#and he betrayed his entire heritage

[boltmyth]

thinking about how nate was most likely zeus’s favorite son at one point in time only to now be one of his biggest failures

[lynsstrange]

I have some issues with how the action scenes and tension were done in this episode, but if there’s one thing I can say is how WELL this script truly understands these characters, their fatal flaws, and the underlying themes of the entire series.

They understand that Percy is so trusting of Luke immediately that he doesn’t want to bring him on the quest. The quick glimmer of resentment in Luke’s eyes that would go unnoticeable to someone who’s never heard this story before when he mentions that the shoes are a gift from his father. Percy choosing someone who he knew would never betray him, and someone he thought he’d keep at arm’s length to go on the quest, instead. The differences between his goals and Annabeth’s goals, the small secrets they’ve already kept from each other, and how it’d inevitably drive distrust and suspicion between them immediately.

Annabeth’s anger and denial of the gods’ often self-serving and shitty ways because she wants approval from a parental figure so badly. Her arrogance and pride towards her heritage. Percy’s willingness to trust in people, and already brewing anger towards the gods making him more willing to hear Medusa out, because deep down, he knows there’s part of him that is already resentful. Medusa getting into both of their heads by telling them they’re doomed to repeat their parents’ mistakes, doomed to repeat the cycle.

But Percy still deciding he’d rather risk death than betray Annabeth and Grover to Medusa, even as she preys on his loyalty, and Annabeth being unwilling to give up Percy to Alecto when she had the chance, even as she has her own pride used against her. It causing both of them to realize that maybe they’re not who they initially who they thought each other were. The unspoken knowledge that this quest is so much bigger than their own desires and grudges, at the end of the day.

I’m just so excited about the way Rick is clearly able to go back and edit and incorporate themes that are introduced later on in the books, expand on character beats that he feels are important, etc. It’s been so cool to watch so far.

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

EWAN MITCHELL TALKING ABOUT AEMOND TARGARYEN IN EPISODE 4 FOR NUEVA MUJER MAGAZINE.

(video of the interview comes out this week)

AEMOND, AT THIS POINT, IS THE MOST INTERESTING AND COMPLEX CHARACTER IN THE ENTIRE SHOW. AT THIS POINT IN YOUR HISTORY, WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS?

"I love exploring the dark side of Aemond and delving deeper into his vulnerability."

"At the end of season 1, with his dragon, Vhagar, he knows he's made a mistake and lets his emotions get the best of him."

"It's good to see that feeling again and it breaks down and takes away that one-dimensionality: there's something more underlying beneath the surface that, in part, motivates it."

IT IS CLEAR THAT AFTER WHAT HAPPENED, A CONFRONTATION BETWEEN AEMOND AND DAEMON IS GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?

"Sure, but at what cost? Everyone saw the damage the three dragons did in the battle."

"After that moment, all of Westeros already knows what it is to fight with dragons and what they can do."

"Now, with Aemond and Daemon, if they sat together in a room, any item in it would be a deadly weapon."

HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AEMOND AND AEGON? IT IS VERY CLEAR THAT AEMOND IS INFINITELY SUPERIOR THAN HIS BROTHER AND HE KNOWS IT.

"Yes, I think he has always seen Aegon as someone who is inferior to him."

"He feels like he doesn't have the drive to be a king and the perseverance to be a leader."

"While Aemond was training with the sword and studying with the masters, his brother was probably in some Flea Bed brothel squandering his inheritance."

"So Aemond, although he was the second son, always felt that he should have been treated as the first and always prepared himself for that."

"He also feels that he would probably make a better king than Aegon."

"He hates his brother, but he loves him at the same time, because he is his brother."

"They share a heritage."

"He wants to love him, but Aegon gives her plenty of reasons not to."

BUT DID AEMOND WANT TO KILL AEGON?

"When we are in the battle scene, and when Vhagar attacks Aegon and Rhaenys, the question arises as to whether he intentionally tried to hurt his brother, or if he was in his way or if he was just collateral damage."

"I think it goes back to the previous answer: I think of them as Michael and Fredo Corleone, at the time when the latter betrayed his brother and plotted against him."

"This is because although they hate their enemies, there is a deeper hatred towards someone who should protect and care for you."

"And Aegon never did that. In fact, he led the bullying. Aemond “forgives”, but never forgets."

NOW THAT YOU'VE ALSO RECORDED 'THE LAST KINGDOM', AND, COMPARED TO YOUR CHARACTER, OSFERTH, AEMOND TARGARYEN IS CRUEL AND RITLESS. WHERE DID YOU GET INSPIRED FROM TO INTERPRET IT?

"It's interesting that you mention Osferth, because in many ways he is the antithesis of Aemond, in the sense that they are children of royalty who were marginalized and have been treated unfairly by their brothers."

"Aemond himself, because he has been sidelined, has a lot to prove."

"He is the second son who will inherit nothing and recognizes that whatever he wants in this life he will have to go out and get it himself, by hook or by crook."

"He has tremendous power in Vhagar."

"And, of course, he recognizes that he can do things that no one else in the kingdom can do."

"And that's why he sees it as a call to greatness, to write his name in the history books."

AEMOND IMPOSES FEAR. IT HAS A DANGEROUS AURA. HOW DO YOU TRANSMIT THAT SENSATION TO THE SPECTATOR, THAT SOMETHING TERRIBLE CAN HAPPEN TO SOMEONE LIKE THIS IN A PLACE?

"I think that in the first four episodes, Aemond is still not very much at the center of the conflict."

"You see it with Criston Cole plotting and trying to manipulate the council because they know war is inevitable."

"Now: Shakespeare said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but in Aemond's case, what does it mean to have one and the other a safari? Do you see less of his soul? There is silence."

"A lot of silence on your part and in those moments you say a lot without saying anything."

"I love those moments, because as a viewer, you can project your own interpretation on the character about what is happening through his or her gaze."

BY THE WAY, WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AEMOND AND ALICENT?

"Someone asked me if I thought Aemond had problems with his mother and I don't think so: he just wanted to be loved by her a little more."

"He is an empty child and children need that unconditional love to be balanced beings and develop a vision accordingly."

"And since he never had that, he had to look for solutions in other beings. In Vhagar. At Mrs. Sylvie, from the brothel."

"Children need to be loved unconditionally: if a child is not embraced by the village, they will hug them to feel their warmth and seek validation through other means."

"In Aemond's case, it's war."

"And of course, if he finds out what Cole, his best friend, has been doing with his mother, I don't know how he would take it."

HE'S A PRETTY BROKEN CHARACTER. HOW DID YOU EXPLORE THAT?

"That's one of the most fascinating aspects of playing him."

"Because beyond that image that has been created, he is in a very different physical and psychological place from what we saw last season."

"He has cultivated this facade - almost homage - inspired by Daemon Targaryen."

"Now, there is a movie called 'Fire vs. Fire' starring Robert De Niro where he has a code to protect himself."

"Aemond has something similar."

"That's why it's so easy for him to reject the madame in episode 3, because he knows that in her world there is no place for love, since it is a weakness."

"He has to be seen as this 'Terminator' who scares everyone and is all-powerful."

"So it's interesting to see what's behind all of that, to see this abandoned boy who is still there."

DO YOU THINK THAT AFTER THIS BATTLE HE WILL HAVE SOME KIND OF GUILT LIKE WHAT HAPPENED TO LUKE AND ARRAX?

"He knows that there is no turning point this time."

"What happened with Luke and Arrax, he knows was a mistake."

"It wasn't his intention."

"He let his emotions get the best of him and lost control of his dragon."

"Here he is in complete control and knows what the dragons can do."

"In episode 5 you will see all the consequences of this."

[gay-jesus-probably]

Let me just preface this by saying everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, TOTK is a really fun game, and I'm glad that other people have been able to enjoy the story as well.

...But I'm being dead serious with my complaints about the narrative being 100% imperialist propaganda. And I'm getting really tired of people replying to those posts by saying it can't be imperialist propaganda, because imperialism is bad and the game says that Hyrule is the good guys.

Like, guys. That's not the argument you think it is. Yes, I am aware that the game tells us Ganondorf is a flat, one dimensional character with no ambitions, interests or motivations beyond destroying the entire world for the hell of it, and also it's totally not racist because he's green, not brown like literally every other member of his race. Unfortunately literally all of these things are kind of the entire goddamn problem.

See, the thing is, everyone trying to make these arguments is accepting the game at face value. Hyrule is the perfect and almighty nation chosen by the demigod Zonai, and whose royal family has the right to rule due to their divine heritage. The other races exist to serve the glory of Hyrule, and they're happy to do it. Ganondorf is pure evil and must be stopped at any costs.

