#I'M NOT EVEN UPSET I'M JUST. CULTURE CLASH

[innocentimouto]

"Jet never really had any ambitions to end the war" Yes, but don't you think that's something he wished he had the power to do? Like I'm just gonna say it; Jet joining the gaang >>>> Zuko joining the gaang. I feel like that's somewhat the direction his "arc" was aiming at when his goals changed and he helped the gaang find Appa, and honestly it should have been developed further instead of cutting him off just because the writers didn't know what the heck to do with him anymore

Definitely.

Zuko joining the Gaang wasn't written well, so I doubt Jet's would have been either. But if done PROPERLY, yes, it would be amazing. The character interactions alone would be interesting.

For one, I can't see Jet not killing any fn soldier in a fight, which would either make him clash with Aang or we would get a little more exploration on how the Gaang views killing in self-defense and whether Aang is fine with them doing it while he restrains from it if he can.

Also have lots of thoughts on how Jet views the avatar and what that would bring to the group as well as the loss of hope people felt a century without an avatar.

But then Aang's connection to his culture and his desire to preserve it may help Jet understand the importance of maintaining his culture since he may have lost much of it during the war and simply focusing on survival.

Jet and Katara. Come on. The tension and emotions. There's so much to dive into here.

Jet and Sokka. Frenemies? Rivals? Sokka's seemed very one-sided in canon, but Jet may resent him for foiling his plans too. And Sokka may feel threatened there's another nonbender in the group, especially since Jet has been in war his whole life and the experience shows.

Jet and Toph would probably be upset that they WANT to get along with each other but can't due to social status and attitudes.

You can't convince me Jet wouldn't train Momo to inform them of danger in some way.

Appa may or may not like Jet, but Jet adores Appa because everyone else in the group is used to having a giant flying animal to go everywhere and get away from danger and it's so convenient.

Suki also didn't get involved in war until recently but she is a leader and trained and likes Sokka. Jet would probably respect her.

This isn't even going into Jet being the only character with such a strong hatred for the fn and having no adults to help him unlike every other child in the show (except freedom fighters). There's a lot Jet's character would add to the themes and character relationships.

#atla jet #Jet #asks

[tagfer]

Tbh I'm pretty sure the average gamer believes in trickle-down economics

(this is in regards to the "I'm shocked more gamers aren't anti-capitalist" post)

Now I don't necessarily think that's true either. In fact, I'd say the reason the game industry is the way it is has nothing to do with economic politics. I'd say that the average gamer - or nerd in general, really - is a spineless coward who's too addicted to the dopamine hit to actually stand for anything if their wants ever clash with their purported morals. And I fucking hate it.

I'm not just saying that because I'm bitter, although you could make a case that I am bitter. But I even live under a rock and I got ample examples. Look at how well games we know are low quality, games made under unquestionably awful crunch and/or other awful situations, etc... look how well they sell! BDSP and ScarVio sold like hotcakes and they're unquestionably bad games for a $60 price tag. Starfield - which I have heard NOTHING good about, and looks like absolute trash - is apparently Bethesda's "biggest launch to date." Somehow that fuckass Cyberpunk game is still relevant. People are actually still playing Overwatch 2 despite ... everything. These are just games I pulled off the top of my head while I'm still waking up. The fact these games are KNOWN to be shitty hasn't stopped them from selling.

Sure, a lot of people made a big fuss about not playing Hogwarts: Antisemitism Adventures, but they were talking smack because they never cared about the game in the first place. So it was never challenging their morals. Oh, sure, they told us how even PIRATING the game was bad, and that anyone who bought it (or even talked about it) was helping put money in transphobes' and nazis' pockets. How quick their tune changed when they actually wanted to see the FNAF movie - suddenly, giving money to people known to max out donations to republicans ain't so bad. They knew the right answer was to not see the movie, but like, they really really want to! If you told any of these people you donated $30 grand to multiple republicans they'd probably, rightfully, have nothing to do with you. But they neeeeeeeded to see their blorbos or they'd die :'( so this time it's OK!

Same with the Mario movie. We know Chris Pratt is a rightwing chud who ousted a long-standing legendary voice actor for the spot because he was a recognizable name. We knew the Mario movie was a shameless cashgrab and a metaphorical foot-testing-the-water for uninspired video game cashgrab movies. And the test was a success. YEAH. PEOPLE STILL SAW IT. Enjoy Chris Pratt - who hates you for thinking Link is trans - playing Link in The Movie of Zelda, coming out in Q4 2024.

I know a lot of these are left-leaning examples, but this isn't exclusive to left side gamers. How many times have you seen someone upset because Shooter Game Whatever had just the sliiiightest touch of left-ish stances, they'd take to whatever to complain. But they still be playing the game too.

It goes beyond just games tho, nerd culture is all the same. Let's also talk about Nerd Protests. And how they're the most self-affirming, hollow bullshit.

Like two years ago, Twitch was having some problems. And I'm not referring to them literally breaking a woman's back live on camera, which they did do, and never helped her, and you totally forgot about, because human suffering is nothing in the face of dopamine. No, I'm talking about A Day Off Twitch, in which streamers were encouraged to take a day off of streaming as protest towards.... something. I don't remember. Seemed pretty important. Anyway, Twitch never even acknowledged the demands of the streamers. Like Adriana Chechik's broken back, they didn't do anything about it. And... there was never a second Day Off Twitch. There was abosolutely zero follow through. And nobody wanted to acknowledge it. Nobody did fucking anything. Instead of going "wow, they're not doing anything. We should CONTINUE TO PROTEST" you all patted yourself on the back after seeing one day of approximate revenue lost and went back to giving Jeffy Bezzolio cash by subbing to xXxvtuberfeetxXx or whatever. I literally never heard anything about this again.

And last year, reddit made some changes that people didn't like. An unignorable chunk of the site went dark to protest it. The CEO basically then said "eh, this change will make us money, and this protest will pass, so just wait it out." Like literally there was leaked memos saying "eh they'll get over it." AND HE WAS FUCKING RIGHT. Reddit was back to normal in like a fucking week. No changes made to their plans. And nobody went, "hey, fuckface, we're serious!" They just. Let it happen.

That's the thing. Gamers and nerds LOVE to talk a big talk until it inconveniences them. And then, they'll protest JUST ENOUGH to say that they tried. "Play the cards you been dealt" fuckin mentality. They were like "yeah I didn't watch Twitch during A Day Off Twitch, so I did my part! Oh, sure, nothing came of it, and then they literally had bodyguards manhandle a woman with a back broken in two places live on camera like two months later, but what else am I supposed to do?" as if not using twitch was not an option. as if using twitch was, in fact, an imperative.

And let's talk about Discord. you know, originally, for gamers. But now due to investments by social media moguls, it's worse than skype was. And be real, you know it's not gonna get better. Every two weeks they do something you all hate, and I have to hear about it. And again, Not using discord is never considered. Using discord is again, apparently, an imperative. When they made you guys change usernames - which I will actually go on record and say was not that big of a deal and that y'all majorly overreacted - it was such a prevalent, inescapable topic on social media you'd think they were literally committing war crimes. And since I've seen war crimes on social media recently, I can say that's literally an apt comparison. I see as much coverage about the IDF's crimes as I saw "DISCORD IS MAKING US CHANGE USERNAMES!" posts. And despite the fact you guys FLOODED them with feedback about how you didn't like it, they held fast and held steady. They knew it'd blow over eventually. AND IT DID. Within a month of the change y'all stopped making a fuss. Guess tellin your blorbo chat that you'd like to switch to Telegram (or Escargot, or a fourm, or IRC, or whatever) was more effort than just accepting the username change, huh? And now you've accepted ten or twelve other shitty things they've done since, eh?

And this all wraps up to my point nicely. Gamers/nerds have no spine, and regardless of what politics they say they believe - or perhaps genuinely believe they believe - push comes to shove they're going for instant gratification every time. Inconvenience is not to be tolerated, and wants are meant to be resolved in the easiest way possible (by giving in). The concept of taking a stand is LOVELY to them until it means actually standing up, because that requires minor personal sacrifices and gosh, we can't have that.

FRLG, HGSS, ORAS. Beautiful remakes. So when BDSP was announced - an ugly, 1:1 port with no added features, no additional mons (even including the ones introduced in BDSP's sister game PLA), made by a random software developer who had never made a game before, in unity, under severe crunch, for more money than the other remakes... I thought it was a slam dunk. We could finally tell TPCi to fuck off. Well, it sold about 15 million copies. At a $60 price tag, that means they made roughly $900 Million (roundable to a billion with a b) on what's unquestionably a shitty game. That one, personally, ruined my hopes for the game industry. Gamers will take whatever's given to them.

Games without the constraints of capitalism would be fantastic - but as long as capitalism exists, gamers will allow it to exist in the space. They don't have the spine to leave Discord - it's near sisyphean to expect them to control themselves enough to not enable the bad habits of companies.

... hmmm this took two hours to write due to an unfortunate crash but apparently I've had this essay fuckin loaded in my subconscious.

