#but honestly tip of the iceberg

[gendrie]

what are your thoughts on arya and cat i mean just like their similarities and connection and reunion bc idk arya’s asos arc in particular drives me insane. the chapters AFTER the red wedding are some of the bleakest ive ever read. its so interesting how cat’s death haunts arya so much more significantly than the others. i also wonder what an AGOT interaction between them wouldve looked like and why george didnt include it if he knew stoneheart was gonna be a thing.

the fact that we don’t have an interaction between arya and catelyn on page (and never will!!!! lmao!!!!!) is truly one of my biggest gripes. esp bc it was so avoidable all grrm had to do was draw arya i out for a couple more pages and then we wouldve had at least one scene to serve as a counterpoint for arya and lsh’s meeting if nothing else. its even more frustrating bc we know in grrm’s earliest imagines of the asoiaf he intended for arya and catelyn to have a prominent relationship. they were supposed to go to KL, escape to WF, retreat to the wall and beyond it - together! i mean:

Ned will be accused of treason, but before he is taken he will help his wife and his daughter Arya escape back to Winterfell.

When Winterfell burns, Catelyn Stark will be forced to flee north with her son Bran and her daughter Arya.

Abandoned by the Night's Watch, Catelyn and her children will find their only hope of safety lies even further north, beyond the Wall, where they fall into the hands of Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall, and get a dreadful glimpse of the inhuman others as they attack the wildling encampment. Bran's magic, Arya's sword Needle, and the savagery of their direwolves will help them survive, but their mother Catelyn will die at the hands of the others.

this is a significant amount of plot they shared. but things ran away from grrm, the story moved at a much faster pace than he anticipated, characters took on life’s of their own, the plot was tweaked here and there and everywhere, ect. in that process arya and catelyn got lost. they were “ripped apart” and then the opportunity to have them interact on page disappeared. in the end, they only had that tragically small window in agot (a mere 8 chapters?) before bran falls, catelyn has her breakdown and arya leaves winterfell. to his credit grrm is on record acknowledging this and regretting it [x]. 

so, we didn’t get that arya and catelyn interaction in her first chapter, but there is the line foreshadowing arya pulling catelyn’s body from the river via nymeria. even as the series was evolving that still made it on page bc catelyn becoming undead appears to be one of the oldest intact plots points. which is a major reason i am so convinced that arya and lady stoneheart have always been destined to meet. 

but its everything. the red wedding most of all. told thru arya and catelyn’s alternating povs, mother/daughter, one inside and one outside, surrounded by this slaughter that will seemingly be the end of it all. catelyn not caring what happens to her if she can only save robb, arya’s “we have to get my mother.” (honestly, i don’t think the fandom even appreciates the fact that arya was literally at trw. like its the most horrific event in asoiaf that haunts the entire narrative mostly wrt the north and house stark and arya was there. she is one of the very few survivors.) the way it ends with arya and catelyn both losing consciousness - one killed, the other knocked out but......they both wake up. 

arya’s reaction is the sum of everything pulling her down into the depths of depression. i think catelyn’s death being the hardest for arya to cope with is because she just wants her mother’s love and doesn’t think she has it. that hurts so bad. its like this open wound that can’t heal. which is why i neeeeed to read lady stoneheart’s monstrous undead hands touching arya’s face. she’s not catelyn anymore. catelyn stark was betrayed and murdered. but mother merciless’ last bit of humanity can be reached by the girl who was her daughter. its terrible and its beautiful and im going to cry about it. im really hung up on arya giving catelyn a proper funeral too. idk how realistic it is but regardless its high on my wishlist. like............please grrm.......the tullys drew their strength from the river and it was to the river they returned when their lives had run their course.

i could go on about the connection between arya and catelyn for a decade (oh wait, i have been lol) but this post is already long enough so i will just say i love the depth of feeling i get from both their characters and i like that they’re very active in the narrative - fighting for what matters most: family. thats the greatest similarity between them imo. 

[ughhhdavid]

Nate had so much pressure put on him and he went out in the world looking for what he never got from his dad and he was bullied at worst and infantilized at best by the people that were supposed to be his team.. He was trying so hard and had so many talents but didn't believe in himself enough to let them show... He would spit on his reflection for confidence because deep down he couldn't let go of the idea that he wasn't good enough... The superiority/inferiority complex of it all... He snapped and tried to take Ted down and betrayed the team and went to West Ham... Just to look for his father's love in Rupert... And tried so hard to give him the benefit of the doubt because if the one person who would take him seriously turned out to be terrible, what did that say about him??? And because he needed that validation so bad!!! Even if he saw the error of his ways. But when he had to choose between it and someone he loved he couldn't do it. He quit his job and the field he's been into for several years at least, the one who brought him success, and felt as if he lost part of himself. He didn't get that validation at home and getting it professionally would mean compromising himself even more and sinking deeper and deeper. Feeling like there was no place in the world for him.... The depression naps, not shaving,just sleeping in his bed. He didn't know if there was anything else for him out there to cling to. But he re-discovered a version of him that was just for himself by playing the violin... Because he didn't care about being good, he just wanted to play. Finally getting that love and support from his father, who made mistakes but only wanted the best for him... and being able to let go of his resentment, his hatred of himself and the boxes he put himself in... Realizing that he's always been everything he ever needed

[blackjackkent]

It still amuses me that because I have both Halsin and Minthara in camp, Halsin just gets stuck out on the ground somewhere and doesn't have a tent anymore.

