#i have so many thoughts about that actually. how esp in battle she would always be just a few paces away.

[moe-broey]

Being an Alfonse enjoyer is SO fucking funny bc one minute you're thinking "Shit this guy can actually be scary if you fucking think about it like he's so fucked up actually" and the next he's. Being dragged along by his little sister and her antics AND he's being a good sport about it. Like he clearly doesn't want to be here but he's not gonna complain. He's going to put his heart into it actually. Because Sharena is putting her whole heart into it!!!! And well. There has to be two of them (retainers). Duh. Obviously.

[storiesofsvu]

Okay, so last week my sleep schedule was beyond fucked up and I had a friend staying with me so I didn’t get to watch the new CM until WAY too late and my reactions were barely existent and I almost fell asleep before it ended cause it was almost 6am by then. So I’m rewatching last week rn (while working on other stuff) before watching the new ep. Expect some notes from last week but not a lot I guess lol!

We love a good female unsub.

I STILL do not understand how Emily got full ass arrested over this shit, like yeah brian accused her, but they don’t really have any grounds for arrest, esp her being fbi?? She should have been asked to come down for questioning but that was it. She never should have actually been booked. (though this DOES play into the whole conspiracy thing. Like get her arrested/out of the way/a reason for the upper people to get rid of her or have something to hold over her head. Like, her getting arrested would be part of the whole gold star thing). WITHOUT that though, make it make sense.  GOD to be a lawyer in the CM universe must be THE most annoying thing in the entire world LOL.

This red coat will forever and always be one of my top fave wardrobe items of em’s

Okay but like, the coke “conspiracy theory” seems pretty legit LOL. But em is like.. losing it. She’s tunnel visioned on this gold star case and isn’t sleeping and like, my girl just needs rest and peace for ONCE please.

Jj wanting to talk but not having the courage to bring it up just hurts me man.

“contracted to kill gold star” I thought gold star was an operation? Or a team? Or was that found out later in this episode….LOL

Honestly… Emily breaking the rules/law is not OOC at all. and her asking Garcia to help her (and Garcia complying) isn’t either, it’s happened before in canon. And like.. when em’s getting shoved to the utmost bottom, she’s never above breaking protocol, even if she is in charge. Look at the lauren arc, look at her battle with barnes, her standing up to strauss, she’s always done whatever she thinks is right, it’ll get her answers, even if they can’t be used in court.

Voit looks SO much like someone I work with and that weirds me out LOL.

Mega points for Sydney for standing up for herself. I’m super glad she’s been given some time to shine this season.

Okay either Emily has had some sense knocked into her w saying “this case isn’t gold star until we prove it” or she thinks its an utter waste of time…

You’re SERIOUSLY telling me Penelope Garcia of all people didn’t see “star light star bright” and think of the nursery rhyme? That she wasted how ever many of her guesses and didn’t come up with something along the lines of “wish tonight”?!!!? that shit’s TOO easy…

If last season gave Emily a migraine, dealing with all of this and esp brian should be giving her an aneurysm lol.

The girl playing holly is incredible, I hope she gets the career she deserves. Also.. she deserved to attack voit, like her sister is young enough she’s still living in a weird confused/delusional point where she doesn’t really get what’s going on. holly’s old enough she knows her entire life is completely fucked up by her dad being a killer. That her family’s torn apart, she’s watching her mom barely keep it together, they have to move, again and again, new school, new friends, over and over all in a feeble attempt to try and stay safe from their dad who’s supposed to stay in prison?

Yeah this girl’s absolutely going through it. She loves her dad and misses what they had before everyone found out what he was actually doing.

Not voit getting TWO fucks in one sentence! He is right though about holly being in trouble and needing help now. Maybe he’s self reflecting a little bit, I can’t remember if his past was discussed last season LO, I’m remembering something but I might be fucking up plot lines… EITHER WAY, he sees a bit of himself in holly and doesn’t want her to turn out like him, which could be considered remorse…

JJ asking about Emily and how she’s doing after em asks about Sydney and the girls… just absolutely proves what everyone online was BITCHING hardcore about, with em “not caring about jj” they’re both going through hell, they’re both exhausted, I bet jj didn’t sleep the night before either. JJ wants to know about em and is checking in with her, she knows everyone’s going through it and when asked about her shit, she brushes it off cause she knows both of them are under stress, that she can bring it up later rather than dump everything on em when she’s struggling to hold herself and the team together. Sometimes you have to wait on things like that.. it’s just life.

If tyler and Penelope had met under ANY different circumstance I would be here for it, but I refuse to be the way it was done.

Emily v Voit is giving me so much life. Why didn’t they just send her in first? Lol. Like yeah voit ends up getting what he wants, but also, she’s so fucking cocky about the way it  happens and she can read him like no tomorrow and that’s after no sleep and all that shit? Tell me your powerful without telling me your powerful.

Okay, imma check if the new ep is up yet, if it is, I’ll be back right away, if not, I’ll see ya in a couple of hours…

Alright, I decided to finish writing some headcanons and got distracted and opened twitter to a gif of Emily smoking from the new ep and it was the hottest thing ive ever seen so let’s pray the new ep is up…

HERE WE GOOOOO

Oh we’re starting WAY back with last season flashbacks? Oh GOD this is gonna be a rough episode isn’t it??

Emily needs a hug, a nap and an orgasm.

Jfc this got creepy right off the bat… like voit was slightly okay in the past eps and now he’s just playing into the psycho

Im sorry, the fbi assassinated WHO? I cannot function without my subtitles and there are TOO many names/people in this season over the total season arc that I keep losing track….

Okay so at least it’s not just em’s ID they haven’t updated, rossi’s is old as fuck too..

“its not the first time I’ve crossed ethical and legal boundaries for this case” Rebecca: “and I didn’t hear that…” LOOOOLL

 AND THIS IS WHY  I SAID ID NEVER WANT TO BE A LAWYER IN THIS UNIVERSE

I understand that they said any previous deal would be off the table if voit fucked around with them but are you SERIOUSLY trusting him to provide the message and it not be something to alert them?

Okay but shout out to voit for being the first person to refer to tara as “Dr Lewis” in like.. forever

“you neglected to ask me that” dude’s right… you didn’t ask. That’s on you.

I really like the way they’re profiling this situation from both points and jumping back and fourth,

LOOOOLLL the morse code. Fucking called it.

ANND LUKE GETS A FUCK! YES

“can you do that? without fingerprints?” homegirl is about to get herself fired, isn’t she? (she don’t care either so…)

I know Rebecca being close to voit is like, a legal thing and the jurisdiction and shit but it worries me. Imma be surprised if she makes it through this season.

Jfc Emily is SO hot. I adore they keep putting her in blue!

Voit being the comedic relief was not on my bingo card.

YEESS JJ WITH THE “SO SHUT THE FUCK UP”

Not fuckin voit giving the ship a name.. my dude.. stop.

Lmao, Rebecca, he’s not actually gonna confess a crime babe…

“youre not under arrest, you’re here as a person of interest on a 24 hr hold” WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT SHOULDVE HAPPENED TO EMILY

“useful idiot” IM TELLING YOU EM TO BRIAN IS FRANKIE TO THE DEAN

Not him gaslighting her!

I know part of it is tv, but part of it is reality that plain clothed officers look EXACTLY like cops. Like, everyone can tell that you’re looking over your shoulder and being suspicious. Someone watching for cops isn’t gonna be that dumb.

Wow that team really had ONE good shooter? You serious?? Jj could have got that in a second.

The way Penelope knows about bombs?? That definitely came from derek.

UGH NOO BUT YESS the look on rebecca’s face when tara said she was staying with the bomb. There’s still love there and I swear to fuck if there’s some dying confession of love that’s my 13th reason

Not jade literally being in the same fucking park…

Ive been saying it for years but without Garcia… the team wouldn’t solve a single fucking case.

