up (and sometimes even then so he can flex even as an 'old man')

gets really really worried about you whenever ur sick or get hurt and will lose sleep over it but stays upbeat for ur sake. he will cuddle u tho. sometimes you'll ask for stories about ur grandma and he'll tell u and it's so nice to him to talk about his mother and smile instead of being sad, you help him heal because it's so wonderful to think of her as a grandmother and how proud she'd be. he plays her music box for u to help u sleep when ur little and it still makes u feel sleepy and safe when ur older

#food mention -/#stardew valley #stardew valley headcanons #stardew valley imagines #sdv headcanons #sdv imagines #sdv sebastian #sdv elliott #sdv sam #sdv shane #sdv harvey #sdv alex #long post #big dad energy

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searchingforbucky · 4 years

Text

Fic Rec (Part 19) :)

Hi everyone! And welcome to day 1273198172 of quarantine lol. On a serious note, I hope you all are staying safe, happy, and healthy. I know these stories in this list provided me much needed entertainment for the past week or so, and I’m hoping they will help you all the same. I love this AU, its always so fun to see the different routes people take, so without further ado welcome to the Vampire!Bucky Rec List :) *** Means Smut Sorry its a bit short, theres not many out there. The links weren't working so there is none in this.

Biting Cold by @hootyhoobuckaroo

OK so this one I think is a perfect start to the vampire list. This one is absolutely fantastic. So it’s about Bucky and the reader being in a pre-establish relationship, when suddenly some freaky stuff starts happening very close to home. So Buckys a Vampire, and the reader doesn’t know it. But the reader is terrified of vampires. Obviously that causes a little problem. I just really liked how unique of a storyline this was, I love just how genuine the fear was and the emotions they had were. It constantly kept me on the edge of my seat because I was wondering what was gonna happen. I am absolutely in love with protective bucky so you know that this has it lol. And honestly I just really loved how one it was well written, but to reply with something that I had never read before. And I don’t wanna spoil it or anything, but it was just a real nailbiter. Definitely recommend.

All My Friends Are Heathens by @sebseyesandbuckysthighs ***

OK, so I think this one was the first vampire Bucky story that I ever read, and it’s absolutely fantastic. So this one is about Bucky being a vampire, and he’s amongst the avengers who are all their own sort of “monster“. And the reader comes to visit them, and Bucky is just absolutely drawn to her, and unfortunately she is human. I think my favorite thing about this story is just how well drawn out each character is, I was absolutely invested in not only their relationship growing, but the whole storyline in general. I was obsessed in learning about what the different monsters were, what their little thing was that they did. And I really loved how absolutely cocky and mysterious Bucky was. This one is smutty, but nothings wrong with that LOL. This is just a really good, really head turning story. A lot of twists in this

Bad Things by @xbuchananbarnes *** (kinda)

All right, now this one is really something. So this one was incredibly interesting. It’s about Bucky in the reader being in a pre-established relationship, and he promised to turn her when she turns 28, but in the meantime he makes her move to 10 different places so that way she can get used a whole bunch of different things that she would have to win when she does actually become a vampire. I really liked how mysteries this one is, just how sweet they are together. The fact that her 10th Pl. is what it is, for the reason it is, is something that is incredibly sweet to me. anyways, I loved seeing all of the little snippets in to how they met, and everything like that. but I really honestly just love how sort of vague it is? If that makes sense? Like there are so many possibilities that your mind is running for miles after you read it. It’s one of those stories that you just keep thinking about, you keep thinking about what the other eight places were, what’s going to happen in the future it’s really awesome. The sequel is even wilder lol.

Thirsty by @jobean12-blog ***

So this one is a short yet sexy little Drabble. It’s technically a vampire Bucky, though it’s not necessarily like a main focus of the story. But I really liked it so I’m going to include it anyway. This one is just you know really cute. It shows the fun little feisty side to them, it’s pretty sexy, some dirty talk that’s like....damn lol. But I really just like stories that show couples are kind of so obsessed with each other, and so in love with each other, that they’re able to have fun in that way no matter where they are. I really liked it

Craving You by @propertyofpoeandbucky ***

So this one is really cool, this one is about vampire Bucky and succubus reader. It is a compilation of little drabbles, and it’s really interesting. So I love seeing the dynamic between the two of them, just how interesting it is to see how they deal with their lifestyles, and having to do it together. And stuff happens that they have to navigate how they’re going to deal with it. I don’t wanna spoil it but it something that is very interesting to see. It’s also kinda smutty so that’s nice hahaha. Just a really cute, really interesting story

Blood Bound by @the-omni-princess ***

Ohhhhhh man! Now this one! This one is like a TV series I swear, like vampire diaries but a lot better. So this one is about vampire Bucky and a witch reader. And it is so freaking good, and so interesting. So currently is on hiatus, but I thought it was awesome enough to put it in there anyways. Because it doesn’t matter how much of it there is, what there is is amazing. It is like so nailbiting, there’s so many twists and turns and angst, but it’s also incredibly cute. i’ve never read a story like this, and I’m not sure if anybody else could do it like this. And I love how the soulmate idea is interwoven in there, I’m a sucker for soulmates. Honestly it’s like every trope that I love is somehow in this story, but it’s not overwhelming, it’s just really well done. In the world that’s created is so immersive and awesome

In the Dark by @persephone-is-here-omg

All right, I really like this one too. I think my favorite part about this one is the fact that it relates Canon Bucky to vampire but you. It talks about how Hydra made him a vampire and the torture that he went through because he was a vampire. I really like how it didn’t completely get rid of his story, it wasn’t fully an AU, and that’s so interesting and cool to me man. And I also thought it was interesting seeing all the small little snippet into their relationship. It’s interesting to see EV juxtaposition of how she willingly gives up everything for him, but he got that stuff stolen from hydra. It’s just a really interesting story

