#but still it would have been an interesting central theme

[camilledlc]

Because I love relating songs to characters and analysing why it works so well, I just have to rant about how So Long, London by Taylor Swift is Vanessa's perspective of her break up with Wade. This one is reaaaally long, so be ready for that if you still chose to read this. It is 4,5k of a weird analyse no one asked for. You have been warned :

I think the main reason why Vanessa (that I will from now call Ness) ended things with Wade was because of how bad he was doing. She tried to be there for him, but there's only so much you can do for someone who doesn't want to be helped. So really, it is quite evident as to how this song can be related to their story. I'll go in order of the lyrics, and really dive in with the meaning of the song. I'll write this as if Ness wrote the song herself, kinda. But despite me relating it to Ness, it will also kind of be a study of the song in itself, if anyone is interested in that.

The opening line "I saw in my mind fairy lights through the mist" shows two main things that to me will be crucial to understand exactly how it all went down and Ness' state of mind. The two central element being obviously the fairy lights and the mist. The mist represents this gloom, this sadness that had surrounded Wade, and therefore herself. He was extremely depressed because of the Avengers' rejection, and didn't seem to be able to pick himself back up. Everything for him became a mist, but it also made everything for Ness turn into a mist. Always being around a deeply person, to whom you're entirely devoted, it will take a huge tole on you. Their sadness become yours, etc. And by that point, you may think that there was no reason for her to stay, but no. That's why the fairy lights are here. The fairy lights doesn't represent the exit, the ending of this relationship that would finally brought her peace. This early on in the song, it wouldn't make sense. The author is still too deep into this relationship. The fairy lights are probably the reason why they are still together by that point, despite all the pain that it's causing Ness. Because while the relationship can generally be associated to a mist, there are moments of happiness, of "fairy lights through the the mist". Not all moments are bad, and they are occasions where Ness can see the old Wade, and what they used to have. And she wants to fight for that. Because deep down, they love each other in ways that can't be matched, and they loved each other for so long.

And so, this leads us to the next lyrics : "I kept calm and carried the weight of the rift / Pulling him tighter each time he was drifting away". Because Ness can see that not everything is bad in her relationship, that there are still pieces of what they used to be left to fight for, she tries. She tries to "[keep] calm", to be the rock Wade is in desperate need of. For Wade, it feels like his world is falling apart, as he can't seem to find a purpose for his life, a way to matter. He falls more and more into depression, unable to pull himself back up. The only thing stopping him from "drifting away" is Ness. But on the other hand, she can't keep carrying them both on her shoulders. It "weights" on her, and understandably so. She wants to be there for Wade, and she tries as much as she can to save him. But maybe it's a responsibility that's too heavy for her, and so, the come the next lyrics.

"My spine split from carrying us up the hill / Wet through my clothes, weary bones caught the chill". Those are pretty easy to understand and very explicit. The weight of Wade's sadness is becoming too much for us, and she is breaking under it. By being the only one trying to lift them up, she's going to end up even more broken than Wade. I of course think that "wet" references sadness in general. Sadness is often paired with deep blues, cold colours and a general theme of water--because of tears. With the "mist" being also a metaphor for this sadness, it isn't surprising. But this means that this sadness that Wade carried, this "mist", finally got to her. The "mist" finally reached her and made her "wet", meaning that his sadness started to become her sadness. She "caught the chill", she started to feel depressed too, because always being around someone depressed--especially if you're the only one lifting them up--makes you depressed too.

"I stopped trying to make him laugh / Stopped trying to drill the safe". Another easily-understandable set of lyrics, yet devastating in the context of Deadpool. We know a handful thing about him and how he is generally perceived by others, and one of his main traits is that he's funny. He is always one to laugh, or crack a joke, the one that makes you happier when things are bad. He is the one supposed to make other laughs, but with how bad he feels, the roles are reversed, and Ness has to try and try and try to make him happier, to "make him laugh". It must have been really heart-breaking to see the dynamics in their relationship change this much, see a person she knew like the back of her hand becoming a ghost of who they used to be. And eventually, he started to close up too much to her. He would be 'somewhere else, not fully there'. He wouldn't let her in, tell her what he was truly feeling--despite the fact that she could sense how bad he was doing. He became a "safe", a total stranger that she couldn't figure out, until she eventually had to give up. This is even more depressing when you know that Wade has had tendencies to lie to protect himself and push people away, which he could've also done here with Ness.

All of this leads her to start being angry, and confused, and wanting answers from him. Not the Wade she saw before leaving him, but her Wade, from before all this. She wants to understand : "Thinkin, how much sad did you think I had / Did you think I had in me?". I see this as both a rhetorical question, telling him that she can't handle all of his sadness and that she has to leave him behind at some point. That she doesn't have this much sadness in her to support him. But I also believe it has some genuine aspects of an earnest question, always waiting for an answer. Yet, she will repeat this multiple times, probably alluding to the fact that she doesn't have any. Because Wade doesn't have an answer to that either. She wants to know just how far Wade was willing to let himself fall down while thinking that Ness would stay, that she would pick him up. In a way, I think she felt betrayed and hurt by the way he was treating her, waiting for her to be there for him while he purposefully let himself drown in his own misery. So, eventually, she's angry and demands answer, demands an explanation to all of this, because this isn't the Wade she fell in love with.

And that's why it's so tragic : "Oh, the tragedy... / So Long, London". In this, we see just how heart-breaking their entire story is. It wasn't supposed to end this way, yet at that point in time, she saw no other issues. She didn't want to leave him, but she had to. It was tragic because it couldn't have been avoided, yet she felt as if it wasn't fair, and it wasn't meant to be this way. She can only constate that their ending is tragic, and she has to accept it despite the evident pain and sorrow (the punctuation). And so, she leaves. All of this, only could lead to that conclusion. She went through all stages, from loving him, to trying to support him, to giving up on helping him, to being angry at him, to giving up on them altogether now. She isn't fully saying goodbye, as she still feels as if their lives are too intertwined for them to not see each other again eventually. They both love each other too damn much to never do so, to truly end things here. By that point, she accepts that she must leave, and that their story ends, but she knows the love hasn't completely disappeared yet.

But when she says "You'll find someone...", she does admit that while love may persist, the relationship is over for good. By that point, she only includes him in the finding someone part. I think it's because she herself hasn't moved on from him, and she isn't sure by that point that she can. They know they can't date anymore, but she doesn't think that she'll fall in love as hard as she did with Wade with anyone else. But for him, she wants him to move on and find someone who will be able to handle Wade. In a way, she may feel guilty for leaving, despite knowing that it was killing her on the inside to stay. So she wishes for Wade to find someone who, unlike her, will be able to help Wade, or at least carry his burden with him without splitting under the weight.

I feel that the next part is a bit trickier, so if my ramble doesn't make sense, feel free to ignore it! But otherwise, I think that the lyrics "I didn't opt in to be your odd man out / I founded the club she's heard great things about" are definitely laced with bitterness. To me, it really represents that moment of Wade getting better, and how Ness will view herself into that. One the one hand, she knows she isn't entitled to anything regarding Wade anymore because she chose to leave, but on the other hand, she feels as if she didn't have a choice to leave. Everything was so awful that she had to leave for her own sake, so she didn't opt out of his life. She didn't want to be his friend, but she couldn't be anything else. Yet, everyone--including Wade--will make her feel like it was her decision. Even though they respect it, she feels that they don't understand that it wasn't truly her decision, and that under other circumstances, she would've never left Wade. If it wasn't for her survival, she would still be with him. But now, she is purposefully being left out of everything regarding Wade and all of his accomplishments. People will say that it's great to see him better again, to see him happier, and a true hero that wants to matter, etc. And yes, he did that on his own, but it does feel to her as if it invalidates everything she went through. She helped him for so long, and eventually had to give up. So he got better on his own and is praised for it, but what about all of her efforts? Don't they count in his recovery? Isn't her support the foundation of the person he is today? She is one of the reason Wade found his spark back, yet because she left before he did, she can never say as much. And it must feel bitter to see how much time and energy and love you lost trying to help someone who got better after you left them, after you've had enough.

Which is why we have "I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath". Because, yes, she may have been the one who left Wade first officially, but Wade had left her way before that. When letting himself become a shadow of who he once was, he left Ness to fend on her own, the only one keeping their love, their home alive. The "house by the Heath" represents this home that they made for themselves, it was their lives, their futures. But Wade abandoned that mentally. Yet, it falls on Ness when she decides to abandon it physically. In this whole verse, she is feeling bitter, and angry, and regretful. She left everything behind, because Wade felt like her everything. But she wasn't the first one to do so, and Wade had actually done it before. She had in the past tried to support him when he had cancer, only for him to leave her to bear this alone. So, actually, she was the only one trying actively not to leave, not to let this relationship die.

"I stopped CPR, after all it's no use / The spirit was gone, we would never come to". It implies that for a long time, she tried to maintain their relationship alive, but it was for nothing. "The spirit" of their love had left when Wade did too, when he metaphorically left the relationship. It couldn't be brought back, and even if they had tried, it would've been too late. Their relationship was already too damaged to be salvaged. There is no use to perform CPR on a dead body.

The next lyric is heavily marked by the voice of the singer, showing the anger and resentment growing : "And I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free". For this one, I think it's crucial we remember the context of both who they are in general. Ness is a woman in her mid-thirties/forties, meanwhile, Wade is an immortal guy who can't age nor die. Wade still has the whole eternity in front of him to do whatever he wants, to be someone great. But Ness spent most of her life with him, and now she's getting older. No matter who she ends up with it will be a very recent and new relationship, and it will take time to grow, and so she may have trouble later having the family she'd wanted. For her, it may feels like as if she's spent so many years with Wade, only to be back at square one. Except that for him, he can take the eternity to move up a few square, but her, she doesn't have that time. She doesn't have eternal "youth", which is why she may be so pissed, both at herself and at Wade. It can be very easy to start resenting someone when you feel like you have wasted so much time on them, for nothing to come out of it eventually. And it would be better if Wade was in the same boat as her, because then they would both have wasted time and it would be no one's fault. But she is alone in this, she is the one who gave her "youth for free".

The "For so long, London / Stitches undone / Two graves, one gun" only reinforce this idea. She gave her youth "for so long" and now she's feeling resentful. In a way, it feels like her decision killed them both. She knows the negative impact their breakup had on Wade, of course. But here, she also acknowledge just how much it affected her too. With "one gun", aka her decision to leave, she killed the both of them ("two graves"). Kind of in a "you had to kill me but it killed you just the same kind of way". And now, the relationship that she carefully spent time stitching up each time it split is now completely broken, the "stitches undone".

And so, she accepts that she has to move on : "I'll find someone". She knows how bad her decision also affected her, and how hard it will be to get back everything she lost to this relationship. But she can't stay down, and she has to find a way to move forward somehow. And she knows that it's possible, that eventually, she'll find someone else, she'll fall in love again and that life goes on. It's a way for her to try and find peace, to definitely put her relationship with Wade past her. And by the beginning of Deadpool and Wolverine, she believes that she has found that someone, she found Dermot. Someone good, who is different yet someone she is really happy with. She can fully move on, and so wants to try and befriend Wade, as a way to really put this all behind. Because despite knowing they can't ever get back together, she still has a lot of love for him--whether it's romantic or now platonic, she'll always love him, as he is one of the most important person for her. But it's clear that while she's almost moved on completely from him, he hasn't done the same. And because of the way he still holds out hope for them to be together again, she feels as though he thinks she abandoned him all over again.

So in a way, the upcoming bridge is her way of defending herself. "And you say I abandoned the ship / But I was going down with it" is literally her reiterating that she wasn't the one who left first, she was actually holding onto that relationship even more than Wade was, even though it was killing her, "My white knuckle dying grip". The singer's voice is by then really angry, and I think Ness is too by now. It feels unjust to be blamed for leaving a relationship. I don't think they are blaming her consciously, because Wade would never want to make her feel bad about it. But the sole fact that he's still holding out hope that they work out put the blame on her for the fact that it isn't working out. In a way, him still wanting her and not being able to move on makes her even now the responsible for Wade's misery, which is unfair because she already had to bear it and suffer from it for long enough in their relationship.