Okay I GET THAT THERE’S A FUCKING BOMB but like.. both tara and luke and ALL the surrounding officers are SO focused o that and are COMPLETELY ignoring voit.. that bitch could and would have been completely gone if it wasn’t for rossi and the sniper with him…

“this piece of shit” YES. Listen, I know we’re all feral for swearing, but as someone with a potty mouth who works in an industry when we’re always swearing, it’s so natural to me, and it makes things seem more real.

OH FUCK NO

HOW WAS THAT DUDE SO FUCKING DUMB?!?!? WHY WASN’T THERE LIKE 50 OFFICERS AROUND TO MAKE SURE SHIT LIKE THIS DIDN’T HAPPEN. MY GODDDD

But now voits back in his cell…

Ugghhh rebeccccaaaaaa

“im not at my best right now” “pfft. LOOK AROUND”

How DARE THEY end the ep like that. like the smoking part and her not giving a FUCK about it being inside and in her office was one thing, but the dire attempt to keep her composure and keep it together until she got out of the building only to utterly break down in dave’s arms?!?! Im sobbing. I honestly don’t think we’ve seen her cry *like that* since she was abducted by scratch…. They really turned to paget and said “hope you’re ready to act this season…”

Fuck.

I.. what an episode.. part of me feels the intense need to write some form of fix it fic… woof.

[shwarmii]

You know the books and like Clarisse and I haven't read the books yet, so maybe you can explain something for me? They say the gods don't always claim their kids especially if they don't have 'glory' yet, and they say (and I see on tumblr) that Ares doesn't like his girls, and he's overly mean and almost abusive to Clarisse, but she's HIS.

Does it ever say when/why he claimed her? Was it a possession thing even though he doesn't at first like her or approve of her? Did she do something special and he went yup that's my kid I guess?

this ask is referencing this post

oooooh, okay, uh... important things to note: (1) i have chronic memory loss, (2) i havent read these books in years, so let's see how i do from what i remember lmao

regardless, thank you for asking me a question! very sweet that you thought id have the answer

the answer will be a bit of a spoiler in terms of world-building, so lemme just

⚠️ pjo world-building + mild plot spoilers below ⚠️

so, the last book in the first series ("Percy Jackson and the Olympians") reveals most of the unclaimed kids are actually the demigod children of minor gods

these minor gods were implied to have been fearful of what might happen to their kids if their kids were claimed. because then, their kid would need their own cabin, and a minor god getting a set-up right next to the big 12 could cause anyone in said big 12 to percieve that act as a slight, and might take out that fury on either the said minor god in question OR their newly claimed kid. not even Hestia had a cabin for her kids, and she used to be in the main 12 until she stepped down for Dionysus to be amongst the big 12 instead (when the minor gods are allowed cabins, she gets cabin 21). Percy Jackson is the one who makes the demand that every god claims their kid within a time-frame of arriving at Camp Halfblood, which then gives the minor gods a pass to claim their kid without being worried they or their child will be punished for doing so

Riordan makes this a very small reveal, considering how important it is. but Percy isn't friends with any unclaimed kids really, all the people Percy meets who are new to Camp get claimed within the book they are introduced in. so there's no one to really be our emotional throughline for that reveal, nobody for fans to theorize who such-and-such's godly parent might be. it takes up only a few paragraphs, unfortunately, not much; definitely not a full chapter. i dont remember if there were any stragglers from the big 12's kids who had been unclaimed up to that point? i dont think there were many, if any. it sets up and disillusions in one go that the whole "you get claimed if you are worthy" as having been an assumption the kids made to find "logic" (in a self-deprecation way, similar to how divorced kids or kids of a single parent may "logic" their parental situatuon as their own fault) to their unclaiming

however, the toxic notion of "achieve glory = godly parental attention" is still prevelant in the claimed kids too. it is why Clarisse targets Percy; he comes into camp having already fought a minotaur and won? him doing that sets off her insecurities about not being worthy and makes her jealous, which is why she goes after him so often before Percy's first quest. there's very few chances for kids at camp Halfblood to prove themselves, unless they leave; and they only can leave by either sneaking out (and dying, or at least risking death) or going on a quest (which also risks their deaths). so any chance to prove themselves for glory, in friendly or unfriendly ways, is highly covetted

i mention this because Clarisse HAS proven herself to her dad in some way. her electric spear is from Ares. now, because we dont get a lot of gossip about WHY Ares gave her a gift (esp since he isnt the gift-giving sort. he values violence/battle prowress, strategy, and victory (regardless of if that is an "honorable victory" or not)). she likely proved herself in an above-average way from her cabin-mates but not in a legendary way. if it had been legendary, we wouldve heard about how she got her spear when people were warning Percy about Clarisse. and we know Clarisse didn't earn her spear as a reward for a quest (or as "good luck" gift before a quest), because Clarisse's first quest comes in a later book. but yeah, makes it all the harsher in this world where it is so hard to get godly parental attention that Percy broke the one token of it that Clarisse had (and, no, Ares never replaced it. tho Clarisse does get a new spear called "Maimer"; but all the kids, including her cabin-mates, call it "Lamer" behind her back unfortunately), and Percy breaking her spear definitely adds to her hatred of him. so Clarisse HAS proven herself to her dad once. and it is unlikely that she did something so great that he claimed her and gave her a spear in one go. so the two (her being claimed and her getting the spear) are likely unrelated events

now, did she prove herself in order to get claimed? perhaps. the big 12 gods tend to claim their kids as a reward within their first year or less of being there (fucked up that Poseidon chose "good job humilating that Ares girl who misdirected her anger to be at you" for Percy's, but okay). it isnt until Percy Jackson wins the war that he demandingky bargins for all gods to claim their kids. but yeah, out of the big 12 (minus the Big Three, minus Artemis, and minus Hera = 7 gods), they all are decently prompt when it comes to their own kids. they are implied ot have been, at least. again, very few stragglers, if any, that were not the demigods of minor gods within the books

Dionysus especially was prompt (bc he is AT the camp). which, i know this is a tangent, but i gotta talk about Dionysus as a godly parent because the books barely do. but part of his punishment regarding being exiled to Camp Halfblood isnt just about his punishment being no throwing parties and no Olympus. his punishment is his own kids, and not in the way that initially sounds. Camp Halfblood kids dont live long. theyre considered lucky to make it to college-age, and absurdly lucky to get to their 30s. Percy himself never imagines himself getting older. this fucked up lifespan is resolved in many ways thanks to the "Heroes of Olympus" series. but, before then? Dionysus' exile is about being forced to be a present figure in his kids' life and watch them all die tragically young, being forced to help bury them. he's actually very traumatized from it all. he even begs Percy at one point to keep an eye out for any Dionysus kids during the war's final battle; and he even runs up to some of his kids who survived (i think? it was his twin girls?) and hugs them, crying. we dont get to know any of Dionysus' kids through virtue of none of them being friends of Percy, so we don't get to really know how Dionysus is like as a parent, especially as a godly one that is very present in his kids' lives. we get glimpses of him in the background, and for a guy who misdirects all his bitter anger about his exile onto the campers who are not his kid... he sounds lovely to his own kids? idk, thats at least from what i remember. shitty and bitter to other kids at camp, very loving in a quiet and traumatized way to his own. its not an excuse but it does make sense. (its also why he hates Percy; his presence means dangerous things will happen as long as he is alive, which therefore puts his own kids in danger. ...maybe thats why Percy isnt friends with any of Dionysus' kids, maybe he forbade them from getting close to Percy? idk)

but yeah, the big 12 are all p good about claiming their kids in the book, in retrospect once its revealed that the unclaimed children are largely the minor gods' kids. the timeline Percy forces them into does demand they somewhat untangle the "claimed as a reward" aspect too which is nice, they now just have to claim their kids p much as they are (unless their kid doesnt something great FAST), and not during a moment where it is good for the godly parent's image to be associated with this "moment of glory"

