#she has no idea how much i value her opinion like i WANT to impress her and make her proud

[hella1975]

feel free to ignore this if you feel like it's too personal, but i just wanted to say that reading some of the posts you've made about your relationship with your mother has really like. helped? in a weird way? bc i know everyone's experience is different but my mum has always treated me as if i'm somehow fundamentally bad in a way my siblings aren't, and it can be so so hard to cope with feeling like the one person who is meant to know you best is convinced that you're actually a terrible person. so reading your posts where you mention something sort of similar to that (not exactly the same but near enough) is really really reassuring bc i've been following you for ages and you seem like a really sweet and protective person and it's like (weirdly) 'okay, if other people have that experience too maybe it's not just me and maybe i'm not the worst, actually' lol

this is actually such a touching ask to receive! to date my relationship with my mum is the most complicated relationship ive ever had with a person and i honestly wholeheartedly believe that will never change even if i have a family. she's such a complex, tortured woman and she has such a temper and she's said such awful things to me, but we're also complete mirrors of each other. growing up my mum recurringly says she thought she was 'mad and bad' - that's a phrase of hers she uses a lot. mad and bad and here i am feeling all those things she felt and it's heartbreaking because oftentimes she's the reason i feel that way, or i feel that way and she makes me feel worse. im constantly torn between guilt and shame and anger, or love so strong i cry over it. it's taken me a long time to accept i will always feel these emotions for my mother and through it she's my favourite person in the world as well as the person who can hurt me worse than anyone, and knowing you're not alone in that, that it doesn't make you a bad child to acknowledge these things, is really reassuring so thank you x

#even answering this ask made me feel guilty bc me and my mum have been getting on really well atm #and when we're getting on we get on so well like idc if it's biased i do genuinely believe we have a stronger connection than most #but god she just gets so angry and even when we get on i cant just forget the things she's said to me #she spent the entirety of my first year of uni making me feel like i was a fundamentally cold person who was bad at loving #and coming from the person who - like you said - is supposed to know me better than anyone it killed me to hear #and it's something im going to spend possibly the rest of my life insecure about even though she's not said it in months #it's so unfair and i hate myself for holding onto things and then i get angry at her for expecting me to let them go #she has no idea how much i value her opinion like i WANT to impress her and make her proud #im killing myself over this economics degree and i didnt HAVE to do it but i knew it would make her happy so i did #bc the thought of doing a degree that disappointed her (at a time when my sister was doing great) terrified me #idk relationships between mothers and children are such landmines #there's resentment and rage there but there's so so much love #ask

[saintsenara]

12, 14, 16, and 22 for Snape asks please

I am most interested in your view of Lily as a character. To me, she never really seemed to live up to the hype I see? Like, I get the point that she's supposed to be Harry's mother and is supposed to be seen as the one who can't do any harm because of the sacrifice and all that. But I don't know whether JK purposely or intentionally put, like, the worst flashbacks to portray her as angelic(?). If I remember correctly, she wasn't even talked about as much as James by Remus or Sirius, they had to add things about her in the movies.

I can't ever see Lily as a good friend to Severus. To others, maybe, but I feel like it was different with Severus. More like a complicated one that was give-and-take, including Severus. Severus, an abused poor boy from Cokeworth, who knew about the wizarding world and Lily, a girl brought up in a happy family, who knew nothing about the wizarding world. Severus was able to get a friend while Lily gained knowledge of the wizarding world. But the one thing that cements this view of mine is the line where it says that Lily looks as if she was about to smile when Severus was being flipped over. Plus, I don't care if anyone says that she tried to defend him, but girl couldn't even use her wand or take points off as Prefect?? Girl was literally making a show, or whatever you want to call it.

Sorry about the rant, but I'm all for a good friend Lily in fics but when people say she was like that in canon? Maybe at times, but not when it mattered. I'd love to hear your opinion though.

thank you for the ask, @be-at-peace05!

[snape ask game here]

12. if you had to choose a golden trio era student to be snape's friend, who would it be and why?

while i don’t subscribe to the idea that he’s his godson, snape’s affection for draco malfoy does seem to be completely sincere. malfoy is also possessed of the sort of intellectual curiosity which snape obviously values (for example, how he figures out how to repair the vanishing cabinet - it’s genuinely impressive, and the fact that this is what he might be doing is certainly something which doesn’t occur to anyone in the order) and, while there’s no doubt that snape probably has as little interest in hearing him whine about everything as lucius does, i can see them having some genuinely fulfilling chats about potions. after all, malfoy gets an outstanding at owl, he must be good at the subject and he does seem to be interested in it.

14. what do you think is snape's favourite potion to prepare?

veritaserum. you just know he was chuckling to himself the whole time he was whipping that fake batch up for umbridge.

16. were you ever a snater? how and when did you become a snover?

i’m also extremely theatrical and fond of chemistry, so snape was always my boy.

i’m also capable of understanding the genre conventions which govern children’s literature and which require him to act as he does, so even when he was being a cock to various children we were chill.

22. do you think that lily was a good friend to snape?

well… this is the big one.

and the answer is no - but.

i always think it’s worth, before discussing lily, doing some quick acknowledgement of her narrative role in the story, which is a major contributing factor to why she feels a bit of a flop in person compared to the way she’s built up by other characters.

lily’s characterisation in canon is primarily hamstrung by two things. the first, as you note, is that her sacrificial role within the story requires a certain degree of perfection - not least because the harry potter series borrows heavily from the genre conventions of christian literature. lily is the analogy for the virgin mary - as we see when her purity of spirit succeeds in inflicting the first defeat on the satan-coded voldemort which will then be fulfilled by harry-as-the-resurrected-christ in the final stages of deathly hallows. obviously, a marian symbol is denied the complexity of other women - and that’s without even getting into the fact that the series has an extremely limited view of what ‘good’ motherhood is.

the second issue is that the text needs to keep lily’s centrality to the mystery hidden for as long as possible, not least because it needs to obscure snape’s true loyalties - and the role lily played in triggering them - until the very end of the seven-book series. this is the reason why sirius and lupin only speak about her once (after harry sees snape’s worst memory - and, even then, they’re mostly talking about james) and why harry’s self-conception is rooted entirely in his father - or in characters like sirius who are stand-ins for james - until half-blood prince, when the narrative begins to suggest that his mother is much more important than harry has previously given her credit for.

[the best way to illustrate this is to note that harry doesn’t give a shit in order of the phoenix that snape calls his mother a mudblood. his primary concern is that his father was a bully and that sirius aided and abetted him - when he thinks about lily, his concern is only that she doesn’t seem to like james, and his worry that his father forced her into a relationship. he doesn’t raise the fact that snape called lily a mudblood with sirius and lupin, and he doesn’t mention it to anyone else. but he cares - viscerally - about the slur at the end of half-blood prince, once the narrative is explicitly trying to convince the reader that snape is an unambiguous villain.]

these narrative necessities are a heavy burden for the canonical lily - and so i think she deserves some grace when it comes to how we analyse her behaviour in the snapshots of her as a real person we get in canon.

because of course she’s not perfect. why should she be? teenage girls are allowed to be less than flawless people - even towards their best friends.

[as an aside here, i think we have to be very careful - in our reading and our writing - not to replicate the contempt that jkr has for women who don’t fit her narrow view of ideal female behaviour. jkr loathes bitchy, girly, flighty, butch, rude, vapid, ugly women - just look at anything she’s ever said about pansy parkinson - and she tends to write her heroines - ginny and hermione chief among them - as that perfect not-like-other-girls storm of exactly pretty and clever and popular and brave enough to be worthy, but not so pretty as to be vain or clever as to be haughty or popular as to be slutty or brave as to be villainous. lily gets this treatment - and i think this drives the tendency of readers who dislike the way she behaves in canon to be hyper-critical of her characterisation. but the issue with this is that it’s also confining ‘good’ women to narrow boxes - while, all too often, allowing male characters a complexity their female counterparts are not permitted.]

which is to say: no, lily isn’t a good friend to snape. but he’s not a good friend to her either.

the issue that the two of them have is that they each relate to the other as though the other is the version of them that they’ve constructed in their head. they never take each other as they actually are.

it’s clear in canon that lily never moves beyond seeing snape as the child - devoted only to her - whose role was to teach her about the wonderful world of magic, and who acted primarily as a tool of her own self-actualisation. this is the reason why she can’t understand why snape is so concerned about fitting in at hogwarts - above all, why he wants to be friends with mulciber and avery - or why she never realises that he wants to be reassured of her affection for him versus the marauders, or why she doesn’t take what happens to him at the marauders’ hands seriously until she is made a part of it by james, or why she doesn’t understand snape’s relationship to his own social class and its role within slytherin. she simply doesn’t conceive of him as someone who exists for himself or who has a life of his own - he exists for her.

