#tragique </3

[emmafrostyyy]

y'all sleeping on Astarion/Lae'zel bc this moment is so...the way the flippant demeanor drops and he doesn't hesitate to call her out for sticking with her version of Cazador like their relationship is so underrated fr...

sitting down writing this bullshit like let me peel it like an onion a bit and elaborate why this pairing is fascinating to me

It's really interesting how during the most cathartic, life-altering moment in Astarion's questline, the reactions of the other companions are more about the moral wrongness/guilt of sacrificing innocent lives. Lae'zel doesn't do that and instead relates to his hurt.

She knows what's he's feeling, the lack of control, the unfairness of being powerless for too long. This is a woman who just found out her entire life purpose was built on lies, discarded and hunted by her own people after outliving her usefulness, and groomed to basically die for an insane power-hungry lich queen. She knows all too well that power isn't always real freedom. Her first instinct is to empathize with Astarion to steer him away from his hate and resentment.

Astarion/Lae'zel is so interesting to me because they're such a classic "can we make each other worse or make a better person out of the other?".

They both have genuine appreciation for violence and respect each other's ruthlessness. Astarion was used as a weapon of seduction while Lae'zel was of warfare. Sex with people is meaningless and not real intimacy for them, and while both have little understanding/experience of interpersonal relationships beyond the physical, they still feel and love very deeply. They have no frame of reference for things like friendship and warmth, but they badly want all of that and more, even if they don't know it yet.

In-game they can sleep with each other, which is basically the foundation of the normal Tav/Astarion romance. Lae'zel saw him during combat and got horny, who knows. Astarion who's used to luring people with his charms, takes up Lae'zel's blunt offer because she's a strong hardened warrior that can provide protection and be a worthy ally, and he doesn't know how to say no. Navigating the complications between one who wants to be seen beyond as a sex object, and one who comes from a totally alien culture with no concept of love/family/connections and only sex is honestly really compelling to me. It's a transactional, mutually beneficial thing with no emotional expectations. Once you get past the skeevy rockiness of their early relationship, I really like the idea of them slowly seeing something past the exterior and realizing they may have harshly misjudged the other, an unspoken friendship blooms, and in comes the realization that they are essentially loners longing for kindness and a comforting touch in the most desperate of situations.

Lae'zel is prideful, direct, has no sense of courtship talk, and doesn't hold back her thoughts the slightest--she's not sweet/agreeable and what you see is really what you get, which I imagine would be disarming for Astarion who's used to vacuous flattery and has difficulty trusting others. But she's also insanely protective, passionate, loyal, and an initiator-- every romance scene is triggered by her first and she's always showing effort towards her relationships, which would mesh well with Astarion who does need someone to nudge him.

She doesn't purposely suppress her feelings, she's just simply at loss at how to express them sometimes due to her wildly different upbringing. She stops the sparring match you agree to and an easy vulnerability slips instantly out of her: "I don't want to hurt you. I want to protect you, and for you to protect me." and "Thus far I've taunted you, devoured you, battled you. Now I want more than anything to soothe you." are romantic as fuck and Astarion of all people really needs to hear that tbh.

Astarion is also someone who struggles with reinforcing his boundaries, and a key theme in Lae'zel's romance is that she encourages and wants you to challenge her and learn to stand your ground. It's not gentlest method, but hey, relationships are about having to make an effort to learn each other's language.

I think he also would take pleasure "educating her on the matters of Fay-run" (I believe there's a whole banter with him teasing her and teaching her pet names) and would get a kick out of coaxing Lae'zel out of her shell with her shyness at showing public affection, and making her blush. Also it simply would be fucking funny to see Astarion who's used to easy seduction, trying to pass a persuasion check just to get a smooch and generally having to work to earn regular kisses from Lae'zel lmfaooo

Lae'zel also initially struggles to see her chains as chains. When she learns about Vlaakith's betrayal, she copes instantly through denial and shuts it down. Astarion is NOT having it and calls her out, he knows her well enough to recognize that she would value blunt honesty above all.

I imagine he also despises her lack of self-preservation, the way her entire identity is tied to duty and being in service of others, and doesn't understand her desire to still help/liberate the people that want her dead and are hunting her down. He wants to make this duty-bound soldier realize that looking out for herself, and putting herself first may not be the worst thing in the world.