#FUNDRAISER TO GET ME A SQUEAKY TOY SO I CAN TAKE OUT AGGRESSION ON IT BECAUSE CLEARLY I NEED IT

[ruthlesslistener]

Tbh you did redtag fans who headcanon Ghost as an adult to be "sus", till you explain that was not your intention. Then you started getting upset that others were upset with you over it, even though it really did sound you were doing that. I'm just going to point it out that you did come across as an asshole over that part till you clarified things. So basically, you do sometimes come off as a jerk even though you didn't intend it to be. And I understand where that last anon was coming from when they said "you hide behind" this event. Even I feel like you fight people over misunderstandings a lot.

Tone: calm

Yeah that was on me not having a proper understanding of the word 'sus' as its used in popular culture- I thought it just meant 'suspicious' as in 'people giving a side eye' thing rather than what it apparently means, which I think is 'suspect'. I think the reason that misunderstanding got even worse too is because I said it right before I went to bed and then didn't see the replies til I woke up in the morning, which let it simmer before I could nip it in the bud. Pretty unfortunate there.

I don't think I'm hiding behind this event though? It's the origin of all the arguments going on in my inbox currently, including this one right now, as that's where the main misunderstanding and clashes happened. It just makes logical sense to assume that its the culprit and to use that context to address it properly. Also, like I said, I genuinely don't try to 'fight' all misunderstandings, I think the problem is that me explaining myself comes off as combative because I don't use tone indicators (they confuse me too much to try), and also because I get extremely frustrated when people jump to bad conclusions without hearing me out. Like right now I'm not trying to fight, I'm trying to explain my pov. I'm also not quite sure how to NOT come off as combative other than adding tone tags tbh, and that's bothering me, because I really don't want to come off as a jerk or a bully

#probably doesnt help that im from a family where every little misunderstanding becomes a fight though #my idea of what's calm probably is skewed because of that; whats calm to me is combative to others #the problem ks that i dont know how to fix that ;-; #anon #reply

[mmprviolet]

An issue I have with the show even before Nia and Rebecca came along was the female characters didn't have many flaws or really a character arc compared to the guys so I'm taking a moment to see if i can rework my OCs

Audrey: NWR 100; said to be shy and reserved, but has trouble voicing her needs and consumed by regret. She also over apologizes for things, people pleases, and suffers anxiety issues. She learns to see her own self worth and value, enforcing her boundaries and not wasting her time trying to please ungrateful assholes. Royal Blue livery

Britt: NWR 99: A talkative engine who loves to gossip and show the new engines the ropes. Sometimes she can say things she doesn't actually mean or talk over people, often leading to her ignoring their input. She learns to stop and listen to others, and to be careful with her gossip. Britt is Victoria's rival. Named after Britt Allcroft, the creator of the TV series. NWR blue livery

Chelsea: NWR 98: American newbie reconfigured to fit British rail lines. While friendly and helpful she also has anger/resentment and self esteem issues from being bullied on her old railway. She learns how to let things go and see her anger as a gift. Maroon and gold livery

Tyona: NWR 97: An engine from North Africa, Tyona is a spunky headstrong type who also likes undertaking tasks bc she dislikes staying in one place or rest. Has a rivalry with James over who is the Best Red™. Tyona struggles to find her footing in an unfamiliar land and culture clash that comes with it. She also gets upset when people devalue her work. She learns to accept change, and the value of self worth. Rose livery.

Queen Victoria. NWR 96 Pompous and arrogant, she looks down on engines she deems lesser. Competitive and strong she can take any tasks no matter how dirty to get attention, as well as spreading rumors about diesels and electric type engines. She learns the value of cooperation and humility. Named after Queen Victoria. Purple livery (based on Severn Valley)

Diana: NWR 95: Built in 2002 as a tribute to the late Princess. She was used as a museum piece before moving to Sodor. Inexperienced with hard tasks, she struggles to find her footing and tries to live up to her famous name. She learns to adapt to her strengths and weaknesses to a healthy Middle ground. White and gold livery (think Stanley & Spencer)

Goldie Conductor: The team leader of the Fab Five, she is a friendly if clumsy lady who strives to do her best job as Conductor. She uses a magic whistle to cast simple spells although it can malfunction at times. Her goal to preserve Sodor's railway lines leads her butting heads with the greedy PT Boomer. Just like in previous seasons she is played by a live actress.

#ttte oc #thomas the tank engine #as much as i am apathetic to Nia and Rebecca they suffer from what a lot of characters had: poor characterization! #so i hope to make my OCs more compelling and not just be clones #and they have their own team/storyline #another thing is they are meant to be female counterparts to the mostly male Steam Team #without going all Token Girl™

[shamanofthewilds]

I really enjoyed your write up on shaman and elder shaman!

It made me wonder about Thrall... I'm curious about what you think. In your opinion, do you think some of Thrall's spiritual turmoil may have been due to him walking the path of a shaman and a chieftan/warchief?

(And if they did already state that and I simply missed it, let me know! I admit I haven't done a deep lore dive, myself.)

Thank you!!! I probably need to go back and fix it, I always have a problem with typos and there are probably simpler ways to phrase things. But I was inspired to do a deep dive on this topic of being an Elder Shaman since it's not something I see covered as a title in lore. It seems to be all context clues and just paying attention to whats being said. And I would say yes! Around the Cataclysm is when the story of Thrall exploring his spirituality came into play. Pushing aside all the memes, and maybe poor choices in some peoples opinions I think it lines up well to that statement by Mother Kashur.

Thrall was beginning to feel like the honeymoon period was starting to fade with him as leader. He felt, in his opinion, that he was what was needed during the freeing of the orcs and he was effective in leading them from the interment camps but he began to feel that divide. It was more than just spiritual turmoil, it was a cultural one as well. He never really had the chance to experience all the things he brought back and he missed out on the spiritual aspect of being an orc and a shaman. Once the Cataclysm started to upset the elements, he needed a better way to understand the elements and he couldn't do that and be Warchief at the same time. This is why he left Garrosh in charge. The orcs were responding well to Garrosh. Really really well. He was young and he gave everyone hope and he kept their focus. While away, Thrall needed access the other part of him he's been neglecting. So even here, it's consistent that being both a leader and a shaman is extremely difficult. He did it well for what he DID know, but the downside is that Thrall lacked the benefit someone like Ner'zhul had. Ner'zhul was his clan, his culture and always had that around him while he led. Thrall was not Chieftain and Shaman for the Frostwolves for very long, not long enough for him to have access to his culture all the time. Having Far Seers on his inner council was likely beneficial but it wouldn't always be a cultural experience, especially considering everyone else there are going to be getting his attention for different things. So yes, very much so. Thrall being a shaman and a Warchief had it's clash. But it didn't really start to finally show that he had more to understand about himself and who he was until the elements began to grow too uneasy where not even he knew what to do.

#long post

[imminentinertia]

Thank you for your cooler heads prevail addition to the The Sign discourse. I live in the US and I know everyone here pays for streaming or cable to enjoy their shows. And we can view them as long as we continue to subscribe but we don't get to keep them either. At least The Sign has been free up until now so I see no problem paying the cost of 1 month US dollars of a streaming service. It is kind of like paying for the whole experience so far in my opinion. I too am holding out though until I know about the English subtitles availability. I just wanted to thank you for being practical, it seems like everyone has been upset at this show lately and I am getting frustrated at the negativity of social media lately. I am excited to see what Phaya and Tharn do to get their Happy Ending!

Hello anon! Thank you for this ask <3

It does my head in a bit that of all things where we run into a culture clash it's ... cinema streaming? I watch films/shorts/documentaries like this from home cinema services pretty often - the viewing window is usually 24 or 48 hours, you don't keep the file, it's nearly the same transaction as going to a physical cinema. And we certainly don't get to keep shit from any non-time limited streaming services, as you say.

I've also seen mistrust in Thai Ticket Major and I don't get it. I have a few stories about buying concert tickets abroad from actually seedy sites, TTM isn't one. They've been in business for many years and TTM is a Ticketmaster company now, finding out about them only takes about ten seconds of looking for the information. Which I did, the first time I bought a ticket from them.

I don't really get being upset with the show either, but I rarely get upset, mostly I meh and move on when something isn't pleasing me anymore. Granted, episode 11 wasn't brimming with action and emotion like the previous ones, but there was some splendid tension and action even when it was less than it usually is (oh and who else is curious about how Chalothon seems unable to shift into naga form now?). Also they gave us the truly amazing artist episode. And and and... So I'd like discussion of what the stronger/weaker points in it are once it's finished and why one sees them as stronger or weaker, but I think I'll stick to chats for that.

I suppose I'll do what I always do when people get disgruntled and I can't see how we're watching the same show, filter the tags. It would be great if non-fans could stop using fan tags, generally speaking, which is one reason why I prefer following Good People (who I sometimes disagree with) instead of trawling tags.

By the way, I want to give Idol Factory my money. I think they make somewhat uneven but very watch-worthy shows, mostly, and I very much like to pay for the creative works I get to enjoy.

If you want a natter about The Sign, by all means come off anon and DM me, I'm mostly friendly :)

ETA a day later after I'd checked TTM again because I started doubting myself: I can get annoyance with a narrow viewing window, though. That's a notch closer to physical cinema experience than cinema streaming usually offers.

