#making parallels actually parallel for once

[p3n-i3]

Copying ur snaps

Pairing(s); Kai/Cole/Jay/Lloyd/Nya/Zane/Morro/Pixal x YOU

[METANOIA READER USED]

Genre; General fluff, light goofiness

Summary; They, or you, saw the trend floating around and decided to tease, aka you/them copying their/your snaps

Notes; This is my first actual head cannon post, so that's why it looks different. The others are just drabbles, this is for me to take a break from writing a new chapter lmao

↳ Kai is a tiktok warrior, he has the longest streak possible with you on it, and he takes it seriously

↳ That being said, it's no surprise that he found the trend before you had, either that or you just didn't care enough about it

↳ However, he does, and he's always up for a good lil joke

↳ He's the one to send you a snap first, half his face in the camera as he questions how you're doing at the moment

↳ When you get it, you ofc course reply back after a few seconds of seeing it

↳ You were laying in bed, so you angled your camera upwards and gave a small smile, stating that you weren't doing much of anything

↳ After receiving your picture, it's here where the confusion starts to settle in for you

↳ Kai would either get up from wherever he was in his house and sit himself on his bed, or he would adjust himself if he was already on his bed, trying to copy what you had done almost perfectly

↳ Upon receiving the snap, you could only snort a little in amusement, thinking it was just a small joke before sending another one his way

↳ However, he proceeded to do that same thing, mimicking your pose with a smirk almost hidden on his face

↳ You both went on for a while, sending snaps back and forth while you silently tested Kai's patience and dedication

↳ While Kai was slowly losing hope of you getting the hint, you on the other hand were blissfully unaware and slightly confused

↳ It took Kai longer and longer to reply to some of your snaps, so during those periods, you would scroll on different socials to keep yourself busy

↳ After a while of scrolling, you eventually came across the reason for Kai copying your snaps, scrolling to the end of the slideshow and letting out a sigh

↳ Kai was such an idiot unfortunately

↳ After he sent one more snap your way, Kai was surprised by how quickly you had opened and sent a reply back, so he couldn't help but try and do the same, wondering if you were seeing how fast he could mimic you

↳ The second he opened the snap, he nearly let out tears of joy, relief, and mild shock

↳ You had angled your camera just enough to show half of your face, showing off your flexed arm with a small squint, questioning if that's what he wanted you to send

↳ Kai takes a second to reply, mostly because he's thanking the First Spinjitzu Master, and because he was gawking at your own muscles

↳ Eventually, he replicates your picture with a wide grin, flexing his arm and making sure that the angle of it was as perfect as he could get it, not caring about copying your snaps perfectly anymore

↳ When he did send the snap, after a lot of trial and error to make himself look as good as possible, you could only smile at the screen, seeing how happy the boy had gotten once you had done what he wanted

↳ You chose to ignore the notification that Kai had screenshotted your snap, instead doing the same to his picture

↳ Kai can now die happy

↳ It's rare for you and Cole not to be around each other

↳ He's always somehow imbedded in your daily routine, whether that's eating breakfast with him, hanging out with him, or simply just laying in bed parallel playing

↳ But on occasion, Cole would wake up earlier than you and would get up to go to the gym, leaving you in either his or your bed to sleep

↳ When you woke up, you were a little surprised to find the Earth User not next to you, but you didn't really mind

↳ You flipped around on your socials for a little while before you found a slide show of two people copying each others snaps, eventually landing on the last one

↳ It was then that you got a notification from Cole, surprisingly enough it being a snap

↳ Shifting on the bed a little, you yawned as you opened up the notification, smiling a little

↳ He was showing off the amount he had just dead lifted, you seeing the proud smile on his face through one of the gym mirrors

↳ Deciding to reply, you sent a photo of you still tucked into bed, a smile on your face as you held up a thumbs up, congratulating him on beating his record

↳ From there, you both sent snaps to each other, mostly Cole sending you machines he was working on and what weight he had done on them

↳ You would reply with smiles and praise, or sometimes fake disappointment as you booed him, telling him that he could lift more

↳ After a while, hours seemed to pass and you had gotten ready for the day, aka just to laze around your house

↳ Cole had stopped by a place on his way home to eat, showing you pictures of his food and asking if you wanted him to bring you some home

↳ You of course replied that he should, duh of course, to which he just replied that he would grab you your favorite

↳ It was quiet after that, you bouncing your knee up and down as you stared at a wall for a moment

↳ It wouldn't hurt, would it?

↳ Raising your phone, you flexed your arm to the side with your face barely peaking into the photo, a light smile on your face before you sent the message

↳ Cole quickly read your message, but it took him a little longer to reply, you wondering if he was walking home or just got to busy to reply

↳ When he did reply, you almost dropped your phone in surprise, not expecting him to have copied you, or even send anything back at all

↳ At most you would've expected him to just send a heart before coming home and showing you his hard work at the gym

↳ You were decently muscular, after all you were a Ninja, you had to be, but of course it was nothing spectacular, just enough to keep you fit

↳ So when you set your phone down onto the table, you eventually calmed down as a frown capture your face

↳ Cole sat with a wide smile on his face, flexing his arm as well and showing off what he had just worked on at the gym, his golden brown eyes so full of life

↳ But that wasn't what made you frown, it was the caption that had done you in

↳ "Mine's bigger"

↳ Lord help him

↳ He's a pretty clingy person, so there's rarely anytime the two of you are apart, or didn't talk to one another

↳ But there's always a few occasions where he was either too embarrassed to come with you, or simply couldn't

↳ You were out visiting your brothers for the day, and you wouldn't be back till late, Jay knew that

↳ But he didn't like it, of course, he missed you !

↳ So he sent you a couple of snaps in a row, showing off what he was working on, then a small video of him rambling about what he was working on, then another video of him talking about how much he missed you, followed by one last picture of his face shoved in the camera, captioned with a question of when you were going to come back home

↳ You weren't shocked in the slightest when your phone dinged with so many notifications in a row, but it shocked your brothers a little

↳ After having to endure their light teasings, you managed to check your phone to reply to the ginger

↳ You watched his videos with a low volume, but you made sure to listen carefully to his ramblings

↳ Once you had finished watching every video and looking at every picture he sent, you sent one yourself, explaining that you loved the invention and that you should be home later that night

↳ He viewed your message, but didn't instantly reply, instead choosing to sulk and continue on with his day as best as he could

↳ Every now and then, you'd both send a photo or video of what you were doing

↳ He would send you updates on the car he was working on, what he was cooking for dinner that night (it looked really sad) and pictures of other mundane things, like the sunset

↳ You would send videos of your brothers getting pressed at a game of Uno, pictures of the food the eldest had cooked, and another video of your brothers talking about the plot holes in a movie you had just watched

↳ It was getting late, and Jay was getting antsy, he knew how to deal with days without you, but it had been a while since you had sent a picture of your face

↳ He had tried to give you hints by showing photos of his own face, but you never got the hint

↳ You would just reply with a heart before showing the board game you were stuck playing

↳ And desperate times call for desperate measures

↳ Swallowing his pride, Jay raised his arm and posed it slightly, coving most of his face before sending the photo

↳ He wasn't the strongest out of everyone on the team, but he didn't really care, because he knew that you didn't, his speed made up for his lack of strength

↳ However, he didn't expect you to reply as quickly as you did, opening up the message only to drop his phone on the table and take a lap

↳ You had a wide and confident smile on your face as you held your arm upwards, having pulled your sleeve upwards to show off your muscles, which were notably bigger than his own

↳ But what Jay chose to focus on more so was the fact that you were outside, standing by the bus stop and captioning the photo with 'Be home soon !!'

