#and its like. we share a warriors bond. the only thing i know about you is that your ip address is in china

[gender-trash]

im so easily entertained by watching torrents download. hrngh... numbers........

[aspoonofsugar]

do you think the song out for love says something about Camilla and veggie and to veggies character arc

Hi!

Yes, it does. I want to talk about Vaggie in other metas too, so in this analysis I will focus on her relationship with Carmilla, since this is what you are mainly asking about.

Before I start, though, I am gonna link to you this meta by @hamliet, where she talks about the main message of the song:

You're gonna fight without gloves And when that push comes to shove Yeah, you just might rise above Long as you're out for love

If you love, you might rise above. So Vaggie, a fallen angel, regrows her wings by choosing love and protection over hate and revenge. The meaning is crystal clear. Love makes you worthy of Heaven. Just like in the finale Pentious ascends thanks to his selfless sacrifice.

This is the meaning of the song when it comes to theme and to the series as a whole.

At the same time it is not by chance this theme comes out so strongly in relation to Carmilla and Vaggie, as they are both tied to "love".

FAMILIAL LOVE AND ROMANTIC LOVE

Carmilla Carmine: So I, I'll be your keeper Do whatever it takes, I'll make the mistakes I'll keep you safe and keep this secret

Vaggie: So I, I'll be your armor Do whatever it takes, I'll make the mistakes I'll spend my life being your partner

Carmilla and Vaggie are set up as foils in episode 3, when they share the song Whatever It Takes. This ballad is a love song, but Carmilla and Vaggie express two different kinds of love:

Carmilla is singing to her daughters (familial)

Vaggie is singing to Charlie (romantic)

This is a pattern throughout the show:

There are two versions of More Than Anything - the first one is about a familial bond, whereas the second explores a romantic relationship

Sir Pentious gets redeemed after expressing his feelings for Cherri (romantic) and sacrificing himself for the Hotel Crew (familial)

So, Hazbin Hotel goes out of its way to celebrate all kinds of positive bonds: platonic, romantic, familial. All of these relationships are enriching and help people grow. Vaggie and Carmilla are two characters linked to this very concept, as they are ready to fight and suffer for their loved ones:

Both: Whatever we go through I know I~ (Carmilla: I'll be your keeper) (Vaggie: I'll be your armor) Whatever it takes (Carmilla: I'll make the mistakes) (Vaggie: I'll make the mistakes) Whatever it takes

They are both warriors, but fight for love. They are out for love. However, Whatever It Takes also highlights a major difference between them.

TRUST AND SELF-EXPRESSION

Scrambled Eggs is an episode about trust. This is true especially for Carmilla and Vaggie, who have opposite secrets:

Carmilla killed an angel

Vaggie is an angel

Throughout the song the conflict between Heaven and Hell is mentioned by Carmilla and is present in subtext in Vaggie's stanza, as she looks at her old home.

Both are struggling under the pressure of these truths and are confronted by a loved one:

Zestial: Carmilla, what troubles thou? Losing thy composure is unlike thee. Carmilla Carmine: It's nothing, Zestial, really.

Charlie: Vaggie, don't say that! You do so much! It's- Vaggie: I'm sorry. I'd… I'd like to be alone for a minute.

Carmilla chooses to open up to Zestial and tells her daughters how much she loves them. Vaggie instead closes herself off and refuses Charlie's attempt to talk. She is singing to Charlie, but Charlie herself isn't present to hear her out. Even when it comes to their respective secrets...

Carmilla says hers in the song:

Carmilla Carmine: I always thought that I would keep blood off my face But when that thing attacked, I had to act To cross that line and keep them safe But if anyone knew, then all of Hell would rise to war And who's to say who'd survive the fray? I might lose the ones that I was killing for

Vaggie only alludes to hers in the lyrics:

Vaggie: When I saw your face You made me feel like a stranger in a brand new place And it felt so good to be understood But there's so much I wished that I could say

Vaggie meets Charlie and feels like a stranger in a brand new place because at the time she is in fact a stranger in a brand new place:

So, Carmilla is able to express herself, while Vaggie can't. This isn't surprising, as Vaggie is basically a child-soldier:

Adam: Do you really think I wouldn't recognize one of my top girls just cuz you're out of uniform? You were on the front lines, I wouldn't forget a bad bitch like you. It's why I named you after the best thing ever. Vaggie.

She is brought up in Adam's army and is taught that love is conditional. She is one of Adam's best fighters, but the moment she makes a "mistake", she is discarded:

Lute: Sinful filth like you has no place in heaven.

This is why she feels Charlie will love her only if she is useful and never messes up:

Vaggie: I'm supposed to make your dreams a reality. I'm supposed to protect you. I'm supposed to never fail you. (...) If I can't help you, what's the point of me?

This fear of abandonement and rejection is also at the root of Vaggie's inability to tell Charlie about her past:

Adam: I guess I'll just tell little miss butterflies and rainbows that she's been fucking someone who's killed-- thousands of her people. I'm sure your relationship will be fine.

Still, despite her communication issues, Vaggie's heart is in the right place:

Rosie: If there's anything I've learned, it's that words are cheap, but actions, they speak the truth. So, what have her actions said?

Vaggie is a person of few words. This may be why she has less songs than other characters. Still, she lets her actions speak, so she is given a ballet lesson by a very talented ballerina:

DANCING THROUGH LIFE

Carmilla has a ballet motif, as her outfit resembles that of a ballerina and her two daughters are called after protagonists of famous ballets. So, it is only natural that she teaches Vaggie a new way to fight through dancing.

Vaggie was taught to fight with hate and anger. So, her fighting style is aggressive and focused on attack:

Carmilla: You leave yourself open with every swing. You fight like someone unafraid of harm, and this is what you'll take advantage of. Angels wield no shields, little armor and fight with reckless abandon.

Carmilla tells her she should instead dedicate herself to love, protection and defense:

Fuel yourself with the fear of losin' That somebody who's your reason to live Harnеss your heart and you can't help choosin' To fight with all you can give

Vaggie shouldn't just fight. She should dance:

She shouldn't hate:

I see you're driven by your detestation Your every step is stoked with animus You need a different type of motivation Or there's no way that you can handle this

She should love:

Out for love~ Love~ Think of who you care about Protect them and be out For love~ Love~

Vaggie listens to these teachings and applies them in the finale, in two ways.

She sings her love for Charlie in More Than Anything Reprise:

Vaggie: You've already done so much So many lives you've changed So many souls you've touched And in the end, if it's only me you've saved Charlie and Vaggie: There's something that I've been dying to say More than anything, more than anything Need you to know I love you more than anything More than anything

As stated above, Vaggie doesn't sing much in season 1, but in the final episode she gets a short moment to express how she feels to Charlie. This is in contrast to Whatever It Takes, where she sends her girlfriend away before she starts singing. More Than Anything Reprise shows Vaggie's progress when it comes to self-expression.

She follows Carmilla's advices while fighting

On a practical level she covers herself up in a battle suit inspired by Carmilla's outfit, she wears a harness on her heart and ties her hair:

Vaggie: I'm not used to fighting with long hair.

On a thematic level she reveals her wings and defeats Lute, when the exorcist threathens Charlie:

Lute: So, I'll spare you the pain of seeing your demon bitch die.

And Vaggie eventually chooses not to kill the other angel:

Lute: Do it, then. Correct your mistake. Vaggie: Seriously, you're pathetic, you know that? Ready to die rather than accepting mercy? No, live. Live knowing that you only do because I let you, the failure.

Vaggie is asked to choose between her hate for Lute and her love for Charlie and she chooses the latter. This is why the scene ends with Vaggie leaving Lute and flying to help Charlie. She is given the chance to get revenge, but doesn't take it. She is given the chance to hate, but she loves:

I know you're thirstin' for vengeance, Vaggie You're out for blood But you'll only stand a chance if you're out for love

This is important in two ways:

1- The macrochosm - Vaggie refuses Lute's ideals and defies her expectations. For Lute it is normal that Vaggie is going to kill her. After all, Vaggie is discarded because she shows pity to a sinner, which makes her weak. Still, Vaggie bests Lute in a fight, so she is now strong. It is only obvious then that Vaggie has snapped out of her foolery and is ready to kill. She can correct her mistake. She did not kill the cannibal child, but she can kill Lute. This is how Lute understands the world. And yet, Vaggie doesn't finish her off. By doing so, she moves away from the mentality Lute embodies. She is strong precisely because she can show mercy. Adam is wrong. Lute is wrong. Vaggie isn't out for blood. She is out for love.

2- The microchosm - Vaggie sparing Lute isn't just the morally correct choice, but it is Vaggie's first step into healing:

Husk: (To Vaggie) This one. Judges everyone and everything because she hates herself.

Vaggie hates everyone because she deep down hates herself. She despises Heaven and Angels because she can't forgive her involvement in the exterminations. So, Vaggie hurting Lute would be Vaggie hurting her past self. As a matter of fact Lute is Vaggie's dark mirror. She is who Vaggie might become if she gives in to hate.

A person who hurts others:

And herself:

Vaggie instead has to value her life, so that she can protect others. She must save others and heal herself. Only in this way she can be by Charlie's side. She needs to let go of self-hate to embrace a healthy love. Vaggie's arc is her learning self-love through her bond with the Princess of Hell.

Obviously this journey is just at the beginning and our Angel of Love has a long way to go. How will her story contiue? We can make some hypothesis, which once again stem from Vaggie and Carmilla's foiling. This is just a theory, so take it with a grain of salt, but Vaggie may have a secondary personal antagonist in Hell:

Why is that so? It's because Scrambled Eggs sets Vaggie and Velvette up as foils.

RESPECT(LESS)

Velvette and Vaggie are opposites in their interactions with Carmilla. Both girls are younger than the Dancer Overlord and could learn a lot from her. However, Velvette refuses any kind of mentorship and shows no respect:

Velvette: Mad that I acted respectless? Well, it's cause no one could respect this! You're long past trending! Sorry, bae, but I ain't swiping right! You've lost your relevance-

Vaggie instead comes to respect Carmilla and learns from her:

At the same time, both Velvette and Vaggie confront Carmilla about her secret:

Velvette: 'Oops!' Did I strike a nerve? 'Cause when I brought out the angel's head, couldn't help but observe, that your wrinkled face was turning red! And why are you avoiding war? That's what the guns you sell are for! Thanks to my being respectless, one thing I'm starting to suspect is You know why this angel's headless! Do you have a disclosure?

