#it makes absolute sense that she wouldn't know the nuances of the situation

[radiosummons]

It's been so long since I’ve watched the Clone Wars movie that I completely forgot that a major plot point is that Anakin (also Ahsoka, but mostly Anakin) was tasked with keeping Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta, safe/alive.

And like ... wow, that's actually super fucked up. Like S-tier levels of fucked up. Congratulations. The writers really did put Anakin in a situation where he had no choice but to actually protect the child of a being who was directly responsible for his family’s suffering (as well as that of everyone on Tattooine, but this is Anakin-we all know he only cares about his special circle of people more than he ever will the “greater whole”). 

And Anakin’s immediate disgust, while confusing and probably even downright unfathomable to Ahsoka in the moment, is so absolutely justified. He knows that Rotta is going to live and grow into an adult that basks in absolute luxury at the expense of slaves. 

You just have to know that it absolutely infuriates him that his duty as a Jedi and, by extension, citizen of the Republic has put him into this position. He can’t even object to his responsibility to carry out this mission (although he initially tries). 

Now, obviously, I’m not saying Anakin should have abandoned Rotta, refused to protect him, or force forbid actually tried to harm/kill him (though, I could totally believe Anakin had a brief moment where he might have even seriously considered or fantasized about doing any of those). Regardless of how unjust and fucked up it is that Rotta is going to continue to benefit from his father/the Hutt Clans’ brutal supremacy, he’s still, well ... a child.

And no Jedi would willingly ever bring harm to a child, right? *cough cough*

I can only wonder what was going through Anakin’s head as he watched this random ignorant padawan he only just met an hour ago pick up Rotta and then proceed to call him “cute.” Like ... can you even imagine the sheer amount of conflicted emotions he must have experienced in that moment? 

And the fact that Palpatine directly orchestrated all this whole other level of sick fucking shit just to force Anakin specifically into this kind of fucked up situation ... bruh. Mister Sidious just couldn’t resist an opportunity to bring even more pain and suffering into Anakin’s life, especially when it had the added benefit of sowing more discontentment/doubt into his already shaky relationship with his own personal morals as well as his relationship with the Jedi Code. 

Fuck, what an actual maniacle bullshit fucked up thing to do. Creating a situation where Anakin has no choice but to actively protect an innocent life (a noble and moral thing to do), but with the full knowledge that this innocent being will only later grow to contribute to the cycle of abuse and trauma that he himself has been scarred by (and has already committed great atrocities in direct response to) ... brilliant.

Sith Lord in fucking deed.

(Also, don’t let this post fool you into rewatching the movie. There’s small gem moments in it, sure. Meeting Ahsoka, Captain Rex and Ventress for the first time are some highlights, of course. And maybe a few other mini moments between Anakin and Ahsoka as they start to sorta bond. But like ... you can just find some Youtube compilations of those moments. Don’t force yourself to watch the movie. It’s not horrible, but it’s definitely not up to the quality of the show and uh, yeah. Not worth your time imo).

Update: Sorry for reposting this again. Grammar mistakes and typos were driving me insane.

#anakin skywalker #star wars #star wars meta #clone wars #clone wars movie #tattooine #jabba the hutt #ashoka #palpatine #darth sidious #one day I'll stop talking about Anakin #maybe #I can't help talking about Darth Prick Lord #please don't take me calling ashoka ignorant as a criticism of her character #it makes absolute sense that she wouldn't know the nuances of the situation #she's a jedi and a jedi youngling at that #she can't be expected to know all the ins and outs #of the politics or cultures of every place she goes to #that and Anakin straight up refused to discuss his past #or personal anything with her #like it's no fucking wonder she would react that way to Rotta #she sees a baby and behaves accordingly #why the fuck am I wasting so much time explaining myself? #should go without saying but #pro jedi #if you got issues with Anakin being in this situation #blame the only person who is actually responsible #fucking palpatine

[localdorkincombatboots]

Mom I need your opinion on sollux and eridan (please?) :3

Yes my child no problem 😄

Another pair of toxic trolls who're often shipped together! Ngl I'm not fully sure what kind of answer has been wanted between this and the last ask cause I'm not sure if you just want me to talk about each of the characters separately or if you're also wanting me to acknowledge the ship between them and the nuances in it so I try to cover both.

Again, to preface this these are both shitty 13 year old boys who aren't great people trolls and part of that is cause of the hellscape of a world they grew up in. So today's purity standards don't apply to them in the fact that yes they're shitty but for the zillionth time depiction is not glorification and they're literally pawns for the narrative.

For Sollux, he's a gamer/hacker dude that is recognizably based on a lot of guys like that in the 2000s. He's not a great person in that he uses slurs and isn't pc but he's a very real 13 year old boy who taught himself all about how computers work and just likes to play games and talk shit with his friends. I feel especially bad for him when I think about how Vriska forced him to kill Aradia and how he has to live with not only that but also his visions of Doom and knowing that he and all of his friends would die. He's a tragic character but he's also pretty fun to play around with in art and fanfics. Also he's a very shippable character like there's a lot of different ships that he works great in esp stuff like Fefsolradia and such

For Eridan, he's a punkass little "nice guy" spoiled rich 13 year old with a superiority complex. He supports genocide of lowbloods and has no respect for Fef's right to be with whoever she wants. Granted, the situation he grew up in with only really having her as a good friend and his responsibility of helping keep Gl'bgolyb fed didn't exactly discourage that way of thinking at all and probably fed into it but if SGrub hadn't happened while it could've been a possibility for him to learn better its likely he wouldn't because of how Alternian society promotes selfishness and the idea that highbloods deserve anything they want. Narratively he makes sense and he exists in order to fill the role of "nice guy" who ends up wrecking their future just because he was rejected. At least that's canon Eridan. Fanon Eridan can be more fun just because ppl like to focus on his being a uwu soft boi and his love of magic and esp his kissmesis/matesprit ships with Sollux. Also obligatory shout out to March Eridan love that shit just cause it's silly.

As far as their ship goes, there's a lot of fun to be had and there's far too many fics of them out there to count. Are they healthy for each other? Absolutely not without a very long fic of them learning how to be better people and getting over their own shit. Did I used to ship in high school? Absolutely though I haven't cared about it in years.

#jaye shut up #homestuck #hs #sollux captor #eridan ampora #erisol #march eridan

[scoops404]

i feel horrible. I feel betrayed and I’m depressed but strangely not surprised?

Its not even, not even about who is worse or whatever, i just- I heard connor eats pants talk, he said how george and the dream team, (even if they don’t acknowledge it,) have a large young girl audience. That’s the part of the audience that helped them grow.(And id say the audience who was the most emotionally, young girls or queer people who a lot of the time grew up presenting female or queer people in general, who are also at higher risk of getting used or assaulted ) and how its disgusting and disappointing to see them drop these weird points about consent and i (as a part of that demographic myself) - that really hit me in some way. That really hit me and something about it rings in my chest with hurt an realisation. It makes me incredibly sad, and yet it makes me realise stuff.

That point to me seems incredibly important.

That fact makes their statements seem ignorant..

Im slowly coming to terms with how I personally want to move forward with acknowledging their content, the content that was genuinely helping my depression and was part of my routine. So I didn’t formulate this to be some sort of statement, but more of a “oh” moment that i wanted to share

These men don’t feel like they care about the large audience they hurt.. young girls, and how their respective statements about consent could affect idk their world view? :/

Something i got reminded of when reading tumblr after watching that connor tiktok clip of his stream.

I see where you're coming from and what you're feeling is valid and it's entirely up to you if you want to stay or not

I just think that we've seen a lot of examples of them being good to women, in a professional sense as well as personally (as recent as Sapnap's birthday stream we saw George direct the camera away from Sylvee's skirt while she was climbing the wall). This is not a defense of George's behavior regarding the Caiti situation in any way, shape, or form, but we also can't erase the good behavior that we have witnessed, you know?

Like, I've left fandoms for petty reasons and big reasons (i used to love shane dawson, I used to love david dobrik, i went on a weird hate watch spree for a couple depressing months in like 2018 for the paul brothers--i'm not proud) and when a cc's behavior becomes clear, I drop their ass. Even through the drituation, I've never seen behavior from the dreamteam that I thought was hateful against anyone and I believe they've always shown that they want to do what's right when they do mess up.