The next lyrics will all be analysed as a whole, so sorry for that : "Holding tight to your quiet resentment and / My friends said it isn't right to be scared / Everyday of a love affair / Every breath feels like rarest air / When you're not sure if he wants to be there". This may be a bit triggering, se be careful, but I think that while the original song may be talking about not wanting to be there in a relationship, from Ness' point of view, it will be more like there at all in this life. Wade is canonically a character that has a severe mental instability, a lot of traumas and issues, and he is one of the character who tried to off himself the most--even before having a regenerating factor. He clearly has always struggled with his mental health, and it was even worse during his depression. So when Ness feels scared that because she's "not sure if he wants to be there", she's talking about being scared that Wade would take the opportunity to off himself if he could die. It is extremely scary to be in a relationship with someone who doesn't wish to live anymore, when you never know if they are faking their smiles, planning on leaving it all behind, if you're not sure you'll wake up and they'll still be there. Even while knowing he can't die, it is still a terrifying thought. So now, their entire relationship, their "love affair" is completely overtook by this fear that it will all end at any moment, and also by this need to take every good thing in because they may not last, or there won't ever be any other good thing afterwards. Every moment of true joy "feels like rarest air". Because now, everything in her mind revolves around Wade's sadness, his "quiet resentment" of feeling like he doesn't matter, of not finding his purpose in this world.

But there's only so much that one person can take, and so, eventually, she is back to asking "So how much sad did you think I had / Did you think I had in me? / How much tragedy?". This times, it really feels as though she exposed previously during the bridge every arguments in her favour as to why she had to leave, and now she's showing him all of those arguments and telling him 'see?', and in the words of the song "Just how low did you think I'd go? Before I'd self-implode / Before I'd have to go be free". And those two last sentences summarize pretty much everything : she was self-imploding, so she had to leave and be free. This relationship, despite still having some good moments that guilted her into staying, was more like a prison to her by that point. In this bridge, she seems finale with her explanation, and feels a certain form of validation of her decision. By then, she is certain she made the right choice, and she is trying to show others, and especially Wade, that she had to move on and that still holding hope for a relationship together was just invalidating everything she went through (even if Wade isn't necessarily wanting that, or even realizing she might feel that way. He can't help but love her, but respects her decision nonetheless. There is no bad guy here, just a very complicated situation).

The very end of the song is definitely right by the end of the events of Deadpool and Wolverine. Wade tells her explicitly that he still loves her, still wants her, wants them. But when he tells her he still loves her, all she can think of is : "You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waiting for the proof / You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days". She may know, realistically, that Wade really did love and still do, but during the end of their relationship, she couldn't feel it. Everything in Wade's life was now centred around his sadness, which is here represented by the "gods of [your] bluest days". Their relationship was too much, and so he "sacrificed" it, because in his mind, there was no room for anything other than his depression. Which is valid and comprehensible, but extremely hard to live for Ness. She was desperately waiting for him to show her that he cared for her, that he still loved her, that he was still with her, like shown in the flashback when Cassandra Nova peered through Wade's mind. She asked him directly for proof of his love, and she eventually had to leave the "altar" because she was dying there otherwise. Wade was feeling so awful that he couldn't remind Ness just how much he loved her, so even now, she can't accept that he still does.

Besides, we know she has supposedly moved on, as she is happy with her new boyfriend Dermot : "And I'm just getting color back into my face". After everything, she eventually felt like a lesser version of herself, beaten up by this tragic relationship. Wade's constant sadness got to her. But now, it's been a while, and she had time to move on, to find her own new happiness. It might be different colours than when she was with Wade, but she has colours nonetheless. She is happier out of the relationship. Yet, she can't help but be mad : "I'm just mad as hell cause I loved this place / For so long, London". It is quite obvious that despite being happy now, she had also been happy with Wade before all this. There had been so long where she thought she was gonna marry Wade, found a family together, that he was her soulmate. She knows it's for the better, but there's also something so frustrating about having to leave something that brought you joy for so long because now it has soured. The lyrics "Had a good run / A moment of warm sun" reminds that. Before Wade got depressed, there relationship was truly and utterly an happy relationship. There was so much good in it, and for a long time, it seemed like it would last. But it didn't.

"But I'm not the one / So long, London". She is here fully letting Wade go, and letting their romance go. In admitting that she isn't the one for Wade, she is admitting that they weren't soulmates who were meant to be, and that maybe it's better this way. She is admitting that even the earlier stage of their relationship was extremely good and happy, it was not enough. She isn't the one for him because she could love him at his best, but couldn't at his worst. And there is no shame in that, she knows now that some people aren't meant to be, despite being perfect for each other in every other aspects. For example, when she sees Logan, she understands that he can handle Wade at his worst, that he can lift him up. At the same time, it's a bit bitter because she wished she could've been the one, but she is also really grateful to be out of this relationship, and yet knowing that Wade's got someone else that will be there for him. She can leave peacefully knowing that.

Then, we have another repetition of "Stitches undone" which symbolize definitely the end of relationship, with nothing holding it together anymore, and "Two graves, one gun". Personally, I always heard something else and liked what I heard more, which is "Two graves, one gone". Here, it would be a representation of how they felt during Wade's depression. He was so sad that he was almost dead, which killed her on the inside too. They were "two graves". But some graves aren't meant to be side by side. She left the graveyard, found happiness again somewhere else. She brought herself back to life by leaving. Now, there is one grave that is "gone". But by using the last sentence "You'll find someone...", she is in a way giving him permission to move on from her as well, to leave the graveyard that was their relationship. She hopes for him that he'll find someone who will bring him back to life to, and she even thinks that Wade found that person already, found that in Logan. Now that she let go, she's telling Wade to do the same. To let her go.

The three different instances of "you'll find someone / i'll find someone / you'll find someone" really represents the progression of the breakup and the healing from it. At first, it's a way to convince herself that she has to leave, that she isn't made to handle this. By then, none of them have moved on. Then, it's her finding her own way of happiness, admitting that she's moving on. And the last one is her telling Wade to move on too. By the end of the song, their relationship has definitely ended, it's over for good.

"So long, London".

[quibbs126]

What if the Ancients instead of being normal (if not general) flavors, were instead associated with the 5 tastes, that being sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory/umami?

(I thought spicy was one of them, but from what I’m told no)

I dunno, I think that would have been a neat idea, given they’re all food

Though I suppose the concept could also work for deities of the world, if the Legendaries don’t count as them

[mortal-song]

the problem with tua's ending is that it was IMPOSSIBLE to do without retconning and defacing the themes and characterizations that have been central to the story since the very first episode. if you had to end it that way, if it really was "the plan all along," then fine. there ARE good ways to do that -- so the execution should have been much different here if that was the case. take a look at "the good place," for example. everyone ceased to exist at the end of that story as well, but it was beautifully done because it ADDED to the show's core themes rather than take away from them. tua's ending was hollow and unavailing. at some point i have to commend the precision with which someone can desecrate an entire series and certain characters (looking at five, diego and lila especially) like this.

it made no sense. diego and lila formed a beautiful (albeit chaotic) relationship built upon mutual trust and authentic love that neither of them had ever experienced before. it was something they were teaching each other and learning together. that was a new beginning to them, and it was painted as such by the narrative. at no point were there hints that things would go sideways, no build up. every time they stumbled in the past it was still right back into each other's arms. at no point did their chaos look like an ending until it was shoved in our faces for... shock value? to shake things up? i fail to understand where it came from. they were relentlessly devoted to each other and the only two people who could stand each other for long. and so what became of them was very jarring. very messy.

five's ENTIRE character has been focused on and motivated by one thing: saving the people he loves. to the point that he was willing to let his own humanity become a forgone ideal, a renounced concept, as many times as it took. to the point that he essentially INVENTED TIME TRAVEL and INVENTED THE COMMISSION TO REGULATE IT. five's stoic exterior only barely concealed the claw-grip he had on every single family member, so why forget it now? why choose to go back on that? and in what world would five hargreeves willingly wait MONTHS to return to his family? because he was SUDDENLY in love with lila, no less? forgetting the very apparent fact that his age and body are not in alignment, five had never shown any interest in romance. especially not towards lila. but they do have very similar backgrounds, and so this was a chance to enrich the mutual understanding five and lila have with each other, expand the familial connections they have, especially seeing as how both of them -- in their own ways -- spent most of their life without that sort of connection.

ben's entire arc felt so, so out of place. completely and very ironically isolated from the entire rest of the series. nothing about it was fulfilling, nothing about it offered any sense of closure or even development. jennifer made no sense even as a plot device, much less as her own character. these two brought out nothing in each other.

klaus had the foundations of a good arc, but too much was introduced in too small an amount of time and none of it really went anywhere. i can say roughly the same for allison and viktor. THAT being said, of most of the scenes i did find myself genuinely enjoying this season, THOSE three were usually at the center! in fact, i really did love the scenes with klaus, allison, and claire. so that's cool. i guess. luther? he was just kind of... there?

and ray just fucked off with no explanation? okay. and reginald? until this point he had all the qualities of a potentially VERY GOOD and nuanced villain. his arc fell flat. and let's not forget all the other loose ends, but, you know, we've been here long enough. so. onto the next point.

none of these characters got to heal. none of them ever got to revel in anything meaningful, or, rather, the things that WERE meaningful across the whole series were rendered worthless because... none of it exists anymore! none of it ever existed! this is like an "it was all a dream" ending but much worse. and these characters are so, so incredible. i can only name a few other stories that have had characters i've connected to this deeply. and despite everything i could never really stop loving them. that makes it hurt more though tbh

anyways. i know i'm about to sound incredibly dramatic but the ending made me sob my lungs out. this show was really important to me. it led me to incredible people, other incredible stories, helped me live, etc. but i honestly found myself wishing i'd just never watched this series at all. the ending was eviscerating and Just Fucking Pointless. i don't think i'm ever going to be able to rewatch it. it's still hard for me to conceptualize that it was even real, that this is all we get. there's a lot more i could say about everything, but again, i've said a lot already and i'm not trying to write a fucking novel. i'll say more of what i want to in sporadic bursts i guess.

[teambyler]

Churchgate update: the vines suggest the church is a sanctuary and the theme of forbidden gay love (aka Byler) is likelier than ever

(This and other pics shared by will80sbyers)

For those who don't know, ChurchGate is a theory of how a hugely significant development in Mike and Will's romantic arc might happen in a CHURCH, that intersects with the show's theme of love vs. hate and religious fundamentalism. That hype has intensified recently as it appears Noah and Finn will film a scene alone in the church this month(!)

I'll just add to all this by pointing out how significant it is that the shots of the exterior of the church seem to show that the church is keeping out the vines and therefore is being used as a SANCTUARY from the Upside Down. (Either in the UD itself, or perhaps the UD has spilled into Hawkins.)

Historically, churches have been not only instruments of the status quo, but also refuges for people fleeing persecution. They once were places the government could not enter, and while that is no longer true they still have much of that significance. In the modern era, the Catholic Church worked to protect Jews fleeing the Nazis, and houses of worship of many faiths have served as sanctuaries for draft resisters and immigrants.

The idea of seeking refuge in a church might drive Mike and Will to run to this church in the first place. The writers could have chosen so many other places, but they chose a CHURCH. The idea of MIKE AND WILL needing refuge in a church HUGELY suggests that their potential romantic pairing -- which Christian doctrine simultaneously says is immoral but churches have a history of sheltering the persecuted -- will be a focus of this scene.

Their taking refuge in a church takes on a note of irony, obviously for Will, who the show has established for the GA is in love with Mike. ST has established the themes of homophobia in this 80s small town, and fundamentalist hysteria against the Hellfire Club blaming them for the murders and the gates opening at the end of s4.