But that's not how anything works. The story informing me that Hyrule is the ultimate good that has done nothing wrong is the whole goddamn reason why I don't trust Hyrule at all. There's always more of a reason than that. And the game fucking suggests there was more going on! Ganondorf mentions Rauru has repeatedly 'invited' the Gerudo to become Rauru's subjects, and let's be clear here, it doesn't matter how peaceful those 'invitations' were, when the guy who owns every single magical nuclear missile in the world repeatedly demands you surrender to him, there's always going to be an implied threat of 'do it or get magically nuked'. Just that power difference alone shows us exactly why Ganon would feel threatened enough to invade. It's because Rauru was holding a gun to his head, and Ganon was expected to just trust that he'd never pull the trigger.

And yes, even if it wasn't intentional Hyrule was always threatening to wipe out the other nations, considering the entire royal family walked around openly wearing their magical nukes as cute accessories. If they couldn't be safely hidden away, there wouldn't be four other secret stones sitting untouched in a vault until the last second.

But that's never acknowledged. Of course Hyrule is the only nation with the right to the secret stones; even if other races get to touch them, they can only have them if they swear eternal blind loyalty and servitude to the glory of King Rauru and Princess Zelda. Ganon wanting to have one magical nuclear bomb out of a stockpile of eight of them is proof that he's dangerous and evil. I mean my god, what if he just walked around all day wearing a magical nuke and using its power for his own benefit, that would be terrifying. It's only okay when Hylian royalty does it.

And you can't argue that Ganon betrayed his own people, considering we don't get to know fucking anything about his relationship with his people. He's shows as the leader of the Gerudo, we're told he's a hero to his people, he has soldiers that loyally follow him into battle... and then oh nevermind, they all hate him and will spend eternity trying to atone for sharing a race with him. How did the entire race do a complete 180 in the span of at most a few months? Who cares, what's important is that now they accept they exist to serve Hyrule so they get to be the good guys now and we don't need to know why they were following Ganondorf, or why they stopped following him.

Basically my point is that yeah, I fucking know how the game insists everything went down. That's the entire reason I think it's imperialist propaganda, because the entire story feels like Hylian propaganda to conceal and justify some horrific atrocities that caused all of this. I literally do not believe that I'm getting the story through reliable narrators, especially considering that the only people allowed to actually tell me the story are all the characters that have the most reasons to be heavily biased in favour of Hyrule.

When the game shows me protagonists that have a massive amount of power and control over the entire world, then says the bad guy doesn't like that system just because he's evil, and literally nothing and nobody in the game says anything to oppose that take, I have some questions about what the fuck the story isn't telling me. And I'd really appreciate it if people would stop trying to argue with me just by telling me to stop asking those questions.

[mllemaenad]

Listening to Wyll's backstory in context of all the details we're acquiring on devil's contracts and soul selling is fascinating.

See - I listened to Lann Tarv's three tales to get my soul coins. I felt bad for making Karlach listen to that, obviously, but to be honest I didn't even want the coins that much. I actually wanted the stories. I wanted a better understanding of how this works.

And what I'm learning is - for the gods (and godlike beings) of this world, cruelty seems to be the point. I mean - it's possible there's a god in this world I wouldn't want to stab to death with a rusty fork, but if so I have not met them yet.

These beings have the power to save people and places, to change lives, to do anything. And when someone asks them to - they demand a terrible price. But they don't just demand a price. They subvert the original request in such a way that they utterly fail to deliver on the original promise.

An abused woman wishes to be loved - and her true love appears, but dies instantly. A man wishes to save his children from starvation, and ends up personally growing masses of meat on his own body - not only painful for him, but forcing his children into survival cannibalism, which they were trying to avoid.

Auntie Ethel works the same way. Every one of her customers is left in a tortured state, while Ethel still takes her payment.

The idea is that the person must come to regret their wish long before the payment comes due. Every cry for help must be met with a boot to the face. Or else the mortals will get uppity? Or something.

What is interesting is how consciously Wyll defies that. And how much Mizora is dancing around, trying to force him into that state of miserable regret.

Wyll was manipulated into selling his soul. He was a kid, and he was summoned into a terrible situation - and in that moment, he could see no other way to save the city. Mizora did need to save Baldur's Gate to serve her boss's purposes, so she couldn't take that victory from him - but she did everything she could to take the joy of it.

He didn't get respect, or admiration, or his father's pride for saving the city. He lost his home and his family. He was assumed to have done something monstrous because he was denied an opportunity to defend himself.

That was supposed to fill him with bitterness and regret - but he got to work building his own life instead. By the time you run into him, the Blade of Frontiers is a hero of some renown. He's remade himself, and found a way to enjoy what his powers can do, however he came by them.

So that didn't work.

Then Mizora sent him after Karlach, and that was a mission tailored to break him. Karlach is kind and heroic herself, and that the start she has been sold into slavery, mutilated and forced to fight in a war against her will. If Wyll killed her, and then found out who she really was, then he betrayed everything the Blade of Frontiers is supposed to stand for - and he would lose the life he made for himself.

But he didn't, and that didn't work either. He's got a friend, now, who at least knows part of what he's dealing with.

So Mizora gave him demonic features. That would destroy the life he's made for himself, because no one would trust him to help them.

Except now Wyll basically goes nowhere on his own, and a small army of people can attest that he got those horns and eyes as punishment for being a good man. Mizora might be able to shut his mouth, but she can't silence his friends - and the group absolutely have shouting sessions about everything. Wyll's horns become a battle scar, like his missing eye, and nothing more.

And beyond that, if you are playing as a heroic character, a significant throughline in the game's story is the journey of the tiefling refugees. The story makes it clear that these people experience a constant barrage of racism, due to their appearance and "demonic" heritage. It also makes it abundantly clear that this prejudice is entirely undeserved - they're just people, with virtues and flaws like everyone else, and what is happening to them is terrible. So Wyll turns up to assist a bunch of people whom he now at least somewhat resembles - and with Karlach along, you have two people in the group who technically count as "infernal", but haven't got an evil bone in either of their bodies.

Mizora created solidarity. Oops.

Wyll is deeply suspicious of gods and higher powers. He doesn't want to make more deals with devils. When Elminster arrives to tell Gale what Mystra demands of him, he explicitly says he does not do religion. When you get Mizora to agree to let his contract expire in six months, he starts by casually invoking the gods - but switches to thanking the player character instead, because he knows who helped, and who did not.

But he utterly refuses to regret the pact he made. That can be a struggle. He clearly misses his dad, and would like that relationship repaired. The fact that he was transformed very much against his will is clearly a source of distress from him.

But if he regrets, then Mizora wins. That's it. Game over. She gets what she wanted all along. So he doesn't.

The main companion characters all have this kind of problem, and naturally have different ways of dealing with it. You have characters like Shadowheart and Lae'zel, who were indoctrinated as children, or Gale, who was literally seduced by one of these nightmare deities - and with them you have to start out by convincing them they they were the wronged party in the first place.

But Wyll knows exactly what game he's playing, and he's been screaming defiance the whole time. It's just that, in his case, the "defiance" is grinning and carrying on every time Mizora inflicts some more bullshit on him.

[franzkafkagf]

How do you personally think they massacred his potential? I fully agree, by the way. He could have and should have been a fan favourite. He's one of the most tragic characters I've seen, honestly. He's interesting and definitely the most complex character of the season, but the lack of catharsis the writers gave him for his issues is anger inducing.

the concept is just so good to me. the prince with no sense for duty or responsibility, who did not want the throne but feels forced to take it anyways. he takes the throne to save his family and yet, he watches all of them die anyways.

At first, the prince refused to be a part of his mother’s plans. “My sister is the heir, not me,” he said. “What sort of brother steals his sister’s birthright?” Only when Ser Criston convinced him that the princess must surely execute him and his brothers should she don the crown did Aegon waver.

that's just amazing. i cannot stress this enough; it's so profoundly tragic and sad. i don't hate everything they did with him in the show; they have many good ideas actually. him rejecting his valyrian heritage, him being kind of a failure at everything, him being desperate to my accepted/loved... this is all profound and good stuff! but i feel like his tragedy has been squandered by how the writers decided to frame the story. i could go on about how rhaenyra and alicent are potrayed so blandly in this show in order to make their embarrassing gender essentialism theme going but this is about aegon so i won't go into that.

aegon reminds me so much of theon greyjoy. maybe it's just me, but in my head theon and aegon start the story in similar places. they're spoilt, vain and indulgent. then they get their "calling", for aegon it's the crown. it's the first time in his life that he has a reason to get out of bed, to actually do something good for once. also, him believing his father actually wanted him to take the crown and it hurting him when otto scoffed at him for believing it? AMAZING stuff. I love s02xe02 to bits.

because [my father] didn't like me

theon's calling is to finally get his father's approval. balon, obviously, has no fatherly affection towards him and theon kind of knows it, he still betrays the only person he ever truly loved. and what happens to theon? he loses everything, absolutely everything; he is stripped of his pride, his dignity, of his entire identity. i've never seen a character go through something theon went through.