and snape thinks the same - he sees himself as the person who gave lily the wizarding world and, therefore, as the person who gets to dictate how she understands it. this is the reason why he can’t understand why she pushes back on his defence of mulciber’s use of dark magic (since he - in a very voldemort-ish move - clearly thinks that applying boundaries to what magic can and should be studied is gatekeeping), or why she doesn’t agree with him that the death eaters will help him, or why she’s upset when he’s rude to petunia, or why she leans into the performance of class expected from muggleborns (sucking up to slughorn, taking her pureblood husband’s name) in a time of increasing sectarian tension. she exists for him.

this assessment obviously makes them both sound incredibly cruel, but actually this is the way that childhood friendships often go. it’s very easy to see how the fact of being the only two magical children in cokeworth was validating for both snape and lily, and how this formed a tie between them which was very fierce but very brittle - which was never going to do anything other than shatter as they grew older, especially as they became aware of things like social structure, political affiliation, and sexual desire. it’s cruel of lily to laugh at snape’s poverty - absolutely - but it’s also the way that lots of teenagers who haven’t entirely grappled with their own relationship to society behave, and it’s also true that acting up in front of a boy you fancy is a time-honoured tradition which can also cause you to be quite cruel. lily isn’t nice by any means when snape is being attacked by james and sirius, but she doesn’t have to be. she just has to be human.

there are two final points which i think it’s worth being aware of:

the first is that snape evidently stands out as one of the few visibly working-class students in the castle [so much so that i have a meta in my drafts about whether or not hogwarts is a selective school] and the fact that he is obviously targeted for his poverty is cruel, and i understand why it makes many fans want to defend him - particularly given the fandom’s fondness for glorifying aristocracy and wealth.

but lily is also an other in wizarding society. i think it’s often not taken as seriously as it should be by snape fans just how terrified she must have been for her own safety, particularly from the later 1970s onwards, when all the evidence of canon is that voldemort is about to win. the wizarding world is set up to exclude her just as much as it is snape, and while we can and should be critical how her response to his poverty is unfair, we have to do the same for his outright refusal to acknowledge that she is subjected to discrimination on the basis of her blood status.

the second is that we don’t actually know if lily was a prefect - she was head girl, but james managed to become head boy without having been one. the person we do know was a prefect was remus lupin. if we’re criticising anyone for failing to intervene, it should be him.

#snape ask game #severus snape #lily evans #asks answered

[generalluxun]

I think the reason why Chloe is so controversial in the fandom is that both sides can be toxic. Some Chloe stans are toxic and jerks, but some of the toxic Chloe haters are no better. They act like toxic Chloe stans by shaming, harassing and bullying people who do like her. They also cannot respect opinions as well. These are just my thoughts.

There are several reasons I think.

Clearly there are people who project themselves onto Marinette and then project their own personal bully experiences onto Chloé. Without actual therapy or time+healing on their own, these people will never accept any reasoned argument about Chloé as a character, because to them she isn't a character, she is their personal bully. The transference supplants the actual narrative.

There are definitely toxic behaviors among some of the people who claim to like Chloé too. I do think there's value in breaking down the who and why though.

There are the pot stirrers: These people actually don't care about Chloé per-se they just see a hot take and jump on it, hoping to cause as much trouble as they can. These folks aren't really 'Chloé stans' heck, they probably aren't even ML fans. They're instigators. It's important to recognize one when you see them and simply pitch their noise into the bin 'Chloé did nothing wrong!' is such a silly and clearly wrong take that it can only be from one of these folks.

There are those who are frustrated: I lay the blame for this segment squarely at Thomas Astruc's feet. He makes bold, dismissive, and authoritative statements, escalating all the way to open gaslighting when confronted, or even just lightly questioned in regards to Chloé's character.

'Chloé is not abused' -SIR, please consult someone with even the rudiments of child development education and review what has actually been put on screen. I know whether I am going to believe you, or my lying eyes. Thank you.

His antics and the narrative in general ignoring what has already been put on screen frustrates a LOT of people, and deeply so. Child abuse isn't a light topic, people have *feelings* about it. TA is unreachable and unengagable though, and so a chunk of people turn their frustrations elsewhere. They lash out at other characters, and by proxy their stans, and you get this whole negative feedback loop in the fandom while I presume TA just sits back with a drink in hand, throwing darts at pictures of blond girls, and laughing.

There are those who can't express themselves well: Remember this is a kids show so a large chunk of the fandom is well, unsurprisingly, kids! Kids without the raw learning to necessarily articulate their arguments with nuance. This is how you get a dozen tweets to Ta asking 'When is Chloé going to get some development?' to which he can derisively reply 'She has, you just don't like it!' and durr hurr hurr isn't he so clever.

If the fan had instead put forth clear concise examples of the abuse on screen, how it ties into actual child development practices, how they want this *child* to be shown growing and overcoming these huge hurdles because you know, they're decent human beings, and their confusion as to why a show about superheroes/Magical girls hasn't done that.... well, it would be harder to dismiss.

Take that exchange, and now instead shift it to folks among the fandom themselves. Short, sweeping statements that don't really express what they are feeling effectively. This happens between Adrien/Mari stans when they fight too. Not every 13yr old should be expected to know college level Psyche, but it can lead to miscommunication and then acrimony when they engage without it.

I want to point out this also works for things not involving Chloé at all.

Marinette stans trying to explain why they feel Marinette is so put upon while others argue that she gets everything and *Adrien* is the put upon one, all getting into protracted battles while shouting half-formed ideas and confused impressions from an inconsistent and poorly framed narrative at each other.

Is Marinette a Mary Sue who is handed things in a silver platter? *YES*

Is she ALSO an emotional damage magnet, abused by the narrative relentlessly and blamed for things not her fault? *YES*

These two ideas can both exist at the same time, but a lot of people have a hard time juggling that, so we get arguments and toxicity because this is the internet and too much is never enough of anything.

#ask #fandom #not salt but exploring behaviors #chloé bourgeois #marinette dupain cheng

[dramavixen]

watch this! – provoke

In times like these, when so many high production-value dramas vie over the spotlight with their intense plots and flashy names, you occasionally need a low-budget show that's just vibing in the corner—a bit of a wallflower and rough around the edges, but it's doing its own thing, doing it quite well, and will provide respite for your overwhelmed brain.

What is Provoke?

A romance-revenge webdrama set in the Republican era. A woman marries the geezer responsible for her parents' death, plotting to ruin him and restore her family's sullied name. Said geezer's son becomes suspicious of her and decides that creating the greatest amount of sexual tension possible with her is the best course of action. Also, he clearly has plans of his own since he's not the guy's real son.

This show is as cheesy and melodramatic as it gets and none of it can be considered logical. It's awesome.

Why watch?

--

We be trendsetters

You got your friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers stories. As timeless as those tropes may be, might I suggest "stepmom-to-lover" as the new trend? (Or how about all three at once?) It's fresh! It's forbidden! It's so ludicrous that the mere existence of the premise is spicy!

In my personal opinion, the execution should have been much spicier. I only very gently clutched my pearls when what I wanted was to feel scandalized through every blood vessel of this tiny body of mine. But alas, I can't bring myself to dislike the love story we did receive. I graciously accept all over-the-top romances.

Ahem. What I meant to say was, ew, gross. What kind of weirdo thought that such an offensive idea could make for good television? Someone classy like me would never.

--

That romance story you wrote as a twelve-year-old after watching an episode of a soap opera...this is that

Rain pours down against the window. A pretty young woman sits in front of her vanity, brushing on a thick layer of makeup even though it's time to go to bed.

Lightning sets the skies aflame, outlining a silhouette that appears in the doorway. It's him, the dashing young master of the household. His dark eyes glint as he leans awkwardly against the wall in an attempt to come off as intimidating. He's soaked from being outside the rain and drops of water fall from the tips of his hair. He kind of looks like an infuriated feline.

She stands when she sees him. He crosses the room.

"What are you—" she stammers, her words catching in her throat as he corners her against the vanity and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her body against his. He grabs her wrist with his other hand and pins it to the table, knocking over an open container of rouge. Its contents burst into a firework of glimmering powder.

His face is close enough that she can feel his breath on her cheek. She tries to lean away from him, but he's too strong. He is a lion, and she a gazelle.

"Have you forgotten?" she says as she struggles against him. "I'm your father's concubine."

"And have you forgotten?" His voice is deep; some might even consider it sultry. "I'm the one who brought you into this family."

They stare at one another. Then he brings his lips crashing down on hers, or whatever the standard cliché for "kissing" is nowadays.

Such goes the first few minutes of the first episode, which also happens to be what's pictured in our provocative poster. Wait until you see the whole scene.

My fanfiction past feels so seen right now.