They're so similar to each other but are also polar opposites in some ways that make a more equal, balanced romance I think. It's not a simple, one-sided, feel-good "she/he can fix her/him" fantasy because both of them have to earn each other's love, actually cut through the other's flaws, and actively motivate each other to be better versions of themselves.

They're not at all the other's ideal guiding hand. It's rough, jagged, and imperfect, but that's how healing goes. It's so far from being the healthiest relationship -- but even if their belief systems differ, their moral compass does often align. I imagine it's a slight relief for them to have a partner where there would be less shame and judgment when they expectedly, occasionally slip up and fall into their bad habits.

Also, man, the "You showed me the betweens and beyonds. Beyond war and peace, beyond passion and obsession, most importantly, you showed me freedom.", "First you were my wound, now you were my cure.", "But you saw something else in me - someone else I could be. Someone who could break the cycle of power and terror that started centuries ago.." lines really hit hard when applied to them.

Of course, they can also make each other worse, feed into the other's negative traits that will bring out the worst part of themselves. It's this duality of their pairing that is very interesting to explore, the way it can steer in either direction because it's an intense, fraught relationship at its core.

#when he gets called by omeluum “child of the dark” and her “child of the stars” like yeah..the squid man is being literal but he Gets It fr. #lae'zel #astarion #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 meta #astarion ancunin #astarion x lae'zel #lae'zel x astarion #the rarest of rarepairs they dont even got a ship name...this is so tragique we need to discuss the pathos and potential of this pairing #bg3 lae'zel #bg3 astarion #also im a sucker for stoic knight/court darling trope and whatever variations of it yeah #bloodbruise

[teamnick]

💌✨🤍

SOL!!! i love your kindness that shines through every interaction we have. nomen est omen - you are a literal ray of sunshine, and i feel incredibly lucky that i get to share this fandom experience with you. <3 also you are simply hilarious - you always manage to make me laugh with something, either here, on discord or on ao3...i love your energy so so much!! <333

#im so so SO sorry this is like. 84 years late #i wish i had an excuse but sadly my brain is just like...this #tragique! #anyway ILYYY <3333 #and i've always wanted to be friends with you but did *nothing* because...idk im terminally shy #so im so so happy that we are getting closer this year. a true blessing from 2024. #ask game #sol tag <3

[majimassqueaktoy]

God I need to finish this game so I can go watch the Baba cutscenes and be adequately as deranged as the universe wanted me to be before rgg ruined my plans

#hoo boy #i have to go to town soon tho </3 #tragique

[florbelles]

CHARACTERS + TRAGIC HORROR TROPES.

tagged by @unholymilf, @dihardys & @roofgeese​ to drag the kids with this uquiz, ty beloveds!! 

head a bit empty but sending tags to @belorage, @adelaidedrubman, @heroofpenamstan, @henbased, @shellibisshe, @galeboettichergf, @jackiesarch​, @prometheas​, @jendoe​, @chuckhansen​, @queennymeria​, @arklay​, @stormveils​, @aartyom​, @indorilnerevarine​, @yennas​, @confidentandgood​, @shallow-gravy​, @multiverse-of-themind​, @leviiackrman​, @loriane-elmuerto​, @strafethesesinners​, @derelictheretic​, @risingsh0t​, @playstationmademe​, @nuclearstorms​, @reaperkiller​ & anyone else can @ me xx

THE HARBINGER.

the harbingers have been through fire. you’ve got the scars to show for it. some people say harbingers are jaded — scary, even, to people who don’t understand that the harbinger has seen the edge of the world and survived it. but being the harbinger means you’re cursed to watch younger, brighter eyes fall for the same traps you did. trying to help isn’t enough for you; you know what they’re getting themselves into, and you want to protect them the way no one ever protected you, so why won’t they just listen? it’s frustrating. it’s terrifying. no one should have to live through what you did, and i hope you know that you can’t protect everyone but it’s damn noble of you to try. it’s not your job to save the world but i hope you know you’ve already made a difference to everyone who has taken your words to heart.

