#and it doesn't influence the canon directly in any way

[liesmyth]

would you be able to give examples/explain more about how race only impacts gideon in the tlt-universe? not being facetious or condescending, genuinely asking. thank you!

Hi anon! If you mean my tags to this post, I wrote

#earth conception of race doesn't impact any character in the series except the canonically brown main antagonist

By which I mean my Worstie and main antagonist of the series, John Gaius (PhD).

I don’t think TLT as a series engages with race in any especially meaningful ways. It’s set in a post-Earth society with entirely different social norms, and there’s no concept of race and ethnicity within the population of the Nine Houses. Physical descriptions of the characters are scarce to say the least, and they rarely spell out the kind of features that suggest specific racial connotations, because the POV characters don’t seem to think it’s something worth remarking upon. iirc, it takes until halfway through HtN for the narrative to confirm that Harrow has brown skin.

[See also Tamsyn’s GtN characters description post. It quotes passages from the book, and you can see how minimal the descriptions are, and she repeats several times that her characters’ appearances are up to the readers’ interpretations. It just doesn’t seem to be a big concern of hers]

Then there’s John, who grew up in twenty-first-century New Zealand and IS explicitly Māori in a way that absolutely impacted his character arc. It's not A major theme of his Nona chapters, but it’s there if you read between the lines. The boarding school he went to, which IRL had a high percentage of low-income Māori students on scholarship. The depth of his climate anxiety, his uncompromising “Nobody left behind” stance before the cryo project was halted, and his fervent hatred of ‘the trillionaires’ afterwards... these are all informed to some extent by his background as an indigenous man imo, and so was the global reaction to his developing powers. The “We were going to put you fellas in jail, weren’t we?” the way his initial attempts at publications are all flat-out ignored by the scientific community and dismissed as culty gimmicky faith healing until he leans into it.

John being Māori is just one of the many pieces of his backstory, and far from the most impactful to what eventually went down, but my point remains that he is the ONLY character in TLT whose racial background 1) affects his story arc and 2) is relatable to the audience. Everyone else is ten thousand years removed from Earth, and I’m just not very interested in using racial identifiers when exploring these characters and their dynamics, because the characters themselves don’t care and neither does the narrative.

#on a more hashtag meta level #John is why I’m personally uneasy about any analysis of the series that tries to interpret TLT through racial allegory lenses #especially when it’s weaponised for discourse purposes #You can write meta about John’s war crimes without comparing him to white imperialism #Or you can go ahead and do that anyway but I highkey disagree that it’s a fitting metaphor or in any way deliberate on Tamsyn’s part #and I think the implications are unfortunate to say the least #That said I AM extremely interested in the ways John relates to the culture he left behind #and why he made the choices he did when it came the moment to reshape humanity’s cultural consciousness after the Resurrection #but that’s on a character level! #I don’t think we can apply twenty-first-century social / identity labels to the series as a whole #especially a series where the author says 'I imagine X character as Y but it doesn't raelly matter' #and it doesn't influence the canon directly in any way #SORRY THIS IS LONG! #anonymous #ask #ejg #tlt thoughts #elle tlt posting #tlt

[poorlittleyaoyao]

one of my very least favorite "jokes" is people making fin of qin su for "not knowing her husband is gay" or the array of fics where he's zero eprcent interested in her from the jump. Like way to take out all the tragedy in service of biphobia

GODDDDDD, I saw that in the same set of post notes that set me off yesterday--"durr hurr, poor girl got tricked into marrying this gay guy." Like, HOW? The Jin clan are by far the wealthiest and most powerful sect, and the Qin clan is one of their bannermen, and QCY and JGS are buddies. If JGY were a mustache-twirling villain trying to boost his status with an advantageous marriage and/or a gay man desperate for a beard, he has better options than a clan of middling wealth and significance that is already under Lanling's sphere of influence.

And they both had to fight for this marriage to happen! "QS was tricked into marrying him" is wild to me, because IIRC it says RIGHT THERE that she took the initiative in this relationship! A relationship that neither her father nor his was super enthused about! JGY was out here bothering JGS for this! JGY, the guy who famously does atrocities if daddy says jump, worked with QS to make sure this marriage happened! After all, while QS has the most to lose if the pregnancy plan goes south, JGY's not totally off the hook either; JGS could've very well punished him to appease QCY. Why the hell would he go through ANY of that if he didn't love her?

Like... you could maybe make a case for him not being attracted to her in CQL, where it's implied that he didn't sleep with her until their wedding night and he hates every second of it a choice that haunts me every day because what the fuck what the FUCK. But even there, he states that he pushed for the marriage, and feared to call it off in part because he'd "spent so much effort, went through such lengths to ask Qin Cangye for permission to marry his daughter... I had finally satisfied both Qin Cangye and Jin Guangshan." So even here he'd worked for it! Potentially antagonizing two noblemen, one of whom is his father the Chief Cultivator, is not worth the potential material benefits here! Even here, the only explanation that makes sense is that he loves her!

Which, you know, he says himself that he does. He says that he loves her to Lan Xichen's face, even, so like... pretty weird lie for a gay guy to tell his boyfriend. And if JGY were lying about everything... wouldn't he think of something better? He could throw QS under the bus and say she forced him. He could say the marriage was his father's idea and JGS directly ordered him to marry her. Both of these options are more readily understandable (and paint him as truly without recourse) than "I felt trapped by the potential ramifications of defying social expectations."

Now, people can write what they want when it comes to fic; if you're writing a canon divergence fix-it, then yeah, an easy way to avoid the incest is to have him simply not into women at all. You can even make a compelling case for comphet that he doesn't recognize for what it is until it's too late if you try hard enough. But in terms of broader trends rather than individual fic, and given the fandom trends of erasing WWX's attraction to women across all canons, or ignoring WQ's whole situation with JC in CQL canon to make her a Mean Lesbian(TM)... are you sure there's not biphobia at play? Are you really sure?

#also 'haha QS doesn't know her husband is gay!' is mean to her #yes she is a fictional character and therefore can't be bullied but I'm still like LEAVE HER ALOOONE SHE'S DEALT WITH ENOUGH

[bonefall]

tbh it makes no sense that mapleshade would ally with tigerstar considering the way he canonically wanted to murder stormpaw and featherpaw for being halfclan kits…you’d think she’d want to beat his ass for pulling that shit

Honestly I feel like Mapleshade's motivations as they follow through the books always feel wonky. She doesn't feel like a character with a consistent narrative, her personality and actions seem to wobble all over the place.

Unfortunately the most consistent trait about her, across multiple books, is that she is a Girl Villain. She makes a lot of comments about her looks, motherly pain, and romance. Her strengths are also not established, she's an active general-type in OotS, a bloodline curse in Crookedstar's Promise, a satan-like bad influence in Tigerclaw's Fury, and a minion desiring a young molly's pretty body in TBC.

I like the Mapleshade's Vengeance story and characterization of her above all the others, but I do feel like it's not super consistent with ANY of her alliances going forward in the timeline.

Her pain is that she lost her children, so it feels kind of odd she's tormenting Crookedkit. I can accept it as part of her grudge against Appledusk, though.

After all, the idea she's a vengeful spirit haunting his bloodline is super fun as a gimmick. Like she's blinded to the morality of it all at this point, dogged in her goals.

But still, it seems downright unfitting she'd be whispering into Tigerclaw's ear as a demon if that's the case. You'd think she would only start to get close when she realizes Tiger can be used to torment an Applekin (which storm and feather are through their mother's side) directly, not playing the long game.

Plus, mixed blood was the reason her kittens died. With the backstory they gave her, you'd think it would set her off more. Even if they are Applekin.

But a lot of the time they don't seem to know what to do with her. Like when she attacked Sandstorm, of all people, for having a husband. Felt absolutely random.

#mapleshade #warrior cats analysis

[avikats66]

Y’all let’s talk about Stolitz. And by talk I mean I’m going to throw this long and extensive analysis at you. Warning for discussion of miscommunication and dubious consent + self esteem issues and self sabotage (pretty canon stuff) ahead:

Stolas didn't initially realize Blitz’s original intentions when they ended up having sex for that first time. It would have only been after Blitz left and he discovered the grimoire gone that he would have realized Blitz only had sex with him in order to take his grimoire. Except that's not quite entirely true. While Blitz definitely seduced Stolas in order to nab the grimoire, he clearly had the opportunity to dupe Stolas and leave him there after he grabbed it. Instead he decided to actually have the sex which Stolas at the time would have thought he was there for in the first place.

