#but I like them narratively and that’s what matters to me

[its-your-mind]

I’m sorry I need to talk about this for a second

This part right here. When Nirvana tries to use Thought Infection on Kim Dokja. And this ability that absolutely neutralized Yoo Joonghyuk, Min Jiwon, and Yoo Sangah…

just…

bounces right off.

and it’s set up like this big badass moment. Kim Dokja saves the day again. Kim Dokja can face down anyone. He’s more powerful than every other incarnation and constellation, no matter how much foreknowledge they have.

But honestly?

It kinda just makes me sad.

yjh is incapacitated by the Eternal Nightmare ability because of all the awful things he’s seen and experienced, yes.

But as we know from 1863, happy memories can be much more debilitating for him than sad ones. And while he’s only got 1-2’s memories right know, we know that 2 had some incredibly happy memories to pass on, memories that make the losses that much harder to take.

And Min Jiwon?

Of course she doesn’t actually want to visit a spa while her friends and troops are dying. But can you blame her for having some deep craving for comfort and relaxation right now?

But for Kim Dokja…

The Fourth Wall isn’t just protecting kdj from the negative effects of the skill. It’s not hiding his secret desires, or absorbing his emotions.

It is literally preventing him from experiencing the world around him as reality. Not just because it feels improbable or surreal, but because it is literally keeping him separate from the world around him. On a fundamental level, he does not believe he is truly present in this time and space.

This is derealization and dissociation on an unbelievably intense scale.

“If we’re just characters, why did you die for us so many times?”

Why wouldn’t he? He’s not here, not really. He’s just Reading this story, no matter how much sway he’s been having over what has happened. All of that is just his work as a Reader hoping to see the Epilogue of his favorite novel.

“It was a really great story, isn’t that right?”

Narratively satisfying. A twist ending. A fate that subverted expectations.

An Epilogue worth Reading. Not touching, not feeling, not joining, not creating. Just watching. From a distance away. From behind glass. Through the cracks in a wall.

After all, a story can’t exist without a writer, a protagonist, and a reader. Only two of them truly participate in creating the story. But when you’re the Reader, it’s always worth reading the story again. And again. And again. And again. And again ,

#orv #DONT MIND ME IM TOTALLY FINE OVER HERE #DONT WORRY ABOUT ME I JUST READ 73 DEMON KING AGAIN AND IM JUST #FINE #FUCK #orv spoilers #omniscient reader's viewpoint #omniscient reader webtoon #orv novel #orv novel spoilers #kim dokja #the fourth wall #hnnnngngnnggngngngn #do you like my comma I’m v proud of it

[elrxiel]

"Bonus chapter ended Elriel!"

But here's the thing - it didn't have to.

If SJM had a change of heart during writing ACOSF or even before and decided that Gwyn and Az will be the final couple, she could have easily simply ignored writing anything about Azriel's feelings towards Elain. She could have not written about stolen glances - she could have written a scene where they have a conversation without any subtext, just a friendly encounter so the readers would get a clear sign - they are just friends, they are not interested in each other in any way. She could have switched the narrative - making Az behave towards any other character the way he behaves with Elain and making Elain not care, not look at him, not practically dying for him to kiss her.

But she did not.

Instead she wrote paragraphs saying Azriel cannot stand the smell of the mating bond between Elain and Lucien (which is alarming on its own, given the fact that he should not be able to smell it in the first place), that this man spent the last year almost sleepless because he keeps thinking about that girl and the gift she picked for him. She wrote Azriel questioning the Cauldron itself and Elain willing to risk it all even tho her mate was sleeping upstairs. SJM said directly with all of these "look, those two WANT each other, those scenes in previous books DID indicate that there is a mutual wanting between them".

Place yourself as an author for a second - would you really spend three books placing hints and scenes foreshadowing a couple only to "end" them in the bonus chapter, which most of the readers won't even know exist? Would you, knowing that you plan for other couples to be an endgame, wrote about things that literally point that those two characters are so into each other they don't give a single fuck about bonds and religion? Would you write another male guessing something only a mate should be able to guess, the same male being the only one noticing the woman is missing and going on a suicidal mission to get her back? Would you write "you came for me"? Would you write a full scene of this woman emerging from the shadows (the literal power of said male), using the blade he let touching only her? Would you write her buying gifts for him but not for any other man?

And finally, if you plan to make those two end up with different characters anyway, would you really write them like that? Az being the person pining for someone for 500 years and being the one knowing for ignoring orders, only to slowly develop feelings towards someone else who wants him back, would suddenly forget about it and move to a new girl in a heartbeat just because somebody said so? Elain being the person who stated blankly "I don't want him" indicating to her mate, being someone who shall wed for love, suddenly deciding "yes, you know what, I don't want this man who showed me nothing but kindness and who was the only one who actually saw and listened, who saved my life and then gave me a weapon to defend myself, I'm gonna be with my mate now, even tho I'm shrinking with discomfort whenever I'm near him". Even if it fits your fantasies, it does not fit the way characters were written. And at the end of the day, it's not the fantasies that matter. It's what has been written and given us to read and see ourselves.