THE ONE WHO OPENED THE DOOR.

you turn the door handle. you call out, who’s there? and the crowd has the audacity to groan, to get frustrated with you. as if the gift of hindsight was something you had. how the hell were you supposed to know you were born into a horror movie? no one bothered to tell you. say, if instead this was an action film, or a fantasy, would they still be telling you how silly of a mistake it was to press further on your quest? they would’ve commended you for your bravery. you thought you were going to be saving a princess in a tower, not getting stabbed in the back by a killer in the shadows. how is that fair? it isn’t, and none of that was ever your fault. it is not wrong to believe things are good. your trust, your optimism, it shouldn’t ever be mistaken for ignorance or stupidity. we need more people to open doors. how else are any of us gonna move forward?

FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER.

this plight is the simplest of them all: you did not ask for this. you were never given a choice. no part of yourself feels human, just a collection of traits you've picked up from mirroring anyone you could, even the people you meet through a television screen. it's alienating to live that way — yet someone has called you the alienating one. maybe too many people to count. maybe they treated you so uncomfortably inhuman that it's all you can understand now, or you've dug yourself into such a deep hole in an attempt to keep safe that you can't remember a person living in the home of your body at all. being alive is confusing and painful and lonely and loud but living is all there is to being human- you're already there. just take air into your lungs and breathe. close your eyes and picture a beautiful sky. you made that. you painted that yourself.

#amara giving this monologue after she once again walks the crew into a situation #also howling @ lyra's. #'you've already made a difference to those who have taken your words to heart :)' (screams from the bunker) #oc: lyra fairbanks #oc: amara of vallaki #oc: isabela fairbanks #tag memes #also not to be a hater but what the fuck were some of those answers lmao. #like why do you HAVE to be apologetic if you answer yes i'm beautiful. #why do you HAVE to have a caveat if you say you're happy. #i know it's meant to be for a tragique~~ trope but come the fuck on lmao aren't we past this #(this was v fun tho <3)

[qserasera]

what DO U MEAN vol 25 is out of stock?????

#my beautiful cover with natoriiiiiii pls #owo #i have...vol 26 soon and also vol 28 but WHY #i checked like 3 sites and nowhere has it??? TEARS. BIG TRAGIQUE #qserasera storytime

[colgatebluemintygel]

i know you’ve said this new chapter has been giving you a hard time (let me speak to it, i just wanna talk 🥊😤) kidding, but i just hope you’re taking care of yourself and not putting too much pressure, i know you have a lot on your plate currently 😘 i just want to tell you that everything you write is wonderful and you could put out an instruction manual and it would be delightful & lovely

WHY thank you my sweet anon <3 lowkey tearing up, particularly as i am currently trying !!!!! to write a literature review and its just so.. :-| like i'm reading it thinking, u call yourself a writer :-\\ ..... where's the story! 🫵 where's the intrigue! 🫵 BUT :-) ur confidence in me is so inspiring and touching and now im looking @ myself in the mirror with a single tear gliding down my cheek like... toothpaste...... anon says you could put out an instruction manual :'-) and it would be delightful. lovely even :'-) so i think i will print this out and tape it to my mirror to remind myself of in times of crisis <3 (which occur often)

it has been a truly wild month, BUT i am so happy to report that i actually really do like this chapter now :-))))) and i just have one last section to edit <3 my plate is still full (i should have submitted the aforementioned lit review many many many moons ago. its hell in here i tell u HELL) but we're getting there xxx MWAH

#pigeon post #this is honestly so sweet i cannot even tell you :'-))) #i really do appreciate how sweet u all are w me <3 ur all my best friends i hope u know #i hit such a weird spot with my writing earlier this month #which happens! on occasion! i try not to talk about it because idk. sometimes putting it out in the world feels like i'm giving it power #but actually it's just v much part of the process. #i also haven't really read any fic in almost a month </3 not by choice i just dont have the time. tragique </3

[milfcoded]

i’m so glad those daemyra scenes were in total darkness cause honestly that’s what y’all deserve

#tragique <3

[re-x]

A Study in Contrasts

On the left side of each panel, we have two actors acting believably. Compare that with the other two actors acting atrociously on the right side.