Anyway, Rakha takes a little while in camp with Wyll to settle down after the Shadowfell/sheep adventure. It takes her a bit, because she really is just feeling terrible from a lot of different things at this point and it's all kind of stacking up; in this case she also feels pretty humiliated, both by the embarrassingly juvenile transformation and her own response to it.

Luckily none of her party really pushes the issue - Minthara definitely found the whole thing amusing but is smart enough not to make a show of it, and Lae'zel I think also found it funny but was more concerned about Rakha's well-being. Wyll would have found it funny if it was anyone other than Rakha, but as it is, he just sits with her and holds her hand and lets her lean on him steadily.

After a while she does speak a bit. The first thing she says is that if Volo finds out from any of them what happened and starts making a song about it, that she won't be responsible for what she does after that. :P

Eventually, though, she goes to check in with Halsin about the curse situation.

"Thaniel is resting," he says, "but it's no easy slumber. I discovered what's wrong with him. The shadows rended him in two when they bore him away to the Shadowfell. Half of his essence remained here amidst the curse. What stayed behind would have been the strongest part of him, but after all these years left in darkness, corruption must have taken hold."

Rakha listens quietly to this. She feels like she is waiting for the handing down of a verdict. Life or death. Will the curse be cleansed or will it remain, burning on her skin, forever?

"Can it be undone?" she prompts sharply.

"Perhaps," Halsin says, which is a much less certain answer than she would have liked. "If we can find Thaniel's lost half and make him whole again. Only...the missing half may not come willingly. The curse will have sunk its tendrils deep, twisting Thaniel's essence into something... else."

It's not really much to go on. But Rakha squints thoughtfully, tying these words to another moment out in the shadows - the strange boy laced in green luminescence. "I met a sort of shadow child before," she says slowly. "A little boy named Oliver. Around Thaniel's age."

Halsin's eyes widen. "And you saw this boy yourself?" At once he is energized again, hope back in his expression. "That can't be a coincidence, but we need to be sure..." He hesitates, draws his head back slightly. "And I truly mean *we*, if you wish," he adds, with an odd caution that she can't quite account for. "Every moment counts, and I've asked much of you already without being at your side."

Rakha grunts wearily. She had really hoped that this might finally be a day ending in good news - that they would strike a blow against the terrible broken magic in this wasteland. But why should things start being simple now? At least there is a possible next step to follow - if she can manage to find Oliver again out there in the dark.

"All right," she says with a slight shrug. "Leave it to me."

[ferahntics]

Spectra’s Origins

So I wanted to wait until I had the motivation to do a full comic about this, but at this rate it won’t happen anytime soon, so!! Instead, will do it in this format where I throw in some images here and there ;v;

This is going to be a long post under the cut, but! Let’s get down to talking about Spectra, cause she’s probably my favorite character to work on origin-wise.

I’ve stated before that Spectra is an anomaly of sorts. She is a fusion between her real and Mirror self, meshing into this weird unstable mess that can flip between sweet and graceful, to violent and sadistic in a second.

But I never really went into detail HOW she became an anomaly to start with. So let’s knock out her old, real world self.

Spectra was seen as a matriarch, so to speak, to a group of Babut that were seeking refuge and cover from the ongoing war between the GSA and Nightmare’s monsters - and to avoid any and all contact with Dark Matter creatures. They really just wanted to find a peaceful location where they can live with as few worries as possible and away from any battles. Spectra was seen as a very gentle lady that didn’t discriminate, she took in whoever and welcomed them with open arms.

Eventually, after years of traversing, they managed to find an abandoned castle-like area, imbedded within a cliff, the caverns serving as tunnels and rooms - very welcome for a group consisting of bats that preferred darkness. It seemed to have been abandoned for a very long time, with no real trace of anything within aside from dust... and a shattered mirror.

Upon closer inspection, a being made itself present in the broken object - a spitting image of Spectra, with grey marks as opposed to her usual brown. The Mirror counterpart claims to have been chased away and forcefully locked within an alternate world, unable to escape and live freely. Naively, the real Spectra decided to keep her counterpart company and befriend her.

A decision that would prove disastrous in the long-run.

Over time, she helped a badly injured Star Warrior that had been shot out of the sky during a fight and landed near their home. She helped him recover, and trusted him to keep their whereabouts a secret, for their sakes. The warrior complied, thanking Spectra before setting off, his injuries mended, aside some leftover scars.