#elriel #pro elriel #azriel x elain #anti e/lucien #anti g/wynriel

[acourtofthought]

You say you "know the timeline" yet you mention that SJM no longer spoke about ships after she signed on for the spin-off books.

Which was after ACOMAF, and as she was finishing up ACOWAR.

Elriel and Vassien were only introduced in ACOWAR.

So, please tell us: when was SJM supposed to talk about Elriel and Vassien, when - as you yourself stated - Sarah “went quiet on things because Bloomsbury wanted her future books to remain a mystery.”

If Sarah wasn’t able to talk about Elucien post-ACOWAR, then when they hell is she supposed to talk about Elriel and Vassien (who again, were only introduced in ACOWAR)?

The point is: all of the Elucien “evidence” is contained to 2016. Mere months after ACOMAF.

Yet the narrative shifts in ACOWAR. Moriel is squashed, and Elriel and Vassien begin.

As such, your screenshots of “Elucien proof” never this into account. Context matters.

Actually she got signed for the spin offs while editing ACOMAF, it's clearly stated in her Live Talks LA with Eva Cheng.

In my last post I said she no longer spoke of ships once Bloomsbury put her on lockdown so they could cash in on the drama surrounding the next book after Nesta's. She admitted as much in an interview with Steph, that if fans are excited they'll want to make it a thing. If I said in a previous post she stopped talking about ships after signing for the spin offs (since she did talk about Elucien after that but before ACOWAR was published) than I apologize for the error but that doesn't mean I haven't figured it out since or other Elucien's haven't already known.

My point was more in regards to the fact that no Elucien is confused about her Elucien mentions not being recent, they include the image which HAS THE DATE ON IT. Almost all are aware of exactly what year those interviews were done yet you're phrasing it as if we think they happened recently. Nobody claimed she spoke of Elucien after ACOWAR and just because Lucien went after Vassa because he believed in Elain's vision, it doesn't mean the Vassien ship was introduced by the author in ACOWAR 😂. He literally looked at Elain with longing and went off on a suicide mission for her, met her father, and ran to her side (bloody and panting) after the war. It's confirmed SHE'S HIS FRIEND in the next book. Male characters are allowed to have female characters as friends without wanting a relationship with them.

Then continued looking at Elain with longing in SF while paying no attention to Vassa when she looked to Lucien to break up her argument with Jurian. 😂 So ship like!

Context does matter and there's zero of it for Vassien when she and Jurian share the same vision, not she and Lucien.

Also:

ACOMAF

Come now, you can't honestly be trying to tell me e/riel was only introduced in ACOWAR, completely tearing down the entire 4 books of buildup argument your fellow e/riels have been using for years now because it suddenly becomes important to this newest post that e/riel only has "3 books of buildup!"

According to elriels, elriel WAS introduced in ACOMAF yet it was Elucien she spoke of after its release.

And the evidence of SJM saying there was someone special for Lucien on Twitter was said in 2015, prior to the release of ACOMAF which was April 2016.

It's weird how the context supports Elucien being mates, where she personally supplied where they'd vacation together and how they're both happiest in nature yet she supposedly knocked that all down in the very next book. So strange how in one of those same interviews she spoke about Nessian but lo and behold they are still together!

You guys keep trying, I'll give you credit. A+ for perseverance but D - for execution.

Still waiting for that evidence of when the author has ever talked about elriel or Vassien in interviews!

#elucien #anti e/riel

[arliedraws]

I feel like so much of what I try to explore in my fics about Sirius whether it’s Slytherin Sirius or whump is how bullshit “sacrifice” is when it comes to love. Dying and suffering for someone only takes you away from the people who need you. Diminishing yourself for someone does nothing. It proves nothing. I have a HUGE problem with this in the books.

This comes up a lot in my job as a teacher. I am NOT going to sacrifice my free time and devote my life to my job. I am a good teacher, and my students need me to keep coming to school. If I burn out and sacrifice my life to teaching, I will not be able to come back and be there for them.

Yes, sometimes you DO need to sacrifice personal time/freedom for someone else, but if you do this consistently, you are modeling unhealthy behavior and demonstrating that your time/health doesn’t matter. We have a duty to each other, but you’ve got to have boundaries too.

With Sirius, I am trying to push back on this narrative. His death in OotP does not serve Harry—in fact, if Sirius had lived, many of the events of HBP and DH would have been VERY different. Anyway, my point is, I get so irritated by the idea that dying saves anyone. Obviously there are exceptions to everything in story, but damn, sacrifice is often just so pointless. Sirius is SO DEVOTED to Harry, but this one-track mind does not serve either of them in the end. I live for Sirius and Harry, and you can put your child first, but you are also a person and you matter too. This is an example of how our greatest strengths can be our weakness too.