#never have i ever #Jaren lewison #ben gross #3x04 #How are they still SOO BAD 3 years in? #Maitreyi Ramakrishnan #Devi Vishwakumar #i am officially out of fucks to give #will always roast all instances of nhie bad acting from now on #quelle tragique

[mangoesandstuff]

Snowdrop really is the exact opposite of Crash Landing on You

#i finished it recently and man #tragique #i cried 3 times in the last episode #snowdrop

[inthewild-flowers]

hiii dan :D

how are you ??

HIII i’m alright. it’s currently 4am and i can’t sleep bc i keep coughing tho :( on the bright side !! gonna see my grandma in a couple days :D

how are uuu

#asks #indigo <3 #the coughing is insane actually like i was sick last week and im fine now except for the coughing #but the coughing is REALLY bad #i took ibuprofen and cough syrup a combination which worked GREAT during the day but apparently isn’t doing shit at night :(( tragique #gonna give it a couple days of cough syrup but i might habe to go see a doctor which is gonna be fucking annoying

[madhyanas]

WAIT NEW ONE!!! kate sharma, frank castle, and boba fettuccine

husband: boba. sorry i had to answer one of these w him bc. well. u know me. it would be a very short marriage bc he would not like me at ALL but i would enjoy what brief time we had together. love him 2 bits

one night stand: GRRRR gotta b kate. 1) she's hot 2) i don't think i could persuade her to be long-term w me. once again going for whatever time w her i could get. but if she did somehow fall for anthony i think i have a shot so maybe once boba divorces me i can marry her

best friend: FRANKIE BABEY. there is something about being friends w scary people and also introverted/antisocial people who you know can only tolerate a few people for extended periods of time and ur one of them <3 also he's mad funny i'd be cracking up all the time (if not a little spooked)

#me suppressing all of the million married boba fett concepts in my brain: CEASE #ok this one was fucking HARD. ty girl ily <3 #the issue w this game arises when i know i'd fuck all three people. tragique #ask #ask game #fennecshandgf

[shortpplfedup]

Only Friends Character Rankings Episode 4

Imma just go ahead and call this ep 'The Library' because everybody was reading for filth. We focus in on the core 6 today and everybody's shit gets laid bare. Here's where the gworls land this week.

🔺1. Ray (2)

No one loves me. I’m all alone.

Ray regains the top slot this week because What A Frigging Mess. He's all over the goddamn place. He needs professional assistance of so many kinds that I don't even know where to begin. Ray is absolutely a danger to himself and others, but he's so charming and so practised at covering up that everybody ignores all the red flags he is planting with every interaction. Ray needs an intervention, not a boyfriend. This habit of falling for his 'saviours'...yeah. The love-bombing...yeah. Toxique-tragique.

🔺2. Top (6)

Don’t be too clever. Or you’d be able to read me inside out.

Well here's a surprise and no mistake. I continue not to believe fuckall coming out of Top's mouth, but he's roared back in the manipulation game between him and Mew. He's got the upper hand now. Also, kicking Boston to the curb, smart move not to shit where he eats, BUT HE'S STILL SHITTING. I don't believe ALL he did with Beam was coke. Also, only addicts say 'I'm not an addict', ASK RAY. But yeah, I am so much more tuned into Top's particular brand of fuckery now, and I am absolutely here for it.

🔹3. Nick (3)

- But don’t get serious with someone like Ton. He’s nasty. - I know. I am too.

Babygirl isn't roaring back quite yet but he's on the up-and-up. When he told Top he knows Boston's nasty but he's nasty too...OH YES LET'S GO. I have suspected that Nick and Boston might deserve each other, and I'm curious to see whether that's the right read. His moves this ep were weaksauce (a 'hello Barbara this is Shirley' moment, really?) but he's definitely escalating and I'm pretty sure he'll soon be on the rise again.

🔺4. Mew (7)

If you quit using drugs, I'll sleep with you.

Mew's lost this game for now. His costs are sunk and he ain't walking away EVEN WHEN TOP TELLS HIM HE'S A COKEHEAD. Mew's still trying to scrabble for control, limiting the scope of their sexual interactions to non-penetrative sex only, extracting (useless) promises about quitting the yeyo, and (false) confessions about who gave Top some tchotchke, but he's lost the game. He's capitulated. Top's lying to his face, and he's choosing to believe it, and giving inexpert hand jobs as 'rewards' for good behaviour. I'm pretty sure Mew was just looking for an excuse to give it up at this point. Mew may yet snap out of whatever hold it is Top has over him, but for now he seems to think he can lose a battle and still win the war.

