#also sorry for making this post more disclaimers than opinion at this point i just really want to get it across that i Like Stardew Valley | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rainbowsky · 5 months

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hi, new turtle here and kind of clueless about a lot of things especially how to support GG and DD if we're from intl fandom. that is, I know DD has a lightstick, I know GG has other things..? (which are those?) my point is, how do we as intl fans support them? for Thai actors I know that we can donate money for advertisements and whatnot, but idk what to do for GG and DD. do you have any ideas? thank you and sorry if this message isn't very clear, my English is bad today >_<"

Hi new turtle! 💛🐢💛 Your English is just fine. ☺️

Sorry for the delay in replying to this, I've had very little time lately for Tumblr and I'm hopelessly behind on asks!

I know I've talked about this a bit in the past but finding older posts on Tumblr can be insanely difficult, so I'll go over some of my thoughts on this again.

Standard disclaimer: This is my personal opinion, not a list of demands or directives. Everyone gets to decide how they want to engage in fandom. There is absolutely no obligation to do any of these things, and doing these things does not make you a better fan than anyone else. Nor is anyone who is unable to do these things a lesser fan. The primary goal of fandom is to enjoy yourself (without harming others). I encourage each of you to find your own path and hold your head high, and never let anyone dictate your fandom experience or bully you for your choices.

I'm going to focus on things anyone can do without spending a lot of money or investing a huge amount of time. Alongside that I'll give some advice for those who want to take things further, and warn of some things we might want to avoid.

1 ] Be the best people we can be

The number one thing we can do is live our best lives, be the best people we can be, and help make the world a better place.

From a fandom perspective, we should all be striving to represent GG and DD in the best possible light by being a positive example of fandom at its best. Be kind, be compassionate, be open-minded. Don't bully others, don't engage in fan wars, don't trash other artists or fans. Respect other fans, artists and fandoms.

It's also important to think of how best to respect and protect them, and ensure we aren't painting them in a bad light.

Consider all the ways GG and DD inspire us to make the world a better place, and be the kind of person that reflects their goodness. Behave in ways that would make GG and DD proud, and that show turtles to be a positive force in the world.

Spend time with family, work toward our own goals and dreams. Don't over-invest ourselves in being their fan. This is something GG especially has urged fans to do for years and years.

Taking it to the next level

Lead by example and share that message/approach with others (in a kind, non-judgmental way). Do charitable works in their name (even if it's just in your own local area). Support causes that they would appreciate.

Some causes GG and DD have supported in the past: disaster relief, animal welfare, youth organizations that support disadvantaged kids, autism orgs. Consider orgs that help get kids involved in sports and in the arts. Theater and performance orgs as well. Given the nature of this fandom, you might also want to consider supporting queer orgs (there is a list of queer refugee orgs in this post).

I honestly believe that more than any other thing we could do to support them, this would BY FAR make GG and DD the happiest - just knowing that their fans are inspired to do kind things for others. They would be happier knowing our money is helping those in need, rather than being wasted on things we don't really need in some misguided desire to 'support them'.

Stay away from

Never behave cruelly or in a warlike manner toward other fans, artists or fandoms - especially not 'in GGDD's name'. I can't count how many times I've seen hateful people sporting GG or DD-related usernames and avatars invading other people's fandom spaces to attack them.

Don't support the stalker economy, and make sure the material we connect with them is not harmful. More on that here.

Avoid being taken advantage of. Always do your due diligence before giving money to any cause or organization to ensure they are legitimate and reputable.

2 ] Enjoy and promote their works

Another extremely important thing we can do is enjoy their work and show our support with reviews, ratings, and word-of-mouth recommendations. After all, this is the core of what their careers are about, and it's what they put so much hard work into and make so many big sacrifices for.

A list of key projects and how to view can be found here.

Taking it to the next level

Buy subscriptions on platforms where their work is being shown, buy tickets for their films, etc.

If the films are showing in a region you can't travel to, you can still buy tickets for turtles who can't afford to go. Consider organizing group viewings of their work, or helping to spread the word about their projects in other ways.

More suggestions in this post.

Stay away from

Never engage in false reviews, vote manipulation or manipulating view counts. Such behaviors can harm GG and DD and make them look bad.

3 ] Support their brand endorsements

The best way for any fan to do this is to support their brand endorsements on social media with likes, reblogs and gracious, rational, polite comments.

Always be respectful, calm, polite and professional when interacting with brands. Remember that these are professional partners of GG and DD and we should try to show GG and DD in a good light. Our behavior reflects on them.

Taking it to the next level

If it is within our means, we can buy their brand endorsements, but I urge fans to use good judgment and caution when doing so. I have a more detailed post about supporting their brand endorsements here. Bottom line: don't get caught up in spending all your money on things you can't afford or wouldn't have otherwise bought, just because GG and DD are representatives.

If you do decide to explore supporting their endorsements I recommend reading that post because it might give you food for thought, and help you decide where to invest.

Stay away from

Purchase only what you need and will use or gift to others. Never buy anything just to boost numbers. That type of consumer behavior is wasteful and reflects very poorly on GG and DD and can actually backlash harshly against them.

Never engage in sales manipulation behaviors, such as purchasing items to boost sales and then returning them later for a refund. Brands aren’t stupid. They will notice this type of thing and it will factor into how they evaluate GG and DD’s brand performance.

Understand that brands are very skilled at tracking where sales come from, where brand buzz is coming from, etc. It’s not strictly necessary to make any special fanfare about your purchases, and if fan behavior becomes disruptive it can become a negative rather than positive reflection on GGDD.

Never get involved in disruptive fan behavior, regardless of how hard other fans try to instigate you or induce you to do so.

Never spend more than you can afford. GG and DD are both mega-rich, and so are these brands. Have a sense of perspective and self-preservation and realize GG and DD wouldn’t want you to over-extend yourself on their behalf. Brand purchases aren’t even a core aspect of what’s important to their careers, so your impact would be marginal/practically nonexistent anyway.

If you really want a brand to know you support them because of GG or DD, let them know via social media or by contacting them directly. Send them a nice note, mention them in a tweet showing your purchases, or simply thank them for choosing GG or DD - no purchase necessary.

It’s OK to say you are a turtle, just don’t mention CP topics when interacting with brands, and don’t mention GG or DD in interactions with each other’s brands or bring each other’s solo colors into your messages, especially not on Twitter. That will only stir fan wars and cause disruption that the brands will inevitably witness. It’s not a good look.

GG and DD’s projects

BXG, Fan Service and Supporting GGDD

Fandom Survival Guide

BXG Fandom Etiquette

Toxic fans and staying in your own lane

Why fan wars/arguing online is such a bad idea

Why it’s so important for our fandom to behave well online

Protecting GGDD

Again, this is all based on my own opinions and perspectives. It's up to every fan to form their own values and take their own path.

I hope this gives you some ideas, Anon! ☺️

#bjyx #yizhan #fandom reflections #bxg perspectives #ggdd endorsements #ask

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sinfullyrosey · 2 years

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Smut Headcanons - Malleus

Disclaimer: Some headcanons listed may go against what is typically expected of fan interpretation of the character, so unpopular opinions and results may vary. Also, these headcanons are written with a GN!Reader in mind, so Malleus’s partner can be male, female, or other.

To start things off, our dear ‘ol dragon fae prince is a Sub/Switch, meaning that he’s willing to give or receive and play whatever role his partner desires of him. But, in his heart of hearts, he’s a total sub. He wants to make his partner happy, so tends to prioritize their needs over his own, but secretly wishes for his lover to dominate him, not the other way around. The same can be said for him referring to receive.

Further Notes: Due to his social status and rather domineering appearance, it’s usually assumed by most that’s he’s a dom. And in fact, some of his past suitors outright expected such out of him and would swoon over the thought of the dragon prince of Briar Valley absolutely destroying them in the bedroom.

What I’m trying to get at here, is Malleus just wants his partner to dominate and use him for once. Peg him. Please.

* Sorry to say, but he only has one dick (I’m so sorry my fello teratophilia fans, I swear I’ll make it up to you at a later date). But, on the bright side, his dick isn’t like a normal human one, so there’s that! It’s bigger and thicker than an average, human male’s, and darker in color. There’s these two sets of pointed (but not too sharp!) barbs lined on the underside that hit certain spots in his partner just right. The skin along his length is also thicker, having a texture that sort of resembles his scales in hardness, but is still soft and pliable.

* His balls are also darker in color and match in size to his penis. He tends to have more semen compared to humans, so some will inevitably leak out of his partner. Malleus also has this very specific musk to him that’s rather strong to humans, but not so much towards other fae due to their heightened senses. It’s thick and is described as being a bit smoky or like burnt wood, yet sweet. Some would describe it as alluringly pleasant, while others gag at the stench.

Now, onto the kinks/fetishes! Overall, Malleus doesn’t have a whole lot of kinks, as he views sex as more of an intimate moment shared between him and his beloved. That’s not to say certain things don’t get him riled up, just that he doesn’t understand the purpose of adding extra details to something that at it’s baseline is about being vulnerable. He’s a softy and prefers to focus on more sensual and intimate aspects, rather than the strictly sexual ones. With that said though...

Size Kink: Gonna get the easy one out of the way here. Malleus loves partners who are smaller than him, which isn’t hard to find ‘cause he’s so damn tall, but he especially loves those that are much shorter than him. It plays into his protective side and awakens something in him when he sees his partner struggle to fit his dick in their mouth or hole. Hell, he can’t help but let out a chuckle when they wrap their hands around his member and their fingers don’t even touch! There’s just something amusing to him about this tiny, little being trying desperately to match him in the bedroom. It especially gets him hard ‘cause it actually works and he’ll gladly let them make him kneel before them (again, he’s a sub). It’s also fun to be able to hold them ‘cause they just so tiny compared to him. Post-sex cuddles.~

Pegging/Anal (Receiving): *Deep Inhale* Malleus wants to get rammed so hard in the ass you have no idea- *Ahem* Anyways, Mal very much enjoys having his asshole fucked simply because it feels so good and he likes when his partner is able to get rough with him. He can take it all and more, and actively encourages his partner to do so to him. It’s also one of the ultimate ways of showing dominance, so the thought of his smaller partner pushing him down on his back, forcing his ass to stick up as they ram their dick (real or fake) into his hole repeatedly and mercilessly, is just delectable to him.

Teasing/Praise Kink (Receiving/Giving): Mal isn’t one for degrading his partner or being degraded himself. Sure, he likes to tease and rile up his beloved, but the moment either side starts hurling insults, he’s turned off. He much prefers loving praises or light teasing to outright insults. This can include his partner poking fun at the fact that the “All powerful Malleus Draconia, dragon fae prince and future king to Briar Valley is taken down by a mere human.” or “Wow Mal, your taking my dick so well, it’s almost like you were made to kneel. Some powerful wizard/prince you are.” They’re not outright insults, and are aimed at to assert his partner’s dominance over him. The same can be said about praise, though he enjoys being the one to do so towards his partner. It’s not uncommon for him to use all sorts of petnames like “beloved,” “my treasure,” “my briar rose,” “darling,” “my child of man,” “little one,” etc.

Kissing: I know this technically isn’t a fetish but I’m 100% convinced that Malleus is the kind of sap to be turned on when his partner kisses him on the mouth during sex, okay! He likes the intimacy and being railed by his partner, only for them to suddenly gently grab his face and plant a big ‘ol one on him, will make him nut faster than anything else. When all else fails, just kiss the big doofus!

Using His Horns Like Handlebars: Horns? I think you mean his partner’s own personal handlebars.~ Go on, grab his horns and use them to guide his head when he’s giving oral. Be rough with him and pull on them so his tongue or mouth delves deeper. He loves it. Grabbing a dragon’s horns isn’t something to think light of as it can be a sign of disrespect or lack of personal space. However, grabbing them can also be seen as something intimate since it’s a way of conveying dominance or affection. The horns themselves aren’t sensitive, but the feeling of his partner grabbing onto them for dear life and using them against him is hot.