#just reflecting on why i always make sirius so sad in fics #he’s just so lost #he doesn’t know what he wants for himself

[adh-d2]

It's not so much that I needed Tech to be alive.

I wanted Tech to live, but I grieved his character when he died.

Then the hints started coming. The narrative focus shifted to this mysterious new character and signaled that he was important somehow. The theories started spreading. Week after week the 'camera' lingered on long, slow shots of a helmet that wouldn't come off.

So yeah, I stopped grieving. The longer it went on the more convinced I became that this must be Tech, because clearly it was someone important. Otherwise it would just be poor writing. This show isn't written poorly.

Case-in-point, what a beautiful finale. My heart was in my throat the entire time. I cried. I loved it. Taken on its own, I'd go so far as to say it was perfect.

-

Except for the fact that the CX plotline came to nothing. Seriously. We've followed it all season, and it came to nothing? I'm not even clear on what happened. There were more of them. They were kind of an anti-Bad-Batch? Except not really? There was a big one that pulled Wrecker's signature move. There was one with knives. They were regs? I think? One lost its helmet in a background shot so I guess we can conclude they were all regs. With different builds. And different accents. I suppose it doesn't matter, since they all died after a few minutes of screentime having meant nothing to the protagonists. They were a boss fight. The plot marches on.

-

It's entirely possible I got too caught up in the speculation. Maybe when I look back on all the posts I wrote and liked and reblogged it will be obvious that we were reaching. But right now from here in the thick of it, I swear there's so much to see! Do you mean to tell me they really didn't notice it in the writers room? That it was all a complete coincidence?

Would it have been better if someone on the creative team had just come out and confirmed that Tech wasn't coming back? I don't know. I don't think they were obligated to. But when a good 50% of the discourse about your show ending is speculation on this particular CX character, and the answer isn't even a different plot twist, but that the character means nothing at all...well, you can see how the team could have avoided some disappointment.

Maybe this is a bad take. I don't know how I feel. I wish I could have enjoyed the finale without having to grieve again for a character we'd already lost.

For now I'll end by saying that I loved this show and I can't wait to rewatch it someday on its own merit, without the spectre of 'is-it-could-it-be-no-please-let-it-be' clouding my judgement.

#the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb season 3 #sw tbb #tbb meta #the bad batch meta #tbb discussion #the bad batch discussion #tbb analysis #the bad batch season 3 spoilers #the bad batch analysis #tbbs3e15 #The Cavalry Has Arrived #star wars meta #the bad batch season 3 #tbb Tech #sw meta #CX 2 #CX Tech #tech lives #fuck that tag hurts right now #damn this post was a novel #thank you for listening if you made it this far #you trooper #ADH-D2's Patented Bullshit #well this whole blog just aged like milk #it's been a wild ride

[wolfscarr]

Helluva Broken Narrative and the most useless character..

Disclaimer: Not saying you can't enjoy this show folks. Enjoy it all you want, this is just a rant about the lack of a cohesive narrative!

I really was completely dead on posting, but I just can't get this out of my head.

I feel people should be acknowledging this far more than it has been, this is extremely important. This goes beyond just episode pacing, this goes beyond the characters....this is something that without it? There is no real show, which is....

Helluva Boss has a BROKEN NARRATIVE.

Some fans wanna claim it has this 'complex' writing and I'm sitting here going like "really? Where?"

It doesn't sorry and know why? Because Season 2 of this show, basically broke the narrative that Season 1 was building.

These past posts of mine, will show you why the narrative is broken.

Now can they continue on with the story they are telling? Yes of course they can, but it won't fix the fact that it's not coherent to Season 1, that it's not needed.

Wanna know who the most useless character in the show is now? If you guessed Stolas, you're correct! In the meaning of making Stolas this guy who did nothing wrong and who's sad....they took away his character purpose.

Stolas has ZERO purpose being within the show now, given how things have played out.

But you might say

"Well he's needed to give Blitz the Crystal and end the deal!"

Except....no, he wasn't. They could have just delivered the crystal to I.M.P. They have Blitz’ number, just call him, get a servant to send it etc.

Remembering my posts above, where you can have I.M.P. killing in Hell as a Season 1 thing?

Maybe they're just getting started with their company? So Blitz wants to supplement with killing in Hell by killing those up top so he goes to see about getting an Asmodean Crystal?

See let's backtrack here folks, the episode Oops it was mainly about Blitz and Fizz reconciling right? Which they do at the end of the episode. Now follow this, if we take into account the above, Blitz' dialogue could be.

Blitz: "Fizz look, I know what happened to you was horrible. I don't...expect you to forgive me, but I'm struggling to support myself, my daughter and my employees with my company. I....if you can just think on it, perhaps I could get one of those Asmodean Crystals?"