Sunshine by @iwillbeinmynest ***

Alright so this one was amazing. This one is about vampire Bucky, and it’s honestly pretty sad, at the beginning he had basically resigned himself to live a life in the cold. However he needs the reader who somehow can make him feel warm. And that was honestly the cutest part of the story, just how much he loved feeling warm, and she made him feel warm in so many different ways both physically and emotionally and it was so soft. But don’t let that trick you into thinking that this is just a soft story, there are absolutely some crazy things happening in the story. And I absolutely love Tony in this, I think it’s a great representation of him. Such a really awesome story

Men of the Moon by @hellomissmabel

So this one is really cool. It is a vampire diaries a you. It’s also kind of a Stucky x reader but not a Stucky fic if that makes sense? Like Bucky x reader and Steve x reader but no throuple. Obviously, that would be weird because they’re brothers lol. Anyways, now that I just rambled through that. I really love this. I think that all of the characters fit into the vampire diaries characters very well. I’ve honestly never liked vampire diaries, but this made me really like it LOL. I think it was done so much better than the actual show was, why couldn’t the show be like this. anyways, it was just so interesting to read the dynamic between the three characters, and everyone else really. I also loved just how invade the ending was, it’s like I can imagine so many different things happening after it and that’s always something that’s really nice with the story when I can kind of finish it myself.

Hungry Eyes by @lenavonschweetz ***

OHHHHHH this one is SPICY lol. Bucky is one cocky son of a gun. So this one is about vampire Bucky, and for the betterment of the town, him and the reader make a pact that he would feed off of her to avoid suspicion. Except for he would only feed on her wrist because anything else is too intimate. Well that went out the drain real fast. This one was honestly kind of just straight smut lol, but there’s some plot in there that’s really awesome. There’s some awesome tropes, friends to lovers, cocky Bucky, vampire Bucky, SMUT. It all comes together to form a really interesting really well done story. I really liked it

In the Dark by @waiting4inspiration ***

Oh man, so this one is really interesting too. So this one is about vampire Bucky and werewolf reader, and the reader is an arranged marriage with werewolf Steve. There is a sort of creature war between vampires and werewolves, and that leads to a bunch of problems. But surprise surprise, the reader falls in love with her sworn enemy. And that’s awesome, I love those tropes. I think it’s Really incredible just how well she balances the two worlds, it’s way better than twilight I’ll tell you that right now LOL. But I just really love the dynamic between everybody, there’s angst, there’s fluff, there’s never a time when you’re bored. It’s just left and write something that either leaves you on your toes you’re feeling everything at once. It’s really great. It’s not finished yet but what it’s there is amazing.

Special: For Heavens Sake by @221bshrlocked ***

wow OK, talk about unique. So this one is a vampire reader story, but it was so cool I have to include it. So obviously it’s vampire story obviously, but it also an ABO story, like whaaaaat. So ABO is admittedly the main aspect of a story, but I just thought it was absolutely incredible how well they combined the two tropes. I loved how oh much fuck he was actively trying to be with her, I really love the dynamic between them. I really loved how raw and genuine emotions are, I can’t imagine how scared them both must have been during certain parts of the story, I’m not gonna spoil it but there were definitely some parts where I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was gonna happen because it was so interesting. There was so much happening in the story and it was just awesome.

Thank you all for reading, again, sorry its so short. and sorry it took so long lol. I appreciate you all. :)

#vampire!bucky #vampire!bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes #bucky #bucky x reader #bucky fic #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barns imagine #ficrecs #fic recs #searchingforbucky

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ninakaina · 3 years

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I might be dumb but is Daniil overtly racist in p2?? As a full poc who has only played that game (not p1, planning on getting marble nest) I didn't see him as this racist man but rather someone who fully believes in science and not the steppe and I thought he was a funny little man. I'm sure the pathologic team didn't intend for the racism discourse to get this bad as apparently one of the lead writers ships burakhovsky but idk

first of all, the thing about dybowski is like, the hearsay to end all hearsay lol it’s like a translation of a conversation dybowski isn’t part of that could very easily be perceived as a joke (as i do). also wrt dybowski, he himself is a white passing biracial man like artemy, whose model is based on him, which is just something i feel like shouldn’t be forgotten about in discussions of pathologic and race.

daniil’s racism is definitely less overt in p2 than in mn and classic (e.g., he doesn’t refer to artemy’s religion and people as s*v*ge to his face as he does in p1), but i definitely don’t think that makes it nonexistent. i'm not going to speculate about the devs’ intentions beyond this point, as i don’t think it’s constructive. also just talking about p2 since that’s what you asked for. here’s a link to some dialogue compiled by a mutual. i’ll do more uhm. analysis than evidence below

as far as stuff he verbally says, he uses an antiziganist slur, in a dialogue some people have claimed is supportive of rromani people, but i would seriously contest that although i’m not gonna get into it rn for the sake of answering you quickly. in general i think we need to take antiziganism in the game a llot more seriously, given that anna angel exists in it. he also mispronounces artemy’s surname intentionally (he correctly pronounces it in reference to isidor, and is corrected, in the same conversation)-- which i know may not be an inherently evil thing depending on your personal feelings about it, more of a microaggression, but as a white passing mixed person whose race is generally recognized through my surname & family connections like artemy, if someone did that to me i would not feel great about the person who did it. again, not cancelling daniil or anything. i’m not trying to cancel him and i’ve never claimed to be, that would be a ridiculous thing to try to do.

on a deeper level, his racism is very interesting when you get to the “fully believes in science and not the steppe” thing. because he kind of doesn’t just believe in science. the idea of him as just an asshole atheist has become really popular, i think the hbomb video essay had to do with that. while hes almost as much of an asshole to the mistresses (i think this is mostly in p1) as he is to the kin, he self-identifies as a misogynist so i think that could have something to do with it sdgxfchvhbj. if you actually look at him, he’s a necromancer who canonically believes in astrology and pretty easily becomes completely devoted to the idea that simon’s immortal soul lives in a magic building. while you could view the latter as character development and i might agree, he doesn’t develop the same open-mindedness to the kin. it’s much more of a case of racists using “but science” to dismiss and derogate the traditions and beliefs of another culture.

again i’m not trying to cancel him or anything. it’s really weird to me that this is considered discourse. i actually think daniil is a fascinating character and a funny bastard, just not a harmless one, and the narrative provided by analyzing him through the lens of his racism is really interesting.

