#but it's not that wild like it's a theory that COULD happen unless lots of other theories i've seen

[beanghostprincess]

Okay so, I came up with this One Piece theory that I think no one else has come up with yet and I need to know what you think. So, one of the biggest mysteries in One Pice are the 3 ancient weapons: Poseidon, Pluthon, and Uranus. Poseidon was an ancestor of the Neptun royal family who could communicate with the Sea Kings, and her current incarnatio is Shirahoshi. Pluthon was a physically reproducible warship whoose blueprints were owned by Iceburg and Franky before being destroyed. But Uranus is a much bigger mystery, as we know nothing about it yet.

So I looked up what the names mean and Poseidon is the roman God of the sea, Uranus means sky of heaven, and Pluthon is the roman version of Hades, the greek god of hell. So Poseidon is the sea, Pluthon is the underworld, and Uranus is the sky. The meaning seem to go with the look of tge weapons: a mermaid is a sea creature, a warship is related to war, which many people describe to be hell on Earth, so Uranus must be sky themed, or at least it's theme is a creature that can fly and it's also somewhat godlike.

Now, after Robin develoeped her Demonio Fluer during her fight against Black Maria many people started theorising that her devil fruit was actually not a paramisha, but a mytical Zoan. Like how Luffy's Gum-Gum fruit was actually the Nika fruit. I really like this theory and it would explain why Robin seems to be much stronger than any average paramecia user, ever pre-timeskip. So it dawned on me: what if Robin (or rather the previous owner of her fruit) is Uranus?

Think about it: a theme in One Piece is reincarnation, or ratger the spirits of the previous generation coming back in the newst ones, almost binded by destiny. And Luffy, this generation's Joyboy, was unknowingly tied to Shirahoshi (the reincarnation of Poseidon) Franky and Iceburg (the owners of the blueprints for Pluthon) and Robin (possibly Uranus?) Long before he knew anything about the weapons or his fruit's true identity, almost as if faith was guiding him thowards them.

So I firmly believe that in the Final war against the world Goverment and the Celestial Dragons Shirahoshi will learn to controll her powers, Franky will rebuild Pluthon (also sidenote, some people also theorise that Noah and Pluthon were originally built by the same person and that Noah was like a less refinied/incomplete version of it) and Robin will awaken her devil fruit fully becoming Uranus: a flying sky monster of another world that's connected to the gods, since demons are fallen angels in almost all mythology.

And in the frontlines of Joyboy's army alonside her allies and friends, the Demon Child Queen will finally take revenge, having learned the truth about tye world, her heritage, and keeping her homeland's legacy alive, fully using the potential inside of her that she was made feel worthless and sinfull about.

Do what do you think? Did I got something wrong? Is it a strech? Would it fit with the themes and story or would it ruin Robin's development? I need to get an opinion from a One Pice fan

Oh, damn, okay- I just woke up so this is probably way shorter than what you probably deserve for this text, but, yeah. I consider it a good theory! It makes sense if you think about it that Luffy was tied to them from the start and it's true that Robin is the one to end the mystery and also become greater than she already is, especially since, as you said, her powers seem stronger than usual. However, I always leave theories like these to theorists because I am just awful at these things (I'm way better at analyzing characters when it comes to reading canon stuff). But if you want my honest opinion, I think it could work out if they wrote it well. I don't think it would ruin her character, I'm just thinking about how Oda (if this theory ends up being true) will pull the whole "Well, actually, Robn's fruit isn't what you think! hA!" because he already did that with Luffy and it has to be a huge build-up to be interesting and shocking again.

[physalian]

What No One Tells you about Writing #3

Opening this up to writing as a whole, because it turns out I have a lot more to say!

Part 1

Part 2

1. You don’t fall in love with your characters immediately

But when you do, it’s a hit of serotonin like no other. I’d been writing a tight cast of characters for my sci-fi series since 2016 and switched over in a bout of writer’s block this year to my new fantasy book. I made it about ⅓ through writing the book going through the motions, unable to visualize what these new characters look like, sound like, or would behave like without a ‘camera’ on them.

Then, all of a sudden, I opened my document to keep on chugging with the first draft, and it clicked. They were no longer faceless elements of my plot, they were my characters and I was excited to see what they could accomplish, rooting for them to succeed. Sometimes, it takes a while, but it does come.

2. Sometimes a smaller edit is better than a massive rewrite

Unless you’re changing the trajectory of your entire plot, or a character’s arc really is unrecoverable, sometimes even a single line of dialogue, a single paragraph of introspection, or a quick exchange between two characters can change everything. If something isn’t working, or your beta readers consistently aren’t jiving with a character you yourself love, try taking a step back, looking at who they are as a person, and boil down what your feedback is telling you and it might demand a simpler fix than you expect.

Tiny details inserted at the right moment can move mountains. Fan theories stand on the backs of these minutiae. One sentence can turn a platonic relationship romantic. One sentence can unravel a fair and just argument. One sentence can fill or open a massive plot hole.

3. Outline? What outline?

Not every book demands weeks upon weeks of prep and worldbuilding. I would argue that jumping right in with only a vague direction in mind gives you a massive advantage: You can’t infodump research you haven’t done. Exposition is forced to come as the plot demands it, because you haven’t designed it yet.

Not every story is simple and straightforward, but even penning the first draft with your vague plan, *then* going back and adding in deeper worldbuilding elements, more thematic details, richer character development, can get you over the writer’s block hurdle and make it far less intimidating to just shut up and write the book.

4. It’s okay to let your characters take the wheel

I’ve seen writing advice that chastises authors who let their characters run wild, off the plan the story has for them. Yeah, doing this can harm your pacing and muddy a strong and consistent arc, but refusing to leave the box of your outline greatly limits your creativity. I do this particularly when writing romantic relationships (and end up like Captain Crunch going Oops! All Gays!).

Did I plan for these two to get together? No, it just happened organically as I wrote them talking, getting closer, getting to know each other better in the circumstances they find themselves in. Was this character meant to be gay? Well, he wasn’t meant to be straight, but you know what, he’d work really well with this other boy over here. None of that would have happened if I was bound and determined to follow my original plan, because my original plan didn’t account for how the story that I want to tell evolves. You aren’t clairvoyant—it’s okay if it didn’t end up where you thought it would.

5. Fight. Scenes. Suck.

Which is crazy because I love fantasy and sci-fi, the actiony-est genres. Some authors love battle scenes and fistfights. It comes naturally to them and I will forever be jealous. I hate fight scenes. I hate blocking and choreographing them. I hate how it doesn’t read like I’m watching a movie. I hate how it could take me hours to write a scene I can read in 5 minutes. I hate that there’s no way around it except to just not write them, or put in the elbow grease and practice.

Whatever your writing kryptonite is, don’t be too hard on yourself. It won’t ever replicate the movie in your head, but our audience isn’t privy to that movie and will be none the wiser of how this didn’t fit your expectations, because it’s probably awesome on its own. It could be a fight scene, sex scene, epic battle, cavalry charge, courtroom argument, car chase—whatever. Be patient, and kind to yourself and it will all come together.

6. Write the scenes you want to write first

And then be prepared to never use them. It can be mighty difficult working backwards from a climax and figuring out how to write the story around it, but if you’re sitting at your laptop staring at your cursor and watching it blink, stuck on a tedious moment that’s necessary but frustrating, go write something exciting. Even if that amazing scene ends up no longer working in the book your story becomes, you still get practice by writing it. Particularly if you hate beginnings or the pressure of a perfect first page is too high, you’re allowed to write any other moment in the book first.

And with that, be prepared to kill your darlings. Not your characters, I mean that one badass line of dialogue living rent free in your head. That epic monologue. That whump scenario for your favorite character. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out anymore, but even if it ends up in the trash, you can always salvage something from it, even if that’s only the knowledge of what not to do in the future.

7. “This is clearly an author insert.” … Yes. It is. Point?

No one likes Mary Sues, because a character who doesn’t struggle or learn to get everything they want in life is uncompelling. The most flagrant author inserts I see aren’t Mary Sues, they’re nerdy, awkward, boring white guys whose world changes to fit their perspective, instead of the other way around—they don’t have anything to say. I’m not the intended audience to relate to these characters and I accept that, but I don’t empathize with the so-called “strong female character” who also doesn’t have flaws or an arc either.

A good author insert? When the author gives their characters pieces of themselves. When the “author insert” struggles and learns and grows and it’s a therapeutic experience just writing these characters thrown into such horrible situations. They feel human when they’re given pieces of a human’s soul. They have real human flaws and idiosyncrasies. I don’t care if the author wrote themselves as the protagonist. I care that this protagonist is entertaining. So if you want to make yourself the hero of your book, go for it! But make sure you look in the mirror and write in your flaws, as much as your strengths.

[thorias]

So I know I've been fixated on this, but the more I think about it, the more signs are pointing to the timeline getting reset. Upon rewatch, there are just so many things about the events of ep5 that simply don't add up if this was meant to be permanent.

First, there was that weird psychic blast that hit Madelyne/Jean right before the attack. What was that about? Could it have been Cable? Possibly. But it seems awkward when it happens right before he shows up in the flesh anyway, so my guess is it had to do with someone else. But who?

It might be a stretch, but given what happened in ep6 with Xavier on his way back to Earth now, I could see it being Charles trying to warn them from the future via time travel tech. I might be way off base on that one, but we've certainly seen weirder things happen.

Also, Rogue wearing a version of her famous first-date-with-Remy dress in the comics only to dance with Magneto while Remy dies without knowing that she'd chosen him is a detail that stands out like a sore thumb. That didn't happen by accident. This was a very deliberate choice by the writers and unless the point of it was to just be intentionally cruel to Gambit AND Romy fans, (and I kind of doubt it was) this is going to come back somehow. These writers have been very reverential to the comics and they had to have known how fans would react to that. If those events aren't going to change so Rogue dances with Gambit instead, (paying off that line in ep1 about suffering her hand for a dance) then why do it this way? To heartbreakingly end one of the most iconic and popular relationships from X-MEN TAS, which was built up over 5 seasons, with no payoff at all? How is that an ending that would satisfy anybody?

Maybe I've got my tinfoil hat on a little too tight right now, but I just don't see any way that this is going to stick. I don't know if the attack will be prevented entirely, (probably not, tbh) but something about that night is going to be changed. You don't establish that the whole reason Cable's here is to stop the attack and then have him completely fail at stopping it.

Maybe Cable, Xavier and Forge put their heads together, get Cable's tech working properly and manage to warn everyone in time to make a difference.