that being said, that doesn't mean Ares is a good dad in the books. the one moment we do see Ares and Clarisse together is in a later book, and she is uncomfortable in his presence and one time even flinches around him. i dont think Ares physically abuses his kids, mostly because i dont think he is present enough in any of his kids' lives to find a fucked up "reason" to hit them (i would not be surprised if the flinch and whatnot was from a sparring match gone too rough the last time they met tho). i think it is more so a flinch because Mrs. La Rue likely has gone after similar men to Ares, therefore making visual markers of Ares (eg. a leather jacket, motorcycle, etc) triggers to Clarisse's mind to be on guard as these other men have been unpredictable and/or abusive; and Ares hasnt been around Clarisse enough for her to trust him not to be the same nor does she trust him enough to be comfortable in general around him (as it's an Event when her dad shows up, not just some Tuesday). and that's in the books. thats not accounting for the tv show deciding "Clarisse will never be good enough to Ares because she is not one of his sons" (which i think makes sense in a representation point of view; but i also think it makes less sense sense about Ares specifically. because Athena is also a god of war, and theres even evidence that Aphrodite is/was a god of war when she was initially worshipped, so Ares is aware of women being equal and capable; Ares was also the patron of Sparta, which was the city-state with the most rights for women, one of which was that it was only one that allowed women to protect themselves against their husbands. and you could also argue, due to some of his actions in his legends, that Ares protected mistreated women. however, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" states that Olympus' move to New York meant that the gods changed to better reflect their enviroment, and Ares is the most likely best-fit to represent the Western/American brand of toxic masculinity. so. his depiction in the books works well enough for a man still in an affair with Aphrodite who upholds glory in battle as the pinnacle of human greatness, and his built-up depiction in the show to be more abusive and sexist does and doesnt make sense. i care more about representation and a good story than i do have Ares be academically perfect to how we understand his lore to have made him out to be, personally). but yeah, in both versions, he's been set up as a shitty dad. he's inattentive and lacking self-awareness at best (and, again, is still actively having an on/off affair with Aphrodite, which no doubt complicates his kids' feelings for him the same way any irl dad cheating and/or paying more attention to his girlfriend than to his kids would) in the books. which does then feed into Clarisse's relationship with him. Ares, like many of the gods, sees their kids as extentions or representations of themselves. so its good when things are good and you make them proud, but then anything you do badly then "reflects badly on them too" which can be really damaging to a kid

the only gods we see as exempt from this mindset of extension/representation (other than obviously Hera and Artemis, as neither have any biological demigod children. Artemis does have her mistresses of the hunt tho) is arguably Dionysus as aforementioned, kind of Poseidon as he keeps trying to connect with Percy (also maybe Hades for the same? we don't see him a lot, so it is hard to tell), as well as Apollo kind of? Apollo had his initial personality kind of backtracked and retroactively better-dad-ified, as he got his own POV book series ("The Trials of Apollo"), which includes a very heartfelt scene for when he got reunited with his son, Will Solace. so the gods arent terrible parents with all the same ideaologies, but they are absent more than they are present (with the exception of Dionysus, whose punishment is to be present and get attached 💔 not an encouraging move, guys)

which brings up another important point: that we dont really get other points of view in the first series, Percy is all we get. and though Clarisse is his ally (i love that Riordan did not have her betray the camp for the war in the first series. she just doesnt fucking like Percy lol), she is his most argumentative ally. in order for the reader to know Clarisse's backstory and know if she had to earn her claiming or not (which again: i dont think she had to. she may have been manipulated to think she did tho via the whole "i will claim you as a reward/i will claim you when it makes me look good and i can have some of your spotlight" bit), as well as learn how she earned her electric spear from Ares that Percy broke, Clarisse or someone close to her would have to sit down and tell Percy about it. and Clarisse wouldnt do that because she is not close with Percy; and nobody close to Clarisse would do that because they know Clarisse would feel betrayed if they talked about her private stuff to anybody, Percy or otherwise. all we really know about Clarisse La Rue's backstory is she was born in Phoenix, Arizona; and the satyr who led her to Camp Halfblood was Gleeson Hedge. that's it.

and i have a lot of complaints about how Rick Riordan writes (mostly how he writes women and people of color, especially women of color. but other parts of his writing does suck too). and part of the novel aspects of the new show is it allows "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" have a new re-write with a team of writers (which does still include Riordan), so there are likely things that will be changing. hopefully, unclaimed children will have a spotlight (i would love to have a show-exclusive character be unclaimed, but thats unlikely to happen). again, i havent seen the show yet, but it is possible that they will not follow the books in the aforementioned claiming details and will instead go "no, all claimings happen in a moment of glory", rather than "it was going to happen if you were a kid of the main 12 regardless, and we are just waiting to do it when it most looks good for us to announce you are ours". maybe they will explain the circumstances around Clarisse's claiming and spear, i dunno. the first series of books are all written in First Person POV and limited to just Percy's, and the nature of television is to be more Third-Person Omniscient, so there is a good chance we will learn things outside of what Percy knows this time around

but yeah! that's the climate around claiming and parenthood at Camp Halfblood, which even impacts claimed kids post-claiming; and everything we know about Clarisse past and her relationship with Ares before Percy Jackson arrives (at least in the books, lol) if you read this far, i do apologize that this is very long and that i kind of meander into some tangents. i have a habit of overexplaining. however, i hope that makes sense!✌️

[frankcastleonlyfans]

hello again!! omg I'm so glad you liked the idea thank you for answering! it's really sweet of you and you seem so comforting for me! actually, i'm in my angst era too, so... you know... i've got too many angsty fics thoughts.

if you don't mind, i want to talk more about dad!daemon x mom!reader or just husband and wife. maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but i love reading about their interactions. ('5 moment between us' got the best of me) i like reading or just witnessing relationship's crisis, as you said. and marrying (esp if being forced to do it and trying to live in this reality) is quite a change while having children!! is a huge crisis. it's just so interesting to see how these things affect a couple. like that postpartum depression and how they try to handle it together. just imagine daemon saying 'i love you' to his wife for the first time after her first childbirth and peppering her face (or even the whole body) with kisses thanking her for giving him an heir and just worshipping her. how they comfort each other after a fight with the children ('family feud'.. i felt SO sorry). missing and finally having each other (not in a sexual way but like... as a person. just pure adoration and being madly in love). BEING ABLE TO TAME THE ROUGE PRINCE! omg every time you use this line my heart ACHES! it's just another level of wife x husband relationship, so married(ly) domestic, so spiritual for me! i've just realized i need some hcs on this line. like daemon being absolutely whipped not by his children (it's sweet but) but his wife! totally can imagine him being able to sleep after a nightmare only in her arms ('mommy is dead' is a '!!!' i cried so much). liking her braiding his hair and kissing his hairline. being furious and ready to literally kill and turning into a putty when she touches his shoulder. loving waking up beside her and staring lovingly bc omg she's so perfect and she's mine??? hugging her protectively while she's crying. suggesting to buy her just anything and everything while she just asks for a day off with their family. omg i'm gonna cry again... sorry, it's a little too much.

if you ever feel like it, it'd be great but i just wanted to share my thoughts. i guess i've just got too whipped by this image... so yeah. if you don't mind, i'd really like to talk to you more! but you can always tell me to fuck off if ever feel uncomfortable!

oh no, please feel free to share your thoughts with me anytime you want to! 🫶🏽

this love scenarios between y/n and daemon are keeping my heart warm 😩💖 i like to think daemon helps her to deal with the weight of being a mother of four, even thought he couldn't handle it himself. he looks at her with admiration like with this constant look in his face

he worships her body like a temple, the temple that brought children, his blood, into the world. he goes into battle with confident feeling that the only thing that could kill him is his love for her. he loves her, no other woman could have his beating heart in the palm of her hand like y/n does. he would kill for her, and he would die for her

i need to write this comfort scenarios sooooo bad, i live for them and their children 🥺

[shadowsight-aster]

I do not regret opening Pandora's box whatsoever, in fact I'll keep opening it over and over again like a gremlin child.

