#i have no strong stake in seeing them bc i personally just want 2 see cool animals but the fact that theyre near universally omnitted sucks

[captaiinobvious]

i hate how weirdly prudish paleoart is about genitals tbh. like its always tastefully covered by a leaf in the foreground or a carefully placed leg. sorry but is that not an important part? youre just gonna ignore the penis flappin around down there cuz u dont like it? how fucking weird do u hav 2 b 2 sexualize not just early human genitals but animal genitals lmfao like put a penis or vulva on that beast draw the asshole and if it had nipples draw those what are you christian???

[horizon-verizon]

Do you really think that the realm will support Jacaerys's claim eventually? After all the rumors about his bastardy are really strong and most TG stans claim that since Jace is a bastard he can't inherit anything, Jace needs to be legitimized first. I really like Jacaerys character and I'm new in this fandom, so this matter is so confuse to me.

Btw your post are amazing ❤️

Thanks, anon!

Answer to Question #1

1)

I have many, many posts about bastardry and the boys' illegitimacy vs legitimacy: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, & HERE. Basically, Jace is not really illegtimate bc illegtimacy must be "proven" and he was never proven to be. People have to argue/prove for it more than people having to argue whether or not one's hair is red or not. And

2)

Jace was actually respected outside of his family (A Son for a Son"):

3)

Several of those greens stans are not reading the damn text and refuse to see that Jacaerys was actually pretty admired by one of Rhaenyra's biggest supporters, Cregan Stark ("A Son for a Son"):

Also, Alicent had been, FOR YEARS, trying to get more people on her side and denounce or pressure either Viserys into removing Rhaenyra and her sons from the line of succession (both bk and show) or just get MOST of the lords at court and beyond to denounce Rhaenyra and her sons...and yet she had to resort to a usurpation, imprisoning courtiers and servants to withhold news of Viserys' death, pressured the council to crown Aegon after many lines of persuasion buttressed by Cole & Otto's input and wild accusations and assertions about Rhaenyra's sons, Daemon, and Rhaenyra not being actually the Queen...

I'd say that Alicent failed to convince anyone to really go against Rhaenyra by depending on the boys illegitimacy.

Answer to Question #2

Do you mean if Rhaenyra had ascended peacefully (no war at all, no usurpation) or had won the war with Jacaerys still alive when she did? Yes, he is her heir and the lords fought for her...they were a package deal. If you didn't want to have Jace as the next ruler, you would not fight for the person who names him as heir. Rhaenyra would have consolidated her reign and ensured her line's future better.

Now if we're talking about DURING THE WAR, Jace somehow survived but Rhaenyra did not/lost, I think there would have been a bit more difficulty without Cregan Stark, Jeyne Arryn, the Blackwoods, Vyprens, other lords who respected that their vows applying to Rhaenyra applied to her heir as well (bc again, they came as a package deal politically) and without as many dragons as the blacks had. Since most of the lords didn't swear to him but just to Rhaenyra, maybe some lords would use this as an excuse to defect or leave the war altogether because it stil costs them resources, some still will use this to justify how a male line goes before a woman's line, and/or they are just greedy AND cowardly and see this as they way to flagrantly ally themselves with the greens.

in the beginning. Bc the actual named heir/undoubtedly trueborn person is no longer there to enforce/support Jace's claim.

And once again, Cregan Stark made his Pact with Jace [2nd pictured quote above]...Cregan was a beast after the war and northerners are mad about their vow-taking, arguably more than "southern" folk. Cregan also liked Jacaerys very much from what's written about them--some fans theorize romantically, but whatever. He also had a higher emotional stake in it, which is an amplifying motive to the primary one about the Pact.

As for Jeyne Arryn, she was steadfastly loyal to Rhaenyra's cause because she was blood through Aemma, she would be helping to make sure her own position was securer from male relatives who already tried to oust her, and because Rhaenyra was a woman--like her. Women in a man's world an all that ("A Son for a Son"):

(Cregan also was interested bc he was having trouble with an uncle trying to oust him...succession things). Thus it could get easier for Jace to default back to him having been Rhaenyra's heir, he's never been "found out" to not be Laenor's , and he's a male dragonrider. again, this is if he loses most of Rhaenyra's supporters, bc it's still possible that he'd reatin the bigger and important ones.

Also, if Daemon somehow by some miracle managed to dispatch Aemond and come back...they'd likely fight with and for Jace anyway because Daemon is just loyal &--by reputation and action--brutal like that. Jace--less likely...key words--loses that many supporters of Rhaenyra's.

[topazpearl]

in celebration of sbg returning in a little over 2 weeks (!!!!!) have my HUGE master doc of all my possible theories, ideas, wants/needs, etc.

(spoilers abound of course)

Edit: For an updated, post-S2 release version, [here]

[Hamilton chorus voice] NUMBER ONE: The giant freakin phantompede and how to escape it

-Logan shoots it in the eyes, probably won't kill it tho, just make it mad and blind, which doesn't help

-they pull a Tremors and use the jeep as bait to make it jump off the cliff to its death, and they all jump out at the last second. a big gamble, assuming its stupid enough to do this. (tho making it blind first as mentioned could work) Sucks that they lose the jeep but they can get another car

-Or (this goes into my Phantom Ashlyn theory which I'll talk later) ashlyn can talk to it and tells it to go away and it….does! idk lol it's stupid but maybe ash has enough girl boss energy to convince it. or it's so shocked by a human talking to it it's like "dang ok" 

-last idea: they're near the school so they lure it there and into the sports area, assuming they have a baseball field, and kill it with all the big lights there (the poetic justice of it all... get 'em tyler)

NUMBER TWO: Schrödinger's Tyler

-I'm hoping that once phantompede is taken care of they'll go back to find him. Taylor will force them probably. Cue angst. 

-my top theory rn is that if you die in the phantom dimension (PD) you enter a coma in the real dimension (RD) b/c I think it'd be very lame and low stakes for a horror thriller for ty to just wake up fine but in pain. 

–unless there's some really NASTY RD consequences like, he starts getting narcolepsy, starts hearing Phantom noises too, constantly sick, slowly wasting away with each day, maybe relives his death every night like some horrid nightmare??? etc 

-then of course there's the popular idea that if u die in the PD your body becomes a phantom. who knows how long that takes. could be fun and angsty if it happens rlly fast like while the kids are there and see his body turn into a phantom and they freak the frick out. yeah 

and if the phantoms have no retained memories, Tay is just calling to him but it's for naught 

-anyway if ty's in a coma that'll be fun to explain to the parents 

-If a phantom is killed, their connected person in the RD who was in a coma dies fr

NUMBER THREE: Ashlyn and the Phantoms (cool new band name) 

-we know the kids are getting influenced by the PD, making phantom noises (further supports phantoms were people theory) but with Ashlyn's "really strong" connection to the PD, she's in special danger. If one can turn into a phantom without dying, it's gonna be her. Ryan the spy said that "the girl" – assumingly ashlyn– should be "especially" at risk of danger. This could be bc she was the one who interacted with the rift, or bc she already has a higher level of phantom influence on her. 

-when ashlyn told the phantom to let go, and her friends to calm down, both times she spoke with a black speech bubble WITH PHANTOM NOISE LINES NEAR IT.

this is different than characters who have also spoken with black bubbles. obviously these have been with threats/malice, but the boys' didn't have the red lines.

These times ashlyn has spoken, the phantom acknowledged her voice, and her friends' spell-like violence trance was broken. Therefore, Theory: ashlyn not only can hear phantoms, but she can speak their language sort of

-depending how the Tyler situation goes down, I think Ashlyn will have lots of guilt and anger towards herself, and if she can't reign it in, I could see her going into a violence trance like her friends did. maybe even worse (a semi phantom transformation??) Cue a fun angsty 'talking her down' moment with the others at best, or full on fighting Phantom!ashlyn at worst

-when ashlyn was born, a phantom like touched her in a blessing/cursing sense which is part of the reason why she can hear phantoms and her strong PD connection 

possibly even possession???? seems a bit farther fetched tho 

-tldr; i want ashlyn to enter her monster girl era 

-The evil gang seems confused why the kids have lasted so long. maybe Ashlyn's PD connection goes both ways. she provides a strong anchor to the RD. Maybe the PD is USUALLY all desolate with the pillars that we saw in the finale (maybe it's even an afterlife of sorts?), but Ashlyn makes a huge radius (~30 miles! (assuming kids were driving at least 60mph for 30 minutes)) of the PD around where she wakes up mirror the real world, creating a safer space for her and the kids. meanwhile a normal person that gets sucked into the PD gets thrown into a desolate hell world different from the RD (also maybe stuck there permanently), causing them to die much quicker. 

-Ashlyn's influence extends to jamming the recording devices like some kind of weird phantom static.

-Broke: Ashlyn's parents wanted her to learn self defense and have a knife bc they're in the military. Woke: they want her to be able to protect herself after the phantom scare when she was a baby

NUMBER FOUR: Origami gang and Co INC. 

-My Current idea on what the evil gang is doing: The gangs symbol is an origami crane (orizuru). the crane in East Asia has longevity as one of its symbolisms, with some myths saying it flies souls up to paradise. there's the popular myth that if you fold 1000 cranes you get a wish.

Heres where the evil twist comes in. The gang boss believes that if he traps 1000 people in the PD as like, a sacrifice, then he'll get a wish and he'll ask for eternal life or whatever. this gang is a cult and he's tricked everyone saying that they'll also get a long life but really it's probably only gonna be him 🤫 So they go around to different haunted places in America and pick ppl they sense can open these shadow rifts and get sucked in. the phantoms may be ppl they trapped in the past and they've turned into phantoms

-Ryan, the guy who's spying on the kids, maybe is ALSO "Mr. thomas"? he just puts on a wig and is a good actor lol. this is the reason why he asks about "Mr. Thomas's" fate. What goes against this is that Ryan seems to know all about the PD mechanisms, which doesn't fit Mr. Thomas being confused abt ashlyns hair. Unless he wasn't expecting it

– or "Mr thomas" could just be Ryan's friend or brother or smn. A low ranked guy in the gang that got stuck with roping Ashlyn into Savannah, but doesn't know the truth/details about the PD. 

-the gang mentions that "both sides" are trying to track them. either the government and a supernatural hunting group, or even some force in the PD like some Alpha Phantom like the devil who's like "Where's my dead people quota hello?" or better yet "you're messing with MY domain and I'm gonna Get You". 

-This is based solely on the Boss' appearance and smiling countenance: what if the gang Boss is Aiden's uncle, his dad's brother. his weird, estranged brother who's also evil probably. I'm really hung on this idea don't mind me. Maybe it's b/c we don't know his name yet, b/c he's secretly related and it'll be a big reveal

-you have to be able to make a paper origami crane from memory to be an official gang member /hj 

(S2 spoilers) NUMBER FIVE: Aiden's dyed hair and why it's A Big Deal

none of these have any solid evidence I'm just wildin 

-He hates his natural hair color/thinks it's ugly

-doing it to hide his real identity (IF the Clark family being involved with the Origami gang is real it would probably fall under this, BUT I have strong reason to believe Aiden is not involved with the gang tho. (See my ~EXCEL SHEET~ for my reasoning)

–falls under my random "gang boss is aidens uncle" theory. his uncle is the weird black sheep of the family, that Aiden has a spitting resemblance to, so he dyes his hair to make him look less like him

further developing my silly Boss Uncle idea but I'm imagining that Daniel (Adiens dad) married into the family bc he looks sm different than his wife or Ben's parents. But when he married Jessica (Aidens mom) at the start they used his surname, had Aiden, etc. Then Daniel's weird (evil) brother starts committing Crimes tm, possibly even convicted, jail time, all over the news (maybe he got out early cuz of parole, good behavior idk). Aidens family suffers for it by proxy; Aiden is bullied, his parents are stigmatized at work. it actually gets so bad that they decide to switch to Jessica's maiden name Clark. Currently wondering if Ben's dad, William, and Jessica are the siblings here. anyway they do that and with their constant moving and traveling, it's easy to embrace the new identity. But Aiden was still pretty affected by it being a kid and all so that's why he dyes his hair, and plays it off as doing it for funsies

-based on claims (if someone has proof of this beyond his skin tone HMU) I've seen that he's part Asian, so maybe has suffered really nasty racism in the past but when he's blond he's white passing, so he does it so he's not bullied anymore

-blondes have more fun to help with this "constantly happy" persona he has

– semi related, he's heavily masking depression and loneliness, and the bright yellow hair makes him happier.

-he dyes his hair for attention bc he didn't get enough of it as a child with his parents traveling and working 

Actually-!

NUMBER FIVE ½: Aiden's backstory

after seeing the Easter egg, wondering if his mom divorced or died idk cause the lady in the picture doesn't look like his mom, her hair is darker?? now ofc she could just be dying her hair too idk!!!

Absolutely Wildin' here but maybe aidens parents died when he was a kid so he was adopted but surprise! his dad is still alive and is a criminal and running a shadow cult. or maybe the boss is still his uncle. or maybe the boss is his parent(s) killer!!! 

Or Maybe The Boss is aidens dad. Aidens biological mom died and the Boss went crazy and probably committed crimes and went to jail, and then Daniel (aidens uncle, Boss' brother) and Jessica took custody of him. and then the Boss escaped jail and started his cult, maybe to bring back his wife

kinda off topic but I'm wondering if Aiden's red eyes are fake too. colored contacts. like neither of his parents have it, no one does. does he just have Protagonist syndrome or is it related to one of the ideas above?

I'm just throwing darts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

NUMBER SIX: Character arcs and futures

-either no other of the kids will "die", just Aiden and Ashlyn will "survive", or everyone except Ashlyn will "die"

-but i hope if they can sever their connection with the PD, anyone who dies in the PD and gets in a coma will wake up

-So they're gonna get kidnapped. that's definitely gonna be a thing. either mid S2 or S2 ending. up in the air whether the kidnapping is successful or not. 

actually I'm placing my bets now S2 finale will be them getting kidnapped and it just cuts off there for another awful cliffhanger.

since it seems Mr thomas will be involved, maybe he'll ask the kids to stay after school to talk abt their failing grades or smn, and then maybe they're hit with knockout gas??

OR the gang has been spying on them so they pick a time when the kids are all separated and jump them. 

maybe this is when aiden knowing where ashlyns dance studio is is actually plot relevant!!??(please) like he (and Ben probably cuz they're always together) are able to escape their attackers and Aiden goes to help ashlyn cuz he wants to make sure she's OK. and she's either fine cuz she's a girl boss and can kick butt, or he saves her oo la la 

–lol imagine kidnapping is successful, gang tells kids why they were kidnapped, if Evil Boss Uncle theory is true this helps facilitate this but Ashlyn "goes off" on Aiden yelling and "attacking" him and stuff saying he's part of the gang etc but it's all a ruse to have the gang think she'll cause another energy spike and Aiden gets this and plays along, so assuming the kids are locked up, the gang opens their cell to stop ashlyn, and that's when they escape

–also assuming the gang would be smart enough to get rid of the kids phones when they're snagged. 