🔻5. Sand (4)

Stop dragging me around when you feel lonely. Or throwing me away when you don’t need me.

This is so sad to watch because Sand KNOWS. Sand KNOWS that this is destined to end in tears and he's doing it anyway. He read Ray like a book and then simped for him like the manclown he is. I can see the 'I can fix him' memes now but I don't think that's what this is. He KNOWS he can't fix Ray, so he keeps trying to set boundaries but he's weak for those puppy dog eyes. He might be the only person who doesn't see Ray as a 'burden', but that's not gonna save him from getting his heart broken.

🔻6. Boston (1)

Why would someone like me be envious of Mew?

Oh how the mighty have fallen, from first place to last in a single week. Top read him for FILTH in that elevator and judging from the preview for next week it may just be causing some self-reflection. Can't keep a bad bitch down for long though, and Boston is the baddest of them all, so I'm willing to let him lick his wounds and reassess.

#only friends the series #bless this mess #only friends weekly character rankings #i support gay wrongs #only friends #only friends series #bl meta series

[moistvonlipwig]

can i do the same thing to you i did to sssammich and upend all the -corps on your desk or is that too greedy 🥴

looping in @yourlocalegotisticalqueerishere since it's easier to do these all in one post ! alphabetical order for funsies under the cut:

agentcorp - no...idk what to say really except the vibes are off for me. sorry chyler </3 i know you wanted to kiss katie so bad. i think alex and lena have similarities & differences (just like every character does with every other character lol) but i personally feel like their specific similarities & differences would cause them to either enable each other's worst aspects or to butt heads constantly. just my onion i know many people disagree and that's fine. also the triple hit of alex trying to nuke lena and justifying it by twisting all her previous good deeds to make them sound bad, lying about it to her face while asking for her help, and then not advocating for her to get her memories back and even encouraging kara to deceive her once again all in quick succession in s5 -- all of which got swept under the rug in s6 -- really soured me on the friendship s4 had built up between them. so i'm not even really a fan of their friendship. tragique :(

braincorp - they are my brotp <333 i don't ship them romantically at all but actually their relationship is probably my favorite relationship on the show period. it helps that they are my 2 fave characters lol but also they are so smart and so bitchy together and i love them <333 brainy is so ride or die for lena even when she gives him literally the worst advice anyone has ever given anyone else in the history of the world and lena feels safe with brainy to express how she really feels and they are kindred spirits. also the parallel to the comics dynamic between brainiac & lex luthor [which should've made it to the show!!! where was the original brainiac???] is poetic. braincorp 4 life !!!

dreamcorp - again i don't ship them at all but it's so bonkers that developing this relationship wasn't more of a priority for the writers. little sisters with asshole siblings who blame themselves for their mother's deaths (and also have magic powers i guess thanks s6 🥴)...the scenes write themselves! or so you would think. i liked that they had some rapport in s6 but also ngl it cracked me up in 6x07 when nia called lena "family" i was like girl this is your first onscreen conversation ever 😭 you are colleagues at best...oh well. i like the idea of them becoming found family though. i don't see the superfriends as a found family (they are actually this cool thing called 'friends' instead) but nia & lena specifically i think could come to lean on each other in a sisterly way.

