#Endgame in a nutshell

[simsim54]

Simon has passions, hobbies, and interests. Wilhelm has Simon.

I said what I said.

[eddiecoweyesdiass]

2012 alt timeline

past!steve: i can do this all day

steve: get over yourself you idiotic piece of shit i am sick and tired you omg i hope you fucking die

[thatmoththoth]

You know what I’m making a catelog of as many mechanism animatics and animations as I can find:

OUTIS

‘Once’

Old King Cole

‘The Twins’

Rose Red

‘Snow’s Flight’

Pump Shanty

‘The Bride’

Cinder’s Song

‘The Resistance Grows’

Our Boy Jack

‘The Aurora Strikes’

Sleeping Beauty//Alt 1(Partial)

‘Endgame’

No Happy Ending

‘Chapter The Last’

Laid in Blood

UDAD

‘The City’

Broken Horses/part 2

‘Olympians’

My Name is No-One

‘Trial by Wits’

Riddle of the Sphinx

‘Ulysses’s Will”

Sirens

‘Trial by Strength’

Favoured Son

‘Loose Threads’

Trial By Song

‘Hades’

Underworld Blues

‘Trial By Love’

Ties That Bind

‘The Daidala’

Torn Suits

‘Sunrise’

Elysian Fields

HNOC

“The Tower”

Gunfight at the Dolorous Guard

“Strength”

Empty Trail

“Death”

The Hanged Man Rusts

“The Hierophant”

Hellfire

“The Lovers”

Blood and Whiskey (unfinished)

“The Fool”

Skin and Bone

“The Hermit”

Holder of the Grail (Partial)

“Judgement”

Peacemaker (partial)//Alt1 (Partial)

“Justice”

Once and Future King

TBI

Black Box

Odin

Cold Case

Loki

Person of Interest

Thor

Conspiracy to Commit Treason

Sigyn

White Noise

Losing Track

Expert Testimony

Red Signal//Alt 1

Ragnarok I: Runaway

Ragnarok II: The Calling

Ragnarok III: Strange Meeting

Ragnarok IV: Jormungandr (unfinished)//Alt 1 (Partial)

Ragnarok V: End of the Line

Terminus

Additional Songs

Tales To Be Told // Alt 1 (partial)

The Ignominious Demise of Dr Pilchard // Alt 1 (partial)

Swan Song

Actaea and Lyssa (partial)

Lucky Sevens (partial)

Lost in the Cosmos (loop)

Cyberian Demons

Fun & Violence

Frankenstein

Death to the Mechanisms//Alt 1 (partial)

MISC

Jesus Rabbit

Brass Goggles

Out

High Noon Over Camelot

The Ballad of Jane Doe

I Am An Alien

Breakcore in a Nutshell But it’s The Mechanisms

This Is How Who Killed Dr Carmilla Went Right?

So… who broke it?

Who broke it?

Get help

Gunpowder Tim Cancels Jonny

Everyone Angry At Marius After Dr. Pilchard

[madlori]

On endgames and Buck

So when I read posts about Buck and Tommy, I see a theme often repeated:

I know they're not permanent, but I love it.

Who knows how long it'll last, it's great to have it now.

I don't know if I want it to be forever, it's just fun while it lasts.

It's not endgame.

Well...

I think I want it to be. Like, seriously. What if it is? Why can't it be? They're certainly positioning it to be at least long-term. It could be the one that sticks for him. No, on second thought, I don't think I want it to be, I definitely want it to be.

And my reasons have very little to do with Buddie. It's about Buck.

In a nutshell...I want Buck's character development to not center around his love life.

I want his love life settled, so he can develop in other ways. Professionally, personally. So he can gain confidence, decide how he wants to deal with his family and the Daniel spectre, work on his insecurity, his pathological people-pleasing, decide if he wants to further his career and try to become a captain (this was touched on last season and then dropped). I want him to have plot arcs that aren't about the looming question of his romantic life.

I want him to develop from a base of stability in his relationship. And Tommy's the best candidate we've had for that yet. And before you say "Eddie," if that were to happen, we're talking another year or two of...stuff happening to get there. I'm tired. I just don't want him to have yet another relationship end so he can go through whatever sturm und drang would have to go down for that to happen. It's not worth it. I'm convinced now that it would not be worth it. (that's putting aside my utter belief that they're never gonna do it anyway)

So yeah. I'm saying it. I think they might be permanent and I hope that they are. Let them move in together, get engaged, get married. Let Buck become a father (to his own kids). Let Buck work towards more responsibility in his career with a committed life partner at his side. His character can't just be about romantic drama.