-also SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen Reds ig stories but since they just had midterms it's probably October (bc the story started at the beginning of the school year (August) and there was a month skip (September) where they were learning self defense) Which Means that it could be Aidens bday which is why ashlyn is at his house and they're having a pizza party or whatever yippee! (i want this) And maybe Mr and Mrs Clark talk about seeing phantoms (the panel of them looking stressed the heck out lol) bc I'm assuming all the guardians have been seeing them I'm assuming!!!! And maybe Ashlyn overhears, and the kids Finally can tell the parents what's going on but I doubt it. b/c that'd be too easy y'know?

-regardless, the either failed or successful kidnapping will probably set the parents over the edge, Especially if Ty is in a medically unexplainable coma, and Mike Banner will be like "tell me what's going on Right Now" and the parents believe them and they help the kids get to Savannah yippee!! a cool Big family squad force they all hop on a working school bus or smn and drive there. (I wish i knew how many seasons there's gonna be so I could predict pacing but since it's a thriller I'm assuming pretty fast, so maybe 3 seasons? cuz while we got a fast plot we seemingly have a slow ashlyn & aiden relationship so 🤷‍♀️)

Sorry back to character arcs:

Ashlyn: Learn to trust and connect with people, make friends, lean on others. Could be nice if she accepts and admits the kids are her friends by the end of S2, leaving the next season for Aiden/Ashlyn dev specifically. More development about her connection with the PD, which could put friendship to the test. 

Taylor: will either shut down with grief like her mom, or maybe snap and have an Edgy arc (seems… unlikely to me tho she seems too emotionally intelligent for that). NEVERMIND with all the stuff im seeing, it seems likely!!!) Willing to bet money the twins are unhealthily codependent on each other. Maybe she'll start latching onto Ben instead (whether anything romantic develops on top of it is debatable, but I can see it. theyve already got a cute little closeness going on). Would not be surprised if, after losing her dad (which im predicting was a suicide) and Ty, she can't stand the thought of losing someone else, and will save someone in danger at her own expense, leading to her death. Sure I'll predict she'll die 2nd if there are more deaths.

Tyler: he frikkin ded so… (would've been nice to see him become even more caring but yknow)

Logan: Seems to be overcoming his fragility well if the arcade scene is any indication. Still has self-worth issues to overcome due to his parents' abandonment. Maybe we'll learn more about that in S2. That could be a rumor and the real reason he lives with his grandparents is that his parents died but idk why that'd be hidden unless their death was suspicious (phantom related???). He'll die 3rd; survives longer than expected but is the halfway point. 

Ben: Still needs to find a new passion for life, i suspect playing musical instruments like the guitar will be the answer (thank you tyler). Tho maybe learning to love his altered voice could happen? (tons of dudes have a rough/husky singing voice that ppl love) But this is probably unlikely. 

– Taylor and Logan's deaths will hit him really hard, maybe feels like his strength is worthless if he failed to keep the others safe, and starts spiraling real bad. Possible phantom transformation or attempted suicide. 4th to die. 

Aiden: (get medicated) Learning self-control, improving interpersonal relationships, accepting serious/negative emotions, along with God knows what else will be revealed. 

– Kinda wondering if he grew up in a "toxic positivity" mentality home, where his parents are like "we're so privileged we shouldn't complain" 

– IF he does die, he'll be the last one, leaving Ashlyn alone (when it hurts the most!!! muhahhaha!!! 😭), and it won't happen in S2.

NUMBER SEVEN: Miscellaneous predictions, wants, musings & hypotheticals

-hey uh what about the photo Logan took of the phantom back at the sorrel-weed house?? surely he still has it? can he show the parents?? will they be able to see it?

-Logan saw the whole Aidlyn hug from the roof from his snipper position, change my mind.

-Another death will happen in S2, possibly even two deaths.

-Mr thomas switches sides and helps the kids, gives them info

-Ryan (the spy) switches sides and helps the kids

-the tour lady Jasmine and the Boss are a hot evil couple 

also kinda want them to have a Rourke & Helga dynamic where he throws her under the bus at the last moment and she's Bissed 

-I want the boss to die by his own evil plan. i doubt a redemption arc will happen but I'd be down for it if done well.

-*grabs your shoulders until they bleed* listen. Aiden saved ashlyn, now I need her to save him. I need this. 

-Taylor and Ashlyn girl time please!!!

-Logan and Aiden becoming closer would also give me joy. big Freckle and Rocky energy. 

-Consider: Ashlyn says that she thinks Aiden looks better with dark hair, not meaning it as a compliment but as an objective statement, but he decides to grow out his dark hair again (will take a bit). 

-this doesn't have to happen but I think it'd be really funny if Aiden somehow gets the IDEA that Logan has a crush on Ashlyn when Logan doesn't, causing a stupid silly short jealousy arc.

-actually I really need a "can skydive from 10,000 ft but can't confess to the girl he likes" Aiden Clark

which like would make sense bc at this point he knows she thinks he's annoying, pushy, etc., so that's just asking for a rejection 

-I've got a bad feeling smn will happen to Ashlyn's parents, specifically her dad

-you know what's better than Ashlyn having to be a girlboss and face the villains alone? Aiden and Ashlyn going together and Aiden being used as collateral by the villains :) What if he dies permanently irl, while the rest of the kids, if they died in the PD, reawaken, leaving him the only one permanently gone in the end? :) 

-bruh what if everyone died like fr fr. yes I'm imagining Ashlyn looking at all her friends' graves. 

-the Origami gang fails to kidnap the kids b/c all that self-defense paid off, and they accidentally create a huge "energy spike", making phantoms appear everywhere in town.

-if the kids DO get kidnapped successfully, I want Ashlyn to be an awesome girlboss and use her knife shoes to help them escape.

-if my puppy fic became Canon that'd be swaggie actually.

-let Ashlyn have a dog 2023

-pov you're in Georgia in the fall and a hurricane hits, knocking out solar power for a few days. what then? :)

-when all this garbage is over and they hopefully all live in the end, I want them to have a fun stargazing party lead by Logan cause they can finally enjoy the night (And maybe aidlyn have their first Kiss?? 🙈)

-If there ISNT a "group goes to see Ashlyn in a ballet performance" scene then I'm WRITING IT MYSELF 

-the kids are like, juniors right? Prom. 

-Aiden works hard to get his permit and his parents buy him a car but it's a crappy one cause they know he'll wreck it but hey it's Savannah or Bust.

-At the end of all things, Aiden and Ashlyn will become a couple, or at least have reciprocal romantic feelings. This is not just my shipper heart talking. I feel it in my brain, in my soul. (b/c Red rlly seems to ship it so 😏)

-maybe aidens parents work for a religious missionary aid group like Samaritans purse

-a kid going into an angry protective phantom mode to protect another(s) 😳 (aidlyn on the brain but it could be anyone)

-if I had a nickel for every time I've imagined Aiden dying in Ashlyn's arms, I'd have many nickels 

-what if having a good singing voice ran in Ben's family? haha jkjk…unless??? but they don't sing like ever cuz they don't want Ben to feel bad 

-man what if a kid died by a phantom pushing them down a set of stairs.. 

-Rlly hope that Aiden's parents don't get scared seeing phantoms in their house and hearing other families having phantoms in THEIR houses and thinking the whole town is haunted, and they consider moving which they don't wanna do bc Aiden finally has friends but what else can they do!? angst. 

-John 15:13 for Ashlyn with the others except it's not permanent (I'm not saying ash is a Jesus figure tho WHWKEJEJDJ)

-I rlly wanna see ashlyn laugh like REALLY LAUGHING

~~

That's it for the moment (●'◡'●) thanks for coming

will any of these be canon? who knows! it's the fun of it all

[sukehiroselei]

YAMICHAR in the final arc

At the end of the day, this blog is still dedicated to Yami and Charlotte. So of course everything that's happening in the story, I'm gonna relate it somehow to my OTP of OTPs. Some possibilities that I think could happen during the final arc, in order of best-case to worst-case scenarios:

1. Yami and Charlotte are totally fine, indestructible, and kick paladin ass together.

The best I can hope for as a shipper is that they somehow avoid the raging death flags and manage to win, together, then finally have that adult conversation over tea about what it is they've got going on.

They fight together like they did during the Elf arc, except this time it's much better since Charlotte will be in full-control of her body. We get proper development of their relationship during battle, either Yami surpassing his limits because her life is in danger, or Charlotte overcoming her insecurities about not being strong enough to stand by him, because goddamn it, they're knocking paladins left and right, showing these knights how it's done (or both, honestly?).

I want Charlotte to unlock the full extent of her powers, realizing that loving someone isn't a sign of weakness, but is a source of strength. Watching Yami fight his hardest because he loves his squad finally gets her to see what it is that makes him so strong, and it's because of his heart. That in spite of the pain he's faced in his life, Yami chooses to love the people who matter to him—it just so happens that his love language is kicking the asses of those who hurt the people he cares about.

Best-best case scenario??? A kiss. But that's just never gonna happen now ahaha.

2. Yami turns into a monster

There's something about that devil heart... Tabata wouldn't have put it there if it isn't important, right? And Yami being a punching bag key character of the series, there has to be a breaking point.

This man's entire life has been a tragedy. He had an abusive father, a sister who was coerced into killing his family and then choosing to shoulder the blame on her behalf, washing ashore on a strange country then being treated with racism, looked down on by members of society in spite of his achievements; now slowly losing the people he loves....

No wonder this man has so many vices. I'd be super stressed too, if this was my life. It's honestly a wonder how Yami's worst habit is just smoking??

So yeah, this seems most likely to me rn. I feel like this development would absolutely destroy Asta. That this world is so broken that even the seemingly infallible Captain Yami has fallen victim to it. Also, the role reversal in the Elf arc would be interesting; Charlotte trying to get Yami to snap out of it along with the Black Bulls? What a scrumptious idea.

3. They both die

Now listen, this isn't my favourite outcome, but it's still not as bad as the next one. If both of them die, I'd of course be devastated, but at least neither one has to live the rest of their life alone & wondering what could have been.

To me, it would be better to face death with hands adjoined than to be left pining for a ghost, especially if it was Charlotte who survives and not Yami. That would just be beyond cruel, I think. But this is of course, my personal opinion.

4. One of them dies

I love a good angsty fic, but I would absolutely be crushed if only one of them dies. Sorry if people think that this is childish. I think if BC had established itself as a manga with high stakes from the get-go, then I would kind of understand, but one of the things I liked about the series is the minimal-amount of deaths so far?? Idk.... I'm just fiercely protective of my fav characters (and I honestly love a lot of them). So yeah, either Yami or Char dying would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I would also like to add that Charlotte dying to spur Yami's devil heart transformation would absolutely be a worst-case scenario for me. We've built her character up for so long and then at the end she becomes fodder for one of the male protags??? I'd be livid lol

Bonus Super Duper Crack Theory That Has A 0.00001% Chance Of Happening:

When Charlotte and Yami had dinner to discuss her curse, she said that 'The curse had altered the shape of her soul'. And her being cursed has hindered her from fully mastering her magic.

Additionally, it was explained that all curses are born from Megicula. In her fight, she had combined the knowledge of magic runes from the Heart Kingdom to modify her curse, allowing her to wield both blue and red roses.

We also know that Lucius's power involves the transformation of souls. He explains that 'The soul is the source of human life, spirit, and magic.' He can manipulate someone's soul and implant directives that they cannot disobey. BUT we did see that Sister Lily's resolve falters as she fights against Asta, so Lucius's magic isn't as infallible as he believes it to be. Therefore, his magic can be negated by anti-magic OR by strong emotion.

So what the hell am I rambling on about? Well, what if Charlotte becomes a devil along with Yami? Would Lucius's magic work on her, as her soul has already been affected by another devil (Megicula)? Being cursed changed the quality of her magic, yet in the Spade arc, Charlotte was able to work around a spell that altered her damn SOUL. I think it would be pretty sick for Charlotte to fully embrace the darkness of the devil's curse on her metaphorical heart. Plus, you know, Devil!Yami and Devil!Charlotte kicking "angel" ass is sexy to think about.

[toadstool32]

tiny i really have to ask you what you see in the anime Beatles dudes. why are you so hot for them (this is lighthearted, you do you)

this was the funniest thing i could wake up to, ty anon

as for the question..."what do i see in them " hmmmm well i come from the homestuck background so im sure i could find a rock hot if u gave it enough personality tbh

Which the sextuplets have a lot of! (incredibly so!)

also the way the question is framed implies that i wanna get it on with all six of them, which is also funny, but im only gunning for the one, i swear.

why am i so hot for this guy..... thats a good question..... im not sure...

ok well one hes so fail he tries so hard to be "the cool one" and constantly fucks it up, hes self proclaimed "a sinful man, a guilt guy" what the fuck does that mean hes so stupid i want him so bad, one of his brothers told him he was painful (read cringe as fuck) and his response was that he didnt want to hurt anyone bc he loved them all 8RRRRAAAUAGHHHH)

TWO hes like, blue, i like blue guys :3

^^^what the fuck is he doin

also the oso merch is like, they REALLY want you to choose one of them to love forever and ever and they keep putting out cute designs to make u want to hold them and its.working, sadly

listen every brother is kind of a shithead and awful in theyr own right if they were real guys i would (thinks about the live action movie) sorry i cant say suddenly, anyway, i suffer from karamatsu girls and boys disease which was caused by the fact that he was the punching bag in S1 and i NEVER recovered.

^^^the face of someone who just realized his brothers care more about pears than saving him from dying at sea/burned at a stake

by season 2 they started bullying totty instead of karamatsu and the way they made it up to him was that he suddenly is like, more silly??? you could say painful but the skits (THIS IS A SKITS ANIME WHY AM SO INTO THAT) make it like, haha remember the whole bullying karamatsu joke, hes on it now, and hes making it yr problem, he lears to fucking be more cringe n shit so ppl leave him alone, by season 3 they make hi even more of a bitch its GREAT

hes feral he bites he scratches but he wont bc hes kind of a pushover, no joke karamatsu would be so cute wait not cute im delusional he would be so cool if he stoped trying so hard but he puts his own face on his shirts and that kinda makes him a loser

i was gonna lookin for another picture but what the fuck is this,

what the fuck where was i , hes a bitch he does not care about shit unless its funny theres a bit of infor where when asked about osomatsu (the oldest) hes like hes shitty at being the eldest when he fails irrevocably then i will have to step up i love, shitty eldests bickering <3 theres this running gag where choromatsu trips n falls and karamatsu goes like CHOROMATSU ILL SAVE YOUUUUUU BUT HE JUST???KEEPS RUNNING AWAY???? FAKE ASS,now that i realize this karamatsu is the fakest around choro lolmao like that bit where choromatsu was like hey what do u think i should in the future and that bitch did Not Wanna be involved and yet he went all "follow ur dreams i support u!!!" and then left dead faced i love his mean girls and fake bitches.

coughs also he gives me the stronges vibes of someone who could have a gender/sexuality crisis and i could be the one who makes him realise <losing touch with reality by the second,

anyway i got distracted look i made a mspaint thing

TL;DR: I JUST LIKE THE ONE DUDE

[romanogers-lyrics]

TFAWS EP 3: *screeching intensifies*

Bucky “Let me float you a hypothetical” Barnes.

