#but these are the books he’s a main character in

[yazthebookish]

Maybe I'll spoil you guys and talk about Gwynriel and ACOTAR5 and anything related to it overall. I recently finished my HOFAS reread and have some fresh thoughts. I'll let my thoughts guide me and some of these points I've already addressed in my insta stories yesterday. I just rather share a lengthy post here since I'll only tag under #gwynriel.

I often see arguments about how Gwyn and Azriel can't move the plot forward because the series is centered on the Archeron sisters.

First, that's not true because Sarah is following what she called "a traditional romance route". She's following the same patterns of Nalini Singh, Kresley Cole, and Lisa Kleypas where they publish multiple books in the same series following different couples.

This is fitting for a series like ACOTAR because it's romance-centered. And Sarah have already said that each couple is getting one book and there will likely be more books beyond ACOTAR6.

Saying that doesn't dismiss the importance of the sisters to the story, Feyre already has a trilogy centered on her. The spin-off just follows different characters including the sisters.

I won't try hard to convince people on this because I've already posted almost everything Sarah said about the spin-off series and what's it's about. So if the next book is not centered on an Archeron sister, that's for Sarah to bamboozle the fandom with.

One thing that stuck out to me is when I compared the ending of ACOSF with the scene of Bryce giving Nesta Gwydion and seeming like she left Nesta with a new quest.

First, this is what the text says, and this is Chapter 80, the very last chapter in ACOSF:

Succeeding in the Blood Rite didn't mean the training stopped. No, after she and her friends told Cassian and Azriel most of the details of their ordeal, the two commanders had compiled a long list of mistakes that the three of them had made that needed to be corrected, and the others wanted to learn from them, too. So they would keep training, until they were all well and truly Valkyries. Gwyn, despite the Rite, had returned to living in the library.

1. The Valkyries are not yet a unit.

2. SJM only and specifically highlighted that Gwyn, despite the Rite, returned to living in the library. It was like "hey, remember all the talk Gwyn did about wanting to leave the library after two years? Yeah that's on hold a bit but keep that in mind". She didnt even add Emerie or the other priestesses to that sentence.

With Nesta being left with Gwydion to find out why the 8-pointed star was tattooed on her, I don't think the next book will start with "hey Elain take this sword and deal with it". Who are Nesta's main companions now? Gwyn and Emerie.

I'll be back to the Valkyries but let's just talk about Azriel for a bit.

It is so painfully obvious to me that Azriel is being handed the Illyrian plot on a golden platter. How big or small of a plot it is depends on SJM, but it's important based on the fact that she fleshed out the Illyrian's origins and tied them to the crossover AND making Truth-teller the knife of Enalius.

That is a big deal for an Illyrian like Azriel.

And I quote my friend Lacie on this, it is very poetic for Azriel to be the owner of the knife that originally belonged to the person who freed his own people from the Daglan's clutches, perhaps because he saw his people are more than just slaves to the Daglan—how powerful would it be for Azriel, who loathes his own people, to parallel Enalius.

And for years some people were against Azriel dealing with this plot because he shouldn't make peace with his "abusers", its true his own family and some Illyrians failed him but he is condemning an entire population. Good people like Emerie and Balthazar. Even Rhys's mother, who had valid reasons to hate her people especially as a female, still made sure to make Rhysand connect with his Illyrian heritage and he even goes on to say that his mother didn't forget what they did to her but still loved her people.

If both Cassian and Rhysand (and by extension the author) continue to flag Azriel's hatred of the Illyrians as an issue—then it is a damn big issue for it to be addressed repeatedly.

Okay so to address my final point about Gwyn and Azriel and how they can move the plot forward.

Now I didn't detail out much about what the next book will deal with because that's another post (and I already have a post on that).

All of our theories and predictions are based on information that is available to us. Saying Azriel and Gwyn cannot move the plot forward does not make any sense because the central plot is tied to multiple characters, Archeron or not.

If SJM wants to make a character move the next book's plot forward, she can do it because she's in control of the story. She's in control of the narrative. She's in control of the characters.

The characters are puppets and this is an unfinished story. If some characters would add more value and make for a more interesting story before the others, she can decide on that. If she wants to make Eris the protagonist of the next book, she can easily do that whether the fandom wants it or not.

Let me give you an example of minor characters that pushed the plot forward and became main characters: Yrene Towers and the Hind. These kind of arguments could've been used for them in HOEAB or HOSAB and Pre-TOD. Before HOSAB/HOFAS and TOD, could we have predicted that they would have played a crucial role before those books? Not likely because they had minimal appearances and were not part of the main cast. This is what I'm talking about.

You can't know how a character will contribute to a story until you see how it all unfolds. We can make guesses on the information we have which is why I believe three characters are likely to join the main cast: Gwyn, Emerie, and Eris.

Why is it so easy to accept that Emerie might be sharing a book with an original character like Mor but it's hard to comprehend the fact that Gwyn could also share a book with Azriel? Because Emerie showed up in ACOFAS? To me that's not really a strong argument based on Sarah's writing and what we have in the books, she doesn't really pick based on who showed up the earliest. Here's a good example: Hypaxia, who showed up earlier, didn't even get her own chapters but the Hind did.

And there's one argument I recall about how I need to rely on Nesta to have a plot focused on Gwyn or the Valkyries in the next book. Nesta's arc is clearly not over based on HOFAS, but does that mean she's getting a POV? Not necessarily. I don't think she is. Gwyn is the perfect candidate for us to see what's going on with Nesta post-HOFAS and how they all deal with the Valkyries and whatever Sarah will set up with them.

There is this whole Valkyrie/Illyrian conflict that could be triggered as a result of the Blood Rite, with Ramiel definitely being an important location to explore in the next book, we also have the Pegasi and the Prison and the implications of the crossover. It makes sense to have an Illyrian and a Valkyrie POV to deal with some plots in the next book.

"Gwyn contributes to nothing" we can't know until the book is out. How sure are we that maybe SJM won't connect her to the crossover by making her mysterious father a Worldwalker? Or Prince of Hel? Or an Asteri? Maybe I'm right maybe I'm wrong.

"But Koschei! And the Human Queens!" Koschei will always be a background player pulling on the strings until the final book as it's obvious he is the big bad in the series, unless someone even worse is revealed. But no one is dismissing Koschei or the Human Queens messing around.

Literally what's the point of the story or the fun elements of surprises or plot twists if you need Sarah to list down everything that the next books will deal with. That's not how a story develops to me. I don't need to know everything in advance to just know how it will go. That's like knowing spoilers early on and checking off with each book what happened and what didn't happen. I feel like it's close to how a lot of readers were disappointed with not having enough ACOTAR in HOFAS, because Sarah implied half of the book would be set in Prythian. So by the time the book came out and it wasn't that, people were vocal about it.

In my opinion, SJM set a good foundation for Gwyn's arc to build up on in ACOSF and her arc is not over. We won't get mentions of her still carrying the guilt of her sister's death or not leaving the library after she said she's sick of being there for two years without us seeing resolution for that. She wouldn't be in Azriel's bonus chapter if she is not involved with him.

To conclude, my reread still affirms to me that the next book with an Azriel/Gwyn book. Azriel is clearly being set in the forefront.