#character analysis #ty for asking!#Anonymous #asks

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kuronekonerochan · 4 years

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The laziest compilation of thoughts about the mess that was Alice (spoilers)

I finish a lot of shitty dramas. Like a lot. I could review them, but I won’t bc there’s too many and I’m too lazy (when you ff some dramas from 45min to 5 per episode it doesn’t really count as watching too many dramas bc it’s really a commercial break, lol). Some I watch for the so bad it’s good content, or love hate watching or just to have something to watch while I eat, even if they’re boring af. It’s also a tiny bit of ocd bc I need to see how they end (even the ones I drop I check out the finale). I only drop the ones that as Marie Kondo says *Do Not Spark Joy, more specifically...annoy me and make me cranky.

I sometimes bitch about it on DMs with ranty spoilers without structure and that reference other unrelated dramas or shows, because ADHD and my mind refuses to stay on topic, which would make it probably unintelligible except if you are in the niche who happens to have watched the other unrelated dramas, so it’s probably useless as a review.

That said, here are some random disconnected thoughts about Alice.

MAJOR SPOILER ALERTS BEWARE

(this is like partly copypaste of DM rants bc I am that lazy biatch. Also, fair warning I will seem super harsh or this drama because that’s the thing about a bitching dm versus a proper review... I am not bringing up all the points and talking about the good and what I liked as well as the bad, it’s just the bad...and although the drama is imo a mess, it does have some good in it. So if it were a review I’d always argue pros and cons...ranty thoughs who cares about pros? boring..I will not be bothered with devil’s advocate).

This was fascinating to watch, interesting but not good... but like a trainwreck.

I continued watching this mess despite the headache inducing convoluted plot (I watched a lot of timetravel stuff and I love it...encompassing all the theories about it, from butterfly effect, to effectively changing the future (with characters forgetting it or keeping it in memory because “eye of the storm” theory, the “efforts are futile and you can try to change it but the future is set in stone”, to “small changes can be made but big events are fixed points in time”, to “every change creates a new time line” and multiverse, etc... and trust me, all of them can be done well when well written or turn out a confusing illogical mess and that has nothing to do with the theory chosen, but with presenting how time travel works for that story and what the basic rules are and sticking to them...or when something happens that contradicts them, come up with an explanation as to why that happens.

I don’t mean the drama should be an exposition borefest with too much pseudosciency jargon...but this drama gives you too little in the way of rules and the viewers sort of figure out how timetravel works (which is not bad per se, huge fan of show don’t tell...but there’s a limit to how much they cannot tell or the characters chose not to ask just for the sake of plot and not without any logic to it). Anyways, the little “rules” that we gather along the way...the writing doesn’t stick to them and keeps contradicting itself without addressing or explaining it and hoping we’re so confused we don’t notice. Some dramas you just say “eh, forget it, it doesn’t make sense, let’s turn off our brains and enjoy it”, but here if I wanted to try and follow what was going on at all it required “brain on” mode for their convoluted plot twists...which also made me aware of so may plotholes the time road should have looked like Swiss Cheese. I could go into them...but I cannot be bothered and the list would be extensive and still incomplete, so I will just put 3 here bc I can’t help it:

1) Hot Daddy with emotional turmoil the entire drama of “Oh no, I abandoned her in 92 and regretted it, it happened 1 year ago for me, and now I find out she died in 2010. How was she, did she suffer? What did she know? Oh god, if only I were a time traveler eventually going rogue who could show up and talk to her any time in the timeline between 92 and 2010...Alas, I have to live in misery with the consequences of my actions...there is just ABSOLUTELY no way of solving this. I guess I’ll just keep making unauthorized time travel journeys from 2050′s time agency back to the year of 2020 and only 2020 to constantly be blindsided by murder attempts on everyone everywhere without having a clue to what’s going on when I could simply go back to before 2010 and talk to the one person who is proven to know what is going on.” Here is where there could be a bullshit reason as to why he could go only go to 2020 and not before, but the drama didn’t even bother.

2) They say Tae Yi’s mom was originally a time traveler who settled with her physicist dad in the past, eventually making way for her to discover time travel herself. The mom is missing and this is never addressed again.

3) The book...who wrote it? Because I have guesses but they never outright answer it... and if the biatch author knew that stuff why the alice in wonderland stupid analogies?

Coward, or petty, or both.... or maybe just a chaos gremlin godlike entity who wanted to watch them all squirm, like the author from Extraordinary You...and that I could get behind, but sadly they don’t go that metaphysical/theological with the plot...which is honestly the main problem with this drama. It seems ambitious in concept but it’s never explored decently in any way, not in the pseudoscience, not in the philosophical sense of the meaning of time/space/existence, not even in its relationships, with the constant back and forth and weirdness of it.

Besides the timetravel migraine, we had the weirdest directing, that made the relationship between the leads feel a bit too incesty...which was the main reason I kept watching this drama...morbid curiosity of how they wrapped up this mess of a plot AND especially the relationship payoff...would it keep being weird with trope romance drama scenes like the female lead and second female lead facing off and being jealous, or that weird hair washing that felt more sensual than maternal? I knew it wouldn’t happen but my inner chaos gremlin wanted kdramaland to grow some balls and go full “predestination: oedipus edition” with this mess. Alas they sort of did, mostly didn’t. Even that angle was a whole inconsistent mess: there were times where it felt too romantic, then for a short minute I misguidedly shipped the journalist friend, then it seemed the dude was ace, then they calmed their tits with the whole weird romantic vibes and it got platonic cute, then with the memory merge thing finally motherly vibes, then I shipped the journalist again for 1 sec only...and then the ending:

Alice ended with the lead solving every problem by shooting himself (technically) in the head...and that's the second meta perfectly fitting ending for a drama with a good cast and terrible writing that drove itself into a corner this year, after the sleepless princess ended with the leads jumping off a cliff. I don't think it's a self aware choice of the writers, or an admission that they themselves know it was bad, but the irony is delicious.