guardiancorp - so as i've mentioned part of what really piqued my interest in guardiancorp was the reveal that james had 16 scars from lex yet he was able to look past that to see lena for who she was not just as lex's little sister. james as clark's best friend and lena as lex's sister are kind of inherently tied together by the superman/lex drama and i'm interested in how they can work through that to love each other anyway. one thing i find interesting about them is that they are deeply different in ways that could set them at odds -- lena is a luthor, james is team super; lena is a white woman, james is a black man; lena is morally flexible, james is much more morally steadfast/rigid -- yet they are able to find solidarity and common ground with each other despite those things and have each other's backs. a lot of people like to point to the scene where lena & james are completely out of sync at game night as evidence that they were never really right for each other, but the thing i always remember is that lena wanted to practice with him afterwards. she wanted to put in the work. that's actually very romantic to me. another thing i like is how protective they are of each other; morgan edge might call james lena's bodyguard and james might take a bullet for her and dangle morgan edge off a building for her but lena is also HIS bodyguard who would make deals with the DA for him and poison her mother for him. they're each other's guardians. also they are capable of being so powerful and bitchy together like when they went to confront morgan edge in 3x09 that was sooo funny and iconic. i do wish the show built them up better and let us see their friendship properly develop in 3a instead of having them flirt in a couple scenes and then not interact for 4 episodes and then have kara & sam hamfistedly tell us they have chemistry. if i were writing season 3 i would give them a slower build and probably not have them kiss until the balcony scene in 3x17. but oh well. if wishes were horses i would have lots of horses. i wouldn't even know what to do with all those horses. so it's a good thing wishes aren't horses, if you think about it.

kellycorp / goldencorp (that's the name i just came up with now that i am advocating for) - i quite like this idea because it's a kelly ship i can actually get invested in. hooray <3 i think kelly would be good for lena and, crucially, i think lena would be good for kelly. they both are more 'outsiders' to the superfriends than the other members are, as evinced by the two of them being the last to know supergirl's identity, and i think they could bond over that. i could see kelly feeling comfortable being displeased/angry with lena in a way she maybe doesn't with the other superfriends, while also holding space for lena's emotions in a way Certain Other People Who Shall Remain Nameless aren't always very good at. and i could also see lena really enjoying spoiling kelly with her wealth and kelly being kind of into it. also the fact that the showrunners seemed weirdly allergic to putting azie and katie into scenes together, meanwhile azie and katie were supposedly constantly flirting on set and working overtime to try and sneak goldencorp crumbs into the background, suggests to me that their chemistry was so palpable and powerful that TPTB were scared of letting them loose lest the fandom descend even further into ship wars. ...ok that last part is just a silly little conspiracy theory that i made up so please don't repeat it as fact or even as plausible speculation but also why Did the showrunners keep them apart so much 🤔 makes you think !

mirrorcorp [mirrorverse iris/lena aka a ship i invented] - so if you've never seen the flash you are probably thinking: who is mirrorverse iris??? i'm so glad you asked. mirrorverse iris is a clone of iris from the mirror realm which is NOT an 'evil universe' a la star trek, it is instead a world literally inside mirrors. mirrorverse iris was essentially created by mirror monarch (don't ask) for the purpose of infiltrating the normal world. she spends an arc impersonating the real iris and is similar in some ways but is also angrier, more ruthless, and more impulsive. in her last episode she figures out that she wants to be her own person and live life on her own terms not mirror monarch's and she defies mirror monarch during a fight with barry and then she dies. don't like that she died i wish she'd stuck around she was an epic character. but anyway this arc takes place in season 6b of the flash which you guessed it coincides with season 5b of supergirl. so my pitch is that instead of teaming up with lex to continue project nonsense lena goes on a sojourn to central city and meets mirrorverse iris who is impersonating real iris and undergoing an existential crisis/crisis of conscience. and the two bond and become friends. and then mirrorverse iris doesn't die and she and lena have to figure out who they want to be for themselves not just for the people who created them or tried to mold them in their image. and then they kiss about it idk just saying it could be good!

nationalcitydistrictattorneycorp - i mean. you've seen the scene. possibly the most sexually charged scene in the entire show. unclear to me why both actresses decided to play it that way but ok queens !

peggycorp - not my thing but i respect the warriors 👍

reigncorp - sam is imo the best & healthiest friend lena could ask for -- actually the best & healthiest friend anyone on this show could ask for -- but i don't really think their relationship is improved or made more interesting by them dating. i do think they have hooked up in the past and they decided they were better off as friends.

rojascorp - i'm not a rojascorp shipper actually but i believe in their beliefs...andrea and lena definitely dated, i see them as exes who still have affection for each other & sexual tension, i'm just not interested in the idea of them getting back together. if anything i actually worry that andrea might be too deferential to lena? i think she sees herself as deeply indebted to lena and -- whether you're looking at the pre-crisis more interesting timeline where she directly has blood on her hands or the post-crisis less interesting timeline where she tried to kill supergirl & accidentally put william in the line of fire -- i think she has a lot of guilt and she views lena as a moral authority in contrast to her morally 'tarnished' view of herself. which is interesting & juicy because most characters don't view lena that way. but i don't know that it's a great dynamic for a romance.