--

There is exactly one brain cell present

You think that because this is a revenge drama, you're going to get a super intricate plot? Heck no. We don't have the time or brainpower for that, remember? We're here for the fun of it.

Everything about this show is smooth sailing because all of the characters are of mediocre intelligence and ability. Your brain does not need to be in operation at any point. Our female lead? She's probably the smartest one, but it's not like that's impressive when her husband is oddly easy to seduce. His actual wife tries so, so hard to be mean to the new girl in the house but fails with flying colors. Meanwhile, the male lead spends most of his time making heart-eyes at his dad's new concubine. It's like watching a bunch of wild geese chase each other and somehow accomplish things along the way.

--

[insert pun about chemistry and chemistry class here]

These two lead actors could perform all the tropes in the world and I would love it. They bulldoze through a lot in this show and every moment has me grinning like a total creep. That's what low-budget dramas bless us with: shameless clichés. They don't need to make up excuses for why a bridal carry or eye contact that lasts ten minutes exists. After all, we know what we're here for: to satiate our cravings for unrestrained, cheesy-as-heck romance.

The level of acting is higher than you should ask for from a production of this scale. The tension between the two is palpable at every moment, and they truly bring their characters to life. It helps that they're very easy on the eyes. I mean, just look at this pair of bloodthirsty impostors:

When they start falling for one another...oh boy. My weak heart.

--

Cinematography 101

I would include screenshots of how stunning this drama is, but I'm not sure how many would do it justice. The set isn't particularly breathtaking and there aren't many flashy assets otherwise, but the director makes smart decisions with what he has to produce fantastic results. A lot of it is based on motion, which is why still screenshots can't really suffice in displaying his techniques.

Nifty camera angles or tricks aren't what caught my attention, but the combination of basic props, movement, and lighting did. A lot can be accomplished through simplicity to craft a specific atmosphere, which is exactly what makes this drama feel like a large-scale production. You really have to see it in motion to believe it.

--

I'm going to be humming the theme song to myself for the next week as I get this drama out of my system. It grabbed me by the throat and dragged me from the depths of my drama slump. Maybe I need to relive my tacky romance phase.

#provoke #招惹 #recs* #scribbles* #yeah i think i'm just sick of using my head when i watch tv #give me all the brainless content #did i change the format of this just bc i wanted to write that fanfiction-esque segment #maybe #and i had a fantastic time doing it

[skania]

Do you think kana would be perfect for aqua once he tells her everything and heals from his trauma? Kana is light his bright shining star and kana long term crush on aqua will be a good payoff for once. Akane will probably see that kana is best for him and help them get together? I see fans theorize on this and I want to hear your opinion

I typed a reply to this and Tumblr lost it! 😭

I'll also replying to these here because they're all Aq/Kan related:

I'd also like the chance to clarify something. I'm not here to convince anyone that Aqua/Kana won't happen! It could very well happen! A part of me is expecting it to happen,not because it'd be the best outcome but because it's the most predictable one lmao

So yeah, I'm not here for that and I'm not interested in doing so either. I'm here to talk about Akane, Aqua and AquaKane and all the reasons why they won me over and why I personally find them much more satisfying!

Forgive me for the PSA anons, I'm answering these but I need to redirect my agenda to the ship I actually ship lmao

To summarize what I wrote before Tumblr ate my reply, of course there are theories like those because it's the most obvious reading of the manga. If you take every Aqua and Kana interaction at face value, it's natural to come to that conclusion. And they could very well be right, maybe Aka is subverting expectations by making us think he is above going for the obvious, only to do exactly that. It's possible! The ships in Kaguya were blatantly obvious, too.

Except. And here is the big thing. Aka has already written a character that approaches love in the same way Kana does. This character is Maki. She was in love with a boy but never did anything about it. The consequence? The boy started to like her best friend and pursued her. What did Maki do? Nothing. The boy and her best friend started to date, a casual relationship turned to love, and Maki did nothing but mope pretty much exactly like Kana. Was Maki's love rewarded at the end? No, because Aka portrayed her inaction as wrong.

Now, the main difference between Kana and Maki is that Aqua may very well be into her, too. But the rest of the picture remains the same: lack of action from Kana, a complete lack of development between them, etc., while Aqua and Akane have gone through like 10 different relationship stages in that same amount of time, growing closer each time.

So which road you find most rewarding depends on which road you personally think has been more developed in the manga. Same goes for whether you think Kana would be perfect for Aqua; I think that at the surface, the manga wants the reader to get that impression. But is she really? Kana is too naive. Whenever Aqua manipulates her, she blindly falls right into it. She wears her heart on her sleeve; this may be refreshing to Aqua, but it also puts Kana at a clear disadvantage because he knows exactly what to say and do to get her to react exactly how he wants her to. Would theirs be a relationship between equals? Right now, I'm not sure I can see it.

But you know what? It's actually impossible to know how Kana would fare around Aqua, the whole Aqua, because we have simply never seen it. Aqua's darkness has always been kept from her. And the scenario you're painting here involves a perfectly healthy Aqua, but he may never be like that. I am definitely hoping he heals and I'm sure he will heal, but that won't magically erase everything he has gone through. Is Kana equipped to deal with that? Maybe, maybe not. We won't know until Aka actually allows her to see all of Aqua.

So all in all, my thoughts are that it's kind of pointless to worry about this. You either enjoy Aqua/Akane's dynamic more or you don't. There isn't a right answer, it's subjective.

I have no thoughts about this lol Akane was just trying to reassure Aqua, she had no idea that Aqua had never done emotional acting before because at this point, she was only getting to know him. Akane isn't the type to force her way through without first having a clear understanding of what is going on inside the person.

Once she sees how he acted in the past, Akane figures it all out and gets to the heart of the matter. What does Aqua act for? Why does he want to act in the first place?

And she doesn't settle for Aqua not giving her a straight answer.

Ai was Ruby's light too. Was Ruby in love with Ai?

In this manga, being someone's light doesn't have to be romantic. Now, I'm not saying Aqua's feelings for Kana aren't romantic; like I've said a bunch of times, the in-your-face reading of the manga is that they are.

I'm saying that Kana being Aqua's light doesn't automatically mean she's his one true love, because being a light for someone isn't an inherently romantic concept in this manga.

As for whether Aqua was "forcing" himself to think he would be better off with Akane...

Aqua dated Akane because he wanted to and he stayed with Akane because he wanted to; because she did him good. Aqua's actions show a dedicated boyfriend who literally calls his girlfriend every night.

But Aqua's happiness was built on Aqua deliberately turning his eyes away from the truth about Kamiki. Rather than face the music, Aqua ran away. Same goes for his bond with Kana. Instead of having a honest talk with her, Aqua let his trauma get the best of him and simply cut her off his life.

I think deep down, Aqua was aware that he was running away. But by running away, he was able to spend his days in relative peace. So even when Gotanda spelled out the truth to him, Aqua couldn't find it in himself to stop running.

Of course, this is only part of what weights Aqua down during his "freedom" period. I believe another thing that weights Aqua down is that he hasn't told Akane that he is Goro. Despite all the truths he has told her, he is still hiding this from her, and we know for a fact that he sees this as him "deceiving her."

All of this, coupled with Aqua's inherent trauma which shapes itself into thinking: Do I even deserve to be happy? shackle Aqua to the past he is desperately trying to run away from.

But this is such an interesting topic that it probably deserves its own post lol

#onk asks convos #my aquakane meta #the “freedom” aqua period and the aquakane relationship definitely deserve their own posts #It's hard to keep track but I should make a list #me: aqua and kana

[queerxqueen]

Hiii ! (I love your account so much, I really like your way of thinking hihi)

A "simple" question but how do you think season 4 will end (for byler i mean)? Could you please develope your opinion, your certainties about them, maybe even clues to prove what you say perhaps? :)

After this new trailer I have the impression that many have lost hope, it’s so sad :((

Have a nice day ! ❤️

sorry for my bad english :((

Thank you so much for your ask and your kind words!!!!

It's so hard to talk about what I think will happen in Volume 2, because there's kind of a difference between what I want to see, what I think should happen, and what I actually expect to see.

That said...

Season 4 Volume 2 Predictions

Mike does say I love you to Eleven, BUT it's either platonic OR framed in a way that tells the audience he is lying.

We are leading up to an I love you. El needs to hear it, and it makes sense for Mike to say it platonically, or else to feel like he has to say it. I'm hoping that, if he's meant to be lying or unsure, they make that very clear. I think it's possible that Eleven will challenge his I love you as well and which could directly or eventually lead into the next idea...

Eleven breaks up with Mike.