I'M SO GLAD THAT I FOUND SOMEONE WHO LIKES THIS SHIP AS MUCH AS I DO! I was beginning to feel lonely.

An overhaul? Is that another word for a rewrite? If so, can Grey Wing be less forgiving of Clear Sky? He was way too light on him, Jagged Peak should have gone off a lot more about how horrible he was when their mom came to visit. She didn't even find out half the shit he did before disowning him.

And can Grey Wing PLEASE live up to 5 years at least? I want him to be happy with his husband for a little while longer, 2 and a half years is so young. 😭

AND RIVER SAYS HE LOOKED A LOT OLDER WHEN HE WAS LIKE, WHAT, A YEAR AND A HALF? THIS POOR CAT NEEDS A BREAK!

The difference between Grey Wing and River Ripple's lives is insane actually, Grey Wing was going hungry for the sake of others while River was taking food from twolegs and meditating. Grey Wing watched half of his friends die in a battle caused by his paranoid, delusional brother, was almost killed by said brother and blames himself for the deaths. River's camp probably seemed like an unreachable dream.

TRIPPING OVER NOTHING AND CRASHING THROUGH GLASS SLIDING DOORS. HOPPING FROM PAW TO PAW LIKE MY TAIL'S ON FIRE !!!! slash positive words cannot describe the unfiltered joy i get learning that there are people out there who also love my warriors ideas/ships n stuff. stimming so hard i simply stop existing TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION!!! yes yes i do mean rewrite and let me tell you about anon (dotc spoilers beneath the break!) (and a lot of words. like almost too many get ready to read)

starting all the way from the top: i kept fluttering bird alive i don't like it when the erins kill off the babies esp in the first few chapters of knowing them for shock value (and yeah yeah it was motive for the settlers leaving but. the ancients were already starving. they didn't need a little kitten dying to tell them to get moving) bird actually becomes the next stoneteller (at a very young age but i'll tell you what i was inspired by in a second) and passes on her last message, the prophecy of the sun trail ok so first: this one cover of the hobbit's "i see fire." (the one by celtic woman literally so beautiful) with bird singing it. "o' misty eye of the mountain below / keep careful watch of my brother's souls / and should the sky be filled with fire and smoke / keep watching over durin's sons." IS LITERALLY BIRD TALKING ABOUT HER BROTHERS!!! real not false i can see her leaning into the pool in the cavern of pointed stones, begging the world to tell her if they're even alive and getting just blurry images and feelings in return secondly: i think quiet rain would see her kids be burdened with leadership moons before their time and mourn the death of their kithood, as all mothers do. and on the other end, jagged peak. seeing all of his siblings fly above their stations on wings of starlight, while he himself is grounded, literally and figuratively. that he eventually remembers that he's still himself, he's still important and powerful and needed. he is not a burden--even if he's not one of the golden children--and it shows in the fierce love he has for his campmates (btw side note. we need more canon warriors disability rep NOW. justice for my kids.) do note i forget if this happened in dotc originally but now it's tripled. sorry jagged i still love you

as you said, yes. grey wing and jagged peak are lot more harsh to clear sky (and i say this with the most love) (sky is an ASSHOLE.) (rewrite clear sky even more so. ohhhh let me tell you.) circling back around to i see fire. i always thought that fire was very important in warriors, right?? from the first book, we know that the colonies (thunder, at the very least) see fire as this violent, fickle, destructive force that kills off colonies, we see it in how everybody distrusts firepaw when he joins the clan, we see it rip through territories and drive out entire colonies, we see it in the visions warning the healers of impending danger, in the colors of the aura of the sun eclipsed by the dark eye of the moon, in the ripples in the lake stained red with blood at sunset. but in these blazes, there grows new life afterwards. it's the knowledge learned in the ashes, the guilts and mistakes laid raw and bare with no cover to hide it. it's the phoenix dusting itself off, ready to grow stronger on the next cycle. the fire cleanses, the fire takes away, it is a device of nature and a weapon to be feared. enough prose: what am i trying to prove? well. i always thought that one eye had a lot of unused potential as a villain (AND STAR FLOWER. holding my tongue i'll get to her in a second) and slate was a fuckin. waste of time! in the rewrite, one eye uses fire to get his way. the mountain cats have never had many encounters with it (not a lot of fires near a waterfall with 0 kindling opportunities) and that it's been reduced to nothing more than a scary kit-story so one eye can intimidate them with it because he "knows how to control it," and understands how to get it he burns away patches of the blazing star to make a point (star flower gets on his case for this because "YOU MOUSE-BRAINED SCAT OF A DAD. *WE* ALSO NEED THAT."), he burns his followers, and nearly convinces clear sky to burn away all of the territories so they can easily kill and drive out all those who oppose them and rebirth a united nation underneath one eye's watchful gaze. clear sky comes full circle and becomes the very monster he was running from. doing this leaves no prey and will starve all who live in the territory the plague of death follows sky wherever he roams! haha! his siblings absolutely tear into him for this AND all of the other warcrimes he committed. let this freak work to earn forgiveness (also this feeds into why the colonies fear fire) (because this little menace of a man nearly killed everyone including himself) (his practices were deliberately buried so nobody else would get the idea to do that) (OTHER THAN NIGHTHEART BUT THAT'S ANOTHER REWRITE FOR ANOTHER DAY!) even though this is a lot of fire, grey wing does not die to his asthma! i have asthma and IM still alive. why can't he? huh? huh erins? he lives on the moor but he constantly stops by the island to visit his husband <3 all of the kindle cats treat him like one of their own, lift their tails and bunt and purr at him (the apprentices always see him coming from the moor and race to be the first to tell river ripple) night always has to flick river with her tail and be like: RIVER. GO TALK TO GREY WING. YOU'VE BEEN STARING AT HIM FOR FIVE MINUTES?? she also gives them tips on how to care for the younger members of their camps, how to be patient with them ALSO ALSO he AND river raise turtle tail's kids as their own. river calls them young ones, pebbles, minnows (that last one is picked up from arc. bawling) oh and also thunder and lightning tail are also in love. mic drop (my reasoning? they grew up together, they are so best friends to lovers) (and lightning tail gets so obviously jealous of star flower being with thunder it's hilarious) ONCE AGAIN THIS IS GETTING SUPER LONG BUT I WILL GO ON IN ANOTHER POST!!! i have many thoughts in my brain :3

[mediocredoots]

Kaijou, unsurprisingly 🤭

I'm always happy to answer kaijou stuff though!

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when I started shipping it if I did: I don't know the exact fic or doujin that opened my eyes completely to the two but after discovering slash for the 1st time on quizilla from a weird oc trying to get kaiba and joey to kiss fic to being directed to FF.N was a wild ride fhksdjf. Somewhere along the lines of browsing all the fanfics lemon and all, then rewatching ygo in the og dub changed my mind about them and from then on I was on board.

my thoughts: I love them 🥲 sometimes the content around them leaves a bad taste in my mouth esp from the times of yore fhdskjf but the way I personally see them and frame the way I want them to interact is what I like. sometimes I like them just getting on each other's nerves and despising one another, other times I like the idea of them being domestic in their own little way but it's the build up of trust/understanding and maybe a little fucked up abnormal situationship that brings them together?

What makes me happy about them: The thought of them coming to the conclusion that although they're different the things they lack in themselves might actually be the other person's strength. ie kaiba seeing losing as the end of the line yet jounouchi seeing it as another chance to keep going & improving—the tenacity. on the other end jounouchi has some insecurities that peek through when he's cornered or unsure of himself but kaiba's confidence in himself is overwhelmingly high. annoying at times perhaps but still an admirable trait I'd believe jou would be slightly envious of.