Vaggie: I know what you did on extermination day. We can talk about it inside, or I can yell about it out here.

They call Carmilla out on killing an angel and keeping this knowledge to herself. Not only that, but both argue that it is necessary to fight back to stop the exterminations:

Velvette: We found it during Extermination day. If these Holy Rollers can be killed, the game has changed. We can take the fight to them. The boys and I have come up with a full assault plan!

Vaggie: Miss Carmine, I'm here on appointment from the princess to enlist your aid in the defense of hell from the angelic extermination. We know an angel fell at your hands and we need to know how.

Still, Velvette fails to get through to Carmilla because she uses war rhetoric:

Velvette: Oh, I get it. So Grandpa is too pussy to fight, so I guess there's no point, right? Oh, what's the matter, Fossil? Too senile to make a real power grab...

She speaks of violence, strength and power.

Vaggie instead convinces Carmilla to help because she mentions the necessity to fight for loved ones:

Vaggie: We didn't pick this fight, but it's here now. And they aren't going to stop with us. You didn't see the look on their leader's face. With us out of the way, it's only a matter of time before they come for the rest of you. They won't stop until all of hell is wiped out, so you can help us make a stand here together, or you can stand alone tomorrow.

She speaks of protection, love and comraderie.

In short, Vaggie succeeds where Velvette fails. Of course, this is true for Charlie's group in general when it comes to the Vees:

Vox: My dear people! We at VoxTek Enterprises have always been at the forefront of innovation. And now, with this new oncoming threat, we are shifting our focus, to your protection. We are pleased to announce VoxTek Angelic Security is coming soon! Trust us, with YOUR safety.

Katie Killjoy: Breaking news - Extermination day is cancelled! Charlie Morningstar managed to fend off the angelic attack with more than just nice words.

The Vees make big declarations of how they are gonna protect the people of Hell, but in the end it is Charlie and her friends who fight for the sinners.

When it comes to Vaggie and Velvette specifically, it is going to be interesting if their foiling is expanded. If so, then I guess Velvette is gonna help Vaggie mature a little bit more, so that when our ex exorcist faces Lute (her nemesis) again, she is gonna be ready for it.

[separatist-apologist]

The Thing About Mor

I'm gonna say this and then I'm gonna shut up about it.

I don't think it's necessarily the fandom's fault for the way they read Mor, just as a disclaimer. Nor am I saying you are required to like her. Please reread those sentences before we continue.

The thing about Mor is that she's originally set up to be both a foil to the traditionalism of the Spring Court and a counterpart to Feyre's friendship with Lucien. Feyre is immediately struck by Rhys naming not Cassian or Azriel- who seem terrifying to her- as his second in command, but Mor.

Mor is also placed directly between Cassian and Azriel in what I think was originally supposed to be some kind of love triangle for the three, with the ultimate pairing as Mor and Azriel. I think the narrative of ACOMAF sets Mor and Azriel up as potential mates just waiting on a snapping bond, with Cassian as maybe her first choice given how she slept with him as a teenager.

Throughout ACOMAF, we see Mor as someone who can hold her own against the men in her lives. When they go to Hybern, Mor is the only warrior left standing and is the one who ultimately rescues them. She's also the person Rhys trusts to get Feyre in the Spring Court (ignoring the strange "politics" of why Rhys' second-in-command can break into Tamlins manor but the High Lord can't).

She is ALSO the person who goes to Feyre once Feyre realizes Rhys wasn't honest about the bond, and she's the one who asks "would it really be so bad to join our family?"

I don't know what changed for SJM. I think the nessian of it all ended whatever potential love triangle might have happened with Cassian-Mor-Azriel, and I've heard rumors she was getting a lot of pressure to make her stories more diverse (who was asking SJM, of all people, to tell a compelling queer story?). Regardless, somewhere between ACOMAF and ACOWAR, Mor's trajectory changes.

This is seen so clearly with the rise of Eris who, up until ACOWAR, is an undisputed villain in the story. Not just Lucien's story, but the story as a whole. We're told he holds Jesminda down while Beron beheads her, and he participates in tracking Lucien down with the intent to kill him. He gleefully watched Lucien tortured in the second trial UTM, and is willing to give up Feyre's name to Amarantha IF he knew it.

And in the beginning of ACOWAR, Eris is still the villain. He chases Lucien and Feyre across multiple courts at the behest of his father, presumably to hold Feyre ransom back to Tamlin in exchange for who knows what, and see Lucien executed. Eris's cruelty on the ice sets up a truly cinematic moment for Cassian and Azriel to come swooping in and save the day, and once again highlights our good guys (Lucien especially) and our bad guys.

And I do feel like somewhere in this passage, SJM falls in love with Eris and begins to give him the Rhys treatment at the EXPENSE of Mor. Rhys, who we're told, respects Mor over nearly everyone, unilaterally decides that they're going to trust Eris. There is no discussion to be had here. I think this creates a specific moment for readers to be like, okay well if Rhys did this without talking to Mor, then maybe he doesn't trust her. I don't even think its an explicit thought- but implicitly, whatever Eris shared with Rhys is enough to convince him of Eris's goodness over Mor's hatred. And I think that lends itself to a lot of the "maybe she's lying" theories that come about, ESPECIALLY after ACOSF and Eris telling Cassian that there was more that happened than Mor has shared with them.

Additionally, Mor is supposed to oversee Hewn City which means this deal SHOULD have included her because Kier's Darkbringers are part of her jurisdiction, but unless I misremember, this deal is brokered by Rhys, Eris, and Kier. So Mor's position in Hewn City feels ceremonial-I think this is partly because SJM ascribes to a very narrow definition of masculinity and power, and even though Rhys claims to share it, what she shows us does not match with the telling. Rhys decides what happens in Hewn City and he can make decisions without Mor's input so what's she even doing down there besides acting like decoration?

This is also where, I think, a lot of people get frustrated and confused because the "court of dreamers" are sold to us as a family. And in the confession between Mor and Feyre, we suddenly learn Mor is afraid to come out to the people she claims are her closest family. In our current understanding of the world and what it often means to be queer, your found family are supposed to be your safe people, the people you can be unapologetically yourself with ESPECIALLY when your blood relatives reject you. And here Mor is, telling us she is too afraid to come out to the point she sleeps with men specifically to keep Azriel off her back (unclear how that's helping) AND to not arouse suspicion.

So like- it's not a leap to understand why the fandom writes Mor off as a liar or someone that can't be trusted because SJM has inconsistently applied her personality in order to suit her narrative versus telling a consistent story with consistent characterizations. The fandom is left to string it all together and creative a cohesive story and I do think the problem with that is we don't agree.

Interpretations of the text vary, so on one end you have "I think Mor is lying because the narrative, whether it means to or not, is implying Mor shouldn't be trusted. Rhys no longer trusts her and is keeping secrets for her, and its through Rhys we're told Eris CAN be trusted." and on the other its "Mor isn't responsible for the men around her and is held to a different standard than the other characters who are better fleshed out (in part because they're associated with a man)."

Again, a lot of this is speculation. I don't know what SJM's true original plans were, nor can I speak with 100% authority why she changed them. I can say that SJM is notorious, across all her works, for changing motivations and characterizations to fit her narrative and that ACOTAR feels the most egregious. I don't think she ever had a solid plan for ACOTAR beyond the feysand romance, and everything else has been slapped together based on how she feels in the moment, which leads to a lot of the arguments and frustrations we currently experience around most of the characters, honestly.

[mariaxxxxx]

Fantasize (Namor x Black!Reader)

Summary: Fantasy can be sweet compared to reality.

Warnings: 18+ ONLY/ Minors DNI, Angust, Sex, Apologies, Crying, Creampie, Passionate sex, size difference, smut, soft!dom!, slight degradation, unprotected sex (don't do that wrap this thing), aftercare, curse words, breeding kink.

A/N: English is not my mother tongue. I apologize for any errors.

Work count: 4.113

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

K'uk'ulkan is a man who earned his position as leader of Talokan through hard work and iron-fisted leadership. Considered by his people as a God and by his enemies as an executioner, admired by many for having the good characteristics that make a king and a physical appearance as divine as paradise. He wasn't the kind of guy to start a small conversation, but he knew exactly how to persuade a person with his words. There were also social subtleties involved, which You found adorable, the man was gallant and imposing and this made people respect him more. His father thought he was arrogant and proud. You agreed with him, but chose to describe that man differently; he was a bit of a jerk, a bit of a romantic, and incredibly powerful. These are really unique characteristics.

You look up as he enters Wakanda's council room. You open your mouth to greet him, knowing it's a bad idea. Luckily for You, a loud scoff from his father makes You both focus on the conversation going on in the room. He sits, next to his father, a place fit for a royal guest.

“The situation with the Americans is under control.” His father is speaking to the leader of Talokan with a loud tone of voice, an annoying trait of his. “As agreed, our borders have been strengthened.”

“We cannot relax if we take into account the persistence of the colonizers.” As the river tribe leader speaks You watch K'uk'ulkan's eyebrows arch upward.

K'uk'ulkan is the type of man who is interested in subjects that disrespect his nation and enjoys strategic conversations to keep the colonizers' curiosity at bay. He likes to hear what his allies have to say, although he almost never agrees with the decisions made. He was a violent man indeed. He always responded to violence with more violence.

“The late king’s decision to open Wakanda’s borders brought dilemmas that needed to be resolved.” Says K'uk'ulkan with his apathetic face, but You can detect a small gleam in his eyes. You know how much he always has to fight not to reveal his dissatisfaction with being so far from home. “It is not enough to close the borders again, more brutal measures need to be carried out.”

Oh! There it was. The flame of war shining in his pupils. Two years ago Talokan went to war with Wakanda. A dispute that caused losses for both sides. It was still difficult for many to overcome the death of Queen Ramonda and the departure of the legitimate heir out of the country, leaving Wakanda once again without its protector. Black Panther chose to step aside, indefinitely, to deal with his grief. The decision was respected and accepted by the council, but the people did not look favorably on it; after all, Black Panther was the warrior spirit sent by Bast to protect us.

After the ascension to the throne of his father, King Jabari, diplomatic programs were created to formalize the ceasefire and the union of both nations to deal with attempts to steal Vibranium. His father chose to return to old policies; close Wakanda's borders and suspend metal extraction. Such an attitude made Talokan, the people and the council happy, but not the colonists who demanded the sharing of Vibranium.