Anway, Eddie seems to be throwing his hat in the ring for king of romantic drama anyway, so let's let Buck leave Buck 1.0 behind for good and upgrade himself for the last time.

[feralferretxp]

I've been meaning to introduce one of my Storybots ocs that I've had for a while but here we go. Let me introduce you to...

Melissa Malware

She's a totally normal storybot who is definitely not a shapeshifting virus who has alterative motives for taking over the computer world! :D

Melissa is inspired by the Melissa and I LOVE YOU computer viruses, influencing both her name and theme of spreading love worldwide. In an alternate universe called the LoveBug AU, she launches a campaign called "Project I LOVE YOU", encouraging StoryBots to express love in various forms, aiming to boost mental well-being and promote world peace. She also advocates for self-care, which leads people to work less and less, eventually creating a job crisis in the computer world.

However, Melissa's true intent is to infect others, causing them to slack off from work, which in turn slows down real-world computers, much like a virus. As her followers idolize her, they unknowingly spread her influence, infecting others with the same behavior.

Melissa's origins lie in a more abstract form sent into the internet by her creator. Her mission was to oversee a planted computer worm and ensure its success without interference, remaining in the shadows. However, her plan was unexpectedly derailed when a young Bang, wandering in the internet department while accompanying his father, mistook the worm for a colorful gummy and ate it.

Enraged and shocked, Melissa's task was ruined, forcing her to shift focus and watch over Bang as he grew up, tracking the effects of the worm on him. Over the years, she observed his growing forgetfulness and other changes (I'll make a future post about this and my theory in more detail) as she remained in the shadows. During this time, Melissa herself evolved. Watching storybots and their society, she became curious about life beyond her virus role. She gradually changed her appearance to resemble a storybot and secretly longed for a life where she wasn’t bound to a pre-programmed destructive endgame.

As she grew fond of the attention and adoration from those who saw her as one of them rather than a virus, Melissa tried to prolong her influence and delay her inevitable mission of ruining the computer world, torn between fulfilling her creator’s purpose and finding belonging among storybot society.

When Bang becomes an adult and the computer worm fully integrates with his programming, Melissa is devastated to discover that the worm is now inseparable from Bang, and removing it would kill it. This ruins her original plan, forcing her to adapt. Instead of separating the worm, she decides to use Bang to spread the infection.

Melissa presents herself as a sweet, humble activist and invites Bang to join her "Project I LOVE YOU," using his recognizable and beloved status in the community to help promote her cause. Behind her friendly demeanor, however, Melissa despises Bang, seeing him as a foolish and undeserving figure who, for some reason, is adored by everyone. Despite her loathing, she plays the role of a supportive ally, manipulating him into unknowingly aiding her true goal, while he remains completely oblivious to her hatred and intentions.

So in a nutshell, Bang has no enemies... except for one which is Melissa because she hates his guts LMAO. But yeah that's the LoveBug AU basically. There's more to it but that's for another time.

One important thing about Melissa is that her and Milo (@supgoddo's oc) are in true real love and are perfect for each other YIPPIEE GRRR I LOVE THEM SM

Anyways that's it for now for Melissa! Just wanted to introduce her character and stuff. Live laugh love Melissa <3

[lullabyes22-blog]

I’m sorry in advance for any misunderstandings, english is not my native language💕

Your Silco by far is the most humanly alive I’ve seen out of all other interpretations. He’s sweetly tragic and oh so complex. I just love how troubled he is.

Writer to fellow writer — the way you write is delicious. Taking in account all your works and explorations of characters, it’s all just ✨𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒻’𝓈 𝓀𝒾𝓈𝓈✨

My personal applause to you(taking off the imaginary hat)

While I hold the opinion, that his endgame might be someone just like him in most terms, their flirting being something between a chess game and honey-laced threat, i’m intrigued how you imagine him falling in love? Would him falling in love(or in obsession with such person) differ from courtship of his “fancies” and “assets”?