But Bylers know it is also significant for Mike. Plus, remember that s4 opened with the song California Dreamin' as Mike read El's letter. It has the following lyric:

Stopped into a church I passed along the way Well, I got down on my knees And I pretend to pray

Mike and El were both seeking refuge from the cold in a traditional church (their relationship), presenting false sunny "normal" versions of themselves to each other.

If s5 opens with Mike realizing the Painting Lie and staying in the closet, running into the church takes on significance with Mike. His church surroundings would dramatize that he has an internal conflict as well as dealing with the external threat of the Upside Down outside.

All this is to say: in a show where a theme has been that love can conquer hate, Mike and Will's scene of seeking refuge in a church strongly suggests that they (and their likely relationship) are central to defeating not only the UD, but also the forces of homophobia and fundamentalist hysteria in Hawkins. Mike and Will might actually transform the church (literally and thematically) in s5 -- which has both a tradition of oppressing LGBT+ people AND a tradition of promoting love and compassion and sheltering the downtrodden -- through their own actions. (Btw I have my own theory of how their love confession happens, possibly in the church, for those interested.)

This is just further confirmation that the final shot of s4 really DOES foreshadow the central role that Mike and Will will play in s5, where even the ONE FLASH of lightning (which resembles vines) is aimed at Mike and Will:

-teambyler

[aroaceleovaldez]

The himbo, malewife, goofball -fication of percy jackson is such a crime by both the fans and riordan. It has made Mr not like percabeth as a couple because in all posts and in later books annabeth is such a girlboss, while Percy's dumb and can't fight his way out of a paperbag without her. All the posts are about how annabeth will be an architect and percy would love to be a trophy husband.

Even the humor in the books went from Percy's sharp wit and snark to 'my pancakes can't drown because I'm a son of poseidon.'

And now this recommendation letter bullshit.

Honestly now I'd wish percy just separated from annabeth (but they remain best friends.) He stays home with his family, becomes a camp counselor, helps young demigods, holds God's accountable and eventually becomes a social activist. (I also dislike him doing something marine biology related. It's clear he hates academics but he always wants to help people. Him helping demigods and mortals is such a wholesome profession for him.)

I fully agree with the first half of this, though I slightly disagree with part of the latter.

The later-series and fanon mischaracterization of Percy is at least a solid 50% ableism minimum, full stop. He's being warped into a very stereotyped ADHD character and the exact reason why he's being characterized as "dumb" is because of ableism. Percy is a very intelligent character! That's exactly why he's so in sync with Annabeth and they're such a strong duo! It's just generally Annabeth is more book/academically smart.

I disagree with where you say he hates academics - because that's one of the common misconceptions about his character. Percy doesn't hate learning or academic subjects! He's not even bad at them! We know explicitly that when he is in an accommodating environment he is interested in learning and gets significantly better grades! Percy only dislikes school because it is generally an environment that systematically he struggles with. It's literally just he has a learning disability (two, actually)! That's it! When his learning disability is accommodated for he does well! It's almost like that's what accommodations are all about! We know this from the first series! It's discussed pretty in-depth! Percy isn't a dumb character and he doesn't hate learning, he's just been let down by school systems so much that he's inherently distrustful of them. If they actually accommodate him though then he does just fine!

And that's exactly what CHB was all about and why New Rome University was supposed to be such a big thing for him! CHB is a learning environment geared for demigods. NRU is a demigod college. Both inherently imply an environment meant to cater to and accommodate students with ADHD and dyslexia! They are both systematically structured to be able to accommodate him! Heck, CHB and CJ even both address in the wider themes of the series a metaphor about how ADHD and dyslexia are commonly seen as childhood disabilities, and how it can be more difficult to find accommodations into adulthood because of that attitude but those disabilities don't just go away - that's why CHB is a summer camp but they talk about how demigods outside of CHB don't often fare well. The metaphor there is those who are not getting help or accommodations are struggling. Because that's how that works! This is a fully intentional metaphor from the first series! CHB is never framed as being perfect for demigods, because one of the entire central conflicts of the series is Percy and Luke going back and forth about this flawed system meant to help and support them but still letting people fall through the cracks. The "claim your kids by 13" thing is a metaphor about how acknowledging a child's disabilities (and possibly getting a diagnosis) earlier/as early as possible means they will have more time to learn and build up resources and support for themselves to be able to use later in life. One of CHB's major flaws is that it can accommodate demigods to a certain point, but it can only do so much before those demigods have to leave (the metaphor being accommodating school systems when those disabled students do not have any other forms of accommodations in their lives.)

And that's why Camp Jupiter was framed as being so revolutionary for Percy because it had an environment acknowledging that this is not just a childhood disability, adults with ADHD/dyslexia exist too and still need and deserve accommodations, AND is a place where those accommodations are available. That's why Camp Jupiter and NRU are treated as such special and important things to Percy, because it's essentially Percy being shown this type of thing can and does exist and it is available to him. It is an option he never thought was possible. Percy never thought he'd be able to go to college because he would not be able to go through school without accommodations, but NRU proves otherwise.

The part that's absolutely stupid is Rick then proceeded to retcon NRU so that apparently it's not a full college and Percy still has to take classes at normal mortal college which DEFEATS THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF NRU EXISTING. Rick has fully retconned that demigods struggle past the ages of 16-18 when they're on their own (see above elaborated metaphors) and in doing so we have fully killed all symbolism in literally all of that. It's so stupid. And by having the plot of the CoTG trilogy entirely be that Percy is not actually allowed access to NRU in the first place because he is a son of Poseidon and has to do extra to even be accepted is stupid!

All that to say, I agree the marine biology feels like a huge cop-out and a disservice to his character by reducing him to just a son of Poseidon. The literal only reason why it's the default option people take for him is because oh, fish thing, fish guy. But I feel like everyone ignores the really obvious answer for what Percy would want to do which is - writing. Both his parents are writers/authors and he clearly admires that about them. Percy likes telling stories! He canonically is already a published author in-universe! That's what the books ARE in-universe! The first series fully exists in their universe and Percy is the author! This is explicit canonical information! Percy canonically has help physically writing it down (accommodations) but he is still the credited author! Percy is a writer! Already! Canonically! Why are we making him a marine biologist he already has a profession that ties into his character significantly more. Like you said, Percy likes helping people. That's what the books in-universe are supposed to be for! It's point blank at the beginning of the series! Book one! The thing everybody quotes all the time! The books exist because it is Percy trying to give advice to other demigods who don't know what's going on yet! It's Percy's writing down his experiences to help new demigods understand and contextualize their experiences so they can understand themselves better and figure out what's going on - WHICH IN ITSELF IS ALSO A METAPHOR ABOUT ADHD/DYSLEXIA! Because the core of the series has and always will be built around ADHD/dyslexia! Percy as a protagonist EXPLICITLY was created so that ADHD/dyslexic kids could see themselves as a hero!

Sorry that all was a very tangential rant but my point being: Absolutely. Percy in newer stuff in the franchise and in fanon is horrifically mischaracterized in ways that are functionally either fully ableist (shoutout TSATS for just outright claiming Percy is intentionally lazy and skips school out of disinterest, which is like the number one ableist attitude towards kids with learning disabilities) or a complete erasure of Percy's disabilities. Also I think he should be a writing major not a marine biologist.

[thekidthesuperkid]

No but actually I love how central Crystal is to the story. She's the only reason the group ever goes to Port Townsend and therefore the only reason most of the plot even happens.

Even if you're just watching the show with shipping goggles (a lot of people let's be honest) you still can't extract Crystal from the story. She's the only reason Charles and Edwin go to Port Townsend, but also her arrival into the boys' dynamic shakes it up enough for it to start changing. She's the one who finds out about Charles' dad and then pushes Edwin to figure out what Charles has been hiding from him. She's also the one who pushes Charles to recognize his own repressed emotions and to deal with them. She's central to Charles' character arc over the show, and even though she's not as central to Edwin's character arc, she's still a catalyst. Niko, the Cat King, and Monty are more directly important to Edwin's arc, but Edwin and Charles never would have met and helped Niko if it hadn't been for Crystal (Niko likely would have just died from the sprites alone and this is deeply sad to think about), and Edwin also would never have met either the Cat King or Monty without being in Port Townsend. (Monty probably would have never become human.) Maybe if things had been different Edwin still would have been dragged back to Hell, but Charles would have had to find a different way to rescue him. The Night Nurse was only there to open the door to Hell because Charles and Edwin were stuck in Port Townsend long enough for her to track them down, and on top of that she was only able to track them down because of their connections to living humans (Jenny) through Crystal. And then Edwin's confession on the staircase was only really possible because of the realizations about himself that he had beforehand because of the influences of Monty and Niko and the Cat King. Crystal called Edwin and Charles a dead married couple on acid and that basically what they were: they had been together for so long with just each other, and they were so familiar with each other that their dynamic had become habit and they were taking for granted the things they thought they knew about each other...Charles is the happy one and isn't haunted by his past the way that Edwin is, Edwin isn't interested in romance and connecting with living people, etc. Crystal, and then Niko and their other friends as well, showed up and brought in a new perspective on their relationship and their lives and their problems, which allowed them to develop their relationship in new areas.

Independently of the boys' relationship though, Crystal's story is really done so satisfyingly. Her character arc of figuring out who she is is unfinished, but already it's cool how the story builds the contrast of who she is now versus who she was before her memories were stolen, where one of the biggest differences between the two versions of herself is whether she has people in her corner who truly care about her and support her, and whether she has people she cares about in return. She's also the only one able to defeat Esther in the end. The Elemental would have just swallowed Charles and Edwin without her, and summoning Lillith was something only she could do. And it's really cool how her role in the story creates a theme of connection to other people being vital. She forces Edwin and Charles (mainly Edwin) to interact more with living people, through getting them to take cases for living people and by being a way to get information from the living more easily, which ends up causing some bad things for them but also causes a lot of good things too. Like she brings in Niko, who is the reason Charles and Edwin don't get separated after returning from Hell. And even her powers rely on being able to connect with her roots and her heritage and her self. The way that ties into themes of identity are very interesting as well.

TLDR: I really like way the story used Crystal and I'm excited to see where her story goes if there's a season 2.

[glisten-inthedark]

Will's love for Mike and how it might be fundamental to the plot

Look, I'm going to be as blunt as possible: If the Duffers had no intention, and I mean even 0.0001% of intention of making Byler canon, they wouldn't have Will being in love with Mike as a part of their plot.

I mean, they could've easily presented another character in the story alongside Argyle to be his love interest, they didn't.

Instead, the entire Cali plot only existed just so we could see Mil*ven's relationship and how it still has a lot of issues and by presenting was with a clear love triangle and with Will's feelings towards Mike.

If they wanted to develop Mil*ven, they could've make him go with her to the Nina project, instead they deliberately made sure that Mike stayed behind and that instead we saw Will and Mike together.

And this is a matter of time management and of moving the narrative towards what they want.

The writers could've focused on talking about a plethora of other things. They could've again, presented a love interest for Will, they could've not make Will in love with Mike in the first place but instead they used precious time they had on their relationship and rebuilding their foundation.

Another point: Will's love for Mike seems to be fundamental to his character. It seems to be a part of who he is as much as being an artist or being gay.

Will loves Mike so completely and irrevocably that he pushed him towards El because that's what he thought he needed. But, we all have acknowledge already that Will seems to be an unreliable narrator (since most of season 4 was through his pov) and maybe things aren't as clear cut as they seem because what he sees vs what we see are two different things aka the Rink O' mania scene.

But I digress.

As I was saying, Will loves Mike unconditionally, truly and deeply. He sees a life with Mike at his side playing DnD and he's satisfied. He doesn't need more nor does he want more, all he needs it's Mike.

His love for Mike is integral to who he is as a character. Obviously I'm not saying it's the only thing that defines him, but it embedded itself into everything that he is and that he knows. Mike makes him feel good about himself, makes him feel like he isn't a mistake, Mike is Will's heart.