This certainly doesn't mean that Blitz had actually been secretly wanting/planning to have sex with Stolas the whole time - it was obviously an extremely unexpected development for him - but that he did choose to do so without Stolas trying to force or extort him in any way. His exact reasons are not explicitly given but can be inferred with reasonable certainty/likelihood. Here's the scenario: we have Blitz about to make off with the grimoire with Stolas (at least seemingly) none the wiser, when Stolas goes and tells him how happy he is that he's doing this and how much it means to him, at this point still believing Blitz had come for the purpose of initiating a sexual/romantic encounter and being ignorant of his actual intentions having been just to steal the grimoire.

Going off of Blitz’s expression we can see he feels bad here. Like wow, this guy genuinely thinks I came here to make moves on him and he is so happy about that, and here I am in actuality just stealing from him. Since I am doing him wrong by stealing from him, I can do him some right by having the great sex that he thinks is happening right now with him. And remember that at this point Stolas himself isn't leveraging this reasoning over Blitz or using it to bargain with him - he has absolutely no idea what's actually going on, after all. The decision Blitz makes to have sex with Stolas at this time is made entirely by himself without any decision-making on Stolas’s part.

So Blitz is feeling a moral obligation (again, coming from his own conscious and not from Stolas trying to influence or guilt trip him) to have sex with Stolas, and also probably an psychological drive to on the basis of emotions like pity and/or empathy. Like this guy is clearly incredibly lonely and horny and will be devastated if Blitz doesn’t have sex with him as he thinks was his intention the whole time. That knowledge and the emotions that knowledge is is apt to provoke can create the desire to do the deed, even if not for the reasons of pre-established mutual attraction and planned activity which is what’s typically behind most instances of consensual sex.

It’s a very natural/human (technically Blitz is a demon but my point still stands given how demons are portrayed to be just like humans when it comes to emotions/intelligence and the capacity to be good and bad and choose to follow their own individual morals) trait to want to do things not because they directly benefit or please us, but because they will those things for others and that makes us feel good - especially if the said thing we do isn’t explicitly negative or unpleasant for us either, as is the situation here. While Blitz certainly didn’t have any personal plans or desires to have sex with Stolas that night, it didn’t seem like something he was actively opposed to or forcing himself to do either. And sex doesn’t necessarily need to have deep and intimate preexisting emotional connection present to be a positive, consensual, and moral experience either.

Of course, there’s also the other underlying factor regarding Blitz’s decision to have sex with Stolas that night, which is that he felt it might be advantageous or even necessary in order to maintain continued access to the grimoire. Again, at this point it would still have been entirely up to Blitz to decide, but it’s a very important factor to consider, especially moving forward as the relationship between the two continues into what we see in the show.

Sometime after that first night, Stolas becomes aware that Blitz has taken his grimoire. Heck, it’s even possible he figured this out during that first night and chose to let Blitz take it. Whatever the case, we don’t know the exact specifics of what went down, just that in the pilot and first episode we see Stolas talking to Blitz about how he’s not actually not supposed to have the grimoire and that he would like to set up an arrangement where he continues to let Blitz keep/use the grimoire and in return Blitz occasionally has amazing sex with him like he did that night.

This is where the consent starts to get (more) muddy and dubious due to the lack of clear communication and resulting misunderstandings. Going over it from the outside, you’d think at this point Stolas would have come to the conclusion that Blitz didn't have any intention of starting a relationship and was just using him with no genuine feelings for him involved, and thus him leveraging the grimoire over Blitz to continue their relationship is just pure extortion. But I don’t that he did, or that it is.

Rather, while Stolas definitely knows that on some levels, the sex Blitz had with him was a practical/transactional action taken to secure use of the grimoire, I think that he also truly believes that there is genuine mutual attraction and affection and want to continue the relationship present between them, and that Blitz knows/believes this as well. I mean, he certainly didn’t force or even plead with Blitz to have sex with him that first time; that was all Blitz’s choice and apparently he made it really good. I’m doubting that at any point that night, Blitz stopped to sit down and say “hey, you know I’m only doing this so I can steal/use your grimoire and I don’t actually feel any attraction towards you or want to start a relationship,” though.

So it’s really not unreasonable that Stolas believes there is something more between him and Blitz, and thus that he’s not blackmailing Blitz to have sex with him using the grimoire, rather that he is more so just negotiating a fair trade between equals. He’s aware of the power imbalance between them in terms of status and the grimoire in theory, but based on his behaviour in canon I don’t think he realizes (or at least not until later during the show as evidenced by him planning to give the crystal) just how impactful that imbalance really is, or that Blitz might actually feel pressured by it in any real way.

At the same time, Blitz is assuming that Stolas is just using him for sex via the leverage of the grimoire and his much higher levels of societal status/power, and that none of the affection or care he shows Blitz is genuine because Stolas understands that Blitz is only using him for the grimoire in return. That last part actually is true on at least some level: Blitz is definitely using his relationship with Stolas to access the grimoire, but I think he’s lying to himself and letting his perception be warped by his trauma and self esteem issues when he claims that there’s nothing more to it.

While he’s shown at times to be exasperated or not really into/put off by Stolas’s horniness (sometimes more so just for comedic effect), we do see him express genuine enjoyment with and care for Stolas throughout the show. It’s not like we’re talking Achilles/Patroclus levels here, but, there is something there on Blitz’s side too. I think the reason Blitz seems unable to properly wrap his head around the fact that Stolas actually genuinely cares for and likes him and that he could actually allow himself to reciprocate those feelings and actions is not just the whole miscommunication thing they’ve got going on as detailed above, but also that Blitz has deep-rooted issues with intimacy and self-esteem.

Blitz has such a low and troubled sense of self worth that he cant seem to fully accept or believe that Stolas would actually care for or like him in any meaningful way for real - especially when combined with the whole grimoire misunderstanding going on and the guilt he likely feels over it in at least some aspects, which is largely why he first had sex with Stolas in the first place. He also definitely seems the type to sabotage his own relationships - likely both on a conscious and unconscious level - due to these feelings of self hate and low worth (I personally believe he did that with Verosika and it was one of the biggest reasons for their breakup and current animosity towards each other) which I have inferred him to have based on canon such as the hallucination he has in Truthseekers).

So Blitz thinks that Stolas thinks that they both know their relationship is just a transaction, a transaction where Stolas definitely has more power, and thus Stolas doesn’t actually care for Blitz or what he wants. That Stolas might sell him out or punish him if he started backing down from their relationship or going too much against or refusing whatever sexual desires Stolas expresses by reporting him to officials or refusing use of the grimoire. And Stolas doesn’t realize that Blitzø thinks this, being himself under the impression that Blitz knows that Stolas does actually care for him and doesn’t want/mean to extort or force him into things he truly doesn’t want with him.

I just want to go over something here now: It’s normal for partners to sometimes do certain things with sex that one party doesn’t particularly enjoy for themselves but chooses to do because they don’t find it overly or particularly unpleasant or unbearable so they want to do it or don’t mind doing it in order to please and give enjoyment to their partner (which in itself can give enjoyment back as I’ve mentioned earlier). As long as there’s clear communication and the ability to set boundaries this is completely normal and fine.

The thing is, we’ve just gone over exactly why there’s a lot of misunderstandings, assumptions, and lack of clear communication going on between Blitz and Stolas. Blitz might possibly be feeling obligated or pressured into having sex with Stolas whenever and however asked due to the grimoire and his knowledge that Stolas could potentially deny him access to it and force him to choose between having sex with him how and when he likes or not having the grimoire (just because someone is okay with/has enjoyed sex with someone in the past does not mean that it’s okay if they are pressured/coerced or forced into having more sex with that same person again when they do not want to) whereas Stolas mistakenly assumes that Blitz knows he wouldn’t try to force or coerce him into sex that he wasn’t ultimately okay with having by using the grimoire as leverage - or any other method - because he doesn’t understand Blitz’s issues with believing/accepting Stolas’s care/affection or fully understand the reality of their power imbalance for himself.