The scene ends and Fizz goes back to Ozzie, while along the way he's thinking about Blitz' words and how he was saved by him where in the end, Fizz agrees to send Blitz a Crystal because he's earned it from saving his very life.

Or here's another scenario, Blitz has a Crystal from the start(which he took from Verosika when they were dating), but as things get far more hectic up on Earth with more dangers. The Crystal ends up shattering after I.M.P. gets back to Hell after a job, thus Blitz goes to actually confront his past and reconcile with Fizz in order to try and get a new one.

See how easy it is now, to just remove Stolas entirely? They took away a character's purpose of being in the show....that to me, is completely disappointing. Characters, especially those that are suppose to be IMPORTANT, should have a purpose...without that? You may as well just delete them entirely.

Blitz could have had 2 whole Seasons with relating to the past and those that he hurt, that he TRULY hurt(Verosika, Fizz and Barbie) that would actually matter to him as a character. But instead, all these characters are instead shoved to the wayside, for a character who doesn't matter anymore and only actually matters because the writing is FORCING him to matter.

You can write the narrative in so many different ways with what Season 2 gives us, that completely destroys what Season 1 told us. Are we now expected to just....IGNORE AN ENTIRE SEASON?

They can do this whole "sad Stolas is sad and Blitz is hurt and Stolas is going to give him a crystal." Thing all the way to 'try' and fix things, but it'll fix nothing....because the deal between them was retroactively made completely pointless.

The show will continue obviously, but in the back of the minds....it will be a broken narrative and Season 1 is basically buried 6 feet under. As a writer, this really annoys me....because they had how long between Seasons to nail this down? How long have we all waited just in-between episodes? This shouldn't have happened.

Yes, is storytelling hard? Obviously, none of my stories are perfect....but at least the narrative is coherent from beginning to end.

Anyway...I just...had to get this out of my head, because it was really frustrating and I want it to be acknowledged more. The narrative is important folks, if it's broken...that's not a good thing.

I'm still watching this show....if only because I'm knee deep in it now and I still somewhat actually like the characters, but what I don't like...is this broken narrative that is still hanging around with a pointless character that doesn't matter to the show anymore.

Narratives, coherent narratives are important to a story, without it? You don't have characters and you don't have a story.

#helluva boss #helluva critique #helluva boss critical #helluva critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop critical #Narratives are the MOST IMPORTANT THING! #helluva boss season 2 #helluva boss season two #helluva boss blitz #anti stolas

[aleksanderscult]

It’s crazy how so many people misunderstand the Darkling. They look at this character who’s been enduring literal centuries of oppression and genocide and just go “he’s manipulative, crucify him.” They act like he has no empathy, as if that wasn’t the whole point of his vow to save the Grisha in the first place. I saw a post somewhere on here where someone was talking about him in Demon in the Wood, and they said “I want to make a mark on this world before I leave it” is a narcissistic thing of the Darkling to have thought. He was thirteen and didn’t want to die. He made bad decisions but he didn’t make them out of any sort of malice. Have I gone off the plot or is this just weird?

You hit bullseye, anon.

But do you know what's the funny thing?

That the antis always talk about "morality": "The Darkling shouldn't have do this", "the Darkling shouldn't have done that".

But at the matters of genocide, experimentation and slavery they keep their mouth shut. They don't speak about the issues of morality there and they only target the Darkling.

Which I find a very narrow-minded approach but since the narrative itself targeted Aleksander instead of those larger issues then you can't expect the fans to see the other side unless they possess critical, objective thinking.

And about the quote “Let me make a mark on this world before I leave it”, it is connected with how Aleksander viewed the lives of his people:

“It's like this wherever we go, though. Grisha living in smelly camps, broken-down mines, hiding out in tunnels. Grisha don't own land, always live on the run. None of it feels...real. Permanent.”

- Demon in the Wood (graphic novel)

Grisha came and went from that world without "leaving" anything behind. They were shadows and dust with a life worthless and meaningless. And even if some Grisha left a reputation behind, it was tainted and dipped in infamy. Otkazat'sya wanted nothing of them to be left behind.

So when Aleksander said "Let me a make a mark on this world before I leave it" he meant that he wanted to do something for this world, to leave something behind and not die in this lake like all the previous Grisha that died and no one remembers them.