So, with all that in mind, what payoff could there possibly be in Mike not reciprocating these feelings. It makes absolutely no sense because we already are under the notion that he doesn't. Most of everyone that I come across on YT already thinks this to be the case and more importantly, Will already believes that to be the case so... What is even the point? Waste money, time, and literally everything that comes with producing the scenes we saw for what? Nothing?

How does that make any sense?

We already think Mike doesn't love him back, there's literally no purpose on dragging this on through another season unless, this love it's a part of how everything will fall into place.

It's clear that if we watch the show, love has been a central part of it from the start. There's the familial love, the platonic love, the friendship love and the romantic love.

There's the love of Joyce that allowed her to feel Will was alive, that was the love of Mike that he also somehow just knew Will was out there (him being the only one in the party that "just knew"), there's the love between Steve and Robin and Steve and Dustin, the love between Nancy and Jonathan (the only other couple that heard each other when one was in the Upside Down and the other wasn't which parallels Mike and who would have thunk it? Will), there's the love between Max and Lucas, love which helped save her, there's the love between El and Max, and so many, many more.

When Will was possessed, it was the love of the three most important people in his life that allowed him to break through and speak in Morse code.

Love has always been the central theme of Stranger Things, in all it's shapes and forms, and maybe, just maybe, it might be the entire point of the show. Maybe Will's and Mike's love for each other, that has been there the show started in the first place, is what will bring everything to a conclusion.

It's no coincidence that whenever shit was hitting the fan, love drove the plot forward and saved everyone, we could even use Billy as another example of that.

Because this love he has for Mike is so much a part of who Will is, of who Mike is, that it might be what saves them all.

[venomous-qwille]

hi qwille!!! I got questions for u! you have lots of characters planned out, and that’s super cool! but how do u usually go about that process? like all your characters are very unique, and I wonder about the design process, as well as how you make their personality distinct! how do you make character dynamics/relationships? because all the scenes I’ve read so far make the characters feel really organic, and mesh really well together! (sorry for all the questions! I’m super curious ^w^)

Hiya! Here is an answer I wrote for this question on discord recently ^^

I will try answer this as thoroughly as possible!

There was a LOT of kill your darlings involved in making characters for gitm. Originally I had a very long list of character ideas that I cut down and down based on the kind of things and themes they would give me the opportunity to write about. I love long ensemble cast stories, thinking back to ones I particularly enjoyed and the ways those characters gelled together helped me a lot. The most important thing when selecting characters was making sure they would give me something interesting to write about! I was also very keen on ones that let me explore the fics main theme of Family from a different angle. I'm not sure how helpful this all is! But yeah, I try to be pretty strict with myself about what I include. The only reason I would include two characters who were very very similar would be to emphasize a difference/divergence between them later on. Characters have to justify themselves by bringing something unique to the table, even if that thing is just a 'very different outlook on life' to the rest of the cast. Over time a lot of those character ideas became more fleshed out in my brain, and characters that were cut from the original shortlist made their way back in. They still have to be able to narratively justify themselves in order to earn a channel in the discord though!

For the gitm guys, while I dont have a literal sheet I fill out I do make sure to answer a couple of basic character work questions: What lie do they believe about themselves/the world? How does it impact the way they interact with others? What central theme do they embody most? What do they want more than anything else? How do they feel about humans? Who are they at their best and who are they at their worst? I found that by answering these sort of questions it helped me discover more about them, which creates more questions- rinse and repeat. The more questions I answered the further away they would get from each other in terms of similarities. The thing that really helped with the gitm boys, especially because their origins are so similar, was leaning in to how different their experiences were post-fazco. They are different people because the world has made them that way. Messing around with foils has been useful too! Characters are no fun in a vacuum, it's how they interact with others that makes them interesting. I like to create ones that will bring out the best and the worst in each other. I think about opposites a lot and I really like narrative symmetry- what lessons can the characters learn from each other? I find that stuff super exciting to read so I really wanted to include it. Some examples of character foils in gitm: Fool & Noon, Sombra & Sunspot, Misuta & Sol

When it comes to finding character voice, I do a lot of test drabbles (a couple of them are on this server), which I use to just fuck around until I find something that feels right. For instance- Sol was very very easy to find the voice of, where as Misuta took weeks of rewrites. Sometimes things take time. Spending this time figuring out their voices at the start really helps fic consistence in the long run, I think. Because of all that prep, I don't really have to do anything to 'get into character' when writing their dialogue (it's fairly second nature now).

In regards to coming up with a character's arc, I look at them and their themes and ask 'what the fuck happened to you, dude?' and then 'how has that entrenched a faulty world view on you?' 'what could you be driven to do because of that world view/misunderstanding?' 'what would it take to fix this world view/misunderstanding?' (the last question is the most important one!). Then voila, you have a very loose framework of a (hopepunk) character arc.

In regards to the actual planning of the fic/character arcs, I have a very big miro board (pic attached) that I use for all this! Most of the major character beats are marked out separately to plot beats etc etc. There are still a bunch of bits that only reside in my brain, but I do try to add them to my plan as soon as they become any kind of concrete. All of the characters also have a background chapter (or rather, a series of chapters that form a short story) attached to their arc, that will recontextualise everything you have learned about them so far! I am so deeply looking forward to dropping these (I already have quite a lot written).

I would say that- for your question on character relationships- the answer does come down to being really specific about what you include. Make sure characters are meaningfully different from eachother, give them goals and experiences that clash and then force them to live/work together in the same space. If you have put time into building your characters before that, then you just need to create opportunities for them to get into conflict and bring out the best/worst in eachother. I really do believe that characters are quite boring in a vacuum- which is why I put so much emphasis on including narrative foils ^^ Tyvm for the ask <3

[the-amber-raven]

I would never delete my fics

I got linked to a reddit thread today where people were being advised to download my mortifying ordeals/Buddie fics, since apparently "now that I'm a BuckTommy shipper", I might be "petty" and delete all my Buddie fics.

So. I'll move past the complicated feelings it gives me to have people hoarding my fics while actively shitting on me as a person (and seemingly not even telling me that they enjoyed my work, although in fairness that could just be a difference in usernames.) That's the nature of fanfic, fandom, and putting things out there on the internet and I accept that.

But I do want to reassure people that I would never delete my fics. I still have the cringy-as-fuck Harry Potter fics I wrote in high school up; believe me those would be first on the chopping block if I was inclined to delete my work. And all of my 9-1-1 fics hold a special place in my heart, but none more than the mortifying ordeals series, which consumed basically a full year of my life and reminded me why I love writing. Hell, I got engaged while writing the final chapters of I once was lost. That fic is indelibly tied to my life now.

And look... I don't think it really matters, nor should I have to explain and justify what I do and don't enjoy about a show or fandom, but this whole experience has upset me more than it probably should have and I can't help but want to get it off my chest anyway.

My favourite thing about this show is the found family feels. I either love or am at least intrigued by every single character that has appeared. You'll notice that family is the central theme of every story I write, whether the story is Gen, Buddie, or BuckTommy.

Because yes, the idea of BuckTommy and how that plays into the family themes of the show has intrigued me and captured my muse.

I've also said before that I didn't think Season 7 left Buddie in a great place in terms of romantic relationship potential - in my opinion, the ghost of Shannon would be an absolutely massive barrier to them getting together right now. The post season 7 Buddie fics have also heavily featured character bashing, which isn't something I generally enjoy seeing, and infidelity, which I really don't like seeing romanticised especially since I've had a partner cheat on me.

So yes, I've distanced myself from the post-S7 Buddie fandom because I just don't enjoy the pervasive negativity I've seen and the way that cheating and violence is suddenly celebrated by a significant subset of the fandom.

That does not mean I've given up on Buddie altogether. I still have a whole list of pre-S7 buddie fics in my to-be-read list that I've been making my way through and 2 out of my 5 WIPs are Buddie fics (both in the mortifying ordeals 'verse, just to make it even clearer that I'm not at all interested in deleting that series.)

But two of those 5 are BuckTommy, because as I said above, their relationship was intriguing to me and it captured my muse.

I don't think those opinions make me some kind of betrayer, or that they inherently make me a "petty" person but I guess I just didn't realise that not-exclusively-shipping-Buddie was such a High Crime in this fandom.

[eriexplosion]

So the main reason I think that TBB will have a reasonably happy ending is multifaceted but I think the biggest one is that a lot of the series it's compared to have entirely different focuses but only one requires minimum the majority of the characters to be alive.

It comes down to the central question of the work. Let's look at TCW - this one is super broad because it's essentially an anthology rather than an overarching narrative. It's literally just "what happens between attack of the clones and revenge of the sith." The only thing needed to bring it to a satisfactory close is to go up to the end of the clone wars and segue into ROTS. Which, as a tragic film, does necessitate a bit of a downer ending. But, the ending feels fulfilling even with the tragedy because it satisfies the central question.

Rogue One is much more narrow, how did the rebellion get the death star plans? The reason you can do a total cast annihilation in this one is because the central question isn't character focused at all, it's mission focused. As long as they move the mission forward, the characters dying doesn't make the ending less satisfying. The central question is answered.

So what's been TBB's central question? It hasn't been mission focused, it's not "how do we fight the Empire" and its not as broad as TCW's filling in a multi year gap between movies. It's asking "who are these clones if they're not soldiers" it's asking "how do you heal this family that's been broken by tragedy."

And killing off most of the main cast answers these questions as "nothing" and "You don't." It's like answering "what happened between these two movies" with 'nothing' or 'how did they get the death star plans with 'they didn't.' It negates the central question that we're introduced to, it would render the entire endeavor pointless. Why would we need three seasons to get Omega from 'alone' to 'still alone' why would we build up the desire for the family to heal just to say they never will? Why would we watch them go from broken to more broken to absolutely shattered in a trauma mill? It doesn't answer anything, it just trails off.

I don't even think that the question of how to heal the family can be satisfied if Tech is actually dead. MAYBE if we had more time we could soothe away the trauma of that and still resolve everything. Maybe if his loss was the only one that needed to be wrapped up and processed we could resolve that in the time we have left.

But needing to bring Crosshair home, bring Omega home, AND heal everyone from Tech's death in fifteen episodes that also require enough action to keep ten year old boys interested? Yeah, I don't think that's happening. I think the only way that this gets wrapped up in a way that actually holds to the themes of the show is an ending that has the family together, an ending that actually answers the questions we started with, one that said *they're not soldiers, they're family* and that the family is in fact capable of being healed.

[flowering-thought]

I told myself "maybe this will be the last part!" Clearly I was wrong-

Now if you haven't played TOTK or at least gotten spoilers for the story I wouldn't recommend reading this. In Ganondorfs' story, I intended to carry out as much of the plot as I could to prepare for the next part of the ideas I have. Dw, there will be a happy ending! Eventually..

So welcome to part three! Sit back, relax, prepare for drama and a rise in obsessive behavior <3

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

WARNING - MINORS DNI

AFAB reader and reader is described as feminine and chubby/plus sized.

Yandere themes, spoilers for TOTK, slight imprisonment/isolation, violence, pregnancy, controlling behavior

Yandere Ganondorf x Archeologist Reader (part three)

Everything was perfect. You had grown so content being married to Ganondorf. He was so gentle with you and you loved seeing how warm he could be towards his people.

You knew that the other major village of the Gerudo was slightly sour about your union. After all, legends tell of a male being born every hundred years but they also have whispers about a curse of evil.

You were just glad that there hadn't seemed to be much fighting with the other major Gerudo village and that luckily everything seemed calm.

You loved bringing around your notebook, sketching the village's people and Ganondorf.

One morning he had asked about the scribbles in your notebook that accompanied your drawings and that may have been the catalyst for what was to come.

"These? They are my notes. My thought process is messy and unorganized at times and I don't like people being able to read my notes. It's like an inner look into my thoughts and it's scary to think someone can do that just by picking up a notebook of mine." You answered, returning to the notebook and looking up at your husband to continue sketching him. You loved how the light of dawn would look on his skin.