It’s not until Ozzie’s that Stolas really gets that slap-in-the-face wake-up call, but based off the music video and the act of giving Blitz the crystal we can see how genuine and serious he is about this - plus how much he truly loves and cares for Blitz. I could definitely go on about that too, but I think that’s another post!

#stolitz #helluva boss #helluva blitzo #helluva stolas #fandom ships

[radiosummons]

Real talk: Does the Jedi Order have a tax exempt status?

I know it's somewhat of a meme to make jokes about how the Jedi don't know how to pay taxes, or rather questioning whether they get paid or make any income at all. And, yes, this question is kinda dumb in the sense that whether the Jedi Order has tax exempt status or not, it doesn't effect the over all story or any actual SW lore in any way that actually matters.

I also know that tax exempt status works differently in other countries besides the US (yes, hello, I am American. I hate it here, too). But for the sake of taking this very dumb question at face value, would the Jedi Order:

1) Count as a religious institution in the eyes of Republic law?

2) If so, would their status as a religious institution have any impact on whether they attained tax exempt status from the Republic?

3) What standards and regulations would the Republic IRS have in place regarding tax exemption?

4) Do the Jedi even have an accounting department?

I would peronally argue that, yes, the Jedi Order is in fact a religious institution. On the account of the obvious connection to the Force and heavily coded (if not just downright) religious practices that the Jedi follow.

However, even if the Republic were to grant the Jedi Order the status of a lawfully recognized religious institution, I'm not sure if this would actually lead to them a guaranteed tax exempt status.

According to United States IRS standards and regulations, the Jedi Order could and would also be seen as a religious institution. However, one of the biggest stipulations for retaining tax exempt status is that the religious institution does not attempt to or make any influence on legislative or attempt to influence political campaigns.

(Palpatine voice: Ironic).

Now, if the Republic had similar stipulations, I would argue that, no, the Jedi do not get tax exemption. Mostly because one of the longest known duties associated with the Jedi Order is their role in assisting with galactic diplomacy. It would be literally impossible for them to not get involved in some capacity, especially when their aid is often directly requested (whether by a Republic aligned planet or not).

That being said, this is all going by the standards of the IRS. And at the risk of sounding too jaded, there are hundreds if not outright thousands of religious institutions in the US that should have lost their tax exempt status decades ago. And yet ....

Obviously, this all ultimately depends on what standards the Republic would theoretically have in place for situations like this. And while I would never actually want George Lucas--or any other writer for that matter--to attempt to give us a canon answer, I can't help but wonder.

Even if the Jedi Order was completely self-reliant--which I personally don't think is possible due to them, well, living on Coruscant for thousands of years-just as an example. It just doesn't make sense to me that the Jedi would limit themselves to only what they make in house when they could have easy access to other local businesses, ya know?--whose to say that they wouldn't still be required to pay for taxes like regular citizens?

The Jedi Temple, again, has literally been there for thousands of years. I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility that the Republic wouldn't have sent their own SW IRS agent at least once to audit the Jedi Order.

I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if that Jedi Order would be given a slight form of tax exemption, but only if certain conditions were met. Like, I don't know, what if an official member of the local Coruscantii/Republic government were to make a direct request for the aid of the Jedi. Maybe they'd get a tax write off for all the transportation and housing (or vehicular damage) they'd acrue while on this government sponsored mission?

Or what about this? Business institutions in the US get tax write offs for charitable donations (which the fuckers exploit to hell and back, fuck me). I have to wonder if there was a point in time (maybe the early years of the ye Old Republic) where someone had to bring up the fact that a lot of what the Jedi do could count fall under charitable tax deductions. So if they wanted to continue taxing the Jedi Order, they'd probably have to change up the definition or something.

Idk, man, I'm sort of spit balling random thoughts at this point.

I'd also like to say that I believe the Jedi do, in fact, have an accounting department. Just to keep thing running smoothly in regards to the Temple budget and so on. It would be kinda hard to keep a place that big with that many occupants still around and for that long without having someone keeping a close eye on the Order's spending.

Mostly, though, I just find the idea of the Jedi being audited absolutely hilarious.

#star wars shitpost #sw shitpost #jedi order #jedi #jedi culture #sw lore #for real though #this is a dumb question #but i want to know what other people think #sw meta #i guess #i'm not an irs agent #i'm an insurance agent #so if i got something wrong #pls tell me #this is just a dumb idea #i've had floating in my head #for a while now

[loopy777]

The new “I Am Zuko” book implied that him and Mai met at Ember Island as kids and soon after became childhood sweethearts. What are your thoughts on this new canon Maiko crumb?

For easy reference, I found the page in question. And for posterity, here's the quote:

Something else I learned about was love. Azula's friend Mai and I had known each other as kids when my family vacationed at a beach house on Ember Island. My journey took me back to that island, and back to Mai.

It might be adding a few complications to the history we had before. Not that complications are bad!

The previous uncomplicated lore, as referenced directly in this quote, was that Mai had always been Azula's friend, and so we had all assumed that either Mai was a designated playmate for Azula or else they met at school. Either way, Zuko had to meet Mai through Azula, usually assumed to be a playdate visit of some kind. It's notable, though, that Mai was always said to be roughly a year older than Azula and Ty Lee both, so either Mai was one of the older kids in that class, or there were other circumstances that put Mai into their orbit.

Now, we could still keep that aspect prioritized if we want; Zuko could have met Mai because Azula brought her friend(s) along on an Ember Island vacation. However, I don't think that's what's being implied by this quote. "[We] had known each other as kids" doesn't seem to suggest a first meeting; it sounds more like an ongoing relationship. And if Mai is already Azula's friend, then Zuko's and Mai's interactions surely aren't going to just be limited to Ember Island. So the implication is that Zuko knew Mai this way before Azula got involved.

'The Beach' gives us flashbacks to Zuko's fond memories of the place (and here's where it gets awkward with this new info, as I'd expect Mai to be part of those flashbacks, despite the focus on his family), but the only ones we can confirm as taking place on Ember Island itself seem to show Zuko as a baby:

The others, showing an older Zuko, take place in some kind of thick grassy area that doesn't look like any parts of the island we were shown. So, maybe baby!Zuko and baby!Mai were tots when they met. Zuko is 1-2 years older than Mai, so we are talking babies babies, not fan-speak for someone younger than 17. Yet Zuko at least remembers these moments (if we take the flashbacks as his literal memories), so maybe we can't go by the art on that. Maybe it's metaphorical and his baby-ness is just to show his youth and innocence. But I doubt Mai would be old enough to remember such a thing. And maybe that's okay, since the "I Am Zuko" book is very obviously from his POV, so his memories are the only ones we can go by, anyway.

But, again, if we go by what's implied in the language of "[we] had known each other," they weren't just babies playing next to each other in the sand while barely old enough to comprehend each other's existence. They must have been older. But if that's the case, then where was Azula in all this? Well, Zuko is 2-3 years older than her and Mai is roughly a year older than her, so perhaps Azula was too young to be concerned about other kids at that point or otherwise not interested in being social.

So the implication of those 22 words I have spent six paragraphs and two pictures (so far) analyzing is that Zuko and Mai had a real childhood friendship which predates Azula's involvement. Zuko has 'priority' in the matter of Mai over his sister, which ties neatly to who Mai eventually sides with his over Azula.

But does that undermine the existing narrative? That Mai, at the Boiling Rock, performed this great romantic act of courage and defied her dangerous master for this boy who taught her the power of hope again? If she was always truly Zuko's friend, does that make her act weaker?

I don't think so, myself.

I think it fits neatly with the idea of Azula competing with Zuko at every available opportunity, as influenced by their father and Fire Nation culture. Azula eventually saw something Zuko had -- a friend -- and decided to take it from him. Either Zuko didn't put up a fight or lost that battle. And Azula proceeded to lord her victory over him by having his former friend trailing behind her like a servant. Even when Mai and Zuko started a romance, Azula continued to maintain control, as shown off by the picnic scene where she orders Mai away with a veiled command and gets secret side-eye from Mai in return.