In fact, I read a brilliant theory the other day that Xavier would use Madelyne/Jean as psychic conduits to make the X-men and everyone at the gala remember what happened before the attack starts, giving them enough of a heads up to save themselves. And ep5 was literally titled 'Remember It'; I mean, it could be more perfect.

AND since Sinister was behind the attack, how fitting would it be for Cable (the product of Sinister's machinations) to be the one who thwarts him?

What if Cable and Xavier manage to warn everyone in time, all the mutants of Genosha band together with the X-men to take the Wild Sentinel down and then afterward the gala happens, but with Rogue dancing with Remy this time?

I don't know... that's probably wrapping things up too neatly (and the teases of Remy becoming Death are piling up fast, so we can't rule that out) and I'm sure there are going to be consequences to the Sentinel attack that stick even if they do reset things, but narratively, this would make a lot of sense, not to mention finish the story in a way that doesn't leave Gambit/Romy fans utterly depressed and miserable.

[helenlvsbooks]

• Elain Archeron as High Lady of the Dusk Court •

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL OF ACOTAR AND HOFAS

DISCLAIMER: This is a pro Elain, pro Elriel theory, if you know this is something that will upset you, scroll and don’t interact with my post. I am not responsible for the content you choose to consume.

This is a post made with love and appreciation for Elain Archeron and all of my beautiful elriels, you guys are the intended audience for this post and I hope you guys enjoy it, as much I enjoyed writing it.

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POWERS

As of February of 2024 we know very little of Elain’s powers, and while we know for sure that she has visions or something close to it, making her a seer; there’s reason to think that she might be able to do more than that.

ACOWAR CHAPTER 75

It’s been said throughout the series that the cauldron is taken with Elain, and gifted something to her. While Nesta took power from it, Death itself as Rhysand called it in ACOSF, Elain was blessed by it.

While I have a preference for what those powers might be, I’m not going to stick only to my ideas, but I’ll also mention some alternatives the fandom has come up with.

ACOWAR CHAPTER 74

There’s two things I want to talk about when it comes to this passage.

— Elain stepped out of a shadow.

While there’s a lot of possibilities as to why Elain was able to do this, the exact moment it was needed, there’s two main theories I would like to mention.

One. Elain was able to winnow.

ACOMAF CHAPTER 7

ACOMAF CHAPTER 13

This is the most simple explanation to what happened in ACOWAR, and it could be an indication of Elain’s power being greater than that of a normal high fae.

“Only the stronger fae can do it.”

But it also leaves the question of what about the training? We all know Feyre is a High Lady, and even she had to train to be able to use that ability, so how is Elain able to do this so easily at the right moment in the middle of the battle field?

I would love to offer you an alternative.

TWO. Elain used Truthteller’s powers.

HOFAS CHAPTER 25

We learned in CC3 that Azriel doesn’t know how to use Truthteller to its full potential, what if Elain was able to see it with her Seer abilities and make use of it?

ACOWAR CHAPTER 30

It’s known in the fandom that Elain foresaw Cassian’s death. And while some still think this is going to happen in future books, I believe it already happened and Elain found a way to stop it.

ACOWAR CHAPTER 69

If Elain was able to winnow all along, why didn’t she take the dagger that Cassian offered her? She could’ve killed the king with that one just fine. Unless, she isn’t or didn’t know she was able to until she possessed Truth-Teller.

It’s been proven in CC3 that The star-sword and Truth-Teller possess a unique ability when combined/used together, but Vesperus was referring to Truth-Teller on its own.

HOFAS CHAPTER 12

This conversation in CC3 tells us two things:

Truth-Teller doesn't possess the ability to kill the unkillable we saw with The Starsword and Ataraxia. So, a simple dagger could've killed the King of Hybern.

It's implyed by the name of the dagger and what Azriel said that it might possess truth powers.

What if Truth-Teller showed Elain her ability to winnow or the dagger's innate power to help her do it?

HOFAS CHAPTER 12

"The dagger shone with darkness" - "Elain stepped out of the shadow."

As for the second thing I wanted to mention about ACOWAR 74: Only those with the power of the starborn can wild the Sword and the knife. And this is a fact.

Healing - Life Powers

ACOWAR CHAPTER 76

Going back to the Cauldron and Elain's gifted powers. It would make sense that while Nesta stole Death itself from it, Elain might've been gifted with Life by it.

Throughout the ACOTAR books, Elain's been linked to spring and gardens, and there have been many instances where SJM wrote about Elain growing plants, growing life.

ACOWAR CHAPTER 80

All of this aligns with what we learned about Theia and the Dusk Court in CC3.

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HOFAS CHAPTER 22

This right here is what inspired this theory, the moment I read this, everything made sense to me. This is what Bryce senses in the prison with her starborn powers, sounds familiar?

ACOWAR CHAPTER 24

Even Lucien knows that what Elain is saying doesn't seem to be about him, and I never believed it was. The wording is very specific.

"I can hear your heart through the stone." - "There was a beating, vibrant heart locked away, far beneath them."

HOFAS CHAPTER 67

"Off making more gardens?" - "I think the world needs more gardens."

Again, the wording used here was too specific to be a coincidence. A Garden, that's how SJM referred to the mountain Bryce awakened in Avallen, which is almost the exact copy of the Prison/Dusk Court.

HOFAS CHAPTER 19

"blossomed under her care,"

All of this makes me think of something SJM mentioned in ACOSF.

ACOSF CHAPTER 22

There was no reason for SJM to mention this particular detail unless it's something that might come to happen in the future; and with all of the foreshadowing I just showed you, I think it's pretty clear who they might be referring to.

In HOFAS, Bryce takes Theia's power from the mountain and this awakens the land. She already did this in Pythian, but we didn't get to know if the same thing happened there. What if the land needs a High Lady to really blossom and come back to what it once was?

I can't think of anyone better than Elain to do that.

DRESS FORESHADOWING

One thing that some elriels noticed is that SJM makes it a point of having Elain 90% of the time in either pink or blue dresses, this is a fun detail that we love to mention when talking about The Sleeping Beauty retelling theory, this one is one of my favorites so definitely check it out.

While this is true for most of the series, SJM decided to make Elain wear another color in Silver Flames, purple, the mix of the two. Where am I going with this?

I think this Google image speaks for itself, but one last thing! There's a particular line of inner monologue from Cassian that a lot of gwynri3l's use to justify Elain "not belonging" in the Night Court.

ACOSF CHAPTER 57

While they love to forget that the Inner Circle did this on purpose to make Elain look "plain", so Eris would keep his attention on Nesta; they might have a point because no, Elain won't stay in the Night Court.

ACOSF CHAPTER 57

Nesta looks stunning in black tho, so she'll most definitely stay there. Right?

COLORING BOOK SYMBOLISM

On another note, user acoracaodefogo found something really interesting in the official coloring book for the series. Remember how Archeron's father named three ships after his daughters? Well, each of them has a symbol that correlates to something important about the sisters' future.

The Feyre has a crescent moon and stars, symbolizing the night court, and The Nesta has a creature that looks close to what the hounds of the Daglan are described as (intriguing), and a sun, like the one in the mask of the trove.

Elain's however, has an eight-pointed star, the symbol of the starborn and the Dusk Court.

HOEAB CHAPTER 21

As we already know, only the starborn can wield the Sword and the knife, and Elain happened to wield one of the two already.

STARBORN HERITAGE

Were the sisters already part of the Starborn line? I think this might be the case. It never made sense to me how Nesta was able to shield her mind from a high lord, or that Rhys could feel Feyre, his mate, while still being human; or how their father was able to make a deal with Koshei. We know he was known as the Prince of Merchants before losing all of his fortune, but what could he offer Koshei? What could be so important that a death god was happy to strike a deal with that old man?

ACOTAR CHAPTER 35

And there's also this. This little piece of information is what made me believe the sisters weren't completely human after all. Why would their parents know and old name of the fae? The humans hate the fae, they are scared of them, why would they choose that name for their youngest daughter?

There's also this new piece of information we got in CC3. Ruhn has healing magic, from the starborn line? This aligns perfectly well with what some elriels have been speculating since ACOWAR, that Elain saved Cassian not only by stabbing the King of Hybern, but also by immediately running towards him and healing some of his wounds.

HOFAS CHAPTER 94

NOTE: One last thing that came to my mind just now, the Starborn lake is in the Spring Court and it was said multiple times in Silver Flames that Elain would love to see that court. Just a thought.

This is going to be it for now, if you have something else to add to this please do; I would love to talk more about it!

ACOSF CHAPTER 21

BUT ELAIN TURNED ON HER HEEL. "FIND ME WHEN YOU WISH TO BEGIN."

ACOSF FEYSAND BONUS CHAPTER

"LET'S HELP ONE SISTER BEFORE WE START ON THE OTHER."

[faeriekit]

From a true artist and writer like yourself what's your opinion:

Are steamy romance novels the socially acceptable version of being horny on main?

Nope! Honestly, there's not many socially acceptable ways of being horny on main, unless it's one of those male-gaze dominated conversations. It's kind of sad. You can put a girl in a bikini in a beer ad but if you drag a man's pants too low on television everybody screams 😅

(So, for background, I did a minor in critical sexuality research, I studied a lot of gender theory, queer theory, and psych to do a pretty big blend of research on the nature of sexuality in modern culture in the US. I'm also a librarian, but that's technically not an education in literary analysis so the benefits on that is sort of a wash here.)

The thing about romance novels is that you can publish them, they can be wildly popular, and they can be bestsellers that get awards and on lists and wild acclaim, and they will never be wholly accepted by larger culture. If you read the room when non-writer people talk about romance novels, the conclusions drawn are that 1) romance isn't "real" literature [and therefore has no artistic value], 2) only women like romance, 3) because only women like it, it isn't respectable, and 4) is has no artistic value, therefore it isn't significant to popular culture. These things may not necessarily be true, but the genre is carrying a lot of baggage culturally and no one outside of romance readers really cares to question that perception.

Which. Is very sad. Because this is literature with a lot to offer! Erotica is often very culturally charged with interests and fears of the time it was written! But no one wants to talk about it!!

But you see this sort of thing all the time; when women enter an industry in droves to the point where they start to outnumber the men, the overall pay for the position immediately goes down, and the job loses some of its public respectability. This happened with mortuary school graduates pretty recently, and it's a pretty common phenomenon in a few other industries; women get to cook, but men get to be professional chefs. Women can sew, or be dressmakers, but men are fashion designers and tailors. A man's pay is bumped up, but women are accepted as a natural part of the process. The band with a whole passel of male fans is exalted as music's next upcoming star, but when a band has a bunch of women as fans, they're just a fad. Etc. Etc etc etc.

