#he saved so many ships with his final sacrifice of love

[gracerings]

we might not have got a destiel kiss but now every time a fictional guy that people gay-imprint on gets to gay kiss someone on tv, destiel and supernatural trend on tumblr in a tribute to those who paved the way. and so the cycle repeats and castiel’s final words live on.. maybe happiness isn’t in the having after all

[runawaycarouselhorse]

What made both her sacrifice for her team mates’ happiness in Pocket Monsters (2019)/Pokemon Journeys episode 95 and the fact that she thought this would be her end more poignant for me is that being completely alone is what Musashi hates the most. She lost her (single) mother as a child and was never adopted, going from foster home to foster home... ;_;

After many failures (like being unable to graduate from a school meant to train literal Pokemon Nurses, because she couldn’t do what Chansey do, despite studying hard and being adept at skills like bandaging…) and having her heart broken and being disappointed (she let a boy she loved go alone so she can pursue idol dreams with some friends, who all made it… without her, so she lost a possible love for an impossible dream)…

She couldn’t bond with her partners and left them to be injured, just to save herself, during her training days at Team Rocket. She’d become selfish and self-preserving… in the Japanese version, the others called her “shinigami Musashi” according to Yamato (Cassidy), likening her to a reaper of souls… but James refused to run away, sick of living a life where he ran away from all his problems. He’d sacrifice himself for her and Meowth’s safety, getting badly injured and nearly missing their final exam, hospitalized. The first time they uttered the beginning of their motto was when she believed she was all alone again, much like in this scene… the Rockets in the Japanese version repeat the last thing someone else says as if to answer a question (the “nanda kanda to kikare tara” = “if you ask us about this or that” is mostly filler that could be substituted with anything else.)

Musashi (Jessie): (dejectedly, as she walks away alone as the final exam begins, even being questioned by Nyasu/Meowth where she’s going): Is this all that there is…?

Kojiro (James): (answering while leaning posed against a tree, covered in bandages, but they were only wrapped over his clothes so he could whip them off dramatically) If you ask us 'if this is all that there is,' our answer will be the universe’s compassion!

She’s so moved, she turns away to wipe her tears. “A team mate who won’t run away…”

I think that’s the first time they ever see her cry.

Jessie desperately wants family, belonging, that’s why she falls in love so quickly, she wants a family more than anything—James had everything material growing up, but not love… Musashi had near to nothing material growing up, BUT she had her mother’s love… until she lost her very, very early. They contrast each other! They’re soul mates, eternal partners, whether you ship them or not. Meowth, too, was orphaned as a kitten, never even named, and an outcast his whole life. He's also always falling in love easily, seeking a home... the trio should never be separated, they are each other’s sought-for home.

I think the falling snow in this scene, where she runs off in tears, after wearing a brave smile and telling James it’s okay to stay with Cassidy, is a very deliberate choice, as Jessie loves snow. One of her few happy memories of her depressing childhood is being made treats made of snow to eat. She unknowingly lost her mother in the snowy Andes mountains, seeking Mew, put into foster care, while Miyamoto tried to make money to give her a better life... glittering snow and sparkling tears…

For Meowth too, she lets him go. She just wants everyone to have their chance at love.

So, her believing she’ll end up dying alone, as she’s always feared, Musashi here laments her luck, but also has a beautiful little dream of her friends saving her.

Once again, similarly to the break-up episode of DP, she was the one who calmly and gently encouraged James to pursue a possible love. She also broke Dustox’s pokeball, in tears, not wanting her to make the same mistake she did, giving up on an attainable love for an unattainable goal (and, indeed, Jessie did not win the Grand Festival, despite her skill at Pokemon Contests… she made the right decision for Dustox’s happiness.)

Jessie loves her friends. Sure, she’s caustic, rude, temperamental, bitter, and self-absorbed, but she prioritizes love and their happiness. She doesn’t want them to be alone and abandoned the way she felt as a kid. She loves them so much so, she’s satisfied to die alone and suffer her worst fear if it meant they get to be happy. That’s self-sacrifice.

She doesn’t resent them one bit, saying it’s a nice dream when she thinks she’s imagined them saving her life… she thought it was her mind comforting her before her death, accepting her fate, rather than realizing it’s effectively a premonition of what will be reality… and when she realizes?! She initially reproaches them, looking mad, because she thought they abandoned their happiness for her! But no, things didn’t work out… this is where they’re meant to be: by each other’s side.

James also knows how much marriage means to her, even though he’s so traumatized by it, the word “fiance” triggers literal flashbacks for him and he climbed up a tree to get away from a teenaged girl who called him that. Yet, in XY episode 63, where she fell for Dr. White...

Kojiro: (with head down, eyes shadowed) If Musashi (Jessie) wants to pursue her happiness as a woman, shouldn't we give her our blessing?

Nyasu also had his misfortunes in love... they sympathize and empathize.

"Let's show her we're men and leave without saying anything..."

As Kojiro runs away, he sheds tears, wishing her happiness and bidding her farewell, silently. The scenes in these two episodes are clear parallels.

But in the end (including the final episodes, as rushed as that plotline was although I still loved Wobbuffet acting exactly like a troubled child of parents going through a messy divorce), they’ll always realize their happiness is by each other’s side as a trio.

"Sometimes you get good pulls, sometimes you get bad ones. Sometimes they're good, even if you think they're bad. Sometimes they're bad, even if you think they're good."

[sssardonian-ssserpent]

((Am i the only one that feels like they missed a huge narrative opportunity with Sir Pentious’s death?

Like yes, it is fine and good that he became the first redeemed soul, I’ve since made my peace with that and can concede that it has a ton of interesting narrative potential and ways to forward the plot that they still hope they use him with in season 2, but the way they could’ve made his sacrifice into something that would’ve been a PERFECT way to hammer in the narrative of the show, and yet they turned it into a useless anti-climatic gag that ultimately wasted what they could’ve done with it.

Like, for example, it has been noted and discussed many times in the fandom that the final fight is all about love and compassion triumphing over senseless cruelty. This is seen with how Lucifer comes in to save Charlie when all hope is lost, with how Angel saves the Eggbois from an exorcist because he knows Sir Pentious cares for them, how Cherri is there to help Angel fight because they’re friends and how Husk fights to protect everyone because he’s grown too fond of everyone else to walk away. The only one who ultimately doesn’t fight for love and compassion is Alastor, who tries to fight Adam one to one out of little more than pure ego and spite. And what happens? He gets his fucking shit rocked, is nearly mortally wounded, and flees from the battle entirely to avoid death.

And, ultimately, this is seen in Pentious’s sacrifice, as he takes off in his ship to try and face down Adam because he recognizes that he’s the biggest threat to their defenses and that if he’s allowed to continue his rampage, everyone will die. Of course, we all know how that sacrifice goes; Pentious being instantly obliterated in a single blast by Adam before Pentious can do anything, in a comedically abrupt and anti-climatic gag to offset the seriousness of the moment. And while it was initially funny in the moment, I think it severely weakened the tone of the moment and, ultimately, as I will explain, ruined what could’ve been a grand and drastic moment, not only for Pentious, but for the hope and love Charlie inspired in him.

You see, the line Adam says directly afterward after killing Pentious is “that could’ve been ugly.” Which, to me, heavily implies that if Pentious had actually gotten off a shot, it probably would’ve done damage and actually hurt Adam, which might’ve helped turn the tide of the battle even before Lucifer had shown up.

So then I got to thinking, imagine if he HAD gotten the shot off? Imagine if he HAD actually wounded Adam?

Sir Pentious. A demon constantly craving recognition and attention, who was never able to get it. Someone who was always considered a useless weakling, a laughing stock, a desperate pathetic idiot who was better off dying than ever being able to be anything of worth in the eyes of most demons and Overlords in Hell, despite how hard he tried to become just as fearsome as them. A demon regarded as a nobody, unrecognizable and totally worthless and forgettable, in Alastor’s eyes, and in the V’s.

A demon everyone has looked down and regarded as weak, hurting the First Man, the leader of the Exorcists, wounding him, in a sacrificial effort to protect his friends. Hurting the most powerful Exorcist in Heaven, out of love for his friends, to protect them and save them from death, when Alastor, a selfish and sadistic egotist who didn’t care about anyone else, wasn’t able to put a scratch on him.

Imagine Pentious being able to hurt Adam more in a noble sacrifice to save his friends than Alastor of all demons, who was unable to when he was only fighting for himself. The poeticism in that. The rawness of that, in a story all about how love and compassion and kindness for others can triumph over the most senseless cruelty and hatred.

Imagine if the blast had gone off.

Imagine if it had caught Adam at the last second. Grazing a shoulder perhaps. Burning his wing. Sending him tumbling out of the sky.

He sends a holy blast up toward the ship, enraged by the fact that he got struck by such a lowly sinner, and the ship can’t get out of the way in time, and Pentious knows that.

One of the Eggbois is screaming and shouting about an incoming attack and how the ship is unable to evade.

And Pentious just slowly takes off his hat, and as the light of the holy beam begins to consume the room, he just goes “….I know.”

He dies, accepting his death, not fearing it, knowing that what he did may have been enough to save his friends.

Cut to the ship being instantly obliterated in a massive cacophonous explosion while everyone looks on in horror from the ground.

Wouldn’t that have made his sacrifice, and his consequent redemption in Heaven, so much more worth it? So much more heavy hitting?

Wouldn’t that have made it actually mean something? Instead of it being made into a joke?

[tinydefector]

Enjoy some of the stuff I like writing of the transformers/ the history, mentality and personality I like writing into the characters. Let me know if you would like some other characters and I'll make another.

Characters breakdowns

Megatron

Megatron, despite what continuation I enjoy as a sappy poet who loves writing. Pre-war, he was actually a very sweet and caring mech who had high hopes from changing cybertron. He wrote as a way to show people the horrors that were happening in the mines. Trying to make people feel on a personal level 'humanize' the lower class cybertronains and make people empathise and see through their eyes. During the war, Megatron makes so many mistakes because at the time, he is still young, and he doesn't know anything else outside fighting, mining, and writing because he never had the luxury of living. And when you're living in an oppressive regime, there is going to be rebellion, when the only way you can have your voice heard the only way to change things is to fight. That's what Megatron does. At first, it's noble, but over time, it wears down his morals. There is only so much death you can see before it destroys your mind and changes you. He gets into a mind set of 'it's either you or me' and self preservation will kick in and despite all his sacrifices he has done for the greater good of cybertron he still wants to live, and the only way he can do that is to make himself into a monster for his own protection, he finds it safer to become a warlord, and a usurper but as time goes on his midn finally caves and he doesn't care for the consequences anymore, becuase the war has been going on for so long. He knows the only way this war ends is with his death, and he is a selfish bot who never got to live freely. He's going to hold onto that, even if he puts others into the position he was once in, he wants to be able to live and he's going to do everything he can to have that freedom of never being under someone's rule again, yet it leads him into becoming what he sort to destroy.

Depending on what continuation I'm working with depends on how he is after the war. Mtmte IDW continuations I love that he ends up with the lost light. Not for the reason that he got his freedom. He got what he had been fighting so much for, but he isn't the one in charge anymore. He has to relearn how to live and relearn how to be civil, which is hard when everyone there is a victim of your war. Rodimus original hates the fact he's there, Megatron is the reason Rodimus became who he is, and he hates it. He hates it and blames Megatron for nyon, for him having to become a prime. But over time, he realises just how lost Megatron is on the ship. He doesn't know how to be just another mech in a group. And I love the idea of Rodimus letting him be co captain as a way to give him some semblance of control over his life again. And Megatron is an amazing captain, he loves working, he loves reports, loves checking machinery and making sure it is still functioning and it leads him to also becoming Ratchet's apprentice with medical becuase he never wants to be helpless to save someone he cares for ever again.