Sam “Keep talking but I want it on the record that I objected to this plan” Wilson

Damn Zemo got a whole ass jet and garage of cars. How is it that his assets were still intact after he was arrested? Can you get Sam his loan please, daddy?

On a serious note, to all those saying the stakes in Civil War were fake bc tony and Steve made up I demand you look at all the ways team cap was affected by the accords.

The theme of “doing the right thing above all else” is clearly so important to both Sam and Bucky. Goddamn I love team cap 😪

Sharon is a wealthy art dealer and I love it!

People including me were so worried about her being just another love interest but she literally saves their asses twice!!! She has agency and motives entirely her own.

The entire Madripoor sequence was gorgeous. Nothing was half assed set and cinematography wise.

The baby bois all dressed up and ready to kill people 🔪

Sam caring and being worried about Bucky like 🥺

I am honestly so fucking proud of Bucky for being strong through Zemo’s orders. It had to be so hard. Can someone tell bucky “I’m proud of you”?

Goddamnit take your eyes off Zemo for one second...oh wait he didn’t betray them yet...

No! Sharon come back! *grabby hands*

Anyone notice how the CIA was the first to try and make the serum after Siberia. The CIA who literally locked up and hunted Bucky another super soldier then tried to lock up cap. Same agency. No wonder the world hates American imperialism jezusssss

Sam: “I made a mistake (with the shield)...” yes! Say it! “I should have destroyed it.” Goddamnit smdh.

I get the shield is a mixed legacy but you can’t also destroy the good and the potential for good. One of the examples is sitting right in front of you, Sammy. Also I REFUSE to believe that SAM “on your left” WILSON would destroy his one gift from cap. I suppose “I should have kept it in my house” doesn’t sound as dramatic🙃

Bucky says he’d take over the shield before letting it be destroyed. Hopefully as Sam warms to Bucky he’ll see how the shield can symbolize good.

Truly I believe symbols/mantles are just tools that you can use for good or evil. I believe that in Sam’s hand it could be used for good. It’s a lot to ask but I forget the saying but something like: “those who fear power are the best people to hold it”

It’s so hard to know who is the “bad guy” in this show. Probably the point I know. The freedom fighters have a seemingly good agenda but then they blow up a building. Smdh we don’t trade lives dontcha know...

Who is the power broker? What’s his plan? We haven’t met him/her yet...

Bucky likes 40s music and is PROUD of it. He wrote his redemption list in Steve’s notebook 😭

Fake!cap gets 0.0001% of the screen time 🤣😂(which I find so mf comforting 😘, maybe that’s why I like this episode so much). That being said gotta analyze the small time he did have... he literally thinks he’s TOO GOOD to speak in another language than English. Forces his friend to do the talking but still expects respect 😬. Fuuuuck u fake!cap 🖕🏻. I’m sorry my non American friends. We don’t know this white man 🙇🏻‍♀️

The ending THE ENDING had me YeLLiNg at the screen. Fakdkwbfjw I’m not gonna spoil it but I just-

On the writing/directing- I feel this episode had better pacing of rising action and drama. More showing less exposition dump which honestly is hard in marvel (some audience are walking encyclopedias and some just started watching this year).

The traumaaaaaaa in this whole show. I just wanna give everyone a 1 minute hug. Godddamn. Especially given the context of this show coming during the covid pandemic hits so hard 🙃

Fr though I know the topics in this show are triggering for some people so please take care of yourself ❤️

On another level I think it’s kinda funny how Steve thought he was so special for having the serum then it was like ACTUALLY Bucky is a super soldier OH AND there are more super soldiers in Siberia. OH and like 8 more super soldiers in TFAWS. Oh there’s ALSO a black super soldier. 😂 like Steve is still special because of his morals and personality but yeah... love you cap 😘

Please feel free share your thoughts! Would make my day! Love ya’ll💕

My episode 2 review:

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Not Bad

Prompts: Hihi, i have a Merlin prompt if you're interested. Merlin thinks he's a bad person bec he was taught that magic is bad, but also Bec of all the stuff he did/does to keep Arthur safe and ig throw in some touch starved!Merlin too for fun. But the knights compliment/hug/etc all the time and Merlin just doesn't understand what he's supposed to do with this, so the solution is to breakdown crying and try to convince the knights he's the bad person he sees himself as and the knights are just like "but you're wrong and he's 25 reasons why you're wrong" Plz, thx, love your writing - anon

im a fuckin sucker for soft knights & arthur w merlin so, if ur still takings reqs, i would love to see when the knights realize merlin still views himself as a "monster" like is hinted in first ep (? i thinkk, im rusty on my merlin trivia)- is it a passing comment he makes and they realize all together? knight cuddle pile? just give the poor boy some love - anon

if you'd want to write it i'd love to see the collective moment that the knights realize that merlin is self-harming in some way (in my brain this is probably in like a denial-of-things type thing that he probably doesn't even see as self-harm bc he's an idiot, could even be something like healing everyone else w magic but refusing to heal himself... idk feel free to do whatever you see fit!). i can only imagine they'd be frustrated with him and themselves but theyre just loving large idiots (': - anon

ahh yes all the prompts

Read on Ao3 Part 2

Warnings: implied/referenced self-harm in the form of intentionally depriving oneself of physical contact because THAT COUNTS

Pairings: merthur, can be platonic or romantic I don't care

Word Count: 3462

Arthur is confused, very upset, and nothing is alright anymore, thank you very much.

Because you see, despite the image that he tries to present—emphasis on the word ‘try’, there, according to his knights—he does care an awful lot about his people, especially his one particular person that happens to be able to say an awful lot without saying anything.

Merlin. He’s talking about Merlin, in case you hadn’t noticed.

The problem is that for all the man can ramble on about seemingly anything, at any time, he’s remarkably good at saying absolutely nothing about himself. He claims he’s an open book, but he’s certainly in a language that Arthur doesn’t know how to read.

He does know how to read, just to clarify. That isn’t the issue here.

No, no, the issue is that after months, years, almost a decade of Merlin by his side, watching his back, taking care of him, he’s discovered that there’s a secret that Merlin’s keeping from him. One he never intended to tell Arthur.

And before you panic, no, he’s not talking about Merlin’s magic.

Come on, it’s not like it’s not obvious, the man isn’t exactly good at hiding it. Does he seriously believe Arthur can’t see the tree branches that miraculously pick themselves up and fly at the nearest bandit or the spears that fling themselves at the foe about to behind Gwaine? Or the chores that mysteriously get done too fast for Merlin and far too efficiently? Or the way certain magical ailments seem to vanish mysteriously along with his idiot of a servant only to be greeted with a soft shrug when he pokes?

Merlin’s eyes also turn gold, that’s pretty neat.

So Merlin has magic.

Yes, we know, we had a small tantrum over the fact that he told Lancelot first, but it’s fine. Quite frankly, a lot of things make more sense now.

Except for this. Not this.

Merlin is hiding the secret that he believes he’s a bad person.

Now, Arthur’s not sure if you’ve met Merlin, but the man isn’t exactly the image of the evildoer that springs to mind when someone says ‘bad person.’

The Witch Finder, now there’s a bad person. Storming into Camelot, preying on the fear of the people, bribing and threatening and drugging people, torturing them, and condemning them to death just for the sake of a few coins.

Merlin did storm into Camelot, that is true, but he decided to pick a fight with the crown prince and then save his life. He’s not here for coin—if he were, they wouldn’t have had that small, er, issue about the steward not paying him anything for his work for the past eight years, honestly—and he’s certainly not preying on anyone’s fears. Except perhaps Arthur’s fear of losing his dignity.

The look on his father’s face when Merlin dodged the pillow…

Speaking of his father…there’s another one.

His father did not prey as openly on the people’s fear—or as obviously as Aredian, but prey on them he did. He was a strong king, sometimes too strong. He was a blind king, saw the people as nothing more than subjects, not the living breathing humans they are. He remembers Morgana’s voice, saying that authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force.

He always wanted to see Uther’s face when his ward—when his daughter said that to him.

And what he’s done to Morgana…

Arthur grimaces and shakes his head. Perhaps the very truth that he resents the idea of thinking about what Uther did to Morgana, to him…perhaps that is enough.

Those are bad people. At least to Arthur.

Merlin, on the other hand…

Merlin came into Camelot, knowing that if it was discovered that he has magic, he would be burnt at the stake. He came, not with any aspirations of glory, simply because he trusted his mother when she told him to come to Gaius. He came and he was given a job he never asked for, one he had no idea how to do, and stayed.

Merlin learned. Slowly, perhaps, but he learned. Now he has enough knowledge on what a servant should do to break the rules in the most spectacular fashion. Arthur smiles, biting back the chuckle at seeing George dressed up like Merlin and acting perfectly proper and the urge Arthur had to throw him out of the room.

And that’s not even mentioning what he does when he’s not following Arthur around.

Merlin learned. Merlin stayed.

Not just for Gaius, but for Arthur.

Arthur leans onto his desk, staring out into the courtyard where Merlin is tending to the knights’ horses as they mount up for patrol. He watches Leon step a little closer, lowering his head to mutter something to him, watching Gwaine clap Merlin on the shoulder.

Watches Merlin flinch a little too hard.

Watches Leon’s brow furrow and Gwaine take a step back.

This. This is the problem.

Merlin believes he’s a bad person. Which is wrong, but for some reason, he does.

And because Merlin believes he’s a bad person, he believes that anytime one of the knights touches him—or anyone touches him—it will be to hurt him.

How did they come to this conclusion, you may ask?

Arthur bites back a snarl as he turns away from the window.

It had started with the complements.

Gwaine, to no one’s surprise, was quite fond of flirting with anyone and everyone that would let him, Merlin no exception. Talking about Merlin’s looks, his personality, his work ethic, anything, and everything. Merlin would flush, bright red, ears and all, mumbling to himself.

But then Percival had said something and Merlin pushed him away—well, prodded his arm, no one really moves Percival without Percival letting them—and shook his head. Percival had shrugged but the rest of them had noticed the tension in Merlin’s shoulders.

Then Elyan complemented Merlin’s tracking abilities and Merlin hadn’t even acknowledged it, instead insisting that they keep moving before it got too dark to see and they’d be forced to make camp in the woods. They’d agreed, pressing on, but noting the way that Merlin refused to say so much as thank you.

Leon’s perceptiveness should be considered magical. Seriously, Arthur’s not entirely convinced the man can’t see into people’s heads, what with the information he’s able to produce out of nothing more than the twitch of a finger or the slightest huff of breath. But he sees the way Merlin shies away from any display of affection, even as he gently repeats it, watching Merlin turn his back and get back to work.

Arthur never saw what happened with Lancelot. All he knows is that one night, out in the woods, the two of them had gone off to collect firewood and Merlin had been hiding red-rimmed eyes when he returned, a few paces ahead of Lancelot, not ten minutes later. Arthur had glared but the forlorn confusion on Lancelot’s face had given him pause.

Then it was the touching.

One would expect Merlin to be a quite tactile person, and he is. He’s all shoulder nudges and pokes and prods and gentle shoves to get people to move where he wants them to go. And it’s not like the man has much concept of personal space.

No, some of that is not Arthur’s fault, how dare you?

But when someone else tries it, Merlin tenses reflexively, already moving before their hands make contact. He gives everyone he can a wide berth, scuttling around the outside of rooms until one of them breaks and tells him to come here, Merlin, it’s alright, we won’t hurt you. His face never quite believes them.

The strangest thing is how much of it Merlin makes small adjustments for.

He always wears those god-awful tunics, that he won’t let Arthur replace with fabric that doesn’t feel like it’s a burlap sack, with the sleeves pulled all the way down and those kerchiefs tied around his neck. Arthur’s seen his sleeves rolled up before, but only when Merlin’s working and he hasn’t realized Arthur’s there yet. It’s not like Arthur doesn’t know Merlin has forearms, but Merlin will always jump and guiltily roll his sleeves down.

He doesn’t notice why until he accidentally brushes Merlin’s bare skin once and Merlin all but tears away like he’s been burned.

He doesn’t know why.

Merlin has a secret. The secret is that he believes he’s a bad person. That means he can’t accept compliments and he can’t let them touch him.

This is a problem, because Arthur would very much like for Merlin to believe that he isn’t a bad person.

This is also a problem because Arthur has no idea how to do that.

He looks up when there’s a knock on the door.

“Enter.”

“Sire?” Leon steps through. “May we come in?”

Arthur nods, his eyebrows raising as all of his knights spill into the room.

“Shall I assume you’re on the warpath again?”

“Nah,” Gwaine grumbles, throwing himself into a chair, “know this isn’t your fault.”

Leon shakes his head. “It’s Merlin, sire, we’re…concerned.”

Arthur just sighs and tells them what’s been buzzing around his head for the past…however long it’s been. The knights nod.

“He doesn’t like to be touched when he doesn’t expect it,” Lancelot offers, “but when I ask…he doesn’t seem to want to agree either.”

“But he does,” Gwaine argues, “you’ve seen the way he stares at us when we hug each other, he looks like a poor child that’s never had a hug in his life!”

“Which isn’t true.” Elyan folds his arms. “Gwen’s hugged him.”

“We’ve all hugged him.”

“But he still thinks we’re going to hurt him.”

“Well,” Arthur mutters, “we can’t exactly blame him for being paranoid, can we?”

“If you lot are going to talk about me behind my back like it’s a war council, then yeah, I reserve the right to be paranoid.”

“Merlin!”

“Thank god, where’ve you been?”

“I thought we were meeting by the stables.”

“Did you get hurt?”

Merlin raises his hands and takes a step back. “Whoa, can I get through the door first before the interrogation starts?”

“This isn’t an interrogation,” Arthur says, glaring at the knights, “we’re concerned.”

“Uh-huh,” Merlin mutters, weaving through them to the table so he can set down the thing hooked over his arm, “yes, I’m all too familiar with your concern.”

Arthur frowns. “What does that mean?”

Merlin waves a hand. “Oh, just that it’s a prelude to more chores and things to do.”

Is that…true?

“Yes.”

Did he say that out loud?

“Also yes.”

Arthur shakes his head. “Merlin, we’re not coming up with lists and lists for chores for you to do.”

“Really? With how many you all constantly give me, here I finally thought I’d cracked the code as to why.”

Leon steps forward. “We’re not coming up with things to give you, Merlin, nor are we intending to gossip behind your back.”

“So what are you doing?”

“We’re worried,” Lancelot repeats, “about you.”

“Well, I’m right as rain, no need to worry.”

“Lie.”

Merlin’s eyes go wide and he stares at Leon. The knight smiles ruefully and takes another little step forward.