Spoiler for the ending: he undoes timey wimey stuff from when his mom first got killed in high school and closed the time travel door. So he became an architect and new Tae Yi just woke up in her bed remembering everything, but in reality she had just come back from a conference abroad and had never met him. So mom TaeYi didn't die then, but never got back on screen after the time undo so who the f knows what happened to her.

Also, if new Tae Yi remembers, does that mean hot daddy from the future does as well, but he is just stuck in the future without a time door to ever see them again? The drama doesn’t care answering that and forgets his character is even a thing...I will miss you, my fave who looked emotionally and literally constipated 24/7 (it doesn’t care answering much at all tbf... a little known fact about the time travel paradoxes according to the physics of this world is that besides doppelganger chickenpox it induces severe lazy writing).

Anyways new Tae Yi went looking for architect (? okay...I guess) ML after she woke up, at first he didn't remember her, but it ends with him meeting her, apparently remembering her and they stare at each other... you know, like any bad traditional romantic kdrama finale....so there is still THAT vibe.

Honestly, the usual romantic ballad score for scenes between the leads WAS NOT the most intelligent choice for this drama in specific but boy did they stick with it (not to mention the ending song... that goes, in english “we be like Bonnie and Clyde we ride or die...which...k, sure)...so technically the ending was exactly the cliche post amnesia running back to each other and staring for the final scene while romantic music blasts trope. Take it as you will.

#alice #sbs alice #kdrama #mine #kdrama edit #kdrama rant #kdrama rambles #sleepless princess #cdrama #just the reference tho #alice kdrama #alice sbs

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lithilite · 3 years

Quote

What good are a thousand prayers and countless Sunday masses if you are full of anger and fear, Eve?

Julie Padasian, Unduk Ngadau p.131

Does it not feel so close to your heart and attack you right in the mind? This line was one of the lines from the eighteen short stories that I thought were worth pondering for. As a believer, we have been taught to religiously devote ourselves to our religion but were we really doing it because we truly believe in it or it’s just for the sake of following others? As a Muslim myself, I was taught that prayers and fasting would help us go through any difficulties in life. However, I always find myself trapped in an abyss full of darkness. Struggling to free myself. When I look at others who are truly enjoying the meaning of life with light, envy starts to fill in me. Is this the right attitude for a believer that believes in sisterhood and brotherhood?

When I first encounter this line, it felt weird. I could not understand it. Why would she say this line at this situation? Their grandmother had died, would not it be normal for someone to grieve? Then it struck me, a true believer could have accepted it with a calmer disposition. Believing that our loved ones in a better place and there are better ways to grieve for them that could give more benefit to them than just wailing and questioning fate. But to be able to attain that level of belief is hard. Like really hard. You might have to go through so many things to achieve it.

This line was taken from a short story called Unduk Ngadau by Julie Padasian. I read this through the compilation book “The Principal Girl” that compiles all feminist tales from Asia. It might seem cliché if I were to quote a line and talked about it through a feminist perspective and this whole book has lots of it. All eighteen short stories are worth to read. My personal favourites are The Veiled Knight, House of Melaka, Red and White, Under the Bridge and Gamble.

Some of it are the common folktales that we have heard and read since preschool but all of it centred around women (lol, it literally says feminist tales on the cover). For example, Red and White is about Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih which usually is told from Putih’s point of view. However, Red and White is told from Merah’s pov who actually have a love and hate relationship with her sister and she sees Putih as someone who likes to daydream, delusional and easily believe in strangers. It was inevitable that Merah treats Putih in a slightly harsh manner as to make her learn her mistakes. It was rather refreshing reading it from her perspective and some of the stories are new tales that I have never read before which were also exciting.

#book review #short story #asian #folktale #malaysia #singapore #bawang putih #puteri gunung ledang #feminism

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capaldifiction · 4 years

Text

Our Chaotic Life (Part 2) - Lewis Capaldi x Reader

Well I told myself this series would be individuals scenes per part and I’d keep them relatively short. Yeah I already broke that on part 2. If you’ve read my other stuff you’ve probably noticed I tend to write long fics so hopefully this was just expected lol Hope you all enjoy part 2!

Paring: Lewis Capaldi x Comedian Reader

Word Count: 2,938

Description: Based on the request: “Lewis and the reader are kinda like a power couple of sorts? Idk it sounds cheesy but maybe she’s like a comedian or something and they are kinda infamous for their TikToks and Instagram Lives and stuff of that sort? Maybe it’s just a compilation of them just being effin adorable?“

In this part Lewis and Y/N go on a date.

Warnings: Some swearing (this is just going to be on every fic tbh)

PART 1

Y/N looks herself over in the mirror for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. Everything she put on she hated.

After meeting at the venue, her and Lewis had their first ‘date’ that night after their gigs. The audience had liked both their sets, and they’d gone out for drinks to celebrate. Since then they’d managed to find time for two more dates during the day.

What she wasn’t prepared for was how much she liked him increasing after each date. What had started as a joke, seemed like it was turning into something else. But they’d only had drinks and two lunch dates so far. When he’d called to ask her on another, and she suggested meeting up later for dinner instead, she hadn’t fully thought that through.

Staring at her open wardrobe in front of her, she sighed. The drinks were just that, drinks after a gig. She wore what she’d been wearing all day. And the lunch dates she’d figured were casual, they were just meeting up for lunch and it wasn’t that serious yet. Still just joking about marriage.