And it turns out that he succeeded in that. He built a home for the Grisha and became a leader. Probably the first Grisha leader ever. And even though his reputation was mostly dark, people still talk about him. So it's a win! 💋

#tw: genocide #the darkling #lovely asks #pro darkling #it's one of my most favorite quotes of his #it's a quote of determination to be heard and seen and not live like vermin under a rock #now if others find it a sign of narcissism then that's their opinion #but no way I find it as such or support it #thank you for this ask btw anon! 🫶💜 #aleksander morozova #pro aleksander morozova #demon in the wood #grishaverse #anon asks

[simpingforhotfictionalcharacters]

y'know I've been thinking about buddie a lot since buck being bi became canon and as much as I love bucktommy I really wonder if/how they can make it endgame. my biggest concern right now is that buddie makes so much sense narratively that anything else would feel forced because for bucktommy (or buckanyoneelse) to be endgame it'll feel like eddie will never find love. I don't necessarily think that's true but it will feel like it. at least in that moment.

both these men have been in and out of relationships for the whole time we've known them and their north star has still always been them. they still always go right back to the other. and that can be done in a platonic way and they can have a platonic soulmates buddie alongside a romantic bucktommy but i dunno

even though I personally do headcanon eddie as arospec and love buddie as both a qpr and a romantic relationship I don't think abc is gonna do a qpr. and I don't think they'll do a poly relationship either and give us bucktommyeddie.

I'm just so worried about how they'll handle this because there's so many people who joined the fandom after 7x04 and have bucktommy as their endgame ship. and I cannot imagine the pain of having a canonical queer otp with a bi main character that you love and hold dear be ripped out of your hands just for another relationship that you may or may not care about. I can see how it would be devastating. I would be so upset if we got buddie only for them to break up and another relationship to take its place down the line.

and while i love buck and tommy together so much I still really only see buddie as endgame with how I perceive the story so far. if bucktommy or anyone else becomes endgame I won't be angry or anything but unless it's well done I'll probably question how they got there.

like it's possible. I'll never say never because they could completely surprise me and Eddie will have a compelling love interest or maybe they'll even go the qpr angle or poly relationship route.

I love multi shipping and I've never expected any ship I have to become canon so I'll survive and most likely be happy no matter what happens. I ultimately have always only wanted buck and eddie and now tommy to be happy.

but I can't stop thinking about whether or not the writers room will completely fumble this. I'm worrying so much I'll give myself a ulcer.

#i dont know when i became a worrywart over relationships in a show but here i am worrying #bucktommy #buck x tommy #tevan #buddie #buddietommy #buck x tommy x eddie #evan buckley #tommy kinard #eddie diaz #tv: 911 #911 abc #911 discourse #saf.txt #saf rambles #does this even make sense #i wish i was eloquent and could write for shit #even though i dont really believe bucktommy is endgame i can see it and i do really like the ship theyre currently my favourite

[cleverthylacine]

Ship and HC what you want--but I hate Ravage & Soundwave parent-child headcanons so much. I'm finally gonna say it. They can be adult best friends rather than lovers, but the family thing makes my skin crawl. Here's why.

The following is just my personal opinion. Everyone who reads this is free to engage with it, but I don't want to fight about it, and I am not trying to make anyone give up their headcanons, whether those are romantic, sexy, familial, or just friendly.

(The Ravage I write in my fics and RP, like ES Ravage, prefers she/her pronouns. I am aware that Ravage uses he/him in other continuities.)

I am really freaking uncomfortable with most of the common familial headcanons about Soundwave and Ravage, Soundwave and his cassettes in general, and the whole cassette thing. And I will also die screaming before I tag erotic content between two fully sapient beings as "bestiality".

I would rather think of Ravage and Soundwave as bonded lovers (and the birds as her siblings) then think of Soundwave as either of the following:

An Abusive Father who sends his own children directly into the heat of battle out to fight as child soldiers; or

A Large Adult Son who allows his parent and her siblings to be mutilated so he can drag her off into places like mining colonies and war zones, where she ministers to his emotional needs while also fighting for him in the heat of battle, and has no life or relationships of her own.

Because no matter how many cat memes you draw, neither of those things is cute. You have the right to ship whatever you want to ship same as me, but I don't want to read either dynamic.

He is NOT the single father of the year if he's yeeting his children onto battlefields.

He is NOT a good son if his mother is telepathically linked to him, programmed so that he can yeet her out into battlefields in less than a second, and unable to have any romantic or QP partnerships of her own.

If he is her lover (conjunx) or her QPP (amica), and the meeting they had in Rodion was a meeting of two neurodivergent adults who learned how to help and support each other in dealing with their disabilities, and they both want to be together even in the depths of hell, then they have a much less horrific and unhealthy relationship.

I was once made to play IDW Ravage as not Soundwave's partner in a dreamwidth game because they didn't like the ship, and she was a miserable, unhappy person who had given up her entire life to serve Soundwave and Megatron.

This really solidified my feelings about not just why I think their relationship is romantic and adorable, but also why I think a parental relationship between them, going in either direction, is incredibly fucking gross.

Making them mutually interdependent neurodiverse adults with complementary support needs, who love each other in a mature way or even an 'adult' way changes the narrative.

If Ravage is Soundwave's life partner, then the forced cassettification has imposed a power differential on them, but it is significantly lessened by the fact that they were already together and interacting as grown-ass adults who loved each other before that took place.