“Lie,” he repeats gently, “you don’t have to lie to us, Merlin.”

Merlin’s mouth thins. “Maybe I don’t want to tell you, then.”

“Why not—“

“No,” Arthur breaks in, causing Merlin to swing his head around again, “no, if Merlin doesn’t want to tell us he doesn’t have to.”

Gwaine looks on the verge of protest, but another look from Lancelot is enough to quell him. He sinks into the chair and tosses an apple to Merlin.

“At least eat something,” he says by way of explanation, “you’ve not eaten anything since lunch.”

Merlin looks very confused—good, now he’s just like the rest of them—but bites into the apple nonetheless. His gaze travels around the room before coming to rest on Leon.

“Why are you all concerned?”

“Because you won’t let us complement you, Merlin,” Leon says softly, “you believe that every time we touch you we intend to hurt you, and you believe that this is deserved because you are a bad person.”

The flabbergasted look on Merlin’s face is almost enough to make Arthur laugh. Almost.

“How…”

“We notice things, Merlin,” Leon says patiently, “we notice you.”

Lancelot snorts. “Good going, mate, you’ll freak him out.”

“Um—there’s nothing worth noticing about me—“

“Not we all know that’s not true,” Gwaine says, and if it had been any other time it would’ve sounded like the next pick-up line at the tavern, “you’re worth noticing, Merlin.”

Merlin’s gaze darts back and forth, finding no disagreement in any faces.

“What—what were you concerned about?”

“Aside from what we just told you?”

“But I don’t—why is that a problem?”

Arthur swallows a curse. “Are you asking why we’re upset that you believe you’re a bad person and you deserve to be treated badly?”

“…yes?”

“Because you’re not a bad person,” Elyan says, “and you don’t deserve to feel like everyone’s about to hurt you.”

Gods, the look of disbelief on Merlin’s face hurts.

“You don’t know that,” he says lowly, setting the apple down, “you don’t know that.”

“Sure we do.” Elyan uncrosses his arms. “We know you, Merlin.”

“I don’t think you do.”

A look passes around the group of knights. Elyan smiles.

“I know that Gwen came home and told me she’d made a friend the first week you arrived in Camelot. I know that you’ve reminded us what family means. I know that you care, Merlin, about your friends, because they’re important to you.”

Merlin blinks in confusion.

“I know you’re a strong man,” Percival says, “and not just because you can lift the packs for the horses without complaining. But you work hard, because you know you can, and so that people don’t have to. You provide what you can because you know what it’s like to have nothing.”

“I—I—“

“I know you’re brave,” Lancelot says softly, standing, “I know you feel the same fear that we all do and you stare it straight in the face.”

He pauses, takes one step closer.

“I know you don’t chase the glory of being brave, but the feeling of being brave and using it.”

“Guys, I—“

“I know what you’ve done.”

Merlin’s face goes pale at Leon’s words.

The knight tilts his head to the side and smiles.

“I’ve been around the longest,” he says in a near whisper, “and I have seen the changes from when you arrived in Camelot until now. I’ve seen the differences, not just in the other men in this room but in Camelot.”

He lays a hand on his chest.

“I know that you’ve made me prouder to serve this kingdom than many others that have tried.”

Poor Merlin is shaking right now, his fingers trembling on the edge of the table. He looks around in confusion, terribly frightened, sending more aches through Arthur’s chest.

“You wouldn’t say that—“ he gasps— “you wouldn’t say that if you knew the truth.”

“And what truth is that?”

“That—that I—“ Merlin’s breaths start to ring in the chamber— “I—I—“

“That you have magic?”

Merlin’s head jerks around to stare at Arthur. Arthur raises his hands and takes a step closer. Merlin flinches.

“It’s alright, Merlin,” Arthur says softly, “I’m not angry. I’m not going to hurt you. You have magic, though, right?”

“Yes—yes, I—but I’ve only ever used it for—for you Arthur, I—“

“Easy,” he soothes, fighting the urge to reach out and pull him close, “I know. It’s alright.”

“No, it’s not,” Merlin all but whimpers, “it’s not okay, it’s bad, it’s bad and I’m bad, I’m bad—“

“You’re not.”

“I am!”

Merlin yanks his arms to his sides, curling them tightly around himself, much to the protest of the knights. His fingers whiten as he clutches the sides of his tunic.

“I’m bad, bad people get hurt, you don’t—you don’t touch bad people.”

“Merlin,” Arthur breaks in softly, “Merlin, sweetheart, I’m going to come over to you.”

He can hear the quickly stifled gasps and Gwaine’s ‘oh shit’ as he inches towards Merlin. The poor man doesn’t move, but the tremors get worse and worse the closer Arthur gets.

“I’m right here,” he murmurs, “I won’t hurt you, sweetheart, do you believe me? That I won’t hurt you?”

“I—I—“

“Because I won’t,” he promises, still fighting the urge to swoop the poor thing into a hug, “I’ll never hurt you, sweetheart.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not bad, Merlin, and you certainly don’t deserve to be hurt.”

“You don’t know that,” comes the strangled whisper, “you don’t know what I’ve done.”

“But I know you, Merlin,” Arthur murmurs, “and that’s enough.”

He can’t stop the concerned noise at Merlin’s huff of disbelief.

“It’s enough, sweetheart, it’s—hey! Easy, easy,” he soothes as Merlin’s knees buckle and he catches him before he can hit the ground, “I’ve got you, shh, shh, you’re alright.”

“Oh,” Lancelot murmurs as Merlin starts to shiver terribly, “oh, Merlin, you’re touch starved.”

“Touch starved?”

“He’s not been touched for a very long time,” Lancelot murmurs, hustling to join them on the floor, scooping Merlin’s legs into his lap, “and so he’s not used to it, but he needs it.”

“We all need touch?”

“Yes, otherwise our bodies get…unhappy.” Lancelot shakes his head. “I’m sure Gaius could explain it more. The short version is humans aren’t built to hold each other at arm’s length.”

Arthur tightens his grip on the lapful of shaking Merlin he has. There’s a cold nose buried in the crook of his neck, arms looping awkwardly around his shoulders. Distantly, he hears the scufflings of the other knights as they move closer.

“We’ve got you, sweetheart,” he fins himself whispering, “we’ve got you, we won’t hurt you, you’re safe, you’re good, we have you, it’s alright, now…”

Poor Merlin is still shuddering terribly.

“Shh, shh, easy, just try and relax, we have you…”

Since when has Merlin been this cold?

“Oh, I’m definitely hugging you every day,” Gwaine mutters, helping to prop Merlin up away from the table.

“Why—“ Merlin swallows— “why are you all so warm?”

“You’re cold,” Arthur says, “we’re helping.”

“I’m—I’m—what is it? Touch—touch—“

“Touch starved,” Lancelot offers gently, “yes, Merlin.”

“You’re helping?”

Gwaine shifts behind him. “We’re helping.”

“You’re not…mad?”

“No, Merlin, we’re not mad.”

“I’m not bad?”

Arthur tightens his grip. “Never, Merlin.”

“You—I can—I can stay?”

“Yes, Merlin,” comes the chorus of knights, “for as long as you like.”

Arthur is still upset, very confused, and more than a little overprotective right now.

But so is Merlin.

And they’re…they’re starting to figure it out.

One thing’s for sure: Arthur’s definitely pulling Merlin into bed to cuddle with him instead of getting up in the morning.

[crimeronan]

Can you explain the appeal of Julian Blackthorn? This is a genuine question because I read the books and came away utterly bored by him and unconvinced of his moral greyness as opposed to like, Adam Parrish’s. He seemed so one dimensional to me but I want to know if I’m Wrong TM considering I tend to be very very biased toward my favourite characters and bored by the rest, and my favourites were Mark and Kieran. So maybe I just didn’t pay him enough attention??

it’s been a while since i wrote any earnest tsc meta but cringe culture is dead and the chance to infodump about my julian thoughts has me vibrating where i’m sitting so.  yes okay.

technical stuff

(aka: things pertaining to How The Story Is Constructed)

cassandra clare’s characterization has become much stronger just in general since she first began writing the series like twenty years ago

perhaps most importantly: the more recent stuff i’ve read from her has involved characters who actually grow, change, and learn from their past mistakes 

rather than repeating the same stupid decisions over and over again

and over and over and over some more

seriously take a shot every time someone in tmi miscommunicates or self-destructs in ways They Have Learned Not To Do for no real reason. u will die of alcohol poisoning

in tda this shines ESPECIALLY with the evolution of mark, kieran, and cristina’s relationship, but that’s a separate post

clare’s trademark is also the angsty traumatized jerkass love interest with a secret heart of gold

the woman is almost singlehandedly responsible for draco in leather pants and the proliferation of this kind of character type in fandom and teen lit. this isn’t a criticism it’s me marveling at how if you commit hard enough to a single trope you truly can change the world.  follow your dreams

sad jackass with a heart of gold isn’t an Inherently Problematic Character Type

but poorly done it can lead to relationship dynamics in which one partner is constantly being hurt by and then forgiving the other despite them making no real effort to change, because they are narratively absolved due to being sad

(there’s a lot of this with earlier jace content.  in some ways i think will was later created specifically to be a same-archetype protagonist who actually does get called on his shit and grow. that’s also another post)

also if all of your sexy male love interests are tortured jackasses with a heart of gold then people start calling you a one-trick pony

enter julian blackthorn!

from the very start everything about him is designed to be the INVERSE of the heart of gold jackass.  which immediately makes him interesting just from a meta perspective

(mark and kieran are also both alternate angles on this time-honored archetype.  mark gets the heart of gold and kieran gets the jackass and then they’re both much more deeply messy than that.  yet another post)

julian is kind, self-sacrificing, empathetic, artistic, emotionally supportive, responsible, and favored by old grannies everywhere

so a completely nonthreatening milquetoast guy, right

immediately forgettable if you’re only here for the dramatic conflicts and shithead antics of clare’s other protags

except that he is A Mess

and that he has structured his priorities very carefully, and they are as selfless as you expect from The Hero (TM) but they are also Not Heroic (TM) and they do not align with the moral framework The Hero (TM) is supposed to use

moral ambiguity in characters always exists in relation to their narratives imo. you mention adam parrish - trc’s narrative already mucks around in different ethical shades of gray, and adam falls on the canon scale about where julian does on his canon scale.  both more willing than the average pov character to do the ruthless thing or make the fucked-up choice if the ends justify the means; both with an intensely strong sense of internal priorities that they adhere to at all costs, both so unbelievably fucking down for murder; etc

i do think there are ways julian’s choices could have been pushed even further, but considering the number of readers who hate his guts already, i can see why clare opted not to go for the most controversial possible conflicts

so we’re flipping the narrative

instead of seeing this angsty bad boy and peeling back the layers of his trauma to find his heart of gold, we’re seeing the put-together selfless family man and peeling back the layers of his Responsibility Mask to expose the rotting husk underneath

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

THAT IS FUN AS FUCK

then when julian DOES lash out in hurtful, uncontrolled ways, he has significantly more narrative justification for it than most of clare’s protagonists (will elaborate in characterization thoughts)

julian is also interesting as fuck because of how his struggles allow for a more in-depth look at the failings of shadowhunter society, something that’s also sorely lacking in clare’s earlier work

his apparent amorality is simply the result of him making pragmatic and impossible choices because he has been faced with fucked-up ethical dilemmas since age 12 Because Society Has Failed Him

which opens the door for narrative exploration of how and why he’s been failed so badly & what needs to change

i also love that he has such a coldly calculated way of analyzing situations and allowing harm to occur when need be, bc a lot of clare’s early protagonists have such a bad case of Rush In And Get Myself Killed Because I’ve Got Feelings About Impulsive Heroism syndrome that i wanna push them in front of a truck

probably there’s other meta narrative stuff i could say but i’m stopping myself and moving on to character analysis

characterization stuff

(aka: reasons why i’m also attached to him in a vacuum)

i don’t read him as one-dimensional at all tbh

u may feel the narrative pushes “ruthless julian blackthorn” too much without delivering enough actual ruthless julian But i don’t think that’s the same as having only one dimension

from the get-go, the big question centered on julian is always “how far are you willing to go?” and the narrative pushes the stakes slowly higher and higher to continuously test julian’s “the price is always justified” mindset

he has a far more layered and realistic response to trauma than clare’s early protagonists - trauma affects every single aspect of his personality and how he conducts himself, and the effects vary depending on the circumstances

his conviction that he has to be the perfect parent to his siblings because they will fall apart if they see him show weakness??  rooted in how he feels like he’s fallen apart since losing the stable adult support he once relied upon

his willingness to hurt semi-innocent people, commit coldblooded murder, manipulate people using political leverage, allow harm to befall any stranger if it protects his family??  rooted in how he has already had to ask himself how much he’s willing to sacrifice, and how his family is his only source of stability when the world has never done Shit for him

his conviction that he has a darker heart than anyone else because he killed his possessed father, even though intellectually he knows he was saving his brother’s life??  rooted in having no means of processing this trauma and being unable to voice his feelings for fear of backlash from a deeply non-understanding society

the way he represses every single negative emotion he ever has, to the point where emma - his actual literal magic soulmate who can feel his emotions - is startled to find him hurting or angry??  once again all about how he has to be the perfect father or he’s failed completely

the way his anger is so totally disproportionate to different situations and the way his negative emotions can only come out in completely uncontrolled breaks??  all that repression baybey.  this kid has not processed a single bad feeling in five years.  every single real grievance and petty annoyance has been festering indefinitely inside him like a slowly spreading infection

julian’s arc involves him needing to get thru being his worst self to actually start to heal

as in, he has to actually learn to acknowledge his feelings, take care of himself, lean on his family, and let other people take some responsibility

he also has to learn that in his quest to be the perfect emotionally controlled authority figure, he has not actually learned how to control or deal with his emotions. like. At Fucking All. good god

the narrative setup is also about asking “how far are you willing to go?” until the answer is finally “not this far.  not this far”

and once he reaches that point, he has to reevaluate everything about how he weighs his priorities and morals and plans, etc

(i also like that emma has a perpendicular arc in which she’s always the one tempering julian and telling him “no we can’t go that far” until she’s willing to do something horrific that he absolutely won’t and HE has to stop HER. very sexy)

it’s also just really nice to have a character who’s learned to relate so well to literally every single member of his family while still having a very detached ruthless interior consciousness. i have similar feelings about how adam teaches himself to love people, but with julian it’s spelled out more explicitly in canon & it’s a more central character theme

i’m sure i’m also forgetting stuff here but this post is long enough so i’m gonna say good enough

and like i said in the tags on my other post, there are things i’d personally write differently if it were my story - plot points i’d shift, character contrasts i’d up, themes i’d explore differently, pacing i’d adjust, etc.  i have plenty of ways i could be nitpicky and editorial about the effectiveness of julian’s arc.  but i also don’t feel like writing them out at the moment & none of my critiques on effectiveness have an impact on the core appeal of his character 2 me.  he’s so fucking good

[treestargarden]

vent post bc i fuckin love Don from the promised neverland. 

character analysis below the cut

personality:

we don’t see much of Don until episode 4, but there are a few things about his personality we can infer up to this point. 