#so that turned into an essay #seriously chalothon was so intriguing #replies

[smallblueandloud]

jesus fucking christ was anyone going to tell me that paul stamets, engineer on the uss discovery, is played by the same guy who played charlie brown in the 1999 revival of you’re a good man charlie brown???

#sb and l rambles #showing my white side here but Y'ALL #THIS GUY??? THIS GUY??????? #I'M NOT EVEN UPSET I'M JUST. CULTURE CLASH #peanuts #sb and l watches st #his name is anthony rapp and he was also in goddamn RENT????

[cobraonthecob]

Hi,

This is actually regarding the Last Airbender. I have read some of your thoughts regarding the ship wars. I may not be interested in ships, but I have to say that if the writers were upset that people love a non canon ship more than the canon ones, the solution is to write the canon ships in a good way. Regarding Aang and Katara, if they showed Aang reciprocating the support Katara offered and letting go of that attachment, plus they got together later in life, Kataang would not be as hated as it it.

Also, rather than dissing Zutara, it could have been more handled in a more respectful way, and the book 4 video, while I was indifferent to it, I will say that now I feel it was uncalled for.

All I think is that one ship had good writing handling it, the other did not. Your thoughts?

Oh absolutely! While I am a die-hard Zutara fan, the writers can do whatever they want (I very much practice 'canon is a suggestion and i do what i want' lol), and I think if they developed kataa.ng where 1) Katara showed interest in A.ang rather than mothering him 2) had Aa.ng be more mature or let go of his love of Katara/thought about how he loved her and didn't use her as a love for his people 3) not have the EIP kiss (and especially not their last 1-on-1 interaction before the finale eps) and 4) having Aan.g support Katara (i.e. asking about Kya, not acting the way he did in TSR, etc.) would've left me neutral towards them.

But even if Kataa.ng was developed nicely*, I think I still would've shipped Zutara since Zutara fit the theme of the series and raises a lot more questions about what would happen should they get together. Like sure, Katara and A.ang get together and...what? That's it? Sure, there might be questions asked on how two of the last benders of their respective people would bring up their family and whether or not their relationship could survive the massive culture clash of the SWT relying primarily on meat and the Air Nomads being vegetarian, along with the SWT being very family-oriented and the AN are more 'it takes the temple to raise the kids, and there are mentors to train the airbenders'

But Zutara unleashes a flood of questions: Would it be okay for someone from the SWT to marry the Fire Lord, especially one as prominent as Katara (who is one of two SWT benders alive canonically)? How would the Fire Nation accept her? How much legwork is Zuko going to do to get the Fire Nation to accept a Fire Consort who isn't Fire Nation? What is Katara going to do prior to her marriage with Zuko? What would the SWT think about their only waterbender going to marry the leader of the nation who nearly destroyed theirs?

A video I'd like to suggest is SneezyReviews's 30 minute vid about the dynamics between the two ships and what draws people to them, which has been on my mind for the past few days lol. A zutara fic I'd like to rec is such selfish prayers by andromeda3116 (4 chapters, nearly 50,000 words) and the sequel and love, the shoreline, where you and i meet (12.5k words)

*What's funny is that I almost didn't watch ATLA due to Kataa.ng lol. I watched the first ep, saw Aan.g open his eyes and see Katara and my literal reaction was 'if they get together at the end of the series i'm not watching this show' everyone say thank you to that one kid in my dad's church school class for loaning us the ATLA DVDs.

Thank you very much for your ask! for those who just skipped to the end, my thoughts are 1) KA could've been written better with katara reciprocating the romance and aa.ng reciprocating the emotional labor and 2) creators should not make fun of the fandom, especially when they shipbaited them and stagnated their own ship lol

#nightfalcon answers #nigtfalcon responds #anti kataang #zutara

[asukaskerian]

Hi! I love your grimmichi work to hell and back!! And I was wondering how many WIPs/stray ideas you have for Bleach? Not asking this in a 'why haven't you posted' way at all! I just really love your writing and would give my soul to hear you talk about it 💖

hey! at the moment i don't have a ton of bleach ideas but then again i don't have a ton of ideas generally. slump. but!

-biggest/most current is actually the grimmichinelhime suburban ot4 which was supposed to be three chapters of setup for a joke and some bisexual porn and we're on chapter 10 still not having writen The Scene. but on the upside i'm still somehow having fun with a story where the biggest upset is "orihime help i can hear them fuck in the guest bedroom aaaaa". (i mean, there's still some violence coming up, but. this is the domestiquest thing i've ever put grimmjow and ichigo in.)

-superheroes fic keeps insisting it needs! a slow-down-and-take-stock chapter before the kurosaki shenanigans start up all over again!! get grimmjow settled some before masaki and yuzu, yeah? and every time i try i keep being so bored trying to come up with one that it stalls on the spot for another two months.

-psychic wolves fic! i have the idea! it needs porn! no it doesn't! this is a porn fic it should have porn! i have a good porn idea! it's almost disconnected from the way the plot is evolving how the hell are they stopping to fuck NOW with aizen on their asses anyway!!! same issue as superheroes, plus i just generally haven't felt enthusiastic at the thought of writing smut for a little while now.

-bloodsport oh god it NEEDS to be an epic space opera fic and i just... i just want ichigo to punch grimmjow in the face and then they brawl and yell at each other and feel better about where they left off things and they fuck. and then isshin and masaki are like :D SON WHY DON'T YOU INTRODUCE YOUR BOYFRIEND and they both look horrified and try to gnaw off their legs to escape. but that would be such a waste of planet hueco mundo and all the worldbuilding i did. sob.

-daemon AU : the Xcution etc arc. the problem is they're already dating there and i didn't like ginjo and his pet brainwash machine as characters so i'm. not enjoying it. i kept trying to rewrite the whole arc too, similar but not too much, and then not similar, and then etc etc, and i keep jotting down very good scripts and just not feeling any interest in actually writing them down because it would turn into a novella of things that are meh, and grimmjow and ichigo and their daemons only not fucking because of stupid external forces. it's like since they got together i have zero drive left to explore the rest of that 'verse even though the "people think ichigo is a yakuza heir and urahara is his boss" thing is hilarious and "how tf do arrancar live in the living world" mmm culture clashes and... flops. they're together and there's no conflict. yawn.

on the upside, tsukishima stealing every single moment that made grimmjow love ichigo, and being all smug and gloatey about it... until grimmjow casually fondles his daemon. goes from :D to D: really fast.

-grimmichihime ot3 cuddle fic... very flop...

... ok so my "tons of ideas" and other people "tons of ideas" might not be the same but seriously. this is a very small hoard of plotbunnies. :(

#writing woes #bleach #grimmichi

[soul-cake-duck]

I posted 1,212 times in 2021

74 posts created (6%)

1138 posts reblogged (94%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 15.4 posts.

I added 56 tags in 2021

#art - 9 posts

#swearing - 9 posts

#my art - 7 posts

#tw violence - 6 posts

#tw swearing - 5 posts

#taylor swift - 5 posts

#nftumblcryptids - 4 posts

#boost - 4 posts

#pride - 4 posts

#loki - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 81 characters

#once i was reading on the stairs and saw a big centipede centimetres from my foot

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

people are upset about the lack of genderfluid loki in the tv show and I feel the same but i'd like to take a moment to point ou that it was never vocally stated. The file said his SEX was fluid- no mention of gender and ofc i'm disappointed too but i'm in no way suprised. the 'fluid sex' thing was probably just a reference to norse mythology. yeah it sucks that disney would lead us on like that but I never expected it to go anywhere

10 notes • Posted 2021-07-19 09:56:19 GMT

#4

10 notes • Posted 2021-06-23 15:44:13 GMT

#3

tumblr stop putting these weird ads on my dash

11 notes • Posted 2021-10-01 06:07:49 GMT

#2

Finally done! I gave up on the rest of the faces because they were giving me hell but I really love it. It's nowhere near as good as some other stuff out there but it's my first fanart and I wanted to share it with you.

21 notes • Posted 2021-02-09 16:47:53 GMT

#1

A Stony ficlet I wrote based on a post from @omg-just-peachy: https://omg-just-peachy.tumblr.com/post/647825725173432320/post-endgame-stony-they-retire-and-although-they

Please note that I : a; use english grammar and b; wrote this in a couple minutes so don't expect anything too good lol

Tony sits on the couch in the dim light, concentrating intently on the needles and red wool in his hands. A tray of food lies untouched in front of him, and his husband snores gently, lying across the whole couch so that Tony is squashed into one corner. After Thanos, after he snapped, it took him a while to adjust. He and Peter created a new arm for him, and while it works like magic, it's not the same. So to help him get used to it, Steve taught him how to knit, just like his Ma had taught him. He drops half the stitches and the wool is hopelessly tangled in front of him, but, slowly, he improves. A movie plays on the screen in front of them- one of Steve's from his pop culture notebook- but his soldier fell asleep halfway through so Tony has taken the opportunity to work on this project. And in the dim evening glow, the love of his life asleep next to him, he wants this moment to last forever. ------2 months later------ It's Christmas morning and they're curled up in bed together, Tony's head under Steve's chin. Steve woke up early, still plagued by nightmares that Thanos brought, and now he listens to his husband's breathing as he sleeps to stave off terror and panic. They're broken, but they're healing. Tony shifts against him, cracks open an eyelid and smiles. "Good morning, soldier," he mumbles. "Good morning, beautiful." Tony turns around, pulls a crudely wrapped package from under the bed and lays it between them. "For you," he says against Steve's lips. He picks it up- it is light and soft. Pulling off the paper, he reveals a woolly bundle which he unfolds to see a knitted scarf in the colours red, white and blue. He grins and wraps it around his neck, stifling a laugh. "Do you like it?" Tony asks, smiling too. "I love it." He lies a little, because who is he kidding- the scarf is horrendously ugly. The hues Tony has picked clash and it's riddled with holes. Steve thinks a five-year-old would have done a better job. But his husband has made it for him with love in his heart and hands, so he will cherish it for the rest of his life. He scoops Tony into his arms, goosebumps forming on their skin in the brisk winter air, and kisses him softly.