Do I think they have room to grow? Yeah, absolutely. But I don't think they secretly hate women or are exploiting us. ((no matter what Hannah is saying now, they have had many close female friends for quite a while--Puffy, Sylvee, Gia--and I feel like those people wouldn't have stuck around if they were shitty to women constantly when off camera))

I don't think this incident with Caiti is just another in a long line of dubious consent situations (not that I can know). If I thought they were doing this behind the scenes all the time, I'd nope out. I'm hoping that they can take this as a learning moment and find greater nuance in consent. We are always learning and Dream, the most, has always shown he's willing to take criticism and realize why something was wrong and not do it again. We've seen this from George too when he apologized for old screen shots with slurs. They aren't perfect, none of us are, but I have hope that they'll move forward with a clearer idea.

To be quite honest, I have seen the conversations around consent morph in my lifetime. It's a wonderful thing to see women speaking up and being believed and consequences coming down on men when, historically, that has almost never been the case. We need to keep having these conversations and reinforcing the line, no matter how uncomfortable it can be.

As far as dream team not caring about their audience, I can't really disagree with that right now lol. I certainly don't really feel cared for, but I'm here more for my friends now at this point.

Keep thinking through what this means for you and how you want to move forward for yourself. there's nothing wrong with putting them down for a while. I see a trend of former fans burning the ground as they leave, but like, you can just leave or take a little hiatus from dreamteam, and that's absolutely fine! You can always change your mind and come back, or you can find something else and get super invested in that. No one is going to track what you're doing and judge you, I promise.

As far as content to help you through depression, I can't recommend Brittany Broski and Trixie and Katya enough. I've been listening to Trixie and Katya's Podcast, the Bald and the Beautiful, for my long commutes and they keep me laughing. I'd start with their "Unhhh" youtube series though because it's..... Hilarious

Sorry this got so long. Classic Scoops

[astralartefact]

F66x RoD Story Thoughts something something let's talk about the bald flower mother

(just to keep you from being surprised, this post will be the opposite of my post on Griff's RoD story in that I will praise this story a bunch before ultimately saying I kind of don't like it) (edit: ...unless)

Number 1 THANK GOD THE FLOWERS WERE A RED HERRING (I spin around like a flower girl dressed in red singing lalalala. lalalala. lalalala.)

Despite being an obvious reference (just like the Black Flower to the Lunar Tear before it) it would have made absolutely zero sense to connect these two in any worldbuilding sort of way (just like the Black Flower to the Lunar Tear before it)

Not everything has to have a """Lore""" explanation for their connection to have meaning. Kind of the opposite. Fuck Lore.

Number 2 HOPE AND DESPAIR

There's just something here that I really love about the nuance that F66x didn't despair when F66y (that's not a mistake, that's foreshadowing) did. It actually lines up really well with 10H and YoRHa in a way that I really appreciate, but it's kind of hard to put into words...

I have recently noticed that there are so many situations that are just common in media, that are so 'outlandish' in real life that I just wouldn't know how I as a person would react to them - most of the time stuff that has to do with death.

Take Noble Sacrifices for example - they're absolutely everywhere, it's a 'trope' more common in media than gay people but they almost never actually happen in real life, right? It's not common for someone to sacrifice their life for somebody. (or maybe i'm just a sheltered european, i certainly hope it doesn't happen that often)

And maybe I'm just a bad person but I couldn't possibly tell you if I would ever sacrifice my life even for a potential 'soulmate' or whatever you would want to call that person. I just can't see myself doing that and even trying to imagine it, it's just such an outlandish idea that I would ever get into a situation that would demand it - and yet books, tv shows, movies, video games, everything pretends it's just the natural thing to do if you Love someone. Because that's what Love just simply makes you do. You would Die for someone - and if you don't something must be wrong with you.

But in this situation these reasons for sacrifice just vanished. Her son was a lie and the war cannot end - and yet in a situation where the common thread would therefore be to assume that F66x would despair - because logistically there is no hope left so she has to, right? - she just doesn't and for some reason that's something I can empathize with. Why would it matter if there's "hope" left? Why does that mean that you wouldn't do something like what she does? You would die anyway, so you might as well die doing "what's right."

And it's the same thing with 10H, right? Mama always thought she couldn't tell her the truth because, well, the 'natural' reaction to hearing the reason you're fighting - the reason you're living - is gone is that you don't fight anymore, because all hope is lost. But no. Life is more than the purpose we tell ourselves. 10H loves Mama even and especially after all she's done to her - she doesn't need hope to help out Mama, she wants to do that for her own reasons. For her own values. Because she's her own person.

F66x says Fuck Hope, where she's coming from she doesn't need it to do the right thing.

Number 3 THEIR NAMES

For the longest time I thought that 063y and F66x's names might be Hexadecimal Numbering (as in 063 would be Clone Nr.99 and F66 would be Clone Nr.3942 with the x and y being their chromosomes) but not as in "there are at least 3942 different female clones" but as in "this is the 3492th x clone of the same two clones" I don't know what the general consensus regarding their names is, I never see people talking about it, but it also doesn't really matter/make sense since their stories are all from random times along the clone timeline - But!

If this is the case I think it makes sense for their RoD stories to be those clones they're named after specifically. I can see 063y's story as happening pretty early on while this one happens almost 4000 clones later near the end and it gives some sort of timeframe for the entire war too. Not that I would be particularly invested in fitting all of their stories into a proper Lore timeline because, again, it really doesn't matter - but it makes sense to establish how long this war probably was - and as such it was probably at least 3942 clones long so take that as you will.

Number X THIS IS THE POINT WHERE I TELL YOU THE TRUTH

F66x is kind of boring. There, I said it.

Like, she has so much going on. She's such an obvious, broad hint to Drakengard's entire Legacy and some of its most fascinating Symbolism - She is literally the bald-headed Mother of Grotesque Flower Creatures that are hell-bent on devouring humanity. Like, this has to be deliberate - and yet they barely seem to do anything concrete with it.

Somehow, a creepy woman from a spin-off game nobody even cares about (Play Voice of Cards:Forsaken Maiden) who didn't even have a singular line in the game did it better than her and that's fucking weird when this specific game is so conscientious about everything else it does.

And just to reiterate: This is not in any way a contradiction to my first point - she doesn't have to be lore related to be symbolically related.

F66x's stories are (to me) about 'I made this happen, so I have to fix it' - they're about the Personal Responsibility of what the original X did and how her clones inherit that responsibility without any real agency through Reincarnation (which is hereby once again demonstrated to be a cage) - and there are clones that abuse their position in the structures that X's actions have created (Hidden Stories) and then there is RoD F66x who is like "I do not even need Hope to want to end this."

...this was supposed to lead into something entirely different, but I've realized something:

Okay. To explain that second point I will quote myself from another post I made about Noelle's RoD story real quick:

So basically, F66x has White Privilege.

And that means it's perfectly in line with the Watchers = Fascism.

Goddammit I did the Griff thing again. I talked myself into liking her while writing this.

Does Drakenier have an overarching bad guy? The answer is of course yes, the motherbeast awaits freedom not really in a straightforward way, but if we do look at a common theme then maybe we could point out that there are a lot of evil red eyes of mind control in Drakenier. But Yoko Taro games are always about something. Did you know DoD 1 came out on 9/11 and then Replicant, which is about 9/11, references DoD 1 in place of 9/11? They always have a point - so surely if there is an overarching thing coming back all the time it has to be a symbol for something, right? The Red Eyes Disease in DoD 1, the Logic Virus, the Legion’s Red Eye (which we saw with Yuzuki’s Ex story) and now Red Eyed Noelle all are characterized as a manipulation of a human through hatred of the world/society as it currently presents itself. Basically every time a character gets to a point where they just really feel slighted and turn against the world their eyes turn red. I think - and this is just a longwinded explanation to get to a “duh.” level conclusion - that Red Eyes are Fascism.

And who is behind the Red Eyes? The Drakengardian Mother. And what was one of those biggest white mistakes humanity has ever had to endure whose repercussions still haunt us to this day? The Big German Fascism Happening. GOD FUCKING DAMMIT THEY DID IT AGAIN. THEY USED THAT MOTIF FOR HER ON PURPOSE

and it makes so much sense too... of course white privilege is a reincarnation cage. how does this game even exist. does square even know? is a gacha game the price you have to pay square for progressive writing in video games? ...every day i get sadder that we won't get rod stories for the actually good season 2 characters because goddamn it they never miss [insert 'society if we saw priyet's rod story'-meme here]

and now i'm thinking about how for 063y fighting the flowers symbolized anti-feminism (-> f66x is a woman) and there they survive despite 'giving up' and how for f66x the flowers/cloning symbolizes white privilege/racism (-> 063y is a black man) and they exterminate it for the sake of the future - and it's kind of... poetic. it feels a little bit messy, but... i like that their stories are kind of about things that affect the other more than them in a way. that's kind of sweet?

nier reincarnation truly is the best game ever written. come on argo, let your final story be about your daughter again because reincarnation is a fucking cage.