Earthspark continuation Megatron lives with alot of guilt and regret over so much, some days he still wonders if it was the right decision to join Ghost but each time he sees Dot with her child both human and Terran it makes him feel it is all worth it. He never got that as a young sparkling, and he would lay down his life to make sure those children never have to be in his position ever. Megatron was a warlord with a spark too big, and in the end, it got broken too much to the point that he felt safer becoming something else to protect himself. And I can't blame him, I've made decisions I never would have before because of death, it changes you breaks you and turns you into something you would hate if you saw yourself in a mirror.

I actually happen to like the idea of Megatron being younger that Optimus by half a century or so

Optimus

Optimus is one that depends on continuation a lot. Becuase it's either I like writing him as this feral goblin from the Rust sea who Codexa took one look ad and went. 'This little rustlet is my son' and teaches him everything she knows, and Orion is all too happy to learn. He loves the archives, history, and preserving it. And he is very much Codexa, a little rust goblin who goes to protest and everything because he sees it unfair for so many to suffer. She is very proud of him despite fearing deeply for him because he is a young spark, and she doesn't want to lose her son to propaganda.

Or we have Orion as a law enforcer who was trained under Alpha Trion, he's a stern bot but he does care for people, taking Drift to Ratchet, caring very much about shockwave and trying to protect him as much as he can from the council. He follows the rules but will bend them when it comes to protecting people and he's a bit of a hot head, snarly and tempered.

Becoming a prime either makes him bolder or more mellow tempered, but he still caring and willing to fight for his friends and loved ones, watching cybertron fade breaks his spark so much becuase he never wanted to see this happen, he never wanted to watch Megatron become corrupted by the thing he sort to change. But war has that effect on all of them. The war wages on and each century it just makes Optimus more tired. He is actually a very depressed mech, but he puts up the wise and friendly facade. But he misses so much of his culture, and it hurts even more if he is the archivist continuation becuase he has all of these documents and he re reads them and some nights he will cry himself to sleep becuase he wishes he could have changed to path of the war. And in truth, if it came down to it, he would go back and give his life to prevent cybertron from falling. He was made into a prime he wasn't chosen to be one, and he's constantly at war with the matrix because of that. And when the matrix bonds with Rodimus, Optimus is selfish and relieved. If he had his choice, he would never touch that cursed thing ever again. To him, being a Prime isn't a gift. It's a curse.

Ratchet

Ratchet, in his younger days, was a big partier, but as he gets older and does more surgery, it starts to chip away at him. Watching how if a mech of a higher class was brought in, they got fast charged in front of other patients. He had to watch mech he had known and grown a bond with shut down because he was forced to work on another mech because they were of a higher class than others. So when he opens his clinic, I. The dead end asap way to help mechs of lower status he never would have thought it was what would lead him to hsi further Conjunx, at first Deadlock wasn't anything special to him, just some poor bot who had hit the lowest of lows. So when this mech keeps coming back over the centuries to check on Ratchet and make sure he's alright,it amuses the older medic over this speedster.

But when the war breaks out its Deadlock who's the first at his door, telling him he needs to leave becuase it's not safe, a large sum of money transferred to him, and a pleading look from Deadlock. That's how Ratchet ends up at Optimus' side throughout the war, he's dedicated to keeping as many bots functioning as possible, and he sticks by medic law, he will help anyone, Decepticon, autobot and unlined bots without a bat of an optic. And little does he know that He is on a list of do not harm. Deadlock pulls a lot of strings as Decepticon. Ratchet is one of the most well-known medics due to being the Autobots HMO, but also because he is on a protective list, he is a to be captured only, killing him is an automatic execution. Ratchet himself is quite the rule breaker. He meets up with Deadlock multiple times, fixing him and snarking him, calling him a stupid kid for getting himself so beat up. But over time, Ratchet becomes rather smitten with Deadlock, and all it takes is Ratchet asking him to leave the Decepticons and Deadlock does without argument.

Drift

Drift, he's one who I want to write more because I love him alot, he's a mech, which started out with nothing and is now one of the most wealthy bots to still be alive. From a junkie to one of the Decepticons' most feared assassins. Meeting Ratchet changed his life around, I like the idea when Ratchet was saving him. Deadlock literally saw Primus that day. And he doesn't know how to repay Ratchet. He tries to better himself get off the circuit boosters, but that falls in with the Decepticons and makes a name for himself as an assassin after he and Hotrod go to a rally, Hotrod took one look at Megatron and walked away, but Megatron caught Deadlocks attention. He makes a name for himself working with Mixmaster and a lot of money off it, but he refuses to go back to using, so his wealth just slowly accumulates. And when cybertron falls and the war continues, it's something he doesn't pay attention to. But Ratchet is, he makes it very clear to every con that Ratchet is off limits, and many think Deadlock has a personal vendetta against the medic. And a few bots learn what happens when they lay a hand on the medic. So Ratchet becomes the infamous medic not only because of his skill in the field but because Deadlock literally has him on a can't touch list that even Megatron respects.

When Deadlock becomes Drift he gets a full cosmetic surgery done by Ratchet, and the medic vouches for him making it very clear to everyone that Drift is off limits, that's when Drift and Hotrod finally see each other again, it's a reunion and a half. Once the war is over and cybertron is slowly being rebuild is when Drift realises the fortune he has amassed over millions of years. He's the one who funds the lost light expedition as a thank you to Rodimus for everything he has done for him. Both he and Ratchet join the lost light as a way to get away from cybertron and the names they have made. And it's only on the lost light that Ratchet actually finds out Drift is older than him by a good few million years. And it leads to quite some funny situations because no one knew Drifts age. Rodimus is shocked, and so are many other bots. But I also have this very funny little thing in my head of an interaction with Drift and Rung. Of Drift doing a therapy session with Rung, sitting there meditating when he suddenly just goes. "I know you're Primus, I don't know why, but thank you for leading me to Ratchet," and Rung is sweating coolant like. 'How does this fragger know who the fuck I am!?!"

Rung

Many of you know I love writing Rung as Primus in hiding. And I love the idea of him making himself this tiny mech who collects spaceships from over millennia, and they are his most prized possessions, he learnt many skills but became a therapist becuase he wanted to help people, it was always in his natural to help those he could. He gave up his original form, creating cybertron. He was there for the first sparklings created. He was there throughout everything. And when the war started, he evacuated a lot of young sparks, wanting to protect them, but it broke him. Watching that shuttle get shot out of the sky. Rung has been there for everything, he cringes away when people pray to him, he despises the cults made in his name, the depictions of him as this selfless warrior, he wasn't a warrior, he was a scared bot with no choice but to stop Unicron, he's a selfish bot who wanted to enjoy the life that his original form has gifted.

He enjoys being a therapist, but after the war he realises all the trauma so many bots have and he tries to ease it to help them throught it the best he can, but when he's doing a session with Drift and the mech turns to him looks him dead in the eyes and says he knows Rung is primus it spooks him. No one could know that Rung was older than this bot, so how could he know that he had never done anything that could have made Drift suspect him. And it is left as a mystery as Drift never brings it up again, never tells anyone else, but Drift is the only mech he fears more than Unicron because he knows who he truly is.

Rodimus

Rodimus/Hotrod was originally a mech on the streets, he had multiple run in with the law due to illegal street racing. Prowl was originally trying to recruit him as an undercover agent, he meets Deadlock by chance while bootlegging energon. They become quick friends when Deadlock gets him out of trouble quickly, they begin hanging out alot and are nearly inseparable, Hotrod helping Deadlock with his withdrawals, keeping him busy and never taking it personally when Deadlock lost his temper from the withdrawals. When they went to one of the Decepticons rallys, Hotrod was tempted to join but it was when he met Megatron it changed his mind. In truth if he had met Megatron before he had started becoming the paranoid mech, Hotrod most likely would have been friends with Megatron. But seeing the crowd of angry mech following Megatron's every word has Hotrod ready to get out of there.

He stays an unaligned bot for quite a bit. But eventually joins Optimus begrudgingly. He doesn't agree with either side of this war, but to him, the Autobots are the most moral at that time. But when the burning on Nyon happens, he hates himself, he hates both the Autobots and Decepticons, and he despises the matrix of leadership more than anything. He hates what he's been made to be. He lives with so much guilt, and he doesn't know how to deal with it, Drift can see it, and he organises the ship. Rodimus finds it easier to run away from cybertron, so he does. But when Megatron joins the crew, it throws a wrench in the works. Rodimus wants to scream at Optimus at Megatron. He doesn't want to be near the mech who shoots him through the spark. But over time he comes to realise how lost Megatron is, it takes alot of time for either of them to be comfortable near each other.

It's a day Rodimus is struggling with reports. He wants to scream t his own prosessor for not being able to focus. Megatron drops something into his servo to fidget with before sitting at the other side of the table as he works quietly on reports. And it's the first time Rodimus says thank you to Megatron,it takes both of them a moment before they settle back into quietly working.

Here's a list of oldest to youngest in my headcanons

Rung - old as fuck, he is god

Drift- this man is old, no one knows just how old tho

Ratchet - he's not as old as drift but still pretty aged

Optimus, Rodimus, Megatron - all around the same millennia, Optimus being older that Rodimus and Megatron, Rodimus only have a decade on Megatron.

_______________

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[classicanalyzer]

Dragon Prince S6 Thoughts

"Sometimes the line between mercy and cruelty can be thin." Aaravos and Startouch Elves

Well holy shit, that opening really went from wholesome Viren (who is alive) hugging Terry and celebrating Aaravos’ supposed “lie” to OH GOD CLAUDIA KILLED A CHILD. God, it's really terrifying seeing Claudia give so much to save her father...it really hits home how Viren felt responsible for leading her down this route. The tragic thing is that I think Viren knows deep inside that as of now, he can't help her...but he hopes he can inspire her to turn back. Despite everything she did, Claudia's actions to save her father were all for nothing. She lost a leg and her soul (it is yet to be seen if her soul can be brought back) and yet by the time she reached home, her father died yet again...this time for good. Claudia's screams were really chilling and sad.

At least, Terry is always there for Claudia...though I'm worried about what will happen to him given Claudia's increasing mental dive into darkness and insanity. He rightfully points out how revenge is different from love and how it drove Aaravos to the deaths of God who knows.

I really love that Viren didn't choose to reveal what he did to heal Soren. It would've just caused Soren more grief and pain. That's one of the most best things Viren could have done before his sacrifice. He carries on the absolute shame (I felt chills when I heard how he obtained the last part of the spell) that he caused rather than “pass it on” so to say to Soren.

Viren’s true death feels fitting for him. All this time everyone close to him ask if he was willing to risk his life for another. Dark Magic has ruined so many lives and yet also saved so man in some cases. There is a price to be paid. But finally, he proved that he was willing to do that rather than find some other way to pay the price or back out. This time he paid the price and did a truly selfless action where nobody had to get hurt...other than him. He lived his whole life choosing what he felt was pragmatic and selfish with only a few moments of his good self showing...he chose to finally die a servant of his home. While Soren will understandably never forgive him for what he did to him and the world, he will remember him for his last act of unselfish genuine goodness and living up to his desires of atonement rather than going back. I also love how his last words are the last words spoken by Harrow to him.