↳ You were in for a night of kisses

↳ He doesn't understand most social media trends, so he chooses not to indulge unless you want to do them

↳ For instance, he will mostly be the one holding the camera instead of actually doing the trend with you

↳ His favorite one that was easy to convince him to do, was the one where you held the camera first, before he stood behind you and grabbed it, to which you turned around and eagerly hugged him

↳ But other than that, he rarely understood the point of trends

↳ So while he was out grocery shopping for you both, he was a little surprised to see a snap from you

↳ He opened it up and smiled as he saw you smiling and raising your thumb upwards as you showed the car you were working on

↳ Zane just simply liked the photo and told you to be careful before closing his phone and continuing his shopping

↳ Of course, that wasn't enough for you

↳ After wiping your hands dry of oil, you sent another picture, one that Zane opened and once again, smiled at

↳ It took a while of you sending a bunch of photos before Zane got the hint that you wanted him to send one back, so he did

↳ He sent a picture of him holding a few options of food, asking which one you would prefer

↳ You replied quickly with a text before sending a photo right after, this time copying the way he was holding the food with a few mechanical parts

↳ Zane rose a brow at this, but didn't question it, shutting off his phone for a little while before taking another picture for you

↳ You, again, replied with copying it yourself as best at you could, using nuts and bolts, as well as wrenches and screw drivers, to replicate the image

↳ The whole thing confused Zane as you continued, but he of course didn't say anything, as he saw the smile that was on your face the whole time

↳ Eventually it got to the point where Zane was done shopping and was tossing the grocery bags into the car, when his phone buzzed again, this time with two pictures from you

↳ One of them was you replicating the picture he had sent, but the other one was something completely different

↳ The second one was of you sitting on the hood of the now closed car, oil and soot smeared on your face that you half hid, as you flexed your other arm, grease smeared on your muscle, and your smile was one of pride, Zane easily noted

↳ Rolling his eyes with a smile and figuring out what you wanted, Zane sat himself in the car and locked his doors, putting no mind into replicating your photo before sending it your way

↳ Seeing as he was a Nindroid, there was barely any need for any muscles, seeing as being smacked with titanium was rough enough, but that wasn't a problem for you

↳ You laid on the hood of the car you were working on, kicking your feet back and forth as you observed the photo Zane had sent your face

↳ You also ignored the comment he sent about wiping yourself clean before he came home, knowing that if you left it, he would wipe it off for you

↳ Once again, another case of rarely using social media

↳ She has everything you have and that's it, but she mostly likes to stick to texting you rather than talking on social media

↳ However, she does understand the want to post pretty pictures of yourself (and most of the time her as well) on Instagram, or on your snap story

↳ That being said, she does understand most trends, but she chooses to ignore them and forgets them completely

↳ So if you want to do one with her, it's rare that she remembers which ones you were talking about, seeing as they come and go so quickly

↳ She loves doing ones that involve being in the same frame as you, though, like the one where you both fought a little before kissing one another, or when she ran after you and picked you up

↳ Then again, just like Jay, there's almost no instance where the two of you aren't together, so theres really no need for so many socials to talk to you with

↳ Today, she decided to take the two of you down to the beach, both of you dressed in your own swimsuits and goofing around

↳ After a little while of playing around in the water, and lounging around on the beach, you decided that you needed to use the restroom

↳ Nya tried to accompany you, but you urged her to watch over your stuff, making her hum a little before staying behind, not failing to remind you to take your phone just in case

↳ So, Nya sat on her beach towel and carefully watched over your guys' stuff, glaring at the few people who passed her by before her phone buzzed

↳ She quickly opened it up and swiped onto your snap, opening it up with worry that something had happened

↳ Nya released a small sigh of relief upon seeing your frustrated face before you flipped the camera around to show a long line of men and women waiting to use the toilet

↳ The girl chuckled a little and opened her camera as well, holding a hand over her eyes to shield it from the sun and smiled, captioning the photo with a 'sucks to suck' and a small 'be careful' before pressing send

↳ From there, you both continued to send photos to one another, you showing your slow progress to the toilets, and the occasional video of you holding in laughter when a child slipped and fell on the beach

↳ Nya would send you photos of the beach, or pictures of her looks of disgust whenever someone would walk past her, along with a few videos of people drowning in the ocean, the camera shaking as she held in her laughs

↳ Eventually, you both somehow managed to get into territory of copying each others pictures as best as you could with your circumstances

↳ You also did this because there were a few weirdos looking at you from the line over, and you wanted to subtly show that you were taken

↳ Every time Nya would send you a snap, you would try to replicate it, whether it was pictures of the ocean, funny faces she made, or simply taking pictures of your feet in the sand, you of course keeping her updated on how far away the bathrooms where

↳ After a while, you started to grow annoyed of the people in the line over starting, so you shook your nearly dry hair out of your face an rose your phone upwards

↳ Flexing one of your arms, you smiled up at the camera as you quickly took a picture, making sure to show more than just your arm as well

↳ At first, Nya ignore the angle of the photo and started shift to replicate it, only to pause and reopen the photo, making sure her eyes weren't deceiving her

↳ And lo and behold they weren't, she stared at your flexed arm with observing eyes before looking down at the other parts of your body, smiling a little as she sent you a little comment on it, stating that you both needed to spar before opening up her camera

↳ She took a photo of herself as well, her angle a little different given the fact that she was sitting down rather than standing up like you, but it was enough for you

↳ You couldn't help the smile that crossed your face as you stared down at the girl, glancing upwards briefly before letting out a sigh of relief

↳ Nya quickly opened the next snap you sent, somewhat expecting another show off piece, only to see the camera blurry as you ran into a door

↳ Looks like you finally made it to the bathroom

↳ He actually knows a few trends, believe it or not, simply because of the brain rotting videos Kai likes to send his way

↳ However, he is a bit slow in catching up with the current ones, only seeing them a month or two later when the hype for them dies down

↳ You don't mind though, you are always willing to do trends with him if he asks you

↳ His social media presence is few and far between

↳ He only logs on to like your posts and comment on it, post it to his public story on instagram with a bunch of hearts, or repost it if it was a tiktok

↳ And of course he posts his own things as well, to which you absolutely spam the shit out of his phone, along with Kai, and he tried his best to reply to all of your comments, pinning the one he loves the most

↳ That being said, you're both busy being Ninja's of high status, so it's often that the only way you can see each other is via socials

↳ It had been a long week, but Lloyd was finally done with his mission in Ninjago City, heading back to the Monastery the next morning

↳ Of course, you had sent the blonde a stream of messages, along with a few videos and photos of you hanging out with the others

↳ Most of them where of you, Cole and Kai, engaging in things that he nor Wu would approve of, but he didn't say much because he loved seeing your smile

↳ However, at the end of all the giggle filled videos and Kai almost falling off a cliff, there was a photo of you with an exaggerated frown, stating that you missed him

↳ Lloyd shuffled a little as he glanced around the empty streets of Ninjago City, raising his camera a little to capture some of his face, stating that he missed you as well

↳ The angle of the photo was awkward, as well as his face, so you couldn't help but verbally laugh and adjust yourself to copy his actions

↳ Lloyd was confused at first at the photo your had sent, but he shook it off as he clambered into his hotel room, settling in for the night

↳ When he got back to you, it was finally a proper photo, a video attached of him showing you the small hotel room he was packed in before shaking his head in shame

↳ You sent a proper photo as well, before sending a video of your room before pointing your camera at the empty spot on your bed, clawing your hand into the sheets dramatically and letting out a fake sob

↳ He could only giggle to himself before sending you a photo of his camera resting on a table, his head peaking over the edge in a goofy manner, stating that he was going to take a shower real quick

↳ And you being you, jumped at the opportunity that was nearly handed to you on a silver platter

↳ You quickly replicated his photo, hoping he'd once again get the hint, before immediately sending a picture of you flexing, the photo sloppy in an attempt to reach him before he got in the shower

↳ He opened all of your messages on every social, making sure he didn't miss anything before going MIA for thirty minutes, accidentally missing the last snap you had sent his way

↳ While you were mourning your loss by screaming in your pillow and shaking your face violently in it, Lloyd occupied himself by taking a shower, hearing a delayed ding from his phone, which was resting on the vanity

↳ You decided to cope with your loss by scrolling through the other messages Lloyd had sent you before watching the videos Jay had sent you, most of them being nothing but Italian brain rot

↳ You were in the middle of telling Jay that the videos he sent were stupid, despite the clear tears of laughter in your eyes, when you saw a notification from Lloyd, two to be exact

↳ He swore he had never seen you open something from him so quick, jumping a little when he saw them instantly read

↳ You nearly screamed with joy when you opened up the first photo

↳ Lloyd had carefully wiped the mirror of any steam and posed with his arm flexed, somehow already in his pajamas, but you still took it as a victory

↳ The next photo was of him lying in bed with an exaggerated frown, stating that he missed you

↳ And of course you sent a shaky photo of you screaming, because how could you not?