1) Don is very close with the younger children of the house

2) Don was exceptionally close to conny

this first screenshot is taken from the last few seconds of the opening where Don is the only older child grouped with younger children. this relationship dynamic hasn’t really been given a lot of spotlight outside of the opening or the first few minutes of episode 1 when Don is seen holding conny when emma greets them. 

other than his close relationships with the younger children, we can see that Don has a very similar personality to emma. he’s carefree, extroverted, and tends to hope for the best in situations. 

when emma reveals the “truth” that the children are being trafficked, Don’s response is to laugh, because he honestly doesn’t believe such a terrible thing could be true. he’s lived his whole life in grace field, established important relationships with the children, and without a doubt loves his whole family. 

but then emma doesn’t reveal that she is tricking him, and Don quickly becomes concerned. a small tangent, but lets discuss ages for a brief moment. 

1) norman reveals that the younger a child is, and the lower the test scores, the sooner they are shipped

2) emma, ray, and norman are the oldest children in grace field, and i’m assuming Don and gilda are the next oldest

3) from these facts, we can then assume that Don and gilda are not at perfect scores like our main trio, but are smart enough to have continued past the age of 6 at grace field. given that most of the children are young, its likely many of the children the 5 lived in the house with when they were much younger have already been shipped out. these 5 were the smartest of their “cohort,” and thus, have survived the longest. 

back to Don’s relationship with conny. norman reveals the least of children shipped and their test scores. there were at least 2 children previously shipped before conny. while Don knew the other children, his first concern was for conny. he places a lot of importance on conny and i think that speaks to his strong connection to her. of course Don is most worried about her. 

when Don is faced with such a harsh “reality” that the children are not safe, what else is there to do when it seems the trio are holding back information? in episode 5, the trio attempt dissuading Don from checking out mom’s base of operations, as they don’t think its relevant to escaping. 

however, i think its absolutely necessary for Don and gilda to discover the stakes of escaping. its live or die. Don /needs/ to be invested in the plan. the only way to ensure this is for him to discover that conny has actually died. 

emma and Don: 

emma and Don have a lot of similarities in their personalities. my initial reaction is that Don perhaps is more subdued, but we’ve hardly gotten any screen time with him. he feels emotions just as much as emma does, and he isn’t quite as 1-dimensional as he may seem at face value. 

trust dynamics:

ray encourages emma to suspect other children as traitors, saying that she needs “to be more suspicious! thoroughly!” it is established with the main trio that suspicion is what will get them closer to escape. investigating loopholes, discovering clues that don’t add up--these are all essential to escaping and discovering the truth about the world they are living in. 

bottom line: we see suspicion from the trio as just!

but when faced with the reality that Don and gilda are not always going to take the trio’s advice at face value, suddenly suspicion is bad! unwise! unhelpful! i disagree. Suspicion is absolutely necessary especially when the circumstances are life and death. Don and gilda are also losing the same family members the main trio are losing--its only right they suspect and discover the fate of their younger siblings. 

bottom line: truth/discovery are a necessary subject in the promised neverland. without these elements, the plot just doesn’t develop. emma wouldn’t have found out the morse code in the books phil was reading, norman and emma wouldn’t have discovered the tall wall encircling them--we need to accept that other characters are their own individuals and that there are motives beyond just listening to the main trio because “they’re the smartest.” this sounds oddly similar to “i know what’s best for you.” 

additionally, ray is incredulous with the lie norman and emma told Don and gilda. in the previous line, ray admitted the lie they told the newer 2 was cruel. i assume ray believes they should have told Don and gilda the truth. at this point though, ray did not want to undermine norman and emma, since they have taken the lead on escaping. 

in episode 6, Don points out that emma, norman, and ray were fully prepared to take all of the young children into a “world full of enemies.” ultimately, if the trio had it their way, everyone would be absolutely unaware of the dire situation they were in. i’m on Don’s side: how absurd is it to hide from people that their lives are at stake, whether they stay at grace field or escape? 

some other emotional quotes that made me cry when Don was trying to express how hurt he was:

traitor dynamics:

and then we are introduced to the real traitor: ray. i think a lot of people may have been pleasantly surprised by this twist--this may have even encouraged people to take on ray as a new favorite character (i’m one of the people who absolutely adores ray’s character development). 

on the other hand, people were probably quick to assume it was Don instead before this grand reveal (which would lead to their surprise that is was ray in the first place). people have been gunning for Don for a while up to this point. he’s loud, he’s suspicious, he’s definitely a different personality type in terms of being told what to do. he’s an individual. 

either way, i think some people may have been disappointed it wasn’t Don and (pleasantly) surprised it was ray, which... quite honestly says a lot. 

up to this point, the characters have made it a point that the trio’s suspicion is fair--and i agree--but also, other characters should be allowed suspicion of everyone else, too. 

race:

let’s face it. a lot of the dynamics occurring between the audience’s reaction of ray vs Don and emma vs Don are also influenced by race--or, at the very least colorism. 

the trio is /allowed/ to be suspicious of Don, but Don is not allowed to suspect the trio or their lies. 

emma is allowed to be boisterous and hopeful, but Don is not allowed to be this way. 

in episode 6, the trio accost gilda and Don for disobeying orders, telling them they could have compromised their escape. to be honest, if i were in that situation, i would blow my top off; constantly being questioned/untrusted by my family? my siblings? Don is frustrated and angry and upset that he isn’t trusted--despite ray already being revealed as the spy. it’s not an explicit discussion, but its a dynamic that certainly exists. especially when the only other Black characters are Sister Krone (villain), Phil (ray’s first toddler-spy suspect), and Don (intelligence, trustworthiness constantly questioned by the trio). 

TL;DR: Don and Emma are incredible similar personality types, they love their family as much as everyone else does and wants what’s best for them. at the end of the day though, we have to pay more attention to the ways some characters are consistently treated by other/light-skin characters. there’s a privilege for emma being a light-skinned girl and Don isn’t seen as likeable or innocent, because he’s a Black boy. Ages are incredibly important in the development of the story, the older you are, the smarter you are, give Don some credit that he has at-least above average intelligence. he’s smart, capable, caring, and expressive. I love Don and you should, too. 

[yukipri]

How do you think the ASL brothers would change if it was Ace that was separated and Sabo stayed with Luffy on Dawn Island?

Hey there! I’m so sorry for taking my time with this ask! It’s a really great question and I wanted to take my time thinking about and typing out my answer...and well. It got LONG ^ ^;;;;;

Bc oh man do I think things would change a LOT, but in order to answer this question, let’s first sorta picture the scenario itself. How did Ace end up the one separated?

This could go a number of ways, but here’s one that comes to mind.

~~

The boys are running back from causing mischief in High Town, when Ace overhears some gossip.

Did you hear, the marines are coming! Apparently they found a terrible, terrible criminal, hiding right here in Goa, and they’re coming to get rid of him before the Celestial Dragons arrive!

A terrible criminal?

Oh dear, what terrible crime did they commit?

Well, nothing, apparently, or at least nothing yet.

What do you mean?

They say he’s the son of the most wanted, most terrible man in history. But don’t worry, the marines’ll take care of him before--

Ace feels like the world’s suddenly gone black and white. He feels numb, barely hearing Sabo shouting at him to hurry, barely registers Luffy tugging his hand and looking up at him with worry.

They’ve come for him. He should have known. Gramps may have tried to hide him, but there’s no escaping Gol D. Roger’s infamy.

Ace knows once he would have sneered, said See, Gramps? I knew this would happen. But now, he feels fear.

Ace doesn’t fear death, and will look it in the eye and punch it when it comes for him. But fear grips him now, as he stares blankly into the campfire Sabo’s set up, finally registering that Luffy’s calling his name and still tugging at his arm.

He doesn’t fear death for himself. But when they come for him, to end his life because of his blood, will they spare Sabo and Luffy? Will they spare the brothers of the Pirate King’s son?

Somehow, Ace doubts it.

And so he knows he’s got to go. He’s got to leave now, before they find him, before they find Sabo and Luffy, before they can steal away his family.

An adult Ace, looking back regretfully, would lament the timing of his brash actions. But Ace had never been a thinker, more of a doer, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his brothers--even now, he can’t.

And he couldn’t have known back then that the island had had two boys considered the sons of the worst criminals in history.

So he doesn’t blame his younger self for writing a sloppy letter, tucking it under Sabo’s head, and then fleeing into the night to steal a boat that he’d use to leave the island on come daybreak. Running away, leaving his brothers behind, making Sabo vow to continue looking after Luffy like he always had, until one day, the three of them could be reunited once more.

Young Ace doesn’t even know what a Celestial Dragon is. All he knows is that an enormous ship, the likes of which he’d never seen before, is approaching--

And then everything is FIRE, and then, blank.

Dragon and the Revolutionaries had been in the area, but not just to rescue people from the Gray Terminal fire. They had intel, and Dragon had reason to believe that the marines may have found Luffy, and his connection to Dragon. The commander of the Revolutionary Army kept his distance from his son, but he wasn’t going to let the child get slaughtered for his relation to a father he’d never even met.

He’d briefly run into Ace while he was stealing a boat. He hadn’t stopped the child, but had been curious about his raw desperation, his bitterness towards his blood, and his determination to protect his found family.

Dragon is surprised to find the boy in the wreckage of an utterly destroyed sailboat.

The boy is terribly burned, and has no memory of anything, not even his own name--but he is immediately terrified at the suggestion that they return him to the island, shouting that he doesn’t know why, but he can’t go back there, they’ll find Them and kill Them if I go back there, and it’ll all be my fault--!

He decides to let the boy stay. His name is Ace, they think, the name found among his belongings. With the Celestial Dragons come and gone, marine presence on the island also fades, and Dragon concludes that Luffy is safe for the time being. He sends a coded message to Garp to be careful, and then disappears back to Baltigo with his new charge.

After regaining his memories, adult Ace grudgingly admits that while he still wishes it’d never happened, there were some perks to memory loss.

For one, he’d completely forgotten that he was the son of the late Pirate King. He still had a weird fixation towards fathers, but after getting attached to Dragon, and Dragon accepting his protege’s need for a father figure, the desperation fades.

While not the best at studies, Ace is physical strong, and takes to Revolutionary Army training like he was born for it. He masters both Armament and Observation Haki by fourteen, and with his private training sessions with Dragon, is becoming terrifyingly proficient with Conqueror’s Haki as well.

Ace is still learning, but the power he exudes when unleashing Conqueror’s Haki makes Dragon curious (and some of their peers, nervous). He’s only ever heard of one person exhibiting the kind of power Ace seems to have the potential for.

There are also other perks to being a member of the Revolutionary Army. Dragon isn’t the most wanted criminal in history for no reason. The location of the Army headquarters in Baltigo is a tightly kept secret, one that the World Government has desperately been searching for ever since it was built, but to no avail.

Even as the Marines track the rumors of Gol D. Roger’s child, as long as Ace remains in Baltigo, it’s like he vanished into thin air. And should they have discovered Headquarters, the Pirate King’s son would have been the least of their concerns.

And so Ace grows strong, no longer shackled by self-hatred of his blood, but also haunted by nameless whispers that keep him up at night, a sense of foreboding and aching longing that he’s forgetting something vital about himself, something that he both needs to remember, and doesn’t dare to touch.

~~

On Dawn Island, on that fateful day, Sabo wakes up to find a letter written in a child’s familiar sloppy hand. He tries not to panic, knowing that Ace’s long gone, and tries to think rationally on how he should move next. Even with Ace’s clumsy words, Sabo understands what his brother had been trying to say.

They’d discovered Ace’s parentage. Ace felt that he would endanger Sabo and Luffy by staying with them. So Ace left the island early, by himself, entrusting Sabo with their younger brother.

Sabo doesn’t know how he can possibly tell Luffy that Ace left to protect them, and to convince him that they need to stay.

And then Sabo suddenly doesn’t need to, because suddenly there’s shouting below the tree house, and Luffy’s blearily sitting up.

Ace is dead.

~~

Sabo tries to maintain a level headed facade in front of Luffy (even if he cries, screams his lungs out for Ace in private). He needs to support their little brother, now more than ever. Ace is gone. Ace entrusted Sabo with Luffy.

Sabo will not lose Luffy.

~~

~~

What next?

There’s the chance that Sabo would act as Ace did, continuing training and then leaving the island at seventeen as promised.

But what if he didn’t? Seventeen is a number that Sabo chose, because noble-born children become fully fledged nobles at eighteen. But now there are other, more important things at stake now.

Given what happened to Ace, and the possibility of the marines returning, Garp tells Sabo about Luffy’s heritage (he hadn’t told Luffy yet, at Ace’s request, Ace not wanting Luffy to hate himself as Ace did. Garp doubted Luffy would react that way to Dragon, but he lets Ace have this, this attempt at protecting his little brother).

Knowing that Luffy’s the son of a man rapidly growing to be as infamous as the Pirate King kicks Sabo’s overprotective instincts into overdrive.

Sabo will not lose Luffy.

From here out, there’s three possible routes. The first two routes assume that Sabo’s parents never end up coming for him (they forgot about their son for five years, who says they wouldn’t for more).

1) Pirates Route:

Sabo swallows his pride, and agrees to join Luffy’s crew, much to the younger’s delight. The thought of being captain of his own crew now seems pale in comparison to keeping Luffy safe and also keeping his last promise to his lost brother. And so Sabo vows to stay at Luffy’s side as his guardian. They leave the island to become pirates together.

2) Marines Route:

Sabo demands that Garp take him and Luffy to be trained as marines. Sabo feels nothing for disdain for both the marines and World Government, and has every intention of taking Luffy and ditching as soon as they’re safe. But right now they can provide several things that he wants and needs:

1) He feels it’s too dangerous to remain on Dawn Island with potential government eyes on them, and Garp is a relatively secure way of ensuring they can leave. They know too little about the outside world now, and carelessly leaving on a boat and getting blasted like Ace is the last thing they need.

2) He wants training for both himself and Luffy, not just combat, but on how to survive at sea. The marines, at least, should be able to provide plenty of that experience.

3) Sabo doesn’t want to be caught unawares ever again. Ace fled because he’d overheard a rumor. If Sabo had known, perhaps the outcome would have been different. Sabo’s always been the thinker, the planner among the brothers, and he wants information, especially if there’s a chance that the government will make a move on Luffy. Sabo’s goal is to work his way up the ranks until he not only has access, but is in charge of investigations hunting the Revolutionary Army, and more importantly to him, the existence and location of the Commander’s rumored child. As Chief of marine intel, Sabo will be able to control what information goes to the higher ups, and which information needs to be quietly eliminated.

(and if his investigations into the Revolutionary Army leads him to become curious about the powerful fire logia user who is their Chief of Staff...)