[cosmerelists]

Renarin Ranks Starting Places For New Readers of the Cosmere Series

"Renarin ranks something" requested by @themoonstonechronicler :)

Fans often argue about where new readers should start in the Cosmere: which book is the best starting place? In this list, Renarin will rank various options. Because if any character can break the fourth wall, it's either Hoid (of course) or Renarin with his funky corrupted Future Sight.

[Contains Stormlight Spoilers through Rhythm of War!]

1. Way of Kings

"Starting with Way of Kings is like jumping into a 4 versus 1 Shardblade duel armed with a sword that screams when you touch it after a lifetime of not really being allowed to train in real combat scenarios due to your blood weakness. Will you be in over your head? Yes. Might the experience harm you? Very possibly. Will Kaladin's presence save you? Absolutely. Is it a bad idea? Objectively yes. BUT does this choice make you inherently cool? I think so. At least, I have no regrets."

...

"Make that very few regrets."

"I give this an 8/10."

2. Elantris

"Listen...I get it. You want to start from the beginning. Proceed chronologically. I think my cousin Jasnah would be inclined toward this. But speaking as a 'funky time guy,' as Adolin called me once, I have to say that the past doesn't necessarily predict the future and uh...this one just might be a little tough to start with. In my opinion."

"4/10."

3. Tress of the Emerald Sea

"I think...I think I like Wit. Mostly. There was that one time he tried to make everyone think I was hooking up with, like, multiple women at once, which was...weird. But he also made fun of me. Which does not sound good, but it meant he respected me in a Wit way. In any event, this book is like sitting and listening to Wit for hours. Is it good if that is the first thing you ever do? Maybe? The little rat is cute."

"9/10."

4. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

"This one is Wit too. Just to get that out of the way. And I think it might be a little bit confusing for a first-time reader since it is clearly being told to a Rosharan, which is not something a new reader would understand."

"But on the other hand, it is maybe...refreshing to have a main character who hasn't yet realized what he's good at, and another main character who hasn't yet realized that not all aspects of her religion should restrict her as much as they do."

"So a confusing place to start, but not necessarily a bad one."

"6/10."

5. The Emperor's Soul

"This one is short! That might be good for someone who is looking for less of a commitment. Plus, it involves a lot of research into how things work, if that appeals to you. But I think the real benefit is that if someone is reading it to you, it would probably only take a few hours."

"10/10."

6. The Sunlit Man

"This book is like seeing into the future, since it is literally about the future. It's also very painful. Which, in my experience, the future often is. The future can be changed...but not in this case, because now it's written down. So I would say: start here at your own risk. On the other hand, it will probably seem less sad if you read it without any backstory. But it will make other things sadder later, trust me."

"3/10."

7. White Sand

"This one can be good if you're a man, since there are a lot of pictures. There are also a lot of words, of course, but if you're just starting out on the reading thing, then having the pictures would help a lot I'd imagine."

"6/10."

8. Warbreaker

"Speaking as someone who...well, I can't say that I deliberately make dramatic reveals, but I have been known to do things like scrawl warnings on a wall or appear suddenly from the shadows or, you know, stuff like that. So I might actually recommend reading this before you read our books, just so you can have those, 'Wait, it's YOU!' moments over and over again."

"Seriously, why did so many of those characters end up in our series?"

"I'm not answering the question, though. This one is standalone, and not too long, yet still manages to have a pretty big cast of characters and a bunch of storylines. It is like Sanderson training."

"8/10."

9. The Final Empire

"This is what everyone always tells you to do. Sometimes it can get frustrating when everyone is SO SURE that they know what's good for you, especially your dad, who won't listen when you tell him that you don't want to become an ardent even though he thinks it's the best. And you know what? In the end, I am a fighter, but also a scholar, since men can do both now. So sometimes what people say is good, but only when it happens in the way you want it to and...I think I lost the thread. Um. You can do what people tell you that you should do IF you want to. "

"If you start here, I imagine you'll like it. Sometimes what everyone tells you to do is a good idea...but only if it's what you want too."

"9/10."

10. The Alloy of Law

"Starting with Mistborn Era 2 is like bonding a corrupt spren. It's almost what everyone agrees is a good thing to do (start with Mistborn / bond a spren), only you're going about it in a...different way. But different is not necessarily bad! Yes, I have abilities that are maybe from Odium and that give me a maybe sacrilegious ability to foretell the future...but when given the chance, I immediately recommended my best friend do the same thing."

"Being different can be good. 7/10."

[greenconverses]

again i say to you

if this man would just let the percy series mature and dig deeper into the emotional arcs he presents in chalice and wrath instead of hopping from one kooky adventure to the next and undermining any story depth with fart and piss jokes and blatant flagging to the disney+ audience, we could have had a very good set of stories on our hands

but NO

percy's rage issues, grief, trauma, and just the general angst of being an older teenager on the cusp of a huge life change are all there and every time the story touches them, it's like RR gets electrocuted and told to get back to Conflict Free Therapy Speak zone before things get too messy

additionally, the third act upping the stakes to Oh Shit We're Gonna Die doesn't work if we already know 1) everyone lives and 2) PERCY GETS INTO COLLEGE at the end of this. the whole point of the series has already been decided!! there are no stakes with your main plot or any of the bullshit mini quests! the opportunity to go for a deep dive character book is there and waiting and ready

but NOOOOOOOOO

gotta make sure all of our main characters have been peed on instead, it's fine

[akanemnon]

What got you into comics?, what comics do you like? And what is your favorite comic book superhero?

I didn't grow up with superhero comics, so I don't have any attachment to any of them. I specifically grew up with the Asterix comics instead. They're pretty big in Europe and they were a huge part of my childhood alongside the animated movies. My family consistently quotes them to this day.

Though I gotta say, it was mainly webcomics that grabbed my interest once I got my own computer. There were a handful of Kirby comics I remember reading back then on the now defunct fansite called "Kirby's Rainbow Resort". And I keep repeating myself, but "Brawl in the Family" was a huge part of my childhood. I also remember loving "Awkward Zombie", which probably was what inspired me to get really into drawing funky expressions.

As a kid I was always interested in making comics. Back then I even wanted to be a comic artist as a career. I remember trying to make a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon comic when I was... maybe 14? Also there was a comic a "friend" asked me to draw back in middle school while he did the dialog and came up with the story and the characters.

But back then I could never draw the characters in a consitent way and that was the main reason why I never really was motivated to keep going. I was also predominantly doing pencil drawings instead of trying different things, so that didn't help me much either. Every now and again, I would try to dabble in drawing one-off comics, but that was about it.

Twin Runes is actually the farthest I got with keeping up with an ongoing project like this.

[xcruelprincessx]

Locke being obsessed with wanting to be the main character in his stories and ending up being murdered off screen would never not be funny to me 🤣. I just know how much he would hate that his murder wasn't even important enough to make it to the books!

[a-secret-bolton-vampire]

CW: Rape, incest, CSA

This is actually not a strictly A Song of Ice and Fire post here, but it overlaps in some ways so I figured I'd write this.