↳ Now, Lloyd sends you unlimited flexing photos, seeing as you enjoyed them just as much as he enjoyed seeing you send them as well

↳ Another case of doesn't care about social media

↳ She got them only for you, but even then she still doesn't log online, even if you post and send her stuff

↳ She's decently busy fixing up the ruins you and the other Ninja made out of her vehicles, so she rarely indulges in stuff like that

↳ However, she is aware of trends that float around, and will do a few of them if they don't take too much time out of your days

↳ The ones she likes doing are quiet ones, not loud and aggressive ones

↳ Like the trend where you both sit on a park bench and shuffle your feet around, or the H.S.K.T trend, simple ones where she can see your smile and be close to you

↳ That being said, she doesn't understand most of them until you explain and show her examples later

↳ Currently she was down in Hangar Bay, working on a few small projects while you trained with the other Ninja in the Courtyard, she knew you were training because of the rumbles and loud laughter she somehow managed to hear feet below the earth

↳ She was absorbed in her work until she hear her phone buzz from the side, glancing over at it momentarily

↳ Pixal rarely ever got notifications on her phone, mostly because she turned off every single one save for yours and the other Ninja

↳ So when she picked up her phone, she nearly set it down when she saw it was from a social media app, but paused upon seeing your name

↳ Furrowing her brows, she set down her screw driver and carefully opened the message, blinking when she saw your sweaty face in the camera, a smile on your face

↳ Pixal blinked before she sent you a normal message, telling you to be careful before setting the phone down

↳ The millisecond before she could pick her screw driver back up, there was another buzz, her eyes looking over at her screen to see that you sent another photo

↳ This time, it was you facing the camera towards the Courtyard, showing off the fact that the others were training, you and Jay resting on the engawa

↳ Nodding her head to herself, she told you to enjoy your break and that she would be up soon before turning back towards her work

↳ A few minutes went by with nothing but silence, Pixal assuming you were taking her word as she screwed the last bolt into place

↳ When her phone buzzed again, she wasn't surprised in the slightest to see your name as the notification

↳ Opening up the photo, she furrowed her brows as she saw you nearly folded over your phone, claiming that Kai had tried to kill you

↳ Blinking, her fingers were quick to type a message, questioning if you were alright, only to get another picture of you in, clearly, fake distress, stating that you needed her

↳ Shaking her head, Pixal asked you with what you needed assistance with, watching as you read the message but took a while to reply

↳ When you sent another photo, she was half surprised to see you flexing in front of the camera, showing her the smallest scar known to man on your muscles, stating that you needed her to bandage you up

↳ It was hard to see the wound at all with the amount of sweat you were covered in, or maybe it was water from fighting Nya, but either way she sighed at your dramatic take

↳ She sent you a text telling you where the bandages were before she placed her phone back down, ignore the desperate buzzing as you spammed her

↳ She would, unfortunately, not send you a picture back of her flexing, but she would eventually leave the Hanger Bay to take care of you super serious injuries

↳ Honestly, you're just surprised that the has a phone to begin with

↳ Assuming this is after the merge happened, he's busy taking care of the Spectral Lands and the Underworld in your stead, allowing you to take care of Ninja stuff

↳ That being said, him having a phone isn't really a necessity since you both share a soul, but it's one that you both like to abuse every now and then

↳ Every now and then, you'd both send a tiktok to each other, or you would send him a picture with random words on it on instagram, along with pictures of cats and dogs, stating that you both were like them

↳ He understands trends well enough, because he literally shares your soul, so if you ever wanted to do one, he's always by your side

↳ While he might grumble about how stupid they might be, he'll do whatever you want him to do, because you're his Queen, and he's your Loyal Body Guard

↳ However, you were currently out on a mission, one that he unfortunately couldn't join as he needed to observe the Spectral Lands

↳ So whenever he had time to finally sit down and relax, he smiled when he saw you had sent him a photo, showing the area you were in

↳ Morro would simply shift a little and take a picture of the Spectral Lands for you, commenting about how the land missed your presence

↳ You would then take a picture of your face, Morro hiding his smile with his hand as he saw you smiling up at him, stating that you missed the land as well

↳ Clearing his throat and adjusting himself, Morro came to realize that he was the only one around, so he could let a smile or two slip

↳ Sending a photo of himself as well, you and Morro engaged in a small photo exchange war, both of you subconsciously sending photos that were similar to one another on accident

↳ Somehow, the topic you were chatting about with photos started to question which one of you was stronger, you claiming to be stronger than him, while he stated he was stronger since he needed to protect you

↳ Maybe it was the fact that you were both soul bound, but the two of you managed to find only one way to prove yourself to the other

↳ Flexing, duhh

↳ Your outfit was heavy with layers, barely even recognizable as a Gi as you shuffled some of it off, flexing your arm with a confident look on your face as you sent the photo to your Guard, claiming to be stronger than him

↳ And at the same time, Morro had sent one your way as well, same grin on his face as yours, nearly the same angle, and nearly the same caption as your photo

↳ You both stared at one another's pictures for a moment, blinking as you realized you accidentally sent the exact same thing to each other

↳ You were the first one to break the awkward silence, a photo of half your face as you ate a small snack, the caption simply saying that Morro was a ghost and that he had no muscle

↳ To which he could only sigh and shake his head, shutting off his phone and deciding to not engage in your teases, knowing that he would always somehow end up losing

im open for short requests, pls dont be shy im a super nice gal......

[yakool-foolio]

absolutely ecstatic seeing someone else noticing clear parallels between the romancable girls in romance route and eito. INCREDIBLY early on takumi has that bit with kurara of "you like dumb nasty boys sooooo much you know so much about them" and its like. hey i know of a guy you could say that about, about something he hates. 066 was my first ending ever and its genuinely stuck with me too. emotionally raw.

It's neat to hear about what endings people get first! Obviously I can't speak for like... 85% of those endings right now BUT it's still interesting! My first ending was Ending 48 (Best Friend) and the impact range of my self-explosions have only gotten bigger since then. Takumi deciding he'd rather die with Eito's lie than live on with the truth buried inside him for the rest of his life hits different (especially considering he also sacrificed Nozomi, the other target alongside Eito that Takumi's selfish overprotectiveness beamed onto). He's so desperate to stay ignorant to the defiant and hateful Eito he can't bear protecting that he believes he's better off dying alongside Eito's dishonesty in hopes it doesn't hurt as bad as surviving with the acknowledgement of false love he willingly and forcefully attempted to implant in Eito. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS ASK IS ABOUT THIS IS ABOUT ROMANCE WITH GIRLS WHO ALSO HAD THE PRESSURES OF LOVE FORCED ONTO THEM HAHAHA!

I'm stable I promise.

To me, V'ehxness's final words in the cutscene for Ending 68 feel like they're speaking directly to Takumi (and the player by extension if we wanna be meta about it). Takumi's decided to basically dedicate himself to this nonsensical dream, chasing after three girls he may not even be sure he really has any romantic interest in. Not even the girls know, and together they all just agree to keep things going as they are into their lives on the satellite. They may not be limited on time anymore, but for romance to be their sole goals when they could've had other goals n aspirations before the dream took over their lives just feels like a shallow future. There's a lot more than romance out there that is worthy of our time.

And to once again rope Eito into this as the narrative poltergeist, perhaps his immediate abandonment by Takumi and literal erasure from the narrative of the route is part of why it's 'the worst of all bad endings' from a more meta standpoint. Eito is left all alone in the pod room, with Takumi wielding the only key to unlocking it. Eito could actually be dead from starvation and we wouldn't even notice, and maybe the story figures we wouldn't even care by the time we realize it. I care cause of my terminal blorbo brainrot but still. This route is essentially a 'kill Eito' route in disguise. Hell, even in the 'kill Eito' routes as far as I've seen, Eito still persists and makes himself known through Takumi's inner will when he's not physically present. But in the Romance Route, Takumi completely ignores the 'necessary evil' of the story, as if it never existed (though the four romanceable girls all share similar traits to Eito, so his influence still slips through in a far more subtle way this time), in favor of chasing after a supposed prophecy of true love. The Eito parallels rear their head once again, as Takumi is then no better than Eito by having tunnel vision for a dream and neglecting everything else in his life in order to achieve it. There's no small victories, only the grand prize just out of reach. There's no 'making friends', only 'fulfilling a prophecy'. Sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it?

[spicyvampire]

Yak and Dee being there for each other

WANDEE GOODDAY (2024) EP. 9

[artist-owl]

Honorable Mentions from the Notes

10) Finwë: at the bottom because he’s not actually from the notes, I just forgor. This nér has the most load-bearing death in the Silm outside of the Trees. Fëanor went mad and swore the Oath out of grief for him, which caused about 60-75% of the plot to happen. Stellar.

9) Fingon: the sheer overkill! He probably died thinking he’d once again been betrayed by Maedhros! His banner was trod into the mire of his own blood! There’s so much art of ppl tenderly craving his corpse like bestie I don’t think there was a corpse to cradle! I’m not crying there’s just an entire book lodged in my eye –!

8) Ungoliant: if Pengolodh is to be believed (he shouldn’t, but still,) she straight up ate herself. Literally mythic way to go out. Queen shit.

7) Orodreth: ekes it onto the list by virtue of the propaganda in the notes – as @lendmyboyfriendahand says, he “died because he built too good of a bridge.” Outstanding. Somehow this completely encapsulates his character. The third person on this list alone to die via exposure to Túrin.