3) Royalty Route:

Sabo’s parents find him, shortly after Ace’s “death,” and demand he returns to High Town and his noble heritage. With Ace gone, abandoning Luffy to a life by himself isn’t an option, but neither is letting his little brother be killed. So Sabo decides that he’s got to do what he must. Protect Luffy at all costs.

He strikes a deal with his parents. He’ll return to them, and he’ll be their perfect little noble son, but ONLY with the condition that Luffy comes with them. His parents are unhappy with the deal, but grudgingly agree, warning that if Sabo doesn’t truly impress them, they have no problem with, ah, eliminating both Sabo and his tag along because they have Stelly as a perfectly viable replacement.

Sabo can excel when he puts his mind to it, and although inside he froths with rage and hatred, he will do anything to keep Luffy safe.

Luffy is his one and only saving grace who keeps him sane. Luffy, who is now trapped in this birdcage alongside Sabo, and it’s all Sabo’s fault. He’s called Sabo’s “servant,” despite being incapable of doing chores, and is ignored by the entire household other than Sabo.

And while Luffy’s clearly uncomfortable, he doesn’t complain. He senses Sabo’s pain, and his suffering, and takes it upon himself to soothe his older brother, to keep him company, to love him. Luffy will never leave here, if it means leaving Sabo. Because nothing is more terrible than being alone and Luffy knows that best. 

So Sabo keeps moving forward, vowing to Ace every night that he’s going to protect Luffy, no matter what. If this is the hand that he’s been dealt, Sabo will just have to make do. Sabo wonders how far up the hierarchy he’ll have to climb in order to guarantee Luffy’s safety.

(or, Sabo eventually becomes King of Goa, and Luffy is his “servant.”)

~~

~~

Are just some possibilities I came up with! To anyone who made it to the bottom of this post, thanks for reading!

Do any of the three scenarios I came up with sound interesting? Which is your favorite/do you think is most likely? Should I write a follow up??

EDIT: >> Follow Up

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

[silentauroriamthereal]

Hello,I used to love Sherlock but I never watched season 4 because some of the reviews from fans kinda scared me away.I've been rewatching the show lately and I can't decide if I should finally give it a try or if I should spare myself.I adore Sherlock as a character,his displays of cleverness (and his showing off tbh) and BC's acting. And of course I love the johnlock dynamic but I enjoy Sherlock on his own above everything else,so knowing that would you say I'm missing out if I don't watch it?

Oh boy. I don’t think I can really give you a recommendation per se with this. With series 1 of Sherlock, the public immediately loved it and clamoured for more. Series 2 of Sherlock built on that and it got even more popular. Series 3 of Sherlock was highly, highly, highly anticipated, and while it got a generally pretty good public reception, it wasn’t as strong as the first two, and Johnlock shippers had mixed feelings (you know, particularly given how John married someone other than Sherlock, who also shot Sherlock in the heart, then unbelievably went back to her). Series 4 absolutely tanked with both the public and the fandom. Moffat and Gatiss have had a LONG-running habit of never fully resolving dropped plot threads or resolving serious emotional consequences of the things that happen between their characters. It’s something I definitely noticed and hated in their writing for Doctor Who and in the “resolution” to every cliffhanger ending of the first three series of Sherlock. Aka: 

Series 1 cliffhanger: Sherlock and John are trapped at the pool with Moriarty with a bomb about to go off, which Sherlock is about to shoot to set off to prevent Moriarty from getting away, even knowing that they’ll die along with him. John is fully on board. The stakes are massively high and the series ends like that. 

Series 1 resolution: Moriarty gets a phone call and changes his mind. Sort of funny, but also a completely lame resolution. Nothing is ever said between Sherlock and John that addresses the fact that they were about to die, that they were prepared to die together for the cause of not letting a terrorist escape, or what any of that might mean for anyone involved, the deeply serious nature of their work and how committed they are to it, etc. Not a word.

Series 2 cliffhanger: Sherlock has seemingly committed suicide in front of John, who is barely coping with his grief - and yet, right at the end, we see Sherlock watching him from afar at the cemetery. But how did he survive??? How will John react when he finds out??? How long will it take before Sherlock reveals the fact of his survival???? 

Series 2 resolution: We aren’t told, at least not for sure. We’re given a series of theories that openly parallel and/or mock fandom speculation, but never provided with a real answer. Sherlock and John’s long-awaited reunion is unbalanced by the presence of a third party (one which unbalances their dynamic for the remainder of the show from this point forward), and is turned into a tasteless joke. Eventually a bomb threat somewhat forces a surface resolution that never addresses any of the underlying issues, tensions, or problems between them - not then, nor at any point going forward. 

Series 3 cliffhanger: Moriarty is alive!!!!!!!!! But how???? Also, who cares? We just witnessed a terrible, stiff, cold parting scene on the tarmac between Sherlock and John, one which fits every single trope of an undeclared statement of love on Sherlock’s part. They shake hands. If I were being sent on a suicide mission after having saved my best friend from facing the consequences of his murder-wife’s international murder career and all I got was a handshake, nary a thank you, hug, “good luck, hope you don’t die after all”, any of it, I’d be pissed as hell. Really didn’t care about the Moriarty “revelation” at all. 

Series 3 resolution: Surprise, Moriarty isn’t alive. Yawn. I don’t even remember what the explanation was, if there was one. 

Series 4 does not end with a cliffhanger, pretty clearly signalling that the writers are done with the show, to which I say a hearty Thank God. Series 4 was brutal, in my personal opinion. The acting was good, but Martin and Amanda had just broken up, which made filming awkward for everyone and really affected the dynamics. The writing is inconsistent, unresolved (as per usual), and the last episode jumps the shark to a whole new level. They tried to write a Bond film in one episode, so you can only imagine how many threads they created and failed to resolve in 90 minutes of air time. The plot holes are staggering, and the unaddressed emotional consequences, as ever, are completely ignored. Moffat and Gatiss are lazy, lazy writers, who think that anyone who dares want a properly-written story is demanding “pablum”, as Gatiss once scoffed at some event or other. Series 4 has been dragged from one side of this fandom to the other, critics hated it, the public didn’t like it, and it’s all quite well-justified. 

That said... I’m one of those irritating people who can’t ignore the canon. The only show I’ve never watched all the way to the end is Doctor Who, because of the aforementioned terrible writing reasons. For me personally, I see my calling in life to fix this canon, which means that I feel duty-bound to know what it is. But was it an enjoyable experience to watch those three episodes? No. Do I recommend watching them? Also no. And yet, I would, just because I need to know what they did. I’ve only watched each episode exactly twice from start to finish. I’ve revisited individual scenes, just to see a facial expression or remember exactly what the line was, but transcripts are super helpful for that, too, so yeah. Even thinking about series 4 gives me heart palpitations, and I say that as someone who also hated series 3. So... take what you will from that????? If you do watch it, do come and tell me what you thought! 

[iamanartichoke]

What do you think Loki would think of Kilgrave (from the tv series)? Would Loki be immune to his powers? How could Loki cheat and defeat Kilgrave?

This question has been sitting in my ask box (among others - sorry, anon :/) for probably a couple of months and I think about answering it at least once a week and I haven’t answered it yet bc I have no idea how to express how flaily I am at the idea of Loki encountering Kilgrave (believe it or not, I never thought about it before! Loki teaming up with Jessica, yes, but not crossing paths with Kilgrave.).

I also don’t know how to answer this lmfao, I have no idea. 

Well, I have a lot of ideas, but how accurate and/or in-character they are remains to be seen. .

Idk, buckle up. 

Under the cut bc it’s super long and I’m sure only like three people care about this. 

What do you think Loki would think of Kilgrave (from the tv series)? 

I don’t know if there’s a word that would encompass what Loki would feel toward Kilgrave. I think that there’s a number of things he would think, none of them particularly flattering. I think that the most succinct way to put it would be that Loki would think Kilgrave - basic, is the only thing I can think of. A basic bitch. 

I say that for a number of reasons and it’s not that I think Loki would think Kilgrave isn’t a threat. Kilgrave is evil. Kilgrave is irredeemable evil; there’s no redemption arc, no coming back from the things he’s done. He doesn’t want to come back from the things he’s done. 

It isn’t just that he mind controls people, and it isn’t just that he kills people. It’s the way he feels (or doesn’t feel) about it. 

Kilgrave could be a sociopath. (I don’t know enough about the diagnostic criteria to say that he definitely is, and on tumblr dot com, I feel like I need to disclaim that right off the bat. I’m not armchair diagnosing here.) There’s no empathy in him, no remorse for any of his actions, no inclination to do the right thing. It’s the exact opposite: Kilgrave’s particular brand of villainy is rooted in this purely sadistic need for power over others - quite literally. 

He doesn’t just want his victims to hurt or kill themselves. He wants them to do it as painfully as possible. He wants them to suffer, and he wants them to keep on suffering even after he’s no longer there to enjoy it. 

An example: Kilgrave uses his powers to hustle a ton of money in a poker game, and one of the players confronted him. Kilgrave told him to “see how long it takes to put your head through that post,” and the poor guy goes over and is just slamming his head repeatedly into the post, long after Kilgrave leaves. This is a particularly horrifying aspect of Kilgrave’s ability: the person isn’t freed from the mind-control after Kilgrave is no longer there, and it’s not the kind of mind-control that can be broken with “a really hard hit to the head.” The victims physically and mentally cannot stop doing what he told them to do, either until the thing is complete, or they literally die trying.

It’s brutal and perverse. But it’s significant to note that Kilgrave doesn’t hurt/kill everyone he mind controls. Whether or not he decides to make someone suffer seems to depend on 1) how useful they can be to him, and 2) whether he feels like it or not. There’s little rhyme or reason. He will mind control someone to give him their cell phone, mind control a second person to throw a cup of scalding coffee in their face, and mind control a third person to cut their own hands off, and all three of these things seem to be the same to him. He doesn’t see making someone cut off their own hands any worse than making someone give up their cell phone. He’s not any more horrified by it, and he doesn’t even think about it long enough to attempt to feel any real remorse. 

In this manner, Kilgrave mind controls, torments, kidnaps, rapes, maims, and kills his victims and doesn’t give it a second thought. He forgets them forever once he’s done with them. (What makes Jessica the exception is a whole other meta.) He’s motivated by the feeling that having power and control over other human beings gives him. He’s motivated by feeling invincible, and will do whatever he can to maintain that sense of invincibility. 

These things make Kilgrave terrifying as a villain, both to his victims as well as to the audience. What makes him a particularly formidable villain for the series is that Jessica is literally the only one who can stop him. He loses his ability to control her, and she’s strong enough to take him down. She’s the only real threat to him. When one is surrounded by regular human beings who are completely helpless to this brand of mind control, it raises the stakes and frames him as a villain you are going to be scared of. Ymmv, but I mean, I certainly wouldn’t want to cross paths with Kilgrave on the street. 

So why is he a basic bitch? 

Loki may consider all of these things, and he may further be mildly horrified if he actually saw what Kilgave does to some of his victims (’mildly’ because we don’t know what Loki’s threshold is; who knows what kind of Fucked Up Shit he’s seen by now), and he would conclude that while Kilgrave is certainly a threat in his own, human context, there’s nothing about him that differentiates him from any other would-be villain out there. There’s nothing compelling about him; there’s nothing that sets him apart. His powers are the only thing that make him significantly more threatening than any other human serial killer who kidnaps, rapes, and kills for no reason other than that sheer need for power and control over a victim. 

I mean, Loki’s opinion of the humans is pretty low to start with. When Thor says, “you consider yourself above them,” and Loki is like, “um yes?” - I don’t believe that’s a response that had anything to do with the scepter’s influence and everything to do with the culture in which he and Thor were raised. Odin compares Jane being on Asgard to a goat being at a banquet table. The W4 mention “throwing around a little lightning and they see us as gods” (paraphrase). Loki grew up in a world that is both physically and scientifically millenia beyond humanity, and as a prince besides (which grants him a level of privilege above even other Asgardians). It’s only natural, I think, that he would see the humans as lesser-than his own people. 

If Loki encountered Ted Bundy on the street, he’d not be overly impressed. Likewise, Kilgrave is not overly impressive to him. In the most general “here’s my reaction,” sense, Loki thinks that Kilgrave is what we would call a basic bitch. It’s similar to how he used his last breath to tell Thanos, “You’ll never be a god.” The implication being, you may have power, and you may be frightening, but there is nothing about you that is truly remarkable and there never will be, no matter how hard you try. 

That all said, if we dig a little deeper, I think that Kilgrave would give Loki a lot to think about, in a way? Kilgrave suffered through medical experimentation in order to get his powers, and Loki isn’t a stranger to torture. And I think that, in a comparative sense, Loki would be somewhat reassured at the fact that he finds Kilgrave’s actions appalling. Even going through whatever torture Loki went through, he didn’t turn out like Kilgrave. Kilgrave does things that Loki would never do. (The mind control aside, but to be fair, it wasn’t entirely Loki’s choice to do that.) 

Loki doesn’t enjoy violence just for the sake of it. He takes no pleasure in hurting or killing anyone and, in fact, seemed kind of repelled by it (does anyone else notice how Loki rarely looks at his foe when doing the violent thing?). Loki would never kidnap or rape anyone, and certainly not just to feel power over another person. He would never inflict torture, either. 

I say this fairly confidently because the consistent thing about all the misdeeds Loki has done is that they’re internally motivated. Loki’s desire for power isn’t rooted in the need to victimize others; it’s rooted in this deep-seated self-loathing that has him convinced that power - not just any power, but the power to be a king - is the only way he will ever have any worth. 

He never wanted to rule Asgard. I don’t believe he wanted to rule Midgard, either. It’s like Loki is seeking the illusion of power more than the actual power itself. He wants the worthiness and the validation; he wants to be taken seriously. He wants his own abilities, specifically his magic, to be revered as any other warrior’s skill. He just wants to be seen. 

So I think on some level that Loki, when confronted with bone-deep, unapologetic, irredeemable villainy (for lack of a better word) would think, I could have been worse. Thank the norns I’m not worse. 

Again, I may be completely off-base or wildly out of character - idk, I revised this like 12 times. But this is just my idea of what Loki would think of Kilgrave and I hope, if nothing else, it was interesting to read. 

Would Loki be immune to his powers? 

Yes. This is another thing that contributes to how Loki sees Kilgrave; his powers aren’t a threat to him personally. This is because Kilgrave’s ability is a virus. 

According to Kilgrave’s Wikia: 

Kilgrave’s abilities are due to “a virus that he emits through microparticles in the air. His power was revealed to be a side-effect of the viral treatment used to cure his childhood degenerative disease. His ability is always active as he cannot stop his body from producing the virus and anyone within his immediate proximity is affected” (Source). 

Now, I’m no scientist, but my takeaway from this is that, because Kilgrave’s powers are literally a virus, and said viruses (viri?) have this effect on the humans around him, someone with alien biological insides (Asgardian or Jotun, for that matter) would likely not be affected in the same way, if at all. 