What makes me sad about them: That they didn't duel nearly as much as I'd wanted them to only 2x, 3 if you count the 4way battle. I swear I watch that one duel from BC at least 3x a month i'm not joking. I would just loved to see jou have kaiba on the ropes for once.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: oh man there were so many things. not so much annoying but gives me the ick fhksdjf. Kaiba being overly lovey dovey like baby talk and always hugging and kissing? I just can't see it. I think he'd have his own type of love language for sure but just not that. this is more so what older kaijou fics were like but the uwu uke jounou who cannot defend himself from big baddie seto. like c'mon let jou deck him in the face or knee him in the stomach pls.

things I look for in fanfic: How kaiba is written & if I can tolerate it. That's the biggest thing tbh 😂

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: the only other person I'd set kaiba up with is no one at all lmao or ishizu only because she wouldn't put up with his bs lol but also other reasons. jounou ofc otogi or anyone he is my shipping bicycle lol 

My happily ever after for them: Realistically is them being on decent terms with one another that they can stand to be in the same room together hfkjsdf. But otherwise at a point where they can both say "I love you" ( even if it may not be exactly those words ) without getting flustered over it 😩💕

who is the big spoon/little spoon: I feel jounou would've tried to fight to be big spoon & kaiba wouldn't even let him get the chance lol. I think the only time jou can manage to be big spoon is if kaiba is so delirious with sleep that he simply allows it and jounouchi is very happy those times. he doesn't mind being little spoon but he is very much a giver and wants to give that experience to kaiba too!

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Dueling haha. other than that I think it'd be pretty adorable that they took frequent trips to Kaibaland when they're both free. Jou with a BEWD hat like the mickey ears 😂

[metabolizemotions]

S19 s6 & characters

(forgot about spoiler feature. edited to shorten)

I think in a way, the show had incorporated Andy as the protagonist better this season. The bunch at 23 was hard to root for. The disastrous 5b set a low bar, but I think it's improved considerably in s6, all things considered. We would never know what really happened bts and how much of what we were are results of the decisions were made by network execs. This season, at least they are building towards Andy’s captaincy at 19, and incorporating it into the storylines of the other main characters, in ways that address who they have been for 5 seasons. 

Many of the storylines were hard to watch as they unfold in terms of the discomfort level of the scenes and how well they were written and executed. The pacing of b/w and within episodes were a little off. Some episodes had too many loose ends that needed to be tied up, while some episodes were uneventful. Sometimes the scenes caused a tonal whiplash, and the editing made the episode itself even more jarring. It was a good season overall and there were some excellent scenes but imo I felt if some scenes were shuffled around, the season would flow more smoothly.  

The overarching storyline of mental health crisis was done well. Stefania's performance was always intuitive and conveyed so much w/o words. Danielle performed Maya’s spiral into a mental breakdown and her healing process brilliantly. Jack’s storyline was actually not bad, though I felt that it was carried by his scene partners. (I have nothing against Grey but his acting really didn’t move me…) I liked Vic’s storyline - the girls’ camp and her taking over Crisis One - a leadership position that focused on mental health. Barrett was great in expressing the gamut of emotions she experienced throughout the season, culminating in 617, when she finally broke down.

The mayoral race was ok as a tangential storyline. Dixon has been built up since s3 as the big bad, the SPD feud since s4 and Ross was introduced to fight the corruption within SFD and as Dixon's adversary since s5. Also what with the station being overcrowded with lieutenants and the boring clinic scenes. But it was not interesting. Seeing as S19 loves to create smoke w/o fire - Dean's lawsuit against PD, Pru's custody battle, Andy's SA lawsuit... the resolution seemed expected. I like not seeing Dixon again tho seeing justice served would have been more satisfying.

I hope Robel winning would mean a change next season. At least have good people in leadership positions and make the show more positive and aspirational instead of the constant depictions of trauma and the uphill battles against the Dixons. Give more screen time to show what a better world could look like, and show good people fighting the good fight having a happier life - at the least, having a life. 

I hope they flash out the storylines of the existing main characters instead of bringing on new characters and creating overarching themes and drama w/o satisfying resolutions (and glaring plot holes as plot devices).  Esp Carina's backstory, Maya's continued healing, Marina's domestic life, Vic's Crisis One leadership. I'm curious to see how the careers of Maya, Andy and Ross would evolve as leaders. Just want all the women to be badass at their jobs. Jack's found and bio family storyline with Marsha, Lila and Brooke could be interesting. (I don't mind him when he's not being weird and inappropriate or put into other people's relationships cos they don't know what to do with him.)

Some thoughts on the characters this season:

These characters are complicated, walking contradictions. I try to view it from each person’s perspective as much as I could - about a bunch of flawed humans with different traumas using coping mechanisms that have varying degrees of success or the lack thereof.  

It’s like everyone has been shrouded in their own fog, in their own versions of reality. 

I think ambition/ captaincy also somehow “unleashes the beast” and triggers the traumas. It is used to create drama and also bring out the underlying issues of the characters. Somehow, it seems to bring out their worst selves, the parts intricately linked to their sense of self-worth, their unresolved trauma and their unhealthy and ineffective coping mechanisms.  

Ben

Ben has always been struggling with juggling his passion and his supportive role in his family.  He was just realizing how he appeared to the others when he went rogue all those times. He was lecturing Carina about not following medical protocol, Maya about her projection of her personal issues on the Dixons, telling Travis n Vic to abide by HIPAA and later during the “mutiny”, he was the only one against it at first when he would usually be the one jumping in headfirst. Sometimes the irony was still lost on him as he thought Bailey was reckless in going undercover in the fake clinic while he always justified his breaking of rules cos he thought he was doing the right thing. I think it might be his mental health crisis arc after having to leave someone behind when he made it his mission to save lives after his friend’s accident. Is he re-evaluating what makes a hero?  

Travis

(In s3, a kid actually told him he should run for office cos he gave him an impassioned speech.) Travis being conflicted the whole time and dropping out and endorsing the other candidate is expected. He is an Asian American gay man who grew up in a Christian household with a homophobic dad who turned out to be gay. (Probably also in a tight knit and conservative Asian American church community.) His indecisiveness seems to stem from his conflicting sense of justice and inability to own up to his courage. And his lack of entitlement as seen from his minimizing the prejudice and abuse his community faced esp during Covid, in light of the murder of George Floyd. I think he needs to be pushed constantly out of his comfort zone for him to discover what he really wants and who he really is and also start to move on from Michael and seek happiness. He also confirmed that leadership positions did not suit him and he could not play the political game like Ross and Eli urge him to. 

409 was an excellent insight into Travis and Vic, and their friendship (and why this is my fav dynamic after Marina.) Travis calling Vic reckless, selfish, inconsiderate and lack of boundaries while Vic calling Travis judgmental, controlling and expecting people to behave a certain way. The irony of Travis finding it hard to move on while Vic wanting to move on quickly to avoid feeling the grief. But both cos they feel too much but cope differently. Yet they both fear the end when they are still in the thick of it.  

Vic

I think Vic was having a bit of an existential crisis regarding her work and she projected her own fears about her own relationship with Theo onto Maya and Carina. Their locker room talk was a foreshadowing of the other shoe dropping. Vic couldn’t believe how perfect Theo was… and the shoe dropped… we see the other side of him. She has always been using humor and gossip to distract herself from her own issues. She tended to stuff her feelings down, since she was a kid, her fears as a young black woman, and the grief of her losses - her grandmother, her drama teacher, Ripley, Dean... Until they explode - like her smashing tiles or snatching a baby during a Crisis One call.

I think this rough patch in her relationship would also be a part of her personal growth as this is her first relationship past the honeymoon phase. She has been trying to help Theo who has been supportive but was in a bad place mentally. It seemed that as the season progressed, she developed more empathy and became more in tune with the feelings of others. (In s4, she expressed interest in psychology when talking to Diane.) Going thru her psychology classes and being around Diane also equipped her with skills to help herself and others. She had shown her unique combination of skills in Crisis One work - her empathy, her quick thinking, her improvisation skills perhaps developed as a theater kid. But she would still need support as she dealt with her unresolved trauma and the emotional exhaustion from her work.        