Breeding Kink: Ah, yes, the one like 99% of the fandom brings up, but this time around with a bit of a twist! Yes, part of his kink derives from a draconial instinct to make claim to his mate and ensure an heir. However, the actual reason is much more wholesome-ish. Ever since Malleus was little, he felt isolated and alone due to others fearing him due to his species and status (and later on his magical abilities). So, when he met his partner, who showed him nothing but love and acceptance, not fear and disgust, he latched onto that. He wanted to keep this person close to him, forever. He wants his own happily ever after like from those silly, little fairytales Lilia used to read to him. He wants a family to share with his lifelong partner. He wants children, children that are his, who are dragon fae like him, so that he won’t feel so alone anymore. The thought alone fills him with such joy and heat, that his partner will be unable to miss the way his thrusts pick up in pace and strength. That very image is enough to drive him. And when he sees the aftermath, his partner, panting and sweating underneath him, his hot seed dripping out of their used hole, he can’t help but feel that he’s only that much closer to making his dream come true.

And to finally top all of these off, here are a few extra details about our precious dragon prince when it comes to the bedroom and his partner.

* Should go without saying, but he’s possessive. Not possessive in the sense that he’ll go yandere on his partner or anything. But more so in the way that he views them and how others treat them. To him, his partner is his greatest treasure. They outshine all the gold and jewels in his horde (of which, they stand at the top of the pile, of course~). So, it’s only natural that he’s rather protective of them, especially if they happen to be a magicless human with no self defensive skills what-so-ever. And while it usually goes unnoticed by everyone around them, it becomes rather clear once you witness him wrap an arm around them protectively at a gala, hiding them away from the judgmental, prying eyes of those who disapproves of his partner. This later will translate to the bedroom.

* It’s inevitable, but eventually his more draconial features will slip through in the bedroom. The more pleasure he feels, the harder it is for him to hold back, and soon he’s got a pair of wings sprouting out of his back and a long, scaly tail wagging behind him. His claws sharpen, pupils thinning into slits, and ebony scales painting his body like a canvas. And yes, he has a long, forked tongue, but that’s present at all times. ;3

* Dude never verbalizes it, but he prefers the actual foreplay and buildup towards sex, rather than the actual act itself. He feels more happens beforehand and that most of the pleasure is felt before he blows his load. The same could be said about the aftercare, as he gets to come down from his high and relax with his partner. Pillow talk, cleanup baths, cuddling, that’s his shit.

* His favorite parts of his partner are their eyes, comparing them to glassy jewels that sparkle whenever he looks at them. Doesn’t matter the color, they’re all jewels to him. He also enjoys their hands, finding it charming how so much smaller they are compared to his and will gently hold them in his. For a more sexual approach, he also loves thighs and hips (also bottoms but not quite as much) and loves to run his hands along them. But ultimately their hands and eyes is what grabs his attention the most.

* Listen, you didn’t hear it from me, but a secret erogenous spot of Malleus’s is at the base of his tail, right where it meets his backside. You scratch it and he’ll immediately be melting with a rumbling moan.

#Twisted Wonderland #Twisted Wonderland Smut #TWST #TWST Smut #Malleus Draconia #Malleus Draconia Smut #Malleus Draconia X Reader #GN!Reader

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fixinglitg · 6 months

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HOW TO FIX BISEXUAL WOMEN IN THE GAME

So you've read the title and probably just wanna get straight to this, so I will. If you cba to read my explanation as to why I dislike some of the women LI characters, scroll down and find some red text, that's when I get on with things.

DISCLAIMER: After a recent ask at the time of editing this, I just wanna add the fact that this is a friend's to lovers route, and just my opinion. There will be multiple of these, so keep that in mind when you read through.

Fusebox SUCK at writing Bisexual women, and couldn't do a proper wlw to save their life, in my own personal opinion of course. So far, we've had Talia, Marisol, Elisa, AJ, Yasmin, Lily, Najuma, Cora, Angie, Dana, Gabi, Lulu, Bella, Chloe, Flo and Bonnie.In MY opinion, only Talia, Najuma in a way and Angie are the only ones written well.

Talia still has a good relationship with Jake if you don't pursue her, Najuma has no issues with going after Youcef (though she is a little on me sometimes) and Angie has an absolutely amazing friends to lovers and is the only reason why I play S4 despite actually enjoying that season very much weirdly.

So now we'll move onto the bad, because that's what this post is for.

Marisol is such a pain in the ass to get, and I just think she comes across as a bit manipulative and shitty. I've NEVER done a route for her because firstly I don't find her attractive at all, but mostly I think it's just too much of a hassle to get her. And the fact that she continues to use Graham in an attempt to make us jealous is so goddamn stupid like babe, just say it flat out and take my answer.

Elisa is the better of the two, yet ofc I haven't done her route as you HAVE to be on a Marisol route for her. I think she's gorgeous, and I find her kinda amusing (I know, odd me) but I think she just needed to come earlier, or have her be an open route already. I can't comment much more on her as I barely see her much afterwards, but I think she was a waste of potential.

Then we have Aj. And I love my girl, I really do, but S3 is so forgettable to the point where I can't actually remember how pushy she could be? Same with Lily to be honest. BUT one thing I do remember about Lily is the fact that she can steal you at the end, and then Aj leaves which SUCKED because that's how mine ended up the first time round, so she's never been in my good book for that. And then there was also Yasmin, but I haven't done her route so I can't give an opinion unfortunately.

Next we have S4 with Cora as I've already touched upon Najuma and Angie. See, I don't think Cora's BAD but I kinda hate the fact that she's like a false LI. The fact that you can't stay coupled up with her is a little annoying since I would've enjoyed a route with her, but it is a nice change of pace having someone basically reject your MC after coupling up with them. So, not terrible, but not amazing.

Then S5. Oh dear. Lulu is honestly the only one really worth it in the end. She's sweet, and she isn't clingy. Neither is Gabi to be fair, so for wlw I would definitely go for them. I think Gabi is a better character than people allow. She has depth to her, and people always talk about "oh but her little tantrum with the ring" I'm sorry but if a guy was sleeping round my house and I find a ring, I'm gonna think it's for me and not the "other women" you've just found. So I understand why she did it. Besides, she also got a confession out of Suresh, so is it really that bad?

Dana on the other hand, oh dear. Not only can she not take no for an answer, she also cheats on you, and then acts really shitty all throughout casa amor. Honestly, it's really satisfying going after Gabi after being with her, because she brings my mental health further down than it already is. And not only that, she's ugly asf??? She looks ill, I'm more concerned than attracted. And- yeah, the shading is all off, and the hair colour isn't it.

Before I continue my rant about that, let's move onto S6. I think Bella, Chloe, and Flo are all really attractive. The only thing that frustrates me is A. The fact that you can only couple up with them at the final recoupling, and B. The fact that you basically have to pick and choose who stays and who goes. And I think that they're all kinda pushed onto you. Of course, that's a writing error, but it makes me like the characters a little less when they seem really clingy and on you like no-one else exists.

And finally, so far, S7 with Bonnie. To keep things nice and simple, Bonnie should've been an OG girl instead. Whether she stayed as Bonnie or her whole reasoning was pushed onto an OG girl instead doesn't matter. She just never should've been an LI. Having Joyo/Bryson (I think) take her back to the villa when they feel nothing is so stupid. And I know it was only because they wanted to keep her since she's an LI. Which is why she should've been at the villa in the first place, so that it didn't put them in an awkward spot. On top of that, her character doesn't serve much purpose if you're either not into her, or not into women.

SO NOW THAT WE'VE GOTTEN THAT OUT OF THE WAY, you can read on from here if you didn't care about that shit and just wanted to see how I'd do this.

So the female LI of the season (if they only added in one) should be an OG from the start. I think that you have to do specific things to unlock that route. For example, say you're into women, and have a high heart score with said character (that's based on the original app, idk how it'd work for the new one now that the emojis are mostly nonexistent). You should only be able to pursue said woman if it makes sense.It should start off with Woman LI saying how she's into both men and women, and can't wait to start her journey. None of this "oH iM eXciTEd To GeT tO kNoW yOU"

NO. The female LI shouldn't have the sole purpose of being an LI for the MC.Then we'd see her recouple with a guy at least once or twice. During that time, she can talk about how things aren't exactly feeling right for her, but she thinks it might just be the fact that they're in the villa. I don't want to be automatically pushed onto this character. I want her to either randomly come out and say it, or hint at it.

And then after a challenge or some really hefty drama that splits the villa in two (because we love some drama) I'd want this sort of scene to happen:

Note: All FEMALE LI'S dialogue is in YELLOW.

"Hey. MC? Can I talk to you quickly?"

MC would follow potential F!LI to the firepit because it's weirdly symbolic. Then it would either be one of two options depending on if the route has been unlocked.

LOCKED ROUTE: "I'm worried about my time here. I'm just not clicking with anyone right now. (Her partner's name) isn't quite who I thought he'd be. And after today, I'm not really sure if I can trust him or not. Or anyone but you really. I don't know what to do. Since I think of you as the closest girl I know in this villa, a best friend even, I was wondering if I could get your advice?"

This would be securing the fact that she is now locked, and won't be able to be an option later on. I think it's a good idea to lock her to keep things simple. And then you could even add in another woman later to be her partner. Whether the new woman is also an LI too is in the air.

BUT what if she was unlocked? How would that dialogue go? Well...

UNLOCKED ROUTE: "I'm sorry if this is a bad time. Is this a bad time? It feels like a bit of a bad time."

Option A: "No, of course not, what's wrong?"

Option B: "As long as it isn't another secret we don't know of."

Option C: "Yeah, it kinda is with all the drama going on right now."

I imagine this would be after a challenge that reveals things like movie night etc, so just go with me for this one. Of course, her answer and your answer would be different depending on the choice, but it would all lead to this set of dialogue no matter what:

"Listen, I just have something I need to get off my chest. It's been here for a while, and I guess I just didn't want to acknowledge it. At least, not until today. I like you, MC. As in I wanna couple up with you if we get the chance to."

"Are you serious? Why now? What's changed?"

"That challenge revealed a lot. At least, for me it did. You've always been there for me since day one. I've always found you attractive. I just didn't wanna seem pushy. I've tried hinting at my interest in you without seeming weird, but you never reacted. I couldn't tell if you'd even be interested in... Well, me? I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. I..."

"Please, tell me, (F!LI name)."

"You just looked so infatuated. With him. The way you looked. How you smiled. It felt different to how you looked at everyone else. How you looked at me. Even when you two were bickering a little, I couldn't do that to you. I didn't want to look like I was taking advantage of the situation. I didn't want to get in your way. But, after today, after seeing how he treated you during casa amor? After his slimy hands touched those girls in there only to say how much he likes you, and only thought about you in those moments... It made me feel something else. The thought of you being dumped killed me. And I knew it was because I like you. But I didn't want to admit it until today. And if you need space, I fully understand. And if you don't feel the same, I get it. And I hope we can still be friends. But I need you to know before it's too late."

At this point, I feel like you'd have the option to accept, reject, or say you need some time. Accepting will fully unlock the route, rejecting will of course close it, but saying you need time will keep the option open until you only have the choice of saying yes or no during a later scene a few days later (about 9/12 episodes in the old format).

If you lock her route here, you'd notice a little change in dialogue until the end. How each word seems a little strained as if you can tell she's really holding back how she feels without it being pushy or obnoxious.And finally, I just wanted to add a little scene where she'd couple up with you. Before this, she'd ask if you'd wanna couple up. If you say yes, then she'll be the one who gets to couple up. If you say you're unsure, you'd get the choice. But if you don't, her route is locked again. And if you say no then ofc her route is locked and she'll be a little disappointed that you said you were interested, but she'll be a bit more understanding if your answer was "I need some time" during her confession scene. Because then it doesn't seem like you've led her on. ANYWAYS, coupling up scene.

COUPLING UP WITH HER: "I don't know how much of a surprise this will be. But I've been thinking about this a lot. And now that I know I can, there's no way I'm letting this opportunity go. I wanna couple up with this person because they make me feel as if I can be myself. All my insecurities and flaws feel like perfection with them. And I can't thank them enough for making me feel so... Happy. If I had known them longer, I'd even consider the word "loved." They've been with me from the start, and not only are they my best friend, but my ride or die. They've been there for me through thick and thin, and I wanna be there for them. So, that's why the person I wanna couple up with is MC."