It's a handy little way to explain Zuko's own lack of visible friends. Maybe he didn't bother trying to make such connections with other people after Azula stole one of his first friends. It's also a convenient little excuse for how Azula pulled in a girl about a year older into her friend circle; they don't need to be in the same classes at the academy because Azula already knew Mai through Zuko.

And Mai clearly gave in to this little conflict between Zuko and Azula, so her later showing the courage to stand with Zuko at the critical moment still has the power of a good character arc. I don't think it makes her arc stronger, but neither do I think it weakens it. It just adds a little more texture, which of course is always welcome to shippers and fanfic-writers.

It does raise the question, though, of why Zuko had to meet Mai on Ember Island when she lives across the street from him. But it's not anything insurmountable, as her family is clearly depicted as on the rise when we're first introduced to them in 'Return to Omashu,' so perhaps they were rich enough to visit Ember Island but didn't yet live near the palace or even in the Caldera. Perhaps their arrival in the capital, and Mai entering the Academy, is what prompted Azula to make her move and steal Zuko's friend. If Mai spent the formative years of her childhood elsewhere, it would explain a little more why she was so bored that she taught herself throw knives. Azula tends to make lives interesting, I would think.

So there we go. One page in a Little Golden Book gave us all those thoughts. Not a bad investment.

However, I doubt we'll see any further explanation or acknowledgement of any of this in official fiction. From the quotes we've gotten, the Avatar Studios folk and especially The Mike and The Bryan seem to favor a loose continuity that isn't getting hung up on the details.

But this is certainly something us fans can run with. I'm already brainstorming ideas for some way to make use of this in a comedic fanfic. ;)

#zumai #maiko #zuko #mai #mai avatar #mai and zuko

[hajimeshoe]

Here's the request I promised!

Octavinelle with a bottle nose dolphin s/o.

S/o tends to say some really fucked up shit, and does really fucked up shit at times.

They can sing really well, and they sing at the Mostro-Lounge.

Enjoys toying with people and animals because dolphins are ass holes like that!

A bully to any and all sharks in Octavinelle.

They have their moments of purity and kindness, but overall they're a devil disguised as an angel.

Let's just say, damn near everyone is afraid of s/o

This is going to be insane, and Floyd is loving every damn minute of it

Octavinelle with A Bottlenose Dolphin S/O

Azul

Azul, Azul, Azul

Canonically an insecure boyo, he was unsure if you even liked him at first

However, he was absolutely enraptured with your voice. The second he heard it, he knew he needed you to work at the Mostro Lounge - after all, you could bring in so many customers!

(He just wasn't prepared for how many customers you'd drive away either)

It took nearly a year of pining for you two to finally end up together

Between your mixed signals - being nice to him one minute and bullying the fuck out of him the next - and his doubts, nobody was even sure either of you would confess.

Unsurprisingly, you were the one who eventually just kissed him one day

You two are absolute terrors together. He makes deals with poor, unfortunate students and you help the twins make sure those students have no way of fulfilling their end of the bargain

But you and Floyd have only hospitalized a few!

One of those cliche "You're mean to everyone but him" couples

Of course, fights between the two of you have the entire student body hiding for their lives

He'll use his arsenal of spells from contracts and you're just...creative

Lighting his vault on fire when he's out, putting TnT in the oven - no, I will not specify how you got it - all the way to blackmailing the twins to get you a picture of him when he was younger so you could print out more and glue them into every book in the school.

Jade

Jade finds you amusing

You'll be the definition of angelic whenever the teachers are looking, but the second they turn their backs you're pushing students off of their brooms, adding gunpowder to a potion, or charming a students history textbook to shoot glitter into their eyes when they try to open it.

Some of your more dangerous activities have him catching the back of Floyd's shirt to keep him from helping

But this eel loves you nonetheless

...when you aren't making it so they have to get new security sharks in the Mostro lounge each week because you threatened to give them an impromptu C-Section in order to make new meals out of their guts

"Love, I don't care if they were being rude, you can't casually threaten people with homocide-"

"It's not a threat, Jade."

"Goo-"

"It's a promise. Floyd, come with me in case I need more muscle!"

Cue your boyfriend quickly trying to drag both of you to his room before you both get expelled for murder

Floyd

The most fun he's had in months!

Azul and Jade are cursing everything, the students are running for the hills, and the teachers are standing there with fire extinguishers!

You help him to get out of trouble when an authority figure is looking, and he helps you with any student you feel like messing with.

You two absolutely TERRORIZE Leona

Like, he doesn't even like Floyd, but he can't exactly avoid both of you easily

And you messed with his favourite napping spot! He woke up, strung up by his neck with vines in the Botanical Gardens.

"FLOYD! Y/N!"

"I wanted to see if beastmen have claws"

Turns out, they do! Leona was not killed by being hanged that day

You and Floyd will eat Takoyaki while looking directly at Azul

He made himself scarce fairly quickly - Floyd alone? He'd have nothing to worry about. Floyd with your influence? He would not be testing those waters

#twisted wonderland #twst #azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #jade leech #jade leech x reader #floyd leech #floyd leech x reader

[forestdeath1]

The tragic fate of platonic love in our beloved puritan HP fandom (18+)

Or about sexual attraction among friends (canon Sirius and James)

It's often written, “The relationship between Sirius and James is purely platonic and friendly, which I really appreciate because there's no sexual attraction between them! That's real friendship!”

Personally, I see this as nothing but the influence of old, rather puritanical views on our lives today. It's as though sexual attraction is deemed detrimental, diminishing the sanctity of friendship and defiling purity. As if sex is something that should remain exclusively between couples (in a dark room under a blanket), otherwise it's considered a vile phenomenon.

The modern concept of platonic love (which has nothing in common with the original concept of platonic love as exalted erotic relationships) literally imposes the belief that sexual attraction is exclusively categorized as “romantic,” and monosexual at that, rather than being considered in a deeper, philosophical sense of acceptance and desire for another person as a whole, including their physical component.

As if desiring someone’s body is an insult, rather than an expression of admiration for the ideal. In Ancient Greece and during the Renaissance era (although socially, the puritans were also rampant in this era), love for the body and beauty was celebrated and considered normal, but today, sometimes it's seen as something shameful and is strictly confined within the monosexual standard.

However, in some ways, people are right because, as Slavoj Žižek said, sex is increasingly becoming masturbation with a real person, rather than directly sex as an erotic act of love. It lacks love, desire, and eroticism. Just masturbation using a living body.

In this context, Freud would have been thrilled with the modern situation: despite the absence of any sexual restrictions, impotence and frigidity have never been so widespread. Yet, we are so puritanically inclined that sexual attraction between friends is perceived as something that shouldn't exist, as something that spoils pure friendly relations.

Sexual attraction to a friend is the result of erotic infatuation with them. These relationships can be platonic. They can call each other friends without making any commitments of fidelity and relationships, they might have other romantic relationships, but at the same time, the relationships between these two friends will be built on the intersection of eros and philia – erotic love and friendship. On the attraction to this person and on equal communication.

Let me repeat: there's nothing wrong with sexual attraction to friends who are platonic lovers. I don't know why many find this idea of sexual attraction to a friend so repulsive, as if it's something sinful, corrupt. Sexual attraction is simply an acknowledgment that the person is pleasant and beautiful and that you want to share a moment of intimacy, to appreciate the beauty of their body just as you appreciate the beauty of their soul. It's not necessary to satisfy this desire; it can be sublimated or transformed. In fact, friends who are platonically in love with each other do this all the time – hugging for a long time, kissing on the lips, giving each other massages (not medical), thus transforming precisely their sexual attraction.

A simple touch by one person on the body of their beloved friend can be far more sexual and erotic for the two of them than the most pornographic sex. Simply observing their body or the person themselves can be a far stronger sexual act than intercourse itself. Sexual attraction is not about how many bj they've given each other. They might not give any at all, but the breathing of one on the neck of the other during sleep can be so sexually charged, filled with love and eroticism in the broadest sense of the word, that no bj are necessary. If someone haven't experienced this in friendship, it doesn't mean that no one else has or that it can't exist at all.

(By the way, in Greek mythology, Philotes was a spirit/god embodying affection, friendship, and sexual intercourse. That is, both friendship and sex simultaneously, so the Greeks were quite familiar with such a phenomenon). 