In other scenarios, she's being thrown by her father up against mechs 4 times her size, OR she's a devoted parent who has been emotionally enslaved by cassettification and can't even have an adult relationship of her own because who the hell is going to want to be her partner knowing that she has an unbreakable telepathic link with her son? And you can't really say she's trading this emotional labour for protection when he's yeeting her out into the front lines every third episode.

IDK, I think glorifiying parents who send their children to war and enmeshed parenting that renders someone an appendage to their child is a lot less problematic than letting them meet as adults and learn how to help one another.

Every time I see someone draw humanformer Soundwave and Ravage as a collared pet, I want to scream, but I don't, because everyone has the right to write and draw what makes them happy.

My friends know NOT to send me links to art that diminishes Ravage.

Ravage may look like a cat, but she passes the Harkness test, and her entire arc in IDW was about getting people to respect her as an equal despite the thing where she looks like a cat.

Her brain and spark are equal to that of any other Cybertronian. It's not bestiality. There's no reason a telepath would care more about the shape of her body than the feel of her mind.

I would rather think that she's getting love and respect and hot overloads from Soundwave than think that she's selflessly devoted to him and to Megatron for all of her days until Tarn locks her into that fucking refrigerator. Or think that she's a child soldier.

#ravage/soundwave #ravage & soundwave #suck on this antis #ship manifesto #ravage #tf ravage

[krashlite]

Opinions on secret Soulmates? (Saw you made the millie animatic so im curious) /light hearted

(Bass boosted sigh)

Short answer, I love this duo and they’re one of my favorite toxic yaois in this fandom however comma during DL they’re definitely unethical and I’ve already gone through all the the intricacies of how DL went badly

Long answer

I think they’re fascinating because they both tend to idolize the other while both using the other as an excuse to avoid their problems and dooming the both of them in the process. When they’re around each other they’re usually only Positive and any Negativity is very jarring (especially from Grian’s perspective, who sees B as a safe person). Introducing negativity there is like being tagged when you’re on base- it shouldn’t be allowed they don’t know what to do with it

Except it’s somewhat unbalanced

BigB keeps finding himself in situations where he’s the failsafe for Grian’s poor decisions. In 3L the Blue Sword Boys were all but planning a rescue mission for Grian midway through the war. In DL obviously Grian ran away to BigB when Scar was his soulmate, then again in LimL Grian ran to him when the other two Bad Boys died

In all three of these seasons, you can argue having this connection got BigB killed! In 3L BigB was still reaching out to Grian as Scar and Bdubs cornered him (then he turned on Grian but shhh), in DL Grian killed Ren, BigB’s soulmate, and in LimL Grian got the Nosey Neighbors into SEVERAL scenarios that cost them time

Again, they idolize each other but BigB has the understanding that Grian brings danger into his life. Yet he still ultimately views Him as a positive thing. In fact, I’d even argue that the added danger is what BigB idolizes him FOR

And that’s because BigB is scared of getting into dangerous scenarios. He usually bases alone, he develops an alter ego to run from the consequences of killing Cleo, he has to psyche himself up for Any type of physical attack on someone and when he does strike he’s screaming “AAAAAAA” the whole time!

Grian doesn’t need to do that, it comes naturally to him

Then on Grian’s side of things- he’s a coward too! Except he’s constantly masking it with his thrill seeking, trying to be the scariest thing in the room not just to feel strong but so that everyone else Leaves Him Alone. In fact, Grian ALSO tends to base alone! Or at least he tries to, until some group comes along and tosses him over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He makes secret alliances to save his own skin (yes, alliances plural, there were Several), and is usually the first to run when trouble comes his way

And all that running is Tiring.. it’s so, so tiring

So him idolizing BigB is him idolizing that “safety” he sees BigB having. Grian has never had a direct interaction with one of BigB’s risks, nor does he have any reason to see BigB as a threat in the same way other people are “threats.” He runs off to BigB over and over again because he sees BigB as someone that can save him, maybe even the Only person that can save him

Except again, what ends up happening is Grian gets BigB killed

Also couldn’t find a way to fit it in here but iirc BigB is the first person Grian actually built a grave for and I’m so normal about that

#move ASIDE desertduo I have a new toxic yaoi #trafficshipping #I guess #that’s a solid I guess #I don’t even know where I stand on shipping in this fandom anymore #but I like them narratively and that’s what matters to me #bigbst4tz2 #grian #trafficblr

[jerreeeeeee]

people so often interpret sazed as taako’s ex, which like, to each their own obviously, nothing wrong with that, but i think its so so much more interesting to interpret him as taako’s apprentice instead. and like all we have to go on is that he really looked up to taako who sort of taught him how to cook. “thought taako hung the moon and stars” or something like that iirc. which brings so much more depth to taako’s relationship with angus if sazed was to taako then what angus is to taako now, someone who idolized him and saw him as a mentor.