But something about getting dinner together, after three dates she genuinely enjoyed, felt like she had to put more effort into how she looked. But how much effort? He didn’t seem the type to dress up too much, but what if he did and she under-dressed? Or she went for it and he showed up in a t-shirt and jeans?

Swearing at the clothes in front of her she finally grabbed something off the hanger and convinced herself it was good enough. As she ran her brush through her hair, she practiced a few lines for her next set in the mirror in attempt to calm herself down.

So far everything with Lewis had been light. Everything was joking around and having a good time, getting to know one another while slagging each other off. Somewhere in there she realized how much she was actually enjoying being around him. And part of her wanted it to be deeper.

Her door bell rings, pulling her from her thoughts as she grabs her things and heads toward the door. Swinging it open reveals Lewis standing on her doorstep with flowers in hand.

“I, thought maybe you'd like flowers?” he asks hesitantly offering them toward her. “If not I’ll chuck them in the bush and we can pretend this part never happened.”

“How uncharacteristically sweet of you,” she teases but accepts them from him. “Come on in, I’ll find something to put them in.”

Following her into her apartment, he looks around the room as she rummages through a drawer in the kitchen. “Nice place,” he comments as he looks at pictures hanging on the wall.

“Thanks,” she shouts back, finally finding something suitable and filling it with water. “Where’d you want to go to eat?”

“Uh, I heard about an Italian place nearby maybe?” he offers as he goes to stand in the entryway of her kitchen.

“Works for me,” she answers, finally setting the vase of flowers on her window sill.

As she turns back toward him, Lewis clears his throat, “You look, really nice by the way.”

Stepping closer to him, she reaches up to lightly squeeze one of his blushing cheeks, “You look pretty handsome yourself, I thought you only owned hoodies.”

“Thought I’d make an effort to look a bit nicer for you tonight,” he teases back as they head out the door toward his car.

The dinner went well, though the wine might have helped calm her down a bit. Being around him was comfortable. He had that ease about him. At some point during the dinner she’d suggested seeing a movie, and that’s how they ended up at some action movie she wasn’t sure either of them were really all that into.

Admittedly she spent more time during the movie overthinking about what him holding her hand meant, than actually paying attention to the plot line.

Heading out to the parking lot they joked about the movie lightheartedly before growing silent as they reached his car. Neither seemingly ready to head back home.

“There’s this place not too far we could go hang out,” she suggests.

“Sure that works for me,” he nods and they get into the car, “So where is this place?”

“Ok this is going to sound sketchy, but just trust me,” she clarifies as she puts the location on the GPS in his phone. “It’s just a field past some wooded areas I used to go hang out at as a teenager.”

“Is that where you’re going to harvest my organs?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as he glances at the GPS.

“If that was the plan I’d not have gone on this many dates with you Lewis, too many witnesses and too much work,” she jokes.

“That wasn’t a no,” he responds as he follows the directions to the location.

“You’re supposed to be my betrothed, and you don’t trust me?” She says in a mock sad voice.

Somehow between the movie theater parking lot and their destination, she found her hand resting on his leg. Neither seemingly wanting to move it, she contented herself with rubbing small circles on his thigh as he drove and they chatted about nothing in particular.

She’d found a pair of discarded sunglasses and put them on at some point, ignoring the fact it was far too dark to see efficiently with them.

“We make sacrifices for the sake of good sunglasses,” he joked nodding approvingly at her choice. “Fuck the sun, look class all the time.”

As they finally reached the place, she shifted the sunglasses up to her forehead and directed him to parked in the center of the field, “Want to get out and stargaze?”

He shrugs, “Sure, I’ll get some music playing.”

Y/N gets out of the car, leaving the sunglasses on the dash, and walks to the front of his car and crawls up on the hood. Behind her Lewis rolls the windows down, and gets out closing the door before reaching through the window to select a radio station and turn the car off.

“Oh, none of your music to play?” she questions as he crawls up on the hood next to her.

“Unfortunately, I don't have my own radio station or record at this point darling,” he responds lightly flicking her forehead.

“Yet,” she comments, laying back to look at the sky.

“Oh?” he comments, laying back beside her. “You believe in me huh?”

“I don’t marry losers Lewis,” she says with a wink toward him, a smile spreading across his face. “Seriously though, you’ve got a great voice, you keep pushing and you’ll make it.”

“Glad you think so,” he replies before they go silent.

After a few minutes of looking up at the stars in the sky, they start telling each other various stories from their childhoods and teen years. At some point she’d found herself flush up against his body, with his arm around her as her head rested on his shoulder.

“How’d you get into comedy?” he asked as he pushed some loose hair from her face.

“When you’re a sarcastic smart-ass you either need to learn to suppress it or harness it,” she says with a grin. “I chose the later.”

“This sounds like a ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ moment,” he chuckles.

“Nah fuck that, it’s a super villain story,” she adds. “But nah.. that’s true, but I just found I liked making people laugh. I can’t say I just discovered a talent and wanted to run with it. I just enjoyed the laughs and smiles on faces. When I was young I just liked the attention, the older I got, I liked being able to just say something that could bring someone’s spirits up. And comedy seemed like something that used what I’m good at, to bring some happiness to peoples lives even if it was just for a half hour set. Sometimes we all just need a moment to forget about all the shit going on in our lives and just laugh. Not much of an origin story, class clown realized she liked making people happy.”

“I think that was the most sincere thing I’ve heard you say since I’ve met you,” he murmurs, holding her closer to his body. “I feel the same way. I love music, and it’s the only thing I could see myself doing because it’s how I enjoy spending my time. But my favorite part is when people tell me after a show how much something I wrote helped them, or just made them happy. People just coming out to listen to me. There’s something fantastic in doing what you love and getting to make a few people happy along the way.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes before Y/N lifts their joined hands to motion vaguely at the sky, “Just noticed Orion is right there.”

“You ever do this sort of thing before?” he asks as he tears his gaze from the sky to look toward her.