That's why such a level of intimacy is very bad and disgusting when it comes to family relationships – because everyone understands that there can be no platonic love in the family, there can be no that attraction, the family is about storge, not eros. It's about the love of a parent for a child or love between partners who have lost sexual attraction but retained a deep attachment.

Therefore, I would like us to one day in the fandom stop treating the possible sexual attraction between James and Sirius to each other as something disgusting and bad.

Moreover, if we take it as a universal canon that their relationship was platonic, then sublimated sexual attraction is present as a fact. Because there are no platonic relationships without erotic ones.

To love and to want are the same; one does not exist without the other. Love for a person's soul always passes through the stage of love for the body, if you love someone as some ideal Beauty and Good to which you are drawn (i.e., not the love of relatives and not the love of friends), then you love their body too.

Between friends who are platonic lovers, there can and should be sexual attraction. This attraction does not have to be realised in a pornographic act. They may not even realise it themselves. 

And there's nothing shameful about it. And it does not affect their other relationships. They can still marry (Lily) and love her too, or date Remus and love him too.

#sirius black #bambibelle #james x sirius #prongsfoot #platonic prongsfoot #james potter #sweet puritanical fandom

[babytarttdoodoo]

Please (if you want to) expand on what you said about the different ways Roy and Jamie swear because that is extremely fascinating

I mean, I'll start by saying I am in no way a linguistics expert. I also lack the cultural and social background to speak about the swearing habits of Mancunians and Londoners with any authority. (Again, to clarify, I am Scottish.)

However, being familiar with the accents in question, being immersed in British media my entire life, and having had voice training does mean I have an instinctual 'feel' for what sounds right for their characters... or what does for me, at least.

Swearing and rambling under the cut.

Beyond just swear words, the cadence and tones of Roy and Jamie's voices are vastly different.

Jamie talks faster, for one. It is a bit of a trend that the further north you go in the UK, the speedier the speech gets. I slow down a lot, even if I'm just visiting England, in order to be understood by non-Scots.

Therefore, Jamie uses longer words or phrases more casually in conversation (if not always correctly, bless his heart) because the rhythm of his speech allows for it. This also means that if he swears mid-sentence, it's basically just punctuation and comes across as a habit.

Adding adjectives adds emphasis. So when he is intentionally swearing directly at someone, he would call that someone a "big hairy baby twat" rather than just a "twat".

(I will also point out that I think "fucking dickhead" is criminally underused by Jamie in both canon and fanon.)

Roy, on the other hand, has a slower rhythm. He still swears very naturally (obviously) but is more likely to use single syllable words i.e. "fuck", "prick", "shit".

The way that vowels sound in his accent also plays a part here. For example, he says "fah-ck", as opposed to Jamie's softer "foh-ck", which is immediately more tonally aggressive (the different way they draw out the vowels is important too but I can't think of how to describe it).

Roy doesn't need to add on anything extra because the harder tone of his voice gives every swear a weighty impact. However, that's not to say he can't get creative.

Let's take Roy calling the woman harassing Jamie a "nutty arsemonger" in the Protective RoyxJamie fic. I agonised over what Roy was going to say because when he takes a second to think about how he's going to insult someone, things get colourful.

Cultural influence plays a bigger part in these scenarios.

The use of "nutter" is pretty widespread in the UK. "Nutty" as a descriptor, however, is a bit more specific and something I'd personally associate with the South.

That has to be paired with something and, particularly as he's talking to a woman, that makes things complicated.

Now, if I'm being brutally honest, in reality, someone of Roy's background and age would probably have said "cunt". It's very much not as big of a deal over here as I know it can be in the States. Tat said, it still felt a bit harsh to me as something someone in the 'Ted Lasso' universe would say. It's also very gender-charged and if Roy were going to use it, he's more likely to say it to another man.

For similar reasons, I discounted him calling her a "cow" or a "bitch". Less severe, but still not quite right for a man in his (at this point) early 40s who goes out of his way to be respectful to the women he knows. (Moments of idiocy aside, of course.)

That brought me to "arse". Anyone can be one. Great.

But he can't just say "nutty arse" and call it a day. Firstly, because "s" is a soft sound, especially in a deep tone, and the insult sounds incomplete in Roy's voice if he doesn't end on a hard note. Say it to yourself, try out your best Kent impression - it isn't right, is it?

Jamie absolutely could just say "arse" because the "ah" sound is very harsh in his accent and the "s" is more pronounced by his higher voice.

But Roy needs something more to round out the phrase. I landed on "arsemonger" eventually because of the meaning more than anything. (Generally used for someone without class, implies promiscuity.) Introducing that "ger" at the end also sounded a lot better and more natural.

I don't know if I'm making any sense here but hopefully this communicates a bit of what I meant?

If you're looking to delve a bit deeper (without the swearing), a good point of reference might be the Ninth Doctor and Rose's era of 'Doctor Who'. It's not perfect (Christopher is from Salford, Billie from Swindon) but it's another really good example of North/South talking habits.

'Only Fools and Horses' might give you a good idea of the language Roy grew up around, just bear in mind it's more in tune with his parents' generation.

'Coronation Street' is the obvious touchstone for Manchester accents but I haven't watched it in a long time. The kids in 'Waterloo Road' might be a bit more relevant as contemporary examples.

#the art of swearing #I could be talking nonsense #jamie tartt #roy kent

[dominicsorel]

Why exactly were BOTW!Zelink and KH3 Soriku so alike?

Ever since I made a gifset pointing out similarities to BOTW!Zelink and KH3 Soriku, I've been hesitating to point out some things I already did, albeit in more detail. But I just can't stop myself anymore.

There's a deeper understanding to be had here.

From Mipha talking about what she thinks about while she's healing and the implication in the narrative that it's love that brought out Zelda's light power to Mickey talking about how sometimes you care so much for someone that other feelings disappear, leaving no room for fear or doubt and Sora finally using the Power of Waking to find his way to Riku in the Dark World because of that same reason.

It is almost downright infuriating to me how obvious some of this is being that BOTW came out TWO YEARS before KH3 did. It's one of those things where you notice and get mad that you didn't notice earlier because a lot clicks together in this case. The entire KH series has taken inspiration from the LOZ series from the very start. It's not that big of a leap to think they'd go, "Hey, this is a good depiction of a more modern romance in gaming. Maybe we should take notes for our slow burn of the century romance between two boys."

AND THEY DID.

Now let's go over just a few BOTW!Zelink and KH3 Soriku parallels. I have to keep it confined to KH3 Soriku because what I want to show are things that I feel were directly inspired by the events in BOTW.

Take a look at the Yiga Chase scene side by side with the scene where Aqua chases an unarmed Riku while his back is turned.

(they even both turn to look back send help)

So here we have a very clear M/F romance (Zelda's canonically in love with Link in BOTW) having an incredibly similar rescue scene to another one which involves the relationship between two boys.

What would be the purpose of this if not to give the player something to reference back to as it's also a popular game? KH does it with Disney films all the time, even Final Fantasy titles.

Why not any of the other series it's directly inspired by?

And it doesn't confine Sora or Riku into a set role as one character much like the other times they're compared to Disney couples. It adds a lot more depth by not restricting them to relating to only one.

We may never actually get LOZ in KH but I think it's fair to say its inspiration is and will continue to be very much so alive in the story from start to finish and that it can't be disregarded as an important influence just because it's not a Disney or FF title.

Even in the case that it supports the reading of a gay romance.

#kingdom hearts #the legend of zelda #soriku #botw zelink #kh meta #didi speaks #text #btw watch the mipha memory and lod kairi scene back2back

[bonefall]

Hello Bones!

I'm curious if you have any plans for how bb!thunderclan reacts to Ravenpaw going missing when he joins kitty witness protection?

It has admittedly been a LONG time since I've read TPB but if I remember right thunderclan doesn't really react much. I kinda get it because the reader already knows where he is so why dedicate page time to dwelling on it, but in universe it's strange that the adults in the clan respond to a whole apprentice going missing with 'that's weird... anyways'

Canonically: It's because Ravenpaw is brought to Barn Witness Protection at the very end of TPB, during the attack on ShadowClan to depose Brokenstar. This follows the Clan becoming increasingly violent with him. Tigerclaw had been allowing his apprentice to soak up suspicion for there being a traitor within ThunderClan, and was planning to "get rid of him" in some way.