Jack

Jack was abandoned and had and lost a foster family. He confused lust for love, like Andy said they both did. Each time he thought he fell in love and wanted to settle down, he was actually wanting to fill a void. The other party always knew he was not in love with them but in love with the idea of love and family. I think growing up, he learned to be needed as he took care of his foster siblings. He is kind, empathetic and helpful but he never learned boundaries and confused caring with interfering and often overstepped when it came to people in his life. Ironically, he lacked self efficacy and often succumbed to self pity and learned helplessness. He was never held accountable for his actions and never developed emotional maturity and better coping mechanisms.

His conversation with Travis seemed to show his self-awareness of the changes in himself - the loss of ambition and confidence. As I mentioned, it is interesting to see Brooke, a sort of nature/ nurture comparison to Jack. Similar DNA, dissimilar upbringing. Brooke seems more emotionally mature. He told Marsha that hanging out with Brooke made him miss his foster siblings more. I think it’s his lack of a constant in his life, of the time when he first had a family. So meeting Lila is very significant for him and seems like an anchor for him to grow and heal. (I don’t hate him, I just hate that the writers need to have him hijack the storylines of others and make him the hero and when he makes mistakes, he is somehow the victim when he tends to put the blame on others instead of owning up.)

Maya, Andy and Jack

Going back to the captaincy drama in s3 involving Maya, Andy and Jack (which is another long discussion but all three were at fault then, others too…) Having gone thru their mental health crisis recently, Maya and Jack are taking a step back in their ambition and focusing on their mental health and the relationships in their lives. Andy is back in the game, this time against different players.

Maya and Theo

To me, there seemed to be some // drawn b/w Maya and Theo. Theo as a POC and his burden of carrying his dad’s legacy. Maya as a queer woman in firefighting and her strict conditioning by her abusive dad. They both have a chip on their shoulders following their stints as captains. Maya was right about Theo projecting his experience on hers cos he would not understand the misogyny. Just like Maya wouldn’t understand the racial prejudice he must have faced. But their demotions were different in nature. Maya cared about her team and tried her best when she was captain. Just like Theo. Maya’s start was rocky and she didn’t really have the guidance of her superiors nor the team’s support, esp. Andy’s. Theo had both but he was stuck in his own head a lot with his unresolved trauma over Michael’s death and his doubt about his ability as a captain. 

Theo

When Beckett was captain, Theo was constantly insubordinate and challenging him. When Andy was trying to help, he saw it as her being insubordinate and the team’s actions as sabotage. To make up for his insecurities as an outsider and his imposter syndrome as captain, he overcompensated. In wanting to be the opposite of Beckett, he micromanaged and overcompensated to an extent that made him a bad captain in another way. 

I think as we are seeing the other side of Theo, Vic is too. He also has this side that is judgmental, self-righteous and lacks self-awareness and empathy. He has a tendency to jump to conclusions and stick to them vehemently. He defied a direct order, pulled a cowboy move and forgot about Vic - after his angry lecturing of Maya and Beckett. He accepted the captain’s position despite reiterating that he didn’t want it. But he did not give Vic credit for the fire investigation despite her substantial role in it. He could be condescending, sexist and dismissive, as evident at the barber shop. He complained that Vic wasn’t understanding and compassionate but was dismissive of her feelings and was defensive when she tried to understand. He shut her down and called her “Diane” as an insult and avoided her in fear that she would psychoanalyze him and he had to face his issues. 

I think he has been compartmentalizing the parts of his identity - his heritage, the way he behaved around his old neighbors and the way he presented himself to the wider world. Code-switching, as Vic pointed out. He seemed to want to keep his private persona “Theo” separate from his work persona “Ruiz”. But he was also micromanaging his relationship with Vic. He wanted to control their interactions and made everything about him. He interpreted her support of him as interfering and her support of Andy as betrayal. (I love Ripley and Dean but he kinda grew on me and I really want to root for him for Vic's sake, but it got harder and harder. Sometimes he was worse than Sullivan. The finale seemed to set up a redemption arc for him in s7.)

Andy

Andy’s support of Theo was as much about her being reciprocal as it was about her own growth. She has always been good with people - starting with dealing with Pruitt and being surrounded by a large family than the uncles at S19 as she was growing up. It doesn't seem like she has stepped out of Pruitt’s shadow entirely. Growing up with Pruitt, an overbearing dad w/o respect for boundaries, she is used to resisting and rebelling. She is still constantly challenging rules and her leaders. But she used to bring her personal affairs and emotions into work and could be rash and reckless. She was often jumping into situations without much consideration cos she was eager to save people. She did it when Sullivan was captain and during Maya’s initial captaincy. She pinned Rigo’s accident entirely on Maya but after Cooper’s accident, she told Theo not to immediately throw Beckett under the bus. In her marriage to Sullivan, she learnt to support others as well as learning to stand up for herself more, against his controlling and patronizing ways. After honing her skills at 23, she is increasingly able to keep her own emotions in check at work while handling all the big egos and personalities around her and rally people to take action. 

Andy, Theo, Beckett

But since her return to 19, she had been going about things her way - to make 19 the way it used to be to her. In a way that Maya fights hard not to be like Lane, Andy wants to be like Pruitt and continue his legacy. When Beckett and Theo were captains, she often challenged them and was insubordinate. Beckett was too careless, apathetic and slow to react and sloppy in execution. Theo was too careful to the extent of micromanaging, closed off and too afraid to take action. Andy and Theo seem to be two sides of the same coin, both being legacy kids with something to prove. They are both not fully confident in their leadership. While Andy is more flexible and open to other perspectives in her decision-making while Theo is the opposite. Andy often reacts before she thinks, which sometimes situations do call for and she has good intuition in fast-evolving situations. All their styles could put both the rescuers and the rescuees in danger. All three are not ideal captains in different ways. 

For the sake of comparison, in Maya’s later captaincy, she was level-headed, was open to her experienced team’s input to make more informed decisions and could see the bigger picture and did what was right and for the greater good. She cared for her team and the people she was helping, unlike Beckett. She was fast on her feet and intuitive like Andy. She was careful like Theo.   

I want Andy to be captain. I want her to have the chance to grow into it. She has earned it. (Also it has been her storyline since the very first episode and I wish the captaincy drama would finally be put to rest.) I think Andy not accepting the interim captain position could in part be her self-sabotage as women tended to do when they were not convinced they were fully qualified. While men often thought they were qualified when that was not the case. Like Sullivan, who had no qualms applying for battalion chief when he was still a lieutenant or to step forward for captaincy again despite his history. 

Ross

Ross is a complex character. As a chief who has a relationship with her subordinate, a parallel can be drawn with Ripley. As a WOC, parallels can be drawn with Herrera and Hughes. She is also where Bishop wants to be in future, a female chief. To me, she is a good chief. Not a great one yet. I think the intention is to make her meet 19, have them challenge her existing beliefs and grow into a great chief. She is still straddling her entrenched mindset as part of the problematic system and her growing desire to challenge the system. I love her whenever she went toe to toe with Dixon. But I’m less a fan when she let her personal life affect her work and became hypocritical, biased and self-serving. I think the last episodes attempted to show that she has changed, but imo I’m not totally convinced with the framing about her challenge of the system as a feminist act w/o also addressing the injustice Maya faced from the system, and from Ross herself.  

[thegirlwhowrites642]

hi, I just want you to know i an in love with back to eclipse.

I esp. Loved they didn't just snogged they talked first. You depicted their relationship so healthy.

Also I love that line "ginny will never forgive herself if she hexed harry". This line was very important for me because my biggest pet peeve in after war fics have always been ginny beating/slapping/hexing harry.

Also in many after war fics I felt unsatisfied because only ginny is the one making effort and harry is ignoring her later suddenly they kissed with no resolution/OR people just ignore Ginny's trauma.

I am very satisfied with this fic. This has everything I wanted in post war fic.

When they fight they are so in character. AND Also they fight like a old married couple( reminds me of my grandparents,they also apologize very quickly).

Love their fist I love you scene. This was so heartfelt. I am very much in love with this. I just cant stop gushing.

Thank you for this amazing fic.