24 notes • Posted 2021-04-09 20:40:34 GMT

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[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

Character Study: Braham (Part 4: Culture Clash and Friendship)

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Another instalment of Character Study: Braham! (Featuring Taimi's introduction to the Living World... XD)

~oOoOo~

We left off after Braham helped a bit with the Tower of Nightmares, and afterwards the fight against the Twisted Marionette (which, for those who don't know, is now replayable in-game through the Scrying Pool in the Eye of the North!) wherein Braham led one of the lanes.

After that exhilarating fight, everyone returns to Lion's Arch to rest and recover.

Braham: Rox, your devourer - Rox: Chewed on your axe handle. I know. Sorry. Listen. You won't believe what Rytlock just said. If I kill Scarlet, I'm in the warband. Definitely. Braham: Oh. I see. Rox: What's the matter? I thought you'd be happy for me. Braham: I just... don't understand why you need some warband you don't even know. I mean, you've got me. And we've got a team of our own. Look around. They're all here, with you.

This is a child of Wolf speaking - family and togetherness. That's a norn thing. But also, Braham lost all his friends when Cragstead was destroyed. Rox was the one who got him through breaking up with Ottilia. And they've both been through a lot with you, Jory, and Kas. Rox is part of the team.

Rox: It's a charr thing. You wouldn't understand. Braham: A charr thing? You'd rather be in your fancy warband than with people who've been beside you all this time? Rox: That's not what I said. It's a big deal to get into the Stone Warband. Braham: Why? Because it'll make you special? You're already special. At least, to me.

Braham has a good heart. That's all I can say about this argument. He just doesn't understand the culture of charr. And I think, just a bit, he might feel as if Rox is replacing him.

Rox: (sigh) You'll still see me after I get in. Braham: Uh huh. Rox: You will. Sometimes. Braham: -walks away- Rox: Braham? Braham! We have to talk about it sooner or later. Braham, over his shoulder: I have to go clean my gear. Rox: Braham! (growl)

Remember earlier, after the Tower of Nightmares in the Dead End bar, when Braham was annoyed at Rytlock because he perceived that Rytlock was holding Rox back from her true potential?

Braham and Rox in S1 are a very well-done example of a culture clash. Braham doesn't understand warbands and Rox doesn't really understand the worldview that Braham is coming from, especially with his background as an adherent of Wolf.

But also, I want to point out that Braham, quite aside from seeing Rox as his friend and not wanting to lose her, is also concerned for Rox herself. For a norn, it's a life well lived to rise to one's full potential, to break all chains and become a legend. Braham perceives Rytlock to be one of those chains, and Rox isn't willing to break them. What would this mean in the context of norn culture? It's no wonder Braham is mad. He's upset at Rox, but he's also upset for Rox because he knows she's missing the point of living. To make the most of life on one's own terms. To be immortalized in legend.

Braham's feeling frustrated already when he hears his name called by an unfamiliar voice -

Asura on a Golem: Braham! There you are. Human in Armor: Somebody care to tell me why this child was on the battlefield? Braham: Hey! I'm not a child! Human in Armor: Not you. This asuran girl. I found her out there, trying to get to Scarlet's twisted marionette. Who does she belong to? Braham: Oh. Her. Asura on a Golem: Help! Help! Save me from this creepy human! Human in Armor: It's okay. I'm a Krytan Seraph. The kid's in no danger. Asura on a Golem: Braham! Don't let him take me away! Please! Human in Armor Seraph Human: Are you her guardian? Braham (very annoyed now by these strangers): Who me? Wolf's teeth, no! I've never seen her before in my life. Asura on a Golem: Braham, you're so mean. Can't we just go home now? Seraph Human: Listen, buddy. I don't know what your game is, but you better get this kid to safety. She's got no business on a battlefield. Braham: What? I swear I've never seen her before in my life. Seraph Human: -leaves- Braham: Hey! Where's he going? You're not my responsibility!

Remember that line! She's not his responsibility.

Asura on a Golem: It's okay, Braham. You can take me home now. I live in Rata Sum. Braham: Huh? (scoff) What? Asura on a Golem: Where do you live? Maybe we could go there instead. Braham: No. You found your way here. You can find your way back. Asura on a Golem: Fine! Here I go. By myself. Off into the big city. You'll probably never see me again, Braham. Braham, wearily: Good luck, kid.

(side note: you NEED to listen to the voice acting on this. It's hilarious.)

So, on the one hand, Braham just left a random asuran child in Lion's Arch, city of pirates. On the other hand, Braham just left a complete stranger (who was maybe stalking him??) - don't forget she's an asura, so pretty smart too - in Lion's Arch, literally the best place to be lost in because you're only one asura gate from home. And she said she lived in Rata Sum.

Either way, the Commander speaks to Braham about this!

Commander: So, what's going on with you and your little friend? Braham: My little... oh, the asuran ragamuffin? I've never seen her before. She must have heard Rox say my name. She tricked that Seraph into thinking I was her guardian. Commander: You're not? Braham: No. I've never seen her before. She's not my...

Braham: Aw, crud. Not you too. All right. I'll make sure she gets home safe. But just this once. Commander: You're a good friend. Braham: She's not my friend. Commander: Uh-huh.

I mean, look at that! Braham just agreed to be responsible for someone he literally just met. He doesn't even know her name! And it wasn't because of the Commander - it was because he felt convicted and responsible. "She's not my... aw crud" was supposed to be "she's not my responsibility."

This random asura had given him no reason to care about her. There is no room for undocumented dialogue - Braham up and walked away from her and ignored her the rest of the time. This is pure virtue on Braham's part.

The following is an attempt to string together the events discussed in ambient dialogues from Edge of the Mists.

After speaking to the Commander, Braham goes back and tells her he'll bring her home, but only if she tells him her name, since she already knows his. She cheerfully agrees and introduces herself as Tiny, of the College of Synergetics.

But before they can go anywhere, Braham sees Aetherblades going toward the jail where Captain Mai Trin is being held.

Braham, attacking: Kuh-bam!

I'm not sure how long the fight was or who else was involved, but the Aetherblades broke Mai Trin out of jail and then escaped.

They run, and Braham follows them until he rounds a corner to see them disappearing through a portal that leads who-knows-where. Braham would have turned back then, but he sees Tiny in her golem, running toward the portal. Toward the Aetherblades.

Braham: Tiny, stop! It's dangerous! Tiny: Leave me alone! I know what I'm doing!

Tiny doesn't stop - in fact, she makes her golem run even faster - but Braham had given his word to look after her, so he sighs and follows all of them. By the time he gets there, the Aetherblades and Mai Trin have vanished, and Tiny's golem is sitting in a few pieces on the floor, with the asura herself tinkering with them.

Braham has no clue why the golem is broken (Aetherblades??) but he rushes, panting, to catch up with her. The Aetherblades are gone, and Tiny doesn't seem to be hurt or injured, so, after a moment to recover, he manages to ask:

Braham: What's your story anyway, Tiny? How does a little thing like you get into such big trouble? Tiny, without looking up from her tinkering: It's Taimi. And I'm a progeny prodigy. I've got important people fighting for the right to be my teacher. Braham: Important people, huh? Are they real people, or just big-eared figments of your overactive imagination? Tiny Taimi: They're real, but they all want to tell me what to learn. I'd rather be like Scarlet and pick my own courses. Braham: Wolf's tail, girl! Don't be too much like Scarlet, okay? One's way too many.

Taimi ignores him and continues tinkering with Scruffy, and Braham begins fishing for information.

Braham: Surprised to find you sitting still, short-pants. The way you took off, I figured you'd be halfway to Mount Maelstrom by now. Taimi: Scruffy - my golem - broke down. And I still learned more in the short time I've been here than you have in your whole life. Braham: What happened? Why did your silly magical machine man stop working? Taimi: I was studying that strange device -points to a ley energy probe- but every time I got too close, it zapped me and knocked me back.

For those who may be confused (as I was): she was not just trying to touch it over and over. She was being careful and trying to observe from a distance, but careful doesn't always work.

Taimi: Eventually, Scruffy's power cells shorted out and pieces of him fell off. That activated his emergency mode. So he followed protocol like he's supposed to: he carried me here, spit me out, and then powered down. And you've got a lot of nerve calling Scruffy "silly" - with those clothes and that haircut. Braham (irritated at her and grouchy he has to stay here and watch her): So your golem's dead. Why don't you just walk out of here? Taimi (annoyed): Same reason you don't fly out: because I can't. My ears, how thick are you? See these legs? They don't work right. I can't walk very far unassisted. Braham: Uh... I uh... sorry. I didn't know!