So Firepaw and Graypaw essentially took the first possible moment to get him out of there, and then came back claiming he'd been killed by a ShadowClan patrol. It reads to me like a lot of the Clan assumed that Brokenstar had killed him because he stopped being useful, and felt like it was a good riddance. It's a brutal, bitter reading that I'm fond of and plan to keep.

That said; it's still a reading, and canon is lacking in characters explicitly responding to Ravenpaw's absence. ESPECIALLY since Dustpelt is supposed to be Raven's brother.

SO in BB: I do plan for Dustpelt in particular to be reckoning with this, especially since him and Ravenpaw are the surviving kits of Chestnutface, who died in Spottedleaf's Plague. Frostfur even references the Ravenpaw slander directly to him after that "Mixed Blood" meeting he tries to pull in Po3, and the fact she snapped at Ravenpaw under Tigerclaw's influence is something she's ashamed of.

All of ThunderClan has to confront this. Even if they didn't take part in the harassment of Ravenpaw, EVERYONE was exposed to some sort of sign of Tigerclaw's behavior... they just didn't want to see it.

#BB!TPB #BB!Ravenpaw #Better Bones AU #BB!Dustpelt #BB!Frostfur

[penncilkid]

Alright, so I was over here thinking about various things, which led me down the path of thinking about Damien. As I sat with my thoughts, I was struck by a question: Why is Damien so often headcanoned as a person of color?

And as a person of color, I want to take a closer look at this and talk about it.

Preface: For those who may not be aware, I personally headcanon Damien as Black and Filipino. The entire DAMN crew is Black in one way or another because I wanted them to be. (I am also Black, for reference)

When I think about the reasons why I headcanon Damien as a person of color, it's largely in part because I relate to him and project my lived experiences onto him as a character. Lots of the stereotypes put onto fire elementals have been directed towards me, or I have witnessed directed towards other people of color. So if you were to look at the way he is treated on the basis of being a fire elemental and say "this is why I have this headcanon"? Sure, I can buy into it.

But then what about the vampires?

Vampires are treated poorly in canon as well. If I remember correctly, it's mentioned by Vincent in regards to him attending classes at DAMN. Separate from that, though, they are treated poorly on the basis of being "feeders". (D(a)emons could be thrown into this as well. But I have complex thoughts on some of the popular headcanons, so that's a conversation for another day). It is something that permeates their everyday lived experiences, even if not constantly acknowledged. Yet majority of the fandom regards them as white. It is rare that I see any of the vampires, speaker or otherwise, depicted as anything other pale and/or white. So to me, there isn't a universal correlation of "Canonical discrimination towards a character is regarded as POC coding".

Another argument I could see people having: "I think he's a person of color based on how his mom was treated." Let's unpack this as a concept.

In itself, I love this line of thinking. It's taking various factors into play when coming up with a headcanon, which is always fun to me. But when you examine canon, his mom is discriminated against on the basis of being humanborn. In canon, Lasko is also humanborn. It's a core part of him as a character (so much so that it's also present in the Imperium). Yet, again, he's largely regarded as white. I can count on my hand the amount of non-white Lasko designs I have encountered. And almost all of the people with those designs are POC themselves. If you take this into consideration, being humanborn is not synonymous with being POC coded (at least throughout the fandom). So there isn't any concrete justification of his mom being explicitly regarded as POC. And as such, it no longer influences what Damien could be racially speaking. So again, I ask: Why is he so often headcanoned as a person of color?

Because here's my thing about Damien. There's just as much basis for him to be white, and I would directly cite the way he talks about DAMN as a whole. He has audios with FL in Season 1 as an example, but I think extensively about his more recent audio with Gavin ("Supporting An Incubus"). Throughout that audio, I had one persisting thought. I could lead with "His heart's in the right place" and such. But that doesn't change the fact that yeah, he 100% sounds like a white savior. You could go as far to save he always sounds like one when he talks about DAMN. The only time I've thought otherwise is when I'm actively imagining him as POC, which doesn't change what is presented in canon.

But all of this is so largely ignored by the fandom in favor of other headcanons— A lot them being that he's Black. And when I see how that is paired with widely popular white Lasko headcanons, it rubs me the wrong way. Especially given that canonically, he was scared of Damien at one point (a fact affirmed in several audios). Before anyone tries to say "But it was because—", that doesn't negate or erase context and subtext.

As I said when I made my post in regards to Huxley and Darlin often being headcanoned as specifically Black, I cannot dictate anyone's thoughts/headcanons. That's not the purpose of sharing these thoughts. What I am trying to do is have a conversation about something that I think is worth discussing and examining further. There is no harm in thinking critically about media you enjoy, and that's what I'm striving to do.

Just consider what I'm saying. Please.

#redacted damien #To the people who already saw this in the server: Hi again /lh #I just kept thinking about this and really couldn't ignore how off-putting it was #I adore Damien as a character #He's an important character to me and I relate to him heavily #But I wanna have this conversation too

[taldigi]

If Sabrina does get added to fashion club, I'm curious to see where she falls on hero-villain spectrum. Personally, I could see two options for her. First is she's like Claude, still "evil" (though she more so just a bitch) but the whole ending the world and nullification/ erasing all emotion thing is way too far for (especially when she see what it did to Amber). The second idea is that she's like Orochi in Fav & Mad, someone to pure acts on her whims and desires and it's those whims and desires that dictate in what circumstances she's either a ally or foe to the heroes.

So, we have two designs for "precanon sabrina."

We have "Sabrina Ratif" The bible describes her as a "rule stickler" and she seems to have access to a "class call" notebook. She definitely has a "teacher's pet" energy about her. She is also described as a chatterbox- talking nonsense in order to seem interesting- and can even lie to inflate her sense of importance... turning lying into an art.

sounds a bit familiar, hm?

and we also have this design. Which still seems to lean into her "class president" or "uncool nerd girl"

wait hold on this is official documentation how did that slip through... i'm going to assume that was a translation error...

I'm assuming this piece of info about her is about the same time that art was made, as Juleka was described as "She’s a bass player in a Goth band" and her design in this line up.. lines up with the description.

(the design, if anyone needs a reminder.)

Reeling back to Ratif, (and by extension the later design) is that she is very wooed by Chloe: "She worships Chloe, whose beautiful blonde hair, matte skin and personality she admires."

(what Chloe looked like btw. Still rocking "Melody from the QK's look", while slowly transitioning into the villainess we know today.)

A pale white girl admiring someone's "matte skin and blonde hair" feels like something I am wholly unable and unequipped to make proper commentary on. But I get very very bad vibes with how Sabrina is portrayed as "worshiping her beauty" and, considering how this attitude is carried all the way through the canon show..

Well.

I understand that teens tend to judge themselves harshly compared to their peers, and that someone like Sabrina (who has a cop for a dad) might pressure herself into being someone who dresses "properly" and gets top grades. Kids get that way, desperate for approval... and when she encounters Chloe- who seems to pull off her looks flawlessly and with confidence- it's no wonder she is drawn to her, even if that relationship makes her self-esteem worse.

"Ah, her hair falls so easily into waves, and my hair is so unnameable." "Her clothes are nicer than mine" "She's able to say what she wants so freely without worrying what people think of her."

I think this is a great bedwork to elevate Chloe as a character, to show the extent of her selfishness and to use and abuse others who are emotionally fragile or are in less than ideal situations. (a thread that canon lost because she does this to ONLY Sabrina and her father... then backpedal entirely because they later have the narrative state that this is what they want. Everyone else tolerates her at best.)

Sabrina doesn't need to be a complicated character, tertiary characters don't need tons of depth and character development, and they exist to elevate other. more important characters. However, it doesn't mean that their stories can't be meaningful. Sabrina breaking free of Chloe's influence can suggest that "Even the most hopeless can break free of being star struck"

While directly unconfirmed, I think this IS her as Dragonfly. Greenhopper and Killer Bee are clearly Alix and Chloe, and the three were depicted and planned to be a trio of bullies. Plus, her red hair and green eyes pop aren't on any other character. At this time of development, it was known that the miraculous could erase disabilities, so her need for glasses was probably erased as well.