The general consensus in the public eye is that romance novels are silly but entertaining garbage for women and have no cultural value. Romance novels aren't proper literature, so you can totally read all the smut you want on a train as long as it has a pink cover and no one will bat an eye, but... They're not, like...respected. Honestly, when it comes to being horny on main, most people don't even consciously think of women as having their own individual sex drives, and women are the main population who buy and consume romance books.

So, you could get away with it, but it's not...it's a little more complicated than that, politically. I think I overcomplicated my answer but this was my knee-jerk reaction sorry lol 😭

[adipostsstuff]

The 'Es is Mikoto's younger sister' crack-but-not-really theory post

@74n5n don't say I don't do things for you.

This is mainly a joke theory I thought of randomly but when I thought about it more there was actually a lot of evidence for it so I'm going to compile a list of it here.

They have similar appearances, doen to their ahoges. I reblogged a post earlier about this one.

Es is a similar age to what Mikoto claims his sister to be (early high school age)

Mikoto calls his younger sister brilliant. I don't know about you but I consider memorising large sections of law, psychology and philosophy to be pretty brilliant. They canonically "have a thirst for knowledge" and enjoy learning about new things and may possibly be the most learned person here despite having thr least amount of lived experience.

Es refers to themself as 'uchi' in his second voice drama, which a less formal and more childish pronoun rather than 'boku' like they usually do, which may indicate dropping their guard in front of him and becoming more comfortable around him. This is the only time they refer to themselves as that. (Credits to @/somokoto for pointing this out.) (Side note: it is somewhat amusing to me that the characters Es seems to be closest to are the ones voted guilty trial 1.)

The rest of this is mainly behavioural similarities which isn't actually evidence and more so parallels but I'm going to list them anyways.

5. Both are prone to overworking themselves.

6. Both are a lot stronger than they appear to be. Mikoto is "a normal man with average build" yet he is the 3rd strongest prisoner out of the lot. Es and Kotoko both point out that their physique is not very strong yet they fucking knocked Kazui off of his chair. Sure, he was taken by surprise, and they were quite panicked, but Kazui is heavy and Es is tiny. They should not have the muscle to do that from their appearance alone but they do. They could probably vault half of the prisoners across the room and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

7. Onto the last point, both (well, John more so than Mikoto, but he is just a different aspect of him) have violent instincts, which is something they share with many others and is likely the result of forgotten trauma.

8. Both have identity issues and dissociate.

9. Also I believe in the "Es committed a murder in the past" theory so that in this context is very funny. Siblings who kill and then forget about it entirely separately.

Like, I do not believe thus will actually happen because I'm not sure where to fit that in narratively and it seems like a pretty big reveal to just gloss over, and also you would think Mikoto would recognise his own younger sister (unless he's been away from home for that long and hasn't been able to return, which, given his work situation, isn't entirely implausible), but it would be wild if it were to come true.

[vodika-vibes]

😌 idk if my first request for a fox x reader went through but i’ve been reading a lot (ofc whats new) and uh uh I found I really love fics with CX-2 (Clone Assassin) aND SO, to my favorite SW writer I ask;

How bout a soulmate au with CX-2 (?) Could be a bit of angst with a happy ending, and everyone is just wondering how reader could be with him after all the things he’s done (uh im getting sunshine!reader x grumpy character vibes)

dont have to write this! i just would love to see some more cx-2 fics after reading one just now lol also im down the rabbit hole again that its cx-2!tech whose been reconditioned, do what you feel is best but i just love that theory bc I’m a firm believer too that tech never died 😌

Protective

Summary: For a long time, your parents feared that you didn’t have a soulmate. Until, one morning, you woke up and found a wild dog curled up next to you on your bed. You named him Noir, and the people around you quickly learned that he was fiercely protective of you. However, after Noir kills an Imperial Officer after he threatens, you have no choice but to go on the run.

Pairing: CX-2 x F!Reader, background Tech x Phee

Word Count: 2799

Warnings: None

Prompt: Soulmate AU - soulmates have spirit animals representing each other.

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: So I wasn't able to get the angst to work, largely because I wasn't in an angsty mood. Also, as much as I love the CX-2 being Tech idea, I had a different idea for this fic, so I hope you like it!

“What d’ya have there, Noir?” You ask as you return to the small hut that has been your home for the last three months and crouch in front of your oldest companion.

Noir’s tail wags rapidly as he nudges something in your direction.

You gently rub his head, then carefully pick up his offering, “Oh, it’s a fish. Did you find dinner for us, pal?”

Noir releases a happy yip, and you laugh softly, “Good job, Noir.” You stand and carry the fish over to the rough kitchen to divvy up the portions. Most of the fish will go to Noir, while you’ll prepare your portion with some seasoning that the Wookies traded with you.

Three months ago, Noir slaughtered an Imperial Officer who threatened your life. You’ve always known that he is fiercely protective of you, and you knew that there was a chance that he would kill again if you were threatened.

The first time it happened you had still been a child. Your uncle tried to kidnap you, and Noir reacted violently. 

That time, the authorities just nodded and said it made sense, that your uncle had bad intentions. Neither you, nor Noir, were punished for the death of your uncle.

The Empire is much less understanding.

You had no choice but to take Noir and flee from Coruscant.

The pair of you bounced from planet to planet for several months and then were offered a safe house on Kashyyyk, in the Shadowlands far below the treetop homes of the Wookie people.

It’s not easy.

You are, at your heart, a city girl. Hunting and survival skills do not come naturally to you. Luckily, you have Noir. He really is the greatest equalizer.

If not for him, you’d have died several times since you moved into the small hut.

The biggest downside to this whole situation is the knowledge that you’re not likely to ever meet your soul mate.

Well, unless your soulmate is a Wookie, you suppose.

Carefully, you fillet the fish on your cutting board and toss the large majority into Noir’s bowl, the rest is set in a bowl of marinade and shoved into the fridge. 

At least you have electricity. 

Sure, you don’t have a holo, but you do have a radio that allows you to keep up to date on the current events, and, much more importantly, listen to books while you fight to keep the Shadowlands from reclaiming the hut.

You’re about to flip the radio on, when Noir releases a low growl.

A growl low enough that your hair stands on end.

You turn your gaze to Noir and see that his ears are flat against his head and his teeth are bared. Spooked, you reach for your belt and grab your blaster, and then you nudge the door open.

Noir slinks out of the hut and, cautiously, you follow him.

The forest is silent. Eerily silent. 

You scan the forest around you, not that you expect to be able to see or hear anything. It’s enough that Noir is still growling as though he’s on the verge of attacking.

There’s a rustle in a bush, and you lift your blaster, only to lower it as a small, curious-looking creature ambles out. It’s red, black, and white, and you’d almost think it was a raccoon if not for the colors.

Noir is still growling like there’s a threat, but he’s ignoring the small creature, which is still ambling towards you. It stops at your feet and raises on its hind legs, and you crouch to get a better look at it.

When Noir first appeared in your bedroom all those years ago, no one was sure what kind of animal he was. Not even the zoologists at the local university were able to determine a species.

So you spent a lot of time as a child flipping through various animal encyclopedias. And, while you’d never claim that you had a perfect memory, this little creature does look familiar.

“You’re a Red Panda, aren’t you?” You murmur as you lightly stroke the soft fur on top of her head, “Your kind isn’t native to Kashyyyk, how did you get here?” What’s more is that she’s soft, as though someone’s been taking care of her, though based on the scarring around her ankles, she’s been chained up a lot. “Are you someone’s pet?”

The red panda climbs into your arms and promptly falls asleep, nuzzling her face into your neck. “Well, you’ve clearly been socialized. Maybe I can do something about the scarring.”

Your head snaps up as there’s more rustling and Noir’s growl lowers.

Five Stormtroopers stumble into the clearing, “There it is!” One of them says as he points at the Red Panda in your arms, “Get it!”

You stumble backward as they lift their blasters and Noir launches himself at the Stormtroopers. 

You’ve always known that Noir was quick. Quick and with a strong bite, but the last time you’ve seen him move this quickly was when you were a child. He manages to kill three of the Stormtroopers before they recognize that he’s a threat.

The fourth and fifth, however, turn their blasters on him.

And, for a moment, you think that you’re going to watch Noir die. 

You only think that for a moment, as another man emerges from the forest. He’s clad in black armor, much unlike the stark white armor of the Stormtroopers. And you watch as he uses a blade to kill one of the Stormtroopers from behind. 

You watch as he and Noir work in concert to kill the last of the Stormtroopers.

And then you watch as Noir jumps up on the man, his tail wagging faster than you’ve ever seen before. The armored man seems surprised at how friendly Noir is, and, to be honest, you are too.

He’s so friendly with the armored man, in fact, that you can’t help but think that Noir is the representation of said armored man.

“Noir,” You say, drawing the attention of both the wild dog and the armored man, “His name is Noir.”

It’s kind of hard to read him, seeing as he’s wearing a helmet, but you’re pretty sure that he’s staring at you. “Ka’ra.” He gestures to the red panda in your arms, “She’s been a prisoner her whole life.”

“That explains the scarring,” You walk over to him and pass him his spirit animal, a small smile crossing your face as Noir drops to his paws and bounces around you. “I have some medical stuff, to wrap her scars if you want.”

He’s quiet for a long time, and then nods once, “I’d appreciate that.”

You lead him into the hut, and motion for him to take a seat anywhere while you dig around for the first aid kit.

Once you find it, you set it on the table and open it to dig through what you have left. “You know, you don’t have to leave your helmet on.” You note lightly, “This is a pretty safe place.”

The man hesitates for a moment, then he nods once and reaches up to pull off his helmet. 

You’re genuinely surprised to see that he’s a clone. He looks like every other clone you’ve ever seen, dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin…though he does have some nasty scarring along the side of his face.

He’s handsome, you decide as you focus back on your medkit. He kind of looks like Noir, if you squint.

Though, now you have to wonder if you look like his Ka’ra.

“Ah, here we go!” You pull several rolls of bandages from the bottom of the kit and some scar powder. “If I remember correctly, this needs to be added to water, and then the bandages need to soak in it for a bit before we apply them—” You mumble under your breath as you flip the bottle and squint at the instructions.

“What’s your name?” The man asks.

You glance at him and introduce yourself absently, before you squint at the directions again, “What’s yours?”

“...CX-2.”

You pause, “Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve never actually met another person with a soul animal before.”

“It’s rare, then?”

“One of the rarest soul bonds.” You agree, “The only one that’s more rare is the teleportation one.” You stand to grab a clean bowl and fill it with water before placing it on the table.