It’s like how ebola or HIV (or covid, ugh), is potentially deadly to humans because of the way our cells respond to the virus cells. Someone who isn’t human wouldn’t have that same response. Of course, it’s entirely possible that a different effect could occur, or even possibly the virus could affect an alien but the reaction wouldn’t be as strong or overpowering. There’s no way to know for sure but, my limited understanding of science-y things leads me to believe that Kilgrave’s ability would be useless on anyone who wasn’t human.  (As a matter of fact, I think that it’s revealed that Jessica was able to break free from the control because she’s enhanced and her biology is different, but I’d have to watch those episodes again.) 

How could Loki cheat to defeat Kilgrave? 

Considering the above answer, there would be no need for Loki to cheat; Kilgrave’s abilities wouldn’t work on him, which leaves him powerless while Loki maintains his arsenal of magic, along with the whole super-strength thing. Loki would probably just have to hit him a few times to take him out. 

I’m sorry this is so long, but I really appreciate the question! Thank you! I hope that this was a decent answer overall.

[nerdygaymormon]

Hi David! That post about the church being a cult is going around again and I’m struggling. I stay because my parents go to church and I love the Book of Mormon, but sometimes I feel like I’m living incompatible with the church bc I’m queer. Especially now that I’m back in Utah. I have tattoos, wear short shorts and tank tops, and I have pink hair. Sometimes I wonder if staying is worth it? Any personal experience? When I had a calling it was easier but with Covid cutting us off, I feel...empty

You said so much in this ask.

Whatever your reasons are for going to church or not going, or somewhere in between, those are your reasons and don’t have to make sense to anyone else.

I know that some of the apostles nowadays say that there’s room for queer people in the Church, but they haven’t explained what that means. The policies and teachings about LGBT people certainly aren’t welcoming and resign us to a second-class status inside the church and have been shown to have negative effects on the mental health of LGBT people. 

I think most young queer people hear the words that they’re welcome to be at church and that there’s a place for them, and they look around and don’t see older members who are gays or trans, certainly not in leadership, and realize the hollowness of those words.

To welcome us means they’re going to have to accept us.

That being said, if you are attending church (which I am), and you want to be there, then pull up a folding chair and sit down at the table and insist on being included and recognized. You have every right to be there. 

It never ceases to amaze me how this church and its members get so hung up on certain things that don’t matter--tattoos, pink hair, more than one piercing per ear, ladies wearing pants--it’s madness. 

When there’s things at church said that don’t sit right with me, there’s 3 questions I ask:

1) Does this sound like me? (when they’re talking about queer people)

2) Does this sound like the God that I know? (my God loves me and is so much more accepting and liberal in loving than the god described at church who is all about enforcing small rules in an attempt to figure out who loves Him and who is worthy of blessings)

3) Does this fit with the two great commandments? (loving myself, loving my neighbor and loving God are the most important things, so is what they’re talking about go along with loving me or loving my neighbors, including my queer neighbors?)

I find most things that don’t sit well with me fail at least one of these, and usually fail all 3 of these questions. That helps me feel better about pushing it away and saying it’s not of God. 

I agree with what you said about a calling can make church seem meaningful. For many years I was the Primary pianist, and I liked it well enough, but it was also easy to not have strong feelings about my involvement in church. When I was put into the stake young men presidency, I felt like I was blooming in church, my talents were being used and I was able to minister to others and help them on their journeys. 

I think the past few months of not having in-person church has really opened up my eyes to the possibility of being spiritual and religious without church attendance. In some ways it’s hard to stick to a regular schedule and it can be easy for spirituality to slip away as a result. But also, I didn’t need church in order to have spiritual experience or to learn about religious topics. I also was able to find community via podcasts and streamed lessons from various groups.

You’re the one who has to determine if not being a cookie-cutter member is too hard or is just right or somewhere in between. And based on that answer, you can decide how involved you’ll be with Church. Cutting out Church entirely as a first step might feel too drastic, but you can take steps to decrease or increase your involvement until you figure out what you’re comfortable with. Leaving doesn’t mean you can never return. 

[phoebehalliwell]

Centennial Charmed AU where Cole decides that things started to go downhill with him and Phoebe after Prue died, so he rewrites reality to save her, and Paige orbs into a new reality where Prue never died and has to choose between stopping Cole or saving her sister

okay for the record i so incredibly vibe with this ask and i think it would have been a great way for paige to meet prue, as it isn’t the typical like summoning prue from the great beyond to meet paige option, because that’s all fluff and this has Stakes.

i think in this au if we assume all hell breaks loose like continues in canon phoebe should remain trapped in the underworld with cole like the source demanded, and cole kept her down there rather than return her to her sisters. now, Obviously, this is not a recipe for love, but i think cole has enough tricks to just sorta brainwash phoebe into sorta just like an evil husk (like the opposite of what leo pulled with piper in the beginning of season six) with the full intent to leach in the real phoebe bit by bit but the process is definitely going slower than expected bc uhh phoebe’s not too keen on being evil. in this au i would definitely pin prue as the one to go cold hearted assasssin here, completely ready to raze the underworld to get her sister back. in turn i think piper would be ever more manic and fearful that she was in the earlier seasons. i don’t think she and leo would be divorced because again if you’re trying to convince me they’re soulmates don’t have them divorced in every alternate timeline???? but, that being said, i don’t think she would be pregnant bc i think she would have a crippling fear of starting a family bc with her mom dead phoebe gone and prue off the deep end off the deep end it’s clear that all family does is leave you. p3 is very much up and running because all piper does is drown herself in her work as that is the only part of her life she seems to have any control over. she doesn’t use magic anymore, in fact she’s bound her powers, but it doesn’t matter bc prue does enough killing for the both of them. (also paige doesn’t lose orbing in the new reality bc that her innate ability??? she does lose telekinetic orbing)

so paige sneezes herself into a new reality without realizing it, all she realizes is piper isn’t in the back room anymore. but she figures hey you know maybe that was a major sneeze and maybe i was out for a minute or two and piper just went back to darryl’s party. so she pops out of the backroom and there’s no immediate difference and she sees piper at the bar so she heads on over like “haha wow how long was i gone for also where’s darryl wasn’t he just sitting over there?” and piper’s looking at her like she’s talking to me like she knows me but i do not recognize her at all but as i am bartending i’m just gonna place nice and is like “oh sorry no i don’t know where he went” and paige is like “huh that’s weird did you change” and now she’s like actually registering what piper looks like and is like “OOOOHMYGOD WHY AREN”T YOU PREGNANT ANYMORE???????????” and piper’s like “look. you’ve obviously got me confused with someone else so-” and paige is just like “you don’t recognize me At All?” and piper’s like “sorry no?????” so now paige is thinking she’s in some alternate reality or plane or mirror dimension and if there’s anyone who can clue her into where it’s a psychic so paige is looking around like “do you know where phoebe is?” and piper stops dead in her tracks and she’s like “i don’t know if you heard but phoebe doesn’t live here anymore now i’d really appreciate it if you’d leave and paige is like okay well that’s bad and you know offering an apology and leaves p3.

but uhh she still can orb and she can still orb to her sisters so she orbs to phoebe and finds herself in the underworld???? what’s she doing here??????? and she’s like “hey phoebe how ya doin i’m in a bit of a sticky situation here was hopin you could help me out also why are we in the underworld rn?” and phoebe just glares at paige and paige is like “okay cliffnotes version patty and sam’s affair yeah that’s me i’m the baby i’m your long longs sister my name’s paige-” and at the word sister phoebe just like snaps and dives at paige so you know paige orbs out of the way like “phoebe!!!!” and phoebe just dives at her again and now paige is starting to get a lil weirded out because phoebe’s black belt barbie yet all she’s going is just sorta lunging claws out?????? something off. way off. and paige is so caught off guard that phoebe actually manages to pin paige to the ground and paige is like !!!!! hope this works!!! and claps her hands around phoebe’s temples. and phoebe flinches, eyes closed, lost in a vision. she comes to and looks at paige, but there’s nothing in her eyes. paige is like “phoebe. it’s me.” but phoebe just gets up and walks away, emotionless. and paige is like Okay This Is BAD. and when things get bad, you go to the book.

the only issue is paige is leafing through the book and she has no idea what she’s looking for. there isn’t really a page for “oh you’re stuck in an alternate timeline where everything Sucks Balls? here’s a quick and easy spell to get you out!” so paige is just flipping. enchantment spell so she can see past this enchantment? truth spell so she can find the true world?? and she’s like “hello could use some help here!!!!” and then finds herself promptly being thrown into a wall. she looks over to see a woman approaching, and barely registers “prue?” before a bookcase falls on her.

paige wakes up in a crystal cage, with prue sitting across from her holding charged crystal shards. paige immediately recognizes whats up and is all like “woah woah woah please don’t electrocute me i promise i can explain everything!!!!” and prue’s like “okay. why don’t you start by how you got in the attic and what you were doing with the book?” and paige is like “!!!! evil can’t touch the book! evil can’t touch the book and i was touching the book so please don’t electrocute me!” and prue glares at paige and slowly sets down the crystals bc she does sorta have a point but prue’s not convinced. and paige clearly relaxes a little and prue asks again what exactly she is doing here. so paige takes a deep breath and is like “i’m your sister” and prue scowls and telekinetically launches a crystal shard at the cage, frying it. good thing paige has great reflexes. she orbs out of the cage before she can be shocked. so now prue is like. What. The Actual. Fuck. but lucky for her paige is already rambling. “my name’s paige matthews and i was born august 7th, 1977! my parents are patty halliwell and sam wilder! and you never met me because i was given up for adoption!”

now here’s the thing. when patty was pregnant, piper was three or four and phoebe was like two. they Really did not know what was up. but prue was like 7. i don’t remember a lot from age four, but i can easily pull up age seven. and prue now knows patty was pregnant. the timeline fits. she’s just not convinced that the carrot top in front of her is her sister. (she could orb though, so that was a strong piece of evidence for) so she lets paige talk a little more

and paige is like “okay. i think i managed to sneeze myself into some weird alternate universe because um. This Is Not How Things Are. and if i had to guess whose to blame here: it’s cole.” and prue’s like “wow. he’s still a bag of shit in your timeline?” and paige is like “yeah!!!! an obsessive, unvanquishable bag of shit!!!” and prue’s like “well, bright side? he’s not unvanquishable here.”

let’s rock n roll buckaroo!!! well piper is Very surprised to find the girl she kicked out of the bar now brewing a potion in her kitchen, and uhh if we’re being honest Absolutely Pissed Off. because so far this girl has 1) brought up the idea of her being pregnant, an insult to a woman who is too terrified to start a family 2) brought up her kidnapped quasi evil sister not five minutes later to rub salt in that wound and 3) is now actively practicing magic in her home, something piper tries to avoid at all costs. so whatever’s happening right now, Piper Will Not Have It. except prue is chasing her down and refusing to let her leave because that girl is their sister??? and they’re going to vanquish cole?????????? yeah. no. absolutely not. and prue’s got a freshly brewed batch of potion to unbind powers that she’s trying to shove down piper’s throat but she’s really lost it if she thinks piper will ever practice magic again. and now they’re having a shouting match and piper’s trying to leave but prue is forcing the door shut and paige is in the kitchen like this is super awkward and i feel like i shouldn’t be hearing this but at the same time i feel like i should intervene but also i feel like its not my place but also they’re about to rip each others head off so i should probably do something so she goes over to the foyer like “piper. i know you don’t know me but i know you. you are the strongest person i know and the strongest witch i know. you have taught me so much, and i know you’re going to teach my new baby niece a lot too. i don’t think you should unbind your powers if you don’t want to. but if you think you can’t handle them, i promise you you can.” and there’s a moment of silence before piper’s like “strongest witch, huh?” and paige nods and laughs lightly and piper looks and prue with the potion and is like “i need some time to think about it.” and prue’s like >:(!!!!!! but paige is like “no, just let her sort through things. she’ll figure things out on her own time.” and prue’s playfully like “are you always giving me advice in your world?” and paige is like haha p̸̭͕͇͂͑̇͊̇́̽̀͘ä̵͍̪͔́̓̊͊̒͛͌̚ỉ̸̲̬͖̓͛͌͒̅̉̈̇͐͑̐ņ̷͍͖̯̠̞̾̎̂ but doesn’t like really say anything about it.

and piper’s over on the couch in the sitting room just like nervously wringing her hands and prue goes over and just sits next to her quietly with her arm wrapped around her. she leaves the potion in the foyer. you can tell by how rigid they are that they don’t do this often, they’re just emulating the ghosts of their past because they’ve almost forgotten how to be sisters. paige wanders over to the couch and perches on the arm rest because she doesn’t want to insert herself into something that she isn’t really a part of but piper reaches out and takes paige’s hand in comfort. and the chandelier starts shaking.

piper looks and prue and then looks at paige and is like “is that what i think it was?” and paige is like “the power of three” and piper just sighs quietly and stands. she looks to a flower vase and throws her hands at it, blasting it to pieces. she turns to her sisters. “let’s go kill cole”

so piper starts working on the broth for the upper level demon vanquishing potion while prue and paige sit in the living room devising a way to get close enough to cole to get a slice. prue’s talking about how he’s cloaked himself from scrying but he’s never too far from phoebe, and they’ve never really been able to summon phoebe before but now they’ve got the power of three on their side so they can probably bring her to the manor, with cole soon to follow. it’s also safe to say that cole doesn’t even know piper has her powers back, so he won’t be anticipating the good ol’ freeze-n-slice. then paige can orb downstairs, add the flesh, and bring back up the potion and boom no more belthazor but uhh paige wasn’t listening. “what if there was a way to not vanquish him?” “not vanquish cole i thought the whole point was to vanquish cole and get you back to your world?” and paige is like “yeah it was but uhhhh you’re not... in my world. you died... in 2001. shax killed you. i never actually got to meet you until now.” and prue’s like “Oh.” and paige is like “yeah.” and prue sorta just sits quietly for a minute before speaking again. “did they ever tell you about andy?” and paige is like “yeah, he was your boyfriend, right? he died?” and prue’s like “he died right there. he sacrificed himself for us. because he understood that it was his destiny to go and it was ours to continue forward. i never really understood that, i guess” and she trails off staring at the piece of carpet where andy’s body had been so many years before. the words are unspoken, but paige hears them: until now. “but what if it doesn’t have to be like that? what if we could find a way to change things, to keep you alive. i mean, i’m just meeting you now, but... i don’t...” “everything happens for a reason. if there’s one thing i’ve learned to be true, it’s that. paige, it was my time to go. to bring you into their lives to save the charmed ones. this,” prue gestures to the world around her. “this isn’t how things are supposed to be, i’ve felt it for a long time. you can save phoebe, you can save piper.” “but why can’t i save you, too?” and prue just sorta rests her hand on paige’s face and is like “i’m glad i at least got to meet you” and piper from the kitchen is like “potions ready! all we need is some belthazor flesh!” and prue stands up and offers paige her hand. paige takes it and stands and prue whispers to her sister “let’s go save the world.”

so they go up to the attic and summon phoebe with cole soon to follow and cole’s like “paige??? are you fucking with me rn???? die bitch?????” and prue’s like “You Do Not Talk To My Sister Like That” and throws him into a wall. piper freezes him and takes a slice and phoebe’s sorta just reeling in the corner like paige?? and paige takes the flesh from piper and orbs into the kitchen to finish up the potion and puts it in a little vial and goes back up in the attic and cole’s just broken out of piper’s freeze and paige is like “i do hate long goodbyes” but oh! phoebe tackles her and grabs the potion and everybody’s like phoebe!!!!!! but cole’s just laughing like “it doesn’t matter. no matter where we are, we’re meant to be together. it’s undeniable.” and phoebe’s blinking like she just woke up from a bad dream and is looking at cole, at first with a blank stare, but then confusion, and then absolute loathing. “i don’t think so.”

and cole starts screaming as the world starts spinning and with a final triumphant Bang! paige is yeeted back into the attic, back into her attic. and piper and phoebe run up like “paige??? what happened what was that???” and paige is like “that was... cole. we just vanquished cole.” and piper’s like “we???” and paige is like “yeah, i’ll explain everything, it’s been uhh it’s been a long day.” and piper and phoebe pull her into a hug and phoebe’s like “we’re just glad you’re back” and paige is like “lmao yeah i could say the say about you.” “what?” “nevermind.” and then piper looks up suddenly like “did you feel that?” and paige is like “feel what?” and phoebe looks at the her and smiles, tears pricking at the back of her eyes: “prue.”