A part of him thought it was rational of you to create a code just for your notes. But the other part of him whispered and agonized his thoughts of what you could be hiding.

You only had three notebooks on the shelf in your shared room. The fourth you kept with you as it was still being written in as the days passed. He had never had an interest in them before but suddenly those thoughts of his made him anxious.

So one day when you were out roaming the village he picked up the first notebook and opened it. Sights of a village and tower with a large telescope sketched into its pages. And a young Hylian with an odd device around his waist appeared halfway through.

You then began to sketch through the travels, the monsters you saw, and the people you came across along the way, he saw many words repeated which he assumed to be names, and his brows furrowed at the frustration that came with not being able to decipher the code you created.

And then a misty forest scrawled through the pages, and a large tree with a kind face appeared. He thought there was no way such a thing could exist but then he saw the sword in the stone, and anxious characters drawn out in your notebook, small creatures gathered by the Hylian man that you accompanied on his adventures.

He noticed a map fall from the pages and noticed how different things were labeled in the usual Hylian text, including Gerudo Town. And a place called Kara Kara Bazaar. These places don't exist, so why would you create a false map? And the great plataue? And the kingdom of Hyrule in the middle of the central plains?

His heart raced as he looked through the pages, eventually going to the next notebook to look through the different sketches, needing to try and comprehend what your sketches were telling.

And midway through the second notebook he noticed you were celebrating Zeldas' return. As you sketched her and Hylian man that Ganondorf assumed to be reuniting.

And then tales of exploring caverns and different ruins, your sketches of places you got to see with Zelda and the Hylian man.

And the detailed sketch of a sword along with other writings.

And then came the third notebook. It was more details and sketches of people and what seemed to be plans of taking something back. And towards the end what seemed to be ominous clouds leaked out of a cave entrance.

And that was where the third ended.

He placed all notebooks back in their places, including the map into the first notebook.

He made it back to his study and shut the door, ordering everyone out. He sat on his chair and held his head in his hands, trying to understand the information he came across.

It was that moment when he started to watch you more closely as you wrote in your fourth notebook. He noticed you had a habit of mouthing the words you wrote.

You did it quite often at the end of the day when you would write whatever details you learned. But during the days when you were actively doing something you wrote without thought.

So he started to learn what you were mouthing, noticing each character you wrote and would write it down for later, figuring out each character and attempting to put it into everyday use so he could learn it a bit better.

And with that, he waited for another time when you would be out all day. He felt conflicted about sneaking around.

He wanted to ask you but at the same time, he couldn't handle it if you refused to tell him the truth.

And now he sat on the bed, your first notebook in his hands and he opened it up.

It took him a minute to slowly get the characters to line up in his mind and to apply it to the words but finally, he could figure it out.

He skipped to the midway section where the Hylian man showed up.

"One day I was headed up to the lab to see some man standing at the edge of the village where the lab is. Since the home my parents left me is in town I always stay there and make the trek upwards to the lab. Something doesn't feel right if I don't stay in my home. Like I'd be betraying my parents for leaving that home behind for another."

Ganondorf let himself breathe a bit, his mind berating him for thinking that something sinister could be going on. But he continued to read as he wanted to know more about you.

"The man told me his name was Link. He rarely talked but he at least told me his name! He mentioned something about needing to see Purah so I led him up to the lab. And that's where the commotion started. Turns out he's THAT Link!! The hero of Hyrule! The one that was a guard to Princess Zelda!"

"He held the Sheikah Slate on his belt too. And it was mind-boggling to know that he could travel with the use of it to other shrines that were dug up due to the calamity around 100 years ago. After some debate and worries about how Link will travel as he's lost his memories and everything, Purah let Link stay a night and told Link to stay with me for the night so she could adjust the machine that would update the Sheikah slate with some other features."

"She pulled me aside out of Links' view and asked me to accompany him on his journey. I thought it sounded ridiculous. I've never left Heteno Village. All my knowledge of the world was found in books and samples and everything I could get passed down by word of mouth as well. Wouldn't I just be deadweight to a well-trained soldier like Link?"

"But Purah told me that he's been asleep for a hundred years. That the Calamity took his memories and that waking in a world you hardly know is lonesome. And I understand that. To be lonely despite all these people claiming they know you. And for Link to be told he has to rescue someone he doesn't remember and to save a kingdom from Calamity despite not even remembering the kingdom itself."

"So I set out on the journey, assuring Link that when he would have to go after the four divine beasts I would stay behind and wait to not put any pressure on him to keep me safe."

Calamity? Divine beasts? What is happening? Ganondorfs' mind was spinning as he continued through the pages, your visits to the Zora and then the Rito, even the Gorons and the Gerudo people, a town with no men allowed and a girl he doesn't even know as chief.

He couldn't wrap his mind around it as he made it through the notebooks and then finally towards the end of the third notebook that details what you described as Gloom he decided he needed to get his hands on the fourth notebook.

Things were too much and he couldn't keep his anxiety at bay.

When you returned, you greeted him with a big smile, happily hugging him. "I've missed you so much recently! You seem so busy lately." You exclaim, happily sitting on his lap before leaving a kiss on his cheek.

He loved how affectionate you were, it nearly took away all his anxiety at that moment.

And his dark thoughts swayed and his intent to peak into your fourth notebook wavered.

You noticed his change in demeanor and looked up at him, you lifted your hands to hold his cheeks, forcing him to face you. You put your forehead against his and left a little butterfly kiss on his nose, "What's wrong Gan? You've been a bit off recently." you ask.

And how he wished he could just peer right into your mind without having to ask the questions he wanted to know. He wished he knew everything about you. Everything you weren't saying, every moment of your life he wished he had seen by your side.

And with that the question he had left his lips, "Who are you?" He asked, pulling away a bit to cup your cheek. He didn't have the heart to tell you he peaked into your notebooks and deciphered the code to them, he wanted to hear everything from your lips. You held his hand close as you looked into his eyes, trying to understand the meaning of his question.

He could see the frown form on your face and he could tell your mind was racing as the meaning of his question could only be one thing. He moved his thumb across your cheek as he waited for your mind to form words. "I'm the same person you met at the kingdom of Hyrule. I'm just..." He watched as you struggled to say the words you wanted to say, tears forming in your eyes as you leaned your head against his chest, "Please don't think I'm crazy. Don't leave me. Please listen without thinking of how bizarre this all sounds." You begged.

The sound of your voice when begging like that made his heart break. How your voice broke and how the tears rolled down your cheeks, he never wanted to see you in pain, so it was hard to hear. But he gave a hum of confirmation and you told him everything.

You told him you come from an Era where everything happening now is practically a legend of how the kingdom formed, that not much is known about this current Era, that something had happened while traveling and you grabbed Zelda before she fell into a cavern. And somehow she had taken you with her to the past.

He felt you weren't telling him everything. But at the time he understood why. It already sounded impossible to go to the past but the fact that Zelda is a descendant of the current King and Queen also explained the saying that Zelda was a distant relative.

You told him about Link and how he defeated the Calamity. And how you got to meet Zelda and how you were all trying to get the kingdom back on its legs for years until something started leaking out of the depths of Hyrule castle and infecting the people with illness.

But while you told him about the incident about falling and coming to the past, you didn't tell him about the mummy inside the depths. You didn't tell him that you suspected it was him. How could you? Nor did you tell him about the master sword, as a part of you wasn't sure how to explain it to him.

You had told him "everything", and he assured you that his love for you would not change. He held you until you fell asleep and tucked you in after some thinking on his part.

Just because his love for you would not change, doesn't mean he had any trust in others. He could tell you loved him. That you trusted him and believed in him and his capabilities to be a good leader. But he didn't trust anyone around you. If Zelda comes from the past she could figure out a way to bring you to the present again. To bring you back to your Era. He couldn't have that. And if Rauru and Sonia helped her get you back?

His mind raced and he reached for your fourth notebook. He needed to know the details you weren't telling him.

"Calamity Ganon has fallen and yet when we entered that cave and traveled to the past I felt just as stuck when Calamity Ganon was wreaking havoc. A mummy with long red hair and a hand that kept its power at bay. What could have happened? What could have caused such a thing to be underneath the castle? It doesn't make sense. So I'm going to research all I can about the Zonai while I'm here to figure everything out."

It detailed your time before Ganondorf had arrived at the castle. And then your first meeting.

"A Gerudo King called Ganondorf arrived today, a meeting for peace and prosperity. At first, I thought it was a coincidence. The name was all too familiar to a certain monster that plagued Hyrule for 100 years. And yet the mummy we saw bears a resemblance to him. Long red hair and piercing eyes. The jewelry it wore also looked similar."

"But how would such events occur? And he seemingly knew Link and Zelda! He talked about the master sword as well! But never called my name. Or did he even know I was there? Things aren't making sense and I'm afraid of what could happen. Yet I don't want to see the Gerudo suffer either. It seems as though his warriors admire him yet something about Ganondorf seems too ambitious to see exactly how much he is loved."

More entries later, he comes across your thoughts about marriage to him.

"Everyone is advising me to turn down the offer of marriage. I understand why. But I want to change things. Maybe I can stop whatever happens in the future now. While Ganondorf does bear a resemblance to the mummy in that cave and I can't confirm or deny anything, I have this urge to at least try. Plus the Gerudo people are suffering! I can understand the hatred in his heart when his people have to struggle in the desert when it seems as though the Hylian people don't suffer through the same trials they do."

He read it all and it clicked. He had to continue with his plan even if it meant upsetting you.

You wanted to change the future. You wanted to stay with him and keep him safe. You wanted him and also wanted to protect the people of this land. So shouldn't he try to change the future for you?

He needed that secret stone. With that he'd have enough power to make sure nothing could stop him, and that nothing could dare to get between you, not even Zelda or anything called time.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

You awoke to the sight of an empty bed. It's odd because Ganondorf is always by your side with a smile on his face. After the conversation last night, your eyes were slightly puffy and you had a small headache.

Not to mention you felt sick to your stomach.

As much as you wanted to lay in bed and laze around you had the feeling you'd need to find Ganondorf and talk more about the future. You wanted to assure him that even if Zelda found a way back you wouldn't go. That you'd stay with him.

So you got up and got dressed, you looked around for Inesa, as normally she would come to wake you and Ganondorf up if you both were having a lazy morning. But she wasn't anywhere to be found.

You walked to the doors of your bedroom, reaching for the handle only to find that the door wouldn't open.

Your eyes widened and your heart began to race, you tried to keep calm but something in you felt as though something was wrong so you began to push on the doors, trying hard to get out but nothing was happening.

"Your majesty?" a voice came from the other side of the door and the doors opened, two guards on each side and Inesa stood in the middle.

"Inesa? Why is the door being held closed? Has something happened?" You asked, your heart beating far too loud in your ear for your liking.

Inseam glanced at the guards before leading you back into the bedroom. The guards closed the door behind you two, and she sat you down on your bed. "His Majesty has decided to visit the King and Queen of Hyrule. He set out before dawn, so I suspect he's already made it by now." She stated, her eyes showing concern as she watched your features to see how you'd respond.

You quickly got up, Inesa had already started on about how there was nothing to worry about but you couldn't hear her, you searched your bedside table for your most recent notebook only to find it missing. You then quickly searched the shelves and your first notebook. You found the map but it wasn't in the place where you had put it. You put it at the end of the notebook. You did that because it had significance and yet it was in the pages near the middle.

You felt even more sick now. Your head was pounding and you could feel your heart beating uncontrollably. You felt nauseous but also dizzy, reaching out to hold yourself up against your desk but you couldn't find the strength.

Inesa watched you faint, barely managing to catch your head before you hit the ground. She hurriedly called the guards and demanded one of them to bring a healer.