( Btw when did you think they have sex first time?)

Thank you!!!!!

[Back to the Eclipse, for who hasn't read it yet]

I really wanted them to talk first, after all, it's what Harry implies at the end of the battle. Anyway, I've planned to give an explanation of some of the choices I made with this story. Those who followed me through the journey that was writing it may remember that one of the first times I talked about this project was due to someone asking me when I thought their first "I love you" would happen. So I really wanted to show the work of analysis behind the choices I made (I'm pretty sure I actually promised it at some point).

One of the main elements of Harry and Ginny is how healthy their relationship is, and how good they are at communicating, despite being two extremely messed up people. Also, I have a visceral hatred for all those people who think the only way to make a love story interesting is to make it unhealthy, so every occasion to prove them wrong (and I hope I did) is great.

I'm so glad you liked this line: "Because I could never forgive myself if I hexed you." Ginny is very gentle with Harry, in a way she definitely isn't with anyone else.

If there is something you'll never see me do is dismiss Ginny's trauma and point of view. Actually, one of my main goals with this story was to show very clearly why Ginny loves Harry, which meant letting Harry do what he desperately wanted to do in DH but wasn't allowed to: take care of Ginny.

I love that you think they are in character when they fight! I have a meta (here) where I analysed the way they deal with conflict in canon and I kept going back to it while writing to keep myself in check.

The "I love you" scene! That was strongly inspired by Daylight by Taylor Swift. The dialogue for that scene is actually what started this whole story.

As for your question, I believe sometime at the end of June. They have been separated for a year, and I kept them apart another month, my poor babies, so they are kind of exasperated and they are very physically comfortable with each other. The first time they saw each other after breaking up they were holding hands, what are we even talking about. They seem to always need some physical contact in canon, it's something I think I also showed in the fic. And the end of HBP and the start of DH are filled with sexual innuendos. Add to that they just survived a war...

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Wait…hydreigon kinda goes hard (im biased because i like dragon types) but also if it can’t learn pursuit that’s a good amount of uprooting esp with the whole mega thing but it does give more avenues for the dragon on dragon hate crimes final battle stuff….this has me scratching my head LMAO hm

Wait that’s actually really don’t now that you mention it because I actually forgot Rin existed like we’ve even mentioned CHARLES in the pokemon au but not once have we felt the need to bring up Rin LMAOOOO

With those big ass chompers there’s no way raticate can’t…right…but LMAO karasus ptsd has him auto sending out garchomp like against readers joktik (imagine he LOSES LMFAOOOOO)

ANOTHER DIAGRAM YIPPEE wait on that note how do you imagine her hair color being like? Do you think she has that same fade Karasu (or ig Tabito LMAO) has? But your comments LMAOOOOO they always crack me up

AHAHAH hiori and Karasu pokemon swapping is so funny nidoqueen would fr be so good at helping Karasu with the daycare (also when I thought about teams myself way back when I lowk saw Karasu with a nidoqueen LOL) also wtf it can’t have eggs?? Ig that’s pokemon logic for you smh AIKU WINGMAN LMAOOO oaeu aiku pulling up the pokemon au is just an interconnected web of all the other miraverses

I love how the ridiculous scenarios can double as both really deep and serious but also crack like we talked about regarding wb it’s so tear jerking when you read but when you think simply you’re like wait he built a whole ass house instead of just trying to get her number???

Nagi making you a cup of instant coffee is his form of “marry me and stay with me for the rest of your life” LMAO I need some yuki fan who actively thinks of yuki tropes to come through and drop a req LMAOO but I was actually thinking that too like there’s quite a few types I wonder what Mira’s gonna choose

Pause imagine ponysonas for them LMFAO not to plunge myself back into mlp but I definitely occasionally see ocs floating around (probably because of the whole viral infection trend going around?) and some designs kinda slap

TABIEITA TRIANGLE wait that’d be so interesting but also means we’d have to split the duo up SHSHSHS ok but BAROU REPRESENTATION LETS GOOOOO your blog is fr a safe haven for Karasu fans we come here to escape the dudebros dragging him SJDHSJ imagine people think it’s supposed to be threesome they’d be in for a surprise but I think generally people know triangle means there’s competition for being the male lead and esp since you asked for second lead specifications that probably solidifies that…THE “haha…nice” HAS ME CRYING actually now that I look there’s a lot of pretty recent gen pokemon lowk more than I expected? Like fire dragon my first guess would’ve been reshiram or charizard x maybe im just too out of touch with the latest games

SHSHSH FR I looked it up like “WHAT IS THAT??” (Yk that one tiktok audio…oh my god… what IS that??? Yeah that one) ok im ngl wtf is scovillain I do NOT fw the design im sorry SHSSJJSHSHS “sae it is…” PLEASE real though omg have fun with that one LMAOO OOOH wait ykw is funny j actually thought “lmao what’ll happen if Mira gets a ness request” LMFAOOO Karasu ftw I saw those tropes too and agree that fic is gonna eat!! Very curious to see what those last three slots will be! I’m also kinda surprised Rin hasn’t found a home there yet

I SAW THAT POST AND THAT WAS MY FIRST THOUGHT I was looking at it and saw seabird and fr was like WAIT surely there’s not many fics names seabird (I also looked to see if any of your other fics were there too I was kinda expecting cherry tree but maybe they just read the sae fic on Ao3 and didn’t scour your masterlist) that seabird anon fr having a snowball effect LMFAO NOOOO STAY STRONG (I will hold you to that and laugh if you swerve but feel free to do the same LMAO)

- Karasu anon

HYDREIGON IS INSANE LIKE I LOWKEY LOVE IT i just think it’s so cool plus like the vibes of reader being this sweet looking girl and then she tosses out this villainous looking dragon vs nagi being all cold and intimidating but then his main pokémon is just a cuddly squishy pink blob of a dragon LMAOAO it’s so cuteeee plus lowkey since hydreigon are supposed to be super territorial and hate each other maybe aiku’s studying how much trainers’ feelings impact their pokémon?? and that’s why the two hydreigons are hesitant to fight even though it’s characteristic of the species (because reader and barou love each other #siblinggoals) also i think hydreigon would cook in the sense that there are some RANDOM characters that have pseudo legendaries when reader herself does not…like okay i can excuse nagi “main rival” and noel noa “the real number one” but KARASU??? CHIGIRI??? HIORI??? none of them have any business with pokémon like that /hj

okay wait i did a lot of reworking to make things work with hydreigon as a starter (it was not fun because pursuit is built on the barou cousins + houndooms bonds) but i just deleted it all because i realized that i didn’t need to…LMAO okay hear me out we keep houndoom as the starter and have the houndoom v houndoom family plot as well as the houndoom/arcanine parallels because i’m attached to that and houndoom is just iconic to reader at this point!! instead we change the two most irrelevant (sorry) members of her team: dragalge and donphan 😰 so the entire reason reader seeks out dragalge (as a skrelp) is because she needs a poison type to defeat pablo c because none of her pokémon are strong against fairies right…so replace dragalge with a nidoran that eventually evolves into nidoking (replace luna’s nidoking with muk or smth idk) and then you have a ground type on the team, making donphan (who’s only a ground type) irrelevant!! so then donphan can be replaced with hydreigon and that way the type composition of the team is still the same just spread out differently (instead of ground and dragon+poison it’s poison+ground and dragon+dark but the dark type is irrelevant because houndoom) but we get to keep houndoom and arcanine as the starters hehe…lowkey this makes reader’s and nagi’s teams correlate super well too like houndoom/arcanine, goodra/hydreigon, clefable/nidoking, snorlax/galvantula (they’re literal opposites in terms of size), reuniclus/gyarados, and whimsicott/aegislash SLDKJFN reader’s team is giving nagi’s team if it was evil (number one gender stereotype defying couple for LMAOOO yes nag does have all squishy cuddly pokémon and yes reader does have a team of monsters + one insect what about it)