"I am a servant. I am a...servant." Viren's last words

That entire ship episode is so hilarious with the meta-commentary. The Celestial Elves were a really cool sub-ect of Skywing Elves. I also love the parallels between dealing with Ice Behmeath in the present and the Magma Titan in the past. Instead of killing the beast which left people killed, they found what made it so sad and everyone lives.

Also Callum and Rayla are back together! So happy and I wished we didn't have the break-up personally but still finally.

I now understand the Soren and Corvus ship, and I approve.

I'm so happy that Amaya and Janai finally got married at last. Too bad Karim had to ruin all the vibes temporarily, thankfully, the two were able to salvage it. Amaya and Janai truly deserve the world.

The build-up to when Ezran and Corvus realizes the true plan of Karim is really chilling.

S6 really has me lowkey ship Ezran and Aanya haha. Two badass, wise, and compassionate young rulers who lost their parents...speaking off, I can't imagine seeing Ezran in S7 now that he knows his kingdom is destroyed.

Sol Regem really is responsible for the events of the show. While it is dark how he died and it's horrible how he was responsible for his soulmate's death, I can't say he didn't deserve his death at all. He was the one who laid the seeds for humanity's conflict with elves and utterly despises humanity. He literally choked and burned on his own element.

Katolis being destroyed made me sad since it was our primary setting in the human realm for 6 seasons.

The Startouch Elves gave me so many Collector vibes. Aaravos really is the Ardyn of Dragon Prince with a bit of Collector and I'm all here for it. Now all that is needed is for him to get a stylish hat and turn the sky into an eternal darkness. Also, Aaravos was really that big in his natural mortal form...which made S5's horrifying reveal of what he said make a lot of sense.

A major theme of S6 and the show is how revenge won't get you anywhere but further metaphorically drown yourself. Another major theme is love (platonically and romantically), whether familial, platonic, or romantic.

S6 really is an amazing return to form, and it felt like the quality of the first three seasons was consistent. I cannot wait for the final season of this saga. I did hear about them wanting to make three more books and I wonder how they can go from here...but I trust them to do right based on S6.

[on-my-vigilante-sht]

Capitol Punishment XII

Haymitch x Reader

Summary: The Capitol continues to torture it’s victors no matter how long ago they won through punishment, exploitation, and worst of all; their relationships.

A story in which Haymitch’s lover is a plaything for the Capitol.

Warnings: Canon level violence, rape, alcohol, murder, systemic poverty, exploitation, rebellion (?), more reliance on movie than book, suicidal thoughts, swearing, illness, pregnancy, miscarriage, torture, sexual torture, medical stuff

Word Count: 3.4K

Part XI | Masterlist | Part XIII

It had been six weeks since they escaped the arena, five since Haymitch had seen that godforsaken video of you and that man. According to Beetee more have come in but he destroyed them immediately. Haymitch wasn’t sure how many had come in but he suspected Snow was making a lot of money from you.

But despite his constant worry for you he continued to do is duties in 13. Mostly because he didn’t want to be sent back to rehab. So he sat in on meetings to help with battle and propaganda plans. But when he was called into a secret meeting with only Coin, Plutarch, Boggs, Gale, and a few other special forces he was elated.

“We’re here to discuss the rescue of the victors,” Coin began. Haymitch was the most excited he had been since he arrived in this cultish hell hole. Not every soldier held the same feelings though.

“Why?” one asked, silencing the others. “Are you actually suggesting we put soldiers’ lives on the line so some people can get their girlfriend or boyfriend back?” he scoffed. As much as Haymitch wanted to punch the guy, he had a point.

“It’s more than that. The Mockingjay has demanded Peeta’s and the other victors’ rescue and the Mockingjay is necessary for this rebellion,” Coin explained. “However, this is a volunteer only mission. I won’t forcefully send any of you into the heart of the Capitol.”

“I’ll do it,” Gale immediately volunteered.

“So will I,” Haymitch spoke.

“That’s very generous, Haymitch,” Plutarch began, “but according to our medical files you’re not fit for combat.”

“And I won’t send civilians in on a special forces mission,” Coin added.

“But this is volunteer based,” Haymitch pressed, “and I don’t see any other volunteers.”

“I’ll go,” Boggs volunteered. Four more soldiers followed suit.

“Thank you for your sacrifice and bravery,” Coin said, not unlike a robot.

“We ship out first thing in the morning, the plan will be relayed to those going tonight. Not a word of this to anyone else, especially Katniss, got it?” Boggs ordered. Everyone in the room uttered agreements as they filed out.

As Haymitch began to shuffle out, Gale caught up with him. “Thanks for volunteering,” he said. “Katniss was telling me how you struggle being sober.” Haymitch took slight offense to that comment but didn’t let it show. Everyone treated him as some sickly old man, hell he was only 41. Granted he had drank most of his liver away and going cold turkey had been hard on his body at first but he was getting better.

Haymitch took a deep sigh. Being sober had somehow lowered his inhibitions and he found himself being more honest more often with people even if he didn’t really want to. Besides, Katniss hated him for letting Peeta be taken, Finnick was a mess, and he wasn’t remotely close with anyone else in 12, Gale was the closest thing he had to a friend aside from Effie who was stewing in her dorm, angry she couldn’t wear Capitol luxuries anymore. “I just— after seeing her in the interviews and what the Capitol’s doing to her— I just wanted to be the one to save her. I wasn’t able to save her from Snow for the past 8 years but I wanted to pull her from his clutches for the final time.”

Gale nodded, sighing deeply. “I’ll get her out. I’ll tell her you volunteered for the mission and that you’re waiting here for her, right at the hangar doors.”

“Thanks,” Haymitch smiled. “Can I ask, how come you’re going? Thought you were in love with Katniss and hated Peeta’s guts.”

Gale’s sigh turned exasperated. “She’s not happy. Not with Peeta in the Capitol. I just wanna make her happy.”

“Well good luck.”

~

Haymitch stood in the control room anxiously along with Katniss, Finnick, Beetee, and Plutarch. District 5 had just brought down the dam, cutting power in the Capitol, shutting down their defenses. Allowing Beetee to go in and wreak all kinds of havoc to keep them unaware of the airship about to enter the Capitol’s airspace. As they approached, Cressida entered the room. “Finnick? Haymitch? Can you come with me?”

“What for?” Haymitch immediately asked, not wanting to miss your rescue.

“I asked her to film some propo,” Beetee filled in, “keep their broadcasts clogged.”

Haymitch hesitated but Finnick seized the opportunity to help. “Okay,” he agreed, stepping out with Cressida. Wanting to not feel useless anymore, Haymitch followed the pair outside. Haymitch reveled in being above ground for the first time in six weeks. It was nice to breathe fresh air despite being surrounded by rubble and sinister white roses. Cressida directed them to the center of the rubble, lights pointed at them. “Okay, just take your time and don’t stop talking,” she instructed.

She held up her fingers, counting down from three before pointing one at the two victors, directing them to begin. Haymitch was admittedly not super comfortable in front of a camera so he let Finnick take the lead. “This is Finnick Odair, winner of the 65th Hunger Games.” He then paused.

“And I’m Haymitch Abernathy, winner of the 50th Hunger Games.”

“And we’re coming to you from District 13, alive and well. We’ve survived an assault from the Capitol but we’re not here to give you recent news. We’re here to tell the truth. Not the myths about winning the life of luxury or about gaining glory for your homeland.”

“The moment you leave that arena, you’re a slave,” Haymitch explained. “I won my games in a way I wasn’t supposed to and Snow slaughtered my family for it. But some punishments, whether earned or not, can last for years. It’s what happened to Finnick here, and my wife, Y/N L/N-Abernathy.”

“President Snow used to sell me and Y/N, or our bodies at least. We weren’t the only ones. If a Victor is considered desirable, the President gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them. If you refuse, he kills someone you love.”

“For seven years Y/N was ripped out of our bed in the middle of the night. Whether we were in the Capitol or in 12 they always came looking for her, never gave her a second to herself. And when she did return, I’d always find her battered and bruised. Usually in the same clothing she left in torn up into rags.”

“Now, to make themselves feel better, my patrons would make presents of money or jewelry. But I found a much more valuable form of payment. Secrets. See, I know all the depravity, the deceit and the cruelty of the Capitol's pampered elite. But the biggest secrets are about our good President, Coriolanus Snow. Such a young man when he rose to power. Such a clever one to keep it. How, you may ask, did he do it? One word. Poison. He stopped every mutiny before it even started. There are so many mysterious deaths to adversaries. Even to allies who were threats. Snow would drink from the same cup, to deflect suspicion. But antidotes don't always work, which is why he wears roses that reek of perfume. Help cover the scent of blood from sores in his mouth that will never heal. But he can't hide the scent of who he really is. He kills without mercy. He rules with deception and fear. His weapon of choice is the only thing suited to such a man. Poison. The perfect weapon for a snake.” Just as Finnick was about to continued Cressida stopped him.

“Wait,” she held a hand to her ear piece. “Beetee said they lost connection. The Capitol’s defenses are rebooting.”

Haymitch’s heart dropped. No, they had to get you out. They couldn’t be detected yet, he had to uphold his promise to protect you.

Probably thinking similar, if not the same, thing, he and Finnick both ran inside. They raced down into the control room just in time to hear Snow’s final words over the video. “Don’t you think I know your friends are in the Tributes Centre?” and with that all the screens in the room went dark.

There were various yells. Both from people trying to get in contact with the team and Katniss losing her mind. “We have to get them out, he knows,” she cried, turning to her mentor.

“There’s no signal, we can’t contact them,” Plutarch explained bluntly.

“No. Haymitch, he knew the whole time. He was taunting me.” Haymitch wrapped his arms around her in a fatherly embrace. “Did I lose them both tonight?” she cried into his chest, repeating the words over and over.

As much as Haymitch felt for the girl, he was grieving too. Grieving the loss of his wife as well as the broken promise he had made so long ago.

~

You had just been curled in a fetal position on your bed when Peeta’s broken voice called out. “Guys,” he caught everyone’s attention. You rolled over, spotting gas creeping along the floor. It was slowly crawling up the walls, climbing into the vents that led to each cell. You began to worry that it was a Capitol gas designed to torture you , similar to the fog Haymitch had talked about in the arena. But curiosity got the better of you as you pulled the thin blanket around your body tighter. Your hospital clothes had been destroyed so many times they had stopped bothering to give them to you. But you stepped off the bed, heading for the glass barrier where gas was just beginning to accumulate on your side. But just before you could reach it the chain around your ankle held, tripping you a little. Still defiant after weeks of torture you opted to get on your knees to stretch to try to reach the fog. But what you hadn’t noticed, as you carefully lowered yourself, was that the gas had really begun to fill the room. As you settled on the ground you caught a whiff of the gas, immediately making you lightheaded. Your limbs became heavy as it quickly lulled you to sleep, your last thoughts being of what the Capitol’s torture would be that required you to be asleep.

~

When you finally managed to pry your eyes open the first time you were blinded and hazy. You faintly heard someone yell, “Can we get her some clothes?”

You managed to turn your head to the side, realizing you were moving. Judging by the whiteness all around you, you were still in the hospital-torture place. But you soon lost consciousness again, not finding it until you were on the aircraft.

When you managed to open your eyes for good you were staring up at a black, dome like ceiling. Looking around just a little you could see the heads and shoulders of soldiers, judging by the all black gear. One face you spotted was Gale’s. His gaze, however, looked miles away as he stared at his feet.

You could hear the thrum of the aircraft, only ever hearing that when the Capitol transported you to the worst times of your life.

Adjusting yourself more you could now see your fellow prisoners also lying on the floor of the aircraft although you seemed to be the only conscious one. By now the soldier who’s feet you had been laying at noticed your movement. “Hey, my name is Commander Boggs, we rescued you from the Capitol. We’re taking you to District 13.”