When he understands that he’s sinking to the bottom of his own play? Will he notice it at all? Will he get terrified and try to trick himself into believing that its’ the person ill intention? And in what circumstances he might surrender to that feeling belly-up(or meet it with bared teeth and a fight, from the other perspective)?

Thank you so much<3

I'm trying my best to write these characters with every tiny scrap of humanity I can find in them. So I'm truly glad that comes across in Silco's portrayal c:

Silco and love is such a fascinating subject, and one I hope to explore as FnF goes on. Canon already abundantly establishes that he has the capacity for it, but also that he tends to elude the gravity of the bond until he finds himself in the position where he needs to confront his feelings head-on. It's also plain that love, far from redeeming him, has the power to utterly destroy him.

I will say that, for Silco in FnF, familial/parental love always takes precedence over romantic love. He's one of those people who tends to pour themselves into the sanctity of a cause, and while that cause starts off as Zaun, by the end, it's Jinx. She is the culmination of everything he's fought for, and for her to succeed as the future he's always envisioned, he will gladly walk into that good night with a smile on his lips and a heart unburdened by regret.

Similarly, his feelings for a true romantic partner - one he doesn't simply view through the omnipresent lens of acquisition, control and conquest - are on par with that. A sort of unconditional surrender -but also one that can be terrifying, and leave him in the empty cradle of a river of blood. There's a deeply erotic and self-destructive root to the nature of how Silco loves. It's part of why his relationship with Vander was so intense, as for him, the true sexual release was in the idea of his own destruction, not as an act of martyrdom but resurrection.

For him, love is a revolution: one that burns all bridges, and yet leaves the way clear for the dawning of a new and brighter day.

So in a nutshell: Silco loves the ones he can't live without. And, more often than not, it kills him in the process.

In FnF, when the time does come for him to fall in love, it will be the same way he's thrown himself into Zaun's rebirth: utterly, irrevocably, and without a trace of doubt.

But he's not going to be aware of it until the lightning-bolt strikes, at least not consciously. I will also say that he's going to fall in love with a lot of different people during his journey in FnF, some more profound than others, but each will teach him how to be more human, even if it's simply the lesson of learning how to be hurt.

Part of his evolution in FnF is him learning how to transcend that one-and-done version of love he had with Vander, which delimited his ability to feel any other kind, and ultimately crippled his capacity to form more lasting relationships post-drowning, due to trauma and a survival mindset.

Another part of his evolution - beyond confronting love as a force of nature "with bared teeth" as you wonderfully put it - is coming down to the level of the mundane, and finding god in the simplicity of a shared life: someone who pours him his morning coffee, a stray eyelash plucked away by a finger, a hand resting on his shoulder during a lull in a firefight.

All of those are little pieces of love that come together to create the mosaic. Silco's spent a lifetime prepared to rush into the fire, rather than content to watch the sunrise from the shore. And the crux of his endgame in FnF is learning how to reestablish that balance.

tl;dr: for Silco to fall in love, he needs to remember how to live again <3

[singleactionjack]

Endgame grind in a nutshell

[luna-rainbow]

I was just reading this ask you answered (luna-rainbow/785155534556905472) about how Peggy was positioned in CATWS as basically the founder of SHIELD. and my memory of endgame is murky, but Peggy was shown either co-running SHIELD or a high-ranking member. in that ask & answer, both go over how strange it was that peggy wasn't targeted by hydra.

but the other question is - HOW was Peggy even allowed to found and run SHIELD? it's extremely unusual that a non-US born citizen has held a high-ranking position in an intelligence agency. IRL, it has never happened that a non-US born person has served as the head of one, let alone actually FOUND one.

IRL, there have been a handful that have had Cabinet-level posts, but not led intelligence agencies (perhaps the two most notable: Madeleine Albright, and of course, Henry Kissinger).

Of the two, the most direct comparison to Peggy would actually be Kissinger; served in the Cold War era, and was considered a master of strategic power politics. Kissinger is seen as a central figure in “realpolitik”, where power, national interest, and strategic advantage is considered better over ethical considerations, and diplomatic intervention is better than idealism or peaceful negotiation.