Eleven has spent the season regaining her powers and learning a lot about her past. She struggles with whether she's a monster or a superhero and needs to learn that she's somewhere in between. She's been lying to Mike to seem perfect. If she's really going to come to terms with who she is and "stand on her own two feet" as MBB said in a recent interview, I think she needs to break up with Mike.

Will doesn't directly confess his feelings with the painting, possibly because they are interrupted.

Listen, the painting obviously has romantic intentions, but the fact that he brought it to the airport intending to give it to Mike in front of everyone shows that it's not directly tied to a confession. I think Will will give Mike the painting, or Mike will open the painting while Will is elsewhere. Either way, I don't think the painting will be accompanied by a direct admission of Will's feelings. Because...

Mike expresses his feelings first.

I don't know if this is because of the painting or because of a life-or-death situation or in order to save Will or anything like that, but if they're going the route of requited Byler, I think it's important that Mike expresses his feelings first. Whether that's initiating a kiss or touch or actually saying how he feels, I don't know.

Related to this, I think we could see an old letter from Mike to Will signed Love, Mike, either from their year apart or found in the Upside Down from 1983.

And finally, love will save the day.

I don't know whether it will save Eleven or Will or both or everyone but that's a theme we've already seen established. First with Max's memories saving her from Vecna, then with Eleven using memory of her mother's I love you to banish 001 to the Upside Down, and throughout the other seasons.

For Eleven, I hope she will realize the value of platonic and familial love through memories of Hop & Joyce, the party, etc. For Will, I hope Mike will realize his feelings and save him. But again, what I want to see isn't necessarily what I expect to see.

[send byler thoughts pls]

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 4 #answered #theories #An old letter from Mike to Will signed Love #Mike #haelystic

[thelreads]

I’m surprised you came to such a hasty conclusion about Garden. What about all we learned about Garden during the cruise arc? Plus that later chapter where Shopkeeper himself basically noted both Loid and Melinda as possible future targets due to their affiliation with Donovan the War Monger. He wouldn’t do that, or have such a poor opinion of conservatives, if he was siding with their government.

Garden has been very consistently portrayed as a self-contained organisation with a clear leader and philosophy (especially in the cruise arc). They are wholly independent “maintainers of the garden” whose whole deal is keeping the peace no matter how it’s done - legal or illegal - putting them firmly on the anti-war side.

The red circus, on the other hand, seems to be made up of different shoots / groups with different values. Mr Restaurant Boom Boom certainly didn’t bat an eye at causing mass civilian casualties if it meant he could take down Yor with him. So it makes perfect sense that Yor was sent after that part of the red circus - they were dangerous mass murderers. Mr Dead Daughter, on the other hand, is probably only still alive because his no-kill policy hasn’t yet qualified him for Garden’s hit list.

During the Cruise arc we learned that the Garden wants peace, sure, but it leaves a few questions that seem to point at the way they actually operate. If they wanted to just prevent war altogether they could just murder Donovan. That would prevent an eventual war, and more than that, any other person who took power that had warmongering tendencies could also be eliminated rather easily, so why don't they do that?

And here's your answer: The Garden is not necessarily pro-peace. When the shopkeeper talks about them, he says

And just a little after giving Yor the mission

So, not peace, the Garden mission is to keep the world "beautiful"

And how do they do that? By taking down people who interfere in the natural course of things. Traitors of the nation like the Yor killed at the start, or a insurgent group that wants to disrupt things. Yor is the one that thinks that they are wanting peace.

Nothing here says that the shopkeeper doesn't believe that war and violence aren't part of nature, and therefore are part of this beauty

And this is even worse if the idea that the Garden is under the government orders is true. Sure, we had this scene when Yor was talking to him after meeting Melinda

But being honest, I think that the idea the shopkeeper was trying to pass here was not that the problem was that she was conservative, I think the implication was that if she ever decides to leave or go against Donovan then Yor would have to kill her, and because of that she doesn't recommend it.

Sure, there was the exchange about political beliefs

But that could be a way to warn Yor so she doesn't seem suspicious, it never seemed to me like the people of this country were that against Donovan, pretty much the everyone we see on the streets seems to be on his side

Then there was this exchange that makes it seem like Twilight is under suspicion for being interested in Donovan political party

But look at the whole conversation, Yor just said that:

1- Twilight already met Donovan

2-That Twilight thought Donovan seemed like a good person

those could be the things that ticked off the shopkeeper. How did he managed to already get that close to him? And worse, if he met him, how was he still under the impression he seemed like a good person?

The second one could just mean Twilight was an asshole like Donovan, but the first one... A regular person shouldn't be able to do that by accident, considering how paranoid and reclusive the man is.

So, I can't exactly chalk down this possibility. But I can't deny that, no matter how good intentioned Mr. Bombcollar here is, there are a lot of people under his command that aren't as keen on not hurting kids, or innocents. But he wasn't spared because of that, it was because he was hidden outside of the country, like they said at the start of this arc.

#theLreads #inbetween #SXFC73 #SPY aftertalks #ask

[shadowxamyweek]

I've seen some people headcanoning Shadow as someone who can flirt pretty well (probably because of his confident and "suave" aura) and some people that headcanon Shadow as a dork who cant flirt to save his life (probably because he is not a very people-person and doesnt know the cues of how to flirt). What do you think? (Personally I think he knows how to flirt, Rouge is his best friend he must have learned something by watching her, he just doesnt bother to flirt. In a Shadamy context, I see Amy as the one that flirts the most)

Aaaah~! XD XD Oh this is fun!

See, I feel the idea of suave Shadow that we see now is echos of the fandom interpretation of him from when they first came out in 2001. It's so interesting to see that make a comeback in today's fandom interpretation! And it's fun! Like, flirty Shadow- it's a fun thought!

The idea of a Shadow who can't flirt I feel came about more recently. I think that was in tandem with the realization of just how socially awkward the poor creature can be, both with themselves and with others.

Both have merit, value, and canon support, in my opinion! As such, I have a tendency to mix the two, sort of like what you did in your own thoughts showcased in your letter! I like the idea of Rouge teaching Shadow how to flirt, but also, I think it's something he'd want to know the mechanics of at least enough so that he could recognize it.

For example- suppose Rouge has, on occasion, gotten randomly close and mildly grabby with Shadow when some other guy is talking to her. Shadow would, naturally, ask her what is going on.

She'd have to explain to him, 'Hey, that guy was flirting with me, and I was trying to find a polite way to get rid of him.'

Shadow would go '???? Doesn't compute. He was just talking. Also, you could absolutely break his limbs if you wanted to, so why hang onto me? You're going to have to explain this."

Thus, he'd be better prepared in the future to recognize the signs of flirting and be able to not mess up Rouge's socially acceptable defensive maneuvers.

(Even if he's more inclined to a direct and memorable approach for teaching the meaning of the word, 'no.')

On the flipside, suppose Shadow has had conversations with people where he feels he's not picking up on something (especially with Rouge laughing behind him.) Shadow might then ask her to explain, which she would, so that he personally would better understand flirting in a context that directly pertains to advances being made at him.

Though these conversations would, one would assume, ultimately help him when he decides to try and romantically pursue someone... I think he'd fall flat on his face.

See, it's hard to force yourself to do something like this if you normally wouldn't. It's hard to force yourself to engage in a manner of communication or social/physical exchange when you don't normally operate in that wavelength. With flirting, Shadow might know what he wants to say, or how he wants to say something, but I think the guy would stumble especially if we're talking this occurring during a time when he's not sure Amy likes him back yet.

I posted about it on my main how I think the humor dynamic between Rouge and Shadow sometimes works in non-stressful situations (read: sometimes, not always), but there's also a quote at 15:52 in the linked video that goes as follows.

"First impressions. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, but you always get a third chance to go take me on a date... sp, it- a spa- spaghetti."

I can't help but think that, at least while practicing alone to ask her out, this is what would happen XD (Can you imagine if this came out of his mouth while talking to her though? Oh no... XD XD XD)

Once they're officially together, though? I think he'd feel much more comfortable flirting, especially if he gets to see Amy blush and laugh.

(There's nothing like the positive reinforcement of making your partner smile.)

Also you are 100% correct about Amy being the more flirtatious between the two. I also do love the idea of her getting thrown for a loop over Shadow's positive reactions to it XD She probably isn't use to that.

Once again though, I'm down for anything if it's written well and in character, always 🖤💖

#anon #ask #shadamy #thanks again for sending me mail! i love this! #op rambles #headcanon

[bedtimegiraffe]

The Place of Orcish Culture- The Fundamental Tal Kaelen Disagreement

Imtura sums up what she wants and her priorities really well. She loves freedom, adventure, and independence. Which based on the Lore Tablets sounds exactly like, well, an orc.

But it is the sea that gave the orcs what they value most -- freedom. And that is why they have always considered themselves stewards of the sea.