This prompted her Mirror self to question her naive and trusting nature - could the warrior truly be trusted? Was he going to stay true to his word? Or did he merely pretend to be truthful and would eventually come back with his own troop and attack her and the Babut. She manages to plant a seed of doubt in her real self’s mind.

And it piles on. The real Spectra begins to worry about being ratted out by the Star Warrior, starts to think she might’ve been taken advantage of. When a group of young Babut pull a harmless prank, her reflection would question if it was really as innocent as she thought - or if there was something worse under the surface.

Another concern.

And it only added up over time. One concern evolved into another, and it kept multiplying.

Eventually, her calm demeanor had diminished, and she became wary - gradually evolving into paranoia, flinching and getting defensive at the slightest and most frivolous things and reading far too much into it. She became accusatory, and with her reflection’s influence, ended up pushing everyone away. Little by little, the Babut left, thinking their once graceful matriarch had succumbed to a form of madness.

This left her alone. Vulnerable. Exposed.

And so, the one being Spectra started to think she could trust and no one else - would prove to be the true mastermind behind it all. Her Mirror self lunged at her through the Dimension Mirror when it was repaired straight at her - and attempted to use her Ghost ability to possess her. She thought that if there were only one of them - she could remain concealed, and eliminate a potential threat who could thwart her.

To counter and in a blind panic, the real Spectra uses her Mirror abilities to defend herself from the possession. And this combination of abilities ended up clashing together, causing a bizarre and intense reaction - merging the two into one unstable creature. Destructive. Unpredictable. Creative.

And no one would know how to deal with her. Or what was unleashed.

[battle-subway-ghost]

// actually- using this bit where Paris is knocked out to slide in for a moment. This blog is coming up on 200 followers soon (which- Holy shit, I still can't process that completely. Thank you??? I never expected this blog to get this big in the first place.)

...But onto the main point.

I've had this idea in my head of a larger scale event- illustrated, different universe, all that jazz, since late October or so. It'd expand on a lot of personal lore, and a shared story between the mod behind @tinkatinktrain that's been in the works for years now.

[tigersorange]

whats very frustrating about my parents approach to both me and my sister being transgender is that theyre like we never created an unsafe space for u guys or asked you to leave when they absolutely did (for me particularly bc i came out way earlier but seeing me go through that understandably was incredibly traumatizing to my sister) when they basically did everything but outright say i should leave and have repeatedly voiced that i should never move back in with them and then act like they didnt do anything wrong and have no fault in anything in regards to their transphobia and their failure to be loving and supportive as parents to a point where we both felt unsafe and left so we could pursue transition.

[tacosaysroar]

Ok, THIS is a thing that makes me absolutely bonkers.

(Background: Once I mark something final, it’s problem coworker’s job to take that copy and do whatever we’re going to do with it.)

Me: (commenting in the ticket to the project manager and tagging problem coworker) Wonderful! I’ll leave the doc itself marked “edit” since I’ll be adding more pieces on the 22nd, but I’ll mark the pieces that are in there now as final.

Problem coworker: what’s ready for me?

Sir, I see your performative incompetence and I’m not falling for it. You’re going to have to go into the doc and look with your own eyes. Like a big boy.

[wewontbesleeping]

the fact that it’s fathers day reminds me of the time I mentioned my dad at work and my coworker was like “you have a dad??” and when I was like “… yes?” she said something along the lines of “oh you don’t seem like someone who has a dad” LIKE…..

[guhara]

goo hara and lee sun kyun along with stars are victims of witch hunt and my heart break for kang and park went though

both journalists being pregnant during that time and receiving hate and life threats makes me furious and especially park had two miscarriages after all of that, wish i could protect them it’s so brave of them to appear and talk about it again

[itzchrissydoesstuff]

This is about to be the most stupid, yet silly crack fic I’ve ever written

[canes-venatici200]

Lan Xichen may not be my favorite character but at least I respect him enough to not ship him with Meng Yao🤢 or Jiang Wanyin 🤮.

[dick-helmet-magneto]

my mother in a very disapproving, annoyed way saying I think she was mean to me when I was younger. SHE THREW SCISSORS AT ME ONCE

[literatisongs]

hey! new blog!! sideblog actually. I'll mainly post pictures of them with lyrics from songs that are just about them, like a sort of web weaving. so many songs are about literati and I want to make silly little posts about it <3 and maybe I'll post fanart and such stuff too

i will take requests and submissions too! gonna make a pinned post for the mobile users later

[pinene]

And one of the worst parts about straight people being comfortable with asking invasive questions and making assumptions about me as a gay guy again is that sometimes it makes me feel resentful toward the gays who embody the stereotypes that I'm being subjected to!! And we don't need to go back there, ever. It's lgbt unity or nothing. I'm making straight people take sensitivity zooms before they can interact with me

[n1ghtmaremachine]

y..you have a personal conflict with hh??

my conflict with hh is a deep and complex story involving the world's most awful therapy taking place in a purgatory dimension and i can assure you that you are not prepared for it