District 13? The military man had told you that’s where the rebellion was operating out of. He said that’s where Haymitch was. You could cry you were so relieved. For the first time in your life you may know peace. Even if it’s just for a second before you have to finish this war.

Recognizing what you no doubt wanted to ask, the man spoke. “Yes, Haymitch is there. He’s waiting for you in 13.” Tears of joy slipped from your eyes for the first time in god knows how long. As you tried to sit up, Boggs gently pushed you back onto the collapsed gurney you were laying on again. “I need you to lie still. We suspect you have some internal injuries that need to be assessed before you really start moving.” You agreed, settling further on the hard cushion. You suspected that you had injuries that the Capitol wouldn’t bother to heal because they couldn’t see them. Largely from the harsh treatment of the men that had bought access to your body through Snow. Many of them had pulled out of you with blood coating them but it was always dismissed and you were left there, something clearly wrong but you were powerless to do anything.

“How long?” you managed to ask, your voice hoarse.

“About 15 minutes out. We’re gonna have to roll you in on the gurney though.” You didn’t really like the idea of being treated like you were mortally wounded but you nodded nonetheless.

Around you the others were starting to stir. The soldiers sitting above them murmuring comforts and explanations. No one really made a move until Johanna started screaming. She sat up, two soldiers immediately jumping on her to push her back to the ground. “Do you want us to sedate you again?!” One of the soldiers yelled. That finally got her to stop fighting. Once they released her she huffed, scooting over to another wall to lean against, sending everyone glares.

The next person to be fully conscious was Annie. You turned your head to find her already looking at you. “Annie,” you cried. You hadn’t caught more than a glimpse of her in weeks but you were all too familiar with her screams.

“Y/N!” she cried. She scrambled up from her spot on the floor, one of the soldiers moving to stop her but a signal from Boggs made them stop. She kneeled over you, pulling you into a hug. Despite the awkward positioning you began to cry at the first compassionate human contact you had had in weeks.

“You’re okay,” you said, observing her relatively untouched appearance. Her long red hair still flowed down her shoulders unlike Johanna’s shaved head. Her skin looked unmarred unlike you and the two other victors’ skin. The one thing that matched the three of you was how malnourished and tired she looked. You guessed that since she knew absolutely nothing about the rebellion and her fragile mental state protected her from Peeta and Johanna’s punishments.

“Annie,” Boggs caught her attention, “Finnick is waiting for you in 13.”

Tears filled her eyes. “He’s- he’s alive? Finnick’s alive?” she cried joyfully.

“Yes, he is,” Boggs smiled.

Your conversation was then interrupted by a man also dressed in all black gear walking into the cabin. “We’re landing pretty soon and are beginning to descend. Everyone should buckle in.”

With some gentle coaxing Annie went to sit on a proper seat beside the soldier whose feet she had been laid by previously. Johanna refused to move so they just let her hold onto something in her corner. Peeta was fine because he had stayed strapped to his gurney unlike Annie or Johanna because they didn’t require them. Meanwhile Boggs was reaching over you to strap you in. You gave him a startled, questioning look as he reached down. “It’s just to make sure you don’t slip out,” he explained. “Trust me you can get out of it anytime. See?” He unclipped the belt easily before fastening it again.

Relaxing a little you looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath as you felt the aircraft descend. When you felt the landing gear hit the ground you had a weird sense of feeling at home. You knew Haymitch was near.

~

Haymitch sat waiting with Katniss and Finnick for when you and the others would be back. The three victors sat in tense silence until the door slid open. Gale’s head peaked in. He didn’t need to speak, his presence said enough. The other victors were back.

Immediately he, Finnick, and Katniss were scrambling into the medical wing. There they found a scene of doctors and nurses running around trying to figure out how to help victims of torture. The first person Haymitch saw was Johanna. She looked so different, the only recognizable thing about her was her sneer as she fought the doctors.

“Finnick!” Annie’s desperate voice pierced the air.

The doctors then parted for a second, revealing you lying on a hospital bed, neck straining to find your husband. “Y/N,” Haymitch tried to call but it came out as more of a sob. The fact that you were confined to your bed wasn’t promising considering Annie had ripped an IV from her arm, leaping into Finnick’s.

As he got closer (he was in such a hypnotic-like state he was pretty sure he knocked a nurse over) he took in your appearance more. It actually broke him to see his wife look so frail, the Capitol clearly having starved you and men having abused you.

Once he reached your bedside he leaned over the rail, pulling you into a hug as best as he could. He could feel your nails dig into his back, trying to claw him closer as each of you began to cry into the crook of each others’ necks. “I love you,” he heard you whimper out.

“I love you too,” he cried. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never should’ve left your side.”

“No no. It’s not your fault.” Before you could say anything else a doctor interrupted you.

“Mr. Abernathy? We need to take her into surgery.” At the mention of surgery Haymitch reluctantly pulled away. He turned, finding a few medical staff standing behind the doctor ready to take you.

“Wh- why?” he stuttered out as the staff were already beginning to roll you away.

“No,” you cried, “don’t take me from him!” He faintly heard one of them trying to calm you down.

“We’re sorry but testing done in the field shows she has severe injuries to her reproductive organs. Most likely due to…” he hesitated with the next words, “repetitive rape. We’re going in to stop internal bleeding but we’re unsure of other things we’ll find. We’ll update you as soon as we can.” And with that the doctor rushed off.

Haymitch stood there helpless, unsure of what to do. He knew that you were safe and under the care of actual doctors who wanted to heal you but people died in surgery all the time, especially outside of the Capitol. He felt like you had been ripped from him all over again.

He looked around again, realizing he had yet to see one person. Peeta. He got his answer as to where the boy was when he heard a loud crash in another room. Rushing over he found Peeta with his hands wrapped around Katniss’ throat. Without thinking he ran at the boy, trying to pry him off the girl who he had once been madly in love with.

“Peeta let go!” Haymitch heard himself yell. He managed to get him off Katniss for a second before the boy managed to knock his former mentor off. Haymitch went stumbling backwards into some shelves as Peeta brought Katniss to the ground again. By now Gale and Boggs had entered the room, finding the same scene Haymitch had.

Gale immediately began trying to pry Peeta off of Katniss but even he was no match for the very determined Peeta despite his malnourishment. It took Boggs knocking Peeta in the head with an iron tray to get the boy off of Katniss.

Everyone took a second to breathe a breath of relief before they started aiding the two unconscious victors from 12.

Part XI | Masterlist | Part XIII

[andreal831]

Please tell me you don't blame Elijah for Hayley's death because all too many already do.

I am like jeez he didn't have his memory in the first place to save his family or specifically Hope!!!

That man did everything he could for her and he loved her moreover he fell for her even without his memory, like what more do y'all want now from him???

PS: I also think he died at the end not just cause of Klaus's death but also cause his grief was too much for him to bear, why else would he leave his family, hope alone?

What you think?

I'll never blame Elijah for Hayley's death and will fight anyone who does. It typically comes from Klayley stans, so I made a tik tok to explain that logic: here.

My biggest gripe with it is the writers clearly did it to prop Klaus up as being the best man for everyone and adding onto Elijah's despair to kill him off. Klaus got to somehow play the victim in Hayley's death. The show made it more about him than even Hope or Hayley.

But yes, Elijah erased his memories to protect his family. People love to call him a hypocrite because he tried to have morals but would always cross them for family. Elijah erasing his memories was him trying to do the right thing because he realized this about himself. Talk about character development. He knew that, even if it would jeopardize some of his family, if Klaus needed him, he wouldn't be able to help himself. So he erased himself. He essentially killed himself. And the fandom somehow makes Klaus the victim in even that. If the show was going to do all that, might as well have just given all of the Hollow to Elijah and staked him (plug for my story, Last Sacrifice, on AO3 and WP).

So after Elijah essentially commits suicide for his family, he finally gets to live. But not really him. Some guy who doesn't know anything gets to live. How Marcel, Vincent, and Elijah thought that would be a good idea is beyond me. So he is released into the wild with no protection and Antoinette essentially takes advantage of it. I could never get into them as a ship after finding out she knew who he was the whole time. He is with her for seven years (his longest relationship) and even engaged to her. Enter Greta who convinces him that his family is in danger. Yes, Antoinette was his family so Greta and Roman were his family by extension. And we know how protective Elijah is about family.

And yes, he does know he's technically a Mikaelson and they are technically his family. But he also knows they are terrible people and has no emotions to go with that knowledge except the normal disgust one feels when looking at random mass murderers. They mean nothing to him. He walks into that house believing Klaus is there to kill his almost brother-in-law. He then sees "Andrea" and likely realizes it is Hayley. But again, no emotions are attached to the name Hayley. He may have been attracted and felt a connection to Andrea, but he is actively realizing their evening together was a lie. That she hid her identity from him and he isn't sure why, but knowing what he knows about the Mikaelsons, he doesn't trust it. Granted he is processing all of this in seconds. He looks around, sees Hayley and Greta in a fight, sees Roman and Hope unconscious on the floor, and see Klaus moving forward, unsure where he is headed. He doesn't help Greta, he doesn't involve himself in the Mikaelsons, he simply stops Klaus and moves to rescue Roman.

Yes, it sucks that seeing Hayley didn't just break the compulsion, but that's not how this world works. He didn't even know he wanted to fight the compulsion so he didn't. What he did fight was the compulsion to make him remember. As soon as the emotion started to come back and he realized Hayley was dead, he fought the compulsion to stop it for days. He'd rather never remember a moment of his life than live with the fact that Hayley was dead.

The argument really falls apart when, as you said, you point out the true Elijah. Anytime the writers wanted to cause issues for haylijah, they had to push Elijah into OOC. When she went behind the red door and he was the monster he was afraid to become and then when he literally erased who he was. Elijah with memories would have found Hayley even faster than Klaus cause he wouldn't have wasted any time. He would have gotten there before they even had time to bind her wolf side. Hell, he would have realized she was missing right away and found her before Greta kidnapped her. The only way they could have Elijah not save Hayley was to completely erase him.

I've talked about Elijah's decision to die by Klaus' side: here and here. To me, Elijah was always a bit suicidal so it didn't take much to push him there. Losing Hayley was the last straw because not only did he lose her, but he lost Hope. Klaus or Freya blamed him for Hayley's death and Hope hated him for it. Rebekah was ready to run off with Marcel, Kol with Davina, Freya and Keelin were moving on. Elijah was utterly alone. I think it had less to do with Klaus than to do with Elijah just having nothing to live for. I hate how people make even Elijah's death center around Klaus.

Klaus could have lived for Hope but chose not to. Elijah was going to die either way because he didn't want to live anymore. A lot of that was due to losing Hayley. Maybe if he had a better bond with Hope or anyone in his family had put effort into being there for him, it could have been different.

Thank you for the ask! I'm kind of sad that you would even think that of me! (Jk! I realized I've never spoken about it on here <3)

[midweastindigo]

gonna yell ab zutara for a sec n not even as a ship just as their dynamic from the last agni kai

this was copied from my texts to my sister @suddenlythissummeritsclear

OK like even before zuko joined them, he KNEW katara was going to be a great waterbender. like every time they fought and she beat him????? dude was prob like 'wtf r u srs!!!!!' If I recall correctly he even taunted her when they were at the north pole like 'oooh you found a master to teach you huh'

And then like he was going to let her try and heal his scar. With the water from the SAME PLACE HE REALIZED SHE WAS GONNA FUCK HIM UP EVERY TIME THEY MET LIKE WHAT!!!

then. THEN!!!! He witnesses her fucking bend blood jfc that mfer KNEW he chose the right side when that happened. And then he sees her have such control over her own rage, something he has been known to have a lack of, and he had to have known he was going to ask her to fight whoever he needed to in the end.