And there we have it. Of course, I'd go more into detail but this post is SOOOOO long already. I hope you enjoyed and my fingers are really fucking stiff now, I've been typing for about 30 minutes, I'm freezing, and I'm tired. But overall, this was so worth it. Let me know your opinions too!

#fanfiction #fanfic #love island game #litg spoilers #litg s2 #litg ff #litg season 6 #litg fanfic #litg mc #litg #litg stick or twist #litg double trouble #litg s6 #litg s7 #love island the game #litg season 7

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ifellinlovewithpersona · 6 months

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Warning: very long liveblogging post, almost meta

Not me overthinking literally every word Akechi says on 6/10 like ngl I think the TV station scene when Akechi first asking us on our opinion on Phantom Thieves is one of the most important in the game actually?

I mean, I feel like this scene is kinda microdosing you into thinking about morals for once and consequences of your own actions for a second? Of course every options you can answer to Akechi's questions are connected with Phantom Thieves moral aligment (more of that for a second) so as a character you don't have any choices to answer differently and you are locked on only one viewpoint (since basically Persona purpose is always more connected to the humans ordinary life and telling a story rather than make you think about higher things and morality like SMT games) but it doesn't mean this scene doesn't make YOU think as a player about that (at least imo it should actually make you question some things, like how "just" the justices of Phantom Thieves and Akechi are for example)

So it actually DID make me analyze everything that is said in this scene. Before I proceed - quick disclaimer that there are only my thoughts but they appeared suddenly so I write this post under the impression of a moment, without any substantive preparation so my statements might not be very accurate and I might make some mistakes alongside a way. I'll also be looking at this scene from perspective of an experienced Persona fan who played all games but who had a taste of mainline SMT as well (so like in the middle point of view here) - so Persona fans please don't kill me for questioning some things, SMT fans - please don't kill me for some "blasphemies" either haha! Also I'm writing this under impression of a moment (when I usually say sonnething first and then think) and I didn't really meant it as a serious 100% well done meta so please excuse my grammar mistakes and use of informal language as well lol (also I have adhd and tendency to lose the point somehow so sorry about that as well)

Okay so what we can clearly see it's that Akechi is under total brainwash of Yaldabaoth in this scene, if someone already played the game then they know that both Akechi and Akiren are under "guidance" (and brainwash) of false Igor aka Yaldy but the difference is that Akechi is getting guided in a true moral aligment of Yaldabaoth while Akiren is constantly lied to and treaten more like a source of "entertainment" for the false god (Yaldy admits himself he thinks of both of Akechi's and Akiren's conflict as a "game" later). Thus, Akechi is the one who is receiving real Yaldabaoth's teachings here.

And even if we know that in Persona there is nothing like true representation of all moral standpoints because as I said before -that's not a purpose of the series (so if you want your brain to really be fucked over with thoughts about morality and existentional crisis play mainline SMT), we can't deny that we still have representation of SOME moral aligments in this game or at least we see some characters that we can assign to certain moral aligments.

And Yaldy's point of view definitely can be assigned as a representation of True Law. In mainline SMT (at least in V because that's the mainline game with original true aligments I played so far since III has Reasons that are kinda other moral ideas than original three aligments) Law aligment was explained as being commited to the rule of One True God (YHVH, in SMT V called God Of Law) and getting the peace but at the cost of sacrificing your free will - which is very similar to Yaldabaoth's original plan of taking iver the world and Vanilla P5 bad ending. I think also worth nothing to mention the Maruki's class from 6/7 in the game when he talks about totalitarism and full control of the society and their thought process. And that's what Yaldabaoth also is doing - he project his viewpoint onto Akechi completely and control his whole thought process making Akechi only seeing one side of the story.

The following can be seen in Akechi's interview on 6/10. He is making all kinds of statements like "The Phantom Thieves are dangerous", "They should be tried under a court of law for doing what they want" etc etc because in a way, they ARE dangerous for Yaldabaoth. I mean, Wild Card was under a full control because Yaldy knew that if he breaks free, his plans of taking the control on the world will be over (as it happened in Vanilla P5 True Ending). They are also a statement of rebellion and (if we compare Yaldabaoth to the totalitarian leader) any kind of rebellion makes it harder to truly control people and take their free wills. So even if Yaldabaoth himself caused the formation of the Thieves for his own amusement, he still was gambling here a lot and was aware of it, even controled danger still might be danger, for example - even if you follow all health and safety measures in your workplace, accident still CAN happen to you. That's why Akechi as not a Law representation but more of a Messenger of Law (of sort?) was neccesary here. To still have control. It's also interesting how in the scene Akechi is trying to twist a narrative by repeating "you cannot force people into doing sonething" but that's what his God is actually doing. So it's interesting how he's using media to manipulate society in this scene into thinking the Phantom Thieves are trying to control people's hearts and thoughts but in reality that is also his master's goal. Also it's interesting how in this scene Akechi places a seed of doubt in the Thieves already by suggesting that "But what if the similar happen to the innocent person like your friend sitting next to you?", also covering his own tracks as the one behind mental shutdowns as well. And it works, after the scene Ann starts to have doubts of if what they are doing is truly just. Also there is interesting how Akechi is saying later of Phantom Thieves "having a lack of true strenght" which is also similar to how Law aligment was associated with a believing in strenght in SMT V for example.

Truly, very, very interesting and thought-provoking scene

Also, since I'm already talking about this (Persona and moral aligments): This scene also made me think what is a true moral aligment we could associate to Phantom Thieves (and protagonist himself)? I often see people saying that Akiren is Chaos Coded because he has Satanael as an ultimate Persona and Satanael = Satan/Prince of hell (this part is wrong already when you know gnostic mythology) = Lucifer = Chaos. And yeah hate to be the one bringing it to you but considering true moral meaning of Chaos aligment? Not really. Yes, Chaos is often associated with Lucifer in mainline SMT but the first mistake is that Satanael isn't really the same as Lucifer in gnostic mythology (that I won't speak of now I'm not prepared and you can research for yourself). The second mistake is that in Chaos, everyone have a full freedom to do what they want and also this aligment in SMT is always more about freedom of a demons than a humans anyways. And 1) as Akechi mentioned, the change of heart is still forced by someone so it isn't really someone's own free will, there is still someone that tries to took control over someone else 2) Phantom Thieves are stating that they are doing all of this for humanity. So I wouldn't say Akiren is really Chaos-coded character.

To be honest, I personally think Phantom Thieves and Akiren would be more associated with Neutral-Law aligment (so not even true neutral imo). Neutral aligment in mainline SMT is about rejecting both God's and demons' control over the world and giving the power to the middle force - the humanity. And also something in between of two extremes of full control and full freedom. And that actually is consistent with what Phantom Thieves think that they want to achieve - they don't want complete anarchy but they just want to help people and make their lifes even a little better. A spice of a Law here is still in my opinion the fact that Akiren is guided by false Igor aka Yaldy and the fact that they are still are forcing the change of heart so temporarily taking a free will out of someone (even if that's a criminal) - which can also symbolically see later in game when we see Shadows being held in cages. So yeah, I personally think Neutral-Law would be the best assigment here but that's only my opinion + I'm still baby SMT fan so I still might understand some moral aligments wrongly

I think the game doesn't really have a true Chaos representation which is okay because that's not a purpose of a series. Maruki would be pretty close with granting a wishes of everyone if it wasn't a fact that he basically want to replace Yaldy at some point. So no, that's not a chaos rep either. But as I said at the beginning, that's not a purpose of Persona games and that's okay. Persona games purpose is always more to tell a story and story can be one sided sometimes ;) Tbh I only assigned them here to aligments more from my overthinking and curiosity after the TV scene haha

Whew, I'm done with this post! If you are still here - have a delicious pancake for staying with me so long (Akechi would be jelaous rn) 🥞🥞🥞🥞🥞🥞 Thanks for listening to my thoughts and I hope I didn't made too much of a fool (not really pun intended lol) of myself haha

#lilly's p5r replay #meta post #kinda sorta?#chaotic meta #long post

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charcubed · 1 year

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A lot of people refer to Cas as "gay," which I think is awesome and everything. But I personally always considered him more as "queer" for a number of reasons, such as:

angel genders and vessels are very fluid. Would he still be considered "gay" if he were in a female vessel, and in love with Dean? Also, there are several times in the series where Cas appears to be attracted to women (some ppl don't consider these moments valid for Reasons™ which is fine. But I do.) He also seems, in my opinion, to only be romantically interested in Dean, and I think this would be true if Dean were female. So that would make Cas closer to demi.

Point is, I recently saw a post on sm that was like "reminder: Cas is GAY. He's not bi, pan, or unlabeled, he's gay and that's not negotiable."

I consider myself queer and a huge Cas fan, so it was weird to see my interpretation of a character I know really well and relate to just be invalidated like that.

And I just kind of wanted you opinion, cuz I know like in Dean's case, seeing him as anything other than bi is pretty clearly against canon.

But is the same true for Cas? Is it wrong to see him as an umbrella "queer?" I know Misha calls him gay, which I love and respect, but I don't really let my interpretations be dictated by actor opinions. I feel like canon supports a much more fluid interpretation of Cas, but I'm just wondering if I'm wrong for that, in terms of what canon supports.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Thanks for your thoughts in this fandom I love them

Hi!! Thank you for the nice words and for wanting to know my thoughts on this. I appreciate you :)

Sorry it took me over a week to finish this. I kind of started it, realized it was probably gonna be longer than I’d expected, and then added to it in pieces when off work so as not to half-ass it.

Also, I want you to know that I think you absolutely rock for this message. The fact that you have a strong personal interpretation or strong feelings about what your view of Cas' sexuality means to you, while being open to hearing arguments for what canon supports, is exactly the kind of nuance too many people in fandom lack. Huge fuckin shout out to you, anon, because this takes both guts and brain cells!

I have two primary threads of thought I'm going to address here, as well as how they criss-cross:

I agree that Cas' canon sexuality is a slightly different topic than Dean's canon sexuality. Dean's bisexuality is not unclear/unambiguous, and there's no wiggle room there; he's frequently attracted to women, he's frequently attracted to men, there's bi lighting, it's all not rocket science. Cas is a bit more ~ambiguously queer~, so advocating for fandom maintaining a unanimous hard stance on his canon sexuality is... a little trickier. In that vein, the "reminder" post you mentioned seeing feels too intense in my opinion for the nature of this particular conversation/topic.

That being said: from an analytical standpoint, I do think the strongest argument to be made based on canon is that Cas is gay and demi.

Since you seem open to it and asked for my thoughts overall, I'm gonna break down point 2 before circling back to point 1. Quick reminder/disclaimer that I'm not trying to invalidate you or your personal connection to Cas with anything I'm about to say, so please keep that in mind <3

You mentioned how some people don't consider Cas' moments of being attracted to women as ~being valid~ and said you disagree. That's fair! At the same time... in a nuanced fashion, that's where I land on it. I also think the show took care to ultimately build to and portray a full picture with all of that factored in, and to talk about that I kinda gotta go into detail here, because it's one part of a bigger piece. I’m not trying to turn this into a comprehensive meta deep dive, so I’m going to talk about this in a sort of summarized way but not go too far into breaking down any one point or analyzing any one scene. Hope that’s cool.

Let’s look at Cas’ biggest “moments,” as it were, with women. Or the ones I would guess people intend to reference.

First up: there’s Meg. We’ve got the “pizza man" season 6 kiss, the season 7 arc of Meg watching over Cas during his mental break, and season 8 when Meg sacrifices herself.