Somehow you had pieced together what Ganondorf was doing and Inesa was hoping you wouldn't. She was ordered to keep you in the bedroom and lie to you, yet somehow she couldn't bring herself to lie. She should have lied so you wouldn't be in such distress.

After you fainted you found yourself waking up on the bed, Inesa and an older Gerudo woman who you had seen healing the wounded before sitting by your side.

Inesa glanced at your face and smiled upon realizing you were awake.

"Oh thank the goddess you're awake. The healer said it was due to stress that you collapsed." She said, holding your hand gently in her own before the healer stood up to feel your head and check your pulse.

"You really need to keep yourself calm, it's not good to be too stressed out, especially in your condition." She stated.

You sat up carefully and looked to your side, looking at the older woman with curiosity written all over your features. "Ah I'm assuming you didn't know? Well it's still early I doubt even the morning sickness has started yet." She said, looking over your features once more before nodding as though confirming to herself once more.

"You're with child little vai. Considering the whole palace and many of the people in the village know of the loud and passionate nights that you and his majesty share its no wonder you've already fallen pregnant. Thought it's good for a man to not be able to keep his hands off his wife no?" She stated.

She left some herbs on your desk and instructed Inesa on how to prepare them for you as it might be better for you to take extra care of your body for the coming months.

You sat there in shock, your hand going to your belly as you hunched over and tried not to cry.

What were you going to do? Ganondorf was undoubtedly going to do something you couldn't stop, something you didn't even know the plans about. You wanted to stop what was going to happen in that cave but what if you caused it?

And now you were with his child? You felt sick. But you also knew you needed to warn Zelda. Ganondorf was probably trying to look for something inside Hyrule castle under the guise of wanting to ensure peace. But you needed to somehow get out of the palace without anyone noticing.

You couldn't even fathom how to get out. You stood up and looked out the windows to Gerudo Canyon. You'd have to make it through there as fast as you could or else there'd be no chance.

As you glance over the palace and at the stables, wondering about how to quickly make your way without running into anyone. But as you looked out the window and took your time to think as night fell and the stars came out, you could see a sudden beam of red light in the distance, the clouds in that section turning a red hue as the same dark light that emitted from the caverns of Hyrule castle had shown themselves for the first time in this Era.

Your heart dropped as you watched, knowing that it had finally happened. You had no choice but to run. Something horrible was going to happen.

You gathered a few clothes and shoved them in a bag, bringing your notebooks as they were the start of this mess. You would need to burn them when you get the chance.

You'd have to escape early morning so you waited, listening by the door for when the guards would go on break or have a change in shift. And when you finally heard the telltale signs of the guards leaving you tested to see if the door would open and smiled when they did.

You quickly made your way through the halls, hiding in rooms or behind pillars if you heard or saw anyone before they saw you. And when you finally made it to the throne room of the palace where the grand entrance to the village sat, you nearly collapsed at the sight of Ganondorf standing there, a secret stone embedded in his forehead and a frown on his features as though he was waiting for you.

"I hoped it wouldn't happen but a part of me knew you wouldn't be happy with the sudden changes." He claimed, approaching you carefully. Your hands tightened on the strap of your bag, taking a step back.

"What have you done Ganondorf?" You asked, your voice wavering. He only shook his head at your stubborn actions, keeping still so you wouldn't try to run past him yet.

"I did what I had to do my love. They would have taken you from me. They would have used the power of their secret stones to trap me away. And you and I would never get to meet again. I won't allow what happens to happen. So isn't it obvious I need to destroy and rebuild so none of what happened in your time will never come to pass." He stated, saying those words as though it was a necessity.

You felt sick, your hand coming down to your stomach as you thought of who he could have killed. It couldn't be Zelda, right? But who on earth did he?

You felt dizzy as you leaned against the wall for support, keeping your other hand out as a way to try and keep Ganondorf away.

He was surprised at your sudden state. He knew the news would shock you but not to this extent. It wasn't until Inesa happened upon the scene and quickly came to your aid.

"Your majesty! What are you doing up? You only collapsed yesterday you need to rest." She scolded. She noticed the tension but her main concern was your health. Tears filled your eyes as your knees gave out, your hand covering your lips as you struggled to stifle the sobs your throat wanted to scream.

Inesa may hold fear towards Ganondorf but she didn't want to see you like this so she stood up between you two, holding her arm out as though to shield you, "Your majesty, please understand that I mean no disrespect but her majesty collapsed yesterday you see. She is under a lot of stress and it isn't good especially considering her condition. Please permit me to escort her back to her quarters.".

Ganondorf didn't want some maid getting in the way of talking to you, but he could see how your shoulders shook and how much you mourned and so he allowed it, watching as you were gently led away to the bedroom.

He called over another maid, asking to bring the healer to him. He had no doubt that if you collapsed the healer would know about your condition.

And when not even fifteen minutes later Ganondorf came barreling through your bedroom doors with worry and excitement you knew it would be impossible to escape.

You watched as he drew closer to the bed, kneeling next to where you lay and putting his hand over your stomach.

You wanted to forget. A part of yourself wanted to live not knowing of what Ganondorf had done and just bury yourself into his arms. But you couldn't. You couldn't live in foolish ignorance like that.

You turned your head away from him, trying to think of other ways you could get out of his grasp. You needed to make sure Zelda was alright, you needed to help in any way you could.

Ganondorf felt hurt but held back, knowing that you could get even more upset due to the state you were in. So he merely relished in how you allowed him to be by your side and he hoped that in the coming months that you would be in a more fragile state he would get you to love him as he took care of you.

But unfortunate for some, one maid who still held the sight of you holding back sobs would overcome her fear of the very King she served.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Inesa took the time to watch for a week of the new schedules the guards were put on and how Ganondorf acted around you.

She watched as you struggled to look at him and how at night you would wander your bedroom, pacing back and forth as you looked to Gerudo Canyon, past its vast mountains, and to the plateau where another kingdom lie.

So she kept watch and one night when Ganondorf was rushed with planning and preparation to take down the kingdom of Hyrule she woke you up, watching as you sat up and looked at her curiously.

"Come. I'm going to get you out of here." She claimed, a bag already packed of your things and clothes, another with hers and rations to keep you both satisfied through the trip.

You gave her a look of worry, not expecting Inesa to help you as you thought she would always follow Ganondorfs' rules and conditions. But you shook your worried thoughts from your head and nodded, taking her hand as you both began to run through the palace, finally coming to the stables where the horses and sand seals lay.

She got the horse ready and you thought for a moment before you started undoing all the stable locks, setting the horses and sand seals free so it would take a bit longer for them to realize what horse was missing and also cause enough chaos to let you leave.

Inesa held you in front of her on the horse and informed you that you would be taking a different route than usual, not wanting to get caught yet.

She went as fast as she could watching over your features to check for discomfort. And luckily you managed to keep mostly calm as you and Inesa rode through Gerudo Canyon.

And when you had finally made it out of the canyon you told Inesa to go elsewhere, to the temple you knew as the forgotten temple was undoubtedly the place they would go in times of war and tragedy.

It took extra time to get there, and you constantly worried about the chance of Ganondorf catching you. The fear of what he would do not only to Inesa but to hyrule stuck in your mind.

But as you reached the temple, the sight of Mineru speaking with one of the sages made you tear up, Mineru was surprised by your approach, her eyes sorrowful as she opened her arms. You quickly jumped off the horse, ignoring Inesas' worries, and leaped into Minerus' arms, crying as suddenly Zelda came into the picture.

Zelda looked just as sad until she saw you, quickly taking you into her arms before glaring at Inesa.

But you assured that without Inesa you wouldn't have been able to escape.

And after making sure you were okay, eventually, you were told that Sonia was dead.

The news saddened you more than you thought, a feeling of shock and despair running into you like waves. You couldn't help but sob at the revelation, which eventually led to her grave where a sundelion lay.

You came across Rauru and apologized, his sorrow written all over his features as he embraced you, glad that at least you were safe.

And then the planning of a fight began.

But as things were revealed and intentions laid bare, Ganondorf had nearly destroyed the palace, his rage uncontrollable at the fact you were gone.

How could you? How could you leave him? He knew you wanted peace, but peace was something foolish! He needed to destroy this world and create it anew. He wanted it for you and himself and the new life growing within you born from the love that you and he shared.

With a world where only someone as strong as him could keep you safe and sound, keep you fed and healthy and protected. Where only those who shared his ideals would thrive.

And yet one maid ruined it by bringing you out of his reach.

His anger knew no bounds as he finally prepared for another battle. He'd kill that foolish King and Zelda that could take you away. He'd make you realize you only had him. That you will stay by his side and love him just as you did when you cried and begged him to not call you crazy at the confession of where you came from.

And so a drawn-out battle began, many Gerudo villages falling and many citizens of Hyrule falling in the crossfire. It had only been two weeks and Ganondorf was proving that his power was far too strong and overwhelming.

You tried to think of ways to get him off gaurd, or to persuade him! But you kept having doubts and worries, and finally, when a battle was agreed upon in the depths of the central plains, you overheard the conversation between Rauru and Zelda.

The confirmation of Ganondorf as the man they found in the cave and the worry of what would happen to Rauru and the sages.

Upon hearing the conversation you couldn't help but feel like you were at fault. But another part of you wondered if such a thing was fate? That time was rewound but perhaps it was destined to happen?

That maybe the goddess Hylia gave us this chance to change the outcome of the future hoping that Link could overcome Ganondorf.

You followed Zelda to the final battle, knowing that you were nothing but a hindrance as you could not fight you stayed at the back of the army, helping tend to wounded soldiers and hoping that the rest could manage to fend off Ganondorf.

But something felt off. You couldn't shake off the feeling that something was about to happen. Your intuition was screaming at you to run, to warn Zelda and the rest.

So you did want any fool would do, you ran down the steps leading to the depths, running as fast as you could without the risk of falling, finding that the sages and Rauru were at their limit you screamed-

"Ganondorf!". The single use of his name was enough for him to turn around, and without a second thought the sages hurled their weapons at the Demon King. He brushed them off with annoyance, Zelda using her power of time to make them rush back at him before he lost his temper.

"I've seen this all before! And now-" He shouted, expecting Rauru at his front but unexpectedly Rauru appeared below him, just out of sight to deal a blow to his gut, Rauru's power and third eye unleashed then and there, overwhelming the Demon King.

"You bind my heart and steal my magic? You plan to hold me here like a fool to solve your problems... But are you ready to pay the price for this?"

Rauru smirked, determination lacing his tone, "Don't be so smug, I know exactly what it will cost me.".

You held your hands together, the sorrow of realizing what was happening as the scene in front of you unfolded. Zelda crying out Raurus' name, you couldn't move, stuck in place as you watched history unfold.

Ganondorf laughed, a large smile etched on his face, "Thousands of years will pass in the blink of an eye. You'll only delay the inevitable.".

But Rauru's brows furrowed and he stood his ground, "Years from now someone will appear with the sword that seals the darkness. A swordsman with the power to defeat you - Link."

"Remember this name."

Ganondorfs' eyes widened at the familiar name, his interest peaked at everyone's confidence in a mere Hylian.

Ganondorf was reminded of your journey with him and smiled, "Interesting... I look forward to meeting him..." He groaned out, struggling as he was finally sealed.

The light of his power dimmed and his body frozen in time, all his power taken. And Rauru's eyes dimmed, his final action as the founding King of Hyrule settled as his life was taken only to seal Ganondorf away.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

You and Zelda remained at the temple of time. You weren't sure what was to happen next, both you and Zelda mourning and comforting each other inside the temple.

You held your hand over your stomach, your heart aching at all the events that unfolded.

It was likely you would never see Ganondorf or Link and Purah, or let your child know the joys of the things you wanted them to know of the home you grew up in or the journey you went on.

You felt lost.

You and Zelda were in the temple of time when Zelda acted strange. You watched as she started going to the alter outside, as though being called by something.

"Zelda? What's happening what are you doing?" You asked, following her to the alter which glowed with the familiar light you saw only once when you and Zelda were brought back in time.