Like my man knew he would need her. He'd need the water to keep him in balance. The yin and Yang bitch!!!!!

The fact that they are opposite elements in so many ways!!! The fact that Azula, a firebender prodigy!!!! has BLUE FIRE BECAUSE IT BURNS HOTTER. THE FACT THAT THE TWO OF THEM FOUGHT HER. SEPARATELY.

KATARA TOOK HER DOWN BY HERSELF. USING AZULAS OPPOSITE ELEMENT. The shear control and power katara has to be able to trap them both in ICE and then UNFREEZE HERSELF just. GOD. And the only reason she HAD TO was because Azula decided to defy the rules of the agni kai and go after her instead. And the only reason Azula pulled OUT the lightning was because Zuko TAUNTED HER BECAUSE HE KNEW HE COULD TAKE IT. HE WAS FINALLY CONFIDENT ENOUGH IN HIMSELF AND HIS PLACE IN THE GAANG AND THE WAR AND THE WORLD THAT HE KNEW HE COULD REDIRECT IT AND WIN.

Think about it: Katara and Zuko get trapped together. They bond over the fact that the fire nation took their mothers away at a young age. Katara offers to heal Zuko's scar, thinking, hoping, it will heal HIM and get him to stop chasing them. And in a way, it eventually does. Do you think anyone other than Iroh has shown him that much kindness? Looked at his face without pity or disgust? And then he betrays her, but he also betrays himself and he KNOWS IT. So to make up for all of his mistakes, he sacrifices himself to save her. He knows the lightning will kill her. He tries to redirect it, but it gives him another scar. A scar that holds no shame, no disgust, no anger or rage or disappointment or hatred for a man's only son.

It's a scar that shows bravery, sacrifice, and strength. It's a scar that will remain for the rest of his life, but it is a reminder of what he was willing to risk to protect the person who showed him kindness, and to save the rest from having to grieve such a loss. The group who showed him forgiveness and friendship and love.

THINK about it. Zuko has a scar from speaking up about something he disagreed with, a scar to show the fire lord's unforgiving nature. We KNEW the WHOLE TIME just HOW BAD ozai was BECAUSE of Zuko's scar. And then after choosing not to heal it, choosing to betray katara (which inadvertently SAVES AANG BTW), he also CHOOSES TO GET ANOTHER SCAR TO SAVE HER

[mythicalartistx]

Updating KH ship lists

Again I don't care if those disagree or like another better as long as no one calling each other delusional

Anyways here are my 11 KH ships + a few honorable mentions

#1 Soriku

This is probably my favorite ever, there's so much to say I don't even know where to start. I shipped them as friends but who also should date. Besides they're just really cute and silly to me.

The dark realm scene in kh2 is so good, they have an understanding of the other and are happy to be there together with the other person.

They both just love each other and do everything for the other (Riku's sacrifices for Sora in days kh2 kh3 and trying to save him in ddd) Sora is always trying to find him because he wants to be with him; and he just misses him. Riku's jealousy and feelings showed his insecurities to bring the island to darkness when he feared Sora's and Kairi's relationship and leaving him/ Sora befriending others with the belief he was being left behind.

The novel also has some added cute scenes where Sora is just bashful around Riku or just happy to be with him. They hug and hold hands more. Also there's a scene in the kh2 manga where Riku gives Shang a papou fruit to give to Sora. And Sora instantly know who gave it to him because "only Riku would do something like that".

The papou scene in kh1 manga Riku gets so close to his face and then Sora is blushing later, thinking about it. In DDD, it's about Riku's feelings for Sora and the darkness right? Some of those things are seemingly parallels.

Finally in kh3 Riku scarifies life for him because he doesn't want him to be sad and with the parallel to Hercules sacrificing someone because all he knew was that he loved someone and didn't think. Sora is just always thinking about Riku and wants to be with him especially with the failing to be a keyblade master.

Also there are no orders to these

#2 RepliNami

Honestly this is the only Riku that I like with her at all and also people end up confusing which Riku did what— they're different people, Sora said so himself. Repliku still has his feelings for Sora but now he decides to keep a promise for Naminé even if it didn't happen because he wants to do something himself.

Not something with memories that belong to Riku. And Naminé also does care for him. There's mainly KH CoM and Kh3 to go by. In COM he fights for Naminé against Sora thinking it was him (though all these things end up fake) but still he choses to embrace these memories for the sake of Naminé.

In kh3 he admits that everyone moved on except for him who was in darkness. When Riku notices his presences they work together and Repliku admits that he has one more thing to do and wants to save Naminé.

Then in his death he finally leaves the world and gives up the chance to have a body all for the sake of her having one so he asks the original Riku to dl him one last favor and making sure she's okay.

#3 Rizoriku / Yozoriku

Rizoriku because lack of RIZZ and it sounds so silly

I recently got into this and yeah I'm probably like one of the few people who are even into this.

They haven't EVEN INTERACTED. Riku felt Yozora in his dream/ secret ending but they never really seen each other. Yozora probably had in the secret ending/ dream. He was looking at him at that matters.

But imagine the possibilities, they are both tied together by Sora. Riku is searching for him and Yozora potentially hurt him, he hates that. They cannot stand the other. They fight the other so much. They're both looking for "Sora" to save. They look similar and Yozora has been stealing other's forms (It's toxic but eventually turn cute.)

Now they have to work together to find Sora / Nameless Star and then they start being cute and caring. I thought there might be at least more of this but no it's so rare I only seen like 4 fanart pictures of this and it's all from the same person

I got so happy when I saw some

#4 AkuSai / LeaIsa

It's so toxic. They've broken up too many times to count. They're divorced. And there's a whole ton of tension. It also have parallels to soriku.

Lea and Isa worked together to save X but she was gone and decided to become apprentices to save her. Then Saïx had to work his way to the top to find out what happened while Axel went off making friends and spent less time with Saïx which caused jealousy.

Their arguments and tension is so thick in 358/2 days, and in kh3 during that clocktower scene. You can tell there is something there. Also during DDD when he faced Saïx when saving Sora.

Then they finally have an understanding and Saïx apologies and admits he was jealous. Lea holds him in his arms, then after Saïx gets recompleted I think they finally will calm down and get back together, let's see how long it lasts.

#5 Kailette

I'm not super into this one because lack of content but I feel like this has potential to be super interesting and fun. Olette being one of the first real people she meets outside of the world and besides from Sora and Riku who kept unintentionally leaving her behind.

They befriend each other and Olette likes listening to the stories Kairi tells her.

I think they're really cute and have potential to go places or even Kairi becoming part of the sea salt + twilight town gangs. I see more fun fan content for this that makes me love it and hopefully we'll see more in the future.

#6 Zemyx

They're so silly together. I honestly love this. I ended up loving this because of fan content. It was just so great to me.

Like Demyx is kinda silly and dumb and Zexion is smart and intelligent they can't help be attracted to the other.

That one manga panel of them played twister though.

Also when they finally meet in kh3 and he realizes is that you? Also props to the manga version of the scene where he calls security on his bf until he realizes he's on their side.

#7 Xehaqus

They're actually so cute. I'm not joking. The fanart is so good and honestly dark road just shows their relationship and how it fell apart.

Eraqus is so silly and just enjoys his time with Xehanort but also believes to do what is right for fear of everyone losing to the darkness (which is why he did what he did in BBS).

I love that they often worked together and whispered just between themselves that the others would often say what are you whispering about?

They're post kh2 Soriku in dark road and then it turns into kh1 Soriku. Eraqus was blinded by love and didn't want to separate from him which is why he kept him around during BBS after he disappeared.

They're chess buddies and there's a deep relationship there and finally at the end of 3 they can be together at last

#8 NamiXi / Namishi

I don't think about this pairing as often but I also like it. Like I see the vision and I'm definitely for it. Naminé is definitely a lesbian + whatever thing she has going on with Repliku. Again I'm a multishipper so 🤷

Naminé helped Xion see who she is and actually honest with her. They're definitely friends too, but then will date. What they have at the end of kh3 is really cute to me where they collect seashells together

Also with them both being aspects of someone else can relate to seeing memories that aren't theirs/ wishing to be another person.

(no picture of them interacting 😢💔)

#9 RepliVani / VaniPliku /NamiVanpliku

I originally liked them as the duo first being friends who are just silly and fight. But now I'm really into them as also a couple. Naminé is definitely there breaking the tension.

I wish they did interact since they're similar both being created from someone else. Vanitas being part of Ventus and Repliku being part of Riku.

As a fan of lost trio I also think the concept of them fighting over Naminé could also be interesting like who better friend/ Vanitas thinks he is going to be left out and pretends he doesn't care. But their interactions I need

#10 MarLar

I don't think about them that much but again I really like them. This is probably my only one that's part of Union x in a way.

Marluxia is the only one Larxene really tolerates and they both have plans to be overthrow the organization together.

They are closer than any of the others and keep finding their ways to each other.

In Union x they were also close and befriended each other and ever since then they stuck together even if they had memories or not.

#11 Roxner

This could also be with the HC of transfem Marluxia

I'm still new to this ship but I recently thought you know I actually like this. Roxas and Hayner's relationship is honestly likable friends that could honestly be something more. Especially in kh2 beginning with how they interact with the other.

I also want to point out kh3 desire for him To want to find Roxas too.

Also in days when Roxas spends the day hanging out with him and the rest of them.

Fandom makes this honestly nice and cute couple through fanart and comics.

Conclusion

Anyway that's the ones I like in no specific order except Soriku is number 1.

Those that aren't here means I am either indifferent/ neutral towards to ship, dislike it, or I think it's weird as in an adult that's 26 being with 14 yo would be.

And most I don't even dislike if seen my other posts about this subject 99% I'm neutral towards except og Riku and any female ship.

However honorable mentions towards Brain and Marluxia I think they have potential to be interesting but not a lot about them, this goes for Brain and Ephemer too.

Cinderella and Aqua, it's honestly the only Disney + original character pairing most people agree one is good.

I like seeing the art about it but that's about it.

Larxene and Aqua as well as Terra and Marluxia as honorable mentions, I've seen some fanart that makes me think otherwise.