and i see parallels to aegon here! aegon is quite literally made and broken by the weight of a crown he never wanted. his story is more tragic than theon actually; the thing that destroyed him was quite literally forced on him. it actually kills me to think about it. he rushes into rook's rest because he feels powerless; because everybody around him shows him not even one ounce of empathy. his baby is dead and no one seems to care!

and he fails; of course he does. he is BETRAYED by his own brother, the brother he thought was loyal to him. this is just such good stuff my head hurts. his arc after the fall of KL is so amazing too, i'm desperate to see him go on his adventure to dragonstone and actually grow into the type of man that can turn rhaenyra's own people against her.

now, what could've been done to make his arc better in the show? well. let's start with not making him a rapist. i cannot stress this enough. the single worst choice was to introduce him as a rapist. it's actually crazy to me. it's so easy too... just make him like theon; make him promiscuous, make him vain, make him spoilt! they should've introduce his adult version with a drunk sex scene actually. set the tone for his character from the beginning.

he is not suited for the throne; he seeks pleasures, doesn't care for his valyrian lessons (based!), he drinks all day... like, what was the POINT of making him a rapist? what was it? -> the answer is obvious.... they didn't want us sympathizing with him. they were scared of people liking the villain. why is this hbo show scared you might have people sympathizing and pitying the "villain"? are you okay? YOU HAD ONE JOB. DEAR GOD.....

so with that said; make his motivations clearer. have him scream at aemond after jaehaerys dies, change up the godawful brothel scene to actually drive the point home; he is still grieving and his way of grieving is lashing out and drinking himself half to death! focus on his alcoholism and his rashness. I actually rewrote the brothel scene here

make us understand him bettter; there are moments like the "do you love me?" or all of ep 1 and 2 of season 2, but it's too little, too late. the writers in general have such a hard time with writing characters with actual qualities. all of them are so empty and act like robots. only aegon, criston, daemon and rhaenyra (in episodes 1 and 2 at least... then we went right back to robot mode lmao) show moments of actually being a character with rich inner workings. i hate it so much.

[aroacenezhaanddainsleif]

when I played Caribert, I was pretty disappointed about the lack of impact Dain seemed to have on Kaeya, honestly. during Kaeya's hangout, he didn't mention the weird cryptic blond dude who just dropped family lore once, which I thought would have been pretty important?

but in truth, I think Dain actually had a HUGE impact on Kaeya.

we can all know that from Kaeya's personal lore and former events that Kaeya had very conflicted feelings over his duty to Khaenri'ah and his love for Mondstadt, even with his estranged relationship with Diluc (which now seems partly fixed?), but in the performance route of Kaeya's hangout, Kaeya makes his choice.

The story of Prince Qubad is a very, very thinly veiled metaphor for Khaenri'ah all throughout, and then we finally get to the end scene of the play:

Kaeya: When I departed my beloved home to fight in a foreign land, I did so to honor his (my father's) wishes and for my duty to our people. Kaeya: alas, is this fate's grand design… that I should spend the rest of my days in a foreign land, till I am laid to rest in a grave far from home? K: Must it be so…? K: my dear audience, I ask you this: do you believe in fate? if fate decreed that your life was to end in tragedy, what would you do? Traveler: I would challenge my fate, and rise above it. / I would bravely face my fate. K: then so must it be! I shall discard this intaglio, and rid myself of the shackles of fate. G: my dear prince, do you intend to betray your father, and abandon your heritage? K: fate means to send the machinations of war to every corner of the land, to fan the flames of conflict til they engulf the entire world…

K: fate would see my sword tainted with the blood of innocents, that the bright banner of my homeland might fly in every nation known to mankind. K: but I shall not bow to the will of fate. I am no pawn in heaven's plan. K: I, Kaeya Qubad, will spend the rest of my days in a foreign land, til I breathe my last in a place far from home. K: but I must walk this path, or freedom dies by my hand. goodbye, my tribe and kin. farewell, sweet land of my birth.

after a lifetime of questioning his role, Kaeya makes his choice for Mondstadt. and I think this happening after meeting Dain isn't a coincidence. (and no, not in a soulmate way or shipping way- this is Kaeya's moment of choice, not infatuation.)

after not only learning the history of his origins, Kaeya meets a Khaenri'ahn who... doesn't want to return Khaenri'ah to its glory days? who is more focused on helping others and minimizing damage than causing more for his own gain? who chose his path and has not budged since, even through loss?

Kaeya gets to see someone who is so Khaenri'ahn, so human at his core, someone who cares not for the fate and tragedy of their nation. Kaeya gets to meet someone from his homeland who tells him to leave it all behind, who tells him he should take the chance he has been given at his own life; who actively discourages the idea of Kaeya being a fated "prince" or being indebted to Khaenri'ah.

even though he never said it, I think meeting Dainsleif helped Kaeya choose his own path, which is all Dain ever truly asked of him, anyway.

good for Kaeya.

(i understand that i used "ship" tags but those are more for visibility and duo name than anything else. idm if you ship them, i just request that your tags do not turn my analysis post into a ship post, pls! :)

[domesantis]

Lotor and Keith: The Duo We Deserved

Disclaimer: it's been around 8 months since I've last watched voltron. details may be inaccurate

Sometimes I think we were robbed of what could've been an amazing friendship.

Keith's discovery of his Galran lineage and Lotor's of his Altean heritage, and their indirect parallel of upbringing, I hoped these two would form an amazing bond as they're the only people that could relate to each other in terms of ostracization due to their race. But that hope eventually dwindled down when I realized that the showrunners were definitely not planning that, and in fact, even makes Lotor a bad guy again.

At the very least, I had hoped for a heart-to-heart conversation about them being mixed race and flesh out that aspect of them more. Yet again, I was let down.

During Keith's entire life, he has been ostracized by his peers and constantly bullied for being different. It has been the fundamental characteristic of him— his preordained Galran traits— embedded into every crevice of his disposition and being unable to do anything about it. When he finds out about his Galran heritage, we finally conclude the reason, in profound realization, why he's never fit in much back in Earth. Ultimately, this would give clarity and closure to Keith about why he's the way he is, but what the showrunners overlooked is the inevitable, imminent consequence of an identity crisis.

He's too galra to be human (antisocial, rebellious, fierce and stubborn), but too human to be galra. (compassionate, warm, weaker and smaller in stature, humanly physical features)

This is his reality everyday.

I distinctly remember Sendak belittling Krolia because of her half-breed son, Keith. It went something along the lines of: "Is the Blade of Marmora so low on soldiers that they recruit a half-breed and his mommy in?" Which, most likely, amplified his identity crisis. Poor guy.

I feel as though the same case could be applied to Lotor.

Raised by only Galrans and raised to be one, his father, Zarkon, would also say that something was quite fundamentally different about him. Compared to a stereotypical, standard Galra, he seemed to be quite more compassionate and carefree as a child, showing great intellect and promise in other aspects yet lacking in the personality traits as a Galra and embracing more of his Altean characteristics.

Growing up, Lotor always believed in goodwill, altruism, and attempted to prove to Zarkon that he could successfully subjugate planets by sheer goodwill without repercussions. However, his father's constant abuse for millennia, and cruelly destroying said planet, would of course, send him to spirals and awaken his long repressed Galran characteristics: Tyrannous, vindictive, cruel and spiteful.

Both Keith and Lotor had been abandoned by their biological parents, one in a literal way, and the other, emotionally. Both of them had something just fundamentally, unutterably different about them that they couldn't quite explain, thus thwarting the standards of "what they should be".

If Keith and Lotor had formed a genuine, wholesome familial friendship to replace their absent/abusive parents, they could've established an actual safe space where they felt belonged and heard. The rest of the team may also provide an emotional connection towards them, however, nobody knows their pain more than each other. After all, they both went through similar experiences. Mixed race solidarity!

Also. I think it could've been a great way to represent mixed race people (I'm sorry. Is that how you call them? Is this offensive?). I'm not one myself, so I'm not sure, but this would've been so great to promote inclusivity and accurately represent their struggles in the actual world. This also could've been an amazing plot point for Lotor's character development and fleshing out his character more onto a much more profound and raw level. Instead, they threw it all down the drain by betraying VOLTRON then dying. Disappointed.

Also, I'll be diving deeper into Keith's identity crisis more in one of my next posts, and Lotor's tragic fate.

Get me out of this VOLTRON hellhole. The hyperfixation is too much.

[meanbossart]

Having absolutely tragic feelings over villain DU Drow because I'm thinking of how my Tav finished off Orin [divine intervention], which i went to interpret as him summoning an Avatar of his goddess to literally swallow her whole leading to her utter annihilation along with the shard of Bhaal she carried in her blood. So now I'm imagining Drow in her place and leads me to the question. Would he find the concept of utter oblivion comforting or scary?