6) Lúthien: astral-projects to Mandos and bullies Námo himself to let her and her bf come back with the caveat that they will die again later. This takes almost no time at all. I like to think that in the middle of her funeral she just sits up and looks annoyed at Thingol and goes “Dad I told you I had it handled.”

5) Maeglin: another one who’s on here bc of note propaganda; I don’t normally find his death comedic but @saurons-pr-department described it as “the apple doesn’t fall far from the other apple” and I love that, I'm dying (much like Maeglin –)

4) Amrod: the version of canon where he dies is bonkers. He gets burned alive on the ships because Fëanor presumably neglected to do a headcount and no one realized until the next day when Fëanor asked where Amrod was and Amras revealed that he a) knew that Amras had been on the ships, b) did not stop Fëanor and Curufin from burning the ships (presumably woke up too late), and c) DID NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS UNTIL FËANOR ASKED THEM WHERE AMROD WAS. I cannot stress enough how insane I find this version of canon, no matter how good of a parallel it makes to Argon’s death.

3) Saeros: you ever be so racist about the barbarity of some guy’s people that he decides you deserve to be right for a change and strips you naked before hunting you for sport? Bonus points for being COMPLETELY accidental, Túrin wasn’t trying to kill him he just ran off a cliff looney-toons style. Probably the most nominated person in the notes.

2) Glorfindel: he hair too long for he gottdang battle! The day he learns what scrunchies are is the day he lives to see another day. Depictions where after reembodiment he is very careful to keep his hair tied up or even cuts it short are very good, but I think it’s even funnier in depictions where he apparently learned nothing and continues to wear it down.

1) Beleg: like Thingol, doesn’t listen to Melian, and things escalate from there in extremely predictable directions. Takes a super cursed sword that Melian specifically said was super cursed because he thought it was cool (possibly thought that the black metal would attract his emo situationship back). Proceeds to get accidentally stabbed to death by said situationship with said sword. Does it all in jorts and red poulains. Icon shit.

Top 10 Funniest Deaths of the Silmarillion

Because sometimes you have to laugh through the tears when you’re reading this book. Did reading about (most) of these deaths emotionally devastate me? Oh yeah. Doesn’t mean we can’t have a laugh about it.

10 - Maglor: didn’t fucking die, the coward! Like, given that Elves can die of depression, there’s realistically no way he lived past the Second Age, but we never get confirmation. Schrodinger’s Elf, if you will.

9 - Turgon: specifically in a fandom context it’s funny bc fanon Turgon is the boring as cardboard member of his entire generation and then he goes out refusing to leave his falling city and stands atop his tower as dragons bring it down in crumbling flames whilst yelling “great is the victory of the Noldor!” Cannot stress enough that he did not need to do this. He could have left and said no. Dumb as hell but I respect it.

8 - Argon: pour one out for my boy his death and whole existence didn’t even make it to the published Silm. Not to mention he survives the entire crossing of the Helcaraxë while his sister in law literally got friged, then dies like .5 seconds after setting foot in Beleriand. Tfw you’re so impetuous that you hew your way through the orcs without stopping to think that this means they can close ranks and surround you. Not his fault, he’d never fought before. Probably.

7 - Nienor: learns that she did a sibling incest and immediately yeets herself off a cliff. Like I can’t blame her but there’s a morbid humour in how fast she made that decision.

6 - Túrin: same as his sister, but his cursed sword suddenly reveals itself to be capable of speech, calls him out for killing his boyfriend, and then calls him a lil bitch before he kills himself with it. Also with the way his life was going this wasn’t even surprising.

5 - Sauron (death no. 3): you know he lived and died the same way: not knowing what the fuck a Hobbit is or why he should worry about them. Also this bitch dies three goddamn times because he can’t learn his damn lesson.

4 - Fëanor: Fingolfin got the death that Fëanor was destined for bc Morgoth didn’t have time to plan ahead for that fight and granted Fingolfin a badass last stand; with Fëanor he went “I’m not fighting that guy” like a lil bitch and straight up sent out a fuckton of Balrogs to fight him instead, and Fëanor survived this for long enough to curse him out again, make his sons re-swear the oath that would ruin their lives and countless others’, and then spontaneously combust out of sheer Big Mad. Other Elves have faded away from depression because the weariness and sorrow of their souls overcame their bodies; Fëanor literally invented a new way to die. Post cancelled I’ve circled back around to being impressed.

3 - Thingol: Stiffs the Dwarves on their payment and starts hurling insults and slurs at them while holding a necklace that was recently liberated from a dead dragon’s hoard that had been inset with a twice-stolen gem that lowkey curses everyone who covets it after his magic goddess wife told him that coveting it was a bad idea. Like, my guy, wtf did you think would happen.

2 - Sauron (death no. 1): the biggest L of his career. Just sitting in his temple in Atlantis Númenor, laughing maniacally, assured of his own victory, and not looking out the window behind him to see the massive wave that is approaching at mach fuck. Dies and jrrt specifically mentions that he’s never again able to have a body that men (specifically) find hot. This is more pathetic than the #1 spot but I want him to stay losing 😌

1 - Finrod: do I even need to say it? You’ve got this classy, friendly, noble Elven lord who, in short order: agrees to help a Man complete a suicide quest because he Swore An Oath, dressed up as an orc, said his name was Dungalef and his friend here was Nereb, lost a rap battle to a god bc the god brought up his ptsd triggers, got stripped naked, slipped his chains and fought a werewolf, naked, with his teeth, and won before dying of blood loss, but not before he gave a little lore drop to Beren about how Elven deaths work as his last words. The absolute legend.

Put your favorites and/or other nominations in the tags, I want to see if there's anyone I missed.

[hinamie]

domain expansion

[kingslionheart]

A good King relies upon good advice, Uhtred. I speak only as a man who has made mistakes before.

[soonrisa]

Yes, exactly!! When I first learned the general timeline for Batman it all felt a little too... drawn out? Maybe it's for the sake of realism in certain aspects (or maybe just the nature of telling a story with so many writers for so many decades) but I do enjoy thinking about how a teenage dad Bruce timeline would work out.

In terms of shifting his age up slightly, I don't disagree with what you said but here's the logic for the ages I chose. Honestly, a lot of it is shaped by parallels I wanted between Bruce and Dick and how I wanted to shape their relationship in this AU.

Dad at 17:

I honestly just thought it would be really interesting to have him be a dad before he was an adult and before he could legally adopt. I even considered 16 (to make Dick exactly half his age) but between his training and being Batman for at least a year, it was really testing my suspension of disbelief haha.

I also didn't think too much about the legalities of adoption beyond probably just has to be 18+. I based a good amount of the timeline on the Young Justice timeline (since it's so clean) and technically Gotham is set in Conneticut (and do NOT get me started on my thoughts of a Conneticut Gotham AU) there so it could be handwaved a little since you just have to be 21+ to adopt.

But your research on NJ laws actually gave me some ideas to explore in regards to adoption laws, so thanks! I also do love Bruce and Dick's relationship being more sibling based but I consider this post to be my teenage dad!Bruce branch of the general teenage!Batman AU.

Batman at 15

Initially did have him at 16 once I decided on 17 for dad, but I wanted more than one year between becoming Batman and taking in Dick. It also forces him to start training right after his parents die which adds more weight to his parallels with Dick.

I imagine him going out into Gotham to "fight"/experience crime at age 8 and realizing how in over his head he is. I think this adds more "logic" to allowing Robin to debut at age 8 because a) he's 17 and not making the best decisions and b) it hasn't even been a decade since he did the same so he can see Dick is as determined as he was, but at least he can give him the help he didn't have.

The rest of the timeline is pretty self-explanatory I think? I am still pretty new to the comics so I don't know the timeline for Selina/Talia's relationship with him that well, besides working out that Damian would be born when Bruce is 25.

I do imagine everyone else being the same age though. Mainly because it gives more reasoning for Bruce (and bats) to be keep his secret identity on lock down and I am a sucker for that trope.

Again, don't disagree with your timeline either because I really do love exploring all the different possibilities for an AU!

Bruce Wayne is 15 when he debuts Batman. The boots add a couple of inches, the voice modifier hides the squeaks and cracks of puberty, and the shadows conceal the limitations of his tech. No one expects the Dark Knight to be a teenage boy.

Bruce Wayne is 17 when he goes to Haly's Circus. Alfred reminds him that he is still a kid and should therefore be doing kid activites. The pain of losing his parents is still raw. He emerges with a new responsibility no teenager should have and a shadow that flies with him through Gotham.

Bruce Wayne is 19 when he starts the Justice League with six other heroes. He refuses to unmask for Robin's sake, his encounter with Harvey still fresh in his nightmares. The League respects his decision and he wonders if they would still respect him if they knew his true age.

Bruce Wayne is 21 when Robin starts his own team. He allows himself a wry simle when he realizes he is closer in age to Robin's team than to his own peers.