The season 6 "pizza man" kiss, to me, really plays into the overall mood of Cas' curiosity as he explores and tries to understand human behavior. He watched porn and was intrigued/confused/aroused, Meg kissed him partially to get at his angel blade (not a euphemism lmao), and then his curiosity kicked in so he kissed her more thoroughly because the opportunity was there. Those scenes are all connected, and he doesn’t have much of a reaction after the kiss. Then, season 7 is a whole suitcase to unpack, but… the bottom line there is that Meg treated Cas with decency when he was vulnerable in every sense of the word. And then in season 8, Cas undeniably had a fondness for Meg by the end, and they were friends... but I don't read it as him having an attraction to her or romantic feelings for her. I do not mean this as shade or hate to anyone who ships them, but my reading on that dynamic overall is that I do think Meg felt something for Cas in terms of both attraction and feelings; and while that makes it all a bittersweet tragedy, it also doesn't mean things were reciprocally non-platonic. She was into him, but he seemingly wasn’t into her in the same way. After Meg’s death, Cas also never asks about her or mentions her or has any reaction at all to her being gone–something that would have been very easy for them to incorporate with even one mention if they'd wanted to or considered it foundational. (For example, mentions of Dean's relationship with Benny are recurring throughout the show, lending its non-platonic nature and its significance for establishing bi Dean even more weight.) Season 8 Megstiel content is also placed narratively right up against the Destiel content, and the contrast of that is–of course–pretty stark. That was likely deliberate. Cas’ feelings for Dean are unavoidably, unmistakably at the forefront.

Then you've got season 9. A newly human Cas–who was given the heteronormative suggestion by Metatron to "Find a wife. Make babies."–gets seduced then killed by April, all of which is traumatizing dubious consent galore. Then you’ve got Cas thinking he's being asked out on a date by a woman in 9x06 as he’s trying to figure out his life as a human. He even says this explicitly to Dean: “Going on dates… that's something humans do, right?” He is doing what he thinks he’s meant to be doing as a human, but is that action based in genuine desire? That line implies the answer being no. Contextually this is, of course, set against the jilted lover vibes he has with Dean in that episode. And then in the season at large, Cas becomes focused on his overall mission–a search for purpose, which (as Metatron helpfully points out later) becomes oriented around saving Dean.

Season 10 is up next. Hannah is very clearly interested in Cas, but Cas is a giant question mark in the face of all of her interest pretty consistently. In all honesty, the way Hannah comes onto Cas—the construction of the scenes—feels like it was intended to show that Cas isn’t interested in women. Half the time he doesn’t clock her vibes, and the other half the time he awkwardly avoids acknowledging it. This culminates in her standing in front of him naked in the clearest signal she can give… and as he says, he’s ~not bothered~ by it. He’s just... well, he's gay. Lmfao. And speaking of the naked Hannah scene in 10x07, something I personally find highly amusing is that that naked scene is immediately followed by Dean enthusiastically making out with a woman. It’s a smash cut with a very pointed contrast, in my opinion! I was very struck by it.

So that's my mini tour (with imperfect recall) of Cas' Moments With Women in the story and how I feel they're positioned.

And to touch upon the idea of contrast a bit further… With Dean, there are ample moments and instances where he canonically expresses (joyful or uncomplicated) sexual attraction to women, and/or romantic love for women throughout the show. This is why his canonical attraction to women should never be in question, as part of his bisexuality. But with Cas... I don’t personally feel we have a scene of his where we can unequivocally say the same. There are always story elements at play that indicate complex motivation, or when a woman (or woman-shaped being? lol) may be interested in him there doesn’t seem to be genuine reciprocal interest on his part. The absence of a clear scene establishing he’s unequivocally attracted to women doesn’t mean he couldn’t hypothetically be… but there are no significant moments that convince me that that’s the case in canon. Instead, I think the picture these layered moments paint of Cas and his sexuality is solidified as the story progress–as part of how his sense of self solidifies and emerges story-wide in kind. By that I mean: the shades of how he reacts to Hannah are there in his reactions to Meg’s interest years prior, but in season 10 they feel more clear because by that point he understands himself better (especially after his time as a human) and has formulated his identity as a person more than he had, for example, in season 6.

The secondary part of this though is the queercoding attached to Cas–which is, by and large, gay coding. (There is also more contrast here in comparison to Dean's bi coding in that regard.) By “gay” coding, I mean… Dean describes Cas as having "sensible shoes,” which is gay slang/code, though more commonly used in reference to lesbians. Cas uses female pop artists for his aliases, which is a wink/nod to stereotypes of gay men—a pattern that’s established in later seasons concurrently to the Destiel narrative taking even deeper root. The specific micro-agressions (and outright aggressions) Cas is subjected to by others—as he's clocked as being an outsider who doesn't fit and for being in love with Dean, in ways that are often tangled together—are traditionally gay story devices at play. And I'm also fond of the seeming significance of Cas' conversation with Pastor Joe in 15x15. Cas asks the Pastor what he means by people of "all backgrounds," being welcomed, and the Pastor says, "Connor didn't have to live in fear of who he was. A gay man who believed in a tolerant God." And Cas says, "Well, I imagine not everyone was happy with the change."

In terms of why I say he’s also demi… Cas is seemingly never ~interested~ in anyone but Dean. Now, part of that is of course a byproduct of the storytelling structures he's given. But nonetheless, his singleminded focus on / interest in / devotion to Dean feels unwavering in its totality. Even as Dean stops looking to date other people in later seasons because he knows he’s fallen in love with Cas, there’s still references to or nods to his attraction to men and women as a significant part of who he is. But unless I’m forgetting things, Cas just… doesn’t really seem to have that embedded into his character. He's got an emotional attachment to (and "profound bond" with) Dean, and his attraction to and love for Dean is part of its natural extension. That’s where the demi reading comes in for me, but it’s certainly a side note / asterisk to him being gay, which I think is the prime part of his identity the text deliberately points towards overall.

Regarding Cas' gender and how that may affect any part of this discussion... Is Cas non-binary? Well, in the show overall, angels are obviously considered ~celestial wavelengths of intent~. We see the fluidity of angels in different gendered vessels, and one could say the angels' primary gender is sort of "genderless" as default. Sure. But... at minimum, I feel it's implied that Cas comes to feel at home in a male vessel's body, and in what has legitimately become his body. As Dean says, "It's not an 'it,' Sam. It's Cas." And ultimately, I feel the gender question is not really a huge part of the point in regards to how canon presents this queer story to us.

To the question of if Cas would still be "gay" if he was in a female vessel and fell in love with Dean–or even to a question of "what if Dean was a woman" I've seen plenty of other people pose in various contexts–I think it's almost like... a moot point. The homoeroticism of Dean and Cas' dynamic is significant in a multilayered way, and that was true from day one. Their dynamic is very much affected by and built on them being 2 masculine men (or Cas being perceived as a "man" if you want to go that route), both in story and out of it, particularly in Dean's reactions to Cas. And the romance, tension, push-and-pull, miscommunication, coding, and censorship–the latter being a thing that shaped story choices over the years–all exist in a specific way because their relationship is undeniably, visibly queer. Destiel as we know it could not and would not be the same if one of them was in a perceived woman's body. Their interactions would have been vastly different, and thus in my head it's impossible to conceptualize.

Supernatural is also very much a story about the deconstruction of toxic masculinity while maintaining masculinity through a queer lens. This is its own separate topic that I actually have been wanting to make a post about for awhile now (in part because over-feminization of their characters in fandom, especially in ways that lead to apply ill-fitting repression narratives to Dean's canon, can miss several points about this). Those masculinity themes are so centralized because of Dean and Cas' romance and the fact that they are two men. There is significance there, both historically and culturally.

So while maybe Cas would or could identify as non-binary... It doesn't seem like a viewpoint he is particularly aligned with, and it also doesn't feel like a significant element at play in this queer love story. That makes me tip towards saying it's not a huge factor in discussions of exact readings or terminology for Cas' canonical sexuality/identity.

As a side note: to a certain extent, I also find it interesting to contemplate how some of their miscommunication in-narrative maybe extends into the idea that Dean is attracted to women and Cas seems not to be. More than once, Dean tries to bond with Cas through ~typical male~ interests, such as when he takes him to a strip club. Dean being bi doesn't mean he avoids having heteronormativity on the brain lol, and that sort of thing in his experience is usually quick-and-easy guy bonding time, especially in hunting culture. But while Cas learns how to be human in a metaphorical sense from the Winchesters' examples in several ways (both the good and the bad habits/lessons), something he can't/doesn't pick up is attraction to women or how to act on or express that sort of attraction, because it just doesn't seem innate to him. So while Dean and Cas are certainly both queer, to me they exhibit different forms of queer experiences (bi and gay) in characteristics and in story and in coding that add a layer to their dynamic. It's a little bit of a difference between them that they maybe don't know how to awkwardly address with each other, because they often don't fucking communicate, and I can see it contributing to Dean wondering if / how much Cas has capacity to "feel that way"... making him think Cas maybe doesn't reciprocate his desire. Because they're both stupid.

Anyway! Anyway.

Back to the main points:

Let me summarize.

I personally don't think Cas is attracted to women, and that the story points to him going through a journey of learning that about himself as he grows into himself over time. The queercoding in connection to him, such as it is, also rings of being gay coding. Considering we see him primarily or solely so strongly interested in Dean, an argument/hypothesis for him being demi doesn't feel off the mark. And I don't think the question of angelic gender is super relevant to what canon points to in this discussion for Cas specifically, because I do think the m/m nature of Destiel is relevant to their story and dynamic with each other, and by later seasons at minimum Cas is seemingly comfortably "a man" (perhaps even more so than an ambiguously gendered Being).

Is there a stronger or more persuasive argument to be made about the specifics of Cas' sexuality in canon? I'd be open to hearing it, of course, but I just kind of doubt any other argument would be convincing enough to change my mind when factoring in all of the story elements at play.

However. All of this being said:

I would certainly not call an umbrella use of the word "queer" wrong for Cas. I think it is, in fact, very applicable! For one thing, the word "queer" in this instance effectively encompasses a combined gay and demi reading, as an example. For another thing, it's an understandable hat tip that simplifies his various complexities as an angel. It works.

I'm also not die-on-this-hill militant about the use of the word "gay" for Cas because I'm cognizant of how things are not 100% clearcut with him. I do not say this to negate my own analysis, but rather because I can acknowledge the truth of this particular situation. While I do think the above full picture kind of adds up to him being specifically gay, this is an instance where there is room for nuance within it and giving grace to–dare I say it–"interpretations." I personally don't really agree with or particularly feel comfortable considering him bi or pan specifically, given all the factors at play; but it doesn't overtly upset me that others do. For example, he did indeed have sex with April as a human, and I find I can't get mad at people who choose to take his interest in that moment 100% at face value, especially considering the fact that what I view to be his overall "gay arc" certainly has subtlety and room for subjectivity in it.

In conclusion,

I don't know if this post answers all your questions, anon. I don't know if it will help you or make you feel bad for some reason, though I certainly hope it's the former rather than the later! And I apologize for the length, but you touched on a lot of different branches in your message, and I'm nothing if not someone who maps out a whole fucking tree when asked to lmfaaaoooo.

Thank you for your patience as this post took me WAY too long to complete smh. Like what the hell, truly. You're a star, I love ya, and for what little it's worth I do infer that lots of people in fandom (perhaps even Misha) use "gay" as an umbrella word in reference to Cas. (I am sympathetic to your plight if that makes you feel weird though; it's not the same situation by any means, but I will share that I'm suspicious of people who call Dean "gay" even flippantly at this point, because nowadays I don't trust that shit lmao)

Send me thoughts and prayers because the "e" key on my laptop's keyboard has started periodically sticking and it's been driving me insane while working on writing this.

#castiel #supernatural #castiel meta #gay cas #?¿?#this is long enough it warrants tags. fuck it #anonymous #asks #char writes things #spn meta #destiel

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snapeingturtle · 11 months

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Rating some of the Marauders era / snera™️ ships (ships involving ppl the Marauders and Severus went to school with) I've been exposed to because I'm drunk and feeling spicy. Romantic ships only, I have different opinions on the brotps. I could talk about this all night but I chose not to make a long post.

Disclaimer: this is heavily influenced by headcanons I've convinced myself are canon and generally my opinions. Not in order from best to worst because I am drunk and I'm not proofreading this.