Anyway, on to how I would adapt her for FC

I think her wild hair makes her stand apart, but pulling it back into something more controlled hybridizes her design a bit and since it still translates that she's a bit more conservative and trying to keep herself together. I kept the glasses. Below the knee dress, big puffy sweater... she's got self-esteem issues and wishes so desperately she could be as bold as Alina, carefree as Alix, or as much as a shining beacon of confidence as Amber (so many A names!). So much so, that she has become a bit worshipful of Amber- swayed by her golden voice.

Her lack of self-confidence is made manifest via "Garmitt" her faerie, who is SO full of confidence that he is dead-sure that he is actually a dragon, rather than a dragonfly. It is him that pushes Sabrina to assert herself, and try to become what she wants to be.

When she sees a rule broken, she stands up for it- just like her papa- regardless of whether or not the rule was good or bad or even fair or appropriate in context: because rules are rules. She wants to make her dad proud, but he is too busy being focused on taking down the vigilantes: Ladybug and Chat Noir. So much so that it takes time from his private life- meaning his daughter is often left to grow up on her own. She wants to hate them too, but she admires them very much- Ladybug's wild creativity and Chat's confidence- and their genuine kindness to her, causes her to question what she strives to do.

For the first part of the story, she is a direct threat- the hall monitor, the enforcer. She shrieks to the teachers when something is up- she bars Marinette and Felix from escaping to deal with a wish-maker or renegade villain. She watches Marinette in the bathroom to make sure she's doing bathroom things rather than escaping class. She offers to do tasks that would help our heroes escape and threatens to debunk their alibis.

She is part of the Journalism team, working on the school paper. She's a great reporter when she tries, but her lack of confidence makes her stories lack a certain touch (for example, a new exhibit at the museum written by her is great, but she fails to interview people.) and she also fills in the gaps with white lies. However, Alina is helpful to her here, giving her genuine feedback and patience.

Unfortunately, Alan sways her easily, feigning interest in her in order to learn details- after all, she is the police chief's daughter. When Garmitt is stolen from her by the order. She is finally able to put her foot down- her indecision breaking and slowly building confidence is given a boost by the loss of her Faerie, and what the villians thought would be a person too lilly-livered and spineless to spill beans ends up being a catalyst to terrible losses. Specifically the threats of Amber & the police force... who are being heavily bribed by Fury and TsuTec.

so to summarize. She's a teacher's pet, and her story intertwines not only with LB and CN's, but Alina via the journalism club. Ultimately, she does the right thing, because despite what she does, she does view it as the right thing. She's ultimately a narrative payoff to the heroes being heroes & good people. She shows how dangerous some of the villians are- through her loss of Garmitt, manipulation by Alan and Amber, and the neglect of her father- who's obsession is fueled by corruption & money.

#Anonymous #Sabrina Ratif #sabrina raincomprix #juleka couffaine #fashion club au

[buckybarnesss]

This is sort of an out of left field question- but what are your thoughts on Peter and Talia being half or step siblings?

Obviously, they don’t look alike very much. And clearly genes are funky things and this is not damning evidence. But I think it’s a very personal hc to me bc I myself have a half brother who I love very much, but it does influence our interactions.

One thing I constantly think about is Peter being an unreliable narrator. And what we see of Laura from his pov is different than Scott and Stiles finding her body. Is he imagining she’s blond and looks more like him? Yeah sure this could just be casting inaccuracies. But it feels very personal lol.

Has Peter always felt a degree of distance with his family? Where did the idea of him being Talia’s left hand come from? Wouldnt he have been there in the alpha pack flash back if that was the case? Was he younger than Laura? This also brings to mind Papa Hale (who I like to imagine was a human part of the pack/another pack before him and Talia were in a relationship). Was Talia always a Hale? Or married in?

Anyway, I have many thoughts and questions. But I really appreciate your analysis and insight. Joining a fandom past its prime (affectionate) is sort of like being in the apocalypse where 80% of the fandom is dead, and finding a ‘survivor’ is a miracle. Anyway, if you feel like it, I would love your thoughts on it all :3

if laura hale is my roman empire than talia and peter's relationship is my holy roman empire.

@dear-massacre and i talk about this quite frequently. it's a problem fam.

i do have a talia hale and peter hale and the hale family feels tags.

we don't really have any information other than some crumbs jeff has thrown us within canon.

in my opinion talia is the hale. there's no other option put forth. derek's father is such a non-entity that there's zero mention of him. the hales are clearly an old family of werewolves and were part of the very founding of beacon hills itself likely connected to the nemeton.

not to mention, season 3 has a lot to do with derek learning from and accepting talia's legacy and the legacy of the hale family. it also directly contrasts the argents. the argents pay lip service to being matriarchal but we know gerard has been calling the shots for decades whereas it seems as though the hales actually were.

so when you get down to it you can pretty much headcanon anything you want for how the exact specifics of how talia and peter are related but what we do know is talia was the older sibling and peter the younger.

peter doesn't actually talk about talia very much if at all. however, his monolog in monstrous is quite illuminating on peter's headspace while he was in a coma and pre-resurrection.

i predicted this. i told-i told talia this was going to happen... something like this was going to happen... i said that they were gonna come for us... " the argents, they're gonna come for us. they're gonna burn us to the ground-- burn us to the ground." did she listen? of course not! did anyone listen? they listened to her-- yes!-- say that everything was going to be fine. that we were all perfectly safe...perfectly safe... but she made us weak! she made us weak. and what happens to the weakest in the herd? they get picked off by the predators! we used to be the apex predators, until talia turned us into sheep.

with that said i do have my own ideas on their relationship given what we know. visionary is the episode that does the heavy lifting in the entire goddamn show in regards to this.

the age inconsistency comes from bringing back the younger actor from season 2 to play peter in visionary. it makes peter appear closer to derek's age than he actually is. i think it's almost part of peter's manipulations. it's his attempt to manipulate the audience as well just like he did lydia.

there's just simply no way talia hale didn't know about peter's everything. she was not only his older sister but she was his alpha. i think peter and talia may have been more similar than people want to believe.

peter is a lot of things. many of them contradictory. he loved his sister and clearly mourned her but that doesn't mean he didn't resent her just a little. he did still after all go with derek to retrieve her claws and i think there's something twisted up in him about how derek resembles her and begins to become more like her.

when you begin to sort of dig into what we know about the hale family the more one begins to question if talia was as benevolent as people assume she was. there's some seriously morally questionable things that occurred. talia did some shady things.

the real big one is that she coerced corrine into carrying her pregnancy with malia to term. the likely explanation is talia did this because she knew this would decrease corrine's power.

corrine is pretty explicit about this with what she says to malia:

you know, your real name isn't malia. you don't have a name. talia hale took you away from me before i could give you one.

and

corrine: i'm not going to stop, malia. i'm taking back what you stole from me. malia: i didn't steal anything. corrine: but you did. corrine: and I don't care if you're a willing participant or not. talia hale spent nine months trying to convince me of the miracle of childbirth. you know what it really felt like? a parasite. talia said it was a gift, that the coyote passes down part of her power to her daughter. she called it "beautiful." i call it "theft."

she also took peter's memories of malia's existence which considering peter's reaction doesn't seem like he had much say in. so in effect talia removed peter's agency.

she probably felt she had valid reason for doing these things. corrine was a threat and dangerous person but still it's really, really questionable. it still ended with malia's adoptive mother and sister being killed and malia going missing for years because corrine was vengeful over losing her power. talia was still alive when this happened.

of all people talia had to be aware of peter's -- you know -- everything and she probably held the leash. he wasn't a problem so long as she was the alpha and could control him.

talia also had to have been aware of and likely either approved of or encouraged him taking a mentor sort of role with derek. we see peter having a keen interest in derek in both visionary and the season 4 flashbacks.

like, who do we think ran off and told talia about what happened with derek and paige? who likely instructed peter on getting rid of paige's body and helping to cover up her death to protect derek and the family?

i actually fully believe she knew peter was skulking about the werewolf summit and may have even told him to do so.

talia is like the mona lisa smile of teen wolf. she's inscrutable but we get impressions about her and what she was like via the people that knew her. her children, her brother, her advisor and peers.