“I have a brother with the teleportation soul bond. He vanished one day, never saw him again.” CX replies as he watches you.

“Well, there are a lot of you.” You reply as you add some of the powder to the water and stir it in.

He doesn’t answer for a moment, “What is a human doing on Kashyyyk?”

“Ah…well.” You pause, “Noir killed an Imperial Officer who threatened me.”

CX stares at you for a long time, and then his lips curl up into an amused smile, “Good.”

You shoot him a puzzled look.

“He’s as protective of you as I would be.”

“Yeah, well…he is representative of you, right?” You reply with a small shrug.

“I didn’t expect you to be so calm about it,” CX notes, “You do realize that I’m an assassin, right?”

You start unrolling a roll of bandages, “When I was about eleven years old,” You say quietly, “My uncle tried to kidnap me from my bedroom. Noir,” You nod at the wild dog who is gnawing on a bone, “ripped his throat out before he got me out of the living room.” You look at him, “Why should I be afraid of you?”

CX looks startled for a moment, and then a quiet laugh falls from his lips, “I suppose you have good reason to not be afraid.”

You shrug, “I would prefer it if you didn’t assassinate people anymore, but I’d also prefer to not live in a hut on Kashyyyk, so—” You shrug again, and finally drop the bandages into the water.

“What would you have me do instead?”

“Mm, you can join the Rebellion?”

“Ick.”

A laugh falls from you, “I mean when the Republic was still standing, I never had to worry about Republic Officers threatening me. Within a month of the Republic turning into an Empire, I was threatened by an Imperial Officer.”

“...I suppose that it fair.”

“I’m not going to make you do anything,” You say lightly, “We can stay here if you prefer.”

“We?”

“Well, I assume that you want to stay with me?”

CX gazes at you silently, “I want you safe. So staying does make the most sense.”

You meet his gaze evenly, “I’ll definitely be safer with you, compared to away from you.” You agree.

CX is silent for a long moment, “Mandalore.”

“Beg pardon?”

“There’s a group of former Commandos who have a compound on Mandalore. They’re housing clones and their families.” He explains, “We’ll be safe there.”

“How do you know that?”

“All of the Clones know it.” He says, “Well, save for Alpha Prime, I suppose.”

“How are we supposed to get there?” You ask with a tilt of your head.

“I have a ship.”

You grin at him, and then pull the bandages out of the water, “I think it’s a great idea.”

It takes three weeks for you and CX to get to Mandalore, and it takes even longer for CX to prove that he’s not an active threat to his brothers. You’re not able to help with that, but watching him interact with you does a lot to earn him some goodwill.

You like your new home, it’s not Coruscant, but there is plenty of room for Noir to run around and get spoiled, and he does get spoiled. Not quite as much as CX’s Ka’ra, but pretty close. 

Surprisingly, CX is somewhat clingy. When he’s in the same area as you, his arms are around you, or his hand is in yours. You kind of have the feeling that he’s a little touch starved, so you don’t mind it.

On this particular day, you’re lounging in the sun, watching Noir and Ka’ra play together, while CX is sparring with Ordo (only the Nulls aren’t hesitant about sparring with CX, which is sad, but understandable).

You enjoy watching him spar largely because he tends to spar shirtless.

You’re allowed to be a simple woman when it comes to your soulmate, right?

“Watching them again?” A familiar voice pulls you out of your musing, and you tilt your head back to look up at the familiar man approaching you. “You could join them.”

“Hardly, if Ordo so much as scratched me, both Noir and CX would rip him to shreds.” You pat the ground next to you, “Have a seat, Tech. No need to hover.”

“He still wishes to be called CX?” Tech asks as he sinks to the ground next to you.

“It’s his choice.” You reply easily, “How was your physical therapy?”

“Painful,” Tech replies, matter-of-factly, “However, my healer believes that I am getting to the point where I will no longer need to see them.”

“That’s something. Are you thinking of reaching out to your brothers? Or your soulmate?”

“I am…unsure.”

“Oh?”

“I died.” He says bluntly, wincing as CX manages to flip Ordo onto his back, “I died, and my soul bond is weaker than it was before.”

“I assume your doctor has an opinion on that.”

“Of course. He says that I just need to reach out to Phee.”

“Why haven’t you?”

Tech anxiously adjusts his glasses, “What if she has found someone else?”

“Do you really think that she would?”

“...she is a beautiful and clever woman. Any man would be lucky to have her—” Tech starts.

“You’re borrowing trouble, Tech. You need to call her.”

Tech opens his mouth to reply but stops as CX jogs over.

You smile up at him adoringly, and offer him his water bottle, “Having fun, love?”

He smirks, “Ordo is bitching because I managed to flip him. So we’re having a round two.”

“Of course you are.”

He flashes a tiny grin at you and crouches so he’s able to kiss you quickly before he jogs back over to the sparring ring. His training was so different from his brothers, you can tell based on the scars covering his body, and based on the fact that he’s not quite as solid as Ordo and the other Nulls.

Not that any of that matters to you.

You love him as he is.

“It does not make sense to me how someone as kind as you ended up with someone like him,” Tech admits, “He intimidates everyone, and lashes out when pushed.”

“I’ve never been afraid of him.” You reply with a small grin, “Even when he killed someone in front of me, even when he loses his temper.”

Tech shakes his head, “I believe I understand.”

You tilt your head curiously.

“You are just as insane as he is.”

You aren’t able to help that laughter that bursts from your lips, “I suppose,” You say through your giggles, “that’s one way to view it.”

Tech flashes a crooked smile at you, and then gets back to his feet, “I am going to go send Phee a message, and hope that she forgives me. Enjoy your ogling.”

You fling a handful of grass at him but don’t deny his accusations. 

The spar ends an hour later after it gets too hot for them to continue, and CX makes his way to your side, dropping onto the ground next to you. Immediately his arms slide around your waist and he presses his face against your neck.

“Did you have fun?” You ask as you card your fingers through his curls. 

He hums in response, his arms tightening around you, “I’m glad that you don’t mind coming to these.”

“I enjoy watching you spar.”

He pulls his face away from your neck, “You enjoy watching me do anything.” 

“You are ridiculously handsome.” You shift in his grip slightly so you’re able to press your hands against his cheeks, “I’m a lucky lady.”

“Mm, is that right?” CX asks as he leans in and presses his forehead against yours.

“You’re all sweaty,” You whisper to him. 

“So maybe we should go home,” He offers with an arched brow, “You can wash my hair for me.”

A giggle falls from your lips, “Deal.”

CX grins at you, and crashes his lips against yours, knocking you back onto the grass.

Everything isn’t perfect, CX still needs gene therapy to remove the enhanced aging, not to mention regular therapy to help deal with all of his issues. But so long as you’re together, everything will be fine.

You won’t allow for anything else.

[louisisalarrie]

Why do you think some larries like the idea of hl broken up in 2013 or 2016? I joined the fandom in 2017-18 and read back popular bloggers at that moment and everyone was convinced that they have been together, and some even were sure that Harry was very supportive in 2016 and did his best for Louis. Last few years I see more and more bloggers thinking differently. Have you ever changed your mind about hl and break ups?

hellooooo anon! welcome to the show x

a lot of the bigger blogs somewhat gave up hope, and started to fall off tumblr anyway because it wasn’t the platform it once was. The dynamic of this fandom is so different now, and visibly shifted after the band went on hiatus. The closeting got more and more aggressive over time, obviously, and then once the band split it was hard to keep on larrying because we weren’t getting content of them. And that’s the main thing I think has subconsciously or consciously swayed folks from believing they’re still together. It was mainly the hiatus.

Now, the hiatus was important in terms of contracts and stunts and we had so much hope that because they were no longer “one direction”, we’d see a large shift in stunts and the boys hanging out together, and perhaps a bit of optimism for a CO. we tried to make the best out of a very sad situation lol, but it made sense. They could be more free since they were both solo and with different teams.

However, we just didnt get what we hoped for. We didn’t see them reconnecting and we didn’t get to see them both being in the same place staring at each other with the same love in their eyes that they had in 2011, because they weren’t required to be. No band, meant no obligations together. So without the constant proof and subtle looks and brushes of their arms and giddiness, it was hard to keep up supporting them. It felt somewhat pointless because we didn’t see an end to it. It was just hoping they were seen together or we’d get SOMETHING, and we got and are still getting little tidbits, but it’s not the same amount of proof as before so people kind of fell off the wagon.

To be honest, I took a step back after 2017 because Tumblr wasn’t pumping as much as it used to, and my life got in the way. Unless something major happened, I was pretty MIA, unfortunately. But I’ve been back fully for a couple years now, which I’m happy about. But it’s easy to shift ideas when you aren’t getting photo and video evidence of them being loved up, ya know? The stunts didn’t stop after 1d. BBG didn’t end. We all bet so much on at least a couple of stunts dropping when they went on hiatus but it just didn’t happen. We were, and still are, caught in this closeting game of PR moves and bullshit tweets and gift baskets for a kid that isn’t Louis’. ANYWAY

Those are the reasons behind a lot of doubt that larry are still together. So, what do I think?

Well, I think that theorising about their breakups is just entirely unproductive for the cause that we’re fighting for. It feels almost… fanfic-esque, and like, I still see people calling themselves casual larries and believe they were together at one point and that’s why they still fight for their freedom, because of what they went through as kids and even their closeting now, but I just… don’t think it should be a theory that people try and convince others of. That’s not what larries are about. If you think they’ve broken up, cool, don’t come on here and try to prove to everyone why, because that’s just… silly. It’s almost an anti move, which a lot of old larries have shifted to, mind you, because of these theories of break ups and very little proof with a whole lot of reaching (sometimes) on our end at the moment.

It’s an argument a lot of people use, like theorising that they’re in an ethical non monogamous relationship, or aren’t together anymore but fuck casually, or genuinely hate each other, or they aren’t together anymore and they’re dating other people (some examples being stunts, some being completely wild theories), and yeah, it comes down to song lyrics and lack of proof otherwise that they’re still together.

A lot of L and H’s songs do have connotations of breakups, or getting back together, or being separated etc., and I see a lot of Larries say “oh well they must have broken up at some point like any relationship, they’re not perfect, but they’re together now” etc., which is great, fine, and normal because being with someone for like 13 years in those jobs is hard work. But I truly think it’s unproductive to theorise on shit like that, as Larries. It gives antis ammo, and I think it comes out of boredom. Because let’s be honest, us and many solos (except the niall solos rn they living it UP), aren’t getting a whole lot right now, larry or otherwise. Harry’s basically MIA, we saw louis and Harry both at the euros in the same photo, louis is doing a few more festivals before a break (god that’s gonna hurt), and so… idk. We’re all itching for something. We used to get new content every day back in the day, but we just aren’t getting it. Which is fine, I don’t expect that these days, but damn, throw us a bone lol.