it puts some of the conversations taako’s had with angus into really interesting context. like the fact that the first person taako’s (ever?) told about what happened at glamour springs (which he didnt know at the time, but was sazed’s fault) is angus. does he tell angus because he doesn’t want him to be betrayed (like he assumes sazed was, since he ran away)? or because he doesn’t want angus learning from someone so clearly unfit to be a mentor (both since he was unfit to be sazed’s, because he was dismissive to him, and because he believes himself to be a murderer)? he teaches angus magic and cooking. when he implies that angus might become as or more skilled than him he jokes about striking him down. which is exactly what he did to sazed when he wanted equal share.

but taako redeems himself with angus. he mistreats angus in the beginning, bullying him and dismissing him and generally being a dick, but as angus becomes taako’s apprentice, he’s more open and a little nicer. still “open” and “nice” in his own way, but definitely more than he was before. learning from his mistake, letting angus in and being encouraging and honest in the way he wasn’t with sazed.

idk. i think it’s so interesting and so rarely explored

#i also kinda feel like thats what justin was going for just from the way he describes sazed but i could be wrong #that doesnt matter as much to me as the narrative parallels though #taz balance #taz #taako #sazed #angus #angus mcdonald #taz taako #mine #obviously theres some differences. sazed is implied to be young but he wasnt a child #and angus is a lot more understanding of taako's eccentricities and sazed was more ambitious #so there's a difference in the way taako treats them but also in their individual personalities #i wanted to write a fic abt this exploring it more but idk if thatll happen so i'm just gonna post it. maybe still write it someday #it astonishes me time and time again how good of a narrative taz is despite being fucking improvised. #how is there FORESHADOWING when they MADE IT UP AS THEY WENT!! #just goes to show that you can find parallels in anything LMAO

[utilitycaster]

I know Brennan described Steel once as furious that a D&D game is happening, and it's funny on the surface, but man did he make us feel what that means this episode. She's right: over a hundred people who had no idea why the kudzu was growing out of control and were just trying to stop it from overtaking the city died unnecessarily. Port Talon has undergone the equivalent of several natural disasters while already harboring refugees from the surrounding countryside. Any one of the three PCs could have died and all nearly did. Ame is currently in a coma from fucking around with the curse. Like, yeah, actually, extremely valid of her to be exhausted and upset with the PCs, even though from the perspective of the listener, obviously the story is way better with the PCs fucking around and finding out rather than obediently waiting.

#posts i'm making instead of frantically reading the last 100 pages of lord of chaos before the library reclaims it #if you see me on here later and i'm not posting about wheel of time tell me to go read wheel of time #but like. brennan i think more than anyone else (though aabria is also fantastic at this) understands #that characters are people in the sense of you need to treat them as having emotions and humanity no matter what #but also characters are figures within a story and you can do whatever you want to them narratively and it's fine bc they're pretend #and it's SO good #wbn spoilers #worlds beyond number

[caeslxys]

also on the topic of meaningful consequences re: character death I don't understand the take that death in fantasy requires physical permanency to matter or give a story "stakes". death is permanent regardless. Do you really think that if they get her back, they'll just go back to normal? That these characters are not forever fundamentally changed from this, that Laudna will not be fundamentally changed from this?

That Imogen's world will be less fractured, that she won't be even more of an anxious wreck now that what she stands to lose has been put into vivid clarity? That Orym won't still carry the guilt of being the chosen, that he will be less haunted by the connections he drew to his own grief with Will to Imogen's with Laudna? That Fearne won't look at Laudna and think of that coin flip, of her choice, and what that means for her and how she loves? That FCG and Ashton won't think to this and be reminded of the people they've hurt or been hurt by, and what this effort and what this grief means for how they view the hells?

That Laudna, who has been so blasé about life and if she's alive and what being alive even means for someone like her, won't wake up surrounded by family and by love and be driven to reexamine everything she's taught herself in 28 years of isolation to cope with the trauma of Whitestone? That this, maybe, will be the driving force she needed to realize that there are things she wants to live for?

It might be that I'm just biased, but I'm not sure what stakes Laudna perma-dying adds aside from just presenting the characters with the knowledge they all already have that they can, in fact, die. that what they're up against is incomprehensibly powerful and dangerous. The stakes already feel so impossibly high when you think of what and who they are preparing to face. frankly the aftermath of this combat alone, even if everything had gone perfect and everyone had gotten back up a-okay, would have set that tone.

I don't know, regardless I'll be happy to watch whatever story they choose to tell unfold as it does, but it strikes me that so many people seem to think that death only matters if there is a physical absence.