You watched as Zelda put her hands out, sensing something you couldn't as time turned before your eyes, and suddenly the decayed form of the master sword appeared in her hands.

You came close, startled by the sudden sight of the sword. That must mean that Link is okay! You smiled at the sight of the sword but Zelda looked solemn, something clicked in her mind that you didn't know.

"I know why I am here." Zelda claimed, her features full of determination.

She told you to stay there in the temple of time, quickly rushing off to who knows. But you stayed still, glancing at the altar before putting your hand down on the stone.

It was warm from the sun. You wondered why the master sword was sent back in time, why Zelda suddenly seemed so sure of what was to come.

Within the next day Zelda returned, you had slept inside the temple, sure that Zelda would return soon.

She laid the master sword on the altar and held the Purah pad in her hands, entrusting the item to a part of Mineru's spirit and then handing it to a helper construct.

You couldn't understand what was happening. Zelda had told you to stand at the front where the sword lay, telling you she was going to restore the master sword but she never told you how.

You watched as she stood in front of the sword, you staying by her side in front of the hilt of the blade.

"Link.. I will restore the master sword for you. I will care for it until the time comes. I will pour my power into it and it will be the weapon that defeats the Demon King." She stated.

You watched as she took the secret stone from her necklace, anxiety pooling inside your stomach at the sudden action.

You didn't understand until she spoke again, "You must..."

And suddenly she swallowed the stone, you took a step back, and the memory of Mineru discussing dragonification entered your mind, you covered your hand over your mouth in shock.

The skies turned grey and Zelda's power showed itself, the light coming off of her body enough to blind you, her power enhanced and she grasped the master sword before turning to you, a sorrowful look in her eyes as she pushed you, your back facing the ledge as you were pushed off, the similar light that enveloped you and brought you to this Era wrapped you once again.

And then you understood. To recover the master sword.. To send you back to warn Link.. Just before Zelda loses herself due to the overwhelming power and eternal life that would heal the master sword, she sent you back with the sudden enhancement of her power due to eating the secret stone.

Your body disappeared into a whirl of light and Zelda held the sword in a hug, looking to the sky, "Link! Protect them all!".

Those words you heard as time turned forward, tears spilling as your consciousness once again faded.

In the center of Lookout landing, among the newly appointed four sages and Link who discussed entering Hyrule castle with Purah, a sudden flash of light appeared, the familiar light made Link run.

While he knew it wasn't Zelda by the figure he still ran, catching you before you hit the ground. Your familiar sleeping face, your eyes slightly puffy still, and unfamiliar garbs.

Link was just glad to see one of you alive and held you close, his brows furrowed as he hugged you and then brought you to a place where you could rest inside of lookout landing.

Entering Hyrule Castle with the four sages would have to wait. He had to see what was going on first, as the tears and memories he picked up were yet to be complete.

He watched your sleeping figure and let out a small sigh, looking out the window of Purahs' room in Lookout landing and wondering where could Zelda be...

[luna-rainbow]

Thanks for your answer for the last ask.

What is wrong with the writers of the new MCU material? Do they just hate Bucky, especially the writer of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier (he's NOT the Winter Soldier anymore!)? Did Bucky kick their cat or something? This hatred and victim blaming is not justified! "Oh Bucky's just a cray-cray psycho killing machine with cool metal arm but probably belongs in a padded cell. Lol he says he had no choice such a lame excuse..."

Soo…I don’t know if people still remember the rumours from back in 2021 and I don’t know how much of it is true, but my guess at it is this: there were supposed to be two main writers on the series. Spellman was supposed to take Sam’s story, while the other guy wrote Bucky’s story. For whatever reason, the other guy quit before he finished, and didn’t give the writing team enough time to put things together.

From a story craft point of view, Bucky’s story in TFATWS reeks of first-draft-ism. It’s a scattered plot of events that don’t quite string together, and a self-contradictory characterisation that hasn’t yet been smoothed over (but was made a little more believable by Sebastian’s efforts). You can tell some central character themes had been planted in the first draft — the PTSD, the guilt, the messy way he’s trying to relearn how to interact with people (Yori, Sam and later the Wakandans), the struggle with breaking free of his past. These were all strong, interesting character beats for Bucky to work through, and it honestly could have been a good story. And I think that’s when the original writer bailed.

When Spellman picked up this draft, he was pressed for time, he hadn’t watched CATWS and he never thought he’d needed to know about Bucky’s story, so he reads TheMovieSpoiler summary of the movie and tries to piece the rest of the story together. But Bucky’s not his priority nor his interest. There’s already beats of the story that were planned and have to be there for IP reasons. So beyond what was already in the first draft as mentioned above, Bucky is made to be the fall guy to make the rest of the plot happen. Zemo’s release — well we can’t make Sam help break out the criminal that killed an African king so we’ll make Bucky do it, who cares if it makes no sense for his character. The counselling session — the show’s few moments of levity, doesn’t matter that it makes no sense but hey, forced homoeroticism is hilarious, isn’t it? The Wakandan three-way fight — I may be remembering this wrong but I think Skogland said it was one of the first scenes that she had planned for. That fight had to happen, and again Bucky was made to provoke the Wakandans to the point Seb had to step in and say, almost literally, “he would not fucking say that” to make them wind back the animosity between Bucky and Ayo. Sam’s suit — oh no we can’t have Sam asking for it himself that would be too egocentric, we also can’t have Wakandans offering because well, not like the plot actually made Sam a strong ally for Wakanda, so we get Bucky asking for Sam’s suit to be made minutes after he fixes his mistake of releasing Zemo. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense if it’s Bucky doing it, cos I really think by this stage Spellman didn’t give a shit about a character that wasn’t supposed to be his responsibility in the first place. It’s like when you’re doing group project and your teammate bails on you, you’re gonna do just enough to get that pass but you ain’t putting in the effort for a distinction cos just looking at the unfinished work is pissing you off. So then Bucky also becomes the token white male who pushes all the wrong buttons during the few token racism scenes cos we gotta make Walker have some redeemable qualities and he’s already a dick so we can’t make him racist too.

So instead of having a thoughtful story about a veteran trying to grapple with his guilt and PTSD and lack of agency and making some mistakes along the way, you get a weird disjointed plot of some guy…with some bad dreams…who randomly does things for no good personal reason…who gets made the butt of the joke for the stuff he’s experienced cos he’s got a metal arm and super soldier serum how hard could it have been he just needs to go and apologise for killing people while simultaneously having multiple poignant scenes portraying his lack of agency.

Every writer who tells you “a hero is only as interesting as the villain” just secretly wants to write a simpable villain. And when that writer isn’t very skilled, you get the disaster of TFATWS where a lot of effort is spent on making Zemo funny and personable, and Walker nuanced and sympathetic, instead of making either of the titular heroes funny or personable or nuanced or sympathetic. And yeah, I really don’t think Spellman ever cared enough about Bucky to want to make him sympathetic…or a hero. Remember when he said Bucky pulling open the van door was the first time Bucky has ever been a hero? Fuck right off with that.

[hephaestiions]

author reclist: wolfpants

over the last few months, i've been devouring @wolfpants' works. ever since reading pages of you in two days, their rendering of harry, draco and a vast array of incredibly compelling side characters have irrevocably hooked me.

wolf is an author in enthralling motion. their fics often feature places, temporalities and contexts far removed from where canon holds & leaves us, while simultaneously being tenderly familiar, like coming home. wolf's sense of & grasp over setting leaves me breathless and dumbstruck. their different spatialities inform & infuse character in admirable ways, at various levels of craft, enjoyment and inspiration. this fandom knows and loves the draco and harry they give us, but we delight in discovering new dimensions & aspects of these characters. it's always done brilliantly believably, especially in the framework of the worlds they construct— a breath of fresh air in a forest where the trees still know your name.

wolf's works also demonstrate, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly, a really significant political sensibility. most of their fics are set against backdrops tight with political tension bleeding into the characters' circumstances and interpersonal dynamics. whether through a spectrality haunting the narrative or the crucial central diegetic thread, wolf's works are layered, interrogating and collapsing delineations among private, public and political, between history and contemporaneity and between narrative and commentary.

in the interests of length & theme of this list, i've specifically selected some fics that, for me, showcase wolf's mastery & playfulness with setting, understood as deviations in place, time and universe. the broader recommendation is, of course, to check out everything wolf has ever written!

nightcall (E, 1k) ft. a long distance phone call

On a top secret Unspeakable misson, Harry calls Draco from a remote phone booth on the Isle of Skye.

a stunning portrait of desire, longing and familiarity that uses distance as a device to intensify every element. it's unbelievable how much character & context 1k words of (mostly) smut can pack in. the slivers of backstory demand your investment, inform the dynamic in crucial ways and set up some delicious stakes and tension. and some absolutely fantastic dirty talk. see also: @getawayfox's gorgeous art for this fic!

long haul (E, 8.6k) ft. plane rides, mile high club, nyc

The last person Harry expects to run into on a long haul flight to New York City is Draco Malfoy.

the way wolf writes movement— between places, between people— strokes its way up your spine, warms you, walks with you. draco and harry, buoyed in the air, let preconceived notions fall away, to be replaced by startlingly rapid and exquisite intimacy. the liminal settings, specifically, allow mature, open-minded, desirous characterisation & some of the most glorious, soft, tender sex to fall into like a warm bed.

look for me in the sun (M, 8.7k) ft. americana, roadtrip/on-the-run vibes

Harry and Draco are on the run in America after a mysterious string of werewolf-like attacks in the Muggle community causes the Ministry to impose new and harsh anti-werewolf legislation.

atmospheric writing dialled up to eleven, like the smell of ozone in the air before a thunderstorm. the sense of limbo— transience, out of place and time, the complication of home— that afflicts the circumstances of draco & harry here is heart-wrenching. a taut rumination on otherness in a variety of ways, rendered through some of the most tense and subtle writing i've encountered.

under giant mountains (E, 33.7k) ft. norwegian dragon reserves & rampant escapist tendencies

Harry doesn't know where he's going. Everyone else has their life paths figured out; he doesn't even know where his map is. Who'd have thought Draco Malfoy bathing in a Norwegian forest would be the guidepost Harry needed?

opens with harry, stuck in the same place for far too long, and draco, avoiding fixity like the plague. this fic looks at both stagnation and escapism as iterations of each other & treats them with the gentlest empathy. the norwegian dragon reserve setting, whose visuality wolf's writing captures beautifully, becomes the canvas to explore both. desire, here, was simultaneously so evident from the outset and took its time to build— longing tinged every interaction & payoff, in the form of a sequence of some of the most emotionally fraught sex scenes i've ever read, was that much sweeter.

romp and circumstance (E, 35k) ft. a historical au set in the 1800s, regency era england

Since the war, Harry Potter has gone from Saviour to Scoundrel—not that he’s complaining. With a schedule full of gorgeous men, alcohol, and late nights, why would he want to change? Enter Draco Malfoy: beautiful, sharp, and completely untouchable. When Draco comes to Harry with a proposition to help him attract an engagement, Harry’s up for it—after all, how hard can it be not falling for his former nemesis? Very hard, apparently.

the very first wolf fic i read, in a brief little fandom interlude back in 2022. i remember thinking, then, what an author, i'm really missing out these days. one of my favourite post-war harry characterisations— raucous, promiscuous, messy and at heart, a hopeless romantic. also one of my favourite draco characterisations— pristine, a little uptight, cool and distant and untouchable, except what he really wants is to be unbuttoned, messed up. the transforming sentiments of their relationship were so compelling, the build of harry's feelings was perfectly achey and tender and this draco was a complex, nuanced, frightfully sexy version that i just couldn't turn away from.

pages of you (E, 101k) ft. a 1980s non-magical au

Summer, 1980. Harry is floating between university and becoming a Real Certified Adult. He's not ready. He really isn't. In a desperate attempt to have the Best Last Summer ever, he takes a casual job at his godfather's bookshop in London, starts an illicit pen pal affair with a wordy posh boy that he's catching feelings for, all while dealing with the son of Sirius's business rival, one Draco Malfoy, insufferable know-it-all extraordinaire.

gosh, what a fic. sensitive and sprawling, this work brings the spatialities of london, sirius and remus' queer comfort of a bookshop and harry's room at the residence halls to pulsing, colourful, splendid life. i can still close my eyes and imagine the spaces this fic occurs in, how important they are to the push and pull, ups and downs of the dynamic between harry and draco. a coming-of-age/sexual awakening & exploration story, summer romance and queer political fiction rolled into one, this is a fic that's hard to summarise and easy to obsess over. perfect characterisations, writing that burrows into your soul and a plot that unfolds with the slow and steady depth of gentle lake.

and lastly, a fic that's on my tbr:

terrible people (E, 52.7k) ft. cruises, beach holidays and more of @getawayfox's masterpieces

What happens when Harry and Draco end up on the same Muggle gay cruise? They certainly didn't plan for it to happen (but their friends might have). They're stuck with each other for a week, they might as well make the most of it, right?

in conclusion: vivid, descriptive, immersive storytelling from an author who understands the intricacies of different narrative elements and leverages them masterfully. can't wait to read the works i haven't, and for everything wolf writes in the future!