[pumpkinpaix]

hi again! previous anon here, just remembered a question. there's something that's been nagging at me about the show's lan parents storyline — LXC tells WWX that story about his parents and it seems like it's meant as a parallel for LWJ and WWX. But the Lan parents thing sounded like a super toxic/unhealthy relationship? like their mom was literally being kept against her will... maybe i'm just missing the nuance for the parallel? would love to hear your thoughts on this!

(ask con’t, sorry it’s long) i’ve just gotten out of a bad relationship not too long ago and gets really leery of cdramas portraying control as love (ie one love interest preventing the other from leaving, or clear power imbalances as with period dramas). i really don’t think that’s what’s happening here but got kind of uncomfortable too at the “i want to bring someone back to gusu/hide them away” line LWJ had earlier. might you have an alternate interpretation? i’m almost sure i’m misreading!

So a couple things first: thank you so much for asking me this question because my thoughts about the untamed/mdzs have been so much and turbulent that having a specific thing to focus on is really helpful, AND it’s also really flattering that you think I??? would have worthwhile thoughts???? about this really complicated thing.

Second: I want to make sure to say that no matter how strongly I feel about my interpretation, no matter how long I spend composing this response, you are not obligated to change how you feel. If that line still bothers you, it still bothers you. Our experiences are different! And it’s okay! That being said, haha, buckle up I guess, because WOW do I have a lot of things to say.

Spoilers up through episode 43, obviously, with allusions to the novel. I will try to keep any details about things that happen post-43 vague.

Let’s begin with this moment:

“Was he right to do this?” || “I don’t know.”

[id: image 1 is a screenshot of lan xichen asking “was he right to do this” and image 2 is a screenshot of wei wuxian responding “i don’t know” from episode 43 of the untamed /end id]

I think we need to think about how to answer this question before we can answer your question: how can we interpret the relationship between lan wangji and lan xichen’s parents? Was it moral? Was it okay? Was it right? This is clearly a question that lan xichen has been wrestling with his whole life. And from this scene, I think that he’s made his peace with the fact that it’s always going to be a question for him, not because the inherent morality is unclear, but because of the emotional subjectivity he’s always going to hold for it. He doesn’t expect wei wuxian to have an answer because he doesn’t have an answer himself.

Something that I remember from the novel that doesn’t make it into this scene, though, is what wei wuxian says after lan xichen asks, “can you understand why my father acted this way?” and he nods, is the explanation he gives: he hated the person who had murdered his mentor, but he also loved her so much he couldn’t bear to see her destroyed. Unable to live with himself, he married her, swore to protect her, and then imprisoned her for the rest of her life. Tormented by his contradictions, he then locked himself away as well. lan xichen agrees.

lan wangji and lan xichen were raised without their parents—largely, they were raised by their upright uncle, who, due to his brother’s behavior, took up the responsibilities of sect leader and parent at the same time. (It’s really no wonder that lan qiren has such a vicious dislike for wei wuxian: he loves lan wangji so much, and he’s so afraid to watch the child he raised repeat history. Beyond that, I think it’s pretty safe to say that lan qiren probably harbors not insignificant resentment towards his brother for the harm he did to both his children and to lan qiren himself.) Lan qiren is not married and as far as we know, never has any romantic entanglements after he begins raising the lan brothers. So where does that leave lan wangji and lan xichen in terms of models for romance? All they have is the fraught relationship between their parents. 

lan wangji is not good with words. He expresses himself primarily through action, which we see time and time again. When lan wangji says to lan xichen, “there’s someone I want to take back to the cloud recesses. take them back and hide them away,” I think he’s trying to explain (with words) his feelings for wei wuxian in the only way he knows how: by making a reference to the only romantic relationship to which he and lan xichen were firsthand witnesses. lan xichen canonically understands wangji better than pretty much everyone: he sees straight through him at Biling lake when he invites wei wuxian and jiang cheng along to hunt the water spirits because he knows lan wangji wants wei wuxian to come. He asks if he wants loquats even when wangji refuses them. So when lan wangji says that, lan xichen first repeats the statement carefully to make sure he understands what’s at stake, and then he says something very crucial: “you only fear that he isn’t willing”.

I think this says a lot— specifically, that both lan xichen and lan wangji understand firsthand the pain their father caused and what exactly was wrong about it. I think what lan wangji is saying between the lines is, “I’m in love with someone. I want to take them home with me. I want to hide them away from the world to protect them. I fear this makes me like our father, whose love led him to do such terrible things to our mother, and by extension, to us and our uncle. I can’t repeat his mistakes.” And lan xichen, understanding all of that, gets to the heart of lan wangji’s inner conflict: wei wuxian is not willing, and lan wangji refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps, no matter how tormented he feels about the person he loves, no matter how much he wants to.

Every time lan wangji tries and fails to get wei wuxian to return with him to gusu, it’s with the intention of trying to help him, trying to protect him from the other sects, trying to pull him back before he does something unforgivable, much like his father’s motivations for bringing his mother back to gusu (“he swore that this was his beloved wife and that anyone who wished to hurt her [for her crimes] would have to go through him”), but unlike his father, lan wangji never forces wei wuxian to do anything. He never keeps him locked up, never forcibly kidnaps him. Not only that, but lan wangji is also willing to fight wei wuxian when he believes that wei wuxian is doing something inadmissible: heis the only one to stand against his initial forays into demonic cultivation, and physically confronts him on the roof at the nightless city. Would he have actually followed through on killing him, had things gone differently? Maybe, maybe not, but at the very least, it shows that he, unlike his father, was willing to try to destroy the person he loved when he crossed the line.

Anon, you’re right that there’s a parallel between the lan parents and wangxian, but I think the key is how they parallel each other. Lan wangji doesn’t repeat his father’s mistakes. When he finally does bring wei wuxian back to gusu and hide him away to protect him, wei wuxian is not there against his will, and, I think also importantly, lan wangji is with him. It’s no accident that lan wangji’s residence is the jingshi, the place his mother was imprisoned for his whole life, and it’s no accident that he brings wei wuxian there. But lan wangji doesn’t lock him there and abandon him like his father did with his mother: he’s there with him the whole time. Lan wangji, when all is said and done, is finally ready to stand by wei wuxian in spite of everything he did, unlike his father, who couldn’t do so with his wife: couldn’t destroy her, couldn’t stand with her. lan wangji makes his choice. “I regretted that I couldn’t stand with you at the nightless city.” The parallel is one that emphasizes contrast in spite of similarity.

All this ties vaguely into bigger themes present within the story, particularly the tensions between freedom/restriction and parents/children. These are like, two whole other essays haha, so I won’t get too deep into the weeds (unless you or anyone else wants to ask me!!! bc, anon, believe me, I would BE WILLING!!!) but:

1. lan wangji and wei wuxian are fundamentally very similar people, even if their personalities are not. They have incredibly strong moral compasses and want nothing more than to be righteous and to live with clear consciences about their choices. The difference is in how they go about that. wei wuxian chafes under rules, breaks them when he finds them unjust or unimportant, and thinks that he doesn’t deserve to be punished. When lan wangji finds that his moral compass conflicts with the rules he chooses to live by, he prioritizes his own sense of justice, much like wei wuxian, but he also accepts the punishments that are given to him without complaint. wei wuxian cherishes freedom over all while lan wangji lives under strict regulation, but the point is that they both take it too far. wei wuxian is righteous to the point of arrogance, flaunts his peers’ judgments and warnings to his eventual downfall. lan wangji, after doing what he thinks is right, allows himself to be punished without protest so severely he’s bedridden and imprisoned for three years. I would say neither of these approaches is… ideal, and I think that’s part of why wangxian feels so profound. They temper each other’s worst weaknesses. (rereading this, i’m not sure i’m 100% behind everything I just said lol, but again, an essay for another time)

2. Like lan wangji is paralleled with his father, wei wuxian is paralleled with his mother, zangse-sanren: free-spirited, mischievous, and ultimately meeting a tragic end for the choices she made out of that desire for freedom. He too is able to eventually escape his mother’s fate, just as lan wangji escapes his father’s. The parallels between parent and child are strong for almost all the mains, though not all of them manage to free themselves and achieve some measure of happiness, and this in itself relates to the even bigger questions of what matters more: your heritage, or your actions? Your heritage, or your upbringing? What can you do to avoid making the same mistakes as your predecessors?

I’ve already talked about this wrt wei wuxian and lan wangji, but the same goes for characters like jiang cheng, jin zixuan, wen qing, wen ning, mianmian, jin guangyao, su she, nie huaisang, jin ling, lan sizhui, ouyang zizhen, xiao xingchen, song lan, xue yang etc. like the list is endless. Part of why mdzs/the untamed is so heartwrenching is watching history repeat itself while the protagonists, who are also acutely aware, are nearly powerless to stop it. The juniors end up being the breaking from all that: willing to defy their parents, make their own decisions about right and wrong, recognize that a person’s actions should speak louder than the rumors that run on their account.

tl;dr: the lan parents’ relationship is toxic and hurtful to everyone around them. wangxian absolutely parallels it, but in a way that highlights how they differ from their predecessors, tying into larger thematic issues of the story.

eek that was almost 2k words yikes!! I hope my enthusiastic rambling helped you see that “take them back, hide them away” line in a different light haha, but I want to say again: you’re not obligated to take my interpretation as fact, and you also don’t have to think everything about wangxian is perfect to still like it. We all consume and like imperfect stories! I totally get your feelings on weird power dynamics/inequalities in relationships because… it’s abusive? it’s terrible? It hurts to see?? esp given what you said about your own experience, like yeah, for sure!!! but for me? when lan wangji says, “I want to take someone back to the cloud recesses—take them back, hide them away”, it reads as a really powerful, self-aware expression of what it means for someone like him to fall in love.

EDIT 16 APR 2020: I find myself only agreeing with ~85% of this after many months of reflection. /o\ *hides face* leaving it as-is because it’s what I wrote at the time, but! you know. I have changed some of my views.

[scicraft]

I give my 2 cents on every band's design

Yes, every one.

(Part 2)

Notes:

-I am not a professional character designer by any capacity

-I'm purely looking at cohesion of group design, but I will touch on how well individual ones are handled

-I am clinically insane

Okay let's get into it 

Plasmagica

THE titular band. Unfortunately doesn't stop them from looking like they're all a part of a different band. While all the individual designs work well to showing their personality, it doesn't allow the band to have a really well defined look. ESPECIALLY considering the anime, they really could've done to have redesigns to show character development(and also stress my sister out when trying to pull for the new outfits /j). It'd also help if they didn't look completely removed from their band name. Like seriously. Plasmagica is not the first name I'd pick.

ShinganCrimsonZ

I like how they're described as a visual kei band, that's just kinda cute. That being said they're so paradoxically cohesive and not??? I really do love them but they all really, really do look like they're going to different Halloween parties. One thing shingan could really benefit from is either

A) not having 3/4ths of the band with the titties out look

Or

B) give the titties out look more variety

Like dude Rom is probably the worst offender his top half has none of the band's main color(which is objectively black) and this could be fixed so easily. Give him a sheer crop top. I don't care. Just something

TriChronika

TriChronika.... Bad. The songs they sing are fucking weak sauce and so are their designs. Which is so unfortunate because they have the MOST bangerang theme?? It doesn't help that I still am physically incapable of telling Kai and Riku apart. Their palettes make them look like they belong in a different band entirely when put next to ShuuZo. I get, on some level, that Shuuzo is supposed to be the center focus and thus is designed accordingly, but Mr Sparkledog left his companions with no flair of their own to speak of, and no, Kai and Riku being twins is not an excuse for them to not have good tells??? Get your shit together TriChronika

CritiCrista

FINALLY. GOOD DESIGN. clear themeing, really strong palettes to set them apart, I love it here. Holmy and Jacklyn are my favorites u_u but I think Rosia's myumon form has the weakest palette, and could probably do better if her fur color was just adjusted. That being said, these girls are overall one if the best designed groups that appears in the anime.

Tsurezure Naru Ayatsuri Mugenan

I legit think the only weaknesses of TNAM is how hard it is to remember their name (/j) in all seriousness they work really well too, and I especially love Daru Dayu's daruma. Their "far east" look is very clear to see.

Shizuku Secret Mind

The anime very smartly avoids having Turtle B.I.G make an appearance in non-myumon form bc he looks so out of place next to the band, and that's entirely bc of his palette. The obvious solution is to just... Give the other band members a more varied palette? Sea creatures are so many colors, why are they all blue???? Also Wendy looks like a different person in all her card art and that's so funny to me.

NinjinRiot

I cannot begin to tell you how accidentally funny NinjinRiot is in the anime. They legit show up, dispense the stakes, and ollie outie. Which I can respect. This is one of those well designed band, except for Obero's myumon design. The torso area gets melted into the arms. Still!! Really stylish

Studdo Ban Gyashu

Now these motherfuckers deserve to get called a visual kei band. My one complaint is that their distinct colors don't really enhance each other designs, so none really stand out.

Dropout Sensei

Beemtle :-)

Gauga Strikes

I'd be more upset about one of the members being a literal fucking mountain if I wasn't already aware that they were based on a real band and that this real life band made of human people was sat down by Sanrio and told "hey, we're going to turn you into furries" and one of them went "actually, I want to be a large geographical feature" and Sanrio replied "okay, that scans" and yknow what? I can't dunk on that

AND TUMBLR IMAGE LIMIT KICKED IN. FUCK. Looks like this is going to be a multi post thing