Awkward silence ensues as Taimi goes back to tinkering with Scruffy. Braham is still irritated at her and perhaps even thinks of just leaving her; but he'd given his word that he'd look after her, so he has to stay. Especially since she'd just told him she can't even walk.

Eventually, Taimi announces that she is missing some parts she needs to repair Scruffy, and asks Braham if he can go get them.

Braham would love to go get the parts and get the both of them out of there so he can get back to kuh-bamming baddies with the Commander, but he still can't just walk away and leave Taimi defenseless. Especially since the Aetherblades could come back at any time.

He explains this to Taimi, and they both proceed to have a lot of time on their hands until they can tell somebody else to get the lost pieces of Scruffy.

Braham: What'd you learn about those... um... things you were studying before your golem broke? Taimi: As if you'd understand. All right, I've got nothing but time, so let's give it a go. They appear to be survey probes for the purpose of identifying high-energy thaumic channels and matrices. Braham: So it's like magical energy is a swirling storm and these things are mapping it. Taimi: A trifle simplistic, but yes, that's exactly the case.

Overlook this 'trifle simplistic' bit and focus on the 'yes, that's exactly the case.' From an asura. From Taimi. To Braham. Tell me, do YOU understand what in Tyria a "high-energy thaumic channel and matrice" is?! Braham does!

Braham: So, will... what was your golem's name again? Taimi: Scruffy. Braham: Will Scruffy work again if you get the stuff you need? I'd get it for you, but I can't leave you unprotected. Taimi: You're sweet. And absolutely. I built him for maximum ease of maintenance. All he needs are some replacements parts. He may be rough around the edges, but when he's whole, Scruffy is as reliable as an entropic crystal regulator. Braham: Ah. That's good, then. Right?

There's no documented dialogue that shows Taimi answering, so I'm going to assume (since they got this chunk) that she doesn't answer (typical of ambient dialogue, not finishing the conversation - ) but Braham maybe gets a little grouchy about this.

Braham: Okay, truth time: Why did you run away from me? Why did you come here in the first place? Taimi: It's not personal. I just wanted to see Scarlet's handiwork up close. Her marionette was amazing. Inspiring. I intended to examine Scarlet's probes, which would allow me to explore two subjects at once. What is Scarlet up to, and how does she create such fantastic equipment? When I saw her minions running through a portal, I followed them. Braham: You were supposed to stay with me. I told you to stop. Taimi: Zojja tells me to do stuff all the time. So does Vorpp. I don't listen to them, either. Braham, thoughtfully: Tell me more about the probes you examined. Taimi: They're well designed. They emit pulsed eldritch waves that register the relative strength of all local ambient magic. Braham: Like the way bats hunt? They let out a chirp and react to what that chirp bounces off of. Taimi: Right again. I am clearly a good influence on you. Braham: What do you think those probes of Scarlet's are looking for? Taimi: Best guess? Um... The transcendent magic channels that span the globe. Old-fashioned Synergetics texts call them ley lines. Normally you can't see them or touch them, but they're real. Magic finds its own path, like rivers running to the sea. The probes are trying to identify the biggest and strongest of those ley lines, but I'm not sure why. Not yet.

They are stuck here with literally nothing to do to fill the time but talk. (Until the Commander someone comes along and collects Taimi's golem parts.) They're both bored.

Taimi: I hate sitting still. I need to be studying those probes. There's so much I can learn from them.

Their conversations tend to go like this:

Braham: Listen, Taimi, if I see Scarlet, I'm going to scoop you up with one hand and beat her bloody with the other, okay? Taimi: Did you know Scarlet attended each of the three colleges? And that she worked with the Inquest? Ooh, and that she - Braham: If you believe the rumors. I talked with an asura named Vorpp, and he says it was all bunk. I'm inclined to agree. Taimi: I know what Vorpp says, but her twisted creatures weren't bunk. The holo-pirates either. Some asura are just jealous. Braham: That's enough about Scarlet for now. Jormag's tooth, you really need a new hero. Taimi: Well, do something heroic enough and I might change my mind.

It's also hard to have a conversation when the one thing you have in common is that you're trying to figure out what Scarlet is up to, but whenever Braham mentions Scarlet, Taimi goes off and won't stop talking about her. Remember that until now, Braham was helping the Commander solve the mystery of Scarlet, but now he's promised to look after Taimi and he's honor-bound to that. I can see him being incredibly frustrated.

Taimi: Braham, will you tell me a story while we wait? Braham: After you ran off on me? And all the abuse you heaped on me since we got here? I get plenty of that back in Cragstead. Taimi: You don't spent much time around asura, do you? We only abuse people we like. Or those we're trying to improve. Braham: Fine. I'll assume you like me. Ahem! "Once upon a time, there was a brave and handsome norn named Braham..." Taimi: Aww, I've heard this one already. ...From you. ...Twice.

They've been sitting here a long time if Braham tried to tell the same story thrice. (I bet that story is about the time Cragstead was attacked by Molten Alliance and Braham heroically saved the town. But I'd like to hear Braham's rendition.)

But notice the line "you don't spend much time around asura, do you?" And also remember the culture-clash between Braham and Rox? This is a minor-scale, low-stakes version of that.

Also notice that Taimi said she'd stop hero-worshipping Scarlet if Braham did something heroic enough; but apparently his feats at Cragstead aren't enough. This conversation has probably fired up Braham's desire to prove himself - the motivation behind why he's been helping us with things like the Tower of Nightmares, and he's itching to get back into the fight. But he gave his word to look after Taimi.

Taimi: Braham? Are we still going to be friends when we get back? Braham: Wait - are we friends now? Taimi: I think so. You don't boss me around as much as other adults. And when you ask a question, you let me answer it. Braham: Well, I'm friends with Frostbite and he can't even talk. So yes, Tiny. We'll still be friends. Taimi: Not if you keep calling me "Tiny."

But these two interactions show Braham how different cultures - and even different individuals - relate differently to each other. He might not be thinking about this in connection to Rox yet, but he will.

Eventually, the Commander wanders into the Mists investigating the probes and the Aetherblades, and Taimi and Braham make you go get the spare parts.

Braham: Good to see a friendly face, <Character name>. I'm stuck here minding this asura kid, so I appreciate the company. If you want to go exploring, though, I'd understand. Commander: I've got news from Lion's Arch. Scarlet's probe has changed color. Braham: I don't like the sound of that. It means Scarlet's machines are doing something, and that something is never good. Taimi was investigating the probes around here. She might have info you can use.

This is more than you simply dropping in and exchanging news - this is the two of you conferring and trying to figure out a difficult problem. But there isn't much more to be done and you want Braham back, so you go get Taimi's golem parts.

Braham: I'm dying to get back into the action with Rox and the others, but I'm stuck minding Taimi here until she fixes her golem. She'll tell you all about it if you let her. Commander: Where are your friends? Braham: Not sure, but I'm looking forward to finding them at the Dead End bar when this is all over. I need a drink and I like the stories Jory tells. She's got a voice some skaalds would kill for.

(This concludes my - rather successful, I'd say - attempt to string together the ambient dialogues into a coherent chronological narrative. Some points were only referred to but didn't have any dialogue for them, and the lines I did have were all out-of-order, which made everything more difficult.)

I'd also like to throw in this piece of dialogue, the Commander possibly wanting to hear the latest about their old friend:

Commander: How is your mom? Braham: What? Listen, friend, the less you talk about Eir Stegalkin, the better we'll get along.

That was fast. Like, given the relationship we know Braham has with the Commander, he shouldn't have gotten that angry, that fast, to threaten how well the two of you get along as friends. More likely, though, he's just really good at setting boundaries, at least in this area. He probably has people asking him this question all the time, and he's had to learn to be firm that this topic is not allowed. He's not angry, he's just setting expectations. He still calls you 'friend.'

Anyway, Commander returns to the Dead End bar to confer with Kas and Jory about the probe changing color, and then, using all the intel they've collected so far, they figure out Scarlet is planning an attack on Lion's Arch.

Meanwhile, Taimi finally repairs Scruffy, and she and Braham presumably leave the Mists, on the way to Rata Sum (finally). Whether they got there or not, I don't know, but then Scarlet attacks Lion's Arch. Taimi heads to the Vigil Keep, and Braham and Rox meet up and head to Lion's Arch ahead of the Commander to help the Lionguard evacuate civilians.

After at least one skirmish with Scarlet's forces in Lion's Arch:

Rox: Aaargh! Could that have been any worse? Braham: We saved some, but how many people are still in there? (huff) I'm going to break Scarlet in half. Rox: Hold that thought. It won't be long before we get another chance to go back in. Braham: Next time, we save as many as we can. I'm not stopping until they have to carry me out.

When the Commander arrives in LA, they explain the situation:

Braham: Just taking the time to rest before diving back in. Lion's Arch can use all the help it can get. Rox: This could've been much worse if you hadn't figured out that her target was Lion's Arch. Commander: I'm glad I could help. Rox: Braham and I were ready because you warned us. We evacuated a lot of citizens who'd be dead now. Between Scarlet's thugs' murdering and the miasma choking them to death, it's ugly in there.