Oh man, I mean... That's probably a better end than whatever Bhaal has planned for her so I guess that's a win 😬

In Bhaalist DU drow's case, he would be terrified of it. Not necessarily because of the concept itself, but rather because he sees himself as deserving of the punishment Bhaal has reserved once he dies - in this "canon villain Drow AU" he realizes he's gone completely off script and betrayed his father's wishes, and longs to be chastised. To be cast into oblivion and sidestep it entirely (even if not by choice) would be cowardly, and he doesn't want to be seen as a coward.

Post tadpole DU Drow would be comforted by it. He doesn't know what the afterlife holds in his case, with all the horrible things he's done and the big interrogation point of his heritage (does he still belong to Bhaal? Is he at his mercy when he perishes? Is he just going straight to the hells? No idea.)

He doesn't want to die above all else, ever, if possible. But if he must then oblivion sounds like a pretty safe option.

[hanafubukki]

*Casually strolls in again* Hello!! You called me back, and I shall deliver more! I was inspired by you (you lovely person and writer ❤️) once again for this scenario I would like to add on the previous scenario.

(Takes place during the dream of Book 7 where they are trapped in a dream. Where he finally meets Knight of Dawn and Reader)

Silver being shown the memory he keeps dreaming every time…

Finally he is able to fully discover and fully see the dreamlike memory…

He can see… himself surrounded by two people… holding him tight, loving and cherishing him… like he is their entire world…

But then the heart tendering moment gradually changes…

This time Silver is shown the women his mother now the only one in the room alongside him. The previous spot the man his father occupied is now… empty…

Reader is gently placing him down in a crib and caressing his face tenderly. Carefully covering him with blankets and making to keep him comfortable and warm. And hide him from the conflict.

Her still softly yet tearful singing to him. Tears trickling down from her eyes yet still tenderly smiling at him for the last time.

Silver reached his hand out to touch her but before he could, her figure and voice fades away…

[I’m evil. So sorry but at the same time, not sorry! Now excuse me, I shall take my leave again!*Running away again*

Until we meet again!

Ps. song I listen to this cover as well while thinking about silver again

https://youtu.be/etttoH0USGQ?si=b108AGI_8H7i7AA3]]

[continuation of these fics: A Moment in Time and In Our Embrace]

Hello Anonie 💚🌺🌸

Welcome back! I need a name for you, I’m going to call you “Silver Knight” because you leave Silver moments with Knight/Reader related scenarios.

Unless you want to pick a name for yourself of course 😂

Silver Knight Anonie, do you know the whiplash of emotions I felt? The compliment has me all gleeful and then I read the remaining ask and the heartbreak??

Why must you leave me in this despair?? 💔

If we are in that Silver moment when he falls to blot temporarily, when he believes he doesn’t deserve love, and he sees this??

Can you imagine how he feels? He feels his heritage, his bloodline, betrayed those he loves the most.

But then he sees this, his parents, and he doesn’t know how to feel. They who clearly loved him so much, who sacrificed everything for him? How could he think so negatively of them?

He doesn’t know what to do.

But then, just as Lilia called for him, he hears familiar voices.

[I’m setting a trap for you like those old cartoon for leaving me heartbroken like this Silver Knight Anonie😭, but never fear! I can add hope! I can add some fluff! 🥰😘

That cover song was so good, and she’s so pretty 💞🌸]

Summary: Love saves Silver once again.

"You don't deserve to cry!"

Silver fell to his knees, sobbing.

Why? Why?! How could he be born to this heritage? How could he betray his Father? Lord Malleus? Be the cause of their pain.

"My little love, why do you cry?"

Silver looked up in shock.

You.

It was you.

The one from his dreams.

He watched as you quickly walked towards a crib. The same cradle he had seen his father with. You picked up the babe and held him.

You rocked the baby gently, "There's no need to cry, sweetheart."

You twirl him around, squeals of laughter coming from the bundle.

"That look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam And I know it's true, that visions are seldom what they seem But if I know you"

Silver had risen to his feet.

This dream. He knows this dream. No...it was a memory.

"I know what you'll do You'll love me at once The way you did once upon a dream"

Silver watched as the Knight of Dawn joined you in your singing. The man that was once a hazy image in his dreams is now seen clearly.

The Knight of Dawn embraced his family.

You tapped the baby's nose, "See, my love? You are loved. There's no need to cry."

They...they loved me and I...

Silver clutched his chest.

I don't know. I don't know! What do I-argh!

The bright light of his ring blinded him before he was transported into another memory.

You were holding him, rocking him.

Yet, you seemed different.

Lonely.

"I will protect you From all around you I will be here Don't you cry"

You placed your precious bundle in the cradle. Tears fell from your face and yet you still smiled, making sure none touched your baby.

Silver neared you. He didn't want you to cry.

Please. Please. Don't cry.

"You'll be in my heart No matter what they say You'll be here in my heart Always"

"My little love, may you always be happy. May your eyes never cloud with sorrow. I pray they always be bright and true."

Those words!

Silver reaches for you, needing to wipe your tears as you have always surely done his.

Only for you to disappear.

No!

"Get up Silver! Do whatever it takes! Do not fall here!"

"My little love, do you not see? How loved you are."

Silver is filled with renewed determination. He would make sure everything would be right again.

"I will end this nightmare and bring my loved one’s smiles back!"

The ring lit up once again, engulfing the group in pastel colors.

"Our son."

Silver gasped, eyes widening.

It was you and him.

“You two are-”

Both smiled.

Silver fell.

Yes, I did use “once upon a dream” and “you’ll be in my heart” song.

Yes, I did use those lines that Lilia told Silver in book 7 chapter 1 about clear eyes without sorrows.

Yes, I am curled up in bed and in the feels. 💔🥺

But did I not say?! I will give some fluff! Some hope! 💚💚💗💗 and I meant it 🫶💞☺️🥹

[d-for-donatello]

Simply Him

Lucifer x Reader

chapter 1

summary: Charlie invites a succubus-human hybrid overlord from lust to help her with her project. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work, but eventually, the three of you have guests wanting to be redeemed, and Charlie's father comes to see his daughter's work. If only he knew the way he made your legs all shaky and your insides all gooey from a simple glance.

oh, how you would do anything for your king.

-------

a.n: i love lucifer with my entire being and i havent seen any fics with this concept so i did it myself

OTHER LUCIFER WRITERS, YOU HAVE MY HEART kiss kiss

cross posted on ao3

As you stood in the Pride Ring, taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling Hellish world around you, a figure approached you. At first, you paid her no mind, but as she drew closer, you couldn't help but notice her presence. With bright blond hair and fiery red eyes, she exuded an air of confidence and intensity that was impossible to ignore. It was clear that she was someone important, and as she introduced herself as Charlotte Morningstar, the daughter of Lucifer and Lillith, and the Princess of Hell, you couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

Despite her slightly nervous demeanor, Charlotte's words were kind and inviting. She spoke of redemption and a new life in heaven, promising a carefree and joyous existence that was impossible for most to resist. As she spoke, you found yourself drawn in, intrigued by the possibility of a new beginning. However, it was clear that she had mistaken you for a sinner, as you wandered the Pride Ring like you owned it. You couldn't blame her for the assumption, though - it was an easy mistake to make in such a place and one that you knew others would make in the future.

When you didn't respond to her, but instead gave her a gentle smile, she thought you were politely declining her offer to stay at her newly owned hotel as a chance for redemption.

"Sweetie, I'm not a sinner," you told her, and her face fell.

As you reflect on the conversation, you can't help but understand why she and countless others suspected you of being a dead soul. Your appearance didn't exactly scream "Hellborn", which was a common trait amongst most demons. You supposed it was because of your unique genetic makeup; a mixture of demon and human DNA. This was a result of your demon mother having a romantic encounter with a human, which led to your unconventional existence. Your physical appearance was a constant reminder of your hybrid heritage, which made you feel like an outsider in the demon world.

With excessive enthusiasm, Charlie approached you and nearly invaded your personal space while apologizing profusely. Despite this, you chuckled and calmly reassured her that there was no need to worry. Finally, she let go of your hands and stepped back, revealing a curious expression. "If you don't mind me asking," she began, "what exactly are you? You don't resemble a Hellhound, one of the Deadly Sins, or an Imp, so, colour me curious."

"I'm half succubus, half human," you exclaimed, your voice betraying a mix of pride and uncertainty. You couldn't help but notice the way the girl in front of you fidgeted with her fingers as if trying to hide her hands. You decided to help her out and stepped forward, allowing her to take in your appearance. Your hot pink skin shimmered a burgundy under the red light of Hell's sky, and two small horns protruded from your hairline. You unfurled your wings, causing the air around you to ripple, and your tail, tipped off with a heart, swayed behind you. In most ways, you looked like a normal Succubus, but your face was incredibly human-looking, with soft curves and delicate features. Charlie's eyes widened with wonder as she took in your appearance, and you couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride. After all, it wasn't every day that someone saw a hybrid such as yourself.

"But, I'd be happy to help out with your hotel. I'm pretty influential down in Lust," you said, unable to resist a little boasting. Charlie looked at you with confusion, her brows furrowed, but you introduced yourself anyway, hoping to put her at ease.

As you told her your name, she turned towards you and extended her delicate hand, her soft palm facing upwards. You placed your hand on hers and she clasped it gently, her fingers curling around yours. With a smile, she introduced herself to you in a less-than-formal manner. The warmth of her handshake and the kindness in her eyes made you feel at ease, something you hadn't felt since leaving the Ring of Lust, your home.

With that, you and Charlie embarked on a journey to the opposite side of Pentagram City. As you walked, you kept your eyes peeled for anything new that might catch your interest. However, after exploring most of one ring, you realize that there isn't much left to discover. Throughout the journey, Charlie kept rambling on about her belief that sinners could be redeemed and that many of the souls that ended up in Hell didn't deserve to be exterminated by Heaven. You listened intently, and on some level, you agreed with her perspective.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you arrived at the hotel. However, your eyes almost bugged out of your head when you saw its condition. The place was derelict, practically falling to pieces, with peeling paint, broken windows, and a general air of neglect. But to your surprise, Charlie seemed proud of it. She explained that it was meant to be a safe haven for sinners seeking redemption and that they were working hard to fix it up.

Despite its dilapidated state, you couldn't help but admire the effort and dedication that Charlie was going to put into the hotel. You realized that her work was important and that she was fighting for a cause she truly believed in. It was really rather admirable.

"It needs some work, but here it is! What do you think?" You chose to keep your mouth closed and simply gave her a thumbs up. She ushered you inside, where it looked even worse. "Okay, well, it needs a lot of work," she drawled out at last. As you both watched a large chunk of the ceiling cave in and fall, landing mere feet away from where the two of you stood, a pair of hurried footsteps were heard. Looking up, you saw another girl.

"What happened? Are you okay Charlie?" she asked hurriedly. The princess carefully stepped around the rubble in the middle of the floor and headed over to the new face.

Charlie, with a calm and reassuring tone, addressed the stranger (though really, you were the stranger), assuring her that she was alright by saying "I'm okay, Vaggie." She then proceeded to place her hands gently on Vaggie's shoulders to further emphasize her words and comfort her.

Vaggie let out a sigh of relief, thankful that Charlie hadn't been hurt, when her eyes finally landed on you. Noticing this, the princess turned back to you so that she could introduce you to each other.

"Welcome, Y/n! I'm thrilled to introduce you to my dearest friend Vaggie," Charlie exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Vaggie's shoulders in a warm embrace. Vaggie's face lit up with a bright smile as she welcomed me with open arms, allowing Charlie to cozy up to her as much as she wanted. "I'm so excited to have you on board to help us with the hotel!" Charlie's enthusiasm was palpable, and it was easy to see why. This was her dream, slowly but surely coming to fruition, and she couldn't wait to share it with anyone who would give her the time of day. As Charlie had nervously approached you earlier, she couldn't help but feel a sense of hesitation. She had been wandering around the city for hours, completely lost and with no means of navigation. Her phone battery had died, leaving her feeling vulnerable and helpless. Despite her apprehension, she took a gamble and explained her situation to you. The fact that you not only listened to her attentively but also offered to help her was a wonderful thing in her opinion. She couldn't believe that a stranger would go out of their way to assist her, especially since you didn't know her personally. Your kindness and willingness to help left a lasting impression on Charlie. She felt grateful and relieved, realizing that there were good people in Hell who were willing to lend a helping hand.

She decided to give you a brief tour, and as you followed her, she pointed out various areas of the hotel. She showed you where the kitchen was, but explained that it was still unusable due to the extensive damage it had suffered. She then walked you through each floor of the hotel, highlighting where the bathrooms were located. As she took you through the hotel, she explained that she and Vaggie had managed to reconstruct a few of the rooms. These were the rooms that she showed you in more detail, pointing out the various features that they had managed to restore. She also mentioned that they had decided to prioritize renovating these rooms first so that they could have a comfortable living space while they worked on the rest of the hotel.

Overall, the tour was informative and gave you a good sense of the state of the hotel and the progress that had been made so far.

Charlie brought you back to the lobby area, where Vaggie had patiently waited for the two of you. Charlie asked you once again about your thoughts on the hotel so far. You didn't want to sound rude, as Charlie had been kind enough to provide you with a room for your stay. However, you felt like it was important to let her know that there was a lot of work needed to be done to improve the hotel.

"Charlie, I have to say that I appreciate what you're doing here. It's admirable that you're taking on this project and trying to make something of this building." You paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to convey your concerns without sounding too critical. "That being said, I think it's important to acknowledge that it's going to take a lot of work to make this presentable. It's not just a matter of cleaning up or organizing things. There are structural issues that need to be addressed, and the building itself needs some serious TLC."

Charlie's shoulders slumped a little as you spoke, and you regretted your choice of words. You could see that she was already feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand, and you didn't want to discourage her further. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I don't mean to sound discouraging. I just want to be honest with you about what needs to be done. But I have faith in you. I know that with some elbow grease and determination, we can make this place shine."

Charlie nodded, grateful for your encouragement. She knew that the project was going to be a lot of hard work, but she was determined to see it through. Hearing someone else acknowledge the challenges only reinforced her resolve.

She had always been known for her unwavering determination, a trait she inherited from her mother. However, it was her father's innate sense of creativity that set her apart. With the perfect blend of both qualities and with your and Vaggie's help, she was absolutely certain that the three of you could turn this place into a breathtaking masterpiece that would leave everyone in awe.

"Would you like to go and get your things?" Charlie asked after a few moments. It took you a second to figure out what she meant, but then it hit you that she had kindly offered you a room in the hotel while you worked there. You had accepted her generous offer. On the way to the hotel only an hour ago, Charlie had asked you a bit about yourself and decided that, once the building looked a little nicer, you would be responsible for advertising Charlie, the hotel, and her concept.

As she posed her question, you nodded in response. The three of you then left the hotel and began to make your way to your small apartment, which you had managed to pay for by doing odd jobs for your favourite of all the Seven Deadly Sins. Throughout the journey, Vaggie remained silent, while Charlie's curiosity got the better of her, and she began to ask you questions one after the other. You listened to each of her queries carefully and answered them diligently. Throughout the conversation, they discovered that you were nearly a millennium old and that your father was an 11th-century sailor whom your mother had intensely loved. You also revealed that you occasionally worked for Asmodeus by singing for the patrons in his club, Ozzie's. Furthermore, you mentioned that your best friend was an Imp from Pride who also worked for Ozzie in Lust. As soon as you stepped into your apartment, you were amazed to see Charlie opening a portal that led directly into one of the refurbished rooms. You couldn't believe your eyes. Your first priority was your bedroom. You started by sorting through your closet and drawers, making sure everything was in order. You placed all of your clothes, trinkets, and everything else on the bed, which was just on the other side of the portal. You were careful not to forget anything and made sure to pick up your laptop and any necessary cords before moving on to the bathroom. You handed over all of your products to Vaggie, and then quickly sorted through your linen closet. You selected your favorite towels and bed sheets and handed them to Charlie. You then sauntered into the living room and kitchen, taking in the surroundings, and instructed the two girls to carefully carry your TV through the portal. You sorted through the appliances in the kitchen, picking out the ones you thought would be more useful in the hotel's kitchen.

Once you were satisfied that you had everything you would need while living at the hotel, Charlie ushered you and Vaggie through the portal. As you walked through, you couldn't believe how seamless the transition was. Charlie closed the portal behind the three of you, and you were left in awe.

As the two girls prepared to depart, you instructed them to take the kitchen utensils and find a secure location to store them. They gathered everything they could carry, leaving you to tend to the task of organizing your belongings.

You carefully hung your dresses and other easily wrinkled articles in the closet, ensuring that they would remain in pristine condition. The remaining items were thoughtfully placed in the drawers located near the door frame of your personal bathroom. Your electronic devices and cords were meticulously arranged on the desk under the window, with your TV carefully positioned on top of the nearby chest of drawers. The bathroom products you rely on every day were neatly stored on the counter by the sink, waiting for you to add some shelves to organize your arsenal. Finally, you placed your linens under the bed, keeping them safely out of sight until you could find a more permanent storage solution.

As you finished your work, you looked out the window and noticed that the sun had already set. You could no longer hear Charlie's loud voice permeate through your door, which was a relief. Not that you particularly minded her noise, but it was nice to have some peace and quiet.

You and your mother both worked for Asmodeus, and she had been a server at Ozzie's for longer than you could remember. You had grown up in the restaurant, and it had become a second home to you. However, the constant loud music that was often played did a number on both her hearing and yours, so you were no stranger to loud noises.

You carefully sifted through your drawers, looking for the perfect nightgown to wear. After a few minutes, you found a beautiful, lacy one that caught your eye. You slipped it on and felt the soft fabric against your skin, instantly feeling more comfortable in your new surroundings. As you settled into the bed, you reached for your phone and placed it on the nightstand beside your head, making sure it was charging and within reach.

The bed felt wonderfully comfortable, and the pillows cradled your head and neck just right. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the tension of the day slowly melting away. The room was quiet and peaceful, and you could hear nothing but the gentle hum of the air conditioning.

Finally, you drifted off to sleep, feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Tomorrow, you would start your work restoring the hotel, but for now, you allowed yourself to relax and recharge.

You had yet to realize just how much your life had improved.

[littlemisstfc]

How The Bayverse Failed Optimus Prime

Hello, hola, こんにちは。

Welp, it’s been eighty four years since I have written a Transformers essay for Tumblr, huh? I do deeply apologize for my months-long hiatus on this funky T app. I was busy being a gaslighting, gatekeeping girlboss in the wilds of the bird app and that funny video app I think the kids call Taki Taki. Huh. What an odd name for an app. 🧐

Wait, what am I talking about? Wait, I remember. Anyways…

Oh, sweet little Bayverse, my dear archnemesis. Everyone and their mothers have the universal opinion of all opinions: the Bayverse is fundamentally flawed. Even if you hold nostalgic opinions about this franchise, by all means more power to you, you cannot deny that it’s a film series that is basically an 12 year old edgelord’s wet dream. Loud, obnoxious, filled with every horrible stereotype of the human race imaginable (from women to people of color to people with common sense), and lacks an understanding of what made Transformers special. If this movie was a person, it would call me a slur. 😭 But that’s a discussion for another day, and I’ve already made a video about the misogyny of the Bayverse if you’re curious. Check that out in your spare time! 👍🏽

In a nutshell, the Bayverse movies are not good, and there’s no better representation of why the movies lack a basic understanding of the franchise it was adapted from than a character that is essentially a childhood icon for many people:

Optimus Prime.

Everyone and their mothers hold a universal opinion that is sadly present: this man is a maniac who basically says, “GIVE ME YOUR HEAD.” However, Imma about to say something that not only caused a flame war when I brought it up a while back on Twitter, but reflects how the portrayal of Optimus in the movies is flawed in insidious ways:

Optimus is the victim of bad character writing as well as the lack of understanding his core personality. Thus, as a result, this resulted in the, “Bayverse Optimus is a psycho phenomenon” that demonized his visible mental health issues. He was a traumatized individual affected by the tragedies he had to endure throughout his entire life, and the movies did not do his hidden character arc justice. Come along with me on this journey of understanding Bayverse Optimus as a person, not as a demonic caricature that is unfortunately common in the fandom.

3, 2, 1, PINGU.

A Tale of a Bot: The Long Road to A Broken Mind

Optimus’ current personality and outlook on life in general is a result of having a life filled with betrayals and tragedy. Having been orphaned at a young age after the Fallen has killed off the lineage of the Primes, he was taken in by Sentinel Prime as a pupil. Having worked with other Autobots in revitalizing Cybertron into a hospitable world, he was selected by Sentinel to lead the Autobots. At the same time, his true heritage was revealed. However, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibilities of his prestigious family history, Optimus turned down Sentinel’s offer. He accepted the responsibility of co-leading Cybertron with his childhood ish friend Megatron, as he is the fair to the latter’s firmness. However, throughout their rule, they clashed multiple times over multiple scenarios such as the arrival of enemy invaders and the discovery of a relic. This was mostly fueled by Megatron’s own resentment and jealousy towards his co leader due to Optimus’ Prime heritage. The boiling point that exploded into war was Megatron and his followers ambushing Prime and his companions while on a trip to Metrotitan. Thus, along with the apparent death of Sentinel through the latter’s ship being shot by Starscream, this drives Optimus in adopting a rage induced mindset towards Megatron. The one he grew up, the one he confided in, the one that he adored so much, the one who has betrayed his trust all for a vain and arrogant quest for the ultimate power. It lays the framework for Optimus’ jaded, yet hopeful outlook on life, something that the movies at least did a job in conveying. It’s also helped by Peter Cullen giving it his all as usual in conveying his sadness buried underneath his stoic demeanor. Thus, along with a few more shenanigans in the comics, this is where the first two movies started.

I appreciate the comics existing, because they took the time to actually develop Optimus’ personality and his mental state as seen in the film series. We see him as a hopeful, naive bot who hopes that one day, Megatron can change his mind and Cybertron will be alive once again. Unfortunately…the one predictable aspect of life is its unpredictability, and god dammit…it reared its ugly head as all hell breaks loose after a certain old bot returned in Dark of The Moon. Dark of The Moon is the true outlier among a sea of mediocrity and awfulness, for the best element it got right: how Sentinel’s betrayal deeply affected Optimus in the long run. This is someone who raised him when he had nothing, someone he deeply loves as a father, someone he trusted whole heartedly. And how does Sentinel repays Optimus’ loyalty and adoration for him in DOTM? Tricking him and the others into leading him to the Allspark, since UH OH he is a Decepticon spy all along, killed the Hit Me With Everything You Got robot, helping Megatron invade Chicago, and planting Seeds in order to revive Cybertron by killing Earth. Optimus saw his mentor going down a path similar to Megatron, which essentially broke his idealistic viewpoint into devastating shards that could never be put together again. I find his confrontation with Sentinel after defeating him in battle very compelling, because you could feel the heartbreak, the anger, and…the disappointment that his mentor is not the the man that he loved as a father. It was Sentinel’s choice to go to the Dark Side, it was Sentinel’s bed to lie on,

Sure, the day was eventually saved in the end. However, everything that Optimus knew and all the people he loved is gone officially. He got his main band of amigos, that’s good. However…he is basically alone in dealing with his thoughts. The universe is a cruel mistress, and it keeps putting our Flamin Hot Cheetos boyo through the ringer.

We get to Age of Extinction, years after the Battle of Chicago. Now on the run thanks to the American government being the American government, he has no one. His friends are also in hiding, Autobots are fugitives in the planet they sought refuge in, and humans are willing to turn him into the authorities. This drives his mental state into something even worse as it is, as years of trauma and stress has finally caught up to him. Like, dude legit needs some weed to soothe his nerves and it is HAUNTING. Reduced to a broken, traumatized man in the safety of a barn, he is left with major trust issues. However, one day, a kind human by the name of Cade Yeagar did the unthinkable: he didn’t turn in Optimus to the authorities. Instead, he chose to repair our Flamin Hot King out of the kindness of his heart once he realizes that Optimus is no ordinary car. Even with the pressures of his family’s financial situation, Cade still chose to help Prime. This is the first step to breaking the first wall of Optimus’ mental state: his trust issues. For a movie infamous for being one of the worst movies in Transformers history, it does a surprisingly excellent job in portraying Optimus’ and Cade’s relationship in a natural progression. They’re both bird of a feather; they’re both tired fathers raising a rebellious teenager while also trying to make it in this crazy ass world. Thus, with Cade still helping him even when his life is in danger multiple times, Optimsu learns to open up to other people for the first time in probably centuries. He reconnects with his teammates, he begins to regain his faith in humanity and the universe, and he opens his spark again to love. By the end of the movie, Cade became the person that Megatron and Sentinel had failed to be, someone who is actually similar to Optimus’ other close friend Elita One. 

Soon, The Last Knight arrived and things got worse for him. Subjected to brutal torture at the hands of Quintessa, who tried to force him to love her as a mother, he reached the breaking point of his sanity. An empty shell of his former self, a representation of everything that he went through, the painful reminder how he felt about himself for so long…true, he was rescued by Cade and regained his grip on sanity in order to save the day. However, it means that he’ll have to carry the scars of the single most traumatic moment of his life so far… honestly, say what you want about The Last Knight. However, through this one hidden gem underneath a pile of mediocrity, lies a character that suffered for so long to find the love and happiness he desperately wanted, that suffered for the liberation of his people, that suffered because his lineage ensures that he couldn’t find happiness possibly for a long time…

But an Autobot has no tears, and therefore he suffers so much more.

So, riddle me this, dear TORB Nation: how does the movie portray a genuinely compelling character arc that reveals another side to Optimus Prime?

BLOWING UP SHIT AND BODIES BODIES BODIES ON THE MOTHERFUCKING FLOOR, AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The movies not only twisted such a character arc into simply nothing more than, “Optimus angy,” but it’s genuinely disgusting that his visible mental issues was thrown under the bus because heaven forbid, we have an emotionally complex protagonist. They don’t understand who Optimus Prime is. Optimus Prime is someone who pushes through his sorrows and chooses to remain a kind person in spite of said trauma. However, the movies twisted his character into another angry badass robot, never highlighting his kindness, It only highlighted his sadness. I cannot believe that Imma about make this comparison (mostly because one of these outcomes is arguably better than Bayverse in all ways), but fuck it. I need to say it:

EVEN MOTHERFUCKING TRANSFORMERS PRIME KNEW TO SHOWCASE THIS VULNERABLE SIDE OF OPTIMUS THAN THE BAYVERSE EVER DID.

Like, TFP Optimus is a pretty brick with no personality trait other than Badass Stoic Optimus that plagued the 2010s. Still, still, still, it made sure to highlight his vulnerability in a respectful and careful manner. Said respectful and caring manner is barely there except for hidden bits from time to time due to the lame ass, “Primes don’t party” logic and moments that personally grind my gears, but that’s a story for another day.

Anyways, my point is that Michael Bay would rather focus on style than substance when he’s not busy terrorizing women. Even if you’re an apologist for him, it resulted in the movies being broken for better or for worse. Mostly worst. Because of the movies being broken, it continues to do an even worse job in The Last Knight, as it focuses on the same stupid shit as usual and throws Optimus under the bus as usual. He isn’t given time to breathe, time to fully flesh out his personality and state of mind in a caring and graceful manner. Like…this honestly upsets me just as much as the disgusting elements of the Bayverse as a whole.

This Optimus Prime is someone who was me when I reached my breaking point in the lowest moments of my life. I understood where he was coming from, I understood his pain and anger because of all the heavy shit he went through. For a long time, he has a special place in my heart as I got older because he represents who I was in a time of my life where I was just as vulnerable and broken as him. So, don’t ya’ll (especially those on Twitter) ever fucking say he is a psycho because to me, that shows the ugly side of your personality. He was me, he was a character that came in a point in my life that helped me through difficulties in my life. He is a character that has the most bastardization of any character I adore in fiction, because of the insidious nature of the movies he was in for a decade. 

Bayverse Optimus Prime is more than the “GIVE ME YOUR FACE” guy. He is a character with hidden LAYERS that is done dirty by the Bayverse movies. I will continue to repeat this statement: He is more than, “GIVE ME YOUR FACE.” 

Conclusion: Why Are Y'all Booing Me? I have a third eye.

I have to put up with this “Bayverse Optimus is a psycho” bullshit for YEARS, I deserve to be a feral gremlin DAMMIT. After a long time of seeing one of my favorite iterations of Optimus Prime be reduced as a funny murder guy by the non Tumblr fandom, because of the Bayverse movies bastardizing his character, I have to put my foot down. If y’all can’t see my viewpoint, that’s fine. However, I’ll continue to be a passionate fan of this Optimus Prime and gatekeep him from the fans who demonize my boyo into nothing but a caricature. He is the big titty goddess in this household with so much more going for him. I’ll never stop to be his ace attorney for as long as I live, because he was someone who was me. Someone who opened the doors to introducing me to one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. He was the light in my darkest hour…

Anyways, good night Tri State Area. Pingu.

[rise-my-angel]

re: the bastardphobia post.

It’s such a stupid discourse too, when Jace, Luke and Joff are (rightfully imo) pointed out as bastards it’s gReEn PrOpOgAnDa and bAsTaRdPhObIa and yet their rebuttal is always half a billion pathetic arguments to try and claim they’re not. Most of them are also nasty to Addam and Nettles for betraying tRuE KwEEn Rhaenyra and being bastards. I think it’s fairly easy to say that the bastardphobia allegations are coming from inside the house.

Their arguments are entirely contradicting. It's wrong for Alicent's side of the family to use them being bastards to bolster their claims as it is wrong for fans to agree. But they also consistently demand that any argument that they are bastards is wrong.

Either some argument that because of some grandparent's hair colour being dark, that means its reasonable for the boys to turn out with dark hair. When that is not how that works at all. With hair colour specifically, it's mostly luck and chance that Alicent's kids all had silver hair. But if Jace, Luke, and Joffery are all Leanors children, then they would have had silver hair too. The in universe characters don't know this kind of science though, which is why the kingdoms all thought it was entierly plausable that all of Roberts children inherited Cersei's blonde hair, when in reality in most cases, natural blondes are only born to 2 blonde parents because its a recessive gene. On first glance no one notices, until someone points out that the children don't look at all like one parent then suddenly everyone else realizes it too.

Also, it's possible one child may be born that inherits an older ancestors dark hair, but not all three of them. That is literally the same unlikely scenario as Robert's children all being blondes when literally every single other Baratheon has dark hair. (Literally Gendry describes his mother as having yellow hair). If those boys were Laenor, they would look even the slightest bit similar to him, but they do not.

The second argument is Laenor accepted them as his own, which means they are not bastards. Which....literally no. First of all, he does express an exhaustion of playing this lie for Rhaenyras sake for so many years. Secondly, that is not how legitimization works.

Bastards getting true names is a process. One which needs to go through public, legal documentation through the King in which actual written declarations are provided. Rhaenyra would have had to admit to Viserys they are bastards and demand legitimization, and then also beg for him to keep that a secret to play the lie off as if they always were. If Catelyn had been a mother to Jon, that doesn't automatically mean he is a legitimate Stark. Ned still would've had to go to Robert and request it.

But the thing is, both of these arguments contradict their point. They would argue instead that Rhaenyra should have pushed for their rights as bastards regardless. To force change to make the system less oppressive to them in general, but she didn't. She lies to suit her own image and threatened her mutilated brother with torture for saying what around the court, is more known as common gossip.

They don't care about bastards outside of Targaryeans. These are the same people insisting that Jon Snow recognize his Targaryean heritage and align himself completely as one. They do not care about him as Jon Snow, they want him to be a Targaryean. They belittle characters like Nettles because her status as as a bastard cannot be looped around to making her a true Targaryean.

They only care about the discussion of bastards enough to morally grandstand about how people discuss them within the Targaryean family. Other bastards that cannot be a tool for their pro Targaryean agenda, do not matter. They do not actually care about it.

But because we use the in universe logic to discuss their in universe legal rights and lack of privlages as argument for a complicated legal debacle, they say its bastard phobic. We don't not support them for being bastards, we are explaining why IN UNIVERSE they would not have the rights to the things Rhaenyra is pushing for.

In universe characters too are not in the wrong for using their status as bastards as why they support the other side. They are well within their right to support the strict legal system which the Targaryeans themselves implimented.

We the audience know theres nothing wrong with being a bastard, but we are not supposed to use that to judge the story with our own moral compass. The point of a character like Jon Snow isn't to condemn others for their views of him as a Snow, its so we understand that bastards are normal people who should not be villanized on sight. It's meant to tell us that we shouldn't judge bastards the way other characters will but it is not to condemn the system people have grown up and and thus think are normal.

But these people make excuses to say why they aren't bastards while also getting mad at us for calling them bastards. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. These people don't care about bastards outside of the discussion of the Targaryean family.

It's both a total hypocrisy and a total lack of nuance.

[cutegirl920]

So, I redesigned the main villain from Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Spoilers under the cut!

When Garraka first appeared on the screen, his entire body was covered in darkness and alongside the glowing blue eyes, I found his design intimidating and interesting. Unfortunately, he didn't stay in shadows for long as his true form is rather generic and lacks the cool (no pun intended) factor of his first appearance.

Thus, I set out to redesign him to regain that menacing shadowy appearance.

Design Notes

As you can tell, his body is made up entirely of darkness. His claws and the tips of his horns are covered in ice so they can add more contrast in the design (the base of the horns are also differently colored to have more variety in the color scheme and to indicate that they are removable) and to convey his ice powers.

I changed the horns up and added another pair to make for a more dynamic silhouette (OG's horns aren't that bad but they could be improved on IMO). I took inspiration from Fate/Grand Order's portrayal of the Babylonian goddess, Tiamat, and the Bull Headed Lyre of Ur for the horns' design.

He has no mouth so he doesn't do his ice breath; he does his ice bending with his hands.

His shadow body represents the rage and hatred that makes up Garraka. The horns only appear that way when they're attached to his head and when they removed, they are no longer covered in shadows.

Also, I came up with some lore for my redesigned Garraka. It's more of a reworking of his original lore with actual Sumerian mythology thrown in (TW for violence and death):

The son of Nergal, god of Death and king of the Underworld (Kur), and one of his wives, Mamitu, whose name amongst other things means frost, Garraka proved to be a powerful deity in his own right. Thanks to his divine heritage, Garraka is able to command spirits with his words and not even the most powerful ghostly beings could defy him. He also possessed the Death Chill, capable of inducing true fear in his opponents that freezes them alive. Yet, he is much weakened if his horns, a symbol of his heritage, were to be removed. Garraka was content to spend his eternal life in his native Kur but he willingly left Kur whenever he was summoned. One such summoning was from a king who wanted Garraka's help in conquering East and Center Asia. Garraka obliged, mercilessly freezing over nations. The King witnessed Garraka's power and began fearing him. Once he established his kingdom, the King came up with a plan. He planned a festival in Garraka's honor as a way of thanking him and Garraka showed up. While Garraka was distracted eating the meals offered to him, the King brought his strongest warriors and with some rope that they tied around his horns, they ripped them off his head.

Pained and weakened, Garraka realized that he was betrayed. Even without the horns, he was still strong, and he was upset that he was betrayed; betrayed by mortals none the less! A species far inferior than him yet had the sheer audacity to deceive a god and attempt to strip him of his power. Filled with rage, darkness consumed his body and he killed every single mortal attending the festival, including the King, and set out to bring upon the next Ice Age, freezing the entire Earth and wiping humanity out.

The god of fire, Gibil, caught wind of Garraka's plans. Naturally, fire won't thrive in a world of ice, so he sought out a way to stop Garraka. He blessed his followers with the gift to command flames with their finger tips and ordered them to stop Garraka. His followers would become known as the Firemasters, precursors to the Ghostbusters, and they successfully thrawted Garraka, using fire and brass to combat his deathly ice and trapping him within a special orb designed by Gibil. The Firemasters and their descendants then dedicated their lives to protecting the orb so Garraka will never escape whilst dealing with other spirits. As millennia past, they began dying out and by the modern day, a modern descendant, unaware of his heritage, found the orb containing Garraka and not knowing any better, he sells it to a retired Ghostbuster's supernatural oddities store. Little did he know that he was contributing to Garraka's freedom...

[wisebeth]

LISTEN. im not a big fan of love triangles, mostly because they're usually pointless or there to stir up unnecessary drama but i will admit i genuinely liked the rachel-percy-annabeth love triangle.

but i personally think the rachel-annabeth represented something deeper than just two girls who like the main character. rachel and annabeth both symbolised two different aspects of percy's life. while annabeth represented his demigod life and godly heritage, rachel represented his mortal upbringing. percy is a bridge between these two worlds, while he is a demigod and it'll forever be a part of him, he also grew up as a mortal child and being a mortal gives him a sense of normalcy, and choosing one over the other is percy choosing which life he chose to identity himself with.

annabeth chase links him to his godly heritage

percy met annabeth and the whole chb when he was struggling as a mortal kid, he felt like an outcast in school, his stepdad was a shitty man, and then ultimately he lost his mom. his experience in the mortal world was not good at all. in fact the only thing which happened to him that time was becoming grover's friend, who once again, was a part of the demigod life.

finding chb was a blessing to him. he met kids who are just like him. he made friends who genuinely care for him. he found the love of his life there. he found a way to get rid of smelly gabe and get his mother back. he met his dad. the start of percy and sally's better life started after percy learned his demigod heritage. it gave him a second place to call home.

and annabeth was a part of all of it. annabeth was a demigod. she associates herself with the demigod world. she is proud of it. she was one of percy's first friends. she was also one of the major reasons why chb felt home to percy. she was an important of his whole demigod journey. she fought by his side. they risked their life for each other. they understood and felt home to each other. they were for each other at their lowest points and even happiest points.

“See, Annabeth wants to be an architect when she grows up, so she’s always visiting famous monuments and stuff. She’s weird that way. She’d e-mailed me the picture after spring break, and every once in a while I’d look at it just to remind myself she was real and Camp Half-Blood hadn’t just been my imagination.”

– percy jackson and the sea of monsters

rachel dare reminds him of his mortal upbringing

while chb gave him another home and true friends, being a demigod also had its cons, such as he constantly has to be on guard and watch out for monster attacks. his life is far from normal and stress-free, he rarely gets time to act like a teenager. on top of that, he has to watch his friends die, get betrayed by someone he looked upto and now there's a war coming up. no child deserves to go through that.

percy needed a break and a sense of normalcy, and that normalcy in this case was the life he could lead as a mortal. no monster attacks. no war. which means no stress and no further trauma. he can be a teenager for once. living his life as a normal highschool student is far better than this.

rachel was a mortal, and like percy she grew up as a mortal. she wasn't connected or involved to any of the demigod stuff. she was just percy's mortal friend who helped him when he needed. percy spent his entire summer right before the war with her. away from chb. because she provided him that normalcy at a time of war. she provided him the temporary break he needed.

“We'd spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn't exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag.”

– percy jackson and the last olympian

It's not a coincidence rick used similar words to describe how annabeth and rachel made him feel

percy ending up with annabeth also signifies how he ultimately chose his demigod life.

while rachel provided him a break from all this stress, and he enjoyed her company, his feelings and connection with annabeth was too deep for him to suddenly go out with rachel just because he and annabeth had a fight. even if he tried to go out with rachel instead, he wouldn't have been happy with her.

just like how the mortal world could give him a temporary normalcy, he could never truly escape from his demigod life. it will forever be a part of him. even with all its flaws and cons, camp half blood was his home and the only place he feels understood. he can never turn his back on it, even if he tried, he would fail.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Character personality fun :)

Because I just wanted to lol. I might do this for other characters I play with, but we're starting with Imprisoning War blorbos: Hero of Power, Hemisi, and Zelda the Sacred Diplomat

When under stress... - Link retreats into himself, usually. He's very sensitive and private, and he's used to taking care of himself. He doesn't offload on others, and he doesn't express himself. Eventually, if it isn't addressed, he just self implodes. - Hemisi lashes outward, looking for outlets for her stress. Typically it's through anger and aggression, whether it's channeled productively or not. - Zelda writes it down. She's always had a diary, and she considers it her closest companion as she'd been mostly isolated her entire childhood. She tends to cry a fair amount as well, but almost always when she's alone (Impa is the only one she'll cry in front of). She's not really used to being vulnerable in front of others, and when she becomes queen she can't afford to be.

Trust issues? - Link doesn't trust easily after the start of the war. Before that, he trusted very easily, but once Hemisi betrayed him and Ganondorf stole the Triforce of Power, he's far more hesitant. He trusts almost no one after marrying Zelda. - Hemisi trusted her family implicitly until everything fell apart. After, she ties to find others she can trust, it just takes her time to warm up to them. She never entirely trusts anyone aside from Link, though. Some fellow Gerudo do come close - she'll trust them with important information, with some concerns about her people, but she never trusts anyone with her own issues and insecurities. - Zelda trusts literally no one. The closest is Impa, who over the years manages to develop enough of a bond with Zelda that she can be vulnerable with her, but Zelda never tells Impa all her plans. Half the time she genuinely just doesn't think to, but as she plays the political game longer, she just learns to keep her plans to herself. It tends to make her manipulative, though, as she'll just make orders and give no explanation and expect everyone to obey, or she'll find ways to trick people into doing what she wants or needs.

Something they genuinely enjoy: - Link loves music. He loves listening to it, he loves dancing to it, he loves the history and story behind it. He loves stories as well. He tried to learn as much about Gerudo music and dance while he was dating Hemisi. He treasures his Sheikah heritage through its songs and dances, and he knows many Hylian folk songs as well. - Hemisi loves thrill seeking. Adventure, exploration, jumping off a cliff with a paraglider, anything that gets her blood going is what she wants to do the most. - Zelda loves reading. Books were her only escape from her childhood imprisonment, her only view of the world outside the castle until she was a teenager. She still treasures all of her childhood books and, as queen, she loves hearing stories of Hyrule, whether it's folktales, current affairs, or history.

People don't usually expect this of them, but... - Link, despite his quiet nature and seeming gentle and placating demeanor, has a lot of anger and hurt in him. He doesn't know how to reconcile a lot of things in his life, and it festers in him. Hemisi helped him find healthy outlets for it through mischief and adventure, and he always caught others off guard when he broke the rules with her, as he was always a duty-bound and obedient young man. When he became king, unresolved stress/trauma from the war and his current situation made this develop into something far more dangerous. The good, peace loving, dutiful Hero that the nobles thought he was could turn into a terrifying killer if need be, as demonstrated when someone tried to attack Zelda and Link killed him, leaving his body in the throne room for the nobles to find in the morning as a warning. - Hemisi can be blunt and has a strong personality, and as a princess, she's used to getting what she wants. Nevertheless, she's surprisingly empathetic and understanding, and as she grows--and through spending time with Link--she learns patience in conjunction with this, making her an excellent ruler. She used to let her passions and temper rule her, but after seeing what it did to her father, Hemisi tried to make herself far more restrained. While she is still quick to annoy or have a sharp tongue, and is considered far less formal, she tries very hard to be selfless and diplomatic, looking at Link as an example. - Zelda was always known for being silent as a child, and everyone had assumed it was due to having a shy disposition, or perhaps being sickly. In reality, it was because her father wanted her seen but not heard, desperate for the validation that having a daughter in the royal family provided while also not wanting said daughter to take his power from him. Zelda is not all that shy, and is in fact quite forward and commanding. And when she takes the throne, the people of Hyrule and history view her as a saint, calling her the Sacred Diplomat for all the work she did to restore and unify the land. Everyone thought she was gentle, nurturing, a mother to all the people. While Zelda very much adores her people and views Hyrule as her own to care for and help, she is cutthroat and manipulative when need be and is not sorry for it. She spent her childhood being told she was an idiot, so she is very sensitive to others trying to give her advice; while she recognizes she doesn't know everything, she also does not wanted to be treated like a fool, and can sometimes be defensive as a result.