“Are you asking if I’ve ever looked at the stars before or if I’ve brought someone else here before?” she says in a teasing tone. “Jealousy I detect?”

“Maybe,” he chuckles. “I suppose both to answer your question.”

“I’ve always come out here alone,” she admits looking toward his face. “At night to just relax, and during the day sometimes to write. It’s removed enough from everything to just be alone to the world, but close enough that as a teen I could be back before anyone noticed I was gone.”

“Who’d have imagined, you’d be a cheeky one like that.”

“I’m certain I’m not alone on it.”

“In sneaking out to look at the stars yes, in sneaking out being places you shouldn’t be at 2 AM, no.”

“Look at this bad boy we have here,” she laughs.

“The absolute worst,” he replies, propping himself up on his elbow to look at her better. “I.. I’ve been really enjoying our time together.”

“Me too,” she says softly, her eyes locked onto his before flickering down his lips and back up.

Leaning down, he captures her lips in a kiss as she releases his hand to tangle her fingers in his long hair. Pulling him closer, within seconds he’s over top of her as their lips move urgently.

Pelvis to pelvis, with both her hands in his hair, and both his on either side of her head, they finally break apart to take a breath, a laugh passing between the two of them.

Her eyes flicker away from his for a moment, “Shooting star,” she whispers quietly, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.

His head turns to look up at the sky, the light from the stars reflecting off the blue of his eyes as she finds herself unable to look away from him. “You make a wish?” he asks as he looks back down to her.

“Maybe I did,” she says softly before pulling him back down by his shoulders so his forehead is pressed to hers, his hair making a curtain around their faces. “What about you?”

“I’m pretty happy with the present moment,” he admits before pressing his lips to hers once again.

“You going to get out to give me a proper goodbye?” she teases standing in front of the driver side door after their drive back to her place.

“Of course,” he answers, getting out to pull her into an embrace. She settles into him immediately before turning her face up toward his to receive a soft kiss.

“I could get used to this,” she murmurs against the fabric of his shirt, a happy laugh coming from him.

“Well you’re going to have to if you stick to your word,” he teases.

“How far’s your drive?” she asks as her arms squeeze him tighter, not wanting to let go just yet.

“Well,” he mutters, sounding unsure about answering. “It’s about an hour.”

“An hour!?” she exclaims, pulling back from him to look at the sheepish look on his face. “You’re shittin’ me right?”

“It’s alright, not that bad,” he shrugs.

“Why didn’t you tell me before? I wouldn’t have suggested the movie or the field, you could have gone home hours ago. It’s like…” she lets go of him to pull her phone out and look at the time. “Lewis it’s 1 AM.”

“We’d just been having lunch dates so it wasn’t a big deal,” he says. “Had plenty of time to get back. You wanted dinner tonight so I was fine with doing the drive late.”

“But we could have come back hours ago so you wouldn’t be this late,” she argues.

“I didn't want to go then,” he answers simply. “I wanted to watch the movie with you, I wanted to go out to the field. I don’t mind getting back late.”

“Lewis that’s stupid, you should have said something,” she huffs before looking toward her house. “Alright turn your car off and get your ass inside, you’re staying here tonight.”

“I- wait what?” he asks astonished. “Staying with you?”

“I’m not letting you drive an hour back home this late, I have a spare bedroom you can you take,” she answers heading toward the door.

“Oh, ok,” he replies still sounding surprised. Getting into his car quickly, he shuts it off then slams the door shut to head into her apartment.

After he makes it through the door, she locks it behind him and beckons him in toward the spare room. Flipping the light on she rummages through the closet to pull out a towel for him. “I don’t think I have anything that’ll be your size, but if you want to shower and at least wash your shirt or something the washer is in the closet in the hall.”

“I usually just sleep in my pants, rest of my clothes should be fine for tomorrow,” he replies, running his hand through his hair awkwardly.

“Bathroom is at the end of the hall on the left, my room on the right. You know where the kitchen is,” she rattles off as she heads back toward the door of the room. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Quickly shutting the bedroom door behind her, she rushes to her bedroom to get changed, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She knew if she’d stayed a second longer in there she’d have just had him get in her bed. And she wasn’t sure if they were there yet. Maybe they were. Maybe they weren’t. Being rejected wasn’t how she wanted to end what had been a good night.

After getting changed, she cracked her door open in case he needed her, and flipped her lights off before crawling into bed.

It was odd she realized. It wasn’t like this was the only time she’d ever brought a man here. But it was definitely the first that she’d made one spend the night in her spare bedroom. Though she’d known most of them longer than she’d known Lewis. Yet… could she say she had the same butterflies he had her feeling? Probably not.

Frustrated, she hugged her pillow to her chest and closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep.

After a few minutes, she hears the door to spare bedroom open, and footsteps coming down the hall. He reached the bathroom, obviously trying to be quiet, but knocked something over in the process as she hears a curse come from the room.

Laughing under her breath she opens her eyes to stare at the blank ceiling above her. After what felt like an eternity, which in reality was probably only five minutes, the bathroom door swings back open, spilling the light into the entrance of her bedroom.

“Lewis?” she calls out before she can stop herself, mentally cursing as she sees him hesitantly lean into the room.

“Everything ok?” he asks.

“No, get in here,” she hisses, sitting up to look at him.

“Wait what?” he hesitates, most of his body still behind the door.

She sighs and runs her hands over her face, “I want you to come sleep in my bed with me Lewis, if that’s not something you want, you can just go back to the other bedroom and we’ll pretend this didn’t happen.”

“I, uh, I don’t mind,” he answers letting go of the door. “But I’m already in my pants, if that’s a problem.”

“Nah, just don’t try anything, I’m tired,” she jokes as she slides back under the sheets.

Stepping into the room, he closes the door behind him before heading over to the other side of the bed and sliding in next to her.

Almost immediately she leans into his chest, and he wraps his arms around her. Laying her head against him she sighs happily as he chuckles.

“Just wanted a little cuddle huh?” he asks as he settles in.