Prongsfoot/Starbucks/James x Sirius 10/10. James is just as inobservant as Harry. Of course he didn't notice that Sirius had a crush on him. James didn't even notice he himself was into Sirius. Love it.

Jily/James x Lily 2/10. In my heart Lily is a lesbian. Jily has some potential as a comphet storyline where they're both actually gay and think of each other as the man/woman they're supposed to like. Other than that it's a no from me.

Wolfstar/Remus x Sirius 1/10. Unpopular opinion again, I know. I see Remus having a one-sided crush on Sirius before the prank, but honestly I'm a Ronks stan because I can project my insecurities on Remus and have been in love with Tonks for years and I hate the idea of them being in a relationship with anyone else but each other. Plus, I really don't see Sirius committing and definitely not to Remus. Sirius is a bachelor for life and I identity with that. Another reason to dismiss this ship.

Snily/Severus x Lily 1/10. The only reason I don't rate this at 0 is because they're one of my favourite brotps. She's gay and not his type, they're sister souls, just look at the doe patronuses, they found security in each other like does in a herd etc. and I hate it when people say there were romantic feelings involved. I could accept this with fem!Snape though.

Starchaser (wtf is this name)/Jegulus/James x Regulus 4/10. I think it's funny to have James falling in love with his best friend's brother. I don't have any negative feelings about the ship itself. HOWEVER. As someone who has been exposed to Jegulus content despite not looking for it and Snily content despite not looking for it. Jegulus feels like m/m Snily for people who hate Snape. The content (I've seen) has the same vibe and I cannot get over that.

Remus x Lily 3/10. If I were able to see Lily as not a lesbian I would love this, not as an endgame thing but more as a teen romance that ended on ok terms before they both moved on. No strong feeling about this tbh.

Snegulus/Severus x Regulus 4/10. They're definitely not in love but they're both sluts so they probably fucked and it was probably hot. That's all.

Lily x Mary MacDonald 3/10. I would consider this as another one-sided crush situation. Mary is the token straight in their dorm and that's unfortunate for Lily.

Snucius/Severus x Lucius 8/10. They're not endgame. But they fuck. I refuse to consider Sirius calling Severus Lucius's lapdog anything but calling him his sugar baby. I don't rate this higher because Snucissa is better than just the men.

Lily x Pandora Lovegood 10/10. I don't know if they ever interacted or if they even went to school at the same time but I'm in love with the idea of them together.

Severus x Mulciber 3/10. Another one-sided crush sitch. Snape was infatuated with Mulciber at a certain point, Mulciber (forgot his first name sorry) knew and took advantage of it. That's Snape's slut origin story.

Snupin / Severus x Remus 3/10. They would never date. Doesn't fit my fantasy or the reality of their relationship. But hate-fucking in one of their offices while Remus is employed at Hogwarts? I see that. I dig it.

I also headcanon Dorcas as queer but I don't see her with Lily but I don't have any feelings about that ship in either direction so 3,5/10 maybe?

#idk how to tag this anymore #turtle talks ships #snapedom #they'll get this #severus snape #i don't want to tag this as any pf the ships i rated badly #prongsfoot #lily x pandora #snucius

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croakings · 6 months

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breaking my loz silence to be a hater but also, here's how totk can still win

i will preface this with the thesis but also bear with me, ok, so: let it be known that in most circumstances, like most people probably, i hate when stories go "And It Was All A Dream!!!"

however. under some certain conditions. it is So Tasty. and i think totk is like. i'm sorry i think this is the only thing that can redeem the story of that game even somewhat. to me. this is all obviously just going to be my own personal opinion if you liked totk you are valid etc and so on and so forth but this is probably not the post for you

a minor point i want to start off with is that we were promised majora's mask vibes and they did not (imo)(this will be the last qualifier/clarification as far as that goes just stick "imo" everywhere in your brain for me please. thanks) deliver on that so much...... UNLESS MY UPCOMING TINFOIL HAT/COPING "THEORY" APPLIES! (there is absolutely no evidence or support for any of this whatsoever.)

i know people have come up with theories and Themes Analyses as to why the totk ending is good and makes sense and i did like a lot of those, and those people are very smart, however what they do not take into account is that i do not like it. if there's one thing i hate more than It Was Never Real In The First Place, it's And Actually None Of That Mattered That Much At All!..........

unless! It Was Never Real In The First Place!!!!!!!!! (<- IWNRITFP)

SO many of my personal gripes with totk are solved by making "the primary impact of these events is just like. emotional there aren't a lot of other consequences if any" follow the caveat of Because IWNRITFP!!!

"but bug" you might say, "what the fuck are you talking about". that's fair despite all those paragraphs i've said very little. i understand.

i am team "pissed off about the arm". team "ZONAI??????? AAAAAAAGGHHHH". team "AND WHY DOES IT ALL DISAPPEAR IN THE END ANYWAY COME O—". team hater. if you will. zelda doesn't even get to have any dragon features stick around like come. ON. ok anyway

also. we have the Monarchy Good Let's Keep Doing That Actually. despite. gestures at all of botw and the info we get of link and zelda post-botw pre-totk. where they're like. really not so much doing the monarchy. is the thing. and that seems really great for them in fact. and this seems really kind of silly outside of it really being needed to continue The Cycle. of loz games. and in loz games. which is that there is a princess and link punches things. and monarchies are a little necessary for point one. there.

but also some of you know me. you know what my favorite activity is. it's Making Up Lore To Explain Mechanics/Whatever i know this is not mechanics it's like. Video Game more broadly. franchise continuity. and that too. put that after the slash idk how to phrase that. so here's the thing.

they go down to the castle murder basement. right. gloom is there. it's spooky. things Go Wrong. tale as old as time.

this is a reach but cope with me. bear with me. what if. the murder basement. is the last real thing that actually happens. (until the ganon fight)(i think)(disclaimer: i have played only like 35 hrs of totk and the greater portion of that was mapping out the depths. so please understand i hate this game and this essay is based on information i gathered trying not to be doomed to hate this game/attempting to gain motivation to like. actually play it.)(if you notice i barely succeeded. if at all. rip)(one of the first things i did was collect the dragon tear memories and that INSTANTLY made me tap out. iykyk y'know.)

I KNOW. BUT. HEAR ME OUT.

here's the story of totk: link and zelda go down to the catacombs. neither of them come out. like. link does. sort of. i guess. if you ask some people. but like. nothing he does seems to matter or affect people. or. most things. with a few direct Plot Related exceptions. no one recognizes him the famous Savior Of Hyrule (the sword one)(not the princess the other one) who has spent literal multiple years scurrying around speaking to without hyperbole every single person in the country probably multiple times in insane circumstances pretty much every time. everyone is just Have You Heard The Legend Of Press Down B To Slash Fancy AND I SOLVE THIS TOO. with Game Theory.

WHAT IF. what if. ganon's last hurrah. ganon who like. constantly loses. and is repeatedly killed by teenagers at best and children not infrequently. is to see these guys who pretty well won. because they lost. who have a pretty good chance of doing things differently. where he can't. and/or won't. who can set hyrule in a different direction, if they're allowed to continue on. does not let them continue on. "lol they're traumatized young adults," he might say, "i am The Scourge Of Millennia and HERE. is how i can still win." (<- loses)(inevitably)(of course)(BUT HE CAN TAKE THEM DOWN WITH HIM.)

what. if IWNRITFP. maybe we can say the zonai in some capacity WERE real idk. this is irrelevant to my essay but i do like the thought they're just Early Hyrule and we know nothing more about them that's true than we did in botw. i think it would be incredibly good soup if ganon just made EVERYTHING about zonai and the Ancient Times that we see and learn of in totk. just. completely up. this also solved how ganondorf (and also rauru and sonia like character-wise) kind of sucks in this game tbh: because he's The Villain. he's MADE himself THE villain. what are his motivations? you may ask. what the hell is he trying to do? what on earth is even going on with zelda and co in the past? irrelevant. you see if he is as cartoonishly evil as possible and makes zelda and co (The Good Guys)(So Good Guys Wouldn't It Suck If Something Like Killed Them Mercilessly Or Whatever) completely miserable and sets up the perfect, most unassailable dichotomy in her mind of Me Evil, Monarchy (You) Good then zelda and link who are already traumatized can just be pushed more firmly into The Cycle if he just. makes them live out a nightmarish reality he constructs of "nothing that they are or have been matters and they have to cast it all aside to be The Princess and The Hero" and keep that going forever. because without them(The Princess and The Hero) there is only Him (The Villain). they HAVE to be in the cycle to keep him from winning the cycle by default. don't they. right. sure they do don't look at the man behind the curtain what man. who said that.

also the sages!!!! Bloodlines!!! Of Course It's About Bloodlines!!!!!! it's the cycle!!

and see the thing is link and zelda come out of the catacombs with Dragon Ganon Defeated and that can be real. that's the story. link and zelda come out of the catacombs. they have experienced once again a bunch of things that no one else had anything to do with or could be reasonably aware of and there is nothing they can do about it, and they can try to talk about it but everyone else really truly it cannot be emphasized enough was just doing other things.

also!!!! this makes the depths like. less. [picture so-so gesture here.]

i mean. they're still like. more should have been done with the depths. more (or less) should have been done with all of totk but i'm exhibiting favoritism here. the depths make sense if IWNRITFP. the yiga are down in an empty inverted-ish Ghost Monster Hyrule doing loony toons. they are also. cartoonishly. evil(?). do the yiga have a point? in totk? like. really? do they. (other than Mechanics.) well. do they NEED one? link loots stuff and knowledge from them. as in: you have to know things in dreams. somehow. sometimes. what i'm trying to get at here is aren't the depths and the yiga so much more funny if ganon is literally just making them up. like "here is Evil hyrule (look at the ghosts of all those you've failed) with my Evil minions (evil)(like me)(cartoonishly evil and bumbling)(this is a dry joke sarcasm HUMOR. if you will.)(what if ganon is like "oh yeah the yiga my doomsday death cult in botw what was going on with— did link throw that guy down a hole. that's hilarious. i'm going to make a whole thing about that.) and my Evil loot here have relics of past heroes. this doesn't mean anything btw don't worry about it just put them on. yes Put The Tunic On no don't think about it i'm not even here. what. who said that"

like. OH of COURSE no one recognizes you or says much of anything that doesn't somehow give you instructions or tasks to do if IWNRITFP. like. ganon doesn't care. link doesn't care!!! that's something people do. when he is running around trying to save the world. that makes sense..... DREAM SENSE.

do you all see my vision. is this anything. had i played more than 5% of the game or read more stuff i could probably expand on this or be at all coherent but DO YOU GET IT. am i communicating. please take this and run with it THIS is how we can still get majora's mask and. COSMIC DOOM AND HORROR also again justice for ganondorf (and zelda)(and link) on this one WHAT IF. he was evil. what if he was FUNNY. what if totk were good.

ganon with the last vestiges of his Evil Power from his corpse under the castle sealed for There Can Still Be A Good Story There: if two guys were on the moon and one guy killed another guy with a rock would that be fucked up or what. also wouldn't it be cool if i were a dragon. i’d like to be a dragon. i can make that happen and sort of kind of make sense. as a treat. while also doing that to the princess while tormenting her with (More) Visions.

welcome to his twisted mind...... mine.......... minecraft server. hey gamers have you ever THE CYCLE THE CYCLE GET BACK IN THE CYCLE

life could be a dream. IT COULD BE A DREAM

#*#chatter #loz #i thought of posting this to one of the quarantine blogs for brainrot but instead i will torment u all on main #i've never used one of these tags before but #totk salt #no one come pitchfork at me i tried so hard to be pitchfork repellent #also i wrote this while doing 3 other things as usual and i refuse to proofread. um. sorry.#my solution to everything is ''so and so could have a sense of humor. this fixes everything''

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daekie-gw2 · 14 days

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Your IBS/SoTO post is really good and I would love to hear your opinions about asura writing that got cut for time

OH, UH, OKAY. SURE. Disclaimer that a lot of the thoughts here I picked up from my friend @ratasum. (I honestly didn't expect that IBS/SotO post to get read by anyone so waking up & seeing it appears to have gotten onto the main 'circulating' version of the post and having people agree with me is a little wild, haha.)