Orcish culture values individuality above all else. As such, the field of battle is seen as a prime place for an individual to prove themselves and their skill. An orcish attack is one of dozens of fighters, each competing to prove the most glorious.

And then you have her mother, Ventra; we never hear her describe herself in her own words, but we can get a lot from what other people say about her.

(Not relevant to this discussion, but it's fascinating to me that everyone else addresses Ventra directly while Imtura talks about her.)

And oh boy, do we get a lot about both of them and their philosophies from their exchange when we reach the Flotilla for the first time.

Ventra is a very strong warrior and decisive leader. She doesn't want her heir having "silly notions about freedom and the high sea." She wants one who will "learn the ways of the crown." Which is interested, because that is an many ways the reverse of what orcs are known for.

Let's get into how Ventra came to be in charge while we're at it (from the Lore Tablets).

Ventra Tal Kaelen of the dominant Minurva fleet set out on a mission to unify all the clans into a single society. Impressively, she passed each fleet's leadership test (though there are whispers of cheating). Now, she rules all the orcs from her throne at Flotilla. A council of twelve leaders, one from each fleet, advises her, though her power is, ultimately, absolute."

That all sounds... really familiar.

For about 500 years, Morella was divided into two dozen fiefdoms, constantly at war. But this period of darkness and chaos ended when the Lords of Whitetower triumphed, conquering the territories one by one to create a unified dynasty.

Whether she knows it or not, Ventra is acting just like the very much human Valleros family. Aerin even describes the position of the human monarch in the same terms- "absolute power." The humans have councilors who advise the King or Queen, but the councilors have no authority. Just like Ventra's system.

Ventra even chose the same title- Queen. Why not Admiral? Or Grand Captain? Or something else even vaguely nautical rather than just copying the humans?

She made even more sweeping changes to the orcish way of life-

In the past, the twelve orcish fleets acted independently, even in conflict. But ten years ago, they were united under the leadership of Ventra Tal Kaelen, who formed an alliance and established a capital, the floating city of Flotilla.

Again, this feels like it directly contradicts orcish values as they're explained in the Lore Tablets-

Orcs are a nomadic species. 'We Lay No Roots' is a foundational principle of orcish culture, and one held deeply by all Clans.

My guess- Ventra saw that the humans had it pretty good. We don't know how long King Arlan has been on the throne, but we do know that King Arlan's reign has been exceptionally peaceful and prosperous (the fallout of his awful parenting notwithstanding). A lack of intraracial conflict is a big help in that. I imagine Ventra's very strong opinions made the idea of holding complete power, with no need to negotiate or explain herself, really appealing.

Imtura and Ventra were never going to see eye-to-eye about how what Imtura should do or how to organize the Clans- because Ventra's thinking is too human.

Ultimately, Imtura brings the orcs back to a system of governance much more in line with their culture and values. Because that's what she's always valued, too.

#I spent years writing literature analysis papers for school and look at me now! (affectionate) #It cracks me up how many of our party members were royalty of some kind who went “Actually- no thanks.” #Not where I expected to end up looking over all of Imtura's interactions with her mother but here we are #Imtura's over here inventing the concept of a republic #choices blades of light and shadow #blades of light and shadow #choices bolas #imtura tal kaelen #ventra tal kaelen #lore analysis

[ilikepipecleanerswitheyes]

deep dive into the delightful complexity of tom and shiv

tomshiv content was sooo good in 4x6 and i just want to do a deeper dive into it because we’ve frankly never seen this honest of a dynamic between them. i also see some people interpreting their dynamic in a way i don’t necessarily agree with, so i’m giving my perspective. 

on love: does shiv love tom? that is the question this fandom asks so often. interestingly, i don’t ever see it reversed a lot where the question is, “does tom love shiv?” i think the reason we don’t see that is the fact that tom gets coddled a lot. tom seems to come from a wealthy family, but their wealth doesn’t seem to make up even a fraction of the roy’s wealth. so of course, tom was going to benefit from being married to a member of the family. his high position at atn has routinely been protected and upheld as a result of this. of course, tom approaching shiv in whatever way he did was likely strategic. do i also think that they came to have genuine affection for each other? also yes. for all the instances people shit on shiv for being an awful partner, i’d also argue there are instances of her showing genuine care for him (and vice versa). there are lots of examples of this, but my favorite one i’ll point to is this one. people hate shiv for this scene, but in my opinion, she is genuinely upset to see the hurt on tom’s face. if they didn’t have some amount of love for each other, 1) tom wouldn’t have been so hurt, and 2) shiv would have simply resorted to “i thought we agreed to this” -- she didn’t want to kick him when he was obviously down because she cares for him. 

bitey: this scene at face value is just them acting like the weird couple in high school, but i love the fact it is a game that involves hurting each other -- much like tomshiv’s real relationship. earlier in the show, we often see tom following shiv’s lead, because that’s what’s most convenient to him. however, a moment reached where logan was more convenient for tom, hence the betrayal (by tom’s admission). the s3 finale was the first time we’d really seen tom “bite back”, and harder, than shiv. there was a lot of theories pre-s4 with people speculating shiv would respect tom more after knowing how cruel he could be, and it seems that’s the case right now. i think this is proven with shiv’s line of, “tom wambsgans finally made me feel something.” the literal bite hurt, but in a twisted way, she was impressed by it. tom having the ability to be strategic with no restrictions has increased his value in shiv’s eyes. 

post bitey sex pillow talk: this was my favorite part of this episode. the honesty from the both of them was so intensely refreshing. it’s so funny to see tom say “sorry” to shiv for the betrayal, when i genuinely believe he would do it again in a heartbeat if he knew logan could stay alive. i love that tom was open about loving his life and his wealth and how shiv brought him closer to that lifestyle. what i loved even more was how tom challenged shiv to open up about her intentions. of course, she was still hurt by the betrayal, but she has a deeper understanding of why he did it, and even respects it. people might say it’s too far to say she respects it, but i don’t think is. shiv saying, “i’d follow you anywhere for love” is her way of showing she respects it. it’s a sarcastic, silly comment which tom and shiv both understand. the idea of them abandoning their possessions for love is ridiculous to them. shiv laughing at this shows that she understands going against a financially beneficial move for the sake of love is ridiculous. 

in conclusion: tom and shiv genuinely love each other deeply and intimately, but ALSO love what they give each other, and their relationship cannot work with the absence of either. if they didn’t love each other, they’d really just be two miserable people who can’t stand to be near each other… but they do have their moments of liking each others company, genuinely. and if tom and shiv didn’t have the positions/money they did, there would be no benefit for either of them to stay together. they cannot be the couple who abandons their life of wealth for love to go live in a trailer, but they can be the couple who helps each other excel in the life of luxury and opulence, while also, conveniently having love for one another. 

#tomshiv #succession #succession season 4 #tom wambsgans #shiv roy #by chance if the conclusion is familiar because of reddit -- that is me lol not stealing from anyone i promise

[whitelilynh]

Unpopular opinion: Team Guy had the MOST protagonic vibes of them all.

Seriously, they would have been a much better main cast.

Lee has major MC vibes, he is one that truly stands up for hard work, it's not favoured by any external circunstances (the opposite, actually) and has real moral values (he doesn't justify bad actions if made by people he likes, unlike Naruto). Also, they involve a relationship of TRUE rivalry inside the team, being Neji a real, healthy rival and not a straight out antagonist/enemy.

Going on with Neji, he has a compelling and complex background story that credits his behaviour/mentality even if he was wrong on his interpretation of his clan and what destiny is, AND he is able to acknowledge his mistake and grow from it, which makes him a mature person and not just a boy making tantrums each time he's proven wrong. In fact, Neji is low-key wanting to be proven wrong, which means he partially might be aware of his misinterpretations, but is so fixated on the ideas he created as a copying mechanism since he was 4 YO he can't let go, until helped by others and mainly, told the truth for once in his life (he was just such a greatly constructed character in OG)... AND the resolution of his background story doesn't significantly changes his dynamics with his team and his rival because those are healthy, well constructed bonds and he is a proper individual on his own, not attached to someone else to validate himself. Besides, Neji is a TRUE genious, who made even someone as Kakashi (who was a prodigy himself, student of 4° hokage = genius and teammate of Itachi and probably Shisui = both geniouses) question how is that someone as incredible as Neji even exists (this is canon from his fight with Hinata, but was conveniently forgotten after that in order to nerf Neji so he wouldn't outshine Naruto and Sasuke... Kakashi also states Sasuke is no close to rival Neji's genious).

And we have Tenten who is, for once, not disminished by an obsessive infatuation with anyone, but an independent kunoichi that works hard and has goals of her own, she ambitions to be a legendary kunoichi all for herself, not to impress anyone. Also, she is not biased towards any of her teammates and doesn't relies on them (and this is a major point in this team, not any one of them rely on the others, but actually work TOGETHER).