Commander rarely arrives late to a battle, but when they does... it's really, really bad. XD.

Rox: Rawr! Braham: Why are you so jumpy? Rox: Can't you hear those explosions?

Rox was genuinely traumatized by the deaths of her warband. It's obvious all throughout S1 (she hates explosions, esp. in caves, and even years later, on Dragonfall, she's jumpy just because she's in a cave) but here, it makes Braham realize that his friends are vulnerable, as oppose to his usual perspective:

Braham: Well, if we don't get blown up, then the miasma will probably kill us. Rox: Or the clockworks. Braham: Or those thrice-damned Aetherblades. Rox: And don't forget the krait. Braham: I'm already hearing the song they'll sing about us.

Braham says this, of course, because that's his attitude at things that can kill him, but I think it got Braham thinking about Rox's perspective. She's genuinely afraid of the explosions, and Braham knows her backstory. He starts wondering about the others, too:

Braham: I wonder if Marjory and Kasmeer are still in one piece. They aren't as battle hardened as we are. Rox: They'll be fine. Marjory's got a keen eye for trouble, and Kasmeer can hold her own with illusions, surprisingly. Braham: That won't help them if they're too busy making lovey eyes at each other. Rox, teasing: Hey, I remember not so long ago when you were in love too. Braham, grouchily: Yeah, and I regret every minute of it.

Maybe that bit there also reminds Braham that they've been through a lot together, and that won't change. Braham can be sure that, no matter what happens, he and Rox will always be friends.

Braham: Is it time yet? Rox: No, Braham. Be patient. We can't go in too soon. The miasma has to dissipate first. Braham: How come Marjory's antidote isn't working anymore? Rox: Seems Scarlet improved her recipe. She's an impressive alchemist. Braham: Is there anything she doesn't do well? Rox: Make friends? Braham: Good point.

And now, Braham can't help but think of Rox's desire to be in the Stone Warband. Rox lost all her friends, too - she needs a group. But Braham might believe her, now, when she says they'll still see each other. I think he didn't really, before - he felt as if she was trying to replace him - but at this point he realizes she does care about him and she will make an effort to see him.

And, also thinking about different cultures and all, Braham might realize that she thinks breaking the chains that bind her isn't as important as having somewhere to belong.

Eventually, your allies and the Lionguard start working on breaking the attackers' morale and pressing into the city from all three accessible directions in order to keep evacuating civilians.

Braham and Rox come in from the north, at Trader's Forum - and Braham is secretly hoping to see the Commander. I don't think he quite knows how to handle the whole 'different culture, different values' thing, but the Commander is an expert at this. He finds the Commander successfully, but he doesn't really want to talk about his troubles, and thinks maybe watching the Commander interact with others will help.

Braham, to Commander: I figured I'd see you up here fighting these Aether-dregs. This situation is so serious, though. I'm almost not having any fun taking them down. Commander: She's been working toward this for over a year. Braham: That's a long time. I wish we could have predicted this back when we were fighting the Molten Alliance - back in those early days. I'd have hunted her down and pulled her out like the weed she is. Commander: We all wish that. She's gotten extremely powerful. Braham: I understand how burgled and bluffed these alliances together, but I don't get why. What could she possibly want? Commander: The answer to that lies with the green probe. Braham: Yeah, Taimi thinks she's mapping ley lines so she can tap them for their energy. Commander: Where is your little buddy? Braham: She's not MY buddy. But she was heading toward the camp outside the Vigil fort to annoy the refugees there. If we're lucky, they'll toss her off a mountain. Commander: You don't mean that. Braham: (laugh) No. I don't guess I do. Commander, smiling: Uh-huh. That's what I thought.

Later, after the fighting starts again, Braham and Rox are back to their usual banter. And then you join them to help take down some Aetherblades.

Rox, to Commander: Now that you're here, the enemy's in trouble. Braham: Hey, friend. I've got your back.

Braham is officially the Commander's second-best friend, especially at this time-period when you're not too close to Taimi yet. There's only one other person who takes the time to say brief but genuinely nice and meaningful things to the Commander, and meanwhile everyone else just takes them for granted. No, really, Braham does this all the time. In every fight it's some form of "it's you and me, friend" or "we're in it together!" or "I've got your back."

Maybe Braham also recognizes that Rox isn't his only friend. He won't be alone if - when - she leaves. Braham admits that he can't stop her, and he also can't, in good conscience, hold Rox back from the Stone Warband when this is what she needs - people like her, a place to belong, friends to fight with.

And so, after pushing back Scarlet's forces in Lion's Arch and taking down her deployed champions, Braham is with you, the Commander, in the second-to-last phase of the battle, which is one of Scarlet's giant holograms.

It took a ton of clicking obscure links for me to find this, but I'd always wondered what it was that injured Scarlet just before you enter the instance to kill her, and it turns out that it's the Prime Hologram: you fight it on top of the Breachmaker, and Scarlet participates in the fight a little, and killing it apparently injures her somehow (maybe it explodes).

Anyway, Scarlet retreats and the whole team chases after her, all with their different goals but the same way of getting there: Marjory is insanely interested in this mystery; Kasmeer, aside from sticking with Marjory, is aghast at the devastation and wants to help any way she can; Rox wants to get in Rytlock's warband, and Braham is trying to build his legend.

Braham: You're about to get your wish, Rox. Looks like the Stone Warband's within your grasp. Rox: As is glory for you, Braham. We'll do this together.

Braham demonstrates here that he's finally accepted that Rox's desire to join the Stone Warband doesn't mean that she won't be his friend, and she isn't trying to replace him, and he should be happy for her.

Meanwhile, Scarlet, lying injured on the floor, is threatening them all with death and destruction, but they all take it for bluffing. Braham and Marjory step forward to finish her (with the others warning caution), but Scarlet throws them both back somehow, hurting Braham and knocking Marjory unconscious.

Rox: Braham! Talk to me! Your leg... Braham: ...is broken. I know. (groan) I'll be okay. Go get her. Rox: What? Go? No. I can't leave you here like this. It's too dangerous. We have to get you out of here. Braham: Go, Rox. It's your chance to get in the warband. You have to. Rox: I don't have to do anything. I'm not leaving you alone in such a vulnerable position.

Unable to convince Rox, Braham turns to you:

Braham: Urgh. Don't worry about me. Finish her! Commander: Hold on there, buddy, I've got this.

Meanwhile, Kas has flipped out in an impressive display of anger at Scarlet for supposedly killing Marjory. With her aid, you defeat Scarlet, Rox stays behind and acts as medic to Braham and also tends to Marjory, who isn't quite dead. After the battle:

Kasmeer: Jory! Oh, Jory, I thought you were... I thought... (sob) Marjory: Hush, love. I'm okay. Rox worked some battlefield magic on me. It's okay, honey. I'm going to be okay. Braham: Guess it's a good thing you stayed behind, huh? Rox, thinking about how upset Rytlock is going to be: Definitely a good thing, my friend. Definitely a good thing.

Scarlet has been defeated, but the fight isn't over yet: Scarlet's forces are still all over Lion's Arch, so you get back on out there to help the Lionguard mop them up.

Rox: I'm not sure what has me snarling loudest: This attack on Lion's Arch or Braham's bullheadedness. Commander: What do you mean? Rox: He's insisting on fighting, even though his leg is broken. I'm not leaving his side for one second. Commander: Good for you.

Talking to Braham about it:

Braham: You look better than I feel. Commander: What are you doing? Braham: I'm building my legend! And helping the folks who live here. Commander, skeptical: On a broken leg? Braham: Look, I can't slink away like some injured animal. I was no help in the Scarlet fight. I can do some good here. My leg will heal, eventually. Right now, it's the least of our worries. Commander: Just be careful or you'll end up lame.

And, sure enough, back at the Dead End bar:

Braham: Ngg. Ow. Rox: Will you relax, Braham? Sit down. If you keep standing on that leg... Marjory: Better ease up on that leg, B, or it won't heal right. Braham: It doesn't hurt anymore. Kasmeer: Is that why you make that bear noise every time you sit down? Braham: That's just... the Spirit, moving in me.

No it's not. This is a serious thing: in IBS, it's revealed that Braham can't Become the Wolf. And probably not any other Spirits, either. I've been thinking that this is perhaps a sore point with him, and this is one of the few dialogues pre-IBS that touch on the topic. Food for thought.

Also, the nickname "B" that Marjory uses here should have stuck. That's an amazing nickname. (Maybe someone can say their Commander kept it up or something.)

Taimi arrives at this point, and brings up the subject of the dragon's roar that was heard after Scarlet's death.

Braham: I'm not afraid of no dragon. Rox: Braham. (sigh) I'll have to take you to the Brand sometime. No single warrior can stand alone against a dragon.

Braham's still a young, overconfident norn at this stage. He hasn't ever faced a dragon and doesn't understand their power. This is also probably why he still has no respect for Eir, and also a part of why his attitude toward Eir changes so drastically in S2. But also, look at this:

Braham (to Taimi): Did you get in trouble for roaming the camp? Taimi: No. Yes. Zojja gave me extra calculations as a punishment, and I never got to see Scarlet. Braham: Sounds like Zojja cares about you.