#my blog #thoughts on teen wolf #teen wolf #talia hale #peter hale #i really need to continue to sort my meta but it's so daunting #i write too much about this silly show

[themothmancassettes]

Augh so over on twitter and in the official vast error discord, people have shown interest in my evil ellsee/elleon au so i thought id make a post about it!! For the sake of this post, its more of a tldr/ref post about the au!! ^^

In essence, my au is essentially what if Ellsee tried to do an essential ritual midgame with the corrupted version of her book and it went Horribly Wrong(tm) and got her corrupted by Gaiaeon?

Thus creating: Elleon

WHO THE FUCK IS ELLEON?

Elleon is the result of that ritual gone wrong. She is essentially Ellsee, but corrupted by the Naught Father but with insane powers. His corruption is NOT a possesion; more like an infection. Her biggest changes is in behavior and appearance- at the end of the day, they're still Ellsee.

Elleon cannot use her staff; it was made for followers for Khepharia, so when a being corrupted by Gaiaeon tries to use it, the staff renders itself unusable.

The corruption gives her powers similar to the Gaiaeon, the most distinct being the power to influence, but not directly take control of a person. While under the Naught Father's influence, Ellsee’s frustrations are heightened, her impulse control is frighteningly low, and they're much more likely to act on their intrusive thoughts. Think of Gaiaeon's corruption as a parallel to Grimdark, but more fucked up looking. Elleon is completely unaware of her power to influence and completely thinks she's just more persuasive than previously thought.

Elleon is extremely bitter about all of the misfortunes they've endured, from Murrit's various murder attempts to Arcjec's amnesia to Occeus ignoring them, anything bad that's happened to them is all the more reason to go apeshit. Everyone who has hurt her WILL pay the price, and so will anyone who stands in her way- especially Murrit.

NO ONE GETS TORMENTED MORE THAN MURRIT HOLY SHIT. This is because her crime is by far the worse than the others. At somepoint, he attempts to kill Elleon again and all it does is piss them off bc yk. God Powers. It doesnt work.

Thus, the cast is divided- those Elleon is able to get on her side via Gaiaeon's influence (think spreading the infection, but to a much lesser extent), and those on Murrit's side, who wants to stop her and save their session. Those under Gaiaeon's influence are much less tolerant of those who have wronged them, so who better to convert to her side first and become her partner in crime than Calder Kerian.

Team Elleon: calder, dismas, albion, eventually sova and serpaz

Team Murrit: laivan, occeus, jentha, taz, arcjec

Team murrit largely spends time trying to get in contact with Khepharia (occeus+laivan), and jentha getting her radiation powers back in hopes to even out power. It doesn't work.

Important Note: those under Gaiaeon's influence via Elleon do not have powers nor any physical changes. They do, however, have a dark green haze over their pupils. This is moreso for artistic purposes to make it more clear who is and isn't under Gaiaeon's influence.

Calder and Elleon enter a moiraillegiance, becoming the best worst evil duo ever... until Elleon burns down his planet and he realizes this isn't what he wanted.

Calder in this AU is exhausted beyond belief from the pressures of his everyday life and wants it to end. When Elleon approaches Calder, they're on a cliff overlooking the Depths (angst writers, you're seen and Heard here). Elleon promises to make things better for the both of them and get his revenge. Because his planet is a hiding spot that Gaiaeon can't see and by extension, Elleon is weaker there, so she burns it down to give her opposers nowhere to hide. This act is Calder's breaking point, causing him to realize this isn't what he wants for anyone, let alone them, thus causing him to switch sides and help take her down.

Ultimately, the group who takes Elleon down is Arcjec, Occeus, and Calder, potentially Taz too but I don't have strong enough opinions on pitch Tazsee to include that canon ship. They play into Ellsee's true desires (occeus paying her attention, reconnecting with arcjec, etc), and with the help of Void Powers, get them back to normal. She does get knocked unconscious though from how much Elleon took out of her and is scarred to shit (ellsee 🤝 hunter: getting scarred to shit by evil thing)

For Calder angst likers, Calder does end up getting the blame for like. Most of Elleon's bs and saying the ritual went wrong because he was the last one who spoke to her before the ritual. (He told her to make the right decision as a form of encouragement bc in the situation, the ritual WAS essential but Ellsee was having doubts. Neither had anyway of knowing this would happen.) Ellsee clears his name when she wakes up and finds him on the same cliff as Elleon met him on and I'm leaving it up to yall whether or not she makes it in time ;] (personally, i love happily ever afters just as much as a destating loss, BUT. since calder is a cc of mine i lean fake out, looks too late, but he's actually fine and calsee win!)

Any specific questions about my AU, I'll happily answer!! My inbox is always open! I do have more specific notes on ellceus, sovalbion, dismurrit, jenthmas, laipaz, and some other stuff I couldn't fit in this post + I'm working on some more designs for the cast! That's all for now! Thanks for reading<3

Please credit me if you use any of my designs/concepts! My blog may be small, but this au is very personal to me. Thank you!

#elleon au #gaiaeon #ellsee raines #vast error au #ve au #calsee #evil ellsee au #calder kerian #vast error #panel edit #sprite edit #au #murrit turkin #honestly poor murrit in this au #dismas mersiv #jentha briati #arcjec voorat #pale calsee #moirails #cw minor body horror #tw minor body horror #sova amalie #taz poemme #albion shukra #serpaz helilo #laivan ferroo #occeus coliad #mothman rambles.txt #alternate universe #long post

[aidaronan]

I was gonna add this to another post but I didn't want to ramble all over their post so-- Genuinely for the people who don't know or who haven't stopped to think about it, "most kudos" is a skewed metric and always will be. And that's okay. It's just the nature of things.

Like...

Let's say in episode 180 of a show something major happens that makes people absolutely feral over a ship. But that's just when most people get on board. A smaller group of people saw the potential for that ship back in episode 150 which aired over a year ago. They wrote some fics.

When episode 180 hits, let's say there are only 43 fics on ao3 for the ship, but thousands upon thousands of people are now looking for those 43 fics. You better believe those 43 fics are getting read. They're going to rack up a massive amount of hits and kudos and comments, and it's going to be because they're there. Not to say that a lot of them won't be good or even great, just that quality will only matter so much when thousands of people are hungry and there are only 43 plates of food. Similarly the fic authors who crank out fics in those early days... they're gonna see a lot of activity too. They may or may not end up close to the top of the list by most kudos depending on additional factors. At any rate, they're probably going to see more activity than they're used to getting in other fandoms.

All that to say that most of the fics you find in "most kudos" will always be from that early wave. People are less picky when there's less to choose from. People are also less dispersed because they want to read very specific things early on (canon compliant or adjacent, fix-its, dead characters who come back as vampires, etc.) but they'll be more willing to branch out over time and everyone will be looking for a myriad of flavors as the months/years go by.

43 fics will grow into 14,043 fics and maybe even 52,043 fics, and the ones that are published later on will have fewer kudos for a lot of organic reasons.

Occasionally, fics will break through the time barrier. But even then the writers of those fics are often very established, really good at marketing, collaborating with a popular artist (or they've just been lucky enough to capture the eye and heart of one.) Basically even then it has very little to do with taste or quality.

And it gets rarer and rarer for fics to be able to reach that high the longer it's been since the ship exploded.

Meanwhile, those early fics that made it to the top are pretty much always going to be there. People who find the ship later will always sort by "most [x]" and they will add to the lead those fics already have.

Also! The authors who made it into the top 5-10 pages or so sorted by kudos? They most likely won't see those massive numbers on their newer works in that fandom/ship either. It's normal. It's how it goes.

All that say that it's okay to sort by most kudos/comments/whatever. We've all done it and we'll all do it again, and in some ways those early fics that heavily influence fanon are special in their own ways. Just don't think the amount of kudos a work has/doesn't have directly correlates to quality. And especially don't think that not being able to break into those top pages says anything about you.

It's all just luck and time, babey.

#based on my own experiences and observations and all that #rambles #it actually took me a surprising amount of years to really Get This bc I was used to sites that worked differently #but ao3 being an archive without an algorithm (a good thing) just means that chronological order plays a HUGE part on things