Anyone who has not read the web serials Worm or Ward and wishes to avoid spoilers, don't read this post:

Disclaimer out of the way, I've found striking parallels between fandom reaction for both A Song of Ice and Fire and Parahumans regarding how characters who survived sexual abuse view their abusers, in a dangerously disturbing way.

For this I'm going to specifically be using the examples of Aeron and Theon Greyjoy from A Song of Ice and Fire to compare and contrast to Victoria Dallon in Ward. All three were psychologically and sexually tormented by their abusers during the course of the series. Theon is a young adult by the time Ramsay gets his hands on him, but Aeron and Victoria were both children when they were molested by family members so they will be the main two characters to compare.

In the case of Euron and Aeron, there are a (sadly very vocal) minority who are ready to dismiss Euron's danger to others by specifically using Aeron's abuse against him. Sure, Euron is evil and horrifically abused him and Urrigon when they were children, and it is understandable that Aeron would be mortified of Euron. After all, he tries to warn people about Euron repeatedly, only for his attempts to stop him to all fail.

The response by this section of the fandom to claims of Euron being built up as a major threat are essentially that Aeron's trauma is in the way of his ability to perceive Euron objectively. Is Euron actually as dangerous as Aeron claims? You can say the same for Theon and Ramsay. After all, Theon is half-mad warning Stannis about Ramsay, and Stannis is bringing some Rational Realness to the forefront by saying "what do I have to fear him for?"

Since GRRM is never releasing another A Song of Ice and Fire book it's hard to say what he intends but he could definitely intend for this to be the case. That said, there is a story featuring a similar character that is completed. Ward!

Victoria Dallon's sister, Amy, is a cape with healing abilities, though as the series progresses we know that healing is just the tip of the iceberg; she can change the biological makeup of living things. Amy is adopted, and has never felt any love from anyone other than Victoria. Amy develops deep romantic love for her sister, however, and then begins a series of bad decisions that just serve to deepen her already deep mental breakdown.

Amy proceeds to; alter Victoria's brain chemistry to give her compulsive romantic thoughts about her, then following healing Victoria after a battle, she spends several days alone with her, during which she repeatedly rapes her, erases her memories of said rapes, until her mental health deteriorates even further and she is unable to use her power properly and turns Victoria into the Wretch: a mass of flesh and limbs and heads, rather than anything actually human.

Then Victoria spends 2 years in a mental institution, stuck in a body she hates, all the while fighting the compulsions Amy left in place. When she finally returns Victoria to normal at the end of Worm, it is actually against her will and not because she had a change of heart or got more confident.

Then we get to Ward, where Victoria is the main POV. As is very obvious, Victoria is struggling with extremely intense PTSD, mentioning Amy is enough to trigger a dissociative flashback, and she wants absolutely nothing to do with her anymore: and fucking rightfully so.

Victoria also warns people about Amy. She warns her therapist to try to reach out to Amy before she hurts someone else, she warns literally anyone who will listen about Amy and what she might end up doing. We may not know what it is that Ramsay and Euron end up doing, but we do know what Amy does.

She refuses all help and doubles down on bad decisions, enslaves people with her powers, later imprisons and torments and touches Victoria again against her will, and becomes the dictatorial monster in charge of an entire planet. Victoria's warnings prove to be extremely prophetic and extremely real.

Now lets get into some discourse shall we?

Despite Amy being a rapist who rapes her sister, enslaves others via mind control, and literally never once improving as a person or acknowledging that her actions even caused harm, there are still those who think Amy isn't at fault. Some might find this post, but I don't really care. Amy is at fault for things Amy did. Victoria is not at fault for hugging her sister like a normal human being when Amy is upset, Amy didn't do her a favour healing her because then she just raped her and then really couldn't fix her back to a human body, and Amy isn't absolved of these sins because she healed a lot of people.

Essentially, Victoria is sometimes blamed for being raped by her sister, the rapist, despite Amy canonically being a manipulative lying liar rapist.

Okay so that doesn't seem to related to what the fandom says with Euron and Ramsay, right? After all, we don't really blame Aeron for being molested and Theon for also being sexually tortured and abused by Ramsay, do we? There are factors as to why that is (mostly that Aeron and Theon are men and Victoria is a woman; if you don't buy this argument look at people who say Cersei deserved to be sexually assaulted by Robert or try to use "the times" as an excuse to overlook Daenerys also being raped by Drogo) but there is an overlap here.

Amy being able to get away with that she did only to go on and hurt so many other people is a meta-commentary on the way survivors of sexual abuse are disbelieved or blamed for what happened to them. Naturally, those real like abusers end up going to abuse other people too. Fuck, even in the fandom, Victoria is still fucking blamed for things that she had absolutely no choice in the matter.

Which leads back to Theon and Aeron. Yes, trauma impacts the way you remember traumatic events, and that means objectivity can get lost at times. It can for Victoria and Theon and Aeron. But that trauma, the dissociation, memory problems, all of these together, are there for a reason. And that's because someone came along, ruined another persons life for their own pleasure and satisfaction, and then got away with it.

Victoria warned the world about what Amy would do, and she was unfortunately correct. Theon and Aeron warned others about Ramsay and Euron. Survivors should be believed, and not be dismissed. After all, it isn't our fault that we got abused. People may hear things about Euron or Amy or Ramsay, but the people who truly know who they are---what they are capable of, what they are actually like---are the people they abused.

So yeah, it's kinda fucking lame when I hear someone go "Stannis gonna prove Theon wrong with facts and logic" as if he doesn't, I don't know, have insight into Ramsay's psychology in ways Stannis doesn't. Same with Euron. Same with Amy.

Also fucking read Ward it hurts as intensely as it kicks ass.

[hanafubukki]

Something interesting about the new Halloween event is how twst skellington says he would give a fantastical nightmare.

Which…would parallel Malleus’ happy dreams does it not?

If malleus is in the event, I would assume he’s an r card. (He already has an sr and ssr from previous events)

And if he’s an r card, they’ll have to…keep him distracted or eliminate him early when they go against this character.

I feel they’ll go with a similar route as they did with playful land lilia since he was an R.

They might give malleus nightmares or maybe he’ll face a crowd of monsters.

Hence his magic is fighting that…

And we know that Halloween events foreshadow main story…

Maybe this will show how malleus is taken down or tricked in book 7 or maybe how he’s “depowered” in book 8 👀🤔

[eri-pl]

Silm reread 18: Tears Unnumbered ye shall shed

So, we got here. But first, B&L get an epilogue.

First, a tidbit about reembodiment: B&L take their physical forms again in Doriath. I guess they go from Mandos to there in spirit. (It's all "allegedly", anyway). Everyone is happy and afraid when seing them (very reasonable reaction I think) and Luthien heals Thingol from (depression, more or less).

Melian looks in Luhien's eyes and is sad. She "realized they will be apart till the end of the world and after" (huh?) and again, we have Pengolodh's favorite stylistic tool: "nobody ever suffered more from any loss than Melian suffered then".

Oh, I found the quote in original: “But Melian looked in her eyes and read the doom that was written there, and turned away; for she knew that a parting beyond the end of the world had come between them, and no grief of loss has been heavier than the grief of Melian the Maia in that hour."

B&L go to Ossiriand, it vaguelly feels like they don't neet to eat anymore? But unclear.

Anyway, back to the proper plot Feanorians. Maedhros gained hope, because he saw Morgoth is not untouchable. He starts creating the Union, but the wording about him doing it … even without knowing the story, if I read it carefully, I would probably be worried about how it will go.

And we have a clear reminder of the Oath and all that. Orodreth doesn't trust the Feanorians because C&C (makes sense I guess) (Finrod would probably join the Union but anyway). Gwindor joins Maedhros, going against his king's orders… we know how this will end for Gwindor.

doriath. Mae&co had sent brash letters to thingol along the lines of "you will be our enemy if you don't give the Silmaril back" and Melian advised Thingol to give it to them! But he is angry at their tone and at C&C, and also B&L have suffered so much for this jewel…

Sidenote: If your main claim to a piece of treasure is "but I/someone have sufferred so much", keeping it is probably going to end badly.

Also thingol wants to keep the Silmaril, because it is this jewel's power…. wait what? "And every day that he looked upon the Silmaril the more he desired to keep it for ever; for such was its power." [original] WHAT.

Ok, that is new. So, the Silmaril is canonically addictive? Or is it only because it has been in Morgoth's crown?

So, anyway, Thingol sends Maedhros a dissing answer and Maedhros leaves him be, because the Union is more important. Yay, Maedhros, great job, you are doing well! (For now :((( )

Unfortunately C&C threathen Thingol with genocide, after they win the wart. Which they assume they will. So thingol fortifies and doesn't go to the war. (Mablung and Beleg go, but Thingol allows them reluctantely, so they end up better than Gwindor)

Bór! :) and Ulfang :(

Maedhros plays his hand a bit too early :(

Also, another mention of Morgoth's spies (plural) and traitors. So, I guess the fallen Men, enslaved Elves and shapeshifting wannabe-Saurons sabotage the Union as much as they can.

Battle, Fingon doubtful, problems, suddenly: Turgon! First good surprise of this battle (it will be a whiplash…)

The Noldor want to charge too quickly, but Hurin stops them, because he is wise.

Morgoth wants to kill Fingon especially. Why? Probably to break Maedhros. (Also, revenge for the rescue, maybe.)

Gwindor gets unlucky chance (that's what happens when you go to war against your king's orders, I suppose)

The Noldor get really motivated and almost win. Morgoth is trembling of fear XD as they bang at his door. This is pretty cool of them. But then they all die. :(

Another turn: the Noldor might have won, but Ulfang. :( [Maglor kills him and it's probably the only named character that we are told is killed by Maglor, which is interesting]

Also, Glaurung is there.

Fingon dies. Also, his banner is silver and pale blue, which I did not remember.

Hurin, Turgon, foreshadowing for Earendil. Maeglin hears it all, but does not comment, and he remembers it and I have no idea why the book tells us that, this line feels so odd. "Maeglin, Turgon's sister-son, who stood by, heard these words, and did not forget them; but he said nothing" It's apparently odd to more people because there's a reddit thread about it. huh, ok, makes sense.

So, Hurin is brave and great and I will need to make a post about how the story is an ecosystem and the benefit of one character's heroics sometimes lands to another character's lap and it's painful but also quite real. So. Hurin. But we'll get back to him later.

Morgoth is happy, because divides and betrayal and stuff like that. :/

Also this (Ulfang) is why the Elves don't like Men anymore (except the Edain).

Cirdan is besieged, allo we learn that there are Orcs who can use explosives, and orkish engineers and what not. Interesting. they destroy the ports, Cirdan&co escape to the sea and to Balar.

Turgon again sends ships to Valinor, again it doesn't work (again I suppose he didn't ask Ulmo about his opinion or ignored it), and we are told who kills those sailors: not the Valar. "Only one, Voronwe, was saved by Ulmo from Osse's wrath". So yea, it's the "not rebel, but not not-rebel" sea guy. Don't blame the Valar for this.

Turgon is the rightful king of the Noldor (says the book), Morgoth hates him, because Fingolfin, and because he's a friend of Ulmo, and because Turgon's vibe scares him. We have a wonderful line about how even back in Valinor Morgoth was anxious every time he saw Turgon and tbh this is criminally underexplored in fics (this whole period is) and must have been quite hilarious.

Hurin disses Morgoth, Morgoth curses him and his wife and kids, takes him high up, and curses him again for a good measure.

Results of that: in the next chapter.

[aftgficrec]

My Personal Favorite Fics EVER!! All Neil/Andrew

I hope I am doing this right! I just hit the share button on my bookmarked fics. Idk if any of these have been on here before (I have read a lot of fics and it gets confusing to know which ones I found on here bc there are so many good recommendations, or ones I found on my own. But these are 3 of my favorite fics that I feel like are the most well done!

• Everything's Alright by DarkD: This fic is unfinished but so worth the read!! It is a soulmates au, and in it Neil and Andrew are looking out for eachother since they are 6 and 7 years old. It completely changes their dynamic but manages to keep the characters realistic. I love the direction it was going, I hope the author finishes it, but even if they don’t what they have written so far is worth the read.

• If I Knew You by AceSirenSinger: This fic is soooo amazing!! It was posed pretty recently (starting January 2024 and finishing in May) and It shows a different direction with Aaron and Andrew’s bonding, and different reasons for them having problems with each other. It features writer/author Andrew and Law Student turned police officer Aaron. The writing is so high quality and it is a completely finished fic!! The writing to show the writing of the book Andrew has written alone is impressive enough to get you to read it. I love it so much, it also gives a more realistic approach to Neil’s life and trauma as well as gives you more of a perspective on the problems of Aaron’s life. (Even tho it’s an au and doesn’t show his life during AFTG)

• Deep blue ( but you painted me golden ) by Jeaneil_22: This fic is not finished but completely captivated my attention when I saw it. I was surprised I had not read it before (because I am obsessed with Raven Neil fics, and this is one of them) but then I realized it was posted within the last year or so. It’s completely underrated. It does have a lot of hits but the kudos count not being in the thousands is a crime against humanity. The realistic take on. Neil’s trauma and different things going on as he is still connected very heavily to the Moriyama’s is sooo interesting. And if you are looking for a fic where Neil is a victim of SA/Rape this fic is also a good one for you. (Though it does have a lot of trauma so mind the tags) I know a lot of people are looking for fics like that tho and it’s hard to find bc there is so much SA trauma in AFTG 😔

Thanks for the recs and for sharing your thoughts on the fics! Readers, all of these stories lean toward the darkest themes of AFTG. -A

Everything's Alright by DarkD [Rated E, 182901 Words, Incomplete, Updated June 2023]

Previously recced here

Souls weren't meant to be left alone, so they split, always looking for their other half. No matter how long it took, the moment a soul existed, it sought the one that would complete it. The main indication is, when one of the halves of the soul turns seven years old, an identical mark appears on both parts. Along with that comes a set of unique abilities that soulmates can only use with each other—for protection, for finding each other. Soulmates would never be alone.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: child abuse, tw: torture, tw: blood, tw: gun violence, tw: homophobia, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: murder, tw: canonical character death

If I Knew You by AceSirenSinger [Rated T, 43145 Words, Complete, 2024]

Previously featured in this long andreil + aaron angst ask, our staff recs writers post, and as a random rec

Neil is imprisoned at sixteen years old for being the Butcher of Baltimore. Andrew obsesses, and Aaron obsesses because Andrew does, and everything goes wrong and raw and painful. Feat. the twinyards breaking each other’s hearts, and a decent amount of shade on the American justice system.

tw: implied/referenced murder, tw: recreational drug use, tw: implied/referenced violence, tw: implied/referenced torture

​​Deep blue ( but you painted me golden ) by Jeaneil_22 [Rated M, 163298 Words, Incomplete, Updated Sept 2024]

After the horrific incident that happened in the nest and the sound of Kevin crying, Nathaneil made the hard call and bargained with his life to get Jean and Kevin out, having no slight idea about the storm that was heading his way And after being missing for two years, Jean and Kevin swallowed the hard truth that Nathaneil might be dead somewhere To their surprise one day he appears out of the blue looking so much like their brother but nothing like Nathaneil at all Or Nathniel went on the run with his mother when he was 9 years old but three years later Nathan caught up to them and threw Nathaneil in the nest So we can say some things went a bit different .

NB: playlist for this fic

tw: dark, tw: gang rape, tw: dubcon, tw: human trafficking, tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: suicidal thoughts, tw: assault, tw: flashbacks, tw: panic attacks, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: abuse and torture, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: medication addiction and withdrawal, tw: recreational drug use, tw: nonconsensual drug use, tw: vomit, tw: homophobia, tw: canonical character death

[raayllum]

Callum is so right about Rayla never doing anything for herself. You could say freeing Runaan was for herself but she also treats it as her "sacred promise" and chose him for Ethari too (shows how great her heart is). You think sparing Callum will finally count as her doing something for herself? Choosing her future and her love for him over the "greater good". She couldn't get her og parents back‚ this girl keeps losing and suffering she seriously deserves more wins

God, I could write an entire meta about that line - maybe one day when I'm feeling self indulgent. In regards to your actual prompt, re: saving Callum will count as something for herself -- a big yes, absolutely, I think! Though I think freeing her parents is something she deeply wanted for herself, too ("I miss you so much" / "so I wanted to do something for yourself for you") even if it was something she was continually putting off till the Aaravos situation, as far as she knew, was resolved

Prior to S6 I went back and forth on whether the show would frame Rayla's end of the possession plot line / trying to get Callum back as either "It doesn't matter what happens to me (again) I just want to save him" (which is what leaving in TTM and other moments was about) OR whether it'd be framed as "I refuse to sacrifice him / something I want (again)" and therefore be character development. I leaned towards the latter for reasons outlined here since the two have the chance to be even more thematically codependent than they already are in terms of their senses of identity:

As long as Callum is Callum (not possessed, or she has reason to believe he’s still in there), Rayla likely won’t be able to bring herself to kill him. This is from an emotional / characterization standpoint, of course, but from a thematic standpoint, we can see where it stems from Callum and Rayla continually being each other’s main connection to their sense of identity. As long as Callum is Callum (“you’re the destiny is a book you write yourself guy”), he’s worth saving. As long as Callum is Callum, she can be Rayla (“Rayla’s brave. She saves people” / “Rayla. My name is Rayla, and I’m going home”). As long as she’s Rayla, he can be Callum. Because if Callum isn’t Callum, then he’s dead, and if he’s dead, she can kill him. And if Rayla kills him, if Callum is dead, then she won’t be Rayla anymore. Because to literally kill Callum would be to simultaneously symbolically/emotionally kill herself.

This goes both ways of course - Callum can't/won't sacrifice Rayla because to do so would be to sacrifice a fundamental part of himself (namely his deep and Pure devotion to others which means he'll never go entirely down the negative side of Viren's path, and keep to the positive - leaving Aaravos, breaking free, etc). This was subtext prior to S6, but now it's actual text (she's his light/truth/hope of salvation, etc) so it goes double going forward. This is true for Rayla too — Callum is her guiding light and her star, he's one of the people who's taught her the most about how to love and the person she wants to be.

With all that in mind, yeah, I do think that Rayla will choose to not sacrifice Callum for the right reasons. Part of this is scaffolded under witnessing Callum not sacrificing her No Matter What prior to her won choice, and realizing "what [she] most deeply desires" isn't just Callum's survival even, but specifically the life they can have together, which she needs to stick around for and thereby not sacrifice herself. Runaan is also explicitly remorseful over the actions he took towards her where he choose duty over love, so Rayla realizing she should choose love over duty ties into them growing together as well in a positive way. We also see her realize some of this I think in choosing to let Lain and Tiadrin stay together rather than separate them specifically because of the Moonphoenix bracelet Callum gave her as well.

"I risked losing the best thing I ever had" because of her own duty turned revenge vs "I refuse to lose either of us like this" and finally fully accepting an assassin was never who she was and never who she Should be, in sacrificing others' lives or her own included. Them both Choosing each other above everything else was exactly what I was hoping for as soon as the "I need you to kill me" plot line started / wrote in my first CHET fic pre-S4 years ago:

She has two options as she pulls away. She can make a grab for her swords and go out, swords blazing. Kill Viren or Aaravos if she can as the sky splits open, purple and thrumming with magic; die with a sword in her hand in all likelihood. The release spell has already started. Or she can help Callum up, and they can live to fight another day—together. Rayla grips the back of his jacket. Presses her forehead to his neck for a second, tears building her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says. His arm tightens around her, like he’s braced for her to go. “Rayla—” “I’m so sorry,” she repeats, sobbing. This is all her fault, but she can’t do that to him. “We have to get out of here.” [...]

Callum is staring at her when she pulls back and she swallows hard. She doesn’t know what to say. It’s both a blessing and a curse when he speaks first. “You chose me,” he says, not quite softly; she can tell there’s a lump in his throat. An edge of anger that not doing so was even an option. “Yeah, well. It was about time,” she says quietly. “I—”

So uh, here's hoping!

[lovemyromance]

your posts are literally the elriel bible, I don't think i've disagreed with a single one.

In general, elriels agree on a lot of things which is why it's so odd to find EL/GAs fighting with themselves over "elriels say elains gonna be a warrior" and "elriels say elain's gonna save illyria" because I have never EVER seen a single elriel say such a thing. I saw a long post from some elucien about how elriels self-insert and then they listed a long list of things about what canon elain is - except i don't think elriels would even disagree with what they were saying?

It got kind of muddy when they started trying to claim that "canonically azriel only lusts after elain" but whatever - you get the point. Why are they putting words in our mouths?

Thank you :) I know I always excessively post about elriel (because I'm pretty sure I have the attention span of a squirrel), but some days these petty arguments really make my eye twitch.

Idk why antis seem to think Elriels want Elain to be some warrior, savior of Illyria, High Queen type character. I thought we've all been pretty vocal in wanting to keep her femininity and her kindness and finding strength in her compassion.

If it's because the fanarts....well I think we've all established that nobody is really claiming fanarts to be canon. I think that goes without saying when we have fanart of an Elriel family with Illyrian offspring - or when Eluciens have fanart of Elain looking happy around Lucien lmao. Both are not canon. Who cares - it's fanart? It's not like we really going to pretend that all their fanart is canon either?

Because canonically - Elain can't stand Lucien. Canonically, Azriel has literally never touched Gwyn.

There are basic traits to these characters that nobody can deny. But the antis always have a way of adding additional, personal bias into things. They say Elain's not a warrior - cool, that's true, that's canon – but then they take it a step too far and try to claim its canon that she abhors all violence and she would never touch a dagger and she would hate Azriel because he's a warrior.

Canonically, Elain killed the fucking King of Hybern. She might not crave violence (oh- also what an odd thing to claim - that ANY character loves violence, btw), but she has already proven to be violent when needed.

Canonically, Elain does use a dagger. Not just any dagger - Truthteller.

Nobody's saying she out here training as a Valkyrie at the HOW - but she's not just sitting here in frolicking in a meadow while the rest of her friends and family go to war. She was literally taken AWAY from the main battle in ACOWAR and she still showed back up to pull the most badass move in the books, saving everyone.

Idk what about that is so hard to understand. No Elriel has said she's gonna save Illyria (lol), no one has claimed she's going to be Enalius the Second, nobody is out here waiting for her to take part in the BR and also become a Carthyian.

Elriels like Elain as she is. And even though she's not a warrior, even though she doesn't enjoy violence, even though she isn't a Cartyhian – Azriel still adores her. Azriel still wants her enough to question his religion. That's literally in the books. I can give you the exact page number and quote. I don't need to do any "extra analysis"

You want to talk about canon? Let's talk about how Elain is so perfect that she has even the most brooding warrior falling for her. Let's talk about how Azriel was willing to fight in a blood duel for her. Let's talk about how she was so ready to have a tryst with the Spymaster under everyone's watchful eyes.

We don't need to change anything about Elain, certainly not to have her end up with Azriel. Elriel having feelings for each other is already canon. Elriels did not have to change a single thing about them for them to find each other. That was SJM, so take it up with her.

I mean - she kind of ate when she summed up their relationship in ACOWAR with that scene in the garden...they might not make sense on paper but there's something poetic about them

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

What is/are the Red Herring(s) of “Rings of Power” Season 2?

In Season 1, the major red herring was “The Stranger = Sauron”, with several characters assuming that the being that fell from the sky was Sauron returning to Middle-earth, and with the visual clues teasing it several times. So, the red herring/plot twist of Season 1 was connected with the “mystery box” of “who is Sauron?” 

Assuming Season 2 is following the same formula (and my guess is it is, because show writers love this kind of stuff), what’s the red herring of Season 2? Similar to Season 1, it has to fulfill the following requirements:  

It has been mentioned throughout the season;

Talked about by several characters;

Drive the plot forward (in some way);

Be resolved at the finale (2x08).

Season 2 has two mystery boxes remaining concerning identities: “who is the Stranger?” and “Who is the Dark Wizard of Rhûn?”  

(yes, I’m straight up ignoring all those crack theories about Adar = Celeborn or Mirdania = Celebrían)  

Sauron rises in the West; the Dark Wizard in the East. Every soul in Middle-earth is in danger. Tom Bombadil warns “The Stranger”, for push him into finding his wizard staff and earn his name.  

The Stranger = Gandalf

Ever since Season 1, the show has been dropping clues that “The Stranger” is actually Gandalf, with 1x08 confirming he’s one of the Istari (“Order of Wizards”). For context: the Istari were a group of Maiar sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to help the Free People defeat Sauron. And they were five: Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and the Blue Wizards (Alatar and Pallando).  

We have to forget the timeline of the books here because, obviously, the show isn’t following it, and as Adar told Galadriel in 2x06: there were many stories about what happen, and since the “The Silmarillion” is somewhat written from the Eldar (mainly the Noldor) POV, the show can afford to take some liberties (I know this makes the Tolkien purists fume, but oh, well).  

In Season 2, in particular, the clues that “The Stranger = Gandalf” are everywhere, with Tom Bombadil going as far as using some of Gandalf iconic quotes. Poppy talking about “gand”s, and The Stranger’s quest of finding his wizard staff and earn his name (which will happen in 2x08). But is it possible that the show is pushing the “The Stranger = Gandalf” so hard, for it to end up being the red herring of Season 2, and him turning out to be an entirely different Istar at the finale?  

My main issue with this is: the red herring of Season 1 was already connected to The Stranger’s identity, and doing the same thing in Season 2 would be kind of lazy writing. It does fill all the requirements to be the “red herring”, though. But I don’t think so, my guess is “The Stranger” will be revealed to (actually) be Gandalf at the finale.  

"Who is the Dark Wizard of Rhûn?"

I don’t think there is any red herring here, mostly because we don’t have enough clues about who he is, at this point. I think Season 2 might even leave his identity ambiguous, mostly because, in 2x08, we’ll have the big reveal of “who is the Stranger?” in that plotline.

Let’s analyze the strongest contenders: 

Beware: there could be more than one red herring, because we can’t forget that in Season 1 we also had the "reveal" that Halbrand was, in fact, the lost heir to the throne of the Southlands, and we all know how that turned out...

I would also argue that the petals of Nimloth (the White Tree of Númenor) falling because of Galadriel’s presence on the island was also a red herring, back in Season 1 (it was clearly about Sauron/Halbrand, and maybe he was the one who caused them to fall, in the first place, to prevent Galadriel from leaving without him).  

1) Celebrimbor’s death at Sauron’s hands

Celebrimbor being at risk of Sauron’s corruption is not exactly a “red herring”, because we know it happens, and he’s deceived by Sauron/Annatar into forging the Seven and the Nine rings of power.

However, there is a sense of urgency throughout Season 2 in saving Celebrimbor, not only his mind from corruption and stop the "rings of power" project, but his very life. Several characters (mainly Galadriel and Elrond) have mentioned how Celebrimbor’s life is in danger, and it’s highly implied that Sauron will kill him in Eregion (Galadriel’s vision; Elrond remembering his father’s prophecy of how, one day, Celebrimbor’s life would be on his hands).  

But, will Sauron actually kill Celebrimbor, himself?  

In the books, it’s established he does. However, Season 2, right from the start, in 2x01, has shown us, the audience, that Sauron has some interesting methods of killing his enemies. Because Sauron is a mastermind, a deceiver, and so he enjoys manipulating others into doing his dirty work for him (like we saw with Waldreg and the Warg).

Can Sauron employ someone else into killing Celebrimbor? Could it be that, Celebrimbor and all other characters believe that he safe and sound (because Sauron has left Eregion and won’t return), and, boom, Celebrimbor gets killed by other character, doing Sauron’s biding?

2) The Three Elven Rings are free from Sauron’s influence 

The current ring-bearers (Gil-galad, Galadriel and Círdan) seem to believe the Three are free from Sauron’s influence. Galadriel, mainly, seems to trust Nenya completely, using the visions it provides as guidance. However, Círdan did say they have, yet, to discover the whole truth about the Elven Rings of Power, and that they should be, indeed, feared. Elrond, from the start, suspects the rings might be connected to Sauron, because he, as Halbrand, worked alongside Celebrimbor for some time, trying to find the right alloy for the mithril.

In “Rings of Power”, the Númenóreans say “the sea is always right”, and in this house we say that “Elrond is always right” (and his only sin was not throwing Isildur and the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom)! Because the Three are not, in fact, free from Sauron’s power.  

In the books, the Three Elven Rings do not bind their ring-bearers (Gil-galad/Elrond, Galadriel and Círdan/Gandalf) to Sauron’s will, but they allow the Dark Lord to look inside their minds, and that’s how the smiths of Eregion knew that they were deceived by Sauron and perceived he forged the One Ring. The Three also lose their power after the One Ring is destroyed by Frodo in the Third Age, so they are, indeed, connected to Sauron’s power in some way, and perhaps Season 2 will reveal this to the audience. 

3) Galadriel will resist Sauron’s temptation

While several characters (Gil-galad, Elrond and Adar) do foreshadow that Galadriel might succumb to Sauron if she faces him alone in the finale, there’s always a sense of certainty she’ll resist him. With Adar being the exception here. However, Galadriel seems to be utterly sure that she can resist Sauron again, and defeat him (or die trying).

Galadriel believes that she can resist Sauron’s temptation because: (1) what he offered last time (power) isn’t enough to tempt her, and (2) she’s aware of his deceptions and manipulations, meaning there is nothing he can tempt her with. Or is there?

Sauron will bring the big guns this time around, and so the question is: will Galadriel be able to, in fact, resist him, again? 

4) Balrog of Moria

Season 1 revealed it, and Season 2 has been teasing the Balrog of Morgoth that dwells deep in the mountains bellow the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, in the mines of Moria.

Both Disa and Prince Durin are already aware of its presence (they doesn’t know what it is, only its something dangerous, ancient and powerful). And Sauron/Annatar is also aware of its presence. Now, we see Sauron performing some kind of blood magic in 2x06, which might lead the audience to believe he’s “summoning” the Balrog or trying to control it, for him to join the Battle of Eregion or something of that sort. Hence the red herring.   

In book canon, we know that Sauron can’t control the Balrog, because they are the same kind (both Maiar corrupted by Morgoth), and the Balrog doesn’t join his forces. You see, the Balrog just wants to chill in the mines and be left alone.  

Season 2 has been teasing that the Balrog might have a bigger role than it’ll actually have. In the canon, the Balrog was, literally, dig out by the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, due to their greed, and we already saw Disa and Prince Durin trying to stop the Dwarves from digging near its lair.

By bet is: Durin III, guided by his ring of power (controlled by Sauron), will dig out the Balrog himself, while the Dwarves are busy in the Battle of Eregion. And like in the books, the Balrog will kill him, and earn the nickname “Durin’s bane”. And that’s pretty much it for the Balrog plotline.

That's it, folks. Is there any other potential red herring that you can think of? Do you agree or disagree that some of these clues are, indeed, red herrings?

[greenconverses]

I’m big time upset about annabeth’s characterization in these new books. She looked for Percy for a year or something, did everything she did in HOO, she’s so amazing that she caught up on all of her school work (in fact she’s back on track to go to an ivy if she wants after everything that happened to her), she has all this extra time for Percy (having a boyfriend is time consuming enough without his quests), and then she’s so good at socializing with mortals and so popular…. Just to go to New Rome University (wtf is new rome university) and live in new rome. It makes me sad for her because I feel like RR won’t let her be bad at anything or awkward anymore and she just has to be this hyper competent angel gf all the time…

Oh also the way Percy is contrasted against annabeth in this new series makes me nauseous. I feel in some ways she only exists as this hyper-competent angel gf so that percy has something to "aspire to"… as though he hasn't proven himself a million times and deserves to constantly measure himself up against annabeth. It really just robs them both of their depth and motivation and mutual respect for each other that was so painstakingly built up in the original books.

I was telling @perseannabeth last night that while Annabeth had a lot of pagetime in Wrath, she felt like an utter non-presence other than the last couple of action scenes. And yes, it's because he keeps writing Percy as the only one with all the problems and Annabeth is the perfectest, smartest angel who is always right and can do no wrong, unlike stupid idiot Percy. Ha. Ha.

I do think a lot of the character issues in these books come from him avoiding or only introducing easily resolvable conflict with the main trio. Part of what makes Percy and Annabeth, well, Percy and Annabeth is that they have conflict. Conflict doesn't mean they have to be mean to each other or something terrible has to happen to them, but having them at odds with each other over something (anything) allows for interesting character development and growth.

Grover and Annabeth each get moments of "aw I kinda fucked up" in Wrath that are resolved with basically no effort because Percy shrugs it off or blames himself for their actions. I couldn't even begin to tell you how Annabeth's hubris played a part in the third act ghost fight, but apparently it did, so that's a thing he can brush off because teamwork is all that matters in the end, kids!

And the thing is, Rick is actually setting up a really good conflict with Percy constantly bottling up his rage and messy feelings, but he's too much of a coward to pull the trigger on it. Grover destroying the house and releasing the animals was the perfect spot to actually pursue that conflict and give everyone something to do other than mini quests. Percy could've yelled at Grover and Annabeth for failing to do what they had promised him, and then everyone could deal with the consequences (both of the initial mistake and the fallout of his anger) and make amends in a meaningful way. Instead, Percy has to grit his teeth and fucking apologize to Grover instead. (I'm gonna do a separate post about this because boy howdy do I have THOUGHTS on that.)

By making Annabeth the perfectest, smartest girlfriend ever for dumb dumb Percy, RR is basically removing the conflict that makes them interesting together. There's also the matter of conflict being one of Annabeth's main drivers. Conflict happens to Percy ("I didn't want to be a half-blood."); Annabeth looks for it. And now she's just along for the ride... as long as it doesn't mess up her studying schedule! Her job is school now. Don't get your hopes up.

Also, super controversial opinion ahead, but I think the show casting has contributed to how he's writing Annabeth now. He's deliberately avoided describing her in these books. It's all very vague impressions of her, to the point of Percy describing her having a "human face, human hair" when she turns back after the animal transfiguration in Wrath. No blonde hair. No gray eyes. It's weird.

(Note: I'm not saying the TV cast is wrong or weird, I'm saying it's fucking insane that this man is trying to retcon 15 books worth of character descriptions so his dumbass "actually we never SAID annabeth was white, you just perceived her as it!!!!" defense holds some water.)

[signanothername]

Was nereid actually the cause of ccino’s alternative timelines being destroyed??? Because I know we haven’t really seen error but error… tends to not be one to leave a job unfinished

You’re completely right, it isn’t like Error to leave an Au without making sure it’s completely and utterly extinguished

But see, the trick is that, this is Nightmare’s guess, that it’s Error, and he’s right.. partially

It was Error who destroyed those alternative timelines of Fluffytale, Error worked his way up till the main timeline is all that’s left, the problem? Fluffytale’s main timeline’s code was already corrupted way before Error destroyed any of the alternative timelines

With Frisk missing, and resets were no more, Fluffytale existed in that sort of a limbo state, where the timelines that were created before Frisk went missing stayed there, but the creation of other timelines completely stopped, and with the supposed “main character” of the story gone, Fluffytale’s code ended up scrambled as it tried to repair itself, except there is always that hole in the code that the universe couldn’t patch up

But I think it’s important to explain how I see codes working in universes for this to make sense xgxhhdhd

The code of a universe that attaches to the multiverse as a whole is only truly attatched to the main timeline, and any other timeline has a code of its own that attaches to said main timeline of the universe itself

But other timlines are “copies” of the script, so when the corruption of the code happened, the code of the main timeline is the one truly affected, it didn’t affect any other the other alternative timelines

Think if it as a word document of the same subject, you make the first document and save it to your computer right? Then you decide you want to edit on the document without changing the og one, so you “save as” and put the new copy of the document under a new name

If you go and edit the og document, the copy won’t change cause of it, and if you edit the copy, the og document won’t change either

So when the main timeline’s code got corrupted, none of the codes for the alternative timelines changed

So Error didn’t face any problems (unless you count Ink a problem hchchcch) with destroying the alternative timelines, one by one, went in, “cleaned up”, went out

When he finally reached the main timeline, he tried destroying it, it didn’t go so well, his strings couldn’t even leave a single scratch on any of the code of the timeline, Error tries every trick in the book but nothing works

Eventually he realizes the problem, the code of the universe is corrupted, that of course doesn’t stop Error from trying to erase it, only whoops!! Turns out corrupted anomalous code (Error) dealing with corrupted anomalous code (Fluffytale) isn’t a smart idea

Fluffytale’s code deals with Errors code as a sister code, it wrongly identifies and recognizes it as part of its own code, and boom, it gains immunity to Error’s powers, and until Error’s able to find a way in which that mess can be dealt with, Fluffytale survives

Of course Error threw a tantrum over it, but there’s nothing to be done, so he left the universe alone and went to eat chocolate and talk to anomaly #13 to cope chhcchhcfh

———

Context

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

The creators of Rings of Power have said that they have a five season plan for the show and are going to stick to it. Knowing what happens in the Second Age, this is how I think that might play out.

Warning: Book Spoilers Ahead

Season 3

This is where Sauron will fully establish himself as the new Dark Lord, taking full control of Mordor, recruiting the Nine, building Barad-dûr built, and waging The War of the Elves and Sauron, culminating in Númenor coming to the aid of the Elves at the decisive Battle of the Gwathló (supposed to be the biggest battle of Middle Earth after the War of Wrath), and Sauron being taken back as a prisoner by Ar-Pharazôn. We'll also see the founding of Rivendell and the eventual siege by Sauron.

Season 4

Sauron's imprisonment on, and eventual corruption of Númenor, leading to the destruction of the entire island and the escape of the Faithful. Think we'll also see Lothlórien under King Amdír and how Galadriel eventually comes to settle and rule there. Might also see the establishment of the Black Númenorian colonies in the south prior to the island's fall.

Season 5

The establishment of the Kingdoms in Exile (although I can see them starting the season with a time skip over that part) and finally the War of the Last Alliance and Sauron's first defeat, possibly ending with the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

These are just the main events, of course. I'm sure the writers will have to invent a lot stuff for all the characters to do since there are so many big gaps as Tolkien never really fleshed out the Second Age like he did with the First and Third.

[lkinguscara]

I think when it comes to the "is leona a feminist" debate we're missing the broader context of why the narrative would push any ideology.

His disney counterpart is a very female centric character (even if unintentionally) who relies on women, yet he dominates them in his pride once he leads it. He's ultimately defeated by an ambitious, focused woman, and his regime is carried on similarly (twice) by a militaristic, ambitious woman. In real life lionesses are the hunters, and in the literal sense of home makers, a pride is only a pride when lionesses are involved, with just men it's called a "coalition" btw. This is probably the main reason why others see him as feminist, because women are woven into the fabric of his story and given attention, despite it being ultimately Leona's story. But then that's an arguement you could make, is it really feminism if it's not intentional?

What makes a feminist? In what context does it stop being feminism and rather a natural reaction in a gynocentric society?

Twst has a habit of exploring motivation over actions, and that's how (I think) people should address Leona's claims. Like for instance, Vil is obsessed with reaching a physical zenith of beauty, and that's portrayed as her being overly ambitious, which is what she uses to save Idia and Ortho. Although she's not the hero of book 5 like she is in book 6, her ambition is reframed as jealousy over being ostracized (in childhood) and passed over for roles. In the same book we learn that Niege has had an even harder life, and the fruits of his labor are manifested when he procures roles that Vil seemingly can't. The narrative isn't asking if Vil is wrong or right in her actions, but rather if her ambition should be considered as valid as Neiges. To twist real life phenomena and explore them through a lens of "cultural favoritism and privilege" is essentially the point of every conflict. Like, should Jamil be forgiven when given the full context of his situation, or why is it fine for the Shrouds to be punished for the actions of an ancient ancestor, aren't necessarily asked by the narrative, but rather why are these conflicting truths valid when seen from another, more socially acceptable perspective?

This, to me, is what's missing in the heart of the "Is Leona a feminist" debate. The story isn't asking for you to confirm if he is or isn't one, but rather to reflect on your real life understanding of feminism in regards to patriarchy. Leona is considered a feminist by fans in the sense that he allows women's feelings to take precedence over his own, and how they view him being important to him as well. He can blow off Kifaji, someone who seemingly raised him, but God forbid he miss a call from his sister-in-law (who he picks up for, but ignores the calls of his nephew.) His criticisms of women are always shallow observations or misdirection because he has an image to uphold. He's a feminist in the sense that he doesn't contest female supremacy in any meaningful ways, and that's a very loose (yet valid) definition of feminism.

Leona double speaks on the idea of being considered "extra nice" to women, but even his answer doesn't necessarily malign them in a way that would be seen unfavorably by beastmen society. From what we’ve seen, being aggressive, dominating, physically imposing, strong-willed, are traits that the best possess. (He even inadvertently criticizes his brother for lacking these traits by implying he’s not cunning and too friendly.) If anything, it makes sense for him to not want to incur the wrath of a demographic if he deemed them in any way above himself. After all, he doesn't mince words with those beneath him, or even on a similar level to him like speaking poorly of Kalim to his face or the constant bickering with Malleus! I don't think his exasperation with women is fake, it must be annoying having to submit to somebody placed above you unfairly, but these are regulations he imposes on himself. When considering how Leona behaves and what he believes, (only the fittest should rule/everybody has their strengths but others just have much more) it makes great sense that his view of women is influenced by their societal performance and their ability to serve him.

When you contrast traits that Leona finds noteworthy in women, you get this understanding of a "gender-flipped" society, and the real question that should be asked ends up being "is Leona's respect of women not valid because of the conditions that it exists under? What makes his feminism less realistic than someone who only pays women lip service without taking real action?" Like Vil, Jaml, and Idia, Leona's foil is somebody who exposes hypocrisy but also bridges a gap in understanding of societal expectations. 

So, in essence, I think the conversation should switch from "is Leona a feminist" (we're talking in circles) and move towards "What does he get from being one / does his motivation make his resolve less valuable?" (we can explore his actions and dissect his character further)