As always, cut for length, I've never said in five words what I could say in twenty and trust me I've tried.

"Surely it can't be that long--"

I know. I'm a parody of myself. I'm sorry. Just like you cannot blame the scorpion for what is in its nature you cannot blame me for writing five and a half thousand words on funny goblin rat video game narrative.

ANYWAY. [CRACKING KNUCKLES] THE ASURA

OKAY. THIS IS GOING TO BE A MULTI-POINT -- I'm not going to call it an essay. It's not an essay. That implies a level of organization going in that there isn't, I'm slapping points in as I recall them (I am going to cite my sources, though). But there's a lot of miscellaneous things I'm going into here. Also this is shorter than it could be because I wrote a big chunk of it right after getting home from work, got distracted by making Limbus Company OC IDs for hours, and by the point I rotated back I was getting worried something would happen and I'd lose this post.

You may be able to tell which points I wrote later because I get progressively less informative and more AGGRESSIVELY WAVING MY HANDS.

EDIT THE NEXT MORNING: Added more stuff into Point B that I didn't realize I skipped over, my kingdom for a table of contents

Point A: "The current writers don't like the asura."

When was the last time you heard any character talk about asura tech or society in a way that wasn't derogatory? Just in SotO alone, from my memory and some very shallow wiki checks, we have:

Uenno: But we're... stubborn, our kind. Bureaucratic. It's all so stifling. Uenno: Zojja and I had the same realization. Expecting satisfaction from that city is like expecting a skritt to win the Snaff Prize.

...and, from Zojja's Journal:

Before I left Rata Sum, they considered me a battery without any juice. Well, I feel the same about them. ... The technological advancement of this place is far beyond Rata Sum. Seeing this would give the Arcane Council a run for their money... I bet they lost it after Cantha opened its borders. What I'd do to be a fly on that wall... ... If the council learned about any of this, ESPECIALLY the wizards' ability to create fractals, they'd try to quarantine the entire region. Rip it apart, piece by piece.

...and, from Zojja's journal from Tower of Secrets:

The council is too scared to put me back on fieldwork, and the colleges seem less than interested in having me teach. No talks. Nothing. Past my prime, apparently. Send me straight to the retirement facility. ... She used to be a professor in the colleges, but she left after years and years of frustration with the system. Students set up for failure, refusal to grow or expand (sound familiar...?).

Now take a quick jaunt to the wiki's summary of asura culture:

The asura value intelligence and intellectual superiority over all other attributes. Individual asura will dedicate an entire lifespan to building a portfolio of successful projects or becoming the foremost expert of some tiny aspect of the arcane. They constantly seek to prove their own intellectual superiority, and by extension the superiority of the asura race.

The writers are really trying to tell me that Zojja was damaged goods post-Heart of Thorns, but, like. She was one of the foremost geniuses in Asuran society and one of the two surviving students of the genius Snaff (or one, if you count us killing Kudu in Crucible of Eternity). She is the absolute foremost expert on Elder Dragons (Taimi wasn't this until LWS4ish, imo), was directly involved with the Pact offensive on the Heart of Maguuma, and has a "connection" (I'm not going to say friendship but yknow.) with the Sylvari who stole Glint's egg. And you want to tell me nobody would want to hear from her because she was disabled? They'd be breaking down her door to get her to teach.

I feel like a lot of this perception comes from Phlunt's overbearing smothering of Taimi getting spotlit during LWS3, but Phlunt is an obstructive, small-minded bureaucrat, even by Arcane Council standards; he doesn't want to be there, he sure as hell doesn't want to be busy chaperoning a twelve-year-old with polio in his "free time", and if he dissuades her from doing anything then he can kick back and relax. His chaperoning is not a microcosm of All Asuran Society's Relationship To Solo Geniuses Who Are On The Younger Side (afaik he was also supposed to be Inquest anyway, so that probably bleeds into some of it). Take a quick walk around Metrica Province or listen to ambient dialogue in Rata Sum! Even taking into account comments about bureaucrats in ambient lore in Rata Novus, which makes it a cultural thing, I honestly still don't really see what that would have to do with 'Zojja would be a pariah'. The fuck she would. I would excuse the Zojja diaries if it was Zojja is completely shutting herself away from Rata Sum society and convincing herself they don't want her, but it's... it's not! It's 'Rata Sum threw Zojja out with the bathwater'! In what world!!!!

EoD (I go into this a couple of points down the post) is also just like a conga line of asura going WOW CANTHA IS SO ADVANCED WE'RE SO BACKWARDS and it just feels baaaaaaad.

Point B: "Since LWS4, it seems like nobody on the writing team has really actually understood the asura, and they're either written as 'basically children' or 'crazy comedy gremlins'."

When was the last time we got an asura NPC who was, you know, actually involved in asura society or had asuran attitudes? Professor Smoll from April Fools doesn't count, don't give me that. Uenno in SotO only really talks about asura society to comment about how backwards it is/was compared to the Astral Ward's tech/setup, and although the Inquest are a genuine threat... since LWS4, when was the last time the game actually remembered that? They're cartoon goons.

(The Arcane Council is actually really interesting, too! Their job is to deal with all the mundane shit and bureaucratic matters and City Things, and nobody wants to do it, to the point it's common to trick others into accidentally taking the job or replacing you so you can quit. They sometimes try to kill each other. The Inquest is considered a bunch of criminal assholes by the average asura, but they're pretty distinctly a tool of the Arcane Council who uses them to work on projects that might be 'unsavory'.)

I'm not saying the asura aren't funny. They are. Even at GW2's launch, they were smack-talking little gremlins -- but they weren't comic relief. And I'm not saying everything Angel McCoy ever said was right (I am refusing to read the interview where she says cells don't exist on Tyria and everything is made of magic <3) but they're snarky little shits. Back in GW1 they were partially Invader Zim references. Asura are researchers and, I'm gonna say it, sapiosexuals first and foremost -- they're monogamists in the sense that romantic relationships are often between two asura fixated on the same idea.

ANYWAY. Asura are weird freaks and they're kind of memey little bastards about it but they're also insanely intense SCIENCE bastards, who prize being an asshole. During LWS4 the Inquest had live samples of the fucking scarab plague, were experimenting on the Olmakhan with it -- they're a genuine danger. The Inquest can be both funny Team Rocket villains and genuine threats due to their lack of morals!! They can be both!!

But what they're reduced to these days is... they're either childlike and need care (Dagda calling Zojja little one would be fine on its own, but combined with everything else...) or they're just Haha Funny Quip Guys. They're not dicks anymore. When was the last time an asura was an asshole to you in a way that wasn't immediately condemned by the story/narrative as them being an unreasonable small-minded jerk? I don't even necessarily think Arenanet has ever had a real consensus on how to write them, but there's enough content from basegame to LWS4 where you can absolutely write them with just as much... genuineness? not seriousness, but, yknow? as the sylvari or the norn. Like -- imagine if every sylvari we met was either a wide-eyed innocent or a Nightmare Court irredeemable asshole who was torturing babies and cackling about it. If every norn we met was a one-note jovial party drunk or a Son of Svanir who just went JORMAG JORMAG JORMAG.

That's what it feels like has happened to the asura.

Everything in this section from here on until Point C starts is a lot of really misc. disjointed thoughts but I couldn't make them work anywhere else and they seemed relevant still, so. Sorry. You get what you pay for.

...circa End of Dragons --

Taimi: Yes! Xunlai has an entire MedTech division. They make braces for conditions like mine. Taimi: They're incredible. I feel almost no pain when I'm wearing them.

I can buy that asura don't really have a lot of development into assistive devices as a whole because they're generally all pretty self-focused, but there's gotta be a krewe somewhere that's got physically disabled asura, right?

In Icebrood Saga, Phlunt and Taimi's focus during Champions on fighting Primordus -- even if they have to ally with Jormag to do it -- is kind of portrayed as... petulant? Ignorant? But, like, it is very reasonable to say that asura are culturally traumatized, I'd say. Their entire culture and people, over the course of fifty years, were pushed into involuntary migration from their home and into a completely new environment. If the Kodan are traumatized by doing the exact same thing but due to Jormag and that's taken fairly seriously, especially in Bjora Marches. The writing is bad here! Champions struggles a lot on a lot of fronts, and I know it's because that was because a huge chunk of the devs abruptly got dragged off to go make EoD, but they could've at least left someone senior to handle narrative and I don't think they did.

(That honestly ties into a bigger frustration, which is that for a season/expansion where we take care of the Asura-associated dragon and the Norn-associated dragon once and for all, it sure is about Charr. I don't think this is what they meant to do going in! I think the writers meant to have you deal with Jormag in the next season/expansion, and have them be an everpresent force puppeting people around who you never actually fought in Icebrood Saga. Fuck, I don't think you were even supposed to encounter Primordus here, it's not called the Fire and Ice Saga. But the mandate? orders? came down, and suddenly they had to figure out how to get rid of both twin dragons by the end of the season, and they didn't have enough space left to change direction from the charr (who did actually get some great narrative here, I think that was at least preserved).

Point C: "Existing content from LWS4 and earlier establishes that asura tech is extremely advanced."

Anyway I think EoD was generally pretty cool, but I also think they got very worried about potentially making Cantha come off as 'less advanced' than the asura and unintentionally seeming racist in that way, and they swung real fucking hard in the opposite direction. (If anything they probably would be further advanced than Cantha, though -- they were using dragon-magic to power their waypoints & cities back during GW1, and swapped to independent? ambient? magic when the Great Destroyer awakened & pushed a lot of them to the surface. I personally would've gone for the idea that it's deeply impressive that humans, alone, have created something on par with but not better than asuran tech, especially when using a powersource that the asura historically never got as far as the Canthans with.) Asuratech created fractals and a device that could completely destabilize fractals in order to fish up real entities stuck in them (I expand on this further down on my last point).

Moto built an entire fucking immersive videogame with a hammerspace teleporter.

Rata Primus in Sandswept Isles in LWS4 has a satellite dish, implying they've gotten asuratech into orbit.

Asura have had holograms and solid light for ages -- they were developing immersive VR all the way back in Rata Novus. Oola has a hologram. There's multiple hero points where you fight hardlight projections. What Do You Think The SAB Weapon Skins Are.

They're experimenting with radiation.

They have elevators.

They have televisions.

They have sous vide!

They've got holo-clipboards!!

Okay yeah sure it's one random throwaway line from a miscellaneous Rata Sum NPC but THEY HAVE NEWSCASTS, this guy's probably been here since the game RELEASED

HOLOGRAMS

Blish uploaded himself into a golem and he's just Like that now!!!

What the Canthans and especially Joon are doing with jadetech is incredible! But asura tech is not inferior to it. You could say 'dragonjade carries incredible magical power because Soo-Won is awake and actively filtering her power to create it, as opposed to the GW1 asura skimming some off the top of Primordus' and I'd go yeah, okay, that sounds completely fair. Joon having tech that can evaluate the drained Aurene? This makes sense! She's been directly interfacing with Soo-Won's magic for years and probably has a better understanding of the biology and process of Elder Dragons + how their magic works within their body than anyone else alive, including Aurene! If anything, her dragonjade could well be tapping directly into Soo-Won's domains of Water and Life, making dragonjade tech especially good for healing or creating assistive devices. You could potentially insinuate this, but I really don't think the game actually ever says this, so I don't know if I want to give it credit for that. (In fact, the game specifically says that the magic in dragonjade is stripped of all signatures, it's pure dragon magic, so really it says the exact opposite of 'Soo-Won's connection to her domains is so powerful that she infuses the jade she empowers with their essence').

Ankka's stolen Extractor even has a note on its wiki page that it acts similarly to existing asuratech from basegame personal story -- just scaled far, far up. It's not new tech! They've had this, just weaker!