Some folks like to believe that larry themselves are choosing to keep their relationship private for now, because they want to. That’s fine. Others believe they are still being heavily closeted. That’s fine. What we’re fighting for is the love between two dudes, regardless of whether they have broken up somewhere in between, because we want justice for them and a change in the industry.

Anyway, my belief is that they’re together now, and that’s all that matters. We could go into deep theories and shit about body language changes and attitudes and fighting in 2015/2016 or whatever, but I just don’t think it’s productive, or that simple.

Listen, if I was in that situation, like… it’d be fucking hard to give up after how hard you fought for this person, that love just doesn’t go away. Being that age as well, it’s deep in your soul when you feel it. So I really do think that it isn’t as simple as that. I think it probably got messy at times, frustrating sure, but I’m not going to theorise on that.

And that’s not me being ignorant about relationships and how they can fluctuate and fights happen and breaks happen and I’m sure those two went through hell, but I just don’t see them giving up on each other that easily.

Anyway, hope this gives you a little insight into my brain and what I think about this. You can check out skepticalarrie’s ‘they never broke up’ tag if you like, and I’ll have this in my pinned post for reference to what I think about breakup rumours etc as #still together still going strong.

Let me know if any other q’s or if this ramble needs some clarifying hehe. Thank you! <3

[raelle-writing]

I’ve seen some wild theories out there about how Phee and Jin are going to end. I personally think that either they are both killers and planned this out and get away with it scott free or they both sadly die.

White and Tee seems much more straightforward. Tee is marked for death (imo), it’s just a matter of how he dies. Will he still be selfish or self -sacrificing?

What are your theories/speculations about how the couples might end up?

I'm so glad you asked me nonnie because I have a lot of thoughts in no cohesive order and wasn't sure where to put them 😂

I don't know if I really have a theory or speculation more that I have a lot of pieces of a puzzle that don't quite make a picture yet. I've seen a lot of theories and speculation around Phee and Jin in particular as well and I'm not entirely sure if I can yet predict what direction the show is going to go in because we still have a lot of unanswered questions about them. So let me start with Tee and White.

I think there are 2 possibilities for Tee and White at this point. Either they both die, or they both live but they break up. And that's because White shows so much horror to any of Tee's even small suggestions of crime, and he defends Tee to Tan and Phee when they talk about thinking that the original crew did something to Non.

If we take White at face value, he seems like a good kid and I think if he found out what Tee did to Non he wouldn't be able to conscience it and would have to break up, even if Tee genuinely loves him (and I believe Tee does).

There is always the possibility that White is more than he appears (you've all probably seen me speculate that White could be Non's brother New) but given what we know about him so far, that's what I can see happening, unless there's some reveal about his character that we haven't seen yet.

So, now for Phee and Jin.

I'll make it no secret that I really want them to end up together, so that is likely coloring my analysis of events. But as of right now I just... don't really have a prediction for how things will end between them. I've seen speculation ranging from Phee is using Jin for revenge and will kill him, to Phee is there to protect Jin from someone else seeking vengeance and truly, I don't have enough information to make a prediction. Here's what I can say about them tho.

I don't think that Jin is hiding some deep, manipulative streak. I was on the fence at first, but then a scene in episode 4 tipped me over the edge. And it's the one where Jin is with his friends, talking about how they'd won the film contest, and while he's there, he defends Non and credits him for their sucess.

If Jin was trying to manipulate Non or use him in any way, then why defend him in this moment when Non is nowhere around, and will never hear about it? To me that's a pretty huge sign that Jin is genuinely kind, because he risks upsetting his friends to defend a person who isn't even there.

There's always the possibility that Jin can betray Non, of course. I've also written a meta about how Jin calls himself a coward when he's talking to Phee, and I still wonder if part of the reason he views himself that way is because of whatever happened to Non before he disappeared. If he feels like he did something cowardly or abandoned Non, or should've stood up for him more, or something along those lines. But I can't see a deep, malicious, manipulative betrayal coming from him.

And that leads to Phee, who we all assume is seeking revenge. Though there's an equally likely plotline that he's there trying to figure out what happened to Non, we don't know yet. There's still so much about Phee that we don't know. Why he's been with the friend group for so long, what's his angle for approaching Jin, if he's a murderer or caught up in the mayhem somehow. But currently I don't think that Phee is trying to trick Jin only to betray him later, for one simple reason.

Because they were fuckbuddies.

That might sound like a stupid reason, but bear with me. If Phee was really trying to hurt Jin as revenge for whatever happened with Non, why would he keep Jin at arms length by saying they're "just friends" over and over?

It would be significantly bigger of a betrayal for Phee to become Jin's boyfriend and then later betray and kill him. If that's what Phee was after, then why would he half-ass it that way? Why push him away?

I feel like there's gotta be something deeper there than simple revenge. Especially when compounded with the fact that we haven't seen Jin do anything nasty to Non.

I think my money is currently (and very tentatively) on Phee genuinely protecting Jin because Jin was good to Non and doesn't deserve the havoc being wreaked on the others, especially since Phee has gone out of his way to save Jin's life already.

As for their ending... I don't know yet. I think that if the writers really want to break our hearts they'll have Phee and Jin genuinely love each other and one will die trying to save the other. But it kind of depends, it's hard to say at this point in the show because we've only had one major character death so far. I don't know how far the writers are going to go in the end, if they intend to kill almost everyone or only the ones who "deserve it."

Thanks for the question nonnie, hopefully you don't mind the novel I left in reply for you! As the story unfolds I'm sure you'll get more character analyses and speculations from me but currently I'm a big fat ❓ over what is going to happen with Phee and Jin. And that's on purpose, of course. So we'll just have to see how it all plays out, I guess!

[anderscim]

welcome to wild theories with bagel

this one is… quite unlike the other posts as this is almost entirely speculation and probably has a lot of room for rebuttal

(it’s a theory after all)

this is mainly about teruko and her (possible) connection to the killing game.

take this with a grain of salt as always

//drdt prologue, chapter 1, and chapter 2 spoilers

// blood warning from about the second half of the post.

also i go on a giant tangent here. so quick warning about that as well

i’m just thinking back to this motive secret:

“How could I even select what secret to be your motive? Just about everything you’ve done in your life is worth killing for. This killing game is all your fault.”

as of now, we’ve been told (by David) that this was Xander’s secret, but I highly doubt it. for me, this is mainly because when everyone was sharing who’s secret they had at the 2nd trial, David hesitated and asked to go last—there’s really no reason to do that unless David wanted time to think about what to do and/or fully process the situation before taking action (plus going last would give David the added benefit of knowing whose secrets are already revealed).

not only that, Xander’s bonus episode and secret quote seems to imply that his secret is actually the one Min has (“You’re constantly blaming yourself for the death of your parents and siblings. It doesn’t matter that it’s not your fault, just that you didn’t go with them”). Xander’s survivor’s guilt seems to be a major motif for his character, so logically it would still be plausible for his secret to be related to the Chariton incident and his guilt.

in that case, who’s secret does David actually have?

unfortunately, it would be quite difficult to try to deduce this through that last sentence (and i don’t think i have to explain why), so i decided to go back to the first sentence—which implies that whoever this motive is about has too many secrets that they don’t want to remember and/or discuss.

i can clearly recall one character that explicitly mentions this:

i don’t recall anyone else saying something like this, but please correct me if someone did actually say something similar

additionally, each one of Teruko’s accidents that she’s survived as a result of her luck can become “secrets” that are worded to incriminate her and give her a motive to murder. after all, whoever wrote these secrets have done so in a way that paints the other characters in a bad light—there’s really no reason to exclude Teruko’s “secrets” from that treatment.

but if that were the case, is there a proper explanation as to why “this killing game is all [her] fault?”

as i’ve mentioned before, the secrets are specifically written in a way to incriminate the participants and taint their image. even Hu mentions this at one point:

and to be completely honest, if someone were to explicitly write that a killing game was a specific character’s fault, it would probably be to throw the cast off. it would be extremely imprudent to specifically implicate someone as a potential mastermind otherwise. after all, that’s essentially putting the entire killing game at stake.

however, despite the fact that these secrets are written to implicate the cast, most of them do have factual evidence to justify some part of it.

here’s where i get into wild theory territory:

what if Teruko is indirectly responsible for the killing game, just not in the way that we’d think?

let me elaborate on how this could actually happen (and this is gonna get long):

think back to the opening scene of the prologue. whoever it was that was injured here, they seemed very… determined to end the killing game “all by [themselves].” or kill teruko.

// (pink) blood warning from here on out

•

•

•

from here i’m going to pay a lot of attention to specific wording and such so please take this with a grain of salt

oh also this is gonna go on a tangent lmao

as seen here it seems that Teruko and the killing game are directly correlated to each other. this person here says that even if the killing game doesn’t end, Teruko must die—which seems to imply that her death could be a possible solution to the killing game, even if it is eventually revealed to not be one. after all, in a situation like this it wouldn’t make sense for this person to mention two seemingly separate things one after another if they weren’t related to each other somehow.

also this might just be me, but i just wanted to bring attention to this line:

“all by myself… i must end this killing game.”

this implies that whoever this person is, they want to end this killing game independently, by their own effort. specifically asking Xander to kill Teruko with no justification or reason why, in that case, doesn’t really make sense as it’s entirely dependent on the decision and whims of another person.

and besides, this may again just be me, but Xander mentions how he needs to “trust in [him]self” that killing Teruko would be worth it:

this may imply that Xander attempted to murder Teruko out of his own instinct, and/or Xander deduced that the person who wrote that note to kill Teruko was himself. whether that’s because that note was in his own handwriting, or something from his memories told him so, i’m not sure.

also, recall the fact that some of the cast’s memories have been removed. for example, Xander doesn’t actually recall when he lost his eye.

someone else said this in a YouTube comment (that i unfortunately cannot find, but i’ll see if i can find the screenshot and put it here later), but—in that original prologue cutscene, there’s a fork under the person’s hand.