The conversation went on for a long time; they talked about metal, about borders, bonds of friendship, trade routes... At some point, you disconnected and sank into the chair with your eyes fixed on the floor, shaking your head every time someone said something. Meetings were tedious for a young man like You with so much energy to burn.

“So, have we reached a decision?” Your father says suddenly, snapping You out of your thoughts. You look at everyone in the room and notice when everyone exclaims a resounding Yes. Only one says nothing. You notice K'uk'ulkan's fingers turn a little too white, as if he's gripping the arms of his chair. A clear sign of irritation and denial.

You're not surprised to see him get up and leave, but no one comments on it before your father says,

“At least he didn’t fondle us again.”

(...)

That night, You escaped the palace walls, all ready to go the moment the clock struck eleven. When this happens, you hide from the Dora Milaje. After all, it wasn't safe for a new little princess to walk the streets late at night. The big doors open and you walk out into the night. You knew the way with your eyes closed; Behind the palace, surrounded by large trees, there was a saltwater river little known to the inhabitants.

On the riverbank there was a rustic wooden cabin with opaque glass windows and a large oak door. You didn't know who built this place, but in the last two years it had become yours and his. Little by little you redecorated the place, filling it with luxurious furniture and yellow lights.

You silently enter the place, turning on the lights and observe the mess you and he made on your last date. You put on shabby clothes, tie your hair up and start working as if you were being paid to do so. You start by arranging the cushions on the couch, then clean all the dishes, counters and general surfaces. You finish by vacuuming all the sand from the place and mopping the floor with a cloth dampened with scented water. You don't care about the room. After all, he was always so tidy. Your lover would rather take You in the living room, or on the balcony, or by the river under the starlight; very few times did you use that bed.

When you finish your cleaning marathon, your watch beeps informing you that it was already midnight and he would be here soon. You take a break and run to the bathroom. After a shower, perfumed your skin and touched up your makeup, you put on a thigh-length dress made of transparent fabric. The dress leaves your breasts and intimacy exposed, so you minimize this fact by placing a padless lace bra and thin panties under the dress. You looked beautiful, like the Goddess Isis waiting for her Osiris.

You return to the kitchen to start preparing something to eat. There are just a few minutes left before the food is ready when the cabin door opens and you hear a familiar voice.

"My love, I'm here." K'uk'ulkan breaks the silence that has hung over the environment since You arrived. You don't bother shouting, you never do. You would do it in person in seconds instead of yelling at each other in different rooms. The last time you dared to perform such a vulgar act, K'uk'ulkan gave you slaps on the ass to educate you correctly. A good wife greets her husband when he walks through the door, he said as he slapped her behind. You loved being punished like that, but you hated spending three whole days without being able to sit down.

You leave the kitchen and go to him, with a big smile on your lips. You find him in the room wearing fancy clothes richly decorated with gold and jade. He keeps his shorts green with black embroidered details. You extend your arms and circle them around his neck. You give him a kiss on the lips in greeting. He returns the kiss, pressing your body against his.

"Hello my dear." You pull away from his lips and turn your head to give him a kiss on the cheek. "How was your day?"

“Stressful, but I managed to escape to be with my wife.” He smiles and plays with a strand of your hair. “Knowing that You are here to care for me fills my heart with joy.”

The kisses didn't stop as he spoke and You were struggling to remember the stew that was boiling on the stove.

“Fuck” You don’t think about the curse until a hand squeezes your hip. A subtle warning of how such verbiage was not allowed in that environment.

“Such a beautiful girl with such a dirty mouth.” He mutters. His lips brush your ear, and you have to concentrate to push him away.

“I need to go to the kitchen.”

“Just focus on me, my love.” You can feel in his tone he wants to break You, break the character You play. Like a dizzy duck You fall into his trap.

“K’uk’ulkan” You whine. "Is very fast! Our dinner will burn and it will be a disaster.”

You scream when you feel a sharp slap on your ass. His hand makes a circular movement at the impact site, easing the pain a little. This was her punishment for being so petulant towards her man.

“Don’t talk to me like that.” His voice is lower, a little dark.

"Sorry my love."

"Good girl." He removes his arms from your waist and signals you to go to the kitchen. You mumble a simple thank you and rush over to find the food boiling furiously over medium heat. You hang up and return to the room, to him.

“Now I’m all yours, my love.”

“What have You done to us?” He says it like he doesn't know. As if he hadn't instructed her what to cook.

“A stew with vegetables accompanied by cornbread.”

It was a rule established by both of you that you would do your best to please him. No easy or quick foods, no fatty foods with added sugar and pesticides. K'uk'ulkan didn't take care of himself, in his opinion. He woke up early to govern, stayed late in meetings and would certainly forget to eat if You didn't prepare something. You remembered how he claimed not to eat much, a phrase that made you want to care for this man who cared for others and neglected himself. Not that this was a surprise, however. K'uk'ulkan was born with a crown on his head, so difficulty taking time away from work and taking care of himself became commonplace.

There was also the pleasure of serving and being served. He was excited by the idea of having a wife ready to serve him at the end of the day, with the effort made by You to please him in every way. It excited both of you, knowing that you worked hard without complaining to please him. In addition to carnal pleasure, there was cuddling; although you and he never talked to define exactly what this relationship was, nights of cuddling and talking on the sidelines were not uncommon. He liked to please too, it would not be uncommon for him to give you gifts ranging from fabrics with gold thread to jewelry; You hid them in the back of your closet to avoid questions.

His hand snakes down your hips to your butt, he gives it a squeeze making you moan with a little discomfort at having your sore flesh being touched like that.

"Adorable." The words vibrate in you. His hands suddenly caress your body. The hand pauses, pulls back, and spanks her ass afterwards. “What do you say after being praised, my love?”

You stabilize yourself with the force of the blow, fight back a groan, smile at him and mutter a loud:

"Thanks."

“You’re such a good little girl” he reflects, pressing your body against his so you can feel the hardness that was forming between your legs. “You love this, don’t you? You love it when I discipline you.”

You don't answer because you think it's a rhetorical question, but a warm hand moves his hair away and thick fingers grab the back of his neck.

"Yes my love. Thank you for taking care of me and teaching me how to be a good woman.” You fight back a bratty response about how you could take care of yourself.

“Such a good queen to me.”

Your mind lights up at the word queen being expelled from his mouth. You're insecure about the current agreement to never discuss these things, so you just smile, and kiss him passionately, pretending that being called his queen hasn't affected you in every way possible.

You allow his tongue into your mouth savoring the feeling of him touching you so softly. His skin burns red hot from the hot trail his hands leave as they roam your body. A hand tangles in his hair and pulls his head back enough for You to feel the pressure on your scalp. K'uk'ulkan attacks his neck, distributing wet kisses while you moan and encourage him to continue.

“K’uk’ulkan” You moan shamelessly when he sucks on the sensitive skin of your neck. He walks away, leaving you a mess, the damn thing had the power to make you go crazy with so little.

"Let's play a game." He suggests. A part of You is disappointed by this, but You knew how he liked to prolong the night. He moves away from you, sitting on the navy blue sofa; You narrow your eyes, finding this attitude strange, but his smug smile prepares you for what comes next. “Take off your panties and climb up my thigh. Now."

You don't wait long and you're soon getting rid of your panties, straddling his thigh after doing so. The cool, bare skin damps beneath You which is clearly visible when K'uk'ulkan pushes you back to check, You gasp when you realize how wet you were. His face burns with embarrassment, so you cover him in a cute reaction. You can't meet his gaze when he grabs his hand and pulls them away so you opt to kiss him for a minute to hide the embarrassment. Until he pulls away and puts his hands on your hips.

“I barely touched you and you’re already wet.” His hands are firmly on your hips, he uses them to pull you against him causing friction. “I know how desperate You are for this. Keep your moans low. Anyway, good girls never act like whores.”

He was right about how much You needed this, of course. The bastard knew her like the back of his hand. He leans his torso against the couch, giving him a privileged view of the movements of his hips. You bite your bottom lip to keep from moaning loudly when a specific movement increases contact with your swollen clit. You can barely concentrate between your low sighs and the warm hand that snakes across your belly and over your breasts, the feeling of his hand drives you crazy and without you realizing it a loud moan escapes your mouth when one of your breasts are tight.

You come out of your little world of pleasure to be met with K'uk'ulkan's intense gaze. He arches an eyebrow and squeezes your hips when you try to seek more friction.

"Sorry." His breath catches with the need to be forgiven, your hands tighten on his shoulders and you, once again, try to move your hips only to have your plans thwarted.

"Stand up." He commands and You obey. “It looks like my beautiful girl is having trouble following my orders. What a shame!"

"Sorry my love." You falter when you see the expression on his face.

“We need to solve this problem” You can see the cruel smile and you resist the urge to roll your eyes. “Take off your dress and come onto my lap.”

You take everything off and stand naked in front of him. Hesitantly, you walk over to him and settle into his lap. K'uk'ulkan rests one hand on your upper back and squeezes your shoulder. Care before everything happens You understand. You arch into his lap due to the hard slap he gives your ass.

“Tell and be thankful.” He orders.

"To thank?" His question is rewarded with another hard slap on his ass. "Sorry. Thank you for the lesson my love.”

"Good girl. Too bad this one didn't count. I didn’t hear any numbers.” You can see his smile in your mind. "Count."

"Yes." You speak breathlessly, one hand gripping his leg to anchor yourself. A slap. "One. Thank you my love"

"Higher." Another slap.

"Two. Thank you my love."

You hear a chuckle and his hand covers your ass, rubbing it creating momentary relief.

“Behave and you won’t be punished again.”

The blow comes harder this time, catching You off guard enough to scream.

"Three. Thanks." You say breathlessly.

“I said it without groaning.” The slap is even stronger than the previous one, you bite your lip to keep from screaming. “Thank me and I’ll think about whether I’ll fuck you with my cock.”

“Thank you for punishing me, K’uk’ulkan” You lick your lips to moisten them. “Please fuck me with your cock.”

He grabs the back of your neck and pulls you up, the quick movement makes you slide off the couch and fall on your knees between his legs. You look up only to find the obsidian orbs watching you with intensity. This man has too much power over You, and You can't care about it. You were about to beg to suck his dick, but K'uk'ulkan grabs your jaw with his fingers and caresses your lips with his thumb, You suck it devotedly without looking away.

“I will be benevolent today.”

You are internally grateful for the decision. K'uk'ulkan had been teasing you for a long time and your pussy was throbbing, and you had never been so ready to be fucked in your life. He tightens the grip on your jaw, a reminder for you to thank him.