This was SHIELD in a nutshell, especially working with Zola, and would have been the only way that Peggy would have been allowed to serve as a high-ranking intelligence figure in Cold-War America (I mean, even Operation Paperclip is an example of this kind of politics, and in MCU canon, SHIELD [Peggy and Howard] are the ones to bring him in, even knowing what he did). And it fits with Peggy’s characterization in the MCU. It’s the central point of her characterization, and why in the narrative esp in TFA, she is the foil to Steve’s idealism and “righteousness”.

But, funnily enough, there is at least one other character who is a Kissinger-based intelligence official in the MCU: Alexander Pierce. His goal was to secure and advance survival and power (not of the state, but of Hydra), and where the ends justify the means (he is also the narrative foil, even physically!, to Steve in TWS). And like Kissinger, Pierce was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which many see as controversial.

Like with all things in the MCU, you can’t tell if Marvel did this on purpose, but in a structural way, the character that is most comparable to Peggy in the narrative is Pierce, which further deepens the question of “hey, why didn’t Hydra go after her, and hey, how could Hydra thrive under the nose of a woman who was otherwise characterized in the script as being presciently capable?”

How interesting.

Thanks for the detailed commentary!

I do tend to think that it’s mostly unintentional, because it feels like most of the main movie writers didn’t put much thought into what Peggy represented with her actions. The way she is treated (eg Steve going to her for advice) is directly at odds with what she’s implied to have done in canon.

I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts but Peggy (and Tony) feels a product of the 90s and 00s — not just the “not like other girls”/“one of those boys” trope common during those years, but her morality being “willing to get her hands dirty” and “doing what must be done but no one else would do”. There’s a reason that Steve is mocked in the Whedon movies as the uptight morality police who yells “language”.

CATWS is fairly unique in how it allowed its hero to be unapologetically and unashamedly good. In other movies, particularly the Iron Man ones, there’s a sense that being “good” is pretentious. I think it’s taking the idea of “humans are allowed to be imperfect even as heroes” too far into “being good is too try hard”.

So yeah, I agree and I think the Steve from that movie would have re-examined how Hydra was built and what that means for Peggy’s part in it.

[elrielffs]

It's honestly so funny how the antis claim they have 4 books of foreshadowing, but most e/riel moment is what Azriel has done for other people as well,

Azriel putting his life down to save elain?

He was also ready to die Mor when he was gravely injured and in pain himself,

Azriel offering himself to help elain to the garden?

Offered himself to Feyre to her learn how to fly. And bonus points gave her salve when the training caused her pain.

Azriel laughing? I am sorry Gwyn made him laugh and smile more in one chapter than 4 books combined,

Him having sexual thoughts? He also had them for Mor,

The Azriel potato helping and wait for elain to come scene is literally just followed by Rhys telling Feyre how his mother was mistreated as a reasoning for his actions,

Elain calling his hands pretty and making him blush? Nesta made him blush by hugging him.

So, like is he also the endgame for Mor, Nesta, Feyre and Gwyn?

If you can't pick up on the emotional weight, romantic words and images used in these scenes, or the fact that there are numerous scenes between Elain and Azriel for a reason then I can't help you.

Also, it's very telling ya'll think that a man and woman can't interact without it being about romance which is the Gwynriel ship in a nutshell. Azriel can be a nice person to other women (and not the fuccboi ya'll try to label him as) and be into Elain at the same time. It all comes down to how the scene is worded and described, the actions within, and the way the characters react.

By ya'lls logic, let's invalidate every ship and couple ever.

If you think Elriel is platonic then look to the Elriel BC where they are explicitly not. (I see the they are best buds thing going around again, gotta call up all my guy friends to see if they want to eat me out. As friends.)

I swear ya'll need to the ACOTAR books to be written like this to understand:

College degree to read these books?? How about a 2nd grade reading level??

Azriel sees Elain.

Azriel likes Elain.

Azriel does nice things for Elain.

Elain sees Azriel.

Elain likes Azriel.

Elain does nice things for Azriel.

Elain and Azriel have feelings for each other.

Elain and Azriel want to fuck.

No amount of trying to invalidate their scenes is gonna make it go away, sorry.

[thievinghippo]

You ever make your OC so pretty you think you're gonna cry?