This is a team were no inner pairing is needed, may be even would be damaging, because they are perfect as teammates, so they can leave the romance triangles and so on, they would find that with someone outside themselves.

And on top, we have a sensei that actually involves in his students training and growth, in every sense and unbiased. I know, he is closer to Lee, but that is out of Lee being naturally more emotional and therefore more fond of him, also Lee respects him the most and is constantly searching for his guidance because he is committed to his goals. It comes from Lee, not from Guy neglecting the other two.

This is a true healthy team that deserves their own reboot of the series, having them front enemies and interacting with other teams without the unnecessary drama and plot armour all the time. (And I mean, a reboot of a serious series. Their spin off is great, but is comedy, so I feel I doesn't makes them justice. And they deserve some justice).

#neji hyuga #neji #rock lee #Lee #tenten #team guy #guy sensei #Hyuga #naruto shippuden #naruto

[raisinchallah]

not vriska anon but i don’t want vriska to get lonely… terezi

First impression

i liked her instantly like her appearance is 100% what locked me into continuing reading like i enjoyed rose a lot but i had like no fucking clue what was happening most of the time but terezi was so funny and like perfect character designed in a lab for me i just became immediately invested again so i guess everyone can also blame her specifically if you wanna know why im talking about homestuck in 2023 lol

Impression now

i mean again she just like permanently altered my personality and impacted me in ways i can scarcely fathom what can even begin to sum it up.. in some ways perceiving her is like getting too close to a hot flame because its also like shes intimately tied into my entire teenage existence i literally made a bunch of friends in high school cuz i wore my silly little terezi shirt that terezi shirt directly lead to kissing a girl and my first relationship jkfld;dsk she has been there thru everything i still have that terezi shirt one of the old original what pumpkin ones not the we love fine pretenders to the throne etc

Favorite moment

[s] terezi remem8er!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean thats just one of my favorite parts of the comic in general and idk i lost my mind when it dropped felt like the perfect culmination of so many things around terezi and was just very moving for meee like later parts of the comic definitely very hit or miss but there were some things that felt like they did tie things up and like the fact the vriska game over terezi killed who had gone thru all these crazy changes was able to finally meet again with the terezi that literally rewrote the universe to see her again and had been so sad about never finding vriska in the dreambubbles and there at the end of the world the end of the comic they are finally reunited and getting to see bits of their past together as well aaaah and of course alpha terezis sad girl monologue leading into that truly meant the world to me

Idea for a story

not a story but i wanted to make a terezi and vriska no light no light lyricstuck for like 8 years now and it haunts me always

Unpopular opinion

god i have no idea what an unpopular terezi opinion would even be nowadays cuz like back in the day its like controversial take i dont believe terezi exists only to be the matchmaker or girl in the way of davekat or something but i dont think thats controversial or anything idk again i have stayed away from the fandom for so long at this point um idk i think people who ship her with dudes want her to be a manic pixie dream girl so bad

Favorite relationship

well duh vriska but as i have already explained so much about them in the vriska answer and s terezi remember etc i shall say that but also i do really like a lot of her conversations with dave i think its very interesting how both vriska and terezi idk allow themselves to be a bit more vulnerable with humans who dont care about their insane alien values and norms in a way they are afraid to be with each other and literally that fucking conversation where terezis like ok shut up ive listened to every single one of your sad boy problems my time to talk now with dave and talks about weighing her options about killing vriska while daves like still sitting next to bros dead body literally a conversation of all time i think

Favorite headcanon

oh god i dont even know i feel like i have not considered things like this in a long time idk... i am coming up blank

[isdalinarhot]

might be too soon to have many thoughts but since i can't stop thinking about painter and/or yumi i'd love to hear your thoughts

very excited to do this im like halfway through my second read of yumi and the nightmare painter and im enjoying it very much

okay FIRST painter

First impression: during the preview chapters time i was like YES FINALLY REPRESENTATION FOR THE MARGINALIZED CLASS OF PEOPLE WHO DO THE BARE MINIMUM <3 and felt very seen

Impression now: painter.... painter i would do anything for you....... painter

Favorite moment: OGH to pick is so hard but i think probably when he meets the dreamwatch and realizes theyre all a bunch of nepo babies and goes oh fuck so thats why i didnt get in and his world is like exploded

Idea for a story: well call me crass but i think that like every good m/f sanderson couple the world would be greatly improved by a tasteful 2k fic about him getting pegged. im not gonna write it though

Unpopular opinion: i dont vibe with the people calling him their little baby boy. just feels weird. hes 19. and hes probably roshar 19 so earth 20. i know thats young but that feels old enough for me to be like lets just stick with calling him a poor little meow meow lets not infantilize him. yknow?

Favorite relationship: painter yumi supremacy you know this

Favorite headcanon: i think hes transmasc and like. 2 months post top surgery 2 years on t. i think this because when he found out that yumi was inhabiting his body and making it look feminine he became "morose" and that sort of reaction is exactly how i would react if i was a 19 year old tboy and i found out that my tits were growing back on my body every other day like prometheus's liver. plus the first time they bathe together yumi is looking at his crotch and is slightly baffled and i KNOW thats supposed to be a "yumi has never seen a dick before" thing but IM READING IT as a "yumi was expecting a cis dick and did not get a cis dick and doesnt get it because she doesnt know what trans people are because shes a highly sheltered ritual priestess from the 3rd century" thing.

ok now yumi

First impression: i dont think i liked her in the preview chapters because i was like okay so her thing is she tries too hard and shes gonna meet painter and shes gonna show him the Value Of Putting Effort Into Things and i was like blech.

Impression now: yumi i would do anything for you. yumi. yumi listen to me. if you wanted me to kill someone i would do it.

Favorite moment: during the sanderlanche..... when shes stacking ten bajillion rocks........ please god

Idea for a story: see painter

Unpopular opinion: i dont know what constitutes an unpopular yumi opinion EXCEPT. that ive seen her get a lot less hype than painter and i really think theres no reason for that except for fandom misogyny. so like. begging people to be as enthusiastic about her as they are about painter please god

Favorite relationship: see painter

Favorite headcanon: she and painter would FOR SURE be t4t if yumi wasnt born with so much passive investiture for her to present as a girl for her whole life therefore effectively transing her gender as she is coming out the pussy and making her essentially cis. i believe this. brandon sanderson told me.

#ssp3 #shiningjoyeuse #hey look an ask

[ladystrallan]

Once Upon a Time season 5A thoughts

I’m rewatching OUAT and I wanted to share some of my opinions on each season!

- The random girl shushing his ominous speech is so funny

- Wow he just poofed into dust

- Omg the end of excalibur is the dagger

- “Mate don’t” idk why but that is funny

- “We need someone wicked” yassss

- Omg the rose

- Wow iconic move to cut her hand off to remove the bracelet

- She is so good at manipulating everyone

- Gaslight gatekeep girlboss

- “Accent’s a bit much no?” Lol rumple

- “Out dwarves, adults only” Regina…

- “Well… you don’t look like a crocodile” why is this episode so funny

- Okay I remember really not liking Arthur and the whole Camelot plot line

- OUAT loves a memory loss plot

- Omg dark emma

- She’s got a cool look

- Not dopey turning into a tree

- OMG WHAT IS THAT THING???

- Hook: Emma look at me this isn’t you

- Of course she can’t dance

- Omg that guy is evil or something

- A demon sent from the underworld… hmmmm I feel like I know a hot guy from there

- I seriously can’t wait for 5b to see my man <3

- Omg Henry and Violet is so cute (I remember liking them together)

- He whips out the ipod lol

- This song is kind of a bop

- Omg she destroyed his village

- I guess there was a Robin fake out death before it actually happened

- Can you make the price like a dollar or something? Or does it have to be of equal value

- “WE’VE BEEN VIOLATED” lol

- “Have you thought about kissing it out?” Omg that’s so funny

- Regina is such a hypocrite

- She has done things just as bad if not worse than what Zelena did and yet she deserves redemption and Zelena doesn’t???

- “I wished him happy just not with my wife” lol

- “What’s that then” “It’s a picture from up inside Zelena” “Woah mate” I’M DYING

- Arthur is giving me Louis from Versailles vibes

- And if you’ve seen my Versailles thoughts, you know how I feel about Louis (I hate him)

- Noooo not on her birthday

- DAVID NO DON’T TRUST HIM

- Omg they kissed

- I mean, if you’re neglecting your wife it’s kinda understandable if she cheats

- “Well, there’s this girl” “Is there indeed?” Loved the delivery Killian

- “Is that your dad?” “No it’s my horse” lol

- That’s sinister, using magic to keep your wife from leaving you

- Arthur is such an asshole omg

- Omg Merida is back

- “I need you to make him brave” wow that’s what her movie is called

- Ooh that’s Merlin

- I’m pretty sure he was talking about Nimue (and she was the first dark one)

- Well that’s a way to meet the dad

- “When this kingdom is attacked by ogres” WHY IS IT ALWAYS OGRES???