#nier reincarnation #yoko taro #drakengard

[possibilistfanfiction]

i love how ava’s being very anti instution is clear in your stuff, i feel like some fics forget that about her or in trying to show that beatrice knows her stuff accidentally make it come across as if ava isn’t politically aware & needs to be lectured on politics by Beatrice

when canonically ava’s literally a abuse survivor who was abused because of her disability and had religion used as justifiation for her abuse and so is kinda more than a little against institutions and systems

anyway as a disabled person it’s more than a bit exhausting to read “abled person lectures disabled person on politics” regardless of authorial intent, so just wanted to say thanks for staying away from that, reading your ava characterization is really a breath of fresh air

absolutely! ava is so so so smart!! most gaps she has, at least for me canonically, are because she just didn't have access to any sound schooling (obviously — especially with history, but also just basic civics? exposure to different politic? etc). so it's like, of course ava wouldn't know that the nazis persecuted & killed queer people if she learned subpar history (undoubtedly with the shittiest pedagogy on the planet) from nuns who hated her — but once she learns it, she's immediately like oh. that contextually makes sense in a horrible way. fuck them. like it's not an issue of politic but just of nuanced & additional information — in the real world i'm sure ava's politic would (of course) grow (as hopefully all of ours irl continue to do lol), but it wouldn't be a real shift in politic, especially bc of an able-bodied person lecturing her or something. it would just be one that contains more concrete events, history, current povs, etc, because she would just learn more & have access to stuff!

i also think like you said that when bea lectures in the show, that's mostly about ava just being goofy when she needs to be serious, or definitely just not understanding the insane situation she's found herself in — which contextually is fair, but i don't think would happen with politic or ethic sort of beyond the halo/battles, etc. even her like 'you should think about someone other than yourself' is mostly motivated by ava's mission/the ocs's mission; ava is selfish but she has every right to be. & of course that's ava's main character arc growth: realizing that, while she always wants to be selfish (kissing bea), she has been put into a role that is far greater than her. that's a politic in itself, really

in reality bea probably has more to learn about politic & anti-state ethic than ava lol. i get why this isn't A Thing in the show but if i choose to throw them into NOT the catholic church lol, it's a reality that bea is a queer woman of color, specifically an asian woman, which does matter — in ways that can hurt but also in finding community & history that informs/builds a particular politic. i feel like it's incomplete to not at least include that a LITTLE. but yah bea like... rly fucks w The Institution at least for some of the show. she's got a lot to unlearn!

& yes i TOTALLY agree that ava's abuse & disability (even if people choose to write her as no longer disabled which.... a choice but ok lol) would absolutely eventually really inform her politic. i simply haven't gotten to this yet but ava finding disability justice (& by that i obviously mean like intersectional disability justice led by & designed for queer & trans folks, especially qtpoc) would be so fucking cool for her! communal care? anti-state abolition? abolition of Institutions (psychiatric, medical, etc) that harm that are rooted in white supremacy (& specifically the church)... she would LOVE it. she would be so into it. it would be such a respite & passion & joy for her as she got older & realized she has such purpose through her experiences, without the halo & without any holy wars. also they would both be thoughtful about thinking transnationally which rocks.

anyway yah i feel like out of the two of them ava is actually the most likely to like a) access information in "non-academic" ways; b) have a more radical politic just inherently. not that i think bea is like a shitty neoliberal person forever or anything bc... she would also be v smart, but ava is awesome.

#ava should do the lecturing lmfao #anyway yes anon 100% #disabled ava forever

[emilykaldwen]

@alexandria-millie sent three asks for this so I'm putting them all into one!

I've seen a theory that Jaehaerys' murder was planned to cause suffering and discord among the Greens. Play Aegon against Aemond. If Healena had been furious instead of sinking into depression, the dance would have had a different ending. Daemon's marriage to Rhaenyra was a huge political mistake on Rhaenyra's part. Daemon can't be controlled, it was a matter of time before he did something horrible and unlike Viserys it wouldn't be easy for Rhaenyra to punish him.

 Why you gotta bring me into the lion's den lmao. Okay. I'm gonna try tread respectfully and carefully here because these are all really nuanced, especially your final question: re daemyra (and I'm not their hype girl so take with that what you will).

Before I dive into everything else, I think what it has to come down to is how you view the Targaryens. They are a MESS. Capitals. Are they a fun problematic dynasty with dragons and incest and chaos? Yes, that's why we like playing with them, but they have been shown time and again to not be oh so great for the realm. They truly, genuinely believe they are above the common man (See: Doctrine of Exceptionalism), and as George has said: Dragons don't grow trees. The nobility as a whole for Westeros is a bad thing, Fuedelism ain't great! So it's really important to remember when it comes to talking about Targaryens is that you absolutely have that Valyrian Supremacy at play and while some may be better than others, you are supposed to be in the twilight of the Golden Age of Dragonriders, so remember that.

And if GRRM comes out and confirms: Yes, Daemon ordered B&C and all that, yes that's how I intended it, then there we go, word of god and all that.

1. Jaehaerys' murder motivation

I disagree. I can see why one would think it would sow discord, but truthfully I think that's a wobbly outcome to bank on because child murder does nothing but hurt Team Black. When I first read F&B and this situation, oh yeah 100% anti-Daemon cause that motherfucker killed babies! what the fuck! and while I'm still not Daemon's biggest fangirl, further reading of the situation and the story really highlights that Jaehaerys' murder was a fucking tragedy that shouldn't have happened, but there's no way anyone would believe Daemon Targaryen for being like 'yeah no I didn't order for Jae to be killed'. Because Daemon's spent his time not really fighting the sort of rumors and allegations thrown at him. He's just living it up in the myth people want to create of him. Make me your villain, I'm just doing my thing. Jaehaerys' murder gains sympathy for the Greens, it martyrs him in a way that Luke isn't. Luke was an emissary to a potential ally and was killed and it's tragic and sad. We sympathize for the loss of Rhaenyra's children.

Aemond's a 16/17/18 whatever year old riding a war machine with no experience in that way. It shows how utterly unprepared all these children fucking are for this.

Killing Jaehaerys only further villifies Daemon and now spreads that to Rhaenyra. It doesn't hold water, because it only really hurts Rhaenyra in the end.

[cavaet: This is the kind of set up thing where I could see 'well let's kill his son!' and then realizing 'shit no bad idea, okay lets kill aegon and/or aemond', but hey! for all I fucking know, George really was like 'yeah no they lost their shit and did something incredibly stupid because this whole book is filled with dumb shit that doesn't make sense like why is no one patrolling the gullet for enemy ships???]

2. Helaena's Grief and Rage

Sooooo seeing your child fucking decapitated in front of you after being forced to choose? Is gonna fuck you up. Her immobilizing grief makes sense to me. However if she had become a dragonrider in battle, yeah, that would change things. Dreamfyre is older than Vermithor, and Helaena's bond with her dragon is stronger than Hugh's with Vermithor IMO. The Blacks have Daemon and Rhaenys both experienced in battle on dragonback, but not with other dragons and Vermithor is being ridden by a dude who just learned how to ride a dragon. Dreamfyre puts the playing field strongly in Team Green favor from a battle standpoint, which is why she's taken out early.

3. Daemon and Rhaenyra

(no one @ me please)

the tina belcher sounds I just made. Okay, where do I start. Going up to my whole preamble about Targaryen Supremacy: No Targaryen marriage is politically advantageous. Their practice of dynastic incest continues to separate them from the realm that they rule because that's what they want. They are above men, they are closer to gods, and they don't want to dilute their blood (if you buy into the blood magic needed for dragon riding). Marrying out of the family would let other houses hold potential claim to dragons. We see this in Rhaenys Targaryen whose half Baratheon being able to claim a dragon.

The smartest marriage to happen at this point in time for the Targaryens was Viserys' marriage to Alicent Hightower. The Hightowers are tied with the Maesters (something something maester conspiracy), they are one of the most powerful families in the realm. THAT is a politically advantageous marriage (and a reason why they were not made Lords Paramount of the Reach). But politically advantageous or not, Viserys treatment of Alicent and her children further fractures the dynasty. His half-hightower children are not pureblooded Targaryen children (or even Aemma's children, which is a whole other can of worms), and I could very well see that as a reason why Viserys didn't name Aegon as heir (because he sure as shit held that threat over Rhaenyra's head in her youth because let's not forget he was a shitty dad to her too in different ways). Daemon, politically, doesn't help Rhaenyra's cause. Marrying her to Jason Lannister would have been a smart move. Laenor Velaryon still was a smart move. FUCK EVEN HARWIN WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD MOVE!

So you can look at the Daemyra marriage in three ways: For love, for dragon, or both.

Daemon's unpredictable, and he pokes buttons, and he takes things too far (re: the gold cloaks for example). He's also very loyal: in the books, he's loyal and in love with Laena, he loves his children, and he's been in love with Rhaenyra as well for years (and probably having threesomes I guess? they were all way closer in the book than in the show) these two sides of a person are allowed to coexist if we allow the same for characters like Aegon and Aemond. And we are led to believe that him and Rhaenyra did in fact love each other. I mean, me personally, I'm the Rhaewin OTP girl because I love me Rhaenyra and Harwin and I think they were very good for each other/could have been very good, I mean they had three kids together, Rhaenyra didn't go find herself a Lyseni dude to fuck, so the kind of risk she was putting herself in with that means there was something more there. Not only that, but Daemons' loyalty was absolute: he would have done anything for Rhaenyra and I don't think he would have risked hurting her position and claim just to have a 6 year old killed.

I think it also puts her oldest three sons in further danger in terms of a future succession conflict based on the rumors of Jace's legitimacy vs Aegon the Younger, who is undoubtedly fully Targaryen, and had the Dance not happened, that would 100% be the grounds for a future succession crisis of children half-targaryen vs full targaryen blood including the TargTower children. The dynasty was primed for a civil war regardless of when that happened because Viserys failed utterly to secure the futures of his family and just hoped there were enough nepo baby jobs to go around I guess.

Case in Point: The Blackfyre Rebellion.

Basically: the Targaryens make huge political mistakes all the time. @gwenllian-in-the-abbey pointed out their theory in a comment on the last chapter of Maiden how Viserys being the one to have Aegon and Helaena get married would hopefully neutralize Aegon's power, because otherwise, you're marrying him to someone like Cassandra Baratheon, and Borros would 100% want his daughter to be queen!

Anyway, I hope that answers some of your questions!

#hotd tag #I'm not answering anything else on this omg #please let me keep hiding

[nulltune]

five interesting facts about Hakuno & five things you consider uncanny. Go!

THANK YOU SUE FOR MY LIFE!!!! talking abt hakuno is my hobby fr so thank u 4 enabling me ehe <3 here we go!!

5 interesting facts about hakuno:

her name is an annagram of kimi no na hakushi which translates to "your name is blank". i think it's suuper neat because 1. it gives you the impression of it being an insert name here kind of thing that's common for self-inserts, but it's a nice way to start off hakuno's character journey of becoming her own character from a blank slate and 2. it's a pretty straightforward way of telling us that her name, much like herself, is blank. empty. there's nothing there ^_T

speaking of- you know how with mc characters, there's usually a silly haha kind of dialogue option? that's present for hakuno too but i like it because it's more like an illusion of choice than something more like a self-insert thing. the point hakuno makes in the end is essentially the same, she's just being a lil goofy about the delivery, y'know! i'm not even kididng btw sgfkshfj hakuno herself admits sometimes that she did do it to get a rise/see the other person's reaction to it. moon lady's got a lil michievous side ✨️

she knows the sa-shi-su-se-so which is an expression to memorize essential ingredients for japanese cuisine. so it's safe to say that she'd at least know the basics of cooking, though it's a lil headcanon of mine that although she knows it theoretically, she absolutely flops at the execution (and if you wanna make this more nuanced, you can think of this through the lens of food as a love language-)

she "doesn't particularly like octopus". we don't get a reason why, but it's kinda funny when considering the sea motif in fate/extra! maybe hakuno wouldn't like seafood in general? this isn't that interesting but agfkshf we barely get any information about hakuno herself ya kno!!! which makes sense considering she doesn't even know herself, but that's why i treasure these little crumbs !!

i've noticed this in my reread of fate/extra, but i feel like hakuno brings up the fact that she's "not alone" Quite A Lot post chapter 4 or so. it's her only solace after finding out the truth of her existence so it makes sense why that fact is important to her, but i also like to think that repeating it so much is her (likely unconscious) way of trying to cope with how truly lonely her existence is :,)

5 things i consider uncanny:

OH MAN THIS IS A PERFECT THING TO ASK BC there's always hints about something being "off" about hakuno. in hindsight, it's pretty sad when this disconnect with everyone and everything else seems almost inherent to her existence when all she wants is to be a normal human and find her place in the world </3 and spoiler alert: She Is Not and She Does Not. but it's neat!

there's this one hakuno dialogue response that was essentially her introducing herself in an almost automatic "pavlovian response" — it's a small hint about her true nature as an artificial intelligence but i wish we got more of this aspect explored tbh! how much of her is real? how much of her is her? it could really mess up hakuno's head but it'd be hella interesting to see !

her reaction to being felt up by someone as a first meeting was seriously underwhelming ! a lot of hakuno's reactions to things are pretty tame and iirc it's been noted that she's strangely calm for someone in such a high-stress situation (enough to cripple even the finest soldiers, according to rin). it's likely her being so numb to it all tbh ^_T but it's still pretty weird hakunochan!!!

this one's kinda graphic but there's a scene where hakuno tries to reach her servant-- even as her body is literally being broken down and deleted in the process :,) i say it's uncanny because damn it's a great scene but hakuno's thought process behind it all is a widdle fucked up!! look at what she has to say when she goes numb from the pain + her stomach collapsed: "I just feel gross, like I’ve turned into a skeleton-monster. Though with my body being lighter, I’ll be able to walk faster, which is nice." HELLO??!? (bassbooted)

this one comes a ccc anthology chapter but basically hakuno was asked to pose for a photoshoot and she has no problems wearing a suggestive nightgown, a bikini, and a wedding dress but Draws The Line at a maid outfit (girl?) (she ended up wearing it — and absolutely slaying the look, if i do say so myself — but was Very embarrassed)

#femtaile #&&. out of #THIS WAS RLLY FUN TO LIST DOWN WAAAH TYSM FOR THE ASK SUE !!! 🥺🫶💖💕 #i love h.akuno in all her peculiar and uncanny ways okok VDKSCHSJCJ SHE IS SO INTERESTING 2 MEEEEE #ngl canon disappoints me sometimes bc they they purposely leave stuff abt h.akuno Vague to maintain that ~~self-insert feel~~ #even tho it goes against the entire point of her character and development.!!!!!! #so i feel like sometimes she's in a weird position of character & self-insert solely because they want to appeal to both ppl who like #an mc with their own personality; but also ppl who want to just project what they want onto an mc #it's sad because she becomes more self-insert than her own character in later games (looking at you e.xtella-) 🥹 #AND IM SO UPSET OVER IT TBH 😭😭 H.AKUNO DESERVES BETTER SMH #BUT YEA- i like to repurpose that to make it more in line with h.akuno's character #a nameless being that wants meaning; bonds & connections because she wants to have some sort of humanity/life to herself #I JUST HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ABT THIS GIRL AAAAA 🥹🥹 but yeah she makes me facking die !!! #i wuv her......... A whole lot.......

[fumblingmusings]

does Eirian ever want to be a mother? and only says no so it wouldn't cause more conflict between her and Evelyn?

I think Ireland and maternity is a tragic topic which is really really hard to talk about. 'Normally' I would say it would never be something that she desperately wanted, not the way Evelyn does.

But.

Bodily autonomy is hugely important to the way I think about a female Ireland. She gets jack shit in terms of it. She is dragged around, forced into situations where, win or lose, she will be depicted as the bad guy, or even inaction or neutrality - to this day even - is viewed so suspiciously by the UK.

And not just on a state to state level, Ireland's relationship with the church can and has led to some very horrible parts of their history that they are still dealing with. This is - to risk being crude - such a hornet's nest that I am not going to touch in any fic because it just is not appropriate and I am not a good enough writer to talk about it. But at the same time, I also can't pretend that institutions like the Magdalene Laundries and the Mother and Baby Homes have not had a massive impact on Irish society, and its relationship to women and their own bodies. Especially in comparison to the way that canon Male Ireland would never even dream of contemplating.

England - female England - had the social status, her brothers, and the state ensuring that suitable lies were made to ensure that the children (the children that, I do want to emphasise, she stole from their homes) were allowed to stay with her. Meanwhile Ireland is undergoing an entrenched system where babies were forcibly removed from their mothers if they were considered 'unsuitable' (or simply women in general, child or no child). This is not to say this didn't happen in England - it absolutely did (the laundries were an English idea after all), but I don't think I could write about Ireland's relationship with motherhood without addressing that elephant in the room first.

Meanwhile, England is England, and sits several rungs higher than Ireland in the social sphere of Empire.

Back before I wrote the fic I spoke a little about this where Evelyn is someone who conforms by her very nature, and that includes conforming to gender roles. Because she does this, she is able to get away with a type of violence that is sanctioned by the state, and worst of all she refuses to acknowledge it as such.

Ireland is contrarian because its the only way she can retain any sense of autonomy. No, she won't play at being Anglo-Irish like Wellington and Castlereagh and Canning and Guinness to get that power and stability. That's not how she wants to play the game. She has her principles, and no she will never judge or be cruel to someone until they slight her first, but this does mean it's easier to lock her out of important conversations.

This means she is super careful about who she let's in to be vulnerable with, and this includes the kids, because she knows, at the end of the day, they will pick England every time. Their affection for her and vice versa only goes so far. Erin I think sometimes falls into the us vs them trap, and at times can be in a sort of 'if you aren't on my side the entire way I don't want anything to do with you', which means she can be difficult and isn't very good at holding on to all kinds of relationships. This means she can be really hot and cold towards the kids, which is in contrast to Evelyn's - for all her (horrific) faults - unconditional affection. It's one hundred percent understandable why Erin walks through the world this way, honestly how could she act in any other manner, but it makes her easier to isolate. It starts a cycle thereafter.

I think, therefore, your question is not easily answered, at least for me. It requires so much nuance and care. Ireland and maternity is such a loaded topic, and I hate to use that term but I am failing to come up with anything else. It's almost as though what she wants on the matter... doesn't matter.

I think, say if it were a human au, she would not be fussed one way or another. If it happens it happens and she'll be the cheeriest, warmest mother with a slightly too sensitive temper; if it never happens she's quite content to be that cool aunt on the side. Either or, so long as she is not completely locked out of having a connection with children.

As nations, it is not that simple.

#q&a #fanfic ask

[kaequeerlit]

Queer Before Queer

The literary works in this section deal with the possibilities of queerness in times when that idea and it's implications did not exist yet. Of course, queer people always existed but the societal boundaries of the labeling of sexual and romantic attraction were not created.

source: Encyclopædia Britannica

Epic of Gilgamesh

This reading is a 21st century retelling of a story retold over generations, as it's the oldest known existing written piece of literature. In Gilgamesh and Enkidu's interactions, I absolutely see strong potential for a more-than-platonic relationship between them. I don't know if it's necessarily romantic or more of a really close friends with benefits type situation. "He will be your double, your second self, a man who is loyal, who will stand at your side through the greatest dangers. Soon you will meet him, the companion of your heart." (pgs 83-84) This specific passage is incredibly reminiscent of the "classic" marriage vows. I think that's even more deep than brothers, or if it is platonic in nature, it's more-so a "found family". I'm leaning more towards soul tied people who are more than friends but aren't necessarily romantically involved. Also, the intricacies of attraction and types of relationships are incredibly complicated and nuanced.

She of the Mountains

In She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya, HIndu mythology is shared intermittently throughout the story, as well as images. That mythology ties into the overarching themes of the modern story. For example, "They understood, without fully grasping its breadth and mystery, that it was a risk to disturb the Ocean, but their thirst was greater than their caution." is a comparison to him taking the leap to admit his feelings for his coworker and potentially destroying their friendship. Kali saying "The beauty of life is the will to live." directly parallels "I don't like myself when I am not with you. He finally said the words to her. And I want to." The main character is choosing to to like himself, to live fully, thus finding the beauty in life. Some of the mythology stories tie more specifically into the plot of the main. Others are more general, with similar themes and overarching lessons. The art breaks the book down into little subsections, with each picture detailing the next section.

Years after publishing this book, the author came out as transgender which can affect the ways one interprets sections of the story. One common theme that's affected by this is the main character's resistance with his mind and body. The general disconnect between mind and body is through internalized fatphobia and can be interpreted as gender dysphoria. I think that the disconnect is also affected by general body standards for men, and then also physical attraction. "He could never escape the jarring feeling that he and his body were still two separate entities with two separate operating systems...What he craved was the kind of repair that would...make them synchronous" speaks to the gender dysphoria interpretation as well as lacking body confidence. 

As a trans non-binary afab person, I often struggled (and still somewhat struggle) with discerning body image issues from gender dysphoria. I think the main character absolutely could be going through something similar. He's struggling to find a sexuality label that fits while also dealing with negative self esteem, it makes sense that he wouldn't be thinking about his gender at this time.

Ruth and Naomi & David and Jonathan

I think that it's really interesting that both of these Bible stories don't mention sexual intimacy, instead focusing on emotional and physical intimacy. One passage that exemplifies that topic is "After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most." (1 Samuel 20:41 NIV). Bowing is incredibly intimate, as you are literally putting yourself at someone's feet, giving them the potential to severely hurt you, also representing an attitude of servitude towards that person. Weeping together also displays intimacy, especially from today's perspective. I try not to cry in front of people I'm not extremely close to, let alone full-on weeping. Weeping also occurs in the story of Ruth and Naomi, "At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her" (Ruth 1:14 NIV). This passage also speaks to physical intimacy, with Ruth and Naomi being close as her other daughter-in-law acts more typically and reserved.

When looking at the Bible, I also think it's important to remember the cultural context surrounding beliefs and the editing of the text itself. Firstly, the Bible has been translated into English and then reworded countless of times since the first publication. Meanings in the Bible can change based on the translation (NLT, NIV, KJV, NRSV, ESV, The Message, etc.), the version of the translation, looking at the original languages, and the context one is discussing it in. In our case, the New International Version, was originally published in 1978, then revised in both 1984 and 2011. 

[infernal-general]

🍬 Is my muse a sub, dom, or switch?

👮 Has my muse ever had sex in public?

💑 What are my muse’s requirements for a potential partner?

🎀 Who would my muse sleep with if nobody ever had to know?

Sex & Romance headcanons

🍬: Dom 85% of the time. However there are very few special people she's comfortable enough to take a submissive position with.

👮‍♂️: Once, in a forest while she was still alive. It was her childhood crush, László and the two met after a long, grueling time with the war already raging when she returned to Hungary.

💑 : Sexual or romantic? Rozália isn't against one night stands, for that the best way to catch her attention are strength and charisma, considering that most of her one night stands happened with other underground fighters. Now the romantic part is more complicated. She...carries a lot of emotional baggage both from her life and afterlife as well. She needs someone mentally more stable than she is, bravery to withstand her worst, emotional intelligence for them to understand her nuances. Truthfulness, sincerity so she can trust them to tell her deepest, darkest secrets without fear of judgment.

🎀 : ..... I REALLY don't want to say this, I truly don't but...@winters-club / @heyslutsitswinter 's Valentino. When exterminaton is nearing, the barrier between her personality and the Hellfire thins often to an explosive point. She and Valentino had their scuffles, verbal battles, a physical one off screen and the tension in her keeps heightening. Rozália can be a cruel dom and don't let her 7' height fool you, she is quite strong physically as well as agile; she wouldn't stay pinned for long. She wants to ruin him, make him bleed, beg, choke, scream in pain, see him in absolute ruins while she takes her own pleasure with a too wide fanged grin. But she also knows he's strong enough to be an opponent and this woman enjoys a fistfight as foreplay much more than she should. She's already lost in a sense, the push, the punch into the animalistic oblivion is euphoric. Hatefuck in its finest. Her pain tolerance is quite high and she has a pain kink of both giving and receiving. (To be a receiving end in a NORMAL situation would involve a partner, a lover, a love she trusts.) Rozália is trained to fight for 24 hours straight THEN oversee the injured, the collateral damage and issue the repairs: she has extraordinary stamina which can rival some succubi's. You don't want to hear “Better get them up for the 10th round or you will lose one of them.”