This scene was absolutely perfect for the two of them. I choose the sarcastic choices, but they were more sweet and teasing, which is Isle in a nutshell

Gonna admit, I ended up liking this romance WAY more than I expected, based on everything I heard. I think part of that was how I timed things. I didn't get the romance commitment scene until level 45 and I left the Spite coffee date until the very last quest before endgame (I also ran around to make sure I got the companion banter that mentioned the romance, especially the banter chain with Emmrich)

So the romance felt more like an extension to their friendship, which I liked a lot. I'll have to figure out some fic for these two, because I really am not ready to say goodbye to Isle yet!

[under-the-table-podcast]

Hands!

In this ep: Disclaimer: We had more background noise than usual tonight, not just Ginger's cat, but also Fairy had some echo issues, and Ginger's asthma was creeping in bc of some secondhand smoking, but WE KEPT GOING bc Bear Day is almost here! Timelines Sydcarmy endgame S4 Predictions S4's Last 4 episodes S4's Cliffhanger S5 Predictions S4 Wishlist Are Cicero and Donna an old flame? HCs Carmy haters Misuse of the tags in the fandom / Tags also feed and affect our algorithm Rage bait/trolling Sydney Adamu in a nutshell Live Sydcarmy FF Digital Marketing /Press/Our roles in the big scheme of things

Remember, our multiple communication channels are always open for all of you, as usual, please use them!

UTT SydcARMY Community

DM

Comments

[titanicnerd-blog]

@patientlibrarian​ I’ve got it: 

Once upon a time (yeah you know this will be good lol) there was a man named Flynn, and he had a heart full of hurt because of things completely out of his control - which was mostly the horrid writing of the TV show he was stuck in. 

One day, he stole a time machine, because he thought it would make him feel better. By the time he realized it wouldn’t make him feel any better, he had met and fallen half-in-love with an angel walking around in history, chasing after him. She thought he was the bad guy, but he wasn’t. When he tried to make her understand that he wasn’t the bad guy, she didn’t believe him. 

After several months of this back and forth, cat-and-mouse-game, the girl, whose name was Lucy, began to see him not as a bad guy but as a misunderstood man in an incredible amount of pain. She wanted to help him.

They fell in love and ran away to the Maldives where they currently live happily ever after. The end. 

- Timeless writers ain’t got nothin’ on me :) 

And suggestions for which story to me here please!

[dafpork]

i swear there's another universe in which a time traveler moved a chair at some point, causing me to be as gungho about Porky and Gabby as i am Porky and Daffy. WHICH IS FUNNY because i'm about to make a long rambling post about why i think they would be atrocious together. truly Dafpork is endgame to me, i don't and can't ship anything else, not for lack of trying... but. BUT. i am just so utterly fascinated by a potential Porky and Gabby dynamic. especially because i cannot even see these guys being affectionate or intimate SO LIKE WHAT'S THE POINT OF SHIPPING THEM RIGHT?

but it's just. maybe i'm just obsessed with their dynamic in general. Porky and Daffy i think have their own social ineptitudes that can create conflict, with each other or (usually) elsewhere, but they're opposite enough to compliment each other and reach some sort of very weird ground. but maybe the only person more repressed and socially inept than Porky on this planet is Gabby. and putting the two of them together is instant friction. Gabby likes pissing Porky off and porky has a martyr complex where he probably likes getting aggravated because it gives him an excuse to be very passive aggressive back. and Gabby would really like this. it's this bizarre feedback loop, and because they are both so Not Good Socially there would be just. WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN. so much talking at each other rather than two and driving each other insane. i can only describe the way they communicate with each other as, like, a game of never-ending Pong. and they would both get so frustrated at the other because they need an Opposite (ie Daffy, for Porky) to open them up and decipher what they're trying to say. but instead you just get two very tightly wound repressed gay guys who probably get a little bit off on pissing the other off but it also doesn't go anywhere it's just a feedback loop

☝️ this is what i think a relationship like them would be like. like, somehow even worse than the Donald/Porky one night stand because at least they know what they're there for and there's no attachment. Gabby is actually kind of an extremely depressing character who does genuinely need Porky in some way, and i think Porky feels a sort of, like... he has the youngest child syndrome of unconsciously sweeping someone under his wing and trying to make himself out as a sort of big brother role that he never got to be even though he has no idea what that looks like, and also i'm pretty sure Gabby would be the same age he was. there's an endearment and concern on his part for Gabby, but Gabby shuts him out and Porky also has the emotional maturity of a doorknob and so they're both, just.. kinda screwed. and again, even if things did go well for them, i literally cannot imagine them being affectionate at all. especially because Gabby is somehow even more repressed than Porky in this regard and is, again, SOMEHOW, even more fearful of showing any sort of vulnerability or softness than Porky is