"Thanks." You say. “Fuck me with your divine cock, K'uk'ulkan”

“My good girl, so good to me.” He caresses his cheek with his fingertips. “Lie down on the mat and spread your legs.”

You find yourself crawling onto the carpet a moment later, laying your head on a cushion. You look at K'uk'ulkan, his body sculpted by gods, he worked to rid himself of the jewelry and green trunks.

“Eat me feathered serpent.” You say, making no move to hide the way you look at him.

  K'uk'ulkan lets out a rough, savage growl, and you notice how hard and rigid his cock is begging for attention. Your pussy moistens even more at the knowledge of how thirsty he was.

“I'm going to fuck you soon, my love. I want to get You ready for me.”

He moves his body until he is on top of you and kisses you. You feel his cock in your belly, dripping with your juices, and you feel divine for provoking such a reaction in that man. You feel a finger slide through your intimate area, playing with your swollen clitoris and then being inserted into your vaginal canal. You groan at the intrusion. You kiss him harder when a second finger is introduced and then the third.

“K'uk'ulkan, You are stretching me. I cannot stand." You say only to receive a raised eyebrow before he goes back to doing what he was doing. With his thumb, he circles your clitoris in circular movements to the point that you see stars.

“You’re my good girl, you can take it.” He leans in, and the predatory tone of his voice when he speaks makes you squirm beneath him. “Cum on my fingers and I’ll give you my cock.

Her folds tighten tightly on the edge of a powerful orgasm. You try to beg, but only disjointed sounds come out of your mouth. You feel his thumb tease your clitoris with movements oscillating between slow and fast, in a sneaky movement he removes his thumb only to press it harder immediately afterwards. His orgasm hits you like a truck. You arch your back and scream for him when you feel your spirit leave your body and return shortly afterwards.

“K'uk'ulkan, I'm...”

“You’re going to cum again.” He says as he aligns his cock with your pussy, You moan when he purposely rubs against your hard and sensitive clit. “This time, it will be on my dick.”

He pushes hard. You're wet and open enough, but he was pretty big and the pain of penetration was inevitable, but it was a good pain. Every time You loved feeling his cock tearing your wet pussy. He supports himself on his elbows which give him the possibility to fuck you hard and he does so.

"Cum." You blurt out as he beats you mercilessly.

Above You, K'uk'ulkan ate you like a flesh-hungry beast. The dull touch of his skin hitting yours fills you with anxiety, and makes you think about the bruises that will appear. He grabs her waist with one hand just to stretch her a little and thrust her with more force.

“My perfect wife, good girl, my good good queen.” He babbled helplessly as he thrust hard into her pussy that was clenching around him, a clear sign of a new orgasm approaching. “I will spill my semen inside You. Filling Your womb with a baby will make You my queen and take them away.”

“Put a baby in me, K’uk’ulkan” You beg him. The hand squeezes his waist again as he attacks with a series of swear words in his mother tongue.

With a powerful thrust You cum again, screaming his name shamelessly. Your inner folds contract, squeezing his cock inside You, K'uk'ulkan tries to resist it, but it was a losing battle. He comes grunting like an animal spilling drop by drop of his seed inside You. He still gives a few more thrusts as if to ensure that You received every drop of his sperm. He collapses on top of you, with his cock still inside your pussy.

It stays inside You until You are uncomfortable. K'uk'ulkan Pulls away, pulling his softening cock out of You, a moan escaping when You feel the emptiness that was left. Your walls were sensitive and stained with his release; satisfaction filled every molecule of your body at this feat. K'uk'ulkan lies down next to him; you turn your head to him and smile, place a chaste kiss on his lips and sigh softly:

"Thank you my love."

To then be pulled closer and wrapped in a comforting hug.

“We need to eat.” You say snuggling into his chest, he pulls You into him.

“I already ate.” He says with his eyes closed. "I am very satisfied."

“You made me cook for nothing.” You speak of false indignation. “I’ll leave You hungry next time.”

“I will make it up to you later for cooking. Now, let's rest. Soon the sun will rise.”

Silence settles in the room, a sign that K'uk'ulkan was sleeping. You were not left behind, falling into a deep sleep with pleasant dreams.

The sun was rising when You awoke from your sleep. It wasn't a surprise to discover that you were alone. You never woke up next to him. As the leader of a nation he needed to return to his nation and, as painful as it was, he knew the implications that his affair with K'uk'ulkan could bring if he didn't go underwater. Hatred for surface dwellers was sown centuries ago and it would be difficult for a Talokanil's relationship with a surface dweller to be accepted.

You shook your head to dismiss such frivolous thoughts. I knew this was salt in the wound, a long time ago. You had already convinced yourself that you were nothing more than a concubine; You accepted this position with flying colors, although a little voice in your head always begged you to demand more. Being his queen, the mother of his children seemed like an impossible dream, so for the sake of your sanity You accepted the role to be played; sex is necessary and affection when requested. One day, this would end; You would marry a nobleman or some promising scientist and have his children, K'uk'ulkan would be nothing more than a youthful fling.

“Fuck” You cursed as you realized where your thoughts were taking you downs a dangerous path again.

After all, you and he would stay in this fantasy a thousand times if necessary. Until reality knocked on the door and took us back to the harsh reality. For now, you could be content with pretending he was yours; pretend he would come back every night as her husband to love her and possess her body under the starlight. You sigh as you realize how your reality wasn't as pleasant as your expectations. You snuggle on the rug, deciding to sleep a little longer until you return to the palace, your father would definitely be upset and question your disappearance, but you could deal with that later. Now, You just wanted to close your eyes and dream of a reality where You and K'uk'ulkan would be happy surrounded by children. Fantasy could be sweet compared to reality.

[kidgeygirl]

It's been many, many years since I've written anything for Voltron, but here I am. Despite many complaints, my heart has always been stuck on our favorite red and green duo. Lately, I've been back in the fandom, and now that I've matured into early adulthood, I've decided to try and find the perfect way to write them post war, but realistically (or at least, semi-realistically).

I honestly don't know how many people are still in this fandom, but I will regret not sharing my thoughts (internal storyline that has slowly been building up since forever.) so here I am. :)

Anyways, if anyone reading this is interested, here are some things to know.

I'm a slow updater, and I very much hate most of the stuff I write. So please bear with me as I navigate this story to how I envision it.

This is not my main account, this is strictly a Voltron/Kidge account, so I'm not expecting a lot of traction— however, at times this might cause a hit at my confidence, despite knowing that fact. So again, bear with me.

I'm a compliment girlie. If you read this story once it's out and like it, please let me know. It will help me in the long run and encourage me to keep this going.

I don't remember everything about Voltron as I haven't watched it fully in years, so I'm going to rewatch all of it before writing. (Don't worry, I don't have too much of a busy life right now besides babysitting.) So this story won't be right away, but I will be writing down scenes/passages while writing. I might even create a few one shots, behind the scenes stuff you won't see in the story, to give you some extra Kidge.

SOME THINGS ABOUT THE STORY—

Shadows of Azar ~ When Keith and the Blades, a group of elite warriors, reach out to Katie for assistance on a critical mission, they discover that their past bond is far from forgotten. As they face danger, betrayal, and the weight of the universe, their connection reignites into something even more profound. Secrets unravel, alliances shift, and the line between duty and personal loyalty blurs. Amidst the chaos of battle, Keith and Katie find themselves drawn together, their shared history woven into every decision they make.

But this isn't just about saving the universe; it's about saving each other. As they navigate treacherous terrain, they confront their own vulnerabilities, fears, and desires. Keith, haunted by his past, seeks redemption. Katie, brilliant and determined, grapples with the sacrifices she's made for her family. Together, they forge a new path—one that transcends duty and becomes a testament to resilience, trust, and love.

As the Blades' mission unfolds, Keith and Katie must confront not only external threats but also the complexities of their emotions.

After the battle is won, will they embrace this newfound connection and ignite a brilliant flame together, or will it consume them—reducing everything they’ve cherished to ashes?

————

Ages— Keith 25, Katie (Pidge) 21

————

Here, we find that Pidge goes more by 'Katie'. Only the ones closest to her call her Pidge. (Family, Paladins.)

———

Allura is alive!!

———

Ships— Kidge. Allurance. Hunk&Shay. Shiro and Curtis. Matt and V.

———

This is a slow burn!! (In a way). It's not a large storyline, as I'm not planning to be a whole book. Kind of more of a mini series. (I haven't decided how many chapters, so maybe it'll change.)

This is told in Third POV, but you can tell when it switches its focus from Katie and Keith.

———

(I will be posting a playlist.)

[longing-for-rain]

How do you think Zutara's dynamic would change if both Zuko and Katara were female, what about if their genders were reversed? (M katara, F zuko?)

Oh this is interesting, I think their characters would both be very different and therefore their dynamic would too. Especially Katara.

The thing about canon Katara is that being female and therefore subject to misogyny was a huge impact on the character she became. In her very introduction, she’s irritated at Sokka for being misogynistic to her (with implications that this is a pattern) and we see multiple instances of her being overlooked or outright discriminated against for being female. It feeds into her drive to prove herself, to be a great waterbender, and contributes to her feeling an obligation to look after those around her at the expense of her own feelings.

Male!Katara would share some issues but not all. He would suffer the pressure of being the last southern waterbender, and having to hide that ability. He’d probably have somewhat of a paternal role at a young age, but not to the extent of his female counterpart. I also think it’s likely he would know hand-to-hand combat as well since he’d likely hunt but not be allowed to openly waterbend. He’d also still carry the burden of grief over his mother.

As for female!Zuko, I think she would suffer an added layer of misogyny on top of her abuse. There is no precedent for a female Fire Lord, so as a firstborn daughter, she might have been intended for political marriage for a young age. Her attempts to surpass Azula at firebending would have been deemed all the more pathetic by Ozai—proof to him that she’s only good for marriage and not leadership. This would have an impact on her and give her a strong drive to prove herself. I also think appearance would be a much bigger factor. There are only implications that canon Zuko feels insecure over his face, but female!Zuko would probably be even more impacted due to the pressure on women to be physically attractive (especially if she was a princess intended to be a bride). I think she’d probably be a bit butch and embrace her warrior side, deeming herself ugly (this would be interesting to work through). She fights with swords still and relentlessly pushes herself to excel at any skill she can.

How would these characters work together?