Bruce Wayne is 26 when he gets into a fight with his son. They both say things they regret and Bruce isn't strong enough to apologize. At the age where many are first starting their families, Bruce is losing his.

[cautionwetfloor-png]

no contact au comic bc now im invested in it. a LOT more thoughts in the tags. also proship kys this isnt for you

first post about it

[governmentmandatedryujinstan420]

releasing this from the hj discord dungeon because the public populace was in agreement also i'm chronically offline on tumblr and need to fix that for my chronically online ahh

[alxastrx]

When you're one of the most selfish mc who only saves people because it's part of a job you never wanted and did not get to chose or you would've died, who took your co-workers' morals and ideals because you didn't have any and desperately wanted to fit in somewhere, be it with the heroes or the villains, who's activelly haunted by one the most tragic past to have been created and suffer from a psychosis so bad (dare I say schizophrenia) that even your enemies acknowledged that you are mentally ill and objectively flawed in your judgement, never hesitated to try to kill anyone and has the most egoistic reason to be a good person but the fandom still thinks you're just a kind crybaby "I don't know what a gun is" homosexual twink.

[skyclan-funny-name-squad]

#this is mindblowing#and interestingly the exact opposite of who graystripe is in canon#which version is healthier? who knows?

I would say this Graystripe is a better person but canon Graystripe is like, mentally healthier.

Okay this is me expanding on it because I've been thinking and it got long so a cut

I think a lot of it is Graystripe in this version of the story goes all in on Riverclan. Maybe Crookedstar chooses himself to be the one to train Graystripe, making a sort of parallel to Fireheart and Bluestar. Crookedstar sees this grief stricken tom who has lost so much and yet chose to loose more for what little he had left and sees himself in him, and thus chooses to help train him and console him, helps teach him more patience. Which as now Graystripe has a clan leader helping him out that's also Silverstream's father he feels EXTRA pressure to be the best Riverclan cat he can be.

He still helps Thunderclan a lot with the fire , that's like, an extra thing thats unusual and I think Graystripe is allowed to be like "do you guys like, need extra help with repairs" when it comes to a fire. He's still a bit torn between the two.

However once Crookedstar dies and Leopardstar clearly has it out for him for Whiteclaw's death. Graystripe triples down, he lies low, he doesn't warn Fireheart, and during the battle purposefully sticks to a different part of sunningrocks specifically so he doesn't see Fireheart and get tempted. Riverclan still loses the battle but Leopardstar has no reason to exile Graystripe and stews back in Riverclan, suspicious of him and still angry but as he's been a model warrior outside of general Graystripe clumsiness, she can't really do anything beyond give him the jobs no one wants to do without causing a fuss in Riverclan about it being unwarranted.

Then Tigerclan happens, despite Graystripe basically telling every cat this is a terrible idea please listen to him he was there when he was exiled from Thunderclan Tigerstar is BAD NEWS. Graystripe plans to take his kits across the border and RUN back to Thunderclan but before he can even put a whisker into action he's being cornered and forced into the traitor halfclan den where he fusses over his kits, terrified and regretting ever letting them go to Riverclan, he should have let Thunderclan fight for them, it wouldn't have been fair to Crookedstar but Crookedstar isn't here anymore and Leopardstar hates him and oh Starclan he's going to die here isn't he?

When they try to take his kits out to stand Trial he basically goes full papa bear and refuses. His kits are NOT halfclan unless he is determined to still be Thunderclan. HE will stand trial first, because if he is loyal and true, then his kits have no reason for split loyalties.

This means instead of it being Stonefur and two apprentices, its Stonefur and Graystripe. Tigerstar, seeing a chance for revenge, orders Stonefur to kill Graystripe to prove himself. Stonefur refuses.

So Leopardstar orders Graystripe to kill Stonefur to prove himself as Riverclan

And Graystripe has never been the best cat, he can be selfish, he can be cruel, he can be absentminded and self centered. He knows this, he wanted to be better.

He cannot be better when he knows his kits are on the line if he fails

Graystripe attacks Stonefur.

It's a vicious fight, but Stonefur is taken off guard as he didn't expect Graystripe to actually go through with it but Stonefur is still a fierce fighter. Graystripe manages to use his bulk to pin Stonefur though, he apologizes, but then he rips out Stonefur's throat.

He's in utter anguish over this, the guilt is immense, but...but his kits, his wonderful precious lovable kits would have been here instead, they will be here instead if he doesn't do it. So he will, for them, even if he can never face them again, he will prove himself so they don't have to, the most selfish yet selfless move Graystripe could make. One that haunts him for the rest of his life of wondering if that was really the best move he could have done, if maybe he should fought alongside Stonefur. This will torment him for the rest of the series.

Maybe he witnesses another execution where we get the Darkstripe beatdown and then the Blackfoot kill because its iconic and also solidifies that there is a very real chance if he ever slips, his kits will be the one in Blackfoot's jaws next. However, he has proven himself and his kits, they're allowed out.

I could even imagine Graystripe is badly wounded by the fight and no one is allowed to patch him up because they want to leave his fate up to Starclan even if he is allowed to be seen as a Riverclan warrior.

Tigerstar allows this because he sees how intensely traumatized Graystripe is and is like "it'll be a lot worse for him to keep him alive at this point plus i can torment him about it" plus his kits are a good resource even if they had to be used in a powerplay like this, might as well keep them now.

Graystripe however, is a selfish cat, even traumatized like this, he takes his kits the moments he can and crosses to Thunderclan to tell them what's going on in Riverclan. He is cagey about his own murder before Firestar pushes and he just kinda breaks down. Firestar tries to comfort him, even if a part of him can't look at Graystripe the same even if he still cares deeply for him. It's not enough though. He also gets medical attention while at Thunderclan

He stays in Thunderclan for the rest of the arc, but he feels out of place now, Thunderclan feels foreign, he can feel how the cats hate him as a traitor, and while they tolerate him because of the circumstances, he doesn't think they would ever let him back in. Food that isn't fish tastes weird, he misses floating on the river, he misses Riverclan cats he had befriended and grown close to.

So once Bloodclan is defeated, despite everything, he still returns to Riverclan.

He goes on trial by Leopardstar for his actions and leaving, Leopardstar is itching to finally exile him. However the clan is enough of Graystripe's side of him being forced and the fact it was Leopardstar's order and the fact the moment it was safe to return he did and they've lost too many warriors to turn him away that Leopardstar can't get away with exile without a full scale mutiny on her paws. Starclan also probably sends a sign of "hey, don't kick him out"

So she just demotes him to apprentice and gives him to Mistyfoot because Leopardstar just really fucking hates Graystripe and thinks Mistyfoot might solve it for her by being hostile enough to make him leave.

Mistyfoot and the now Graypaw have a terse relationship, Mistyfoot hates him, but she also knows he's also a victim here. She doesn't want to be around him, to train him, to be his mentor, but she just aggressively cold shoulders him. She is not hostile outside of some curt words occasionally, she just completely pretends he doesn't exist which gives Graystripe a moment of reflection on his poor job mentoring the now Brackenfur.

Everyone thinks this is kinda fucked up but really really funny as they look at Graypaw 32 moon old cat all like "ah nothing like a FRESH APPRENTICE come child we will teach you how to do a simple swat" which as annoyed as he is the goober cannot deny is really fucking funny to pretend like he's just a little guy apprentice are you gonna beat up a lone apprentice?

However this also means Mistyfoot never stops being his mentor for awhile, and being forced to work together on things. Causing slowly Mistyfoot's ice to thaw towards Graypaw because he sees how much hurt he's hiding behind his jokes and gags and how so repentant he is towards her and they have a lot of talks.

As much as I want to say Graypaw sticks around until Mistystar that feels a bit too long, it's probably mostly offscreen between books. for the sake of the reader he goes back to Graystripe but you just KNOW she was considering naming him Grayfur. Probably has a thing in between the first series and the second series, we can have a special edition about it or it can be apart of the shadow in Riverclan, maybe he was given a name with his kits.

When Sasha and her kits show up, Graystripe is 100% the number one defender of Hawk and Moth, his kits didn't deserve to be judged for him, so they don't deserve to be judged for being outsiders. He basically adopts them on the spot and even when the truth gets to him via Feathertail needing to talk to her dad about them being Tigerstar's kits when Sasha tells her he doubles down on the "doesn't deserve to be punished for their ancestry" and continues to dad them.

Though Graystripe thinks rather poorly of Sasha for leaving them, even if he doesn't voice it. Especially because he was kinda thinking Feathertail and her would make a cute couple and being grandpa graystripe to hawk and moth sounded great. Though part of him does blame Leopardstar for pushing Sasha, because Graystripe also fucking hates Leopardstar by this point and it's just kinda easy to blame her for things like this.