- Awwww that’s cute a little date

- “Um hi milady” lol

- Not the friend zone

- This is giving me so much second hand embarrassment

- Taunting rumple with belle is the way to make him brave

- She is his courage… that’s so cute

- Love the arrow in the intro

- Wow I guess no one cares about rumple then

- Slay belle for standing up for him

- NO NOT THE CHIPPED CUP

- Please tell me they can fix it :(

- NOOOOO DON’T KILL BELLE

- I do like the idea of rumple being all heroic for her

- Omg I’m crying this is so sweet

- Zelena and Emma team up??? Iconic

- YASSSS RUMPLE

- “He’s not my sweetheart” I think he is belle ;)

- OMG SLAY RUMPLE

- “You saved me” “Actually I think you saved me” AWWWWWWWW

- “I would change everything for you” screaming

- YASSSSSS RUMPLE PULLING THE SWORD

- I’m a slut for good rumple (or just rumple in general lol)

- I do miss him having magic though

- Why is Zelena so slay all the time?

- The outfits, the acting, the trickery, 10/10

- Emma’s lucky she didn’t get the dark one skin condition

- She just got a bleach job and a new outfit

- Arthur is such a dickhead omg i can’t stand him

- Lol Rumple’s Merlin impression

- Zelena was like switched sides? Time for an outfit change

- Omg she’s going into labour

- Why does every evil person want a baby? How many dark spells require that?

- Omg the house that he picked

- “Did someone scream for a doctor?” Yasssss Dr Whale is back!

- Did he go to the same hair salon as Emma lol

- Yassss mulan is back!

- Mulan and Merida: iconic team up

- RUBY!

- So many characters I love are back this season :)

- OMG IT WAS ARTHUR

- Me anytime I see Arthur: “Dickhead”

- OMG RUMBELLE

- MY HEART

- THEY ARE SO CUTE

- Regina & co are actually so awful to Zelena about this whole baby thing

- Like I get that it’s Robin’s baby but it’s hers too

- And I’m pretty sure being away from the mother is bad for a baby’s development

- Like at least let her visit with supervision

- I guess when you become the dark one you immediately know how to use magic

- Ok I guess they are letting her see her baby

- SHE CAME TO THE WELL

- NOOOOOOOO

- Was not expecting the break up part 2 :(

- Me sobbing

- How is she pregnant in 5b though???

- They must get together by the end of 5a

- Catch me opening the underworld portal so I can see my man <3

- The visual of all the dark ones sitting in the boat together is so funny to me

- It’s giving summer camp vibes

- “The underworld is worse than you could possibly imagine” uhhhh no rumple my true love is there so I think it’s pretty great

- Awwww rumple sending her to see the world

- NOOOOOO RUMPLE IS MARKED

- That’s actually so vile to send her away so she literally CANNOT SEE HER BABY

- Slay move by hook

- Rip (until he gets resurrected)

- Belle didn’t leave!

- THEY’RE KISSING

- YASSSSSSS

- And the baby was conceived ;)

- Rumple being the dark one again, kinda slay

- Kind of bad for his redemption arc though

- “I will always find you” we love a good iconic line

- I am so excited to see Hades!!! Love of my life (and death)

How I feel about the characters this season

Love: RUMPLE (10/10 character development), Belle, Zelena, Dr Whale, Merida

Like: Emma, Hook, Mulan, Ruby, Nimue (idk she’s kinda cool)

Neutral: Snow, David, Merlin, Guinevere, Henry

Dislike: Regina, Robin

Hate: Arthur

Season rating: 6/10

Firstly, I HATE ARTHUR AND I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL HE’S DEAD. I don’t care for the Camelot arc, but I do like dark Emma and Rumple got some really good character development (even though he went back to being the dark one). I also like Merida and it was nice to see Ruby, Dr Whale, and Mulan again. Gets an extra 0.5 for setting up my absolute favourite arc in the show (the underworld)

#ouat thoughts #once upon a time season 5a #once upon a time #ouat 5a #once upon a time season 5 #emma swan #zelena mills #zelena #zelena ouat #regina mills #killian jones #captain swan #rumplestiltskin #belle french #rumbelle #ruby lucas #ouat mulan #ouat merida #dr whale #outlaw queen #ouat camelot #dark swan #the dark one #henry mills

[piracytheorist]

Has any one asked you about Becky? Or Master Henderson aka Mr. Elegant?

Becky:

First impression: Oh she looks like such a good friend I hope she won't end up being a liar.

Impression now: SHE'S BEST FRIEND MATERIAL SHE HAS NO BUSINESS BEING SO SWEET T_T

Favorite moment: When she accepts the sheep key ring and then both her and Anya have forgotten they went shopping to impress Damian. They spent such a good time together and that all that mattered <3

Idea for a story: Camping trip with the Forgers! Dunno what could happen but I'd like to see her unleash her kid energy while camping out with Anya.

Unpopular opinion: I don't think she "ships" Anya with Damian. I think she's just very into romance and she thinks that Anya likes Damian for whatever reason, so she just wants to help her experience this romance thing.

Favorite relationship: Anya bestie! It's so sweet to see their friendship grow, see them bond and experience things together. Endo didn't have to make Becky so sweet and caring for Anya, but he did and I am so thankful for that.

Favorite headcanon: She hosts slumber parties every once in a while for her and Anya. Anya is impressed every time by her family's wealth (though she's not jealous).

Master Henderson:

First impression: He's so funny, why are so many characters in this show so funny XD

Impression now: Though he seems a little conservative, I wish I had more teachers like him when I was at school.

Favorite moment: When he punches Master Asshole Swan. Very elegant indeed.

Idea for a story: Uhhh idk I can't come up with something XD

Unpopular opinion: He seems a bit conservative, particularly in the understanding of the different ways students learn, like he thinks only one method fits all. Not surprising for the era he lives in (and considering how he was taught to teach some 45 years ago when he was studying) but honestly he's so much better than the average teacher today.

Favorite relationship: Honestly, I'd like to see him interact more with Loid. He seems to have a big bias towards him and at the same time be so on edge with how badly Anya is doing at school (something that Loid can relate to, lol) and he has a lot of values that Loid respects so I'd like to see how their dynamic can go.

Favorite headcanon: He's gay. Ostania doesn't look like it's accepting of anything other than strict cishetero- and amato-normativity, so he's not open about it (though he has accepted it for himself) and one of the reasons he's dedicated to teaching is so that he can pass on some self-acceptance and maybe, hopefully, tolerance, to the future generations.

Send me a character!

#sxf #lpham2525 #ask and ye shall receive

[yanderefairyangel]

Connection in Engage

Ok so after watching this video, I got corrupted and I needed to talk about one of the main theme in Engage : connection.

So basically before the Ninento life interview a lot of people were wondering exactly what was Engage's theme. The Nintendo life revealed it was "Life the life you want to have/Be who you want to be" and some said it didn't made sense when the theme seemed to be revolving around connecting with others, such as how family is a choice rather then a factor limited to blood ties.

Well, actually, after watching this video and learning of the Buddisht concept of Anatta/Anatam it actually became clearer why it has this impression.

Japan and Asian country have a very collectivist vision of the world as opposed to a more invidualistic one, and therefore, the way they handled the theme of "being what you wanted to be" wasn't through putting their character through long strches about their future, but centered around the theme of connection.

According to the OP of the video, the self in asian cultures is more seen as interdepedent then independent (please give it a check for the sake of the post)

Following this idea, the only way our character in Engage can actively fufill themselves is actually through their connection to others.

This might also change your view on the "power of friendship" and answer the question as to why Alear is was elected most popular character by the japanese fanbase.

But before digging into Alear, I will began by an unlikely example of this reality with Zephia.

Zephia's JPN name is Sepia. And all the other hounds are also name after colors ; Gris/Griss, Marni/Maron, Mauve/Mauvier. All of those colors that apparently have nothing in common are in reality the 3 colors required to obtain a sepia tone. This is showing the idea that Zephia need the Hounds to be complete, even if she herself doesn't realize why, and that once she lost them, she lost her colors, what made her her, her essence. Now switching to Alear.

If you recall, Alear is amnesiac and they are a little easy going, at first, not having the occasion to really express their own belief and voices their opinion until Chapter 10 during the main story. And as explained by the OP in that original post, Alear is indeed dependent on other. That' is through others that Alear begin to developp their own new "self" seeing how their amnesia helped them literaly break out with their old "self" that precisely was also shaped by their relationship and lack of.