Braham clearly understands what care looks like. Not many teens his age would have the perspective that punishment equates to care and concern. He clearly has an understanding of how parents operate. (Or perhaps he just takes any kind of attention as a good thing, but Braham doesn't strike me as someone who had that kind of upbringing.) His father, Borje, must have taken good care of him, and his friends/foster parents, too, after Borje's death.

Taimi: No, she doesn't. She cares about her record. If I do well, it reflects positively on her as my college mentor. (pause)

Taimi, now - she's closer to a typical teen than Braham in this regard. And Braham doesn't want to get into it (and he also has experience with her stubbornness, so he probably doesn't bother to try to convince her).

Braham: So you don't like Zojja's college? Taimi: I was not designed to be in Synergetics. I was designed for Statics. Braham: I don't know what that means.

He's a good fighter and he can admit when he doesn't know things. Get you a man who can do both, why don't you?

Also, here's a tactic he learned in the Mists:

Taimi: Hey, Braham. Braham: Uh-huh. Taimi: You wanna hear about the new aetherphaser I invented for my golem? I modeled it after Scarlet's tech. Braham: Uh-huh. Taimi: It works just fine, but I have to keep adjusting the gorometer. Braham: Uh-huh. Taimi: I had to shave down the minious array wheel in order to get it to fit on Scruffy, but I got it. Braham: Uh-huh. Taimi: Next, I'm gonna make him a panmetric listening device so he can warn me in advance if someone's sneaking up on me. Braham: Uh-huh. Taimi: Hey, Braham. Braham: Uh-huh. Taimi: I like you because you're big... and dumb. Braham: Uh-huh. ... (laugh) Shut up! Taimi: (giggle)

She was sharing her progress! And he was ignoring her! They really are friends! (or maybe annoying siblings XD) And, for the record, that bit at the end was just her baiting him. She didn't mean it - not after she called him smart for understanding some of her technobabble earlier.

Braham (to Commander): You really believe that stuff about Scarlet poking the dragon? Commander: Yeah, I do. I think she was more practical than she let on. Braham: Or more crazy. I'm gonna guess she was hoping to make a dragon or two mad so they would attack. Don't matter. All that matters is she's dead now.

Another example of Braham underestimating the dragons: he just casually tosses out "a dragon or two" and then follows up with "don't matter."

Commander: How's your leg? Braham: It's okay. Better. I'm ignoring it. My legend is in the bog, and I can't believe I have to wait for this leg to get better. It's making me as crazy as Scarlet. Commander: Your legend isn't in the bog. Braham: Sure it is. I might as well be starting from scratch. I'll go down in history as the guy who couldn't hold his own in the fight against Scarlet. Commander: Not true. One fight doesn't make or break a legend.

And people have the nerve to say Braham isn't young? This conversation typifies teenagers: angsting about something that isn't even a problem. But I guess if you're a norn, you have to take every threat to your legend seriously.

But anyway, after Scarlet is defeated, the Zephyrites return to offer support for the struggling city of Lion's Arch and set up the Festival of the Four Winds.

Rox: Well, our mission is to enjoy ourselves and be seen doing it. How's the leg? Braham: It's fine. And before you ask again, no, I don't want one of your good luck charms. Rox: You know one of mine won't work. It has to be personal. I wish you'd let me help you pick one out. Otherwise, you're going to get injured again. Once misfortune finds you, it doesn't just go away. You have to counter it. Braham: Wolf's tail, is this what they mean by being mothered? I'm suddenly glad mine was never around. Rox: Somebody's in a sour mood. But I know a cure for crankiness: bashing things to benefit Lion's Arch! Taimi: So, do I get to come along this time, or are you going to sideline me in some camp again? Braham, sighing: Nobody sidelined you. With all the miasma and Aetherblades and whatnot, we were trying to get people out, not bring them in. Taimi: You should have known better. I followed Scarlet's progress for months. Did you really think I'd miss her big finish? Braham, sourly: Be glad you did. Some of us were there and still didn't get to see it through.

Taimi leaves with Kas and Jory (and Rox wanders off, as well).

Commander: How's the leg? Braham: Did Rox tell you to say that? Nevermind - my leg is fine. Scarlet broke my bones, but I'm still on my feet. And I'm getting stronger every day.

~oOoOo~

And that's where Season 1 ends! (For now - I'm going to post an S1 recap next XD.)

Again, thanks to the Guild Wars 2 Wiki for all the dialogues, especially Braham's and Taimi's time in the Edge of the Mists and the second-to-last phase of the Battle of Lion's Arch, the Prime Hologram, which is hard to find if you're just navigating internal wiki links.

First | Prev | Part 4: Friendships | Next - S1 recap

#braham eirsson #season 1 #taimi #rox #marjory delaqua #kasmeer meade #scarlet briar #logan thackeray #frostbite #ibs #Spirits of the Wild #spirit of wolf #wolf spirit #shadow in the ice #twisted marionette #scrying pool #eye of the north #ottilia #dead end bar #rata sum #divinity's reach #lion's arch #battle for lion's arch #college of synergetics #college of statics #zephyrite #bazaar of the four winds #eir stegalkin #gw2

[hello-nichya-here]

Have you ever read someone's post saying they don't like your favorite ship because of a fic, which happens to be the most popular one for said ship? So you read through thier reasoning, literally able to dismiss every point they made as a misinterpretation of the story until you get to the end where the biggest thing was that thier favorite character in this fic was painted as an antagonist, against the main character, saying this character was portrayed in ways that were inaccurate compared to what was written in the story and, EVEN IF, they were accurate, the comics that would support this person's claim were released 5 years after the fic was originally uploaded and the personality/actions of the character in question would have been in line with aspects of the culture that this specific characters nation was based on.

Big point this person noted that bugged THE FUCK out of me, was that they were upset that the fic had pro-imperialistic ideologies in it...... AZULA WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF COURSE IT HAD THAT. The story was literally told from her pov *exasperated sigh*

So, moral of the story. If you don't like a ship, that's perfectly fine. Your reasons can be as simple as you don't like one of the characters, you just don't see them together, you think they'd clash, literally almost any reason is ok. I will respect your perspective. But, if you don't like a ship because of a fanfic that you misunderstood painted a character you like in a bad way and then you proceed to bash the fic for things that are accurate to the portrayal of the character or accurate to another characters cultural origin then I will absolutely, 100% take offense to your opinion. Especially when that fic is literally one of the best, most detailed, well paced Azula redemption fics I've ever read with some of the most accurate character portrayals and development I've ever seen.

They said don't misrepresent one character to justify your pairing (which it didn't. They took an aspect of the character and elevated it to a higher level, in this case it was jealousy). I will say back, don't tear down someone's work to justify your bias for your character being paired with Azula instead

Apologies for the long rant, I just needed a safe place to let all this out without getting into a debate on the platform. I know you happen to deal with similar situations so I know you understand where I'm coming from lol.

No need to apologize. It's honestly a bit cathartic to see people venting about things that also bother me (like people bitching about stories that were not written for them)

#asks #venting #azula #dumb people #fandom nonsense #fandom fuckery #atla

[eyelash-stealer]

Things I thought while watching season one of Lego Ninjago for the first time since I was a kid during quarantine (Part 1)

Episode one

Zane :)

Jay has an eyebrow slit...that's gay culture i-

Cole's totally gay I understand now

Y'all that's a child

It's weird to think Lord Garmadon got some but okay

Honestly I dont remember Lloyd being there this early

THE ANIMATION IS SO BAD

Jay you need to s t o p

Jay is so straight that he's gay

The sexual tension is real between Zane and Cole

They're just spinning that is /not/ training

Episode 2

Zane you're doing a great job sweetheart-

Zane's just VIBING in the fridge

Wow they really need to bond more. How did they not know Zane was an orphan after living together for however long

Leave my boy alone-

Kai is the kind of guy to call someone gay for washing their face (my girlfriend added that he's likely to be drinking an ice coffee as he does so

Nya called Zane cute :))

That's not a falcon

Zane when he saw the Falcon:

Bird friend :))

Zane likes birds more then his friends and like same kiddo

Super sonic speed

Lloyd has a safe word for his tree house and it's probably password

HE THANKED THE BIRD

Zane has a fair point

"I followed a bird" "why did you follow the bird?" "Because it danced"

I hate Jay. Why was he my favorite as a kid?

UGH THE ANIMATION

"Frosty" ha..g a y

Jay probably has ADHD

How did those two snakes not notice Jay and Zane

All of their colors clash really badly

Bro you could've just cut that bond

Why do they need to scream "ninja! Go!" Before they go into their spinjitsu? It's awfully loud

I know I said I was shocked that lord garmadon got some but I'm even more shocked now because- AT THAT AGE?! If his brother is Sensei Wu I'd assume they're close in age and Sensei is old. Lloyd is so young so like-

Zane you have ninja stars the spinjitsu was neccessary

Oh my god the scream

You know the "cries" in Black Friday when Linda is shot. That's what the snakes sound like

Starkid copied Lego Ninjago...a shame really

Baby Lloyd is so annoying

Cole has rabies

Damn Jay what a bitch

He deserved that

Hell yeah Sensei Wu

Nya deserves better

They all need to drink respect woman juice

Oh no the monestary- GET Y'ALL DRAGONS

Shard sounds like shart ngl

Jay I will not hesitate to slap you

STOP BEING DICKS-

You go Zane. Get some fresh air

S-...slither pit? What kind of bullshit name is that

T r i b e?