Then the New Prophecy starts and Graystripe is frantic about his kits going missing, believing they ran off because they couldn't take being in Riverclan anymore and he never should have brought them back. Still he has duties to Hawkpaw and Mothpaw as a surrogate father figure so he can't go far beyond the territory to search for them, especially as the twoleg nonsense starts to happen.

From then he fades more into the background beyond being worried for his kits and being awkward with Firestar over the arc. Then after the great journey he kinda goes off to contemplate his life choices, he promises he'll be back he's just...so much is lost to him now, he needs time alone. Which maybe has an impact on Hawkfrost? I dunno how Graystripe being a father figure to the river tiger kits would impact them, I haven't thought about it but he definitely supports Mothpaw wanting to be a medicine cat at least.

This causes immense shenanigans as he near immediately gets got by twolegs and he can still have his manga adventure with Millie albeit a few moons later. He can have a fun moment of teaching Millie how to swim, it's cute, we can fix Millie's characterization after the manga, I like Manga Millie, small kitty cat go boof at dog. He can still return in Sunset in time for the Hawkfrost drama it's fine time is meaningless in warriors.

Honestly the idea of graystripe staying in riverclan is so interesting to me like…imagine you changed your entire life for your children, moving to another group that distrusts you just so you can have them connect to their mother’s heritage. You gave up everything, your standing, your best friend, your siblings and parents, but you do it for your kids

And then they and likely you get tortured by the dictator who seized power after the death of the original leader, and then a few moons later they go missing, and only one of them comes home and then later moves to a different group to be closer to your daughters grave just like you moved for him after the death of his mother.

God, what do you even DO in that situation?? Do you move to the new group you certainly would be pretty ill adjusted for, do you go back to your original group to be back with the one person you have left? Stay where you are? Your wife’s grave is no longer here, your children are gone and you might never see the living one again. Who do you even live for anymore? Did you ever truly know how to live for yourself?

[toddtakefive]

despite the fact that spider-neil is heavily based off of the amazing spider-man (2012) peter parker, neil is infinitely more similar to miles morales from the spider-verse movies

[jon-sedai]

Something rubbed against his leg beneath the table. Jon saw red eyes staring up at him. “Hungry again?” he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence. His brothers and sisters had not been permitted to bring their wolves to the banquet, but there were more curs than Jon could count at this end of the hall, and no one had said a word about his pup. He told himself he was fortunate in that too. His eyes stung. Jon rubbed at them savagely, cursing the smoke. He swallowed another gulp of wine and watched his direwolf devour the chicken. Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal. Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating.

Jon I, AGOT

It's interesting that GRRM would dedicate several paragraphs to a seemingly unimportant exchange between a boy, his wolf, and an unfriendly third party. But there's just something about this passage that has continued to nag at me for years since I first read it because, considering how heavy handed GRRM was with the foreshadowing in AGOT, this feels important.

Jon is sitting at table full of squires - aka would be knights. We don't really know who they are or what families they belong to, but it's safe to assume that they come from a certain level of privilege; this is considering the fact that it cannot be financially easy to be a squire. And these boys already have a slew of tales detailing all their previous knightly exploits regarding "battle and bedding and the hunt" which suggests that they have some capital. So you have boys who will soon be men. And they will, presumably, become men of some power.

These lads eat their fill of the chicken until only half remains, which Jon then gives to Ghost. The direwolf's name is not so important here but what he represents is. Throughout the series, we're told that Ghost is reminiscent of the weirwood trees (because of his red eyes and white fur). He's stated to be of and from the Old Gods and since he's a personification of the weirwoods, he might as well be one of them. It's almost as if Jon is presenting whatever is left on the table to the Old Gods (Ghost). He lets them devour his offerings while he silently watches. And the motif of watching is so interesting here because it's kind of like Jon takes on a stewardship role - to watch over land/people/etc. He oversees Ghost eating the chicken, so he's overseeing whatever has been given to the Old Gods. This is not new imagery to his arc. As a brother of the Night's Watch and eventually its leader, we have several instances where he leads people to adopting the Old Gods in some fashion. In ADWD, several recruits swear their vows to the Old Gods while he watches on as their Lord Commander. The Old Gods are also primarily of the North and we're told that Jon has more of the north in him than his brothers; interesting that this also includes Bran. So perhaps whatever is being offered to the Old Gods relates to the North.

We must also note that Jon initially thinks to give only a small portion, a leg, before pivoting and providing the entire thing. It feels to me a bit like the process of carving up a kingdom or something similar. The lords (represented by the squires) take what they want and leave aside what they don't; or perhaps they have eaten to their fill and can take no more. Then when his time comes, Jon first considers a small piece of land/group of people before eventually absorbing all of whatever is left behind. The concept of carving up a kingdom rings harder considering that we have several callbacks to the ideals of kingship in this chapter. Robert, Jaime, Tyrion, and even Mance though we don't know it yet, all play into this. And then there's the aspect of Jon letting the chicken slip between his legs which evokes birth/fatherhood, a very curious choice when GRRM could've just had Jon place the chicken on the floor. So land/people are carved up and Jon then uses whatever is left to birth his own type of kingdom. And this kingdom is one for the Old Gods.

This also touches on something that has been quite prevalent throughout Jon's arc. It's the concept of accepting the "others" or "those left over" who live apart from the accepted social norms. Arya (a tomboy), Sam (a gender non-confirming boy), the Night's Watch (criminals, extra sons, and men who have no future left or place to go), and even the wildlings are all examples of this. And Jon takes on a leadership/paternal role to every single one of them. He looks after them as a leader would/should. Sometimes, in the case of Arya and the wildlings, he's equated to a king. He's a steward/shepherd/king. There's messianic undertones to this:

Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

If you're familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition, you'll know that Jesus is often personified as one who spent the majority his time among the outcasts. The idea is that he came to save them too and that anew kingdom (or new earth depending on your translation) would spring up after the end of the world where he would forever rule as king; which presents the idea of a final king after the earthly ones are done away with. Now GRRM isn't so heavy handed with Christian allusions as other authors out there, but he does have a Catholic background and Jon is so overtly a Jesus figure. And in Revelation, Jesus is king and god at the very end....

One last thing: the mention of the mongrel who challenges Jon has always been rather interesting but confusing to me. A mongrel doesn't really relate to one specific type of dog. But it's interesting that Jon notes several roaming about where he is. They follow the serving girls who carry the food to be offered. Mongrels are used to describe antagonist/villainous groups in ASOIAF. Sometimes, they're used to describe slavers in Essos. But what's interesting is that most of the time, they're used to describe Euron's Ironborn especially in Victorian's POV. So I don't think the mongrel who challenges Ghost is a supernatural threat of death (i.e., the Others) but rather a human one. They represent those who are called to the scene once the lords have finished playing their games. It almost feels like a feast for (carrion) crows....

But it doesn't really matter because this mongrel isn't much of a challenge for Ghost. Though the mongrel is much larger, the direwolf is able to fend her off very effortlessly. Given that "mongrel" is used to describe Ironborn raiders, could this exchange between Ghost and the mongrel point to reavers or sea raiders who rise and fail challenge Jon kingdom? There is a historical King Jon Stark who did this....

When sea raiders landed in the east, Jon drove them out and built a castle, the Wolf's Den, at the mouth of the White Knife, so as to be able to defend the mouth of the river.[1][2] His son, Rickard, followed him on the throne and annexed the Neck to the north.

ref.

So this might shed some light not only on Jon's already published arc, but also on what we can expect in the future. We have some foreshadowing through Jon's ADWD dream that he will not only rise with the dawn (thereby live through the Long Night), but will be in a position to lead people (wildings in that chapter) to a new peace after a hard fought war. Also remember that the wildlings, rather enthusiastically, swear oaths to him as if swearing oaths to their king. In this instance, the supernatural (a dream of the war for the dawn) is followed by the natural/human. So perhaps this particular passage (and Jon's dream) can be used to predict that Jon comes out on top, and quite effortlessly too, as a leader. And he becomes a leader who rules by association with the Old Gods; or rules a kingdom for them.

To end, I think it's of note that this passage immediately precedes Jon's conversation with Benjen where he voices his desire to go out on his own - the hero's call to action. This is the adventure that's going to kickstart his growth as a man, warrior and most importantly, a leader. So it looks like before we even began, GRRM telegraphed how it would all end in just three short paragraphs.

[carmendeiact2whenplz]

Hear me out:

Xbalanque x Phainon. Consider it.