spheercorp - jack is sweet and rahul kohli is pretty. here endeth my thoughts on spheercorp. ...ok i guess i can say a little more which is that like rojascorp i prefer them as exes/bffs to them getting back together. i also will say that, while i think jack's death contributed to a disturbing trend on the show of killing off south asian characters, i do actually rather like it as a character beat for lena. i enjoy seeing him pop up in fics but in the show itself i think him dying is kind of a better story. sorry jacky :(

supercorp - i mean i think the premise alone is kind of epic and awesome. a super and a luthor but they're in love. like that's just plain cool. plus think of the awkward family dinners! i am always here for ships that will generate awkward family dinners. i also think they have a lot of great comedy scenes together which is always a plus to me shipping-wise, i like ships with a comedic bent. but there's also a lot of juicy drama/tragedy/gay divorce with them too which is also good of course. as a big fan of dramatic irony i like the secret/reveal as a storytelling device i just wish they handled it better post-5x01 (i think 4x22 and 5x01 actually kind of nailed it ngl). i like that they both used each other's kryptonite on the other person and yet they were able to forgive that and love the other person anyway. i mean the actual in-show process of forgiveness was wack but the idea is spicy. and i like that, as kara herself (clunkily) put it in the finale, they really do challenge each other and push each other to be better. as i've mentioned before theirs is a relationship where actions have consequences and where every scene they have matters and affects later scenes, which is unlike.....well, most relationships on the show, frankly. i also tend to think their scenes are just generally better-written and have more subtext (and i'm not just talking about the gay kind) and interesting things going on in them than most of the rest of the show's scenes. for all my many gripes about how s5 & s6 handled their fallout and then kind of just papered over it with platitudes, i still think their relationship is one of the best parts of the show and it's still the major thing that keeps me on the hook.

#if i missed any. well. assume i don't care about it enough to write up a paragraph lol #sideguitars #up up and away

[shinyhappysims]

Wednesday, 3:21 PM, Darby’s Den, Unversity of Britechester, Britechester

Raphaël: Ah, non! My recording is ruined!

Imani: I’m so sorry! The door wasn’t locked so I thought the room was empty.

Raphaël: No need to apologize. That take wasn’t going so well anyways.

Imani: Are you sure? I really didn’t mean to interrupt. I know how hard it is to get a perfect recording.

Raphaël: Relax, it’s not your fault. Besides, I wouldn’t mind being interrupted by someone like you, ma belle.

Imani: Your accent… Êtes-vous des Champs Le Sims?

Raphaël: Tu parles Simçais! Et oui, je viens des Champs le Sims.

Imani: I don’t understand. Why would you want to move to Simerica when you’re from such a lovely place?

Raphaël: There are many things that seem beautiful about it. But unfortunately my home country has fallen into secular ways. Gone are the days of artists making beautiful paintings or music reverent to God. C’est tragique! Here in Simerica, people are free to be Christian.

Imani: Wow, I had no clue things were that bad there. A shame that Liberals have destroyed a beautiful country that’s so full of culture.

Raphaël: My feelings exactly. D’accord, bien, let me know when you’re finished with your practice. I’d love to continue talking with you about this over coffee.

Imani: I’d love to! It was really nice to meet you… sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.

Raphaël: Je m’appelle Raphaël. Enchantée.

#fundie simblr #fundie sims #fundie snark #sims 4 legacy #shs: izzy #zut! liberals! #on est dans la merde

[msmargaretmurry]

do you think tkachuk/drai/mcdavid (or 2 of the 3) would have been anything if matthew was drafted to edmonton instead of jesse puljujarvi?

hello anon! it says something about how uncaffeinated i was when i first read this ask that at first i thought you meant like, as a line, and i was like "well someone would have to learn to play left wing and it would probably be smarter to spread that firepower out over two lines" and then i had one (1) sip of coffee and was like OOOOooohhh you mean in a hrpf way. (i assume. sorry if you actually wanted lineup analysis.) and then i got briefly distracted thinking about a beautiful world where poor jesse puljujärvi never had to endure the dickings around of the oilers management. and THEN i got briefly distracted thinking about how having all three of them would make the oilers' cap situation even more funny. BUT ANYWAY.