[lnsfawwi]

"he is willing to die for everyone": life and death for stevebucky

I wrote this because I saw a post that said something like "'A's willing to die for B'. A is willing to die for everyone, what's the big deal about the ship." it's not about stucky or any ship, but this has always been on my mind.

throughout the trilogy, they have quite different attitudes towards life.

steve to some extent has always been ready to die, partly because he has had brushes with death multiple times since he was a kid. as rebellious as steve, he probably feels like being afraid of death is a sign of weakness, so he stands up to it and dares death to finally take him. that sentiment evolved to full blown passive suicidal tendency after bucky's death. another reason is that since he became cap, he understands that he's meant for something larger than life and certainly larger than himself, he's accepted that he'd one day die for the greater good.

bucky is the opposite, he clearly wants to live. in the cut scene in catfa he ordered the unit to surrender bc they'd have a better chance of surviving that way than going up against hydra alien weapon. after caws, he was trying to find a reason to live when many people in the same situation would've just ended it (and bucky thought about it too).

which brings me to my point. for someone who's so ready to sacrifice himself, bucky is steve's reason to live, while the love for steve always trumps bucky's will to live.

like I pointed out in a previous post, even when he had no idea what he was capable of, steve jumped through fire for bucky. whereas when it was peggy who pleaded, begging him to find a way to survive the plane crush, he didn't even try.

in the same scene, bucky, who just survived weeks of torture and had a clear way out of there, refused to leave without steve, knowing full well that they could both end up dying.

sebastian made it clear that bucky only stayed because of steve. in a way, bucky knew that if he died it'd be for steve, not for the country or the greater good, just steve. and that's the only acceptable way to die in a war that he'd grown sick of.

yes, steve was willing to die at bucky's hands in that helicarrier, but alternatively, he was also leaving the choice to live completely up to bucky. the scene can be interpreted as steve telling bucky "if you remember me, save me. save us." there was only one way steve would survive, there was only one reason steve would be willing to live and that was bucky. remember that steve was so ready to die with bucky when he told maria to "fire now". bucky was the only reason he even tried to survive this.

in civil war, bucky had been trying so hard not to kill himself and build a normal life. he must've wanted to go back to steve at some point and rebuild their relationship together. but as soon as he realized not everyone was going to get out of siberia alive, he told tony "I remember all of them" so tony would go after him instead of steve. he was trading his life for steve's.

one thing about superhero ships is that, yes, they are totally willing to die for anyone. steve would totally be willing to die saving a single person from a collapsing building, but bucky is his reason to find a way to not die saving that person.

bucky is as much as hero as steve, he continued to fight when he could've just butted out and no one would've said a thing. for bucky, he wants to go home after the fights, but as long as steve is still out there risking his stupid ass, bucky will make peace with death and follow steve anywhere.

[corellianhounds]

i think people are so focused on din being such a good dad (or daddy) that they forget that he really doesn't care about other people (not related to him in any way) in general. he saved villages and towns because he was paid to or he gets something in exchange, not from the goodness of his heart. this says a lot about his moral compass as a character and i love that about him. so many people think he's kind and caring because they only ever really see him with grogu but outside of that he's a cold and calculating individual who can be merciless in his job.

I do think the focus of the character skews in favor of those first two options in fandom like you said, but I’d disagree in saying he doesn’t care about other people beyond what transactions he has with them; the flashbacks he has of Aq Vetina highlight the fact the Mandalorians showed up to save people who couldn’t save themselves, and those are the people he was then raised by. They’re a community-oriented people, and though they’re wary of outsiders for good reason, supplemental SW material says they’re generally not openly hostile unless somebody else throws the first punch, and hospitality extended to friendly allies or strangers is encouraged. Mando says “Thank you” a lot and that speaks to more than just good manners to me. He builds relationships. If he didn’t care about people, he wouldn’t have formed a connection with or gone back for the kid in the very beginning, which I think speaks the most to his character because that kind of care isn’t born in a vacuum.

The longer answer is that though we know Mando specifically cares about his clan and covert, I think that sense of community and the desire to see other people safe extends to the Sorgan village and Mos Pelgo too, same as it does to the individuals he makes friends with along the way.

Peli had already fixed his ship by the time he got back to the hangar that night in “The Gunslinger” and if she hadn’t, there’s plenty of other mechanics on Tatooine; if he only cared about the kid, he could’ve shot Peli to get her out of the way the second he saw the three of them so he could get a clear shot of Calican. He also didn’t have to overpay her to make up for the trouble before leaving, but money is also one of the only ways he CAN smooth over the problems he causes people so that’s all he could do there by way of apology

He could have just killed Cara Dune when she attacked him first, but he didn’t pull his gun until she did and still retained the presence of mind to see if a truce could be found since she also didn’t shoot the kid the moment she saw him, nor did she use his own distraction to get a shot in

The guilt trip the Frog Lady invokes by appealing to his sense of family and holding him to the reputation of Mandalorians being honorable and keeping their word wouldn’t have worked if he didn’t care about her beyond what information he thought he already wasn’t going to get because their situation seemed hopeless.

He didn’t have to let the crew in “The Prisoner” live if he didn’t think everybody— even the people who betray him— deserved at least one chance. He could’ve killed Karga at the end of “The Sin,” but he specifically shot Karga where he knew for a fact Karga had beskar shielding him.

He’s sad when it becomes clear IG-11 is going to sacrifice himself in the finale, and he made it a point to give Kuiil a proper burial.

Part of the reason everything he does feels transactional is because 1. Trading and working have been his primary interactions with people as a lone hunter who spends the majority of his adult life working paycheck to paycheck, and 2. Mando shows his care for others by doing things. His abilities and actions aren’t just currency, but the loudest way he has or knows how to show his care or gratitude. He’s not big on words or physical touch (lone hunter/survivalist, emotionally reclusive, guarded Mandalorian), he can’t afford to spend time with people and likely knows the reputation and staunch refusal to remove his armor and helmet make it hard to connect on a personal level and be good company in casual settings (best shown in how he never eats around anybody, except the kid), and he lives a meager life with few creature comforts himself, so any physical gifts he can give or share are few and far in between, but are also practical and/or the results of the actions he took to acquire them (a better cradle and chainmail for Grogu, beskar for the covert, blankets for the Frog Lady, soup for Cara Dune in the lodge, dragon meat for Peli, heck even his willingness to relinquish the armor to Fett could fall under that category), and that same thought process tracks for gifts given to him or how he views them given between other people

Mando wanted to lay low on Sorgan long term and he asked after lodging in the farm village— If he didn’t care about the people when the job turned out to be bigger/more dangerous than anticipated, he wouldn’t have stuck around and risked his neck when he very easily could have moved on. He’s got a ship, he’s got fuel, it’s a big planet, and right now nobody’s chasing him. Instead he tells the village they have to pick up and move if they want to stay safe (which makes sense coming from a nomad whose own people, it’s implied, have had to relocate several times because of encroaching danger), which negates his whole purpose in coming to them in the first place if his regard of them is only transactional (if he really wanted to stay somewhere and needed their community to be that homebase, he would have started with the idea of telling them to cowboy up and fight so he could by extension stay there). He still could have ditched at any point, grabbed the kid and took off, but he didn’t.

Same could be said for Mos Pelgo. Those townsfolk were more capable than the ones on Sorgan, but their physical opponent is about a thousand times bigger than two dozen bandits and a Walker. Yes Din wanted the marshal’s armor, but realistically he shouldn’t have had to bargain with anything for it and would have been justified in fighting or killing the marshal and forcing him to give it up. The Krayt dragon is an absurd job from an outside perspective, and Din easily has fifty pounds on the marshal and would absolutely win in a close quarters fight; he didn’t have to agree to help the people of the town, and he never indicates that he’s going to double cross the marshal and take the armor while they’re out in the desert alone. Mando sees and respects how Vanth takes care of people and mediates between not just the townsfolk, but learns to mediate between the town and the Tuskens. Mando wouldn’t make it a point to be a mediator himself if he didn’t think the people around him were worth the peace, safety and cooperation he helps them find.

There’s a fine line the writers need to walk when it comes to characterizing him because he does have a resigned, realistic, occasionally harsh understanding of the world and how things don't always work out for people. He’s old enough in a dangerous galaxy to have experienced some of the worst it has to offer, and he can really only take things day by day without a guarantee of tomorrow— It gives him an objective understanding of the idea that you can’t save everyone, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Mercy often goes hand-in-hand with compassion. We have evidence of him stepping forward to protect people who can’t protect themselves (or spending valuable time and resources enabling them to defend themselves), and that typically doesn’t come from somebody completely detached from interpersonal connections.

His characterization and the writing start to break down a bit in Season 2 at a few different junctures; one of the biggest that comes to mind is “The Jedi” because they made Ahsoka the main character of that episode and didn’t tie Mando to anything concerning the main plot. His whole purpose in that episode WAS transactional because he was just providing backup for her to fight her own enemy so she’d take the kid as an apprentice. The writers didn’t connect him to the town or people or the plot happening there with the corrupt magistrate at all. (That's one of my big complaints with Season 2, the episodes where it feels like he’s being moved around instead of being the one driving the story). If Mando is the main character, you have to connect the plot of each episode to him in some way.

Why doesn’t Mando voice any concern over the citizens or situation in Calodan? Why are their interactions with civilians and the choice to save the people being tortured in the street relegated to barely a footnote within the plot? Why doesn’t he ask more questions about Elsbeth and how she got to be in power? Why doesn’t he voice any concern about being two people against a small army and a woman who— based on circumstantial evidence— must be a pretty formidable opponent if a Jedi has beef with her? What is Elsbeth capable of and should he be concerned?

If he’s only there to act as Ahsoka’s muscle and we don’t get anything about how Calodan affects him, then you as the writer have solidified that this whole chunk of story isn’t actually about him, it’s the third act in the samurai movie you actually wanted to make about this special new character who, in the end, you give an effective exit to go into her own show by having her go back on her word to the guy who should be the main character. (We as the audience don’t have to worry about that though because I guess Mando’s okay with it because he never says anything to the contrary. Another dead end with the barest flimsy offer of information sending him elsewhere. If Ahsoka can’t be trusted to keep her word, why should he believe anything she tells him after that? Mando should have been angry with her, and justifiably so.)

I guess my point here was that I’m picky about his interpretation when the writers/fans don’t quite strike the right balance between him being an intimidating, ruthless hunter as well as an intelligent person who can analyze each circumstance with a sense of restraint. They don’t know where to draw the line on his sense of mercy and end up making him a pushover as a result like in “The Heiress” and “The Jedi” and a few other S2 plot points (if not outright woobifying him).

Mando’s moral compass has a balance between justice and mercy, but because his character is hidden behind a mask and rarely speaks, we can only get so much from the rest of his body language and performance (and the aid of good cinematographers) alone, which means it’s up to the writers to have a clear idea of why he does everything he does in a scene. If they don’t have a clear sense of what this guy is thinking based on his character history up to that point, his actions aren’t going to convey the right story and it muddies the character for the audience in unintended ways, especially if that considerable change in his character is never resolved (see: same episodes listed above).

The second season opens with him going to Gor Koresh for information and having to fight his way out of a trap, but only after he gives the don the chance to back down. Gor Koresh doesn’t, and Mando’s retaliation is swift, just, and gruesome. Mando shouldn’t have put up with Bo-Katan manipulating him and changing the terms of their deal midway through the hijacking, and I think he should have jumped ship and left her to the consequences of her deceit as a result. I think the interactions he had with Ahsoka should have built in conflict because he should be at his most desperate, having finally found somebody he believes more capable than himself of caring for and protecting the child, and here she is refusing him (and in the end, breaking the terms she agreed to).

Both of those episodes push to the side how his character should be reacting in favor of getting to the right circumstances for Luke “Deus Ex Machina” Skywalker to show up at the end of the season as the Jedi who will train the kid (Oh hey audience, just ignore the fact Mando’s never met this guy, no one knows who he is when he arrives, and also he’s dressed like Moff Gideon when he shows up)

Not that I’m bitter. But I digress.

A good example of the writers actually giving Mando the voice to his change of heart concerning a conflict he started off with with another character is at the end of “The Tragedy” when the two of them discuss the armor and Fett’s claim to it. That interpersonal conflict has setup and meaningful closure given in a way that makes sense for Mando’s character based on what we know of him up to that point, where I think the other two episodes don’t resolve the characters’ conflicts in ways consistent with what Mando’s character should have thought and said once they broke the terms of their deals.