#⚔ answered 🔥 | you won't live long enough to tell the tale #⚔ alright/encourage to like and reblog 🔥 | no grave can hold me #⚔ suggestive 🔥 | swordplay 𝐢𝐬 foreplay #🖤 winter's club / valentino 🤌 | oh the two arch enemies; vicious valor and wild ambition; may your fatal tango never stop #🔞 winter's club / valentino & rozália 🏹 | live laugh love; ah fuck that shit: 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚

[smalltownfae]

Top five plots you'd love to read out of Hobb, if she has enough fuel for one last entire trilogy?

Honestly, I don't want sequels. I am one of the few people that doesn't want a Bee trilogy, even though I love the character. If Hobb published it of course I would read it, but it's not the main thing I crave.

1. I would love loooove a prequel trilogy about the girl with the rooster crown prophet and her catalyst. I would love even more that it would give more information about the old elderlings and dragons. I really want to know how different they were in comparison to the new ones. I would love to know more about the relationship between the Whites and Elderlings before everything turned to shit. How did the prophet come to be in favour with the dragons. I would love to know all of that because we don't get enough in the series (even though I like it that way because it wouldn't make sense for the present characters to know all about the past. It's one of my favourite things that they don't. That's more realistic.);

2. Patience and Chivalry's story! I want to know how her relationship with Burrich was, I want to know how it started with Chivalry, I want to know more about Burrich and Chiv's relationship, I want to know more about Fitz's mom and how she met Chivalry and I also want to know how the bond between Patience and Lacey started. There is a lot here to make a compelling story. I think the best way would be to have three perspectives: Patience, Burrich and Chivalry. We know Burrich had an interesting past and I would like to see more of that too. Chivalry's story could include more scenes about Desire and what he did to Galen too, but most importantly how Fitz came to be and we see so little of his father in the original series. Young Patience would just be delighted to see and I just want more of that character than what I was given because she is one of my favourites. These top 2 ideas are ones I am still considering writing fanfic about because I want them so much.

3. Now things get complicated because my 2 most desired ones are out of the way. I would like a story set in Chalced. It's no secret that Chalcedeans were the most "evil" characters in the series. They were everywhere being the worst even if they were not the main villains. There is Chassim as an example of a Chalcedean character that isn't absolutely terrible, but that's not enough. This idea could be just a short story though. I don't particularly like that setting. I would just like more nuance given to Chalcedeans.

4. I have no more ideas for Realm of the Elderling stories. There isn't anything else I am absolutely craving to see. You know I like when things end and don't last so long that they lose their brilliance. So, instead of suggesting more stories set in the Realm of the Elderlings, these last two places are suggestions for other stories with new characters. A first person POV female character trilogy. I guess Bee's story would be this, but I want something new and something that isn't military or gives me weird feelings because of how close to cultural appropriation it is like Soldier Son. I want a coming of age kind of story like Fitz had but with a female character and in a completely different world and situation. She could be a thief. I love stories about thieves. She could have a low kind of magic or no magic at all. I would still like a bit of magic in this world at the same level that exists in RotE. I don't need dragons because I am a bit tired of them at this point.

5. A multiple pov fae story, but like those of Juliet Marillier where the fae are little shits playing with human lives. Marillier just focuses too much on the romance and I think Hobb would do it better by putting other things into play. I would be fine with anything really. I just want Hobb to get rid of the "good" pedophile characters. That's enough. And learn what bisexuality is and use it.

Now I am curious about what ideas you would have for more Hobb stories...

#asks #realm of the elderlings #rote #robin hobb

[donttouchtheneednoggle]

Mightn't be very creative but BBC Merlin <3

u gotta do it :'))

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

ELYANNN what a guy started stanning him out of spite and rage and now i couldn't and wouldn't go back if i tried :') sarcastic compassionate salty cosy stylish dumbass smartass inattentive adhd younger sib gay trans part time ace ICON

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

GWEN esp s1 her along with s1 merlin they’re just tiny protect them 🥺🥺🥺

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

*glowers* Elyan again ;(

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

VIVIAN she’s a bitch and she is so valid 😌😌 also elena she’s such a weird girl™ and 10000% good for her <333

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

slightly left field choice but speicfifcally s1 arthur... i am weirdly protective over that dude there are far fewer instances of him being an irredeemable level of horrible and he’s way more nuanced and ya know basic morality and less hypocritical and i just want to beat some sense into him bc it feels like he’d actaully listen also he is just absolutely helpless godbless and not in the way he is later on where he only pretends to be absolute damsel in distress also colossal trophy husband material gwen and lance get on it <33

also gwaine that man is SO pathetic even tho he tries his best to hide it and it is deeply humiliating how much i relate to him every so often i will realise that i too have to try and make people laugh at every single available opportunity and its the only way i feel i contribute anything of worth nd i just have to thousand yard stare for a bit so yeah :’)

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

LANCELOT i only seem to write him when i can crush him into a pulp godbless he is another level of poor little meow meow <33

also gwen but ONLY in the sense of putting her in awkward situations where she rambles a ton and ends up insulting at least three people by accident canon tormented her enough 😠😠😠 i feel like the dorky part of her is not written enough in fics she is way too composed and perfect and badass and responsible all the time whcih yeah she is that too but let her be a dumbass too <333

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

EWTHER

ty for the ask!! <33

#bbc merlin #ask game

[bibiana112]

im a bit late but Akane for the character asks? :0

Thank yooou, she is such a character ever oh my gosh

favorite thing about them: There's SO much to her, god I love the nuance I love the kind of character that she is of like a smartass weird girl seer archetype with a sprinkle of girlboss my absolute beloved LMAO On a serious note her whole vibe in 999 (once you know what's really happening at least) just hits me, she's going through so much just to be able to live, and like it takes strength to stand up for your younger self like that and see so clearly that it wasn't a personal failing that landed you on that situation, like she could easily think she was the dumb one to go back for the doll (and people certainly make that point often) and let that weight so much on her conscience that she'd be too paralyzed to even create the possibility for herself to survive, but she didn't, because that's simply not the kind of person that she is, and I think that's cool

least favorite thing about them: Her issue is that she's that person who thinks they're the main character in life except, like, she's right about it and she knows that too akjsksjs The hypocritical moral self-righteousness that she displays after 999 kind of irks me despite being a cool ass character direction, but I honestly wouldn't have her any other way

favorite line: "Now, who am [I]? I am [I], the 9th letter of the alphabet. But I am also [Zero]. ...No, that's not true. I'm not really Zero. Not yet. Perhaps you could say I am...[less than Zero]. Zero is my future. In 9 years... I will be [Zero]." Tough pick but this one just makes my brain go brr with every turn of phrase

brOTP: Aside from her literal brother, I like to imagine her getting along with Light decently well I wish they had a talk I wonder how many paragraphs long it'd be lmao and... that's about it she doesn't make many friends going forward aksjaks Aside from Carlos like a little bit I guess?

OTP: Junepeeei, they're so messyyy I love it kahsks there's so much devotion while at the same time so much distance between them like, it's just refreshing to have so many layers of both healthy and unhealthy patterns to their affections for each other instead of a clean straightforward romance, it's a lot to analyze and pick apart and boi if that's not what I love doing with stories lol

nOTP: Aside from the obvious, uh her and Sigma I guess? I hardly see anything for it but I just don't like him to begin with lol

random headcanon: non-binary beam go brr, like, she/her pronouns but she's really whatever when it comes to gender, helps that people unknowingly refer to her with he/him pronouns throughout both 999 and VLR and sure it's because she's playing a part but I think it's fun that she really just doesn't mind at all. Only way of expressing herself were elaborate ruses during death games instead of theater or cosplay or whatever helps people play around with gender, okay? It happens lmao

unpopular opinion: I imagine everything she does after the 999 isn't coming from a place of selflessness as much as it's coming from a sense of needing to be as in the know and in control of a bad situation as possible, even if it's like the literal apocalypse, but she's doing it mainly to feel like a good person and martyr even if she herself wouldn't admit it God I wouldn't be so hard on her if ztd wasn't so bad and retroactively made so much of vlr's plot into absolute nonsense

song i associate with them: Oh BOY! My most Akane core bops would be Wicked (which I already impulsively made a gif of her in the style of the mv lol) I love the funerary vibe and the story being told and I love the "This is the part where the real work starts" so much in this context. I'd Rather Burn is another one aside from obvious reasons, it has bits that are like you go girl! Get your vengeance lmao And finally the last one I have is Temporal Shenanigans do not mind where this one is technically from just listen to it and see how all around perfect it is for Akane because I have no words it just works insanely well

favorite picture of them: Tie between every picture of baby her that isn't sad and that one promo art where she's looking over at Junpei and Aoi nearly throwing hands and probably thinking oh no my idiots are fighting. But anyway *Arrives fashionably late to own death game*