THIS WAS INTENDED TO BE A FUNNY POST AND THEN IT GOT SAD LOL. but i really do like thinking about all of the weird ways they interact and sort of speak at each other rather than to and all of the very funny situations that would make.

i also had the realization that i think i subconsciously structured my understanding of their dynamic all around the ending of Porky and Gabby; Gabby's nudging Porky and laughing at this truck driver that they just ran into while Porky stares vacantly at him... and only emotes in a very unsubtle smile ONLY when Gabby gets smacked in the face soon after. this is sort of what i've been trying to get at in a nutshell

(this post was brought to you by Gabby casually throwing a magazine in Porky's face, after he had just spent the past 5 minutes screaming at him, and then feeling very proud of himself when Porky finally has a "WHAT IS YOUR DEAL" moment #JustActorAUThings)

[lovemyromance]

You know that scene in the Jim Carey grinch when he yells “I’m an Idiot” into the cave and the echo says “You’re an idiot!” back at him instead? I feel like that is the glenriel echo chamber in a nutshell. THAT is the real take away from the fated mates quiz that was posted today.

I think the issue in this fandom is that people tend to take things very, very personally. Ive seen it on all sides, but it's especially prevalent when we take a look at some of these Gwynriel theories. Gwyn became a self insert character for many because she's just vague and secondary enough that she has no real flaws and is not very complex or fleshed out. She does a few brave things and is generally kind and pretty - and people just latched on.

Any idea that Gwyn isn't a main character, any mention of the lightsinger theory, any whisper even that Gwynriel isn't backed by evidence from the books - that is something they are going to take very personally. Because even if objectively, all those things are true, these people are using Gwyn as a self insert. So they are hearing people say:

"Gwyn is not an MC" = "you're not a main character"

"Gwyn could be a lightsinger" = You're a cruel evil lightsinger"

"Gwyn and Azriel aren't mates" = "you're not gonna end up with azriel"

And that doesn't seem like something they want to hear. So they lash out, go crazy with their crack theories even more than before. They take it as a personal insult when it is just something that is objectively true. They accuse everyone of being anti Gwyn when they dont support Gwynriel when they are really two separate things.

I'm sure they'll find some way to spin this fated mates quiz anyways. Or more likely, the Eluciens will spin it because Lucien was an option and try to push the Elucien agenda, which the Gwynriels will hop on board for just to say "ofc SJM wouldn't spoil Gwynriel in a quiz 🙄"

That's what happens when you form a conclusion and then read the books to zero in on any scrap of text you can twist to fit that conclusion. When you read backwards, you form backwards opinions 🤷🏻‍♀️

People have got to understand that being anti a ship doesn't mean they hate that character. All I see Eluciens & Gwynriels do is accuse people of hating Lucien and Gwyn. Which is crazy. Nobody hates them, im pretty sure feelings towards these characters have only soured due to the insanity of the fandom, not the books or characters themselves.

And I've been very clear about this. For example, Lucien was actually my favorite character in ACOTAR. But when SJM stopped writing him, I stopped liking him as much. When Lucien and Elain were declared mates in ACOMAF - I was actually in support. It was only in ACOWAR did I see how unsuited they were for each other that I realized I don't think this ship is endgame. I reached that conclusion without hating Lucien or Elain - imagine that?

Furthermore, I actually got Lucien in that fated mates quiz. And I was not surprised nor was I disappointed by the answer. It tracks. If I were to go for a man, it would definitely be someone like Lucien. Even my current boyfriend has the same kind of traits as Lucien (dry wit, snarky, but able to switch to polite and charming at the drop of a hat).

But that's the important distinction. I, personally, would go for a man like Lucien. But I am not Elain.

And I know that. I am able to objectively read these books and form accurate conclusions because I don't let my personal preferences cloud my judgement of what is on the actual page.

I might personally prefer a man like Lucien, but Elain clearly does not. She wants nothing to do with him.

And if people were able to stop with the self-inserts and obsessions over fictional men, they would be able to read these books with a clear mind. The way they were meant to be read.