Did his hand just c l i c k!?

Sliiide to the left

His hips don't lie

Damn bro

Dramatic much?

I'm upset that the snake people dont talk like the basilisk in A Very Potter Musical

Did his voice drop?

JAY OH MY GOD YOU PIECE OF SHIT

Finally recognize my boy Zane

Zane picked the falcon again I'm g o n e

Okay but the music is really pretty

THE ARGOII-

Zane is an angel

How does sensei know there's a lot of pie-

What about their dragons

#lego ninjago lloyd #lego ninjago #lego #zane julien #ninjago zane #cole brookstone #cole lego ninjago #zane lego ninjago #kai smith #kai lego ninjago #ninjago kai #jay walker #ninjago jay

[the-firebird69]

A Bronx Tale 1993 - Fight scene

It happened last night there was the fire and the attempted bombing happened first and Sonny didn't actually set them up he sent himself up and it was mainly the problem of Jason's Jason's one in the bomb attempted they went ahead and tried to fire bomb the place which was probably for what Max do engage these idiots with African-Americans. So what's no harm no foul there until someone hit the car and someone actually capable of feeling the car hit the car which is strange because it does look like Mac and he's the guy who told him to get out of the bar. When I say is they're doing this bar thing because they think they're going to take over so they're trying to force to be filled with everything because they took DC

Zues Hera

They have Washington DC and they have it walled off. It looks up and say we don't see anything most people don't see bombs you idiot honestly even real big ones can you believe that probably not seem to be very stupid I think we're going to have to give some examples now it's just such an a******

Zues Hera

I'm going to have to do that actually. Oh we see dans point, no we don't and if we saw this point what would we see his point about so we're going to ice that piece of s*** very soon or bombing DC because I got nicely cordoned off and grabbing stuff that's inside we need it and they're not in control so they're a jackasses and evacuated we have all the Intel we needed these people are slobs so Brad is upset and he's a moron because they do anything right. Dan is of course a repulsive jerk. This to meet each other who's going to head to New York City and claim the key because he took over DC it's quite comical because they're both huge assholes do a****** things out of nowhere and become a massive pain for no reason it's going to be a culture clash they are at each other too. But we've been getting bombing DC now and we're doing it to flush out the assholes with them separated we can blame one each other pull out tons of bunkers it's perfect timing some more on to do that and the effect is going to be Dan riding into the Bronx and Jason is being sought by sunny. And they're going to ride into town today early by the way and 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. it's everybody off and get into a fight and just going to be attempted retribution he's going to take the baseball bat right there it's going to be no drawn out episodes that's where it came from and that's where the bat came from is the bad News bears all that crap happens and it's going to go to Major League afterwards ironically it's today or tomorrow

Thor Freya

#Youtube

[bobbieyay]

Tell me your who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.

(Right-left: Arcilla, Etulle, Amil, Del Rosario, Bustalino, Prellegera, Eroma.)

Erick John Arcilla is the shyest and always in love guy best friend. You know what, I am very much thankful for this guy. He knew something peculiar happened to me but he remained silent, understand and believe in me. He knew what I am and I am thankful for such. We are not the kind of best friend who dwells deep with negative vibes. We more likely talk about girls, and how can we have one. Funny! Haha I love this guy. I am very much excited to our future family, if who's gonna be the best father; if it's him for his children or me from mine. Actually, I wanted him to be the best man of my wedding. (Wow, I am talking about wedding we can't even have girlfriends) HAHAHA

Brian Etulle is the one and only gay person I care so much. She's been through a lot. She's loud, like when you all walk on the street she'll suddenly yell out like, hysterically. She seems to be crazy outside but inside, I can feel that she's collapsing. You might even think of her as snob sometimes, yet she seems to be the happiest and loud once you get to know her. She's sweet. And fyi on our second years in college we were tagged as twin: like really, too far right. Those jerks! (HAHAH kidding aside) And one thing I adore about her is that once she fells in love, it's towards only one guy and it would last for many years like you wouldn't think of her still loving that someone.

Mary Camille Amil is one of the four amazing girls I am pleasured to have. She's like my older sister and it annoys me every time she interrupt me; like hello, I'm talking. I super adore this girl, after all, she managed to become an independent woman. She fed herself right from the moment her father left her for a lifetime. She even helps her siblings in whatever she might. She's quite, yet on the inside, she's murmuring. (HAHAHAHA) see, one of the most sarcastic person I know and I love. (HAHAHA) as far as I know, she's become a competitor to me in our group of friends when it comes to math quiz way back in college. I just hate her for that! (Wow, competitive!)

Angelica Del Rosario who's the most crybaby among us.(yes, not me) she's my competitor in everything. We even fought and made a clash like in our classroom. Like dude, we are freaking important way back. I am amazed on her leadership skills and always prepared to everything we will be doing. Which is something I lack. We had lots of fights during our college days. I don't know, we even have the great tandem at first; it suddenly just made a war the moment we were separated. But in the end of our college days, both kingdoms collide and it's pretty amazing; it's just, one should lower their armour and it happened to be me.(yes I'm the hero hahahajk) what more I can say: oh wait, she's baffled way back because of guys; take note, it happened only for how many months. (Pretty right? Haha) Guys in a span of months. (HAHA)

April Rose Bustalino, is the sweetest and yet one of the most intelligent I know. Ohman, I must say great adjectives in describing her because let me tell you a secret: I felt something more than a friend for her. She's informed the moment she's upset. (HAHAHA) for that, we haven't connected for months (see how idiot i was) but of course, above all, friendship will prevail. It's just embarrassing on my end the moment I confessed to her virtually. (HAHA) we haven't even talk about it personally but it's great. Everything is settled on my end since I was the only one who had feelings (had). I do love this girl, even if i'm annoyed of her ka-artehan. I thinks that's just how friends work.

Ma. Victoria Prellegera is the most mad person at me. Every time I annoyed her for even in a little way, she gets upset and mad at me; then she won't talk to me until I'm being drowned to conscience. I so love this girl, she's the most feisty and bold. Her dedication to Philippine culture grew greatly. I always taught myself to not make her upset because I would only get nervous for such. Anyway, her father left her as well for a lifetime which makes me sad every time I see a post on how she misses her father. I wish I could do something to ease the yearning. On the other side, she seems to be bold or always angry about the world but she's the sweetest inside. I know that. Because I know how she love her best friends. Also, in our Math 1: i don't know if she still remember this but; our math professor asked us both if 3 up or down on the last day of the semester without even knowing what would it be. So, she chose Down while I chose Up. Later year after that, she retook it. That old professor, hays!

James Rafael Eroma, my playboy best friend. Dude, he made our senior girls back then expect that he has something for them. You know why? Because he did fetch one of them from their home to school. While the other he acted with some sweetness. Like who would not fell for such chivalry, right? Anyway, we both started in college as junior officer to our dept. org. our senior expected him as only cool but not a great one but i can testify that he was great. Tho there were times he made lay low. Still, in the end, he's there. I love this guy, he's the very first guy friend I had in school. But I am sad even now after I am being oust from his circle. It's heartbreaking. But I am still expecting that our path will cross once again in the future and that for sure will get back as best friend. I miss this guy, super! But if you will ask me what happen with the separate ways, it's a long story. Finally, he's still a friend to me. I even consider him as my best. I am waiting, James. Love you, man!

As you can see, I am a kind of person who made my friends not just that but more than that. I Love them so so much. Like I can get jealous if they will replace me or they have some new friends (tho it's not good to act like that, haha) I have so much things to say about them, more than letters, more than words; but more of love.

I've told you who my friends are, now tell me who I am.

[killingbumsoftly]

Why are you assuming only the western fans are "mad" at the sudden hiatus and that I am western? I doubt, the Philippines are in the west. And no, you can't take a break if you're tired. People don't have that privilege. Feel too tired? Alright, I'm sure you didn't feel "too tired" all of a sudden. You can always tell people there'll be a delay in the work sometime sooner if you have that privilege. It's a matter of respect for those of appreciate your work and give you money for that.

I’m assuming that because I mainly see western fans being upset. But thanks for informing me that there are also Asian fans that are upset and sharing your insight from another pov. It’s sad that people in certain countries or companies can’t take days off due to mental exhaustion because this should be a common right since it’s as burdening as a broken wrist. Guess that’s a western privilege. I just don’t get why you demand respect from Koogi, but don’t seem to have respect for her work and health. (I personally don’t feel disrespected by her decision at all and honestly can’t comprehend this mindset.) It’s not like you are losing money because of the hiatus. Your coins will stay on your account if there are no new chapters that you can buy. As others already have pointed out, Koogi will be attending AX next month and this probably blew up her schedule as well. So Lezhin is to be blamed for the hiatus as well, and it’s their own fault that they have to pay Koogi now even though she won’t deliver anything for a month. But I guess here are just different cultures clashing.

#asks #anon