I actually really like femslash Zutara. Picture this—female!Zuko, told she’s weak and ugly and good for nothing but political marriage, encountering a powerful female waterbender. At first they fight, but over time gain an appreciation for each other. Eventually, female!Zuko finds a partner in Katara who admires her for her abilities as a warrior and a firebender, and on top of that, thinks she’s beautiful as she is. Her rough edges, her tough demeanor, everything she was told made her a failed woman, are all beautiful to Katara. Not to mention how she’d have an intimate ability to understand Katara’s own experiences of misogyny and its impact on her. They would have a truly beautiful connection.

Now male!Katara and female!Zuko… hard to say. To be completely honest I don’t seeing it having the same depth as canon or femslash Zutara, mainly because taking away femaleness from Katara’s character takes away a lot of the complexity (at least in my opinion). I think there would still be some “you’re beautiful as you are” and bonding over mom trauma but other than that I’m not sure.

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

Underappreciated servants? Not to be too basic, but could we maybe see some headcanons for Drake and a more reserved f!master? I feel like Drake gets glossed over a lot for some reason.

Hello, it's nice to hear from you! Your headcanon request is fine (though it has given me a LOT of room to go wild LOL). Yeah, Drake definitely could do with more content. Thanks for the request!

This is also my first time writing Drake, hope you enjoy. Thanks for waiting for so long.

Note: Drake x F! Master romance/homies headcanons. Also a bit of chaos (I guess?!)

Opposites Do Attract, After All (Drake x Reserved Female Master)

ׂׂૢ You and Drake make for a rather unlikely pair at first. With her love of brawls, adventure and booze; she makes for a rather loud individual, whilst your tendency to logically sort through things; as well as possessing a mind that not even the sharpest of warriors could peer inside- made you quite the mystery.

ׂׂૢ Despite that, both you and Drake hit things off right from the very start!!! Finding you to be a rather chill person to hang out with, it isn't long before she tries to loop you into her schemes; viewing you as none other than her 'comrade-in-arms'. "Heh, you up for some adventure? Let's go wild!" Hopefully you have an interest in income and treasure because, holy moly...she can't wait to get you involved with her acquirement of great new items (and the ensuing destructive chaos bound to follow).

ׂׂૢ However, this does not mean that she is only interested in having you assist her with such chaotic activities. She also enjoys casually joining you for a casual chinwag over drinks and food, discussing many things. Heck, she likes hearing you talk a bit as well; wanting to know more about you.

ׂׂૢ Though others may not be able to understand you or may judge you for being less talkative and more of a lone type, one as sharp-witted as Drake is able to get you from the start. So you definitely won't be getting any annoying assumptions about you being more on the quiet side from her. "You're you, after all." Be prepared for some chillingly accurate reads in the future, for she's got you down to a tee.

ׂׂૢ One day, she thrusts down a meal besides you, invites you to join her crew and outright says, "Hey, master! Wanna join us? Gotta say, you're goddamn interesting as heck. Feel free to come chat some time." Hopefully you'll enjoy some card games. Those are a great way to get to know one another. And besides, you're living it up by being true to yourself; making you a true pioneer of the pirate spirit!

ׂׂૢ Though Drake will take you along her journeys and show you her world, she won't force you to open up, nor will she judge you for being the type to hold back. As one who lives true to herself, Drake isn't that sort of person. Sure, she loves to party, but if you don't then that's no problem!

ׂׂૢ Uncovering the mind of such a reserved being is a gift of its own, after all! Thanks to her many experiences, though she may have a strong opinion; she tends to not be very judgmental; and is great to share a laugh with, or even a somber lament every now and then.

ׂׂૢ The two of you also bond over music, sharing your individual tastes with one another. The first time you showed her your music player (or smartphone or ipod etc), her eyes sparkled with joy at the surreal contraption, hungry to dig into its details straight away! Nowadays, the two of you share an earbud each, listening to one another's favorite songs and humming a tune. Drake loves sharing such a fun hobby in common.

ׂׂૢ If you ever need space, Drake's got you. Though she's a boisterous one, she's intuitive enough to get what's going on (it's helped her through many dangerous exploits). As long as you communicate clearly, the two of you will be able to work out any hiccups along the way. Though Drake may not easily let you on to how deeply she cares for you as an ally, her affection shines through her actions and behaviors.

ׂׂૢ Your reticent personality can also be soothing to Drake as well. Sometimes, she isn't in the mood to be loud, also enjoying some private time every now and then. Knowing that you won't expect her to provide all the entertainment is a great relief to her, enjoying just kicking back with you and chilling together.

ׂׂૢ As the two of you begin to grow closer, the distance between your worlds and timelines gradually decrease; as you find an increasingly precious wreath of information about one another. (And she may be trying to work out how to get into your mind as well. You know. Just for some fun.)

ׂׂૢ Drake eventually starts to open up a little about other sides to her as well, sharing more somber tales or talking about deeper topics at times. The way in which she can just let things go around you is great. Drake is glad to have put her trust in a master as great as you, however she may not let you know this; putting on a bit of a 'villainous pirate' façade instead.

Romance Side!!!!

ׂׂૢ Drake is rather subtle with her affection at first. Though she's completely direct with her platonic affection, when it comes to romance; she may start of rather simple, doing things such as occasionally resting her head in your lap when she's drunk, leaning onto you for comfort, or hanging out with you more often. Small physical gestures, and support may be more to her style.

ׂׂૢ In fact, she may not even confess for a while; simply content with just continuing on with things as usual. However, from the sheer comfort that you two feel when spending time together, it is clear that the two of you are now incredibly close-knit with one another.

ׂׂૢ In the early days, Drake may have lead you around more; but now she wants to see what you consider as an adventure as well; to understand what pleasures, sights and sounds bring you to life, as well; so she will definitely ask you what you want to do on your days out.

ׂׂૢ One fun pastime is watching the sea together, as you ease into one another's arms. It's a prosperous relationship between two souls, going at a pace that is both relaxing and even-tempered enough for you both, which makes for a great contrast to the chaos of your initial meeting.

"Seems like I've finally hit the jackpot, huh...thanks for the good times."

[mediaflamingoos]

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is a Modern Classic By Savio Shi

Anime is now more popular than ever, with many titles such as My Hero Academia, SPY X FAMILY, Bocchi The Rock and Jujutsu Kaisen garnering mainstream attention. However, for every Death Note there’s a “I’m a Loser Who Does Nothing But Play Video Games All Day and Now I’m Reincarnated As a Super Powerful Half-Demon Half-Angel With The Power To Destroy The Universe With Only a Fart” (This is a parody of many trashy self-insert, wish-fulfilment “Isekai” animes where the protagonist gets transported to another world and becomes ridiculously overpowered and is surrounded with attractive women who fall head over heels for the protagonist despite his lack of any positive personality traits. And yes they really do have titles like this.) While there’s no shortage of good anime, great anime can be hard to come by. Friern: Beyond Journey’s End is one of them. 

Frieren has one of the most memorable opening episodes of any shows I’ve watched, period. It begins with the end of the journey, after Frieren and her party of heroes successfully defeated the demon king. Here we’re introduced to a lovable cast of characters, including Eisen the steadfast and stoic Warrior dwarf, Heiter the alcoholic human priest, and Himmel the human Hero, the leader of the party. Frieren is a cold and detached elven mage, and the protagonist of the series. As an elf, her lifespan is extremely long, which has caused her to perceive time much more differently than her peers. After Himmel’s party is celebrated for their monumental achievement, they part ways, each having new goals and aspirations. Many years later, Frieren revisits her old friends only to find that they’ve all grown old. Her friends have all missed her greatly, but Himmel in particular had missed her the most. Himmel had always paid special attention to Frieren, and the two shared a special bond, though it was a somewhat one-sided one. After the four went out to see the shooting stars one last time, Himmel the hero passed away. 

It was only at his funeral that Frieren suddenly realised that she hadn’t treasured her time together with Himmel. Tears fall from her face as she regrets not getting to know him better when she had the chance. It was an extremely profound and emotional moment that moved me as well. This prompted Frieren to change her perspective on life. She begins to realise that her near immortality has caused her not to value her often short-lived connections with humans, and so she embarks on a new journey, making new friends while reminiscing on her past friends, keeping them alive in her memory and carrying them onto the future. 

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is about a lot of things. But its most powerful theme is that ultimately, we are the culmination of the people in our lives. This resonated with me deeply, as I’ve been fortunate enough to have made many meaningful connections with people from all ages and backgrounds. Some helped me understand myself better, some taught me things I never would’ve known, and some stood by my side in times of need. I may not be as long-lived as Frieren, but in my short 20 years I feel as though I’ve already made a lifetime of wonderful connections. Some of those connections will last longer than others, but just as Frieren realised, it is not the amount of time spent together that matters. If you treasure the time spent together, it will stay with you for a lifetime. I am Savio, but I’m also a collage of all the people who’ve been kind enough to let me be a part of their lives, and words cannot express how grateful I am for everyone who has made me the person I am today, but I’ll still give it a shot: Thank you.

word count: 639

[yiga-hellhole]

ship opinion bingo with gan-based ships

rauru/gan

sonia/gan

zelda/gan

link/gan

bonus : kohga/gan and demise(or Ganondorf hw)/ghirahim

the whole shebang, huh? here we GOOOOO!!!!

RAURU/GANONDORF

AND WE HAVE A BINGO! so i haven't finished totk but bro. bro. holding your arch nemesis by the tits for 10.000 years. yeah something happened there. i adore a good divorce ship, and this is the one where the divorcees just keep coming back to each other because the homoeroticism is too on the nose. i see it. i see it. i see it.

SONIA/GANONDORF

again, haven't finished totk. i have only seen sonia in like two cutscenes thusfar. but i love it when women get to be pissed off at huge burly men and in doing so get to be recognized as a viable threat. so i will be rotating this one in my mind on the backburner until i'm more informed on their canon dynamic and each characters' backstories in the game

ZELDA/GANONDORF

this is one of those ships where i don't really care for it but some people do interesting stuff with it and i see what they're going for. the fun with zelda and ganondorf is that he doesn't necessarily want her, but wants everything that she has. this old man is so fucking jealous of someone half his age at minimum. so honestly the age difference is a bit too big and dynamic is a bit too antagonistic for me to actively like this ship. i guess i can see it playing out as a bodice-ripper type story, but that goes against nando's character to me, and i've never quite been fond of them in the first place. something like an arranged-marriage-turned-something-more or a hyrule warriors esque wartime romantic tension could work. they *are* entangled eternally in a cycle of being tied by soul, but fated to be enemies each time. at some point something could spark i guess. but at the end of the day its a solid "eh" from me

LINK/GANONDORF

the same kind of arguments as zelda/ganondorf, but instead of royal diplomacy, link has a sword. again there's gotta be something about being the one prpphesized to slay the same guy cycle after cycle. maybe in one of the cycles, he won't want to...? how scandalous. but generally, i don't care too much for this ship

BONUS ROUND!