[utilitycaster]

"There is zero attempt to extend anything but bad faith."

standing ovation for tidily describing this fandom in a nutshell tbh

Thanks, but I'm talking about a particular subset, the handwringy overwrought appeals to emotion crowd for whom the gods can never under any circumstances be redeemed, so unless you are also talking about that specific small piece of the fandom, I disagree! I actually think the fandom at large has been pretty receptive to the story as it's being told. And honestly, even when I've been in fandoms that frustrated me greatly with widespread bad faith interpretations (Midst and WBN have both had problems here)* they've come around when more obvious evidence came about. Better late than never.

I do think that an issue in this fandom, and fandoms at large, is not so much bad faith but as someone else said, motivated reasoning (though in the case of something the motivated reasoner dislikes, will become bad faith). A lot of people decide how they want to the story to go very early, often in a manner that validates their own existing real-world politics (even if they're not super applicable to the situation at hand) or personal preferences. I mean, that's in the end the source of a good number of shipping bad takes - people decide two characters must be in love and so even if they start dating other people and not talking to each other anymore, the motivated reasoning shipper decides that ACTUALLY this is all a front and the actor's blinks are in secret code and the relationship will definitely break up and the True Love was Always Endgame no matter how many times the creators say "no, it never was our intention to have those characters get together." But even then I think the silent majority of most fandoms are just. vibing and happy to be here. It's just that motivated reasoning people are loud.

And I'm not setting myself apart here; I'm loud and I'm certainly not without bias. My motivated reasoning tends to be based on foregone conclusions that I think are more likely to actually play out, I think, and I try to be self aware about it, but like, I do tend to assume stories will be good and follow some narrative lines and use the hints they drop, and that is itself an assumption because some stories are poorly made. Like, for example, with the gods, I do think that there is very little chance Matt is going to tell a story that's like "hey, Ashley, you know your first ever TTRPG character, who brought you into this friend group and whose life's purpose is to restore worship in the Everlight? Bad news, Everlight's a genocidal cunt and she's gotta die." That's obviously not my only evidence here. We've got the whole opening scene. We've got the fact that the non-Aeorian NPCs who aren't divine companions we've spent time with have been a sickly old man granted peace in death, a gnomish woman granted solace after being cruelly mocked by Aeorian forces, and the beggars who didn't have food despite wagons of supplies going to Aeor, whereas the Aeorian NPCs have been guards, slimy bureaucrats, teens badly beaten for minor crimes, and a drunk cop; the defaced and forgotten temple in a poor neighborhood that is heavily surveilled from afar because its laborers are unwelcome. Hell, as I said before it aired, the fact that the main PCs are gods and not Aeorian mages is a very deliberate and telling choice on its own. But yeah on some level, while I think Bells Hells have the space to decide to kill the gods since they are those same cast members (thought I doubt that is what they will do), I do not think Matt will tell an earlier story that says "hey, everyone at the table except Marisha? your beloved character(s) whom you played for all or most of a campaign followed a rotten-to-the-core lie."

Going off the meta of creators is a bit risky - a lot of dumb D20 discourse is based on assuming Brennan's leftism is the same as Very Online I Do Not Dream Of Labor Leftism and not his actual "the BBEG is the exploitation and undervaluing of labor and the dehumanization of others; labor itself can be deeply fulfilling, you just shouldn't be forced to rely on your capacity to do labor to the exclusion of all other things to be housed and fed" leftism and reasoning from there - but it's certainly more reliable than going off reasoning of "I as a random private individual want the gods to die for whatever the fuck reason and therefore that is the correct thing to happen and any other outcome is bad."

This is very rambly because I just got up and maybe it's that it's a nice morning and I can actually enjoy a leisurely breakfast before going into work unlike most of last week and much of the rest of this week, but for all I proudly identify as a hater, I am very much a lover of fiction and I want it to succeed and I want it to not just validate me. Like, if I hate on something it's because I wish it were better, but I don't hate on something just because it presents a different viewpoint than the one I already held. And I think you have to bring that good faith to fandom as well. If people are being idiots and assholes then yeah you don't need to keep acting like they're valid for that (I mean, they're valid in that everyone has the right to their opinions, but not in the sense that you need to grant those opinions intellectual consideration on par with thoughtful and evidenced meta and theories) but I do not actually go in assuming the fandom is going to be wrong and dumb and disappointing, and I think that's why I've found such enjoyment in it. Most people are chill! Chill people just tend not to loudly say WOW I'M SO CHILL AND THIS STORY IS GREAT.