I’m no expert on either of them but. something something sun-coded characters who initially seem “flawless” but are much darker than that, destined to watch their friends + loved ones die, fire powers, doomed by the narrative, themes of resurrection and divinity…. there’s probably a lot more I haven’t thought of. But still. consider it

[cbrownjc]

Aw, thank you for the writing compliment! 😊

And I am truly of the belief that the show is not only setting up for parallels between Marius/Armand and Armand/Daniel, but will be intertwining the three of them with each other way more than even the books did.

I think you can already see that by the show having Armand be with Marius for 12 years before he was turned, and then Armand and Daniel's relationship with each other in the past -- from Chase to Romance -- appearing to have lasted 12 years as well, just as in the QotD book.

And IMO I think, in the show, Armand will very much be reliving and redoing his relationship with Marius during Devil's Minion. Only now, Armand will be in Marius' role, and Daniel will be in Armand's. The parallel was there in many ways in the books that came after QotD that show Armand and Marius' relationship -- The Vampire Armand and Blood and Gold -- but I think the show is going to lean into those parallels even harder.

Because, as I noted a few days ago, because of his traumas in life from when he was a child, Armand has fully blocked out that human childhood. Plus, the fact that Marius specifically raises (grooms) Armand in the ways of The Blood to one day be a vampire companion to him, helped to make Armand one of the most vampiric of vampires once he was finally turned.

And in the show's universe, that "education" appears to have lasted 12 years, not just 3 or so.

So, because of this, Armand actually would not know or understand how to engage in a romantic relationship with someone in any way but as a vampire.

And, on top of that, the only example Armand would have of a romantic relationship between a vampire and a human is the relationship that was had between Marius and himself.

I know how people feel about that "donating" line wrt Marius, but honestly? I think that comes from the fact that the vampires in the show's universe are able to have sex. Which, therefore, will change much of Marius' interactions with Armand, because yeah, things like the bath scene and the "threesome" with Bianca are going to have much more to them because in the show's universe, vampires can have sex.

Meaning Marius, in the show's universe, can be aroused by these things and have sex.

And so can Armand.

Meaning there would really be no reason for Armand to arrange for Daniel to have sex with people who find themselves falling for him and wanting him. Armand could just have sex with those people, those humans, himself.

However, I suspect that, just like in the book, Armand will arrange for Daniel to have sex with these people.

One, because of the law that says vampires will never engage in carnal pleasure with mortals. He's already breaking that law with Daniel, so I think Armand would see no need to break it with other random humans.

And second . . . well. Arranging for Daniel to have sex with other people, other humans, as he, Armand, just watches it? Where do you think Armand will have learned such things from, and from whom?

Because yeah, I suspect that the people Marius "passed" Armand to were other humans as well, not other vampires or something like that.

So yeah, I think that is what that line regarding Marius was actually really about and a setup for. To parallel that, many of the aspects of Devil's Minion that happen between Armand and Daniel will come from things Armand learned and experienced while he was still human and with Marius.

Which includes setting him up to have sex with other people, other humans, while the person he loves watches him do so.

Because, in Armand's eyes, that will all still actually be love to him, thanks to never really going through the experience of love and relationships when he was a human with another human, and having never discovered those things and practices about love, sex, and desire in a -- healthier -- way first.

So yeah, IMO, Devil's Minion is going to parallel Marius and Armand's past relationship, even more than it does in the books.

The major difference, however, will be that Armand didn't have it in him, in the past, to finally turn Daniel, because the show is likely saving the final parallel to it all.

Which is that, in the books, Marius finally turned Armand when Armand was dying; and Armand turned Daniel when Daniel was dying.

And in the show, Daniel was likely not dying back in 1985 for that final push and parallel to happen.

So even though in the books, Armand and Marius were not reunited until Akasha's apocalypse, I can see that being different in the show. I can see them meeting again before that, and it still happening in 1985, for some reason. And not only because of that portrait that Marius painted that was hanging up in Dubai, but because of Armand's use of the word "abandoned." Not only regarding letting go of Daniel, but him clearly using it, and implanting it, with Louis to use about Lestat regarding the coven, Nicki, and Armand himself.

Because abandonment is very much what Marius did with Armand. Marius did abandon Armand to the Children of Satan cult, even after he had finally healed from his wounds from the attack.

And Armand, learning that Marius wasn't dead but still alive and did not ever come for him . . . ?

Seriously, Armand coming in contact with Marius again, and, in the show's case, it happening years before Akasha first rose again, Armand would very much be in a mindset of seeing it that way. IMO, he would very much feel that Marius abandoned him, and be very angry, hurt, and bitter about that.

And, of course, he would have a fear of such a thing happening with someone else he loves again. Such as the possibility of Louis doing so with him for Lestat, or even for death itself, if Louis' memories about everything that actually happened, particularly wrt Paris, came back to him.

And yes, as you said, Armand isn't bitter at Daniel, but at the situation. And the possibility of his having to, in his eyes, abandon Daniel, especially if Marius had a hand in making Armand do so, for sure, would make Armand bitter about it all.

It's a bit funny because I actually co-wrote a fanfic series that had a similar scenario: Marius inserting himself into Armand and Daniel's relationship due to Armand's reluctance to turn Daniel. Which is, I suspect, why I've been hesitant to speculate about such a scenario going on in the show.

But I can see Marius -- from a distance -- observing what Armand was doing at that time with Daniel, and Armand's reluctance to turn Daniel. And so, not only revealing himself to Armand again finally, but doing so after basically forcing Armand's hand into having to let Daniel go.

Because I can see Marius not yet being at the place, at that time, where he would turn Daniel for Armand, which is what Marius ends up doing with Benji and Sybelle. I can see Marius being more in a place where he thinks that if Armand wants Daniel as a companion, that he, Armand, should be the one to turn Daniel -- or else let Daniel go. Just as he, Marius, had decided he would do regarding Bianca around the time right before he first found Armand.

So yes, Marius very much would see it as "helping" Armand by, in his eyes, making Armand give Daniel up. Whereas Armand would just see it as having to abandon Daniel, just as Marius abandoned him.

And therefore, one of the many reasons why the word "abandoned" hovers around regarding things involving Armand, in the present day, during Season 2.

This is why, IMO, we'll be seeing Armand's backstory in Season 4. Because to fully understand Armand's character, and the "Devil's Minion" relationship with Daniel, you have to understand Armand's backstory and his relationship with Marius. Because it really is, and will be, all intertwined.

Hello!

Do you have any theory/speculation on why Armand chose to be bitter with Daniel (If ofc dm happened in the past, which I think it's pretty confirmed) in the whole interview?

Before S2 came out I thought in some way that at least partially he liked Daniel being there, but after his suggestion of taking him back on a plane in episode 1 I think I might've been wrong.

I find it curious though, that while he's with Louis he acts that way, but when he's alone with Daniel he acts all compassionate and lover boy: from the "And I wouldn't allow you my neck even if you were..." to the Levodopa transfusion and the prayer talks for example.

Something definitely happened in the 80s when dm parted. And what if, following the transcript of the fight in S2ep4 (if accurate ofc: https://x.com/drxxbr/status/1833277968489320452?t=iEGtO8_FNAvQG8RYOj1a8Q&s=19 ) and the conversation with Raglan about Louis being the dangerous one, Louis had been a cause of Armand "abandoning" Daniel?

Idk if I'm reaching ahahah it was a random thought I had last night, that would fit with Armand putting a mask on to detach himself.

Or perhaps he was still pissed at something Daniel did or said before? He did indeed say that Alice didn't trust Daniel and the "it's in your nature mr Molloy, couldn't get out the door without dropping one more bomb".

Or maybe it's something with trying to forget Daniel because (as you theorized) Marius took his memories away? Love this btw.

I'm curious with your thoughts! I always read your posts like the daily newspaper!

Thank you for your dedication 🙌

Hi! 👋🏾 Glad you still like my posts and dedication to the topic of Devil's Minion! 💕

Okay, so first, thank you for the link to the transcript of the 2x04 fight between Louis and Armand. I think I might have seen it before, back when it was first posted, but I honestly don't remember. 😅

Now, as to why Armand was bitter with Daniel during the whole interview (at least in front of Louis), I have to say, I don't think Armand was bitter toward Daniel. I didn't read bitter with him about Daniel at all. A little anger sometimes, yes, but not bitterness.

And yes, Armand did want Daniel gone and out of there. And that, IMO, was because Armand was more or less content with his life with Louis in Dubai before Daniel was brought there by Louis for this second interview.

Now, of course, I 100% think Devil's Minion, both The Chase and the romance afterward, all happened in the past, specifically between the years 1973 and 1985.

And with how Armand said specifically that Daniel was "abandoned," I don't think it was some mutual parting or anything of the sort that caused him to break it off with Daniel. Yes, I'm still of the belief that Armand was not the one who erased Daniel's memories of their time together. (Yes, my bet is still on Marius wrt to that.)