short answer: yes. long answer:

so like, on the mcdavid front, hrpf nation has been exploring the mortifying ordeal of being connor mcdavid since before he was drafted. if matthew was drafted to his team people would be interested by default. if the oilers had him, drai, AND matthew, for marketing purposes they would have packaged those three all together like eberle/hall/nuge 2.0 and people would have loved it. matthew would have been giving nonstop quotes about playing with these special players and learning so much from them and whatever the fuck. matthew cares very very deeply about being a Good Teammate. he would have become connor's guard dog the same way he did for auston matthews in the ntdp. folks absolutely would have latched onto it. plus the added dimension of matthew being a Legacy Kid while connor has had Legacy Thrust Upon him would have been like rpf narrative catnip.

also, in addition to the legacy kid thing making him already a person of interest, if matthew had been drafted to the other side of the battle of alberta he would have been exactly as rambunctious and annoying and divisive and shit-stirring and fun to watch, just on the other side of the battle, and manyof us would have still gotten weird and wild about him. imho!!

i think it's a really interesting thought experiment to ponder how being in the shadow of mcdavid (and doing his shenanigans in what might be perceived as in service of the mcdavid experiment) might have possibly changed perpections/portrayals of him, and also how being drafted to a team where he knew he would never, in the eyes of the hockey zeitgeist, be the best player, might have changed matthew's own approach to his career and developing his game. because he's such a family-oriented guy i do still think he would have gotten homesick in edmonton the same way he got homesick in calgary, but i'm really curious if the concept of Playing With McDavid would have been enough to pressure him into sticking it out in the great white north. also, back to the cap crunch of it all — it feels so unlikely that the oilers would be able to afford to keep all three of them, and i wonder, if matthew was there, if drai would be the one to go. and that would have provided some RICH hrpf narratives.

on the draisaitl front, hrpf nation has been info him since he was drafted being he's hot, lmao. (laying these foundations just because if a guy is on the rpf radar it's much more likely for pairing with him to being a Thing(tm).) if matthew had been drafted to the oilers, mattdrai as we know it would absolutely not exist (and que tragique!!). it just wouldn't have that antagonism! i've always said that if leon and matthew were on the same team from the beginning, they would have been fast friends. they would have had a great time terrorizing people together. the things about matthew that pissed leon off so much wouldn't be pissing him off if they weren't being used against him!! so the dynamic that drew so many people into mattdrai wouldn't be there, and it would definitely be a very different thing, but i do think it would still be a thing.

honestly from what i know about hrpf, i feel like if we lived in the matthew-to-the-oilers universe, connor/matthew would be the big ship, with connor/leon and matthew/leon as rarer pairs on the side (and of course connor/matthew/leon hanging out there too). what a world!! i would read a million versions of the au though.

#ask #this was fun to think about thank you anon! <3 #matthew and leon #the mortifying ordeal of being connor mcdavid #hockey for ts

[zumurruds]

Fucked up ship bingo: murtagh/nasuada

i like them both individually as characters, i think them being together is yummy in a tragique way, but it also breaks my heart bc murtagh has only really known pain and loneliness in his life and he DESERVES a happy ending 😤 mursuada is destined to only end in tragedy, and it HURTS. justice 4 my baby emo raven crybaby boy 🐦‍⬛✊

i just wish paolini developed their romance better bc one second we’re being told offhandedly that nasuada visited him in his cell offscreen in book 1, then in book 3 murtagh is already telling her he loves her….. 🧍my guys if you thought ARYAGON was rushed, what the hell was that 😭 show us, not tell us!!!!

sorry but arya’s weird and off-putting (affectionate) teen elf ass belongs to her equally weird elf-human hybrid soulmate eragon bc he’s the only one who can understand her and balance her out, end of discussion. arya and murtagh on the other hand would be those goths on myspace getting mad at each other over who has the most hardcore emo background layout, and things would only escalate from there: murtagh would call her ebony dark’ness dementia raven way, arya would try to doxxx him and get him canceled over his ancestry, and so on and so forth.

#the inheritance cycle