*one bit of salt to cut the sweetness here but also still weirdly positive: the way I've dealt with that and specifically WBN is that I am trying to write one piece of meta after each episode that doesn't attack people or anything, just lays out my thoughts respectfully. Be the change you wish to see. I think a lot of people in fandom see someone disagreeing with them and go "OH YOU CAN'T LET US HAVE ANYTHING" and frankly this is the cause of almost all fandom unpleasantness I've experienced (in the sense of people seeing me say I don't like something and acting like I shut them down instead of simply didn't vibe), but it's important to remember that isn't how it works. Even if you do think the fandom has widespread bad opinions, you can change this by being thoughtful and patient and putting forth better ones. I mean there's limits, and if a fandom is genuinely hateful, get out, but if it's just surface-level takes for something that should be deeper? Be the one who shows the depth.

[dangermousie]

To me, this sequence is the crux of why Xie Wei is the endgame for JXN in terms of suitability - in terms of someone who allows her to be most at peace with herself and live happily. It's not just because with ZZ, she will always strive for an ideal and hide the "uglier" parts of herself. It's because as others pointed out - she needs to learn to love herself and she is mired in guilt around him - but also, XW doesn't just see her the way she is and loves that, he is also someone who is determined, obsessed even, with looking forward not back.

In some ways, he's the most driven by the past out of all the characters (he wants justice/vengeance for what happened during the siege, this is his cause) but that's the thing - his attitude is "this horrific thing has happened, it cannot be changed, now we will figure out how to deal with this and address it" (which in his case is a lot of murder :P) is something JXN needs - she's been trying to change the past emotionally, as well as physically and I think she needs to accept that she is irretrievably changed, you can't unring the bell, you can't make her pure naive girl who (in her belief system) is worthy of ZZ (btw any relationship where you constantly work to be worthy of the other person is unhealthy at best and doomed at worst), you can just move forward, in whatever way possible.

In a way, what he says here is quite straightforward and in keeping with his "moving forward" attitude - if you can't let go, don't. Her guilt won't allow her to hear that.

Lady, he talks a good talk but he's already 85% to losing control over you.

And that is when all red flags that did not manifest before, manifested, in terms of that relationship. ZZ is a good man, probably the best of the characters. But any relationship where you are doing Jesus and Mary Magdalene imitation, viewing someone as literally flawless, as someone who shouldn't be touched by anything even if you tear out your heart, because you are so unworthy is not a romantic relationship, that's a medieval nun's attitude to her God. No go in real life. It wouldn't work and if somehow it did, would never make her truly happy. JXN should be in a relationship not even of mutual pedestals but being seen and seeing the other person as messy flawed being but still worthy of love.

I laughed. I adore XW but what he knows about people's hearts in terms of romance is equivalent to a turnip.

Time-out for haaaaaaands!

And despite my snark, it's not a turnip of an answer at all, it's perfect (I think he's terrible at telling his own heart but not others.) That is what she needs to hear - as I mentioned - not ignoring what's in the past but moving on.

I love it so much!!! And I love that he's genuinely heartbroken for her pain and just wants to fix it - there is none of that "my chance is here" attitude.

It's an angsty moment but I giggled because I remembered wailing after my first high school boyfriend dumped me "I am never going to love anyone like this! I could never find someone like this!" Spoiler - I was wrong :P (And probably wouldn't be able to pick the guy out of a line-up now.)

But, more importantly, I was screaming into my hands, when he said "find someone more suitable." Not just because this is XW in a nutshell - he accepts the situation as it is, no arguing with the premise and offers a different solution (nobody is better? OK, accepted, then how do we deal in this situation) but because this is the crux of the OTP. What JXN (and every other person looking for a partner) needs in this world is not the person who is the smartest or saintliest or w/e, they need the most suitable person for them, whoever that is, to be happy. Objectively saintly ZZ is not particularly suitable for her; goodness is not happiness, not always, and she needs to accept that and fully accept herself.

Yes, there will be!