But I do think by 1985 their relationship had reached a tipping point of some kind. To the point where Armand wanted to say "yes" to something Daniel asked, but Armand didn't trust Daniel regarding it because, in his eyes, Daniel hadn't given him a reason to. I, personally, think it was Daniel requesting in some formal way -- that, yes, might have been done almost like a proposal -- that Armand turn him into a vampire. (Which made it easier to rewrite the memory as him proposing to Alice afterward.)

But even despite that, and whatever problems were going on because of that, I don't think Armand willingly gave Daniel up.

However, I do think something happened where he had to give him up, and "abandon" him, all the same.

Also, in the show, Armand actually holds to The Vampire Laws. (Which there are 100 of, not just the Great Laws, which are the first five.) And, as I noted in another post, at least two of those laws would pretty much relate to his relationship with Daniel, with Armand flat out breaking them by being with Daniel in the first place:

60. Vampires nunquam carnalem delectationem cum mortalibus requirent. Vampires will never seek carnal pleasure with mortals.

61. Vampires nunquam mortalium consortia quaerunt. Vampires never seek the company of mortals.

So I think after he was split from Daniel, there was a part of Armand that forced himself to accept that parting between them. And just like he told Lestat in his little fanfic in episode 2x03, he probably decided to "be with his own," i.e., be with another vampire over being with a human.

And Daniel, just being there, interviewing Louis, is a threat to the contented life Armand now has for himself. A life he's had to manipulate Louis' memories to even get so that it wouldn't just be a repeat of the one he and Louis were living right after Paris.

Because that time in their being together resulted in Louis trying to kill himself.

But after the mind manipulations, Louis is now content with him -- in Armand's eyes. And Armand is content as well. That deep loneliness that vampires can feel won't be a problem if that contented life can remain as it is.

But Daniel being there, Daniel and Louis going through Louis' life and memories, threatens all of that. So, of course, Armand figured that if he could just convince Louis to put Daniel back on a plane (as in episode 2x01), that threat to his contented life would now be gone. And everything can just remain the way it is.

And yes, one day soon, Daniel may die of his Parkinson's (or maybe not since Dr. Fareed is already here...), and Armand likely knows that possibility will really mean having to let go of Daniel forever, but at least he's got this life with Louis now, and it's something instead of nothing, and just being alone.

And, when it is just the two of them, just Armand and Daniel, it is clear that Armand likes talking with him. Not just from what we see in episode 1x04, but episode 2x03 as well. Plus, from some of the clearly wistful and hovering glances we see Armand give Daniel here and there. (Like in episode 2x02.)

If Daniel had been there in Dubai under any other circumstances than the reason he was there for . . . and maybe if Daniel still remembered . . .

Anyway, I think Armand spoke to Daniel differently in front of Louis than when it was just the two of them because Louis very much does NOT know Armand and Daniel were lovers in the past. Like, I don't think Louis even suspects they had sex, let alone were a romantic couple. Because I think if Louis did know, he would have just flat-out told Daniel about it, at least after the events of episode 2x05 happened.

I think, at this point in time, Armand's past relationship with Daniel is something Armand has kept very close to the chest. I don't think one single person knows about it except Armand. (And likely Marius, if I'm right that Marius is the one who altered Daniel's memories. But he'd be the only other one who knows IMO.)

And so, when Armand is with both Louis and Daniel in the same room, I think Armand wears a mask, as it were, when it comes to Daniel and his feelings for him. Daniel doesn't remember the relationship, and Louis knows nothing about it. So it's no stretch, IMO, to think Armand thinks it's better to keep it that way. That Armand doesn't think Louis needs to know about it, not even one hint. (Likely for a few various reasons.)

But again, there are little moments here and there, side glances and such, like in episode 2x02 that hint and point to the more that is there (for the audience).

And yes, I feel the clues are all there that Louis didn't know anything about Armand and Daniel's past together in the present time, even if he might have known something before Dubai. Because even looking over that episode 2x04 fight dialogue transcript (again, thank you for that!) I don't get the impression that Louis thinks something is going on there between Armand and Daniel at all -- either in the present or that something happened in the past.

If you notice, Louis specifically says Armand "lobbed" at Daniel, meaning Louis is saying he, Armand, insulted Daniel along with disrespecting Louis. (And one of the number one things Louis can not abide is being disrespected.)

And so no, I don't think Louis is talking about Daniel when he mentioned "the abandonment." Because what he says right before that is, again, about himself; that Armand sees him (Louis) as "his God." So no, I don't think they are talking about Daniel, despite what Armand says later, in episode 2x06, about them "abandoning" Daniel.

Also, because I didn't get the impression that Louis remembered what Armand recounted about Sausalito either, which supposedly happened 3 days after Daniel was "abandoned."

So what were they talking about? Or whom? Well, my current guess, at the moment, is that what Louis is talking about has to do with Lestat.

Because, remember, at that point in time, Louis thinks Lestat abandoned the coven, Nicki, and Armand in the past. Abandoned is the exact word Louis used about it all in episode 2x03 -- that Lestat abandoned them, because "that is what Lestat does."

Because, looking at that transcript, if you notice, Armand accuses Louis of being Lestat (meaning, being like Lestat IMO). And I think Louis, in the argument, was throwing the compassion Armand made -- Louis being like Lestat -- back at him. That Louis, in some way, "abandoned" someone just like Lestat (as Armand alleged) abandoned the coven, Nicki, and him. And that he (Louis) and Lestat are also both cutthroat.

So yeah, I don't think the fight Armand and Louis were having was about Daniel or Devil's Minion. I think, just like we saw in the 1973 flashback in 2x05, it all came down to Lestat and was (mostly) about Lestat. Daniel was just, once again, caught up in the crossfire of the dialogue of the fight like he was back in 1973.

Because, frankly, Louis was kidding himself when he said, as you see in that transcript, that he's using the interview for himself, to only be heard by him.

And Armand knows it.

That is what Armand's "In a future you won't see" line means, right after Louis tries to argue that the interview is just for himself. It was Armand slipping up with a reference to Louis trying to take his own life -- which we see in the very next episode.

Because again, this all happened once before, back in 1973. Louis' doing the interview not just for himself, but because he wants to try and reach out to Lestat in some way.

Just like he was trying to do with the 1973 interview.

However, Armand knows what Louis did to himself last time he did an interview like this with Daniel, even if Louis and Daniel don't remember it.

And the way it ended last time was with Louis almost draining Daniel to death, and then running out into the sun to try and kill himself.

And if all that happens again? Well, there goes the contented life that Armand went to the point of manipulating Louis' memories to have.

So yeah, that fight wasn't about Louis knowing something, or anything, about Armand and Daniel's past relationship. It started with Louis feeling disrespected and embarrassed because of the photos, and then spiraled from there to being about the interview itself happening in the first place... and Lestat.

Because even though Armand says, in that transcript, that it isn't about Lestat? It is. And was. It was about Lestat for Louis back in 1973 during that fight, and it is still during the present-day fight.

The contented house of cards Armand has built for who knows how many years at this point is beginning to fray because of this one interview.

So yes, for Armand, the quicker this is over and the quicker Daniel heads home, the better. Before it can all collapse.

And you know, Armand almost gets that. The interview ends, and Daniel and Louis are both still alive. Louis isn't going to leave him for Lestat, and Daniel can now safely head home as well; and I'm sure for Armand it was nice seeing and speaking with Daniel again, in person.

It's why Armand sincerely says he hopes Daniel will join them for dinner, and finally tells Louis that Lestat did love him.

And then Daniel lobbed that one last bomb.

And Armand's house of cards of contented life in Dubai didn't just collapse, it imploded.

(And that comment from Armand about it: "Couldn't get out the door without lobbing one more bomb." Excuse me, Armand, but how do you know that about Daniel? And that it's apparently in his nature to do such things? Maybe it's because Daniel has done this to you, personally, maybe on more than one occasion before?)

So yeah, Armand wasn't bitter towards Daniel, whatever issues or problems they might have had that caused Armand not to "trust" Daniel enough. Armand's one-on-one interactions with Daniel showed no bitterness at all IMO.

But because Armand was the only one among the three of them who knew, who remembered, that something had happened between him and Daniel, IMO, he decided to keep that knowledge close and closed off. So, best just to keep a mask up about Daniel whenever Louis is around.

And then, along with that, Daniel just being there in the first place was a threat to everything Armand had done (i.e., manipulating Louis' memories) to have the contented life with Louis that Armand sees himself and Louis having in Dubai.

And, given what happened the last time an interview between Louis and Daniel happened, back in 1973, the interview with Louis in the present was a threat to that life being taken away.

Which, in the end? It was.

[itadooori]

staring at gi-hun so fucking loudly rn its not even funny