A lot of writers, showrunners included, sort of defang the justice side of him, and I mean justice not only in the sense of the law and him hunting down criminals, but justice in interpersonal conflicts too. The writers (and fandom) tend to neglect/overlook/not analyze the established characteristics of what makes him probably the best bounty hunter of that time: intelligent, analytical, observant, detached, patient, incredibly skilled, and efficient. He’s not gullible, and when it comes to people who are already criminals, he doesn’t have any qualms about tracking them down and dragging them back by any means necessary for payment (though if the showrunners had spent more time on that aspect of him, we could have gotten into how the justice system operates vis-à-vis who is declared a criminal by whom).

When he’s doing something dangerous with dangerous or more specific people in the monster-of-the-week adventure, he should be more intimidating, deadly, ruthless and capable, but at the end of the day he still needs to be the same person capable of soothing a frightened child. Finding the balance lies in the fact he shows innocent people compassion and gives guilty people mercy— And if that guilty party expends that chance, then we see the legendary bounty hunter who doesn’t stop until justice (his own or otherwise) is achieved. He wouldn’t give people those chances if he didn’t see them as anything more than what they’re worth in his pursuit of material gain.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

okay i figured out why i ship zelink in totk and not botw. first, the botw memories don’t feel parallel to the narrative in the same way as the tear visions. second, they’re both like five years older and i relate more, especially to zelda. third—and this is the big one—link does not remember zelda in botw! so when she speaks to him or he rescues her i just don’t see any emotion or investment, which makes sense! and in the visions he is animated to be so deadpan at all times, which is to the detriment of the story they attempted to tell. most of the time he just looks bored as zelda is like freaking out and being SO extra, which is totally fine for her to be, but it was hard to take them seriously as people who would have chosen to be around each other outside of the knight/princess dynamic. she was giving too much and he was giving nothing. the balance between them is so much better in totk.

in totk, link knows zelda and he so clearly loves her. platonically or romantically, it’s undeniable. there is so much care put into his animations and vfx to show the amount of importance she has to him, how much his gut tells him to protect her— not bc of prophecy or a station, but because it’s his zelda. i felt no urgency to save her in botw, but in totk, i did almost immediately, just to have peace of mind before i play the massive amount of side content.

and this love between them in totk is always present, because it’s not like she’s just in the castle speaking to him in his head, she is so much more active in her absence. there are so many clues in the world and from the npcs who know them to suggest that they are close. we learn about the nature of their relationship, the way they’re referred to often as a unit. it’s adorable.

and to be clear, i don’t really care about the spicy aspect of shipping them, in fact i like ace link a lot, but as these close friends spanning over entire timelines? they’re so much more that in this game. they felt so disconnected in botw from the rest of their iterations.

i’m inclined to think that they had only just started to actually like and trust each other before link died before botw, which makes his sacrifice and behavior in later memories even more devastating. and then after botw they got this second chance, and trauma bonded, and eventually helped each other overcome that trauma and formed a deep connection that was their choice. and then maybe two or three years later, they recognized the desire to be in a romantic relationship, but were already doing a lot of those kinds of close things already (living together, etc). that interpretation i can 100% see in the game’s context, and enjoy as a viewer, and accept into my personal headcanon.

girl, the way he cradles her head in the final scene. his face in all the cutscenes whenever zelda is brought up. the way she gushes about who he is as a person, so freely and lovingly, and goes to such lengths to find sages to help him before making her sacrifice. it’s all so good. i have been convinced. they are wonderful for each other, and for the story itself.

[thaly-does]

Sooo I came [back] to the SPN fandom after many many years of being completely out and [thanks to my dearest] this time I'm going to fully dedicate myself to wincest.

Naturally, I'm a multishipper. I don't care much how many other pairings with my fav chars exist / usually I ship more than one thing per fandom or per character.

But them. Oh, them.

The Winchesters. Sam and Dean. Dean and Sam. I hear how their names merge in my head into something entwisted so much it'll never get unraveled again.

They. Have. Everything.

In my usual little doll plays with the characters I prefer to go rather dark. Rather sick. Sometimes, rather dirty. Not for the sake of general evilness, naturally and inevitably inherent to being an artist, but for the sake of feelings.

The contrast is better where it's darker. The light is brighter. The love is sweeter when there's pain, the hope is luminous when there's despair. The contrast enhances the emotional impact.

But Dean and Sam? Sam and Dean?

They already have it. They have everything and anything. The pitch black and the beam light. It's been made canon, probably, years ago.

Then I thought: what had ever made my brain go full-time crazy mod? What had ever squeezed my heart so tight I couldn't breathe?

Here are some of the best [imo] moment of my other fandom's biggest OTPs. Some ships are canon, some are not. But all of the moments DID canonically happens. [I'm using X & Y so it's more descriptive]

X & Y are constantly being forced to fight each other despite their genuine connection. the forcing power massively prevails their own. that's how their relationship starts... and how it ends, with X finally forced to kill Y. then X has to restart the whole world so they could be together again.

X & Y met when both were mentally down and then spent a horrible amount of time being tortured in the cruelest way alongside each other. later, they could let go of their twisted connection. but they don't.

X silently begs Y to kill him after committing the Literally Worst Crimes Possible for which he'll never forgive himself. Y complies. Y never stops thinking about X.

X spends his whole life protecting Y with growing understanding that Y will never accept his nature.

X sacrifices himself sexually, mentally and physically at once to the person he despises the most - simply in order for Y to get away from that monster.

X (who's kind of been a psycho murderer) went through a terrible experience where half his personality got destroyed. Y takes care of him despite the previous attempt of X to kill Y in cold blood. They end up fixing it (in a way).

X is obsessed with Y to a weird, absolutely not redeemable level. Body dismemberment included.

X is successfuly fighting the massive-level brainwashing so he doesn't hurt Y, although everyone they both knew and loved die around them.

X goes so mental after Y dies that he is committing a terrorist attack suicide so the world could feel their pain.

X goes full on self-sacrifice during a rescue attempt for Y [okay that's way more than one thing but it gets me every time!]

X says "Hey Y, we die together or no way at all". and so they do.

X never recovers after betraying Y and later goes through big torture time with the thought it was deserved for that betrayal.

X & Y [& a kid] slash through an endless amount of enemies so they could be a family together

X & Y are destined to be together but they go "fuck destiny"... and stay together for who they are.

X & Y fight together against a clearly overpowered villain. and win.

X & Y seem to desperately want to finish each other off but never act upon it when there's an opportunity. they're so different that they're the same.

X dies in a stupid accident. Y tries to save his life, and, when it's not possible anymore, dies alongside, refusing to live in a world without him.

X dies and Y can't let go of the corpse. Even when the rotting visibly starts.

X has memory issues but he's done some terrible things (child murder, massacre). There is solid proof. Y does not believe that for a second, because Y knows X to the core.

None, I mean it, none of these is wincest.

But, looking back... How many of them fit to be? How many of them could fit with the right situation? How many of literally (imo) most heart-moving tropes seem to be made for this pairing of brothers whose love trascends any normal limits?

So, yeah... I'm really gonna dedicate myself to wincest these days.

[iamzheawsomeprussia]

Here’s a reflective essay about Izzy I did for my college English class. I hate talking about myself and my teacher gave my the freedom to write about any character from any show I wanted. It took me 2 hours to write this(it’s only the first draft so warning of possible grammatical errors)

Our Flag Means Death is a show about pirates and goes more in-depth about the opposite reasons one would’ve become a pirate. A character that shows this well is a character named Izzy Hands. Izzy (Israel) Hands is based on a real pirate from the 17th century though the show took liberties to age him up since if it was historically accurate, he would’ve only been 16 when the show is taking place. He also has the name as the greatest swordsman in history at the time, at least in the show. Throughout the two seasons, he goes through many changes that lead to people's understanding of what it means to be a pirate, that it’s not only about killing and money but also finding a family that is there for you no matter what; that won’t give up on you. A family that will always have you back no matter how much they tease you, how much you’ve gone through, a family that won’t give up. This is shown through his being on the main character's ship with his crew of ‘horrible’ pirates.

In the first season, he is portrayed as your typical first mate, loyal to a fault, and very serious. This leads to him being the comedic relief in a roundabout way since he’s the only entirely serious and questionably straight character in essentially a rom-com about gay pirates. Along with his serious demeanor he gets saddled with the short jokes that come with his height, the actor that plays him in the show is 5’7” at most while all the other men in the show are 5’9” or taller with only one person shorter than him the non-binary character who is 5’6”. He is the first mate of the infamous Blackbeard and takes the title very seriously, he runs a tight ship and likes to keep things in order. Due to his devotion to pirating his personality is not unlike an army sergeant, he’s very strict and blunt, but in his eyes, it’s for the good of the ship. During his time as first mate, while they took over the main character-Stead Bonnets’ ship, the revenge, he wanted to keep his captain on track; to the point where he challenged Stead to a duel. In the duel he lost on a technicality, getting his sword stuck in a beam and unable to pull it out, causing him to be banished from the ship. This banishment led him to work with the British to deliver the Bonnet to the royal navy with the promise Blackbeard would be returned to him.

At the beginning of the second season of the show, Blackbeard is back as captain, but without the support of Stead Bonnet he is more ruthless and violent than ever; even with his crew. Izzy ends up taking the worst of his abuse but still staying loyal to him through it. Blackbeard cuts off his toes if he does something he doesn’t like and he still works through the pain and suffering, this leads to a breaking point with him while he’s carrying out orders to the crew. He ends up breaking down and crying in front of them and for a character that is as strict kept and (I need a word for asshole) it is a large turning point. He finally realizes that even with how much of an almost tyrant he has been the crew is there for him and he must be there for them to. This leads to an argument between him and Blackbeard about bonnet which ends with him getting shot in the leg and was supposed to be killed. Instead of killing him though the crew saves his life but must sacrifice his leg. During this whole ordeal he realizes that love and blind loyalty can have horrible outcomes but at the same time love, with the right people, can lead to protection. This time ends with a mutiny against Blackbeard where even with all that he’s done to him Izzy keeps his body onboard instead of throwing him overboard, showing that in a toxic way he still loves him and is loyal to him.

The second half of season two starts with the whole crew a mess, but Izzy the most messed up out of all of them. He was brutalized at the hands of Blackbeard and as a result his leg was cut off when he would’ve rather died. This led him into a spiral of drinking and onscreen self-loathing, which ended in him cutting the legs off the horse mounted on the ship then breaking his makeshift leg out of what looks like a table or chair leg. After this the crew all come together, when before there was fighting among the ones who were traumatized by Blackbeard and the ones who were kicked off the ship before that, to create a leg out of the horses leg for him and painted it gold with a note that read “for the new unicorn(Our flag means death season 2 ep 4).” This leads to a large change in his personality which leads him to be a bigger part of the crew. This finishes off during a party where Izzy comes out on deck with drag makeup on and singing “La Vie en Rose” for the crew which was a large leap in trust from him previously having none with the crew because if he did this with Blackbeard’s old crew he most likely would’ve been laughed at and humiliated, but this crew loved it and welcomed him.

In the end, as all people who wish to get better, he dies. But he dies surrounded by people that not only fear him but respect him and love him, a crew that he’s gone through hell with and it brought them closer. Where in the beginning of the show he didn’t want to die but in the end he was ready because even though he didn’t think he needed it, he had a family that loved him; a family he chose. Throughout the two seasons he had gone through many changes, from the cold and stern second hand of Blackbeard to the still stern but also caring and broken but rebuilt second hand of Stead Bonnet. He had the most change in the show not only physically but emotionally, if he did not go through that torture, he would not have seen that the crew really did care for him; that the crew would always stand with him no matter what. That is what being a pirate was also about, not only pillaging and getting gold; the outcasts of society finding family within their crews, finding people who wants them when no one else did.