KOHGA/GANONDORF

i love divorce and i love horny old men thirsting over big buff dudes. i have a feeling kohga has a thing for large and bulky men, for no reason at all, that's not at all present in the game. so, in botw i see ganon's worship as a purely "riding-on-the-coattails-of" thing where kohga doesn't actually care much about ganon, he just wants a reason to make his personality cult and have an ez way to overthrow the monarchy. when that fails, he ditches the joint. but then ganondorf awakens into this absolute handsome beefcake and the illustrious master kohga would probably be like. "okay. hold on. Pause." and the rest is history. i see it. i havs the vision.

GHIRADEMI/GANGHIRA

this has already been answered in the ghirademi bingo. but if you go for ganghira, there's the added tension of "you remind me of the man i devoted myself to, and his presence lingers within you", which would definitely have some serious emotional weight to ghirahim. but that i don't see reciprocated, once again, given that ganondorf always pursues power first. and this time there's not even the shared bond that ghirademi has, where ghirahim served as his sword for centuries! they basically just met, and all ganon knows is this sword freak is devoted to him! oh ghirahim, stop going after men who terrify you!!

[daisychainsandbowties]

coming off the high of 17776 au so... 17 and 6 (pjo au)? also i know it's a sequel so this may be cheating but 18 (orbital mechanics)? many thanks 🙇

i’m glad you liked that first bit of 17776 au it spent a whole day incubating in my head before i wrote it so… chaos of conception is = to chaos of execution 😌

17. what highly specific au do you want to read or write even though you feel like you might be the only person to appreciate it?

i answered this already but the aus are unending so… i would LOVE to read a how to train your dragon au where ava gets to bond with a night fury and bea can?? help with the design for the rig to help with its damaged tail and you know i love hiccup and toothless because they’re canonically disabled so i think that would be an AMAZING au to read or to write 🥰🥰

sidebar but i’m also forever grateful for the alien bea au because i wanted to read something like that so bad ever since i read Axiom’s End (what a book what a book what a-) and then it was just!!! there. and there’s a goat in that fic called daisychain 🥹 and its the BEST goat so ha!

6. what’s one fact about the universe of pjo au that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

because it’s not finished there a bunch of stuff i can’t WAIT to mention i have so many ideas for it and details and scenes i can’t wait to share. but.. sadly writer’s block is killing me (plus thesis 😔) right now so i’m chipping away at it

but!!! i would have really liked to actually write the scene where ava first steps into the ocean. in the same spirit as the infamous beach run scene from s1 of warrior nun

i just think it would have been,,, so beautiful. obviously we get her and chanel in that early scene. ava getting to just barely be in the ocean, but oooo there’s something so different about ava getting to step into it and feel her body fully for the first time in a long time. that would have been i think just so much fun to write. i might still do a flashback to it but… nothing beats the narrative going there on its own you know?

18. if you wrote a sequel to orbital mechanics what would it involve?

oh! well i have ideas actually for a few more chapters of orbital mechanics, especially after playing a lot of Jedi: Survivor and the.. very very intriguing possibilities that raised.

i think it would actually be amazing to take the orbital mechanics iterations of my girls and put them in situations. imagine the clumsy familiar tendinous way they’d fight, how absolutely batshit lilith and ava would go (together) if… say… bea was captured.

plus i want to explore long term chronic pain with bea - maybe the idea of replacing the horrid black wires in her arm with a gentler kind, or bea thinking about amputation which is you know a valid approach and the her choice of it really compels me.

so!! yea h! i am trapped in want to write too many things land 😭😭🥹

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 2 Match 11

More info below:

Meduu the Fierce:

Debuted in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)

The daughter of the legendary Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, Meduu violently took control of her father's property holdings after his death.

Additional commentary: Did not realize how little info there was of her in the encyclopedia. Honestly, I imagine her to have inherited her father's genes of massive fucking height. So badass warrior woman who's huge. What more do you need than that?

Submitted propaganda: Xytan 'Jar Wattinree's daughter. We know basically nothing about her except that she took control of all her father's property holdings through force. She's probably extremely intelligent and badass and stupidly TALL, just like her old man. Meduu would be the coolest character ever if someone actually remembered she existed.

Asum 'Mdama / Bakar:

Debuted in Halo: Glasslands

Born Jan. 20th, 2542 as the second son of Jul and Raia 'Mdama and the younger brother of Dural. He was trained in combat by Naxan - the great-uncle of Raia. When he learned of his mother's death in March 2553, he went to nearby fields to mourn. Then, he began to be fostered by Kasha 'Hilot as he assumed the new name of Bakar. She would take him to Onyx - her new place of work - and he would attend the Pax Institute while there.

It was around September 2558 that Molly Patel would transfer to his school, leading to her, Kareem El-Hashem, and Unggoy Gudam Keschun to come across him being bullied by three human peers. He would at first avoid trying to defend himself, until one of the bullies hits Gudam hard enough to draw blood. However, just as a full-on fight ensues, an instructor named Dinok 'Acroli breaks it up. The next day, Molly would be forced to sit at the same table as Bakar, giving him the opportunity to chastise her for making him look weak, until the other two arrive. Their attempts to become friends with him causes him to leave. Later, he would be stuck in the same self defense lesson being taught by Spartans Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 with the same trio. During a field trip to the Repository, Bakar would open up to the trio a little and bond with them. Then, things took a turn when a beast called a rafakrit attacked. Kasha would go to distract the beast to save everyone else, only to get injured in the process, leading Bakar and his new friends to launch a risky plan to save her. After this, the Spartans and Director Mendez talk with them, which would then lead them to sharing with Bakar the identity of his father: Jul 'Mdama (due to Sangheili customs, he did not know this before). Even after learning the Covenant remnant leader was his father, Bakar would continue to feel hatred toward him. Also during this conversation, they would warn him that his brother had joined up with the Servants of Abiding Truth and had possibly infiltrated Onyx. However, much later, Cortana's message would be sent to all of the galaxy and Onyx's Guardian would awaken. Bakar was at school be it occurred, forcing him to join those hiding in the cafeteria. When Prone to Drift arrives, he and his friends concoct a plan to have Drift reach the Guardian and disrupt its communication with Cortana. Then, the Servants of the Abiding Truth attack the school, killing some people and taking Drift away to the Repository. Bakar and friends would pursue, using some creatures also chasing the Servants in their plan to stop them. After catching up, Bakar would confront his brother and beg him to stop, while Dural felt he had been dishonored and should kill himself. In order to keep the attacking creatures from hurting Bakar, Dural chose to whistle a distraction and sacrifice himself, being carried away. Another creature would remain, but Lucy would arrive and take care of it, getting injured in the process. The kids would take her and Prone to Drift away in the Pelican Lucy brought, then fly close enough to the Guardian so Drift could disable it. Now, Bakar is amongst those living in hiding from Cortana due to Onyx's slipspace bubble being reactivated.

[ts3lightclan]

(1.9) The First Meeting

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

Standing atop the flattest rock-- the Light Rock, as she supposed they'd call it-- Lightrunner felt incredibly out of place. She never wanted to be a leader, but right now, she was all the clan had in terms of one. Briarclaw was right, just as she was right about many things. Until they had found a proper leader, Lightrunner would have to step forward. "Cats of-" Yikes, her voice cracked. "Cats of LightClan, it's- it's time that I held our very first Clan Meeting!"

Of course, as she said that, it dawned on her that every grown cat in the clan had already gathered. Did she command respect already? Or did they just assume she had something to say based on her stuttering and the anxious prodding of her paws? She cleared her throat and tried not to think about it too hard.

"We've- we've come a long way so far, with all of you leaving your homes in order to join me here... to start something new and alive! I can't thank you all enough for that."

She could spot Honeypurr and Skunktooth sharing a look amongst the group, which made her a little concerned. However, Briarclaw gave her an encouraging nod. Lightrunner smiled. Finding the confidence to raise her voice a little, she continued.

"I think it's time that we had our first proper ceremony," Lightrunner mewed. "Lyla and Pepper, you are both strangers to our camp, but StarClan has deemed you both worthy of ranks in LightClan."

The younger of the sisters, Pepper, seemed to beam with pride. Lyla seemed a bit sheepish, but still happy to be there. Good, Lightrunner thought, I haven't scared them off yet.

"Pepper, as is customary for clan life, you will adopt a new name to match this new journey ahead of you. StarClan shines upon you like a ray of warm light. From this moment forward, you will be known as Pepperfrost, a new warrior!" When Lightrunner had once seen loud roars of cats chanting a new warrior's name, back in her home clan, there were only a few cats cheering with various "woo"s and "yay"s (mostly just from Honeypurr). But with a clan of this size, Lightrunner could pick out each cat's voice individually, knowing their response was approval in their own individual ways. Pepper- now Pepperfrost- seemed to purr with approval. The name suited her, as well as her strange warm-and-cold-toned pelt.

"As for Lyla," Lightrunner mewed, "StarClan has given you their blessing to walk the path of a healer. LightClan will forever welcome your intuition and your connection to the Warrior Ancestors."

It occurred to her now that the only cat here who actually had warrior ancestors was... well, herself. Still, it only felt right to honor them, as they had essentially adopted these new cats as their proteges. One day, if they were successful, LightClan would have its own warrior ancestors, and Lightrunner would be among them.

"StarClan shines upon you like a warm ray of light. From this moment forward, you will be known as Lilacdream!"

This time, it was Pepperfrost who cheered loudest, alongside Honeypurr and (surprisingly) Briarclaw. Lightrunner couldn't help but be a little bit proud of herself for the warrior names she'd come up with. She had never considered how difficult it might be for a leader to come up with names for cats! She had fussed over getting it just right for so long that it was good to feel the gratification afterward. And with that, the clan was dismissed. After giving the meeting its proper end, Lightrunner hopped down from the rock and watched as her fledgling clan headed off to do their daily tasks. Doing so made her heart swell with pride.

They were one step closer to being a true clan now.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

Pepper joins the clan as a warrior. Her new name is Pepperfrost, in honor of her blue-and-red marbled pelt.