ALSO SNARGLE'S AGENT SAYS ASURA DON'T HAVE, LIKE. VIDEO GAMES? MOVIES? MOVING PICTURES OF ANY KIND? YOUUUUUU HAVE HAD HOLOGRAMS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEAAAAARRRRS. HE'S LITERALLY PUBLISHING SUPER ADVENTURE BOX THE NOVEL. WHAT DO YOU THINK SUPER ADVENTURE BOX IS, LITTLE MAN

Kippo: You bet. But that's not all! D'you know Cantha's living in the future while the rest of us mopes are still eating dirt? Kippo: That's coming from an asura. They watch theater projected from their jade technology. Moving pictures! Kippo: I want K&M at the forefront of new media. Cause pretty soon, ain't nobody gonna be readin' books. Kippo: Maybe one day, the audience could even control these move-ies. An interactive experience. Feel like you're really there!

I hate this guy

Point D: "Gorrik and Taimi have both basically undergone character assassination over the years and had all their edges smoothed off, and SotO Zojja is Zojja in name (and voice actor) only."

LWS1 Taimi was such a fucking brat. Precocious, sure! But she was an asshole of a child who was constantly chafing against any adult in the vicinity and idolized Scarlet Briar. She was a deeply lonely girl who only had Zojja and she was kind of shitty! She was awful to Braham! And, like, I will repeat this again, she idolized Scarlet, the insane mass-murdering terrorist who poisoned and destroyed the entirety of Lion's Arch.

She was a kid. She was a brilliant, lonely kid, and she sucked as a person. After HoT, Zojja is basically comatose, and Taimi decides she has to step up as the Commander's asura tech expert, to prove that she's not just a child who has to be corralled, she's just as much a part of this as you are. And the way she tried to prove herself was by taking on as much responsibility as people would let her, and even some they wouldn't, and she kept being brilliant and she had to keep improving and improving and why didn't Rata Sum see she wasn't a child, and you never realized that maybe she was taking on too much because you didn't have anyone else who could do this research, and she was keeping all her vulnerability to herself -- because if she told you you'd tell her to stop and rest. Everyone would. And she needed to keep proving herself and being the best, the smartest, indispensable to Dragon's Watch,

and eventually it got her caught by Joko. He doesn't torture her, exactly. He traps her in her own assistive device, with limited air and no control, and then he sets Scruffy on you, and this teenage girl has to watch her only safe haven try to kill the only person who can save her as she slowly suffocates to death.

And she's fucking traumatized. And she's trying to put on a brave face but it really, really fucks her up. No time to cry. She has to be helpful, and useful, and if you make her go lie down and rest she's going to fucking scream. The key of Taimi, to me, is that in a lot of ways Zojja probably saw herself in her? An incredibly brilliant and desperately lonely child with nobody to advocate for her, turning all that frustration at her life and herself right back out at the world. If she never shows weakness and if she can be just as rough and tumble as the adults, they'll see she's not a baby. She's not a poor sick victim who needs to be protected.

She's Zojja's protege and Zojja was Snaff's protege and, like -- Zojja is not that old. She's maybe ten, fifteen years older than Taimi? No more than fifteen, I'd say. She's barely an adult when Snaff dies, and she has to be everything Snaff was and more. Zojja remembers what Snaff was for her, and she sees this impossibly smart progeny girl, and she thinks to herself Snaff was my lifeline out of that. and she's that for her.

And then she kind of sucks at it because she's Zojja and she's really not very good at communication that isn't her being a bitch, but, like, she was trying, probably. And Taimi was-is just as attached to her as Zojja was to Snaff.

But Taimi, unlike Zojja at that age, isn't alone. She has Zojja. She has everyone in Dragon's Watch. She has people who take her seriously and believe in her, and her greatest enemy is herself. The older she gets the more she levels out -- partially from the trauma but partially because she's just... growing up! She's still kind of a jerk, she's an asura and she knows she's the smartest person in the room most of the time, but especially when compared to Gorrik (who is admittedly amoral even for an asura), she's got a conscience. She's a firebrand of a girl who pushes herself too hard and she ribs you when you take yourself too seriously, because you've seen her at her most vulnerable, and she knows how hard you take it when you fuck up.

And she's your friend. She's a bitch but like the rest of Dragon's Watch she's your friend.

And by the point of EoD, all that assholery she was capable of has been shifted over to Ankka (who exists to die, unfortunately), and she has now been fully transformed into The Commander's Tech Support Who Says Funny Things And Listens In On Your Conversations. There's no bite to her. There is nothing uniquely Taimi about her anymore.

I wasn't a big fan of her losing Scruffy 2.0 either -- it feels like they were trying to go she's all grown up now, she doesn't need her security blanket anymore! but, like. She has an incurable degenerative disease. That was her assistive device who just also had a personality? Give her a hoverchair or a cane or something. They eventually gave her leg braces in EoD, which I think is fine and honestly works really well (& I wish we'd gotten to see her talking more with Joon and Yao about tech than we did), but. Mmm. It felt weird, you know?

-- ANYWAY BEFORE I MOVE ONTO GORRIK. I do want to touch base with Champions, because Champions was really where they started flanderizing her the most notably. It is completely reasonable that she suggests siding with Jormag, honestly, reasonable in a way the game doesn't treat it as and neither does the Commander, because she's kind of selfish! Jormag? Who cares? She hasn't been really dealing with the rest of the Icebrood Saga so far the way you and Braham have, she just sees 'Jormag's willing to work with us to kill Primordus and hasn't caused mass horrific destruction, they're a completely sentient person'. She sees a solution to a problem and she wants it now, you can talk about Jormag later, her entire race had to diaspora because of this thing and she was there the last time it almost woke up and things got really, really bad after that, what with Balthazar. Jormag is a problem, yeah! But they're not a problem that's hurt her. They're a problem she can look at and understand and speak to. Primordus? Primordus is a monster. It's a natural disaster. You can't convince Primordus to hold off on killing people, it's just what he does. But she can make a deal with Jormag to stay away from these people, maybe, and Taimi even now thinks she's the fucking shit and she's smarter than she is, and she thinks she can outwit Jormag.

Champions could've been a really interesting look at Braham and Taimi basically trying to kill each other because they both have incredible cultural trauma layered on top of personal experiences that means they can't even consider not killing that specific dragon so super dead as a first course of action, and neither of them would be wrong about feeling that way, because if you haven't forgotten -- Taimi is barely an adult at this point, if she is at all, and Braham was a teenager during LWS1 and HoT. He's barely an adult either in the grand scheme of things! A scenario where both dragons are represented by one of your friends would've been really, really cool, and the challenge is 'how do we fix this without the dragons going out of balance'. And It Was Not That At All In Any Way.

I actually had this idea as I was writing this post but, like. Man. I understand the point of Ryland, Champion of Jormag, but I would've loved to see Jormag really gaslighting the hell out of Taimi and convincing her she's just as special as he is. She deserves special power and she understands Jormag, she's so clever -- just that slow horrible corruption through persuasion, through appealing to her pride. That's the asura cultural flaw! They know they're smarter than everyone else! Play to that.

This is partially because IN THE MEANTIME, FIRE ALARM makes me want to punch a table. I hate that voiceline. I hear it so much. Dragonstorm, why.

ANYWAY -- LWS4 Gorrik was barely ex-Inquest. Bioterrorist weirdo. The most autistic man in the world (love him for this). His argument against 'YOU WERE EXPERIMENTING ON THE OLMAKHAN WITH THE SCARAB PLAGUE?' is just 'I didn't vote for it but the results are FASCINATING also btw it's actually a pestilence, not a plague--'. His morals are entirely about what will let him do the most Bug Science. Sure, the Scarab Plague is one of the most horrifying contagions in history, but he is a scarab expert and he could infodump on this shit for HOURS. Do you remember that time he got arrested for bioterrorism after exposing himself to said plague, and his main concerns are 'people calling it a plague, not a pestilence' when they want his fucking head? Even when you get him out he just goes 'am I supposed to anticipate the neuroses of everyone around me?? Them freaking out was totally unreasonable'. Yeah, man, the fucking Elonians losing it about the potential of the Scarab Plague coming back is an unreasonable hysterical reaction. He doesn't care about people! He only cares about bugs! (This is an exaggeration but you get what I mean.)

The Commander: Joko intercepted the ship. Exposed all the crew and passengers to the Scarab Plague. Gorrik: Oh my, my, my—a full-spectrum outbreak! This is incredible! Taimi: Gorrik... Gorrik: Oh, right. Sorry. Tragedy. Terrible.

He's a freak! He's a freak of a man! I love him! COMMANDER HOLY FUCK DID YOU SAY CHAK from Jahai Bluffs lives in my heart. Weirdo guy. Incubated the roller beetle in his own body under his skin just because he thought it'd be cool. He never really grows a conscience even after Blish's death, because that's not who he is, that's not how he perceives and interacts with the world. He has a completely different perspective from you, and his priorities and predilections make him an impossibly brilliant scientist... who should probably not be allowed to talk to anyone he doesn't already know ever again.

Now circa EoD he's... what? What is he? Haha he's funny detective guy who can't read social cues and is dragging Rama into things. Oh, I guess he's an asura, so sometimes he says tech things. They have removed this man's deep freak nature from him :( The man I knew would've been out there doing fieldwork and dissecting void creatures yesterday. He would've been fascinated by the Dragonvoid glitching reality! Sorry, no, he doesn't do that anymore, he's just Funny Detective Guy, sometimes he does science things with jade tech because Rama is around and that means Gorrik is also there because he's Those Two Guys with Rama now. Sure. I like their dynamic but man did things happen to Gorrik to get there. I wish it could've been Very Normal Man Rama and a little goblin man who has decided Rama is his bestie.

(Also I'm deeply weirded out by the narrative pushing TAIMI IS AN ADULT NOW SO SHE'S GOING TO DATE GORRIK BECAUSE ADULTS GET IN RELATIONSHIPS unironically. I really do think the writers have forgotten there's like... a 15 year age gap between them and just remembered 'Gorrik's brother was Taimi's classmate, and he was close? in age to his brother, probably?, so it's fine' he's like 30, man. And if Taimi/Gorrik didn't feel so slapped together and like a way to pair them up so they're busy with each other and no longer narratively relevant outside of Tech Support, maybe I would be less bitchy! But I really don't like them symbolizing 'Taimi's not a little girl anymore, she's all grown up now!' by having her immediately display romantic interest in a guy who, like. You cannot tell me Gorrik fucks. I love him but I don't think he has ever contemplated fucking as a thing he would do.

They're research partners! They're good friends! But they are absolutely not in a romantic or sexual relationship. I don't believe it.)

Zojja... god, they did that woman dirty in SotO. They did her so dirty. I talked in my original post about how her narrative role here is actively sabotaged by it being Zojja and Caithe (or even Logan!) would've done it better, and I'm sticking to that. Anyway, the Tower of Secrets story summary includes:

I've never seen her out of her element or so unsure of herself; I'm used to the hypercompetent and defiantly confident golemancer of legend. This is an entirely new side.

Even taking into account the idea SotO wants us to accept that she's gone through character development offscreen and a full arc, Zojja would never. Zojja gets fucking mean when she's stressed or unsure, and even if it's been years and she's grown past that... she's still not going to wibble about it. This is part of the big problem with her writing, even in the base content for SotO: Zojja is very, very passive. She's nice, even! She mediates between you! She's your good friend Zojja (even though she was maybe friends with an asuran Commander, and she sure as hell was not making friendship bracelets with any other Commanders and wouldn't go YOU'LL FIX EVERYTHING :D after not having seen you for ten years). ...But asura in general, and especially Zojja, have a chip on their shoulder and they will prove themselves. There are ways they could've shown Zojja growing past that asuran cultural selfishness by really listening to and cooperating with other people -- the way they did it isn't that. I'm gonna call back to that Angel McCoy interview I linked earlier:

Sit back and watch the sass fly! A side effect of asuran intelligence and self-confidence is that they’re masters of the zinger. They don’t suffer fools lightly and don’t believe in sparing feelings. Workers expect to get snide comments from their krewe bosses, and progeny expect it from their parents. Teen asura, of course, give it back as good as they get it—it’s part of growing up. This verbal abuse may seem mean-spirited, but the asura don’t see it that way. They don’t take it personally. Their competitive natures drive them to greater heights of achievement. Remember, asura have survived against terrible odds, including their tiny statures. They’ve earned their attitudes, and a certain amount of bravado keeps them from being victims. With their jibes, they’re telling it like they see it, and if you can’t take the heat, get out of the laboratory.