#critical role #laudna #bells hells #I do want to specify though that this is my own interpretation of the situation from my view as a writer of the narrative #and my own interpretation of the situation as an audience member #I know death does not care for narration in real life and that dnd can be cathartic for those very reasons #that. to me. is a separate argument from what I'm trying to say here #I also have Thoughts about how. narratively. laudna coming back is the better story for Specifically bells hells and how they operate #individually and as a unit #and how I think a lot of people are blinded by the specific way molly effected the mighty nein #and I just do not think this is the same scenario At All #and also. if I may put out a more biased take. I don't necessarily Want the same impetus and the same story Again #this is bells hells! I want theirs! and they want to bring back laudna #also. like. the whole death only matters if it's permanent thing falls apart immediately bc like. it's laudna #y'know. the undead one. is her story lesser for having lived? is vox machina's? #anyway feel free to ignore this I'm just throwing thoughts out into the wind bc if I keep them in my brain I'll implode #and Twitter has a 140 character limit and I am long-winded

[dreadeves]

hm. yknow, if riz was to be in a relationship it’d have to be a poly one, because a monogamous one would be doing the pairing-off-esque thing that he deeply doesn’t want to happen. if you presume he has a ‘favorite friend’ you’re falling into the same trap he is by presuming that some friends mean more (and he presumes there is always the least favorite friend). it feels like this kind of relationship hierarchy is what he doesn’t like, because he feels like he’s always going to be the odd one out and the one that everyone’s leaving

#like idk i don’t think riz coming out would kill baron. bc it doesn’t solve the underlying issue. and tbh. you can’t. so idk what’ll happen #a poly relationship wouldn’t like work out necessarily bc he’d still have the everyone leaving me fear bc it’s an internal fear #but at least in a poly relationship u don’t necessarily have the same ‘this is my *special friend*’ relationship hierarchy kinda narrative #that most monogamous relationships (whether romantic or qpr or whatever) do #riz gukgak #riz fantasy high #fantasy high #like… why are some of their friendships seen as ‘more important’ despite evidence that they all care deeply for each other #it feels odd to rank them and also antithetical to what it feels the point of this narrative is #they became friends like at the same time. they’ve been friends since. sure some may hang out more but why do u think some *matter* more? #*a poly relationship would instantly have its own problems. but riz in a poly qpr makes so much more sense than riz in a monogamous qpr.

[infizero]

i think one of the things that makes toby fox's writing so great is his ability to tell a compelling narrative AND metanarrative at the same time. undertale isn't JUST about how people play games and the need for completionism, and it isn't JUST the main story that you play through. it's both! and both are equally important.

and i think the same will be true for deltarune. some people tend to think of it as black and white when theorizing, either focusing too much on the meta aspects without taking the actual plot and character arcs into account, or doing the opposite and saying that the meta aspects aren't important and won't end up being relevant to the story. it's both! it's always been both!!!

#and also the way he's able to weave those two narratives together has always been rlly impressive to me #like undertale is a fantastically written game that makes you care about its world and its characters #and that means that a lot of players will thus want more ut content after finishing the game #which will lead to them eventually playing the no mercy route #the entire theme of which being that desire to consume more and more ''content'' out of a piece of media #even when its boring/upsetting/''not worth it'' #and also the fact that you will never be able to experience it exactly how you did the first time again #and your initial attachment/emotional response to it will change and become more distant no matter what #like. the way that hes able to create a compelling story and then ON TOP OF THAT create ANOTHER compelling story that comments #on how you experienced the first story??? its crazy its so good #and i cannot fucking wait to see where he goes w deltarune and that kind of thing #serena.txt #undertale #deltarune #utdr

[arsenicflame]

hey does anyone wanna bounce bellhands/they all went to pirate school together ideas with me? im trying to figure out the missing pieces of my personal set up and it might be easier with someone else!

#if youve never spoken to me before please be aware i will type a whole paragraph in response to one (1) sentence #but if ur down for that! please. #ive got like. the start and the end and a couple bits in the middle fleshed out but it doesn't f l o w #this is the problem with trying to condense more than a years of ideas into one cohesive narrative. i usually swap and change things as #and when it suits so im like. i don't know what i need in this #its just for my silly little tumblr post but #i would appreciate it <3 #i can send you what ive wrote and we can go from there or we can start from scratch bouncing ideas or u can just ask me questions #or something to help fill in gaps idk whatever works for u! what ive got is like. a fuckin mess honestly its ramblings and half finished #thoughts and just. its. a complete state and thats not even touching on whats missing (like. anything that matters in the middle basically) #nyxtalks #ofmd #bellhands #sam bellamy #izzy hands #israel hands #if you're unfamiliar with the concept: its Hornigold era stuff; jack + ed + izzy + sam all sailing under him and learning the ropes togethe #im not trying to go into too many details; just the underlying structure that is what I think of when i think of them #its probably not something anyone else cares about but i think i need it for some of the more fun 'what if Izzy went with sam' posts #i realised if i wanted to say what the divergence point was i Needed to establish all this lol #'oh yeah its when izzy chooses sam after the mutiny despite their argument' NYX WHAT ARGUMENT. you need to tell us what u mean