Xander’s eye injury, as we saw in chapter 1, has indents on it that look similar to claw marks. but based on those indents, it is actually plausible that those injuries were done by something similar to that fork (the fork in the prologue cutscene has four prongs, and the injury seems to have been caused by something that had four,,, uhh, prongs/claw bones). however this is purely speculation so this may be entirely wrong.

if this does happen to be correct, though, this could possibly imply that Xander was the person in the prologue cutscene. in that case, it is possible that Xander himself wrote the note to kill Teruko.

trusting “himself” to kill Teruko would, in that situation, actually make sense.

but as we know, killing Teruko is a challenge in on its own, whether that’s by attempting to incriminate her or attempting to directly murder her. she even declares this herself.

actually, little side note: “no matter what” is seen in both this scene and the prologue cutscene—and they’re highlighted in both cases. just thought it was interesting because it gives off “unstoppable force meets immovable object” vibes lmao

though this could definitely be more important than it seems right now

this has been kind of true. in the first chapter, we saw Teruko almost getting killed multiple times, and her surviving all of them. first with Xander attacking Teruko, second with Min attempting to frame Teruko to ensure her own survival (and don’t forget about the detail of two people voting for Teruko for some odd reason—not sure why, but this could suggest that someone other than Xander was aware of this situation? that’s the current weak point of my theory, unfortunately). so as far as we can tell, attempting to kill Teruko proves to be very difficult as her luck carries her though each incident, even if she didn’t want to survive them. it almost seems like an impossible feat with the amount of luck she has.

the thing is, the fact that killing Teruko is nearly impossible adds to my personal theory: “what if the killing game is only running because Teruko is alive? what if killing her effectively ends the killing game?”

look i can explain it okay

as far as we can tell, Teruko actually has a lot of advantages compared to the others in the killing game:

her distrusting nature makes her less vulnerable to being lured into a trap

her luck. that’s all i have to say

MonoTV is giving her some advantages himself, which seems a little… suspicious.

okay on second thought let me elaborate on that last bullet

think back to ch2 ep2-3. MonoTV is the one that asked Teruko to do some chores for him in exchange for MonoCredits—which are essentially tokens that allow Teruko to get others to leave her alone.

what’s interesting here is, MonoTV doesn’t set any restrictions on when she can’t use them (although that could be just because Teruko cut him off). in that case, couldn’t she theoretically use one if she’s about to get murdered or something?

and I also find it weird that MonoTV asks Teruko specifically (as well as follows her around) to do that chore. since there were so many other people that Teruko talked to when MonoTV was still following her, he technically could’ve walked up to anyone. therefore, it could be a possibility that MonoTV intentionally did that to give her an advantage.

just me? okay

anyways what i’m trying to say here is that the series itself seems to be gradually giving Teruko more advantages and opportunities that prevent her from being killed. although that could point to her being the mastermind, i kind of explained with the secrets why that seems unlikely.

but if my theory of “killing Teruko will end the killing game” proves to be correct, the true mastermind actually benefits from giving these added advantages to Teruko—it makes it harder for Teruko to be killed, which effectively keeps the game running.

which indirectly makes Teruko responsible for the killing game—by literally just being alive.

this. uh. was a lot of small speculation and details. that could probably be proven wrong.

besides we’re only mid-ch2 at the time of writing this

so feel free to refute me on ANY of these points—i will listen. for all i know i could be wildly wrong

and as always, take this with a grain of salt.

[livixbobbiex]

My Theory for Tears of The Kingdom's timeline placement

This post does contain some spoilers. I will not be discussing the ending of the game or major story twists with the exception of one late game spoiler (which I will clearly mark). Other than that I will reference some details you get in the memories and the stone tablets. The TLDR version is that the ancient past in Tears of The Kingdom occurs after Skyward Sword, but before Minish Cap. My specific evidence for this:

The stone tablets and Mineru herself reference doing research into methods to help the hero and describe raising the islands into the sky. If it's not too long after Skyward Sword's history, this kind of action makes perfect sense. The idea of Skyloft would have been well documented.

We hear Fi's theme playing in some Master Sword cutscenes and the sword 'talking'.

Skyward Sword Zelda never actually founded Hyrule as a Kingdom, unless I'm misremembering. I believe she just wanted to protect the triforce. This leaves room for Hyrule to be founded later.

If Sonia is herself a Hylia descendant, it actually makes perfect sense that she would have initially been a priestess in this scenario, if the main role involves protecting the sacred realm. It also makes sense that her name isn't Zelda as that convention wasn't really a thing yet.

Rauru and Mineru are explicitly the only Zonai left. Now, Hylia raised the hylians into the sky. The Zonai appear to worship other gods. Plus with their technology they could have independently gone to the sky as a race. We don't really get enough of Rauru's backstory to go much further.

I also believe the Zonai could have been present on the surface before Skyward Sword happened as it would perhaps explain the Lanayru time stuff. I mean… a bunch of robots mining a special type of ore eventually left abandoned?

Koloktos also makes a LOT of sense in this theory. In fact the entire ancient cistern weirdly gels perfect with Zonai motifs (lotus especially)

The actual rock in the Breach of Demise area of the map looks suspiciously like the stone texture found around the depths.

Hyrule castle is not yet built. So Rauru being the 'first king' could be a situation like how people consider William I the first king of England, even though there were many, many before that. Essentially, the kingdom is re-established.

Now. The Ganondorf of it all calls this into question. My explanation for this is that, even according to Breath of the Wild's lore, calamity ganon arose after being reincarnated and then defeated on multiple occasions until eventually assuming the malice form. This, to me, makes it possible that the Ganondorf we see in Tears of the Kingdom is NOT the same man we see in Ocarina of Time, in the same way not all Zeldas and Links are the same character. The precedent for this also exists in Four Swords Adventure which features a different Ganondorf. If Tears of the Kingdom past takes place before Ocarina, it also explains the lack of triforce. At that point, nobody really knew about it because it was sealed and hidden in the sacred realm. We don't see it in the cutscenes because Zelda is drawing from a different power source, whereas in the Zelda's Awakening cutscene in Breath of the Wild, it's explicitly the triforce we see on the back of her hand. I still believe Breath of the Wild takes place in the Downfall timeline as it makes the most sense to me from the standpoint of beast form ganon. However, Tears of the Kingdom actually provides a perfect way to re-combine the timelines and finally explain the lore inconsistency. MAJOR TEARS OF THE KINGDOM SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE If the ancient past is before the timeline split, but Zelda originates from only one of the three branches, this creates a paradox. In that, she would also be existing as an immortal dragon in the other two branches where the events leading to her birth never took place. This would create some sort of rift forcefully combining all the timelines. Therefore, the presence of all timeline references in BOTW makes sense. It would be like Hyrule's own version of the mandela effect. Yes, I know it isn't perfect, but to me this is the closest we might come to a sensical explanation.

[edennill]

My very conflicting feelings towards the Athrabeth

The thing with the Athrabeth is that it features a lot of beautiful quotes and ideas and, at the same time, a lot of it weirds me out. Maybe it's the outright attempt to approach Christianity which I think doesn't really work; the Legendarium isn't allegory and I don't think it should get that specific; maybe it's the way many of the theories Finrod and Andreth go through are supremely odd? (Of course, these rarely seem to be meant as statements that are true in-world, more like wild speculations of two people about things they can't really know). Anyway, the first time I read it, at 13 or so, it sent me into a very weird state, possibly coupled with an OCD episode? It's always hard for me to tell whether these mean I perceive something actually wrong or whether it's just OCD fear, but... well, my thoughts on the point are still very muddled.

That said, I do like to think such a document exists in the legendarium, whether based on the notes of either Finrod or Andreth from a single conversation, or cobbled together from several different instances, as seems very likely. I am however somewhat loath to accept it looks exactly like the Athrabeth we have.

Do I headcanon away the idea that elves are afraid their souls are limited to the life of the world? It feels a bit too important, but it does seem to have been one of the things that sent me into that... episode back then. Of course, it wouldn't be true anyway, but if they did believe that, I'd suppose the fear would be less "this is certain unless something might happen to make it otherwise", and more "we just have no idea and fear it might be that, although that's certainly looking at things the pessimistic way."

But the concept of Finrod's Dream/Vision must be a thing in-world, and I am even more sure that in-world it shall come true. After all, I more or less came up with it on my own ages before I read the Athrabeth, haha. And it really cannot be otherwise, and the full fragment is lovely.

‘And then suddenly I beheld as a vision Arda Remade; and there the Eldar completed but not ended could abide in the present for ever, and there walk, maybe, with the Children of Men, their deliverers, and sing to them such songs as, even in the Bliss beyond bliss, should make the green valleys ring and the everlasting mountain-tops to throb like harps.’

Then Andreth looked under her brows at Finrod: ‘And what, when ye were not singing, would ye say to us?’ she asked.

Finrod laughed. ‘I can only guess,’ he said. ‘Why, wise lady, I think that we should tell you tales of the Past and of Arda that was Before, of the perils and great deeds and the making of the Silmarils! We were the lordly ones then! But ye, ye would then be at home, looking at all things intently, as your own. Ye would be the lordly ones. “The eyes of Elves are always thinking of something else,” ye would say. But ye would know then of what we were reminded: of the days when we first met, and our hands touched in the dark. Beyond the End of the World we shall not change; for in memory is our great talent, as shall be seen ever more clearly as the ages of this Arda pass: a heavy burden to be, I fear; but in the Days of which we now speak a great wealth.’

And of course the star-crossed romance between Andreth and Aegnor is exquisite.

------------

When it comes to the "Tale of Adanel" I'm no less conflicted? A lot of it just doesn't fit, doesn't make sense -- and the "fall" presented there certainly seems more excusable than our own irl, or even than Númenor, because despite the "Voice", the way it's written, it feels like the Men don't know what they're doing, don't know any better -- and of course, ultimately, they make the wrong choice because of fear. And fear certainly can lead into evil, but -- original sins should be more than that.

Then, again, the first time I read this along with the Athrabeth it triggered what was certainly an OCD attack in me, and maybe one cannot call it the fault of the text per se, but on the other hand, I feel like the imagery is such that - well, it was more likely to be the cause of such than anything in the actual Silm.

However, I do like to think an equivalent of such a story existed in Gondor, probably something written post Akallabêth, given the similarities... An apocrypha of sorts no one actually considers true - yet in existence. But the actual tale is lost to time.

Although,

"Ye have abjured Me, but ye remain Mine. I gave you life. Now it shall be shortened, and each of you in a little while shall come to Me, to learn who is your Lord: the one ye worship, or I who made him."

is certainly an epic quote.

And,

But it is told that there were a few that escaped us, and went away into far countries, fleeing from the shadow... And they came at last to the land’s end and the shores of the impassable water; and behold! the Enemy was there before them.

is so awfully tragic, and definitely the truth of the matter, regardless what happened back then, in Hildorien.

(Also note: the story is presented as told by the Edain - and yet "we" refers to the evildoers and their own forefathers are referred to in the third person. To be honest, I think that's a characteristic part of the Gondorian psyche. It's always "our downfall" even though they are the Faithful. That assumption of responsibility for all the worst deeds of your people even when you should be able not to...)

--------

Athrabeth is such a lovely word though...

[cafecourage]

Pinky Isn't Suffering

Chapter 2

Previous chapter - Next Chapter

Reminder these chapters happen between Enno cant get their crap together on @luimagines

Being a wolf in the desert is torture. Yet here Twilight was, in wolf form, waiting in the scorching heat of the desert. Luckily, the wait was almost over. After buying the things they needed, losing Pinky for a moment, then annoying Wild and Enno to buy the amber earrings she had pointed out, Twilight now had to wait here with Pinky outside of the city while Wild and Enno picked out a Voe outfit.

The upside is that the sun was shining. The downside was that there was a man staring intensely at Pinky. Twilight was keeping an eye on this man for many reasons. Mainly for how he treated Wild when he was in the Vai outfit. It was clear that he was trying to create a game plan on how to approach her, but every time he would step close, Twilight let out a deep growl as a warning. The guy could come over but it’s not gonna look pretty.

A warm hand went through his fur. “Don’t worry too much Wolfie.” Pinky said crouching down to give the giant wolf pets. His tail started to wag as he leaned into her touch. “Aren’t you a cutie.” 

Despite the distraction, he was still glaring at the man to stay away. 

“He won’t bother us.” Twilight knew that in theory but there was a deep need to make sure Pinky wouldn’t get harassed. “When we get back, remind me to give Twilight his gift.” She pushed up his face to give a small kiss on his forehead.

Ah.

Twilight's mind went blank. He couldn’t even be mad that she got him something. Not that he could think anyway. Her kiss made almost everything his attention was on disappear. All his focus was now on how her hands felt through his fur and how sweet her voice was.

“Aw, is wolfie being a good boy?” Wild came out finally with Enno who looked like they were suffering.

“You guys got everything?” Pinky finally stopped her attack and gave Twilight space.

“Yep! Let’s get back before night time.”

The cool air made the track back to the oasis a lot faster and less grueling. The only downside is that as the night goes on the closer it becomes below freezing. Twilight couldn’t feel it but judging by his traveling companions he knew it was starting to settle in.

This had already been a long day. When they returned to the rest of the group it seemed the general agreement was to sleep and restart tomorrow. Which everyone was more than grateful for. 

“Wanna cuddle with me Wolfie?” Pinky had asked when they all were heading to the inn. “Come on, it must be cold for you to be out here.” She says almost herding the big dog into the inn with her. Twilight didn’t know how to say no as a wolf. So he just accepted his fate and followed her, silently ignoring other link’s stares.

It was gonna be a long night and Twilight hoped that Wild wouldn’t kill him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The adventure moved on whether they wanted to take a break or not. A few days had passed since the ‘island into a hot desert’ disaster. They had dropped into Time’s Era for a bit and were a half day's trip away from Lon Lon Ranch. Everyone was quite happy to hear that. The mood of the group only dipped when they were jumped by a group of monsters.

A group of monsters with two Wizzrobes from Wild’s time. There wasn’t time to really make a game plan. Hell, there were too many to actually get to the Wizzrobes. The upside was that the monsters were all normal so far. As the monsters thinned out Twilight took a step back to assess the situation. Everyone was handling themselves and it was clear that they wouldn’t have any trouble. But their problems stemmed from the two spell casters in the back.

Unhooking his crossbow and taking out the Hawkeye mask, Twilight went to get cover. This was their best bet to take those guys out unless they wanted to keep plowing through monsters. Taking aim at one, he waits until there is an opening. He learned that these Wizzrobes in particular like to stop moving when they are about to set off an attack. So as soon as it stopped and started chanting, Twilight hit the trigger.

A second too late.

The Wizzrobe in question got off his attack before the arrow shot it through the head, killing it instantly.

The magic from the spell, however, went straight towards Wild.

“Cub!” Twilight tried to warn the other hero who was facing the other way.

It hit the younger hero, triggering a bright white light and puff of smoke instantly.

Twilight didn’t even register that it happened twice on the other side of the battlefield. He was too focused on getting to Wild’s side.

Pinky beat him to Wild, scooping something up in her arms. When he could clearly see the cub, it was a shock to see a small toddler resting in his sister's arms. Twi crouches down next to her. She looked up at him as if he could answer her question. “What do we do?”

Twilight sure as hell didn’t know. He had never seen a Wizzrobe set up this kind of magic before. “Hyrule! We have an issue here!” He called their resident medic. Luckily, Legend took care of the other Wizzrobe who was nearby a knocked out Sky and Warriors.

Goddess, they were lucky that the fight was over now.

Settling down in a camp further away from the battleground, it was time to assess the situation. Wild, who thankfully was fast asleep, was quite obviously turned into a child, while Warriors and Sky seem to just have different behaviors then normal. With their cook down, Twilight stepped up to make pumpkin and fish cream soup.

The game plan now was to get to Lon Lon ASAP. Mostly because they all knew how Wild was as a teenager. He would only be worse as a child.

Or he could have been relatively tame as a kid. Twilight was confused, holding the small hand of Wild’s while said boy also held Pinky’s hand happily. Twilight didn’t actually know what he was expecting. But something as calm as the kid skipping in the middle of them two was not it.

“Will there be horses at the ranch?” The child looked up expectantly at Twilight.

A familiar warmth bubbled up. “More than you can count cub.” 

He gasped and then looked up at Pinky. “Can I play with them?”

“Um...” She was trying to think of the right answer to tell him. Horses could be dangerous around a child, however, Malon used to tell them about when she and the old man were younger and how they played with the horse. “You will have to ask first.”

Wild pouted. “Are we almost there?”

“Yes, we are very close actually.” There was something about this whole situation that was happening between the three of them that made Twilight feel...weird…

He had already made peace that he might like Pinky. Hell, it was the first thing he felt when he saw her. He liked her. He thought she was adorable. He liked how her laugh was light and twinkled like a fairies chime.

Yet having a child between them, having to take care of said child between them... it felt more domestic than what he had been used to lately. It got Twilight thinking and he didn’t even know where to start searching for these answers.

“Is that it?” The cub’s voice startled Twilight out of his train of thought as his hand was now free from the child’s grasp. Wild was pointing at the ranch in the distance. “Is it?”

“Mhm!” Pinky was natural with her responses. It made Twi almost jealous, he felt a bit out of touch with the babysitter he was in before his adventure. “Are you excited?”

“Yeah!!”

Ah... Well…

If she were having fun with it. He can’t help but play along.

Apparently, a shrunken hero and two new faces didn’t phase Ms Malon. In fact, when they had approached the entrance of the ranch, Wild had wiggled out of Pinky’s grasp to run up to the older woman, asking if he could play with the horses. Malon, the amazing woman that she was, smiled and showed the child the way to the pen.

The child was in awe seeing the animals roaming around. Twilight took everyone’s stuff off of Epona and brought her into the fence in an area to socialize and rest. “I’ll watch over him.” He gestured to the wild child.

“You can handle it?” Hyrule looked dead on his feet but still was concerned. He has been trying to reverse the spell. “I can help watch him-“

“Oh hell no!” Enno linked their arm with Hyrule, Legend on his other side.

“You’re resting” Legend scolded and the poor boy was dragged off. Twilight would feel bad but Hyrule needed to be taken care of. He looked around for a moment to see where everyone was going. It was as if everything already knew what role they had to play as they took up residence at Lon Lon Ranch. Pinky went inside with Malon to do who knew what.

“I’ll take your stuff in.” Time was already collecting everything before Twilight could refuse. “Keep your eye on him.” He nods his head in the direction behind Twi. Panic shot through and he whipped around to see Wild climbing the fence to get into the pen…

While the door to the pen was still open…

“Cub no!” Twilight practically ran to the child, Time’s soft laughter was ignored. He quickly scooped up the child.

Wild squirmed in Twilight’s grasp “I want to play with them.”

“You can! But don’t climb over the fence.” He lightly scolded, putting him down. “Come let's go through the entrance.” Instead of walking with Twi hand in hand, Wild bolted to the open entrance. “Cub!” He sighs as he followed behind.

It was interesting to teach Wild, of all people, how to be around horses. Twilight always considered him one of the most knowledgeable about them. So when Twi felt comfortable sitting back and watching, it felt nice to watch the kid running around with the pony’s.

“Mine if I join you?” Twilight looked up to see the old man approaching him. Twi looked back at Wild and shook his head. Time sat in the grass next to his successor. “How are you feeling?”

“About what?” Twilight honestly had a lot of feelings about this matter but nothing concrete to point out. “Wild becoming a kid? Or...”

“Or.” Of course the Old man chooses the hard answer to his question.

“Well...” Leaning back, he takes a moment to gather his words, sorting things out and getting the most important to the foreground. “How do you know when to stop?”

“Stop?”

“Adventuring, setting down and just...” He waves one of his hands to everything around them “living.” It felt weird to know that they could have something like this. A peaceful life. A place you feel like you can return to no matter how much you’ve changed. Twilight loves his family back home. Yet every time he went back to visit it felt foreign to him. The village he knew never changed, but he did and the man that exists now couldn’t belong there.

“I never thought about settling down much after my adventure.” Twilight admitted out loud at last. “I just thought that was how my life was supposed to be. Traveling around, helping where I can...”

When Time knew Twilight was done talking he finally spoke up. “It helped having Malon by my side.” He faced the scene in front of them both too. “Having someone there that welcomes you home no matter what, it makes you feel normal despite the trials that prevented you from getting there in the first place.” Old memories of the past were filling the older heroes' minds, reminiscing on the past of what was and what could have been in another timeline. “It was her and her father that welcomed me here and got me to stop traveling so much.”

Twilight hummed in acknowledgement, soaking everything his teacher had told him. His mind wandered to the people back home, the fear of them rejecting him felt almost silly now.

... He wanted to write Uli... Homesickness was starting to eat at Twi.

“I think Malon and Pinky are almost done with lunch by now.” Time slowly got up. “How about we gather the cub and head inside?”

Twilight took a moment before getting up himself. “Yeah.”

They both walk up to the small boy, trying to wrangle him away from the horses. Twilight didn’t think it would be so difficult. And yet it only took the mention of food to get Wild excited to go inside. “Mom!” The kid let go of Twi’s hand as soon as he stepped foot inside of the kitchen where Malon and Pinky were. Instead of running to Malon like Twi expected, Wild was latched onto Pinky’s pants. “Guess what me and dad did!”

Did...he just?

Twilight and Pinky share a look, both equally red faced and embarrassed. “W-What did you and Twi do, Wild?” She bent down to Wild’s height, who was practically bouncing.