Yes, this is asura overall, their cultural standards, but everyone in Destiny's Edge is/was -- to some degree -- a prototypical example of their race. And beloved Zojja was a prickly son of a bitch if you weren't the asura commander. She would never wibble. I really, really do think they gave her amnesia via wizardification so they can justify both 1. her never referencing your past adventures and 2. doing a bit of moeblobification. It's not gap moe if she doesn't have moments of being a bitch, Arenanet, it's just sparkling woobification.

They can have her talk about 'I used to be so mad at everyone' but there's a point where it's not 'reasonable offscreen character development', it's 'the writers telling us ACTUALLY it's lore-justified why she's written this way now, and she's telling you it, so she's a reliable narrator'. Zojja would be a completely unreliable narrator!! She's a bitch!! Like I said in the Taimi section, there are ways to write a character growing past being a total horrific bitch in ways that make sense! This isn't it.

This dialogue actually really frustrates me more than anything because it wants you to just... accept that nobody went looking for her, and that she didn't ever reach out because she didn't feel worthy of us. Nobody went looking? Not us, not anyone in Destiny's Edge, not anyone noteworthy in Rata Sum who would've cared about Snaff's brilliant progeny-cum-legacy and perhaps the best Dragon specialist in the world going completely off the grid and disappearing? And not even Taimi, an orphan whose mentor figure Zojja was so horrifically harmed in Maguuma that she was basically comatose. That Taimi? That Taimi would've only checked in on Zojja when she was in hospital, would've let Zojja turn her away when she wasn't ready for visitors, and wouldn't have looked for her or told anyone she was missing, not even the Commander? (okay she told us once but it was kind of a casual throwaway line. i don't count it.) Not only is it shoddy writing, it makes the Commander, Taimi, and all of Zojja's guildmates look like horrible people. We didn't check on you because the writers wrote you out of the narrative, girl.

Also Zojja doesn't say a single fucking thing about Snaff relating to Mabon at any point. A mentor who saw her for her and took her in and gave her a home? A father figure? This part does drive me insane actually because given SotO's writing I don't think they even thought about it. I don't think they meant to imply that she's basically having flashbacks to Snaff's death and that's why she flips out so badly at Mabon getting possessed and dying. I really don't think they did.

"But c'mon! Make a life-changing decision just after Mabon died? If it came from anyone but Dagda, it'd be emotional warfare." IT LITERALLY IS. IT'S LITERALLY EMOTIONAL WARFARE. THE GAME IS SO CLOSE TO POINTING OUT HOW CREEPY IT IS FOR DAGDA TO DO THIS, because with the base content drop for SotO they were at least partially interested in exploring the idea that the Astral Ward had a benevolent front but was ultimately culty and doing some horrible shit in the name of the ends justifying the means.

AND NOW SHE HAS AMNESIA AND WE SAW HER, LIKE, ONCE BEFORE WE WENT TO NAYOS. LITERALLY WHAT WAS THE POINT OF HAVING HER IN THE STORY AT ALL. THIS COULD'VE BEEN A FRIENDLY LAMP. Coulda been DUCHESS CHRYSANTHEA or someshit. Faren!! I don't know!! It's 2:30 in the morning I'm very tired, this post isn't getting any proofreading it is going out as is.

Point E: "This is actually just about Fractals, sorry."

I know they were thinking about continuing the Arkk storyline at one point, apparently that was the original draft for Sunqua Peak. Dessa's implied to have some deep connection to Uncategorized, which is explicitly not Rata Sum. When some prerelease images mentioned 'fractal' in the URL for SotO and it was apparently going to be about the Mists I was like 'oh, shit, are we getting closure on Arkk'? He's out there!! In the Mists!! Where is our fucking boy!!! (He's nowhere, the current writers' room don't know he exists. :') )

The major interactions with the Mists are generally Asura-developed -- Dessa and her krewe developed fractals as we know them, 'capturing' these Mists-echoes and preventing them from dissolving (and she also 'studied' at Rata Sum (though it 'didn't work out'), implying to me she grew up somewhere else and moved to Rata Sum for college before dropping out). And then Arkk managed to somehow break into the Mists physically, disrupt your transportation back from one, mash several Fractals together, let Mist Beings into the Observatory,

It's implied (to me, anyway) that there is or was a real Dessa who created the Fractal Observatory and then... got out. She had a kid before making the Observatory -- Arkk mentions she looks very young during Shattered Observatory, she recognizes him, and she has some unspecified connection to the Raving Asura -- who has an unsent letter to her which makes her deeply sad to read, and, also, yknow. The kittycat golems. He could be Arkk's dad, is what I'm saying.). And never knew her fractal echo was trapped inside the Mists, repeating forever and forever and forever. And then she died, or she disappeared (maybe something happened when fractals-Dessa tried to leave during LWS1 and reset?), and Arkk found out that she was still in the Fractals, and he managed to destabilize the fucking Fractals in his attempt to rip in there and get her out.

And the version we meet of him in Shattered Observatory is just an echo, too, trapped in the loop forever and ever and ever. Maybe there is a real one out there -- or maybe the Mists destroyed that one as he tried to escape the Shattered Observatory, and the only versions of these two that exist are their shadows endlessly looping (which is honestly what We only exist in the Mists…echoes of ourselves. is meant to mean, but hey, it's not specific enough, I read it as 'the versions of ourselves that we are now aren't real. we're just shadows of our real selves, who aren't here any longer'). Fucked up, man. Anyway they should've made one of the archwizards in SotO an asura

Asura. They're little bastards. Love 'em. In my universe my asura druid Svess is holding Taimi's hand and talking her fucking head off about how to make nitroglycerin and they're having a GREAT time

#I'm not tagging this.#If you want to read my takes you gotta come for them manually.#It's 230 am I am so tired why did I write 5.4k words on asura

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amanizali · 1 year

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what I would change about the Nikolai duology:

⚠️ major spoilers, obviously

I mean like genuinely we're mentioning character deaths, major plot points, basically summarizing, and a lot of it you won't understand until you've read the books—you have been warned

disclaimer: there were a lot of aspects I liked about the series (the writing was phenomenal, I felt many emotions, I had fun), but overall I was left pretty disappointed, especially since it's been quite a while and I've been able to think about it and develop my opinions. also I rant about this regularly so I thought I'd make a post. however, I adore Leigh and everything she does, and the grishaverse is extremely important to me (perhaps why I held such high standards for Nikolai's series). these are just my opinions, and it is totally fine to hold different ones, I'd actually love to hear them.

make it more about Nikolai. it felt like I had to speed through other povs to get to his, and especially by ROW, he almost felt like a side character (again). we got two books, and yet I feel like I barely know anything more about him than after the trilogy. he had povs, but it was so hard to get into his head about everything. there was SO MUCH potential for his story but it just ended up feeling like a side plot for the greater scheme of things

Zoya!!! I loved every single chapter from her pov!! why weren't those two the whole series? it would have been so nice to have something simpler where their relationship and story could also be established more

and like biracial Zoya who was almost a victim of child marriage?? her relationship with the Suli?? GIVE ME MORE

honestly didn't care much for the bee lady villain? whole thing was kinda on crack for me

why did David have to die? he didn't. it literally was an excuse for the Crows cameo and I will never forgive that. I loved seeing the Crows of course and it was hilarious (Kaz dressed as an old man lmaodjwiej), but that was not a price I was willing to pay (especially because I was still grieving). JUST GIVE US AN INEJ NOVEL OR SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN INFINITELY BETTER

to add onto that, Genya has gone through so much already. I feel like there's a limit for how much a character should suffer. it was just way too cruel, especially on her wedding day

I could have enjoyed our little found family loving each other and supporting each other for the rest of the series but instead David dies and we leave Genya to mourn all alone and forget about the og squad for the rest of the book pretty much

leave Nina out of it. I'm not sure how unpopular this opinion is, but her story did not need to be continued in canon. it ended so tragically but so beautifully and in a way that we could imagine how she healed in our own ways

also she really didn't need to be there for the plot of the series. it felt forced a little bit

also she just went straight to Ravkan military service after the heist and Matthias dying? uhh

how did she get over Matthias so quickly? it would be fine that she moved on if she hadn't been literally carrying his body around for months?? in a writing sense, I liked the whole grief arc but 1. I really didn't need it because again, it drags on Nina's story more than I would have preferred (and it was just traumatic ngl) and 2. SHE SWITCHED UP SO FAST AFTERWARDS

which brings me to Hanne. what even. who. I didn't care at all for Hanne. why are we introducing new characters that don't even contribute to the plot? I hate to say this but it felt like forced representation. I didn't feel for her/them/him (I'm sorry I don't know what pronouns they would use), and I didn't ship Nina with them either

Nina felt quite different when with Hanne and I just didn't really like this new Nina???? which is scary for me because I absolutely loved her in SOC but idk something felt off, and not even in just a post-tragedy way

the whole Fjerda plot. idk, it honestly felt like a forced way to fit Nina's plot in, I felt it didn't really contribute much at the end of the day even if what it was leading up to hinted it could have—this includes all the new characters too like Rasmus or whatever his name was

in general, all the different povs (Ravka, Shu Han, Fjerda) made it feel all over the place, and by the end, the connection wasn't enough for it to feel fulfilled. this series (especially ROW) had way too many things going on

I MISS ADRIK AND LEONI WHY PUT THEM IN IF THEY PRACTICALLY DISAPPEAR

that random love story with fake Nikolai and fake Ehri??? wha- why give these two random side characters a tragic love story?? like breaking my heart for literally no reason

yeah Mayu too like why is she getting povs? I appreciate the Shu Han world-building with that but there were just too many things happening for me to actually feel much for her and Reyem (but their bond was wholesome)

look I reallyyyy liked the Shu Han stuff since I was genuinely interested in the politics. I honestly wouldn't have minded more of that?? just if only the Fjerda stuff didn't happen and it wasn't so jam packed with plotlines

I also think the Shu Han politics could have been integrated with the plot a little better, it felt pretty distant from Nikolai and the overall plot (like maybe instead of going to Ketterdam, Nikolai could have been more involved in all that?)

WHY IS THE DARKLING BACK?? MAKE NEW CONFLICTS. NEW VILLAINS IF YOU MUST. STOP REUSING VILLAINS. ALINA DID NOT SUFFER THAT MUCH, WORK THAT HARD, GIVE UP HER POWERS JUST FOR THIS MF TO RETURN!!! it also devalued his initial death scene like that shit was BEAUTIFUL and to cry for someone you hate?? like wow

and now we're dragging poor Alina back into this like let her live in peace oml

THAT CULT THING WAS HILARIOUS BUT WTF the darkling is no longer scary nor can I take him seriously anymore. what even was that plotline like?? I'm honestly so confused I could not tell you what we achieved in this duology

that little multiverse?? tease at the end and him like holding together the world or whatever it was was cool tho

NIKOLAI HAS A BIRTH DAD AND A SISTER. AND IS A BASTARD CHILD. AND WE JUST. ARE PRETENDING THAT DIDNT HAPPEN??? like I'm sure Nikolai would feel some level of anger or confusion or sadness or SOMETHING but the short interaction was so casual and silly and we just never visited that again?? why are we portraying Nikolai like a comic relief character in his own series Leigh whyyyy T_T like I love his personality but he also has dimensions and we have sEEN glimpses of that

and yeah to go back to my first point, Nikolai is literally leading a war (loved the steampunk vibes). his brother (whom he had a complicated relationship with) died. he had to banish his parents. he found out about blood relatives. one of his closest friends and talented engineers died ON HIS WEDDING DAY. he has a demon inside of him and woke up every day in chains. so where is the depth??? why was he the least angsty out of all the povs we got?? (like we obviously got some moments but with everything else it was just pushed aside)

anyway, if you read this far, *mwah* thank you, I appreciate you for listening to my rambling. please lmk what you think!! do you agree? disagree? what did u think about this series? I hope you have a wonderful day/night ❤️

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