“Mhm,” she hums back. “I’m not sick of you yet.”

“Are we… serious?” he asks gently as he rests his head on hers.

“I’d say betrothed is serious,” she jokes.

“Yeah I know, but that’s been a joke,” he insists. “I just… want to know if this is serious for you.”

“Is it serious for you?”

“Yes.”

“And it’s serious for me, you’re mine then,” she mumbles, feeling the sleep already starting to take over as she enjoys his warmth.

“I guess so,” he says lifting his head to press a kiss to her forehead. “Sweet dreams hun.”

-----

PART 1

Masterlist

Request List

#lewis capaldi #lewis capaldi x reader #lewiscapaldi #lewis capaldi imagines #divinely uninspired to a hellish extent #our chaotic life #fanfiction #celebrity imagines #someone you loved

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iaintyourbro · 4 years

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Hi! So I read the "Why I think Clerith doesn't work" post. It's a behemoth of an exchange but I'm glad I went through it! So much sense, insight and lovely politeness everywhere! It's a bit off on tangent but my takeaway is that FF7 would stay the same whether Clerith was romantic or platonic, but if Cloti wasn't romantic, the plot suffers big time. Like to the point that it would lose sense. Cloud not loving Tifa the way he does doesn't flow with the tapestry. 1/

That's not to say that Clerith relationship is unimportant but I guess to me it just drives the point further that it could only be Tifa for Cloud. OG Soldier!Cloud may or may not have had romantic feelings for Aerith and if he did, it indeed won't diminish his love for Tifa in any way. But those feelings are fake; Remake Aerith herself says this, OG Cloud himself comes to realize this. Those possible romantic feelings don't hold much substance (if any at all) post-Lifestream sequence. 2/7

It would be almost impossible for Cloud to think of Aerith romantically once he regains his true self because of Tifa and Zack. This development directly negates every moment he may have previously thought of as romantic. This development overwrites Soldier!Cloud's possible romantic interpretations as nothing more than being a decent person and a good friend. All of this tells me that to take Clerith romantically as a plot point would require some extra elbow grease 3/7

that you won't naturally find in the tapestry. To do so soundly, we would need something else that the devs didn't give us. That's not to say that Clerith being romantic is twisting canon to be what it's not, but rather it doesn't matter in the big picture. The story stands on solid ground as it does if they're platonic, and because Cloud's true love already exists in Tifa and they are ultimately endgame, then there's no need for Clerith to be romantic. 4/7

This is what I mean when I say Clerith romance would need something else, some extra elbow grease; it COULD be there but it's ultimately needless. Which in turn leads me to believe that the romantic possibility between them in OG was indeed put there purely for drama's sake and shock value. Some fans ran with that possibility mindlessly but that’s a different discussion. Bottom line is I think Clerith could either be romantic or platonic and it won't affect the plot all that much, 5/7

because the feeling that Cloud is left with as regards to Aerith is crushing guilt (which he thankfully works through in ACC and we can only assume he remembers her fondly as time goes on) while the feeling Cloud has for Tifa is abiding love, which drives his actions in the plot throughout the whole Compilation. /end LOL sorry this take is way too long but I so loved the whole exchange and it really tickled my last 2 brain cells. Thank you for that!! Stay safe and well ❤ 6/7

Uh, “why clerith doesn’t work” with the long ass ask here lol I’m so sorry to do this to you. But correcting/clarifyingone of stuff I said: Cloud and Tifa being “ultimately endgame”, I meant that they are endgame by the devs’ design. Them ending up together was intentional and not just because Aerith happened to die (just as her death was also intentional and by design). 😬 7/7 (?) lol

Hello Anon! You sent me in quite a thing, so let’s get to it! First, I’m glad you got to read through all of that. I think those types of discussions are really amazing especially when people do stay polite and do actually take other opinions into consideration.

I agree with you - Clerith being romantic or not doesn’t really matter overall to the plot. I think the problem that comes up is how extremist CAs deal with the whole thing. Some are okay with Cloud dying to be with Aerith. Some are okay with trashing Tifa - who is like the most important person in the world to Cloud, you find out - to diminish her character. They twist, erase, and lie about canon and story. That’s where shit gets nasty. But no, it wouldn’t matter plot wise either way.

Also I’m putting pictures in this post because they’re pretty. (The one below cracks me up.)

The relationship of those two is important. I think Aerith’s resolution is poorly interpreted because all of her lines aren’t taken in to consideration. The line “Don’t fall in love with me.” It’s bold. It insinuates something. It makes an assumption. It’s the follow up that’s more important to me... “Even if you think you have... it’s not real.” Boom. That is where it is - if you stop listening at the “L” word, this will be lost on you. This is used to foreshadow Cloud’s persona problem AND to say - the point of Aerith being seen as a romantic interest in OG was to show even more of the illusion that Cloud was under. Do I think they needed to make it romantic - no. I really don’t see it as very romantic in OG, but a lot of people disagree with me and that’s okay. Replaying it as an adult, I saw nothing substantial between those two. Early in OG, though, there’s nothing early on between him and Tifa either. Remake, uh... clearly changed that with Tifa.

Regarding Zack and Real!Cloud’s feelings for Tifa: I cannot think that Cloud would be like “well he’s dead so...” No. True!Cloud also has been pining over Tifa for years. His entire subconscious is filled with Tifa, Tifa, Tifa. They’ve translated this underlying feeling in Remake for SOLDIER!Cloud and how he acts around and reacts to Tifa. It’s like Real!Cloud isn’t gonna let him screw up too bad...

Most of the posts you see saying that Clerith is canon or Clerith was heavy in Remake ignore a lot of other scenes. I’ve seen all three resolution scenes. Multiple times. They’re all important. A lot of extreme shippers will not watch the scene with “the other chick” in them because it’s easier to sit in denial of it. Tifa’s resolution is the most intimate. She hugs him and he hugs her back. This is a huge development thing for Cloud. It also was confirmed that real Cloud was like “my turn” when she did that...