“He taught me-” Twilight couldn’t even hear the rest of the kid’s sentences. The thought of Pinky listening to their child excitedly tell them about their day was too much for him. It was something Twilight really wanted in his future. All of this. A home he felt comfortable to come home to. A family he helped built.

A life he can live peacefully.

He had those all before…

So is it possible for him to have it again?

[sunshinelore]

ok here are my very scrambled thoughts (remember this is just silly theorizing based on the lore taylor has given us)

karlie = betty

taylor = james

maybe liz or zoë or someone else = Augustine

in my personal opinion, it’s very apparent in taylors songs that the love of her life was karlie, and in my own interpretation, taylor messed up and karlie left her.

“i lost you, the one i was dancing with”

“when a good (wo)man hurts you, and you know, you hurt [her] too”

“I was dancing when the music stopped”

all of betty taylor apologizes, proving she’s the one who messed up

“I can go anywhere I want just not home”

“I’ll be getting over you my whole”

and more and more and more and more

and as we’ve seen taylor cant stop with the kaylor references on tour, fashion, lyrics, etc. if she had ended things I don’t think she’d be as hung up as she is. I know she has a hard time getting over things/people, but she really is in deep for karlie. Here is my theory I just came up with 5 minutes ago but in my opinion makes sense. disclaimer: im not an lsk i don’t really believe they are in contact but no shame to lsks! I love y’all and again nobody knows what the truth is but them so all love to everybody and I accept all theories🫶

here’s how I think things went

kaylor is dating and they plan their big coming out. circa 2019 lover era. I think she planned the coming out, her and karlie were excited (nervous, but ready to be free) and ready to spent the rest of their lives together (not in a marriedlor way, not yet. I think taylor wanted that regardless, but karlie only wanted it if they came out maybe.) i think karlie wanted a family/kids but clearly they couldn’t have that unless they came out.

“Give you my wild, give you a child.”

I don’t think her and karlie were broken up when she was writing lover. The only song that I think really hints at that is dbatc which I just think Taylor got inspired like I don’t think it was based on current feelings.

maybe taylor got scared or the masters heist stopped it, idk, but coming out fails. I personally believe that taylor got scared because we know how important being liked is to her (I don’t wanna sound too invasive or parasocial 😭) but the sudden switch from colorful to black, the gay pride buildup just for nothing, and miss americana being a…political documentary.

Going from this

To this

We could see how anxious she was from The Archer

“I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost, the room is on fire, invisible smoke, and all of my heroes die all alone, help me hold onto you”

“Combat, I’m ready for combat”

ALL of evermore (the song). I think that song is about the failed coming out 100%

“I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone, tryna find the one where I went wrong”

“I rewind that tape but all it does is pause, on the very moment all was lost”

The whole bridge is so failed coming out coded

And when I was shipwrecked I thought of you (the coming out) In the cracks of light I dreamed of you (the coming out) to be certain we'll be tall again (that she’ll get back up) It was real enough (it was gonna happen, it wasn’t just an idea) To get me through (the knowledge that she would one day come out was enough) But I swear You were there. (Maybe she’s talking to karlie, maybe she’s talking to fans, maybe she’s re assuring herself that it was a plan and she didn’t make it up or something)

I think maybe after that taylor fell into a dark spot. I’m trying really hard not to be weird and invasive but based on songs, her graduation speech, and Taylor always having lots of drinks at any gathering, I think she might’ve become too fond of alcohol? I wouldn’t say this if This Is Me Trying didnt exist. And also:

“I’m fine with my spite, and my tears and my beers and my candles”

“I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone”

Again, really don’t wanna get too invasive but I think she might’ve cheated on karlie, as maybe an act if self sabotage, a common theme in her music.

“Why'd I have to break what I love so much?It's on your face, and I'm to blame, I need to say Hey It's all me in my head I'm the one who burned us down But it's not what I meant Sorry that I hurt you”

“I thought you were leading me on I packed my bags, left Cornelia Street Before you even knew I was gone”

“I broke his heart 'cause he was nice He was sunshine, I was midnight rain He wanted it comfortable I wanted that pain”

All themes of self sabotage, so maybe she cheated on karlie.

or the failed plan drove a wedge between them, and that’s when Taylor cheated. I think that’s where the folklore triangle comes from. I think karlie broke up with her after finding out. And then we get folklore and evermore

anyway that’s just my own thoughts lmk urs!

[thequeer07puss]

I recently watched OSP's video on Loki and something in it captured my attention: Red said that Loki's name (idk if it's an actual theory or smth) could mean "entangler" (which makes sense as a trickster god) but then she said that Loki could be a spider, which made me think of one other trickster god that is also a spider: Anansi.

Now welcome to me bullshitting my way through the mythology of both gods in order to make a very weird connection.

Spiders are associated with cleverness, weaving and skill (like how Athena is a wisdom goddess associated with weaving, but i can't bullshit 2 thoeries at the same time, we'll get lost). Anansi, thanks to that association is a very clever god who evicts a lot of bad situations through intelligence and help from others. Loki also has those elements of "clever bullshitting" which gets him into trouble because their mischief is way too much for others to handle. Right now you're thinking: "you're reading way much into this, they're trickster gods, that's what they do".

But spiders are also associated with entrapment, and entanglement, which is something that happens a lot to Loki (they get their mouth sewed shut by Ivaldi's sons, they get tied up on multiple occasions, they get trapped in a fishing net, and ultimately gets tied to a rock due to the killing of Baldr), where Anansi traps and gets trapped. Additionally, spiderwebs in some Scandinavian languages are referred to as Lokkenet (or Loki's net, according to Red), which reinforces this association to spiders.

Lastly, Anansi is a trickster god from the Ashanti ppl of Ghana. He is most commonly presented or associated with spiders. Loki is a Norse god whose og worshippers were pretty far from Africa, and couldn't possibly have access to this cool spider trickster. Unless...

The first members of the Homo Sapiens species originated in Africa, and the Proto-Indo-European people (from whom we get most of culture outside of Africa, East Asia and the Americas) originally migrated from Africa into the areas where they were culturally powerful, including the areas where the Norse people lived.

So according to this very wild stretch, there is a possibility that there was some kind of trickster spider deity that was worshipped very early on in human history and whose worship spread to the PIE people, who adopted them as one of their own, and that they brought over as they traveled, leaving behind other deities with similar characteristics (in another stretch of my imagination, this includes Neith and Athena, who are both associated with weaving, and in Athena's case, cleverness as wisdom) as their culture spread.

And as they settled into their definitive homes, they adapted and developed cultures of their own, but that are still ties to that "original" PIE culture, which brings us to Loki and Anansi, who are similar in this aspect of trickery, cunning and entrapment which could have happened when the PIE people and another ethnic group that would become the Ashanti were still close to each other and could sill share culture and gods.

Or...

This theory is just a very wild stretch fueled by lots of UPG and finding loose threads to tie together to hone my mind's ability to make logical connections and syncretise gods with similar-ish traits and that trickster gods and spiders are associated just because spiders are smart and Loki and Anansi have no connection whatsoever.

We'll never know.

[noblebs]

CURVEBALL I wanna know about Dev :D

💋🧘⚧️💯🤔😖🙈🤕🪮⛪

And I have to hit him with the: 🪨

ASDJFGH DUDE SO MANY <3 the last time I got a sex-related ask for Dev, it prompted a very thorough discussion between my wife and I about how nonexistent his sex life is lol. but I will do my best!

💋Do they like kissing? Anywhere in particular?

sure he likes it fine, it's not enough to like drive him wild but it's comforting. even non-sexually, he has not been kissed or shown any physical affection very much throughout his life so he's not picky

🧘Favorite position?

lol, probably anything with someone in his lap? my gut instinct was missionary, but no he would worry more about hurting someone if he's on top

⚧️How does their gender influence their relationship to sex and kink?

ooh this is actually really interesting. I think gender alone doesn't necessarily play a big role, but the way it intersects with being a monster absolutely does--aforementioned discussion w/ my wife led us to the conclusion that monsterfucking is certainly a kink in their world and it's in the same dicy, fetishistic category as like raceplay or chasers.

so being a very large monster and masculine has actually been a detriment to his sexuality because he's all too aware of the way people perceive him. he doesn't want to be especially rough and dominant in the way I think a lot of potential lovers would expect of him

💯When a partner says "do anything you want to me," what do they do first?

honestly? he would be so flustered and self-conscious that it would probably be a turn-off for him lmao. in theory, if he was more comfortable in his sexuality, he might enjoy taking control every so often. but definitely not as things stand now lol

🤔Is there a kink or other sexual experience they've never been able to try, but want to?

well for one, he has not tried most things lmao. I don't think there's many things he's aware of wanting, but if he were told what to do it would certainly help relieve the "oh no it's been literal decades since I've been physically intimate with someone what do I do" pressure, so light subbing/giving up control he would enjoy

frankly I think he could also develop a praise kink within 0.2 seconds of being properly praised for the first time ever

😖Are they a huge tease, or the one being teased?

he doesn't really tease during sex, but it's absolutely how he flirts. in our tabletop campaign, he and Orion have been teasing and dancing around each other for over a year in-universe. once they literally shared a hotel room and nothing happened because they're both so committed to playing some kind of weird psychosexual chicken. so yeah okay he's a bit of a brat

when I was plotting EWT I knew I had to put them on some kind of urgent timeline, because if they think they have all the time in the world they will never even touch each other lmao

🙈Do they have any particularly taboo kinks? Age-play, fauxcest, race-play, etc.?

no lol, he would be Scandalized by the suggestion of any of those

🤕What kind of pain are they into, if any?

tbh it would take more effort than usual for him to feel any satisfying level of pain, so it's probably for the best he doesn't care for any of it

🪮Do they like hair pulling, or pulling a partner's hair?

I wont lie, this emoji isn't showing up right for me so I had to guess which question it was for lol. he uh doesn't have hair, and he wouldn't be willing to pull anyone's hair unless they really insisted. again I think he's very sensitive to how easily he could hurt a partner

⛪Does their faith impact their sexuality? In what ways?

he is not religious but it feels boring to leave the answer at that, so I'll reinterpret the question because in the past, his loyalty to Annex could be considered near-religious. his job was always his highest priority, so even when he was much younger, sex and romance were among the first things he sacrificed for the sake of his belief in their mission

🪨Do they identify with stone sexuality? Have they in the past?

lol how ironic!

but not really, sometimes I feel like he's got the vibe of a he/him butch lesbian lol, but even if that were the case he wouldn't feel particularly inclined to identify as stone butch/femme