[dummybutter]

Ship of Betty, or how everything stays but still changes.

An essay on Betty Grof and Fionna and Cake finale.

1,1k words.

But we must consider by what name anything is called when we inquire concerning the Identity of it... so that a Ship, which signifies Matter so figured, will be the same, as long as the Matter remains the same; but if no part of the Matter is the same, then it is Numerically another Ship; and if part of the Matter remains, and part is changed, then the Ship will be partly the same, and partly not the same. Hobbes (1656). “On Identity and Difference”.

When the Greek hero Theseus returned from his quest across the sea, Athenians kept his ship from decomposing by replacing its wood planks throughout the years. The conundrum posed by philosophers was based on whether it remained the same vessel Theseus once had sailed with, extrapolating to tackle the study of identity. This thought experiment is alluded to in episode 5 “Destiny”, when Simon refers to Farmworld Finn’s hunter’s stew as a “veritable soup of Theseus”. Although probably just a witty remark from a professor well-versed in Earth’s ancient world, a sprinkle to connect with the audience and their reality, this metaphor may be useful to explain and understand a not-so-exhaustively explored character: Betty, later Golbetty.

Since the first mention of Betty, her character has revolved around identity: who is Betty mentioned in Ice King’s secret tapes? Later, during the episode bearing her name, Betty becomes known to the viewers. However, her quest to save her lover will doom her to madness and the progressive loss of self, culminating with physical disappearance when willingly fusing with Golb. It isn’t until Fionna and Cake that we see how her self-sacrificing nature had also existed before magical threats, and its seed to the tragic relationship that weighs plot-wise in both shows.

However, we never truly meet Betty. We don’t even see her.

The Betty we meet in Adventure Time is first a photo, then a person that doesn’t belong to the present, since she comes from the past. She exists outside her time thanks to love and impulsiveness, traits that keep us from seeing the Betty that lived before the Mushroom War. Even when her mind and body are reverted right before fusing with Golb, there is no glimpse of the person she was. Only her implacable commitment and devotion remain, which only blurry her image.

Simon’s reminiscences could have been the only way we could truly meet Betty, but the episode “Jerry” reveals they might not be reliable, given his blindness to her sacrifices. This is reinforced when, in the same episode, Simon says goodbye to his brain and Betty answers. She is, quite literally, his mind, but also suggests that the Betty in his memories lives inside him—we see and hear Simon’s Betty, glossed with time and longing.

We, as viewers, could have never met Betty. However, after fusing with Golb, is Betty still there?

That’s the question Simon poses in “Casper & Nova”. Is Betty in Golb? Even just a little? There are many visual keys that hint she is, in fact, present. For example, the shape of the upper pair of eyes and ribbons resembling those of her wizard’s attire we find in Golbetty. Behaviorally, we can deduce it from her commitment to protect Simon from Scarab. However, other compelling evidence and important dialogues suggest otherwise.

At the beginning of the end, episode “Casper & Nova”, a blue butterfly welcomes Fionna to a nightmare or, as she suggests, an omen. Same with Simon in “Cheers”, when he returns to Ooo. Throughout religions, cultures and literature, blue butterflies are symbols of transformation, rebirth, departed souls, and messages from the dead. In context and with the eyes appearing on its wings, we can deduce that the butterfly is Betty taking another shape. She warns Fionna of the dangers of magic and kisses goodbye to Simon before flying away.

Both are messages carried by her remaining consciousness and, following the aforementioned interpretation, a manifestation of her reincarnated soul. Minutes before the last butterfly appearance, in “Cheers”, Simon addresses the chaos god as “Golbetty”, not as “Betty”, like he had done earlier. This happens after he sees Golbetty leave on the bus. In addition, the Betty statue in Fionna’s world is replaced by a Golbetty one. All instances mean to highlight Simon’s acceptance of the fact that Betty is gone.

Going back to the sister show finale, we can also argue that Golbetty’s actions in Fionna and Cake are only Betty’s wish carrying on. Protecting Simon is making him understand how what they had wasn’t healthy and, as visually explained with the dandelion imagery, letting him go. Once her wish is fulfilled, she seemingly moves on and appears as a butterfly and/or, as the bus destination in Simon’s mind translates, a comet.

The characters Casper and Nova are explicitly meant to be parallels of Simon and Betty, although their flaws when in a relationship are exaggerated to make the former understand what each failed to do. As we saw in “The Winter King”, for Simon is easier to grasp matters of his own emotional complexity when these are played out right before him. Besides this narrative purpose, Casper and Nova may also foresee the future when looking at their names. Names serve as an indicative of identity, as Hobbes says, and aptronyms are a literary device that stresses that matter.

Casper means “treasure bearer”, possibly alluding to the Ice King crown, Fionna’s world, Betty’s memories, and his wish to become an antiquarian. Now and then, in or out, “Casper” says “Simon”. For the name “Nova”, we find it means “new”, which we can immediately connect to Golbetty and Betty’s new lives. However, if we look at the definition given in the field of astronomy, the interpretation we can reach is even richer.

Nova. [noh-vee] Astronomy. A star that suddenly becomes thousands of times brighter and then gradually fades to its original intensity. Dictionary.com

In “Jerry”, we see Golbetty shining brightly before shrinking and, possibly, being reincarnated as a butterfly. And following the butterfly symbolism and appearance, we can conclude that’s Betty’s essence or soul, her original intensity. Her next life might be that of a comet, as explained above, which matches both Betty’s bright personality and celestial theme.

Betty, throughout both shows, remains as she is: quick-witted, impulsive, selfless. But learns and changes, both physically and mentally. After fusing with Golb, she has assumed an existence that goes beyond time and space, godhood. She is beyond time and space, which allows her a deeper understanding of her relationship with Simon, and probably the universe as a whole. That’s why she becomes everything, and he an experience.

Using Hobbes’ vocabulary when considering the ship of Theseus dilemma, we could say that Betty’s Matter (body) won’t be the same as it doesn’t remain the same; there is a different Matter (Golb’s) which rebuilds the Ship (Golbetty). Betty’s physical features stay, like the glasses and ribbons, therefore, a part of Matter remains, but a part changes. Then, Golbetty is partly Golb, and partly Betty; partly the same, partly not the same. This is reinforced when inquiring about Identity, we must consider what something is called: from Betty and Golb, to Golbetty, to a butterfly, and soon a comet.

A new identity, a new name. Everything old that becomes now. Transformation, changes, metamorphosis; partly the same and partly different. Whatever her past was, or whatever she is to become, we can admit that Betty is a veritable ship of Theseus.

[petruchio]

Bestie I think you’re so right about the movie altering Lucy and Coryo’s romance to better convey the themes within the limitations of the medium!

Like it’s actually a huge book! I knew they would have to cut a lot for the sake of run time so I was fully expecting them to sacrifice some of the details that do so much heavy lifting for the deeper themes.

But I was so pleasantly surprised, and I honestly think that preserving the themes must have been a central goal in the production! I was noticing small changes - but they all seemed to serve keeping the major themes in tact?

Like I saw it with my family (who all read thg but not tbosas) and I went in wondering. Like how are they going to make a meaningful, faithful, adaptation of such a large book?? Will my family understand The Themes? And they did!

I think it speaks to Suzanne’s writing ability (her themes are layered throughout every level, so a few cuts won’t gut them entirely) and smart/intentional alterations.

Like you mention with cutting the kiss, I think doing so highlights the transactionality of this moment. Coryo won’t kiss her OR give her the compact until she denounces Billy taupe! Like literally he won’t save her life (do the right thing, like Tigris says) if she’s in love with someone else! Interesting!

But like you say, if they do !finally! kiss (without that monologue) it’s easier to miss how manipulative he’s being in that moment and the importance of it!

I think they made a similar smart choice with being shipped off to 8 - I might be wrong here!! But I’m pretty sure he isn’t ordered to be a peace keeper? He CHOOSES that because he sees it as his only avenue left? (Which I thought was some military industrial complex commentary sprinkled in but now I’m afraid I imagined this whole thing LOL)

So assuming I’m not misremembering - I thought making highbottom force him to become a peace keeper also worked similarly. Like letting him choose that (without the internal monologue) makes his motivations seem genuine when they aren’t fully. So it’s just better for the movie medium perhaps?

Anyways, rambling done lol thanks for listening 🌟

ohhhh how i love all of this!! i love you for taking the time to send all this to me -- and thank you for validating my reading of the altered love story!!

and YES i was so pleasantly surprised by how well they managed to maintain a lot of the thematic content of the book, esp because we KNOW how much they gutted it in the original trilogy. i have a couple theories on why: the first is that the filmmakers are devoted readers of my tumblr blog and they understood the importance of preserving the political themes from the novels when adapting them to the screen (ok obviously i am joking.) my real theories are -- the cultural conversation has shifted a LOT since the original films got made, and i think they were more aware and more *able* to be more explicit with so many of those ideas. i also wonder if the act of adapting the story of someone from capitol was easier than adapting someone from district 12 -- there's been much ink spilled over how we, the privileged moviegoers who are watching the film in theaters, are much more like capitolites than we are like katniss herself. and i wonder if that made it easier to adapt -- because one of the big critiques of the thg films is that they really glam jlaw up even when she's in district 12, and it makes scenes like the "remake" scenes kind of lose their power and biting social commentary. whereas with snow, and the capitol, and the games themselves, we're meant to understand that they ARE a facade, and the movie can really lean into that. (side note, my least fav costume in the whole movie was lucy gray's swimsuit. pretty much for that exact reason -- it was too ~perfect~ for the setting.)

to your point about the change with snow deciding vs being ordered to become a peacekeeper -- i honestly couldn't remember either so i went to see if i could find the quote from the book and it's this:

[...] But as he approached the dean, a cold dread washed over him. There, arranged on the table like lab specimens, were three items: an Academy napkin stained with grape punch, his mother’s silver compact, and a dingy white handkerchief. The meeting could not have lasted more than five minutes. Afterward, as agreed, Coriolanus headed directly to the Recruitment Center, where he became Panem’s newest, if not shiniest, Peacekeeper.

honestly i wish i remembered what exactly is meant by "as agreed" but i do think you're right that in the book it's more implied that he doesn't have another choice -- because he didn't win the monetary prize, he has to enroll. so i think you're right that the point is that the idea that it's his choice at all is in question because it's societal pressure and his family's financial status that kind of forces him into the military industrial complex. but i think, because they made this scene so explicit in the film, that you're right that having him be ordered to do it instead of hearing him justify it in his head manages to accomplish what we need it to for the sake of the plot moving forward (if kind of weakening that angle of sc's commentary)

also, here's something to chew on -- i was thinking as i was watching the film if part of the reason some of the changes didn't irritate me so much was because i was more forgiving of the need to shift things around to account for the lack of internal monologue because the book is written in third person instead of first person. i mean, obviously i am overly attached to pretty much everything about katniss, and yes that comes down even to her internal monologue, but i did wonder if that made some of the changes feel more natural to me, because we still kind of get them explained to us in the book as an observer, instead of listening to someone explain themselves to us (i don't know if that makes any sense?) -- but i guess what i'm trying to say is that maybe reading tbosas is more like watching a film, vs reading thg which is more like you are experiencing something alongside katniss? and that's because of the pov choice?

WELL that was a ramble! i'm always amazed by how much we can say about these books and films!! they're just so layered and so fascinating -- i'm loving all the conversations i've been seeing about tbosas. i feel like a lot of it is really starting to gel for me the more i read people's thoughts and analyses. (i still think the third act is messy though. no matter how great suzanne's themes are, i do think the pacing is rough. lol!)