#contractually I need to talk about Aoi and how I think that the first thing there about her not blaming herself is the polar opposite of #takeaway to what he experiences‚ like‚ because at that point he's so used to Not being a kid that he sees it as a kind of #shouldn't have taken my eyes off her kind of thing and he'd already blame himself for not providing enough security to not get kidnapped #even without all the incinerator stuff #despite being literally 15 #I've used that image for art reference so many times qwq #shout out to the one friend that made me a doodle of mini-Akane smiling with a bunny for my birthday #cause I told her drawing mini-Akane crying for my animatic almost ended in me crying too aksjsk #hold up is I'd rather burn not on the yt playlist? that's an oversight lol #In All Chaos There is Calculation 🔴 (akane kurashiki) #long post #a tag for asks

[ectora]

REVIEW 313

took me some time to actually get into that review lmao But i really loved the episode. I know some people will probably have complains about it, but as someone who absolutely loves Abigael, I really liked it. And honestly the fact that abigael was finally included in the main story is not even the reason why. I loved the pacing, it actually felt like Charmed. The stakes, the construction, the format, it was all on point. It was genuinely their best episode alongside 307 (two episodes related to the tomb lmao) and one of their best in the show imo.

I've put it in "hidden" cause it ended up being so long I did not expect that im sorry 😭

SCREEN TIME

Maggie: 29m20s

Macy: 27m36s

Mel: 25m39s

Abigael: 20m17s

Jordan: 10m32s

Harry: 47s

Not gonna lie, I did not miss Harry this episode. Maybe it's just cause I don't like the way they have been writing both him and Macy this season, way too focused on the relationship, but his story does not really interest me. And I enjoy watching Macy interact with other characters a lot more. I think we could have had a little bit more of Jordan as well.

What I liked

where do i even start. I genuinely enjoyed so many things in this episode.

As said earlier, I really enjoyed the structure of the episode, to me it finally really felt like charmed. The way the episode was done was beautiful and I LOVED the trial in a general manner. They're terrible lawyers, but still loved it lmao

Ok hear me out, the fact they had abigael and macy say what the fan had been saying but reversing the roles was actually sent me lmao

I really enjoyed that they balanced the rights and wrongs of abigael. I'm part of the people who think that overall, most of what she did was not that deep tbh, but the episode allowed to have nuances and hold her accountable for things she did while also recognising that she did good things.

Abigael finally interacting with the sisters. To me, that's the sign of good characters tbh, how they can interact with different other leads/mains and such relationships being interesting. Abimel, i'll talk about it a bit later cause i have lots to say. But AbiMacy ? I absolutely always love their scenes, one of the reasons being that I genuinely think they're the two best actresses in the show and you can really feel it when they're on screen. They have easy chemistry and whatever they are doing, they just work. They also had one of the best potential of the show in terms of dynamic and I will never forgive the writers for ruining this, especially because it's in part because of a man. Anyway, their scenes were amazing to watch and I need more. I was especially happy because let's be honest, if Macy has valid reasons to dislike Abigael, they often miss-portrayed that in the show and it often came across as being mostly based on the whole love triangle between Macy Abi and Harry. But this time it really was not and Macy was quite fair, even reaching the conclusion Abi doesn't belong in there - she does not- and I liked that they actually were fair on Macy's dislike and distrust. Then there was AbiMaggie. Honestly, it's not a relationship i expected to enjoy that much but oh god i love them. I loved them in episode 207 and I still do. They just have such a funny dynamic, I can't even explain it correctly but it just work. They're throwing remarks at each other sure but it's almost in a sweet funny way. Abigael calling Maggie 'Legally Brunette" was so funny and cute at the same time.

Talking about Maggie, I really liked her this episode. I love how she reacts in situations where they need a cold head. She takes the lead, she does what needs to be done and she reaches the goal. I really enjoy seeing her taking that role a little bit more. Especially because to me Maggie was always the one with the most nuanced view on the world which I really appreciate. I loved her speech at the end and she grew so much since season 1, she's really so great. The more we advance in the show, the more she shines.

I really liked what happened at the end with the sisters recognising that they are themselves not perfect and are even chaotic. I have a point about being chaotic for later but anyway. Yes the sisters are not perfect. Honestly, they have done questionable things in the past themselves and often are the cataclysm of new things happening. I think it just makes them more interesting and better characters. Black and white can only get so long. Nuanced, imperfect, that's where the complexity lies and what is more interesting imo.

The perfecti really are good characters. I mean their logic was completely f*cked, but they are so entertaining to watch, it's actually great. I like also that they continued that idea that logic without emotion is dangerous. But in some ways tbh, the Perfecti are not even logical. They want to think they are, but their own logic is flawed and like Macy said, completely lacks context.

Finally the power of three and FINALLY, the plot goes forward. Maybe that's another reason I really enjoyed the episode, the fact that it actually had a good flow, it felt like one constructed episode and it actually advanced the story which cannot be said about a lot of the episodes. So I'm happy that happened.

And finally Abimel. I mean, no one can be surprised Abigael has feelings for Mel tbh, girl has not been subtle about it lmao But that declaration was actually cute and their scene at the bar ?? paralleling the one in season 2, it was so sweet. I just love them tbh, and I really think they could have been the ship a lot of us were waiting for in the sapphic community especially.

Abigael's past. Like I loved learning more about her past and her mom. Obviously her traumatic past does not exempt her from her own actions but I do believe it give strong grounds for redemption. it also gives us a lot of insights in her character. Her mom was an absolute monster and what she did to her was terrible. There is no surprise in Abigael's absolute lack of self worth and her unhealthy coping mechanism. Like her mom basically spent her life telling her she was deficient and then punished her for something she had no control on whatsoever. She punished Abigael for her own action and her own liaison with a demon. She probably projected her anger about that relationship on the child that came out of it and it's absolutely horrifying. Like no wonder Abigael is not fond of witches and went into the demon side tbh. Like that's not surprising at all. It also explains why she was so against the idea of witch = good that the sisters keep perpetuating because that's simply not what she experienced. Again, it does not excuse everything she did but I do believe it helps understand the character better and that ultimately, it gives space for a redemption. And again, kuddo to both poppy and the actress who played her mom. First that was great casting and it was really well played.

Remarks

To be honest, I don't really have things I genuinely disliked so I'm more gonna do like a section where i could criticise some of the aspect which to me did not necessarily made sense but were often still funny, and who knows maybe done on purpose. It's gonna be a mix of a little bit of everything.

One of the first thing I was kinda confused on was their use of the term chaos. Because, well, chaos doesn't equate evil. But that's the angle they started taking at the beginning which to me was confusing. It didn't make the episode bad, but the more I think about it, the more I'm like the defence they were going with had nothing to do with the charges 😭 Like, the sisters tried to prove that basically Abigael was a good person. But the charges were that she was chaotic. and by the end of the episode we did reach that kind of point where they said everyone was chaotic and everything - which i liked - but also didn't really match the angle they took the entire episode. Because, I personally never saw Abi as evil. But she is 100% chaotic like that girl is the definition of chaotic and I love her for it. But her doing good or bad is not necessarily what makes her chaotic. Good deeds can be as chaotic as bad ones. For example, Abi binding her own power could be considered as good by some people (it's not really but you see what I mean) but by doing so, she would lose the title of overlord and therefore end the treaty. In that case the war would start and that would definitely be chaotic. If she was to stay overlord however, and control the demon world, which can be seen as bad i guess, she is keeping the war from happening and stopping attacks toward witches and innocents, which is the contrary of chaotic. So yeah, the angle they took did not actually make that much sense cause the two are not the same.

Not gonna lie, bringing Godrik up was so weird to me cause like he tried to kill her first and they all know it, yet she was the one said to try to murder him and I was like ? did we all forgot what happened ? 😭

Some of the things brought by the perfecti - such as her killing those humans or demons - seemed weird because like, the sisters did the same in the past 😭 But also that's part of the whole lack of context aspect I guess.