Barret’s resolution scene even has a Cloti moment in it regarding Al and his flowers, which is one of the most unexpected and hilarious reactions I saw out of Cloud. Barret’s resolution also covers some history on Avalanche and he gets to talk about the crew. You hear names that you can go back and see on the darts leaderboard on your next playthrough.

Aerith references the Highwind scene (above). The Highwind scene is the one everybody talks about when it comes to Cloud and Tifa. That and the Lifestream (I prefer the Lifestream, but Remake may... uh... make me change my mind... cuz horny jail and all that).

The one thing they did that was, to me, a huge difference from OG was push the romance envelope. So you get scenes like the train tunnel roll, that’s dripping with sexual tension. You get the scene in Tifa’s apartment if you do all of the quests (everybody should be doing ALL of the quests for ALL Chapters), you get another Cloti scene that’s tense. They have a lot of tense, slam in your face moments that I don’t know how people ignore.

If you look at some of these moments and have no clue what this scene is or what this game is about, you’re gonna have thoughts on what’s going on here. I have thoughts and I know what happens. This is one of those “pheewwww” scenes.

None of this was in OG - they kept the romance between Cloud and Tifa pretty much so subtle you’d have to squint to see the few times it happens before the end of Disc 2. The first time Cloud really comes out and says anything, it’s this:

If you ignore Tifa and think Aerith is all there is to see, this line will come out of left field. It still somewhat feels like its out of left field considering how light Cloti is before this point, but it’s like “I don’t care what anybody else thinks of me except you.” I do remember this slamming me in the face like “where’d this come from” and that’s when the illusion starts to spiral out of control. This works perfectly on your first playthrough and then enhances your second playthrough so you can see how many weird things you can point out to foreshadow what’s going on.

Also... Cloud’s illusionary world in the first half of the game is a major plot point that can’t be ignored. Ignoring it means you stopped playing the game before you get to this point. The player starts to feel anxious like something is wrong. You start to question everything, and then you do get resolution to this later on, and I love the way they did it.

But if you want to say Tifa isn’t a love interest, you need to throw the above scene out. Why would he care so much?

Or this. You would need to ignore the Lifestream. All of it. 90% of it is about Tifa. The other parts are about Zack and Sephiroth. But Tifa’s in that section of his mind too, because she almost dies.

FFVII is not a romance game. Especially not the OG. However love or romance is what drove Cloud to try to join SOLDIER, what drove Cloud to completely go ballistic when his mom is killed, his town burned down, and then he comes across an almost lifeless Tifa.

And then... Sephiroth somehow survives this. A Buster Sword going through his skinny ass... walks out and Cloud goes after him again.

Personally, my favorite rendition of the Cloud stabbing Sephiroth scene is Crisis Core because of the music, the way he walks in the room, and then boom.

If they do a mashup of the two: Have him walk in the room, just showing his legs, (and it feels so fucking arrogant the way he does it ughhh) have dramatic music playing, BUT have Sephiroth turn just at the last second like he does in OG so he sees it’s a grunt right away, and then have Cloud say the above line, which they removed from CC for some reason.

You should watch this scene and feel feelings like I do about the way he walks in there

Okay, anyway...

If Sephiroth had walked out of the reactor, he most likely would have run in to Zangan and killed him. My guess is, he would have found a way to recover from his massive would. Zangan wouldn’t have been able to get to Tifa and them, but you could say Cloud could have taken Tifa... but would he have left Zack? So many what ifs... but the point is, he legit goes nuts when he thinks Tifa is dead.

And so Sephiroth tries this again in Remake:

And Cloud also starts to go ballistic until he sees Barret and freezes. So Sephiroth is like “alright I just need him to break not start trying to murder me yet.”

Cloud is upset when Aerith dies. He blames himself. Hell, he almost killed her himself twice in OG. Of course he feels like shit. Of course he feels guilty. He feels she went to confront Sephiroth on her own because of what he did. But he doesn’t really do much after this. They resolve to go after Sephiroth, but he’s able to get through the Jenova fight, “bury” Aerith and go back to get some sleep at one of the abandoned homes.

When he thinks Tifa dies in Nibelheim, he gets stabbed through the fucking chest and somehow, this grunt kid, picks a 6′1″ dude up by just using sheer rage and willpower and throws him into the depths of the reactor. Like holy shit, what kind of feeling do you need to do that? And Cloud ultimately probably saved a lot of people early on doing that.

Cloti was endgame from the moment OG starts. You really don’t know it, though, for a long time. You also don’t fully grasp it the first time you play the game. If you replay it, you’ll see some subtle references to this, such as Cloud getting jealous in Costa del Sol if Tifa is talking to Johnny, Tifa holding Cloud when he sees Jenova in the Shinra building, the flashback he has of her during the second bombing mission, but that’s not enough to say “it’s obvious from the beginning.”

The story’s intent was to have them be endgame. The point of Aerith was to show more of the illusion (for Cloud). Aerith overall is the most important character plot wise. However, it doesn’t matter either way if people did or didn’t see romance between the Cloud and Aerith. The story plays out the same. What you can’t deny is Tifa’s importance to Cloud overall and how the story plays out...

In closing, though, there is NOTHING saying a person can’t like Clerith. Absolutely nothing. They just can’t claim it’s endgame or canon. It never was. The illusion was supposed to be broken. You were supposed to move on from her death. That was that - whether he romantically had feelings for her or not.

But Canon doesn’t mean best. If you don’t like a canon couple, nothing wrong with a fanon couple. People write some good shit for fanon. You just can’t attack, butcher, twist, lie, and bully to push your rhetoric as canon.

Thanks for sending the ask/comments in. I think it’s a great addition to the discussion!

#cloti #cloud x tifa #tifa lockhart #cloud strife #ff7r #ffviir spoilers #ff7r spoilers #final fantasy 7 remake

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