Lyla joins the clan as a healer. Her new name is Lilacdream, in honor of the dreams she shares with StarClan.

Skunktooth and Mousekit have some bonding time.

Honeypurr holds Antkit hostage in the nursery.

Magickit watches a hedgehog on the outskirts of the camp.

[collegething]

Kiptoe

Have any of you ever heard of the saying “ you won’t work a day in your life if you love what you do”? Well that's how Kiptoe made himself a living off of mural paintings.

His real name is Matt Dean, and he lived in New Hampshire until he decided to take a big risk and move to LA to pursue his dream of painting murals around the world. As a multi-talented artist he is most known for his mural arts and sticker creations. He only makes stickers to share his painting in a small, iconic and cheap way. Kiptoe also takes all of his art projects and vlogs them, to then post them onto youtube. With a total of 754k subscribers, he makes all of his creations, and editing alone.

You’re still not sure about who he is? Kiptoe is a freelancer artist inspired by things like comics, sculptures, movies and by his own life experiences. His art has been viewed by such people that it allowed him to collaborate with private clients, small and large businesses but also be involved in the entertainment industry. You might know some of them, like the famous Fortnite video game and Walt Disney entertainment. In addition, he has painted his work in countries like Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Finland, England, Lebanon, and across the USA.

Kiptoe’s favorite medium is spray painted so here are three of his top viewed mural paintings straight from his YouTube channel. Beginning with “Venice Beach Dragon” with 3.5M views. “Risk” and “Three Saints” nearly equal 1.9M views.

To start off, “Venice Beach dragon” Made in only 1 day in Venice Beach Walls, was painted over a bunch of tagged graffiti, to remember the building that had been knocked out, and filled with them. 

The mural has KIPTOE spelt across from it, with a dragon attempting to cross through all of the letters. 

According to Matt Dean, the theme for this one is Life. The letters are the bad and evil, people that are trying to put down the dragon, especially in the center where there is visible tension and tearing. Let’s call them obstacles. Whilst, the dragon keeps its perseverance and stays strong through it all, it  finally makes it out of the obstacles and continues to fulfill its own life.

“Risk” a mural made in cali Colombia in 2017, for Matt’s Policromia Tour.

It is a man wrapped in a kraken creature, only to continue fighting and never giving up. It is based on the phrase “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” but flipped to express the opposite; taking risks to challenge your limits.

Three saints was a big game changer for Matt since at the time it was the biggest mural he had done. Made in Pico-Union, Los Angeles in 2017.

There’s three saints demonstrated with personified identities to help us through our lives.

Protection, which is the guardian warrior basically protects us from danger and predators, through birth and adolescence.

There’s love, which is represented by the lion, which lets us find out who we truly are and accept our good or bad in our lives and learning to love ourselves to we can learn to love others, so it can be possible to create a heart to heart connection. 

Lastly, guidance, as the man, develops when we become more mature, and gain wisdom. Like the eagle we soar high above and help those going through their first stage.

With all three of the most famous projects made by Kiptoe let’s take a look at one that caught my eye.

Let’s analyze “amor infinite” made in pereira, colombia in 2017. Using saussures theory, this mural is very metaphorical. As we can see it is a woman and a man wrapped around each other with evil looking wolves surrounding them. This signifies that metaphorically, the humans in the center represent the strong love they share for each other, and the wolves are only trying to separate them but their bond is too strong to do so.

Lastly, the visual communicator that I picked today, communicated important lessons through his artwork. Kiptoe uses stories and animations to make his paintings come to life. In addition, his murals add life to the world, especially when it’s to decorate boring places. He was able to make all of these murals, with his passion because that’s what he loves to do, and in addition also gets paid for it, which isn’t really what he cares about but that keeps him motivated to create more beautiful art works. So “if you do what you love you will never work a day in your life”.

[arthursknight]

arthur knows there is something to be said of the way a man wears his scars.

his father wears his, an angry silver cord right above his eyebrow, with defiant pride. time and time again, he has seen a visiting noble alight their gaze on the mar, and his father's bellicose stare in return, a silent war between them. i have survived this, the king would say without words. i will survive you.

on his father's men, a constellation of pink, raised flesh-- a rope of gnarled skin on sir bedivere's left arm from the slice of a blade; a thick, white tear in the fabric of ector's neck. when arthur's young, he sits by fires and listens to the tales of bandits, beasts, and brethren who leave the marks on the warriors who arthur loves.

and, in time, they come to arthur. a snaking vine on arthur's right hip. a thin slice along his left bicep. none of them grow angry and purple the way he's seen after the battle dust settles. he's lucky, in that regard, that all his settle into the skin like they belong there. a man who wears his scars not without pride, but whose scars wear him with the same reverence.

his new knights collect them with the same wonder arthur first collected his. a memory of a battle well fought. a time where death reached out its hand and missed. i have survived this. i will survive you.

but they never come to merlin.

at first, when he's young and naive to all the things merlin has done for him, it stands to reason that merlin is never scarred. he doesn't do anything. later, when the truth outs, arthur knows that was as foolish a thought as trusting his father blindly.

merlin fights alongside him, now, in their older years. he watches as blade lunges, as arrow pierces, as spear aims-- and yet, merlin walks away from battle without a scratch. surely, arthur thinks, merlin has just been lucky. maybe his scars are like arthur's-- not quite as visible as his father's, as his men's. hidden underneath cloth and armour.

merlin shares his battlefield, his kingdom, and-- on the luckiest night of arthur's life-- decides to share his bed, too.

it's after arthur has run his hands over every inch merlin will allow him that he realises. not once, in the fog of their union, did arthur's fingers ever stumble over raised skin, divots or grooves.

"what's wrong?" merlin asks, his voice quiet, his lips pressed to where their hands are joined. "tell me if you're about to kick me out of your bed, at least, so i can figure out how i am going to walk after all that."

it's a joke to mask how scared merlin must feel. this is a new development, though one as easy as breath, as predictable as the sun rising in the sky. arthur will tell him that later. for now, though--

"you promised," he whispers into merlin's neck, "to keep nothing more from me."

merlin frowns, his brows drawn together. "i haven't? i mean, if you're talking about my affections, surely we can both admit that yours were the more hidden--"

arthur places a hand over the groove of a lower rib. "here," he says, "is where you were almost run through by bandits, a few seasons ago." his fingers trail down to a hip. "here, you intervened in my fight with some beast or another, and i had to watch gaius give you stitches. and here--"

merlin stops his hand, sucks in a breath. "arthur."

"did you use magic to heal?" arthur finds he isn't angry, not in the way he expects. "i understand, merlin. you had to explain away so much; it would make sense--"

"it's a glamour," merlin admits in the space between his words.

arthur frowns. "a glamour."

merlin can only nod.

arthur knows what the word means, sort of, from the magical instruction and history merlin has given him in the time past their-- arthur's-- new found knowledge of their bond. but glamours, as merlin had explained, are oft for the use of enchantment, so as to make one's romantic interest view them as beautiful--

oh.

he rolls merlin onto his back.

"show me." it is a plea more than a command. it is not from merlin's king, but rather, arthur hopes, his heart.

merlin sighs. his eyes glow gold.

like roots spreading through the earth, a tide rippling over sand, his appearance changes. angry pink gnarls. fine, silver cuts. the faint shadow of where a burn once sat. they litter merlin's pale skin, old and new, in places arthur never could have imagined.

he knows his face must show something that makes merlin turn away from him. with a shaking hand, he turns merlin's chin back to him.

"tell me one thing," arthur says. it is a command, now. "were these all for me?"

there is no air in the room as merlin nods.

slowly, arthur draws in breath. he leans down, then, and presses his lips to one at the base of merlin's neck.

"then," he starts, shakily, "this is mine." another kiss, to his ribs, the puckered flesh of a sword wound. "this is mine." to his wrist, where chains must have sat at the behest of his father. "this is mine," and he's choking up, now.

merlin's trembling underneath him, a quaking branch in the wind. arthur spreads his fingers over merlin's heart, takes its beat in his palm, and looks him in his eyes.

"i will love everything you show me," arthur breathes, a promise, "because it is mine."

"as am i," merlin promises back. "as am i."

[thebreathofthewild]

i very much prefer the story of breath of the wild to the alternate timeline we got in age of calamity. not because i’m a timeline purist, i don’t really care much whether it splits off or not, but what DOES matter to me in a story (next to the plot itself) is mainly characterization, relationships and theme.

my main issue with age of calamity’s story isn’t just what they changed... it’s what they DIDN’T change, which then didn’t fit with the new stuff they’d written.

breath of the wild’s story is, in my mind, far from perfect, but it has a consistent, vibe, flow, and a character arc for princess zelda that i believe. more than an individual arc, it’s also a relationship arc with link. the development of that relationship is a key driver of the plot.

in age of calamity... despite reaching the same conclusion - that zelda saves link, her love for him activates her power - that development is absent.

i rewatched all the memories from botw and its like. bro. age of calamity can't even begin to compare. their relationship in botw has an arc.

every scene they're in together serves a purpose to establish a new relationship status or milestone. zelda goes through a Bunch of emotions about link: first quiet resentment, then Louder resentment at how he’s doing better at his role than she is at hers, then full-on ANGY, then admiration, mixed with guilt and regret for having lashed out that way to someone who would save her anyway...

from then, she humbly tries to be nicer through tending link’s wounds. she allows herself to be more playful and goof off with him, then Actually Opens Up about her insecurities - displaying true vulnerability when they're caught in the rain together. we know from zelda’s diary that link also shares his own troubles with her, and that she was trying to get him to open up was well. 

then, zelda’s excitingly sharing more hobbies (ancient tech) and hoping that maybe, just maybe, her research can substitute her lack of powers. in the same scene, link gets to witness a true relationship milestone: a parent yelling at your friend/gf in front of you. then zelda shows Even More vulnerability as she has a meltdown about her fears & insecurities at the spring of power in front of him (knowing he's there & not afraid to show him). at this point, she even allows herself to be angry at her dad, instead of solely blaming herself. 

then she gains further appreciation for link teaching her how to handle horses (and says she’s trying to be a bit more empathetic to the horse, as a metaphor for her being nicer to link and more selfless in general), sharing her faint hope for mt lanayru...  then that hope is crushed, and zelda decides to stay by link’s side (instead of urbosa hiding her) regardless of danger.

the calamity strikes. they flee together - which leads to zelda having a total beakdown, as the others die and link’s the only one she has left. the mix of guilt, despair and grief becomes too much, so she leans on him, both physically and emotionally, and he is always there to comfort her. 