No they really used Francesca as a witness out of all the people in the world like the woman is a whole child abuser who asked help to the elders, which have been established as like, not good people lmao I know it was part of the whole the perfecti are very selective on the information they actually take into account and they use the information as well as twist them to fir their own narrative but still it came across as weird because that woman was the definition of evil. But that's also what ticked the sisters so well.

Why did they not call Harry to testify was also kinda like ... weird. I mean at the same time I can't really complain but still, it was a bit odd. Also the fact they never thought about showing what was abigael actually doing with Jordan lmao I mean it wouldn't go along with the plot but still.

Ok, that take is subject to controversy and I know it but anyway : to me, Abi stealing Macy's power was ... not that deep. Don't get me wrong, the story was bad. The execution was even worse. In the show itself tho, objectively, as an act, it was not that bad. It actually made a lot of sense for Abigael to take it for herself. Macy wanted to get rid of her demon powers, no one was forcing her. And Abigael actually asked her multiples times if she was sure. Macy definitely had her reasons to do so. But at the end of the day, Abi picking them up when they were gonna disappear in thin air is really not that bad. It's logical. Don't get me wrong I'm glad Macy is getting them back, but I also think there has been a lot of mix up between the actual act of stealing the powers and the way it was done/optics ( I still don't understand how anyone wrote that scene and was like, yeah kneeling is a good idea ??? Like what's wrong with you 😭). But like ultimately, the act itself is not bad. questionable ? sure. Evil ? really not. Like let's be honest here. Abigael never hid who she was (past ep3 obviously). She did not pretend to be an angel, nor that she was a good samaritan. At the end of day, the sisters knew who she was and how she worked. They came to her knowing this. At some point, there is a need to acknowledge that, she was no angel, but they knew that and still went to her. She said it herself, she is used to fight for herself, and she'll sting to protect herself first - which i personally don't really hold again a character. If you go in bed with a scorpion, you can't ignore the fact there is a chance you're gonna get stung. Plus, when Abigael "stung" she also actually still gave them what they wanted/needed. I personally never saw self interest negating a good action. I don't really care if she gets something out of helping. Like at the end of the day, why wouldn't she take them ? In some ways however I do understand why Macy would be mad, she asked for help and she didn't realise Abigael stole them and she doesn't like abigael in the first place so why would she be ok with Abi taking them. That's valid too. But objectively, it was more a she was offended and mad that Abi herself had them more than a it's a terrible thing to do kinda feeling. So like it's a bit of a weird situation because Macy being annoyed and mad is valid but at the same time, it's really not that bad in itself. But overall that story should have never existed in the first place. And certainly not happen like this.

Abimel. I loved it but I also have issues with it. Mostly based on the fact we learned Poppy was leaving the show. And not gonna lie, I cant stop myself from feeling like it was almost a bit .. baity if I dare say. They had basically admitting having feelings for Mel and low key hoping it could lead somewhere when honestly, if she's leaving, they did not need to make it romantic. Because honestly, watching this episode not knowing she would leave ? You'd definitely could think it's happening, especially with all the other hints in the past. They could have made it like more about how Mel was the one giving her a real benefit of the doubt and they had a connexion and she wanted to be worthy of that. It would not be romantic. Especially cause she admitted caring about all sisters so it would have worked. Again, don't get me wrong, I want the most Abimel i can get lmao but also it feels a little weird. It's complicated. 😭

Jordan is definitely coming back, I just wonder what are going to be the circumstances. I completely understand why my boy needed a break. Like their time in the tomb was long. We don't exactly know how time works there but remember, in episode 7 when the sisters were stuck, the normal time was like what ? hours ? while in the tomb it was days for Maggie. So there it was days in normal time so in the tomb ? could potentially feel like weeks, months even. So yeah, give him a break and some time to breath. I know they're dragging this whole Joggie thing but because of Covid i also understand and will let it go. I really like them tho.

Abi has some alcohol problems I feel like should maybe be talked about. Like she uses it as an escape, as a way to numb her feelings. There is a reason it was used to symbolise her submitting herself to the tomb. And her first reaction after leaving the tomb was drinking. When she feels unhinged or vulnerable ? She drinks ? When she lost the title of overlord ? She drank. Alcohol is her escape which is a bit worrying.

Not about the episode but I think it needs to be brought up. I've seen people trying to say they brought up the abuse storyline for abigael out of nowhere and like. Listen I completely understand not trying to give more thoughts to a character you dislike, that's fair enough. But saying that storyline is out of nowhere is just a lie. The only new elements we had here were the details of the abuse she went through. They showed the clip again in the episode, where Abigael talks to Mel about her mom. She rejected her, she made her felt, deficient, wrong. All that is emotional abuse. She said her mom tried to fix her which can easily be thought about physical abuse. Like none of these things were new. To be honest, not a single thing they clarified/established for abigael this episode does not follow up with what was in the show in the past. Her feelings for Mel were honestly rather obvious at this point. Her not wanting TCO to get hurt ? There is literally a scene where Godrik tells her it's her head or the sisters and she never really even thought about throwing the sisters under the bus. She even asked who knew and it's easy to think it's because if no one knew she could put it under the rug. Again, it's fair enough for people to dislike her to not try to put more thoughts into her motivations or scenes in a general manner, but then you can't really say things are out of the blue.

And most importantly, I'm sorry, I don't care if you dislike the character, but if you dismiss the abuse just because of the dislike, that's a problem. What a character goes through in her past does not, in any way, have to change your opinion about them. Whatsoever. However when it comes to issues like child abuse, the bare minimum would be to be respectful of the subject and not say "she deserved it", "should have done more" or just say you don't care cause that changes nothing. Again, it doesn't have to change anyone's opinion at all and it does not excuse behaviours, but man, minimal respect is not that hard.

Highlights

This episode genuinely had such funny moments, i loved it.

« Is this a hard time to admit I failed debate in high school ? » and « could the defendant keep her commentary to herself » competing with each other for the funniest part of the episode. The delivery was perfect on both part. And Abi and Macy interactions are always so good and them bantering more or less seriously all the time is sending me. Macy was just so annoyed with her, i loved it.

« Need something legally brunettes » I said it already but I loved that little scene between AbiMaggie and that line particularly.

Abigael went from saying "I could care less about any of you" to "because I deeply care about her" followed by a whole ass declaration AND admitting she does actually care about all of them. My girl got absolutely played and it was genuinely so funny. Like Abigael was so freaking smug about testifying against herself and she got played so hard, she was SO annoyed it was actually hilarious.

"Every battle I fought, I fought alone" like excuse me while I'll go cry in a corner. Again, Poppy has been absolutely killing her role this season.

"Your arguments are illogical" the perfecti have such audacity like girl have you heard yourself ? 😭 no one is being less logical than you right now.

Lmao when Macy said Abigael belonged into the tomb, Mel was not agreeing 😭 And Maggie was having none of the drama either she just wanted out.

The sisters realising they had to be Abi's character witnesses lmao it was hilarious pleas idc.

Theories

With Poppy Drayton leaving, there are two theories I kinda have. Obviously Abigael is either gonna die or leave. Ngl, I can feel the dying one coming more but well, that brings the two theories.

Abigael would sacrifice herself. Which I don't like but honestly let's be honest, there are 95% chances of that happening. I could see her sacrifice herself for Mel or for the sisters in general. But that's where my abimel issues are coming. I love abimel. I want the most abimel i can have until the end. But Abigael admitting have feelings for Mel just in the purpose of having her sacrifice herself for her and to be 'worth it' ? that's not only a byg trope, it's also lazy.

If she just leave, which wouldn't really make sense to be honest cause why would she just leave, would she give up the title of overlord (why even) or would they bound her powers (i would hate that) ? but anyway, if that's the case, I could actually see her learn Waverly is not actually the one rejecting her. Waverly could very possibly not be the one who communicated with Jordan and the sisters. No one ever saw her, the letters are only signed by her name. It's a bit sus tbh, so nothing stops it from being Francesca actually impersonating her daughter to keep her away from Abigael.

I want to know more about the perfecti. We know they killed charmed ones before, and it doesn't seem like charmed ones existed when they were created ? Maybe the charmed ones were created after they went into the tomb ? I still am not sure about them going into the tomb by themselves tbh. But also they don't seem to be evil in the sense they want power or whatever, more in the fact like they consider themselves perfect and that if someone stands in their way, they'll just get rid of them.

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