[vvanillavveins]

On the WTNV finale:

Look, i like Brinknor. They helped me fall back in love with Night Vale when i was feeling particularly uninspired. It's hard to put it into words; i have adhd & i struggle to remember big intricate plots unless something reoccurring has really grabbed hold of my attention, and before Brinknor, i was struggling to sink my teeth into anything attention-holding, so to speak. I guess i was becoming less enthusiastic in Night Vale's storyline as time went on, even though i couldn't really work out why. I just couldn't stop tuning out. But, with Brinknor, there came a bunch of shiny new plotpoints- at a faster pace. The show could actually hold my focus properly, and my wtnv fixation was suddenly up & running again.

All this is to say that i know it's just my impatience talking when i say that i wish that the loose ends of those new, interesting plotpoints had been tied up a little more by episode 250. I adore the way they write about Cecil's childhood and his family, and i want Kevin & The Boy's arc to be given the same amount of love, and attention, and time that the Palmer siblings' arc got. The same goes for Tamika. And Carlos. And Lauren, actually. Yes, i know she was a central figure in the last 2 episodes, and i loved that because she's one of my favourite characters. I fucking adore eldritch Mother Lauren. But still, it was all too vague to really learn anything new about her or the desert otherworld. And, above all else, i can't help but think of how wonderful it would've been if Charles and Donovan were included in the finale- especially Donovan.

When Kevin first came back in 2023, one of my silly little hcs as to why he was apparently in the Smiling God's bad books (and why he didn't mention Charles or Donovan) was that because Charles & Donovan aren't from Desert Bluffs they haven't devoted themselves to the Smiling God like the rest of the townsfolk. They wouldn't "smile" properly. One of my darker ideas at the time was the possibility of Kevin having to choose between making them part of his faith, i.e., making them "smile" like the rest of Desert Bluffs (which i doubt he'd go through with after his mudstone abyss arc), or having Charles & Donovan leave town (which i doubt they'd go through with), or, doing neither & keeping quiet about his life with them to avoid drawing attention. If he chose the latter and then got found out, it would make sense that he'd stop being the Smiling God's favourite. Obviously, i never thought any of that was correct- i was just having fun- and i was excited to find out the real story further down the line.

But that didn't happen, and we still don't really have many answers. Everything to do with Kevin, and Lauren, and The Boy got wrapped up in about 10 minutes flat. We've already had an emotional Fatherhood themed episode with Cecil & Abby; we didn't need another one just for the sake of it.

With the context of what we already know about Kevin's father, the ending of episode 250 was just uncomfortable. Sure, Kevin's talked about his father positively before, but that's always been in contrast with the actual content of his memories. It's always been made clear that the script/the writers disagree with Kevin's sunny outlook, and therefore the listeners should too. Those moments are there to demonstrate just how fucked up Kevin really is, and that his positivity is just a coping mechanism. But this time Cecil spoke for him, so we didn't get Kevin's usual sing-song rambling. It was calm, and collected, and matter-of-factly. And this time there were no sugar-coated descriptions of abuse, only genuine praise. We were actually supposed to agree with him this time, and it made the whole speech (and ending) sound hollow and forced.

I really didn't like this episode. It felt rushed. It tried to cover far too much far too quickly, and it failed. But, despite all that, i am hoping that future episodes will bring some sort of clarity about what happened. And hopefully some closure about Kevin and his family, too. I want loose ends to get tied up properly and i believe that maybe, with time, the important ones will be. Slow burning subplots are kinda quintessential to Night Vale's writing at this point anyway. Brinknor definitely missed the mark with this one, but they're still incredibly talented writers and i'm not ready to give up on them like some of the other fans on here.

Besides, i think that some of Night Vale's worst episodes are still incredible pieces of writing in their own right. The bad episodes are only bad in comparison to the dozens upon dozens of absolutely phenomenal episodes that make up the rest of a show that is, for the most part, a joy to listen to. So, here's to some hopefully better episodes in the future, i guess.

[alexanderwales]

Pitchposting: a wayward mother's litrpg

[cw: child abandonment, bad mothers]

I came up with this idea while trying to describe a non-standard litrpg that wouldn't sell, and it gripped me enough that I've been thinking about it. Now's the time to set that idea free.

Our protagonist is a woman in her thirties or maybe forties. She's divorced with two children, but she left the children with their father. She's got all kinds of issues, and felt trapped in the marriage and her life, and overwhelmed by taking care of the kids what felt like day in and day out. I don't think the age of her children really matters that much, but they need to be old enough to play videogames.

She gets isekaied into the world of a videogame that her children most loved, the one that they had been talking to her about for years, the source of their obsession. She gets a videogame interface.

Let's start with what I find compelling about the premise: the litRPG isekai stuff is being used to examine a relationship between a mother and her child(ren). We can have some power fantasy, as a treat, but mostly we have this very firm and unique lens through which to look at the world, and we have things that we surely must want to confront, revelations about motherhood and about this specific character, whoever she ends up being. In theory, the thing we're moving toward is a synthesis where we have excised the tension.

So, some questions that pop out to me:

How many children does this woman have? I don't know that it matters all that much, but where you have multiple characters who fulfil the same role, it's almost always better to condense them down. The flip side to this is there's maybe less to explore, and I think there's a different tenor to a single child and what we must assume is true of the character.

Does it have to be a woman? Is there not as much meat on the bone if it's a father who left his children? I think that this could also work, certainly, the reason it was initially a mother instead of a father was that I was trying to pick a protagonist that would lose as much RoyalRoad audience as quickly as possible while still being technically in the litRPG genre. (There are obviously different stereotypes about men and women. I kind of think the central idea of "your mom gets isekaied into that game you were obsessed with and she never really understood" probably hits right for more people, but I don't know.)

What kind of game? Alright, yeah, fair. The main point of the idea is that it's a game the mother is only passingly familiar with. Maybe she went so far as to throw a themed birthday party at one point, but she does not understand it, and maybe over the course of the story, gradually comes to understand (though really, understanding her child(ren) through the game is the main point). I'm thinking some kind of JRPG. Definitely better if it's a game with a story.

Should this game be real? Another interesting question! If the game is a real game, say FF7, then we can assume that the reader knows things, and there can be dramatic irony. If we invent a game, then we have a lot more control over what the game is, and can stay in the mother character's head better as we're in mutual ignorance.

Okay, I think those are all the most salient questions, time to stop workshopping this. I have more ideas than I have time to write novels. Thanks @thewadapan for the idea of pitchposting.

[yloiseconeillants]

Hey how are Tullioylal, Solution 9, and Sad Undead Disneyland in terms of urban design I want to hear these rants (as a designer in a different field [book layout & user interfaces])

I rushed through the second half of Dawntrail's msq so I have a lot less like Archived Thoughts on those than i do on like LMAO Garlemald but Tuliyollal I'm very interested in as a planned capital city, especially in contrast to Garlemald as another planned capital city (though the goals of each are INCREDIBLY different). I'm just gonna ramble a bit beneath the cut as thoughts come to me as opposed to any like, well thought through critiques:

Tuliyollal has some unique geography that provides both opportunities and challenges: the most obvious being the elevation of the mountainside they've built into, and the shallow coral reefs that prevent larger ships from docking. There's always necessarily going to be a limit to the flow of people through the city as a result, which provides a very structured set of experiences for a tourist, I think. You have to get on a smaller boat. You have to land at the docks to get processed, which is also conveniently where the market and inns are located. You see the Impressive Vista of the city, culminating in the palace on the summit. Everything draws the eyes up. The experience is similar coming from the north - you have to cross the engineering marvel bridge, or coming from the west means you actually walk through the city's mission statement (and see their airships!) before you get to the core of the city. It's an experience that I do think sort of tracks with the way that theme parks are built - there's a story being told to you through the environment. And to be clear, Tuliyollal is a young city. Most Turali would also be tourists.

Another thing about Tuliyollal that stood out to me was the fact that the deliberately designed houses in the Resplendent Quarter are like, actually open. This is more of a game design thing that I've been bitching about since ARR but I would LOVE to see more open indoor spaces in this game - contrast to like, Ishgard, where the only indoor spaces open to us were like, church infrastructure and the Fortemps Manor. Not so in Tuliyollal - actual houses where people live are open to us! And not just to the Warrior of Light - they are meant to be seen, to celebrate the diversity of cultures that the city is trying to bring together in a deliberate way. The NPCs in the area give a quick overview of locations and people we'll meet later, while repeating Tuliyollal's goals of cultural harmony:

It's definitely a comfy city to be in and easy to navigate because of the way the mountain separates and centralizes uses (it's helpful to think of it as a semi-circle, with administration, like the palace, the barracks, and the transportation infrastructure forming the outermost ring, the stuff useful for the player like the inn and markets and gathering/crafting hubs in the innermost layer, and rp spaces like the houses between the two). It's an inviting city! Slow down, get a little intimate, take a stroll and admire the sights! It's definitely one of my favorite hub cities in the game (i still have my return set to the Crystarium though).

Solution 9 feels a bit like an antithesis of this. I'm not going to outright call it hostile, but it is an awkwardly built city that requires teleportation and aetheryte travel to navigate, simply due to the amount of unused space. The one that I keep getting tripped up on is the platform that the government tower is located on. There's a HUGE plaza with absolutely nothing going on. If you're using the teleport platforms instead of the aetheryte, it takes almost a full sprint to get from the landing space to the tower itself. Like, with the game done, I know that's because this was a space where they put an instanced battle but I don't think we needed all that to be completely featureless. Like what's the point of it? It made me wonder if this was a space where there were once proclamations or festivals or installations of any kind, but given that there isn't even a day-night cycle and most of the people of Solution 9 are more concerned with Working than anything else, the idea never really got anywhere. The second thing I thought of was Haussmann's wide avenues in Paris:

(also like, i'm fucking convinced there are ascians in that tower so like. this all comes together for me Very Neatly)

But Solution 9 is a mall rather than a city. It is geared toward consumption of resources (credits and souls) and I know there's much more to the city but just based on what we're working with, it's much less city-like than the urban imagery suggests. I am a big fan of all the couches and tables everywhere though.

SAD UNDEAD DISNEYLAND IS A THEMEPARK and GOD it gets that across SO WELL. Other people have talked about all the unfinished buildings just behind the facades and the huge empty spaces (canal town in particular, even when still lit up, is a very good illustration of how half-built everything is here) - it's not a space used by people to live but rather play out isolated Experiences, so it's hard to critique its livability, since that was never the point. I mean. Zip lines as transportation between districts. Which like. LMAO was not terribly far off from an actual campaign promise from this guy who did not end up being governor of Oregon:

but even he scoffed at zip lines: