#hes so tragic and narratively doomed and just 😭😭

[veveisveryuncool]

art trade with @starflungwaddledee :]]

been itching to draw morpho dee for a while actually, so he was super fun to experiment with! did a ton of metal and perspective practice, as well tinkering with a new rendering method :D

[ironunderstands]

Arlechinno’s voiceline on Childe was a pleasant surprise

What I find the most interesting about it is that it implies Childe is going to get betrayed again, that he hasn’t grown out of the personality that let that happen in the first place. Honestly I didn’t think the game viewed Childe this way, someone so tragically trusting that he’s doomed to have that used against him. But then I thought about it more and oh boy does it view him that way. We kinda got that with Pulchinella already (Scara implying Pulchinella is just using him) but it seems they are gonna go forward with that plotline. I always thought Childe was going to have to pick between one of his two main loyalties, his family and the Tsaritsa, by someone he trusts.

Someone he trusts being Pulchinella

Wanderer implying that his faith in Pulchinella is ill advised? Eh he’s just a hater and honestly that could not go anywhere. Arlechinno implying the exact same thing? Uh oh.

And considering it seems like Pulchinella is the one who sent him out on whatever mission he’s on in 4.6? Double Uh oh.

Now I don’t think Childe is gonna have to make that choice in 4.6, it’s too early for that. But do I think they are gonna foreshadow it even more? Absolutely.

Good luck Childe the narrative remembered you existed (also what the hell happened to the All Devouring Narwhal because Childe is fine, great we all cheered but Skirk threw the damn thing through the same portal as him so does he just have it as like a paperweight on his desk or something 😭). My money is on him eating it because it would be funny

[captain-stab-a-hoe]

Here is a random thought I've been thinking about during my silent lurking in Tumblr

I think as a very hardcore xuexiao/xue yang fan I can say maybe it's a little unfair to like seriously compare xuexiao to mxtx's 3 main ships. Not just because context is way different here but like xuexiao at it's canon core is a tragedy that was honestly going to get worse before it started. Compare that to the other main ships yes tragic things happen but it was more like a "it got worse before it got better" thing, which means things were definitely going to get better. Also like the enemies to lovers gauge (is there a gauge??) isn't as bad as xuexiao like disregard hualian entirely because they never wanted to hurt the other as far as I know, but like with the other two if one did wanted to hurt the other it was either a harmless fight at first (wangxian) or it was almost one-sided(? This is bingqiu cause I think shen qingqiu is literally forced by the narrative to hurt binghe and then he thinks binghe is going to kill him)

Which brings me to my second point that there were almost no misunderstandings in what happened with Xingchen and Xue Yang? Like it ranged from ignorance to downright deceitful but it was never like they misunderstood each other so bad that one of them wanted to kill the other. If anything things never got better simply because they couldn't understand the other. Xingchen's idealism with Xue Yang's cynicism was always going to clash no matter what because they never had the calm or controlled space to really talk, and when they did have that space Xingchen didn't even know who he was 😭

This is also a personal thing, but I don't really want xuexiao being compared to the other canon ships outside of them sharing the same tropes like having one of them die for some reason or the next or being associated with coffins. I like that it's almost an isolated incident that acts like it's own thing more than it parallels wangxian. The appeal is that things never did get better, but it could've! If shit just went a little different maybe something could've been fixed! But we'll never know cause everybody involved was doomed from the start in some way. That's why xuexiao is more interesting to me than wangxian. Wangxian got their happy ending when shit could've got worse and I'm happy for them, but I am simply a delusional masochist that likes to go as far as having song lan magically restore Xingchen's sight and bringing xue yang back from the dead just to have complicated angst that will result in the happy/bittersweet ending they never got. It's like a forbidden fruit or something. A drug if you will. That's why it seems a little weird to be arguing over if "oh if xuexiao is so bad why was it ok if hualian/wangxian/bingqiu did this" and then having xue yang antis get overly pissy about it like I don't think it's something that needs to happen cause liking any part of yi city and not hating xue yang means you need fully accept and/or encourage everything messy that happened in that dead town with pride goddammit. (Also why get attention from a xue yang anti, I find those people never wanted to give xue yang a chance despite the narrative anyway it's a lost battle.)

[clingyduoapologist]

okayyyy i need to stop taking fandom polls too seriously on the website that spawned "the curtains were just blue" but doesn't it drive you a little mad when ppl are so dead convinced that 'most tragic' just means 'whoever had the most sad things happen 2 them'. like NO he is an ARCHETYPE it couldn't have gone any other way 😭😭

NO FUCKING EXACTLY LIKE as upset as I am about ctommy losing round 1 at least he lost to like an actual tragic doomed by the narrative character now Jason is about to lose to sad boy because sad things when it’s about about the tragic conclusion… like idr know any out about the owl house but I know hunter has a happy ending and like girl 😭😭😭

[alaynestcnes]

how do you think the series is going to end? obviously jonsa ;) but do you think it'll be similar to the show?

I go backwards and forwards tbh. I do feel like where most of the characters ended up in the show is probably a good indicator for their book ending (I think D&D got told the broad strokes of GRRMs ending but they just got too turned around w what they wanted/thought would make good TV).

More under the cut bc I rambled on for longer than I thought I would 😵‍💫

I do think Jonsa will be canon in some capacity and to me there’s only really two realistic routes;

1. Tragic star-crossed lovers who are tortured by their forbidden feelings (a la the original outline). Honestly if it goes this way I can see their romance being a subplot that isn’t entirely focussed on tbh. GRRM is a romantic but it’s usually subtle - look at Ned/Cat, Jaimie/Brienne. Even with Robb/Jeyne, it was bare bones. These are definitely love stories, but the love is so truthfully woven into the workings of the narrative that it’s barely a plot point itself. Jon and Sansa will have the same, where it’s there and unspoken and painful and probably motivates some of their decisions, but it’s not some epic Romeo and Juliet thing that consumes them. If they do have this plot where they have feelings, I doubt they’ll end up together (I don’t think we can have both). It’ll probably end like the show with everything unspoken/unresolved with Jon exiled or dead and Sansa on the throne.

2. Ned/Cat 2.0 political marriage. I generally lean more in this direction. Jon and Sansa are both political characters and their plots/desires are leading them to Winterfell. They are both positioned to be leaders of the North - it makes sense that it would be together. I think there will be Northern conspiracies that will lead to a politically fractured North with the various Starks becoming figureheads for the different remaining houses vying for power (Manderly wanting Rickon on the Northern throne, Petyr/the Vale wanting Sansa, and miscellaneous others wanting the newly resurrected Jon). Rickon will probably die (I hate it but I can’t see another way for him 😭), his followers split between Jon and Sansa’s camps. Targ reveal will happen, which will lessen Jon’s claim. But he’s a god-like figure after his resurrection so he’ll still have followers and he’ll know he needs the power of the entire united North to fight the WW. Makes sense that some advisors would suggest a marriage instead of tearing the North apart, especially with Jon wanting to go off to face the WW threat immediately. Sansa will want peace and she’ll see sense in marrying a man she knows (who I’m sure LF (if he’s alive atp) will imply that Jon will accidentally die in the war anyway and leave it all to Sansa). So they get married to unite the North, despite being essentially strangers atp. As above, I don’t think we’ll get much of an actual love story, but they are suited to each other and I think by the end of the series we’ll come very full circle with Ned/Cat ‘love didn’t just happen, we built it’. And ofc with the final book being A Dream of Spring (i.e rebirth, new life, hope) I’m betting on a Stark baby.

Idk about the other characters ngl I don’t spend half as much time theorising on them 🙃

Jon will likely seek out Dany to face the WWs. I think it’ll be pretty similar to the show where she’ll be split between wanting to help and wanting to take KL. Maybe a bit of the politcal!Jon theory here to convince her (we do need that betrayal for love, which I 100% believe is Jon - maybe with him knowing the war/their plan will likely be her doom but he goes through with it to protect the North). Ultimately, I think she’ll die fighting the WWs in like an epic sacrifice. BUT while she dies, at least one of her dragons will survive. Which means that while Dany saved the world, she also doomed them to another terrible fate - having a grown, enraged, untamed dragon loose upon the world with the only woman able to control them gone. So, even though the WW will be defeated, in the remaining/following book there’s still a Big Bad to cause drama. I like the idea of Dany’s end being conflicting - she dies a true hero but also her great act is her worst act and has long lasting consequences for the survivors.

Cersei will probably try to capture Drogon in her greed for power and in doing so causes KL to burn (Drogon’s fire + all that hidden wildfire). This is actually based on nothing but vibes haha but I like her end being caused by her own hand and greed, reaching for more when she could have lived with the power she already had. I’m choosing to ignore the Valonquar bc idc I’m not GRRM.

Bran King of Westeros bc why not.

Arya’s ending has me lost. I think she def meets Lady Stoneheart and it will make her question her own pursuit for revenge. I don’t think Arya’s story is meant to end with her becoming a heartless professional assassin dedicating her life to killing the enemies of her family; she is so much more than that. Seeing LSH will make her witness the horror of being entirely consumed by hate and bloodshed. She’ll kill LSH out of mercy and it will also symbolise her putting to rest her own anger and desire for revenge. Idk where she’ll finally end up tho so she gets a wildcard and can do whatever she wants.

Andddd all of this is subject to change on any given day. I’m just rocking w whatever feels right atp bc god knows we’re never seeing Winds.

[call-me-apple]

c!Wilbur is certainly something. I remember when I was first getting into lore I was more on the SBI side of things and was so surprised when I started vodwatching.

The stuff I used to see about him was mostly depicting him as like tragic fighter for freedom haunted by his own creation, so when I watched Wilburs first Lore stream I really wanted to like him but the stuff you mentioned made that really difficult.

By now he has grown on me, but I remember I was really confused what the Fandom was talking about.

-❄️⭐️

I honestly don't remember my first impression of him. I know my introduction to the DSMP was Wilbur's videos, and that I came off with with impression of L'Manburg being kinda doomed by the narrative, but I dunno what I thought of the guy who made it, probably just thought he was a bit of a menace coz I wasn't putting that much thought into the lore at the start. And I was in sbi circles as well but I don't remember any of the people I was hanging about suffering any particular c!wilburianisms, I was more of a c!emeralds fan. Then I looked into the full first VODs coz I wanted to fully understand some of the discourse and was like, holy shit what the fuck WHAT THE FUCK. Like I was nooot prepared for just how much of an asshole c!Wilbur was, the full lore had me so shocked I wrote a massive analysis thread w/ transcripts about L'Manburg's foundation because I was desperate for other people to see that shit 😭😭

From that point on I started writing c!Wilbur analysis mostly powered by spite coz I absolutely despised the mainstream interpretations. But the more VODs I watched the more enamored I became with him like fuuuuuck he sucks so bad but he is so squishable and so fucking sad he thinks he is the worst person in the world and his fear of abandonment leads to a need to have control over people and he hates himself and worst of all fears he can never become a better person and HIM AND HIS DAMN NEED TO CREATE THINGS BIGGER THAN HIMSELF AAAAA WILBAH MY WILBAH

[alicuntisms]

I’m new to reading Helaegon but I adore it so much!! Do you have any fic recs?? If you’ve already shared this I apologize. I love it all dark to fluffy heartwarming (I’m a sucker for a soft happy ending with these two because god knows they’ll never get it in canon 😭) ❤️❤️❤️

hi hello here are some that i have bookmarked on ao3:

ages of delirium: When Aegon stumbles upon Helaena masturbating to unusual porn, he makes a deal with her not to tell their mother about it. But when Helaena breaks her word, he sets out to embarrass his sister for her curious sexual preferences. As time passes, Aegon unfortunately finds himself increasingly consumed by the desire to please his sister rather than humiliate her.

long nights, with your hands up in my hair: five times helaena and aegon had kinky (occasionally non-consensual) sex, and one time it was fluffy.

i hope you know we had everything: ‘Mostly, he ignores you…. Except, when he’s drunk.’ Helaeana said during the feast. Helaena lied. Or maybe teased. A provocation. (Or: Helaena and Aegon growing into marriage and parenthood as they deserve to be shown on screen *judges the show*)

the good wife: a wedding night story

dream the crow black dream: Just a pair of tragic, doomed by the narrative siblings in gothic romantic love trying to always find their way back home. To each other. (or Aegon and Helaena as they should be and deserve to be throughout the events of Fire and Blood).

[callmegaith]

You’re not boring me! With just a peek into the fandom with its writers and artists like you, I could never be. It’s a good thing that blogs can give new perspectives that make media feel fresh again. I asked about David out of sincere interest, especially since the eilander siblings always seemed so tragic

Thanks for the link though! I never knew that he wrote a apology letter to Dale though! The fact that David is remorseful for his actions makes me realize I should have given his character more introspect. Hopefully in the next game, Dale can come to terms with his parents death by reconciling with David, or at the very least understand why he did what he did—That poor detective boy deserves closure. And maybe David knew that something about Dale would be different. They're both special cases of corrupted souls (You explained with David in your link, and Dale seems to switch in and out of his normal self and corrupted soul when leaving the Lake). When he gets the golden cube to hopefully save himself from repeating the same cycle of violence and tragedy by changing his future, maybe he can change David's future too from forever being a wandering corrupted soul This is long and let me know if I have any facts wrong, but aaaa I just love all this

Yeah he did write a letter to Dale :D

Here it is:

He is remorseful but he also wanted to save himself so I totally get it. I wouldn't wanna be a corrupted soul either

And I agree that the Eilander siblings are so tragic. They were simply born into this sorta life, none of them asked for this but alas. They are just doomed by the narrative. It hurts me to think about them, of how Jakob and David never got the chance to form a bond because they didn't have the time to be brothers and David never really knew him. The only truly innocent collateral I feel tho is Elizabeth. She never harmed anyone. Tho she did get to be reborn as the Lady of the Lake now I suppose while David is the one out of the three siblings who for whatever reason was never allowed his reincarnation.

But David is resilient and has escaped death before. I'm sure he has more tricks up his sleeve. He's a magician after all.

As for him and Dale... Boy, that's a whole new can of worms you're opening up. They're my fav and the idea of them reconciling is the topic of most my art and comics of them. A slowburn with so much angst and pain but also hopefully healing, because a part of me thinks that's what Rusty Lake is all about... Healing from traumas. If the two of them just had the chance to meet again and work things out 😭

Dale IS special. He is meant to be the successor of Mr. Owl. And I suppose we will see if he will repeat the cycle or do something different. Mr. Owl wants Dale to get rid of the corrupted souls underneath the lake so I assume that means it's his fate to... Idk? Kill them?? Cleanse them??

But do hope on his journey to do that, that he can meet David one last time for them to put their differences aside... Or idk Dale has the upper hand here, if he wants revenge at that moment he could probably have it.

Tho I hope he doesn't. I hope they make amends, cuz at the end of it all, they're both just pawns for the lake and victims of it all the same. They were both put into these situations under unforgiving and unfair circumstances and they sorta just have to play the hands that they are dealt. 😔

I did talk about this before too but a part of the tragedy of Dale and David is David grew up with a lot of trauma without a mother. He knows what it's like to be in the position he later puts Dale in. Hurt people hurt people, and he repeated the cycle of trauma by putting Dale through it. They'd have an understanding but it would be funny to go "yeah I know how it feels" WHEN YOURE THE ONE WHO PUT THE OTHER PERSON IN THAT SITUATION!

Or maybe all this is just my wishful thinking 😩 I just know I want them to reconcile so bad cuz Dale tried killing David but it didn't fix him. If not revenge, then maybe forgiveness is what he needs to truly heal and move on.

[juniperhillpatient]

Yue if you're still doing character bingo? <3

Beautiful tragic babygirl doomed by the narrative 😭💙💙💙 She was just a child & she sacrificed everything to save the world. She’s literally the moon. She likes Sokka because he makes her laugh. Her brief friendship with Katara & Aang is so sweet 🥹 I love her & I love writing her into my fics & characterizing her more than we got to see with her small role in canon & exploring who she is as a person & what it would look like if she got to choose her own fate & have a life that wasn’t ripped from her 😢

[abnerkrill]

13, 14, 15, 16 :D

hi wren, thanks! <3

13. Favorite villain of the year

my brand is strong, i do enjoy a villain!!! answered here and here. joe mawle adar is always going to be in my heart but i do have hopes for hazeldine and i don't hold anything against him (really hoping the fandom is nice and reasonable about it shrug emoji!!)

runner-up: it is @brynnmclean's fault for making me care about halbrandsauron. i'm incensed. i have mairon feelings now. if i said that to myself from even a year ago i wouldn't have believed it.

14. Favorite m/f ship of the year

elendil/miriel :') the queen and lionheart vibes... the angst, the yearning, the doomed by the narrative of it all. they are both so very dead from the start and we're just watching them walk to the site of execution for several years. it's delicious. i'm crying.

i always play sol as a girl in teenage exocolonist so i'll also say sol/sym! it's literally in the text that they're star-crossed lovers. they're the two characters who don't experience time in a linear way and therefore understand each other best. he might not remember you on each new playthrough like you remember him, but he believes you without hesitation when you tell him you were lovers in another life. even before that, he follows you around like a lovesick puppy saving your life from all your dumb decisions until you chase him and catch him!!!!!

anyway here's sym falling to his death lol. don't worry he's fine, he's basically a mushroom who grows back!! but sol doesn't know that at first. and he always loses his memory of your first kiss. 😭

15. Favorite f/f ship of the year

love it for us that we all answered miriel/galadriel but it's TRUE it's SO POWERFUL. queen and knight vibes! i am going to write something for them, i swear it. runners-up: nori/poppy are sooo cute and i hope poppy comes back.

and they may have never met in canon, but on a spiritual level i think marta knives out/helen glass onion are destined to be lesbian lovers. it's what they (and i!) deserve.

16. Favorite m/m ship of the year

elrond/adar, elrond/durin, and adar/arondir! *runs away* you can't make me chooooose. elrond/adar is my pet project, the ship i launched all on my own, my magnum opus. elrond/durin is thiiiiiiis close to actual canon. adar/arondir is deliciously, inevitably tragic. they all mean so much to meeeee.

honorable mention to valandil/isildur (salute to @aadmelioraa, captain of the honorable ship.)

end of year fandom asks