THEN, finally, zelda has reached a point of loving link enough to be able to save his life, knowing he will do the same someday. which he does, and in the epilogue, she acknowledges both the pain of the past and how (because him remembering her is what unlocks this ending) he is a big part of the reason why she can accept herself now, even with her power fading & her role fulfilled.

that's an ARC, baby! 

i have my problems with botw as an overall narrative (especially its muddled messaging on whether zelda should be forced to have this traditional role), but i cannot fault how carefully they built the zelink relationship step-by-step without taking shortcuts. in these brief snippets, you see just enough to understand how zelda went from almost hating link to truly loving him.

by contrast... here’s the AoC zelink arc, despite having 3x the cutscene runtime: zelda feels quietly insecure, but doesn’t take it out on link. link saves her, as a bodyguard is supposed to. they exchange glances. they don’t talk / bond. link saves zelda again. they exchange glances. they don’t talk / bond... they flee together. then she saves link out of “love.”

that’s it. that’s literally it. 

AoC-zelink go from two (2) Meaningful Glances to zelda activating her powers, because of a bodyguard she has not spent one real second bonding with. 

link saving zelda was a turning point for their relationship in botw, yes - but here’s the key difference: it was a starting point, not the end destination. it made zelda re-evaluate how she saw link, because she was a dick to him first. THAT prompts her to try to understand someone who was kind and selfless despite how poorly she treated him. which leads to many scenes of them bonding more.

so, hot take: the real, original sin here which almost all of these issues grow from, is that they didn’t let zelda be flawed in age of calamity. 

because age of calamity-zelda was never a jerk to link, she has no reason to go out of her way to be nicer and get to know him when he saves her anyway. that’s just standard bodyguard stuff, and that’s all it’s allowed to be. they don’t share private moments of vulnerability. they don’t share at all, really.

because of this, their relationship - which became its own, organic thing in botw - is never allowed to grow. it stays knight & princess without any real flavor to it. 

i think this could be avoided if age of calamity-zelda was as strong of a character as botw-zelda was. neither is like, a literary masterpiece, but there’s a clear contrast. both are insecure and want to stop ganon, but... that’s all AoC-zelda is allowed to be, until she’s suddenly a Perfect Badass Goddess with no personality other than shouting “for hyrule!”

botw zelda didn’t just have that central insecurity. she has hobbies, she goofs off, she gets angry at people, she starts out with a huge inferiority complex towards link. she can be selfish and rebellious and clearly likes research more for its own sake than its ability to stop the calamity. she becomes nicer over time and more compassionate (unlike age of calamity, which treats it as given that she was always “boundlessly” compassionate), but that’s where she got because link was nice to her, not where she started out. 

and all of this fits into theme. age of calamity is a power fantasy in a notoriously over-the-top warriors franchise. its all about self-empowerment and looking good while kicking ass. breath of the wild is about exploration, slowly piecing together what happened 100 years ago and moving past grief into hope for the future.

i’ll put it this way - botw zelda had an arc to become a better person. aoc zelda only ever became a more powerful person.

[highfaelucien]

While on the topic of wishing sjm had done something different for her characters, I really wanted something more for cassian. For example, cassian’s wings going from being completely ruined in the end of acomaf to being 100% healed in acowar made no sense to me. I think it would’ve been an opportunity for the growth of cassian’s character to see him go through the loss of losing the ability to fly and instead retrain himself to be a warrior in other ways and find other things about himself that prove his own worth to himself. Given the fact that cassian’s confidence is aligned with his ability to protect and serve others, it just would have been sooo good to see him overcome his grief and become even stronger of a character. And how wings, in general, are a sense of male pride among illyrians. I think this would’ve been the perfect way to write cassian and have him break away from his own idea of masculinity. He could have redefined what it meant for him to be a Man ™. Ugh, it just could have been so GOOD, imagine the character we could have gotten from him.

Listen, after ACOMAF, when this happened, EVERYONE was buzzing about this. Most people thought he wouldn't outright lose his wings permanently, but there would be a LOT required.

And then ACOWAR came and approximately nothing happened whatsoever. Oh he had to be healed. the healer had to rebuild his wings. he had to do strength training every day. But fundamentally: not a sausage.

Personally? I think Maas chickend out. I think she was unable to commit to taking Cassian's wings, or figuring out how to write him as anything other than what she's established him as: fun jock man who likes to hit things real hard and make dick jokes sometimes.

Having to see Cassian vulnerable? Having to see him broken, and struggling, and having to reevaluate his entire life and self-esteem and sense of masculinity would have been an incredible option for a character arc.

Most of the theorising/Nessian fics involved Nesta helping him. The two of them being broken/fundamentally altered by their experiences in Hybern - she being killed and Made with a dark power, Cassian losing his wings.

There was expected bonding over that, peeling away the masks they both wear to discover the softness underneath. The two of them being able to reach one another, because of their bond, in a way the others could not. It produced some pretty epic stuff, honestly.

And how badly I wanted that I didn't FULLY realise until the disappointment of ACOSF, when it hit fully.

Because instead of stripping Cassian back and seeing the tactician, the strategist, forcing him to put his other skills to use, to develop those skills, rather than 'smash with sword and ask questions later'. This man is a General. All the combat training in the world doesn't let you be good at this job if you can't command, if you can't use tactics, if you can't strategise.

And THIS is where I wanted to see Nesta. Nesta, the woman who calculated how many ships would be needed to save the humans of Prythian. The woman who looked at Greysen's manor and assessed its capabilities and saw a prison. The woman who devours history novels, who has a tactical, cunning mind. Who has never been a warrior or a creature of brute strength or physical abilities.

THIS is how I wanted to see Nesta evolve. This was how I wanted to see her develop. I didn't want her taken out of lady's dresses. I didn't want her forced into fighting leathers, to basically become another copy of her sister, and follow down that path.

I wanted her to take her own. I wanted her to finally be in a place where she could learn, and strategise, and contribute. And I wanted her to work with Cassian on this - who was grounded because of his wings, who couldn't command on the frontlines anymore, or even fight. Who had to stay back, and see how he handled this. How he maintained his authority. How he maintained his sanity without his wings.

We could have had so fucking much. Such a powerful narrative about survival. I wanted her in the library, with the other survivors, (and with fucking MORRIGAN - not sidelined, not dismissed, not being bitchy and catty for the sake of it. But someone who visits the library frequently, who interacts with the women there, and sometimes just is a woman there herself, because there are still hard days.)

But no. No instead of something nuanced, and original, and actually tailored to Nesta's strengths as a character, we got Yet Another Weapon's Trainng Montage.

We got the narrative that the only way to heal from abuse is to be able to beat the shit out of your abusers. Because that's #GirlPower, right?

It makes me so furious I almost want to just. Just fucking rewrite the whole damn fucking thing myself the way it SHOULD have gone.

And I know you talked about Cassian and not Nesta, so I do apologise, but they were tied together. But I agree.

We all wanted Cassian to evolve from that 'Lord of Bloodshed' / "savage brute" because reading between the lines and forcing some nuance from these books, which is the only way to survive: Cassian has a lot of layers. There's a lot of trauma there. A lot of insecurity. A lot of angst. A lot of heart. A lot of fucking INTELLIGENCE. (I'll fight on that point, I really will. Cassian is not a dumb himbo who can barely add 1 and 1).

But sjm was too busy writing him having a hard on for Nesta to explore....anything about himself. Or his relationship with Azriel, and Rhys, and Mor, and everyone else.

The removal (even temporarily) of his wings would have allowed for a LOT of that exploration.

Firstly, the fact that he injured them by CHOICE, saving Azriel's life. That would have been such a deep connection and bond between them. The guilt that Az would feel - but the potential for Cassian to step in, even with his wings gone, and say that he'd do it again.

Because Azriel is his brother. He loves him. And it was worth it. It would be worth it a hundred times over to save him. Because he's worth saving. And he's worth sacrificing for. And what that would have done for Az as a character, too. Who always offers himself up first for dangerous missions, puts himself in peril to protect the others.

And having Cassian join Feyre and Az's flying lessons? Because Cass having to relearn how to fly once (if) his wings healed to that extent, means letting Azriel train him. Because those old instincts aren't enough. And he has to learn how to strengthen them, and train with them. And how this affects his perception of himself and his masculinity, as he said. But also deepening his understanding for Az, and the bond the two of them share, in having this experience together.

Bonding with Rhys, who FINALLY fucking opens up to someone and has some nuanced therapy-like conversations about what happened with Amarantha. The sacrifces they've made for their people. How they'd do it again but it still hurts, and changes them, and how they have to learn and grow and move on from that and heal together.

Rhys working with Cassian on his other talents, using him as the skilled strategist and tactician he MUST be. Helping him to develop that, keeping his brother from losing his mind while he can't fight or use his physicality to solve problems, as he usually does.

Mor personally healing and tending to Cassian. Mor being there at his bedside every day while he was bed bound. Mor becoming as possessive and overprotective of both him and Az as any mate ever has been.

Mor speaking to him about her own rehabilitation after what her family did to her, the physical toll that took on her. Mor's heart breaking because she nearly lost both him and Az and she couldn't handle that at all. Mor reiterating how much she fucking loves him, and how she needs him.

Mor helping him through the darker days of his depression because she's been there. And she knows what it is to put on a front. To always be laughing, and joking, without the seriousness of life -leave that to the others. But sometimes it's too much and he needs to break down. And be angry. And furious. And hopeless. And scared. And that's what she's there for. Because she understands.

Mor winnowing him to his favourite spots that he can't fly to anymore, just so he can be there. The two of them spending time, and bonding, and developing that relationship we got in ACOMAF beyond 'we bicker constantly and drink together and make sexual innuendos'.

Even Amren showing up and doing her part. Snapping at him to stop brooding so much. But also bringing him some of her puzzles. Some of her favourite military history books (which she has anotated and edited to highlight the bits that have been incorrectly reported). Spending time with him to stop him going mad. Exhausting herself those first few days personally attending to Cassian's wings, and snarling at anyone who tried to interfere.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH.

IT COULD HAVE DEVELOPED SO MUCH WITH THE INNER CIRCLE. AND CASSIAN. AND NESSIAN. AND JUST. EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER BUT NAW. IT WAS BASIC ASS AND BORING AND I'M GONNA DIE MAD ABOUT IT.