When facing the Corrupted, Alear could only overcome their fear and defeat them the same as in the prologue Sombron can only be defeated : thanks to Marth. I already mentionned it several times but Marth acts like a mentor figure and an angel guardian to Alear and that, they say as much themselves in chapter 10 and that is just as obvious in the Engage manga as well.

And indeed in chapter 1, it is once Alear realize they aren't alone that they rush in to save Clanne and Framme with the help of Marth.

Similarily, in chapter 3, they need the help of Alfred to defeat the ennemies. And Alfred offers a real support during the Firene arc and even beyond.

The support they have with the character is however the occasion for their personality to shine. As I already explained heren the Avatar worship is actually plot relevant, but it also unable Alear's modest and humble demeanor to stands out. I touched on it here, but Alear's speech in JPN is full of politness markers and mannerism. And in Japan, selflessness is a virtue particularly beloved due to the influence of buddhism on their culture. People who thinks of others, that don't brag or pride themselves with their achivement and that care for the well being of others and values their connection with people... All of this is what Alear embodies. Despite being the literal deity of the continent, they dislike that and keeps acting very humble, trying to correct their own mistakes etc. Countless support emphasizes Alear's kindess, and the PR support with Rafal has him summ up Alear personality pretty much well : "Really. You are too much of a sweet at heart. Even in the mist of a bitter war, you laugh and you care for others" or "You are care-free, good natured, loving and caring" (please ignore he is being derogatory here). And it is indeed a personality Alear is shown to display throughout their various support. Despite being amnesiac and learning a lot of things, one thing remains consistent with their past self, is their kindness. Their support with Gregory shows them trying to help others with Gregory helping them saying that "they are so kind he must make sure no one tries to take advantage of their kindness", their support with Nel has healing them after they got injuired from trying to protect her on the battlefield while they were trying to hide that they got injuried, the one with Hortensia is about how they value kindness more then charm and how this advice made Hortensia realize the real strengh of her mother, the one with Citrinne was about how they prefer an honest bond over what money can offer, etc. And of course their countless supports showing they crave for bonding with others : the one with Zelkov where they get enthusiast by what Zelkov is telling them, the one with Rafal with the C and B begining with Alear showing they want to know more about him, especially with the B where they follow him telling him to share more of his story. They also express wanting a peaceful, quiet and ordinary life in their support with Chloé. They are so selfless and caring towards others that in chapter 22, they were on the verge of tears at the idea that tehy would forever be separated from their friends and would not be able to help them save the world and honor the promise they made to Lumera to fight until the very end as they vanish. (You have no idea how much I wanna share the audio). All of this results in Alear embodying buddhist values that are largely appreciated by Asian culture. However.

It takes some time for Alear to voice their opinion on a matter and that is chapter 10 which I already covered but this chapter was the occasion for Alear to display a trait they aren't habitually showing : anger. This chapter was entirely about building up to Alear reacting immaturely after Veyle successfully steals the ring. Their overconfidence leading them to take rather lightly the advice Marth gave them, a strategical mistake when you lead into the den of your enemy, an advice they were clearly shown to not have followed even with the opportunity to run, to succomb along with the Brodian siblings to anger and hatred after Hyacinth openly taunts them for having fallen into his trap and all of this to explode after Veyle steals the rings, causing them to fall into despair at having lost what they claimmed to gave them courage and then anger/hatred towards Veyle to the point they refused to leave even though the situatio required it, leading in Lyn and Lucina to scold them when they realized Alear didn't knew the difference between withdrawing and running away and the reason is because Alear fall right into the one sin that is unusual to their altruist and selflessness demeanor : pride and egoism. Sometimes refusing to give up on something and not accepting your defeat is nothing but a question of your ego being hurt and that's exactly what happen with Alear : it's their anger that fuels their wounded pride that led to them refusing to leave despite the situation requiring so and to persist in trying to keep saving the rings that they lost. Instead of prioritizing what they should now protect (their allies) they were focused on what they lost. And again, I must point out that Marth's proeminent role during the first half of the story was showing the dependent side of Alear. All of this combines to show that Alear is no longer behaving as an embodiment of buddhist values, but as an embodiment of behaviour buddhism condemns. This chapter was precisely about Alear having to learn to detach themselves from the Emblem and to learn that difference between retreat and running away when both notions are also essentially linked to the ego : running away is the ego telling you to run while retreat is a decision made for the sake of protecting others and accepting your own weakness/limits. That much is confirmed by the dialogue Alear has in Heroes.

In Buddhism, the Ego* is considered to be the source of suffering. Being subjected to it leads to suffering, which is why rather then being subjected to it when ego and existence is suffering, invidual should rather try to support each other and connect with other to overcome this. And that precised idea is why there is such an emphasis on what we call the "Power of Friendship" in Engage.

I used to make a joke that Sombron was the perfect embodiment of the "edgy" mentality of being a strong solidary wolf relying on no one but himself but in reality, it's deeper then that. What I said about Alear earlier, it is what Sombron embodies. And not only him. All the antagonist in Engage are representing this antithesis of the collectivist ideals that Alear comes to embodies slowly in their journey to enlightment. Sombron however is completely subjected to his ego and unable to let go of the bond on which he is dependant and to move on. He therefore shows a egoistic and prideful behaviour that drags him into hatred. The same can be said in the DLC about Rafal obsessed within his own pain and wounded pride (please it's literaly the name of his Nil's skill) and suffering in his feeling he was incapable of bonding over other until he was able to break free from that attitude and started to realize that it is not alone based on strengh alone that you can success in that ephemeral life but with the support of other and by supporting them that you can actually reach enlightment. The same can be said about the Hounds since the 4 of them is trapped in their past and their own default/ego. This leads Mauvier to be too passive to the events around him, this leads Marni to think of nothing but of her receiving praise/love without considering the suffering of others, this leads Griss to take pleasure in pain and obviously, it leads Zephia to seek for a twisted love. While Mauvier thanks to his connection with Veyle and Marni finally ends up making a move, Marni, once she realize that she isn't the only person who suffered like that seeing in Veyle the same pain and wish she had in the past and leading her to finally cut it with her dependence of having her ego flattered. And in the case of Zephia, trying with how the Hounds are symbolicaly her everything, the fact that she is trapped in the past and is incapable of focusing on another person then herself becomes obvious once you realize she can't accept to give love to anyone while expecting to receive ultimate love. However, her conversation with Sombron and Griss made it clear that she believes she canno't be loved nor deserves it but that the only way for her to achieve it was to have a child with whom she shares blood, just to have a guaranteed love without giving into the effort of being worth or deserving this love. And that's the reason why Zephia failed to connect with the Hounds despite it being actually her essential : because like Sombron, she is focused way too much on herself.

And in the case of Past Alear, there is no denying that their connection or rather lack of with Sombron shaped them into a cold and broken being unable to detach themselves from him and enslaved by their ego in trying to survive and therefore commiting crimes. Like with Marth, it is their meeting with Lumera and their connection that actually gave them courage, but also a purpose and this is what lead to the Alear we knew today, albeit amnesiac, they still retain their essence of being kind and altruist, as well as the wishes they ended up developping during their bond with Lumera. That emphasis on bond in being essential to one's identity is essential when Alear's dream in the past and in the present is to become a hero for the sake of others explaining the different trial they must face being about detaching themselves and becoming even more humble. Thus them becoming the Emblem of Connector, the link that connects everyone together and keeps them as such (as shown by the DLC) is showing how Alear overcame the Buddhist "sins**" and ended up becoming the perfect embodiment of those collectivist values. Therefore, the condemenation of Sombron by the narrative is a condemenation of self centered behaviour and a refusal to accept that everything in life is transcient and to let go of them (his family and 0Emblem) while he is trapped into the past and his pathos*** seeking for what he lost rather then his present possible connection (his children). That and his obvious pride, arrogance and hatred or lack of emphaty towards others. The complete opposite of an Alear who is humble, kind and altruist and who learns from their mistakes and are able to become independent while still finding their strenghth and the fufillement of their own identity within others.

What I say about Alear could be applied to the whole cast, but this explains that the theme of connecting is actually so prevalent as to explain how one managed to embrace the live they wish to embrace.

*While this is true for buddhism, this can be also found within some reading of abrahamic faith, for example, some islamic reading viewing the Shaytan as refering to the ego.

**Sins quoted as normally the notion of sin is rather linked to theistic beliefs

***pathos which gave the word passion refering to a passive state, negative emotions that one must suffers and overcome. This notion was mostly developped by christianity

(disclaimer : I am not expert in buddhism and this is mostly based on the most of my knowledge so if you have something to add or correct feel free to do so)

#fire emblem engage #fire emblem #fe engage #power of friendship #buddhism lore