HELP to be fair charles doesn’t show up until pursuit boruto but agreed we’ve fr discussed everyone BUT the itoshis lmaooo this is so on brand of us i’m proud…itoshis can have many things but they can NOT have pursuit ‼️

hm i think in bfb i described both karasu siblings as having hair like crow feathers?? where it’s still black but almost iridescent in a purplish greenish way i think i’ll stick with that in pursuit because purple hair is so not karasu LMAOO but that’s an explanation for why it’s drawn purple?? like it just looks purpley when the light hits it but it’s not actually purple…i think bfb also has yayoi with very very blue eyes whereas tabito’s are more of an indigo bordering on violet so i’ll probably stick with those descriptions!!

pokémon logic is so interesting sometimes LMAOO but agreed i feel like nidoqueen + garchomp are giving that one audio that’s like mama y papa HAHA like they’re def the ones running the place lowkey (imagine an ova that’s just nidoqueen and garchomp dealing with the baby pokémon) actually lowkey nidoqueen’s just glad to be away from swanna for a bit HAHAHA omg aiku channeling his oaeu self just to help karasu out LMAOO pursuit is actually just every other fic i’ve ever written but with pokémon and barou angst

NO YOU’RE SO RIGHT like when you actually think about it it’s truly the most ridiculous thing he could’ve done but when you’re reading it’s just angsty and hopeful and SLDKFJN all in one

nah because honestly just being in a relationship with nagi is basically him confessing his love because he’d never get with someone unless he was down BAD (@ peregrine reader)…too real though we need a true yuki stan to show us the light the way we show everyone the karasu vision

BRO I WAS LIKE DO YOU WANT ME TO MAKE TABIEITA BEEF???? HELLO??? jkjk i love some good old angst (karasu in love with otoya’s gf and he knows he can treat her better but he’s just mediocre so she never looks his way af) but BAROU REP so real so important so necessary (and speaking of which…hehe smth’s abt to drop hopefully by the time you’ve read this you’ll know what i mean)…my blog is home for all karasu lovers and honestly real LMAO i’m happy to do it anything for my man 🤩 THE “haha…nice” IS SO ISAGI SOMEHOW I’M CRYING i think the vibe i’ll go for is reader doing increasingly insane things to attempt to confess meanwhile isagi is just determined to view things platonically and that way it’s still “unrequited” without being angsty yk?? more humorous than anything

the scovillain design is so ugly i was reminded of why i don’t get the new games DSLKFJSH anyways…yeah haha i technically did get a ness req but karasu for LIFE LMAOAO my fyp has been trying its best to convert me to itoshism i keep getting sae tik toes on my FYP and i’m like NOOO GET BACK I DON’T WANT HIM!!! agreed i’m interested to see what the last three slots are as well…i was lowkey hoping they’d fill up before i started writing so i can make sure not to repeat ideas but tbh i think the rest of the spots will only be filled once i’ve posted the first request or two for the event 🙂‍↕️ or maybe not we’ll see!!

HHAHAAH I WAS TAKEN ABACK LIKE SEABIRD??? MYYYYY SEABIRD?? i think all of their reqs are from ao3 and cherry tree isn’t on ao3 HAHA of my 500 event only seabird, the instrument, and the first part of fwtkac are also on ao3 (and then all of my long fics plus karasu’s bfb [not otoya’s] and freaky friday) so it makes sense that only seabird was included!! fr flattering either way but like…come on now y’all why does NOBODY know me for liking nagi 😭 sae fans and karasu fans after finding my blog not even realizing i’m a nagi fan first and foremost: 😛

[this-is-my-main-i-follow-from]

Some ways I involve witchcraft in my daily life: 

Charge the water in my watter bottle (sun water for my daytime water & moon water for my bedside glass. You can also use minerals to charge it or use distilled rainwater)

Put intentions into tea or make tea potions (if I need an extra focus boost bc #/adhd I’ll put a bit of basil & lemon into some tea or have basil lemonade. Then stir it clockwise while thinking of your intention)

Write sigils on your schoolwork (for focus maybe. I wrote one on my math note package that meant “I understand math”)

Put glamour sigils on makeup (esp good if you have a femininity sigil for trans women or a glamour sigil/spell. You can write it on the back of makeup or carve it in. If you carve it in eyeshadow: the sigil loses its charge once you work the makeup until it’s been ground away. In Lipstick: carve it on the side & once you use the lipstick past the base of the sigil, it has lost its power & you need to make a new one. You can also do this with soap!)

Sew sigils onto your clothes (sew a masculinity sigil onto your binder, or one for good health & breathing)

Hold minerals in your bra/binder (I’m heavy chested so I can hold them in my binder but if you’re small chested you can only hold them in your bra once you take off your binder for the day. They can encourage health, fertility, masculinity, whatever)

Write the names of saints into sigils to ask them to intercede for you (If you are like me & you get travel anxiety, write “saint christopher” into a sigil & charge it with safe travels. St Christopher will help charge that sigil & he will always be present with you when you bring your sigil on your travels. If you’re trans, gnc, or any queer subtype, you can write st joan of arc into a sigil & charge it with intentions she can help with. St Dymphnea I think is how you spell it but yeah st dmphnia is the patron saint of mental illness if you want her help with that. (edit: also patron for victims of !nc*st, anxiety, & sleep issues I think. Spelled dymphna?) St michael the archangel can help you fight your battles (spiritual or otherwise), st kateri tekakwitha is the patron saint of north american indigenous ppl & ecology... you can find a ton of patron saints)

Say grace before (& after) eating (this can be a prayer or you can bless your food. If you’re not christian like me & you don’t have any other deities then you can thank the universe maybe, or thank the food itself. You might also offer to share it with a deity if you’re a hellenist & not with a cthonic deity)

Meditate on your walk (I have adhd so I like to do a walking meditation. It’s much better than a sitting meditation. You can meditate on/about the walk, or you can meditate while walking)

When you say “thank god” you should mean it (I was walking the other day & didn’t know there were stairs. I somehow didn’t fall. Some ppl would say “thank god” but I actually made the sign of the cross & thanked him/them)

Bless your medication (you can do this every time you take it/every day or you can do it when you get your prescription filled. You can also charge it.)

EDIT: I JUST FOUND OUT YOU CAN ADD INTENTION TO BRUSHING YOUR TEETH AS A SPELL/RITUAL???????

PS: Reminder that sage in an herb. There is a difference b/w culinary sage & sage sage. A stick/bundle of sage is a sage stick or a sage bundle. Smudge is a practice/ceremony. Smudge often has music, sweetgrass & other medicines, & sage, & Smudge is our way of praying. Smoke cleansing with sage is not smudge. A bundle of sage is not a smudge stick. If you are invited to join someone for smudge, I highly recommend you go: it’s awesome. I have lineage in many Metis families, & I’ve been going to the native centres in my schools & listening to the indigenous ppl & the guy who leads us through smudge to reconnect with my lost culture. edit: success. Apparently I wasn’t nearly as disconnected as I thought, I just had to look for it. I was taught the Metis way, it just wasn’t called that bc ~racism~ 

[meeko-mar]

Can I just compare Bakudeku to Korrasami for just a moment

Not as in, their relationship, but in terms of fandom experience, perception and how it became Canon.

So, some years ago, LOK was on it's 4th and final season. So of course, shipping discourse was high. Who would Korra end up with? Would she end up single, be back with Mako?

Or....there was a big calling for the couple Korrasami, that is, Korra and her female friend Asami, to get together.

Now, up until the point of the finale, (and grant that I haven't watched in a while so I'm speaking in an overall sense and recalling my experience) Asami and Korra had been teaming up more and more. Korra had been really, badly, injured in the last season, leading to her isolating herself in the SWT for about 2 or 3 years to heal with Katara, and upon heading back to Empire City, she takes an abrupt turn to spend more time isolated and on a sort of spirit journey in the wild because she didn't feel ready to face her destiny and her friends and was suffering from PTSD. She later returns to EC, and to Asami, and they are close together for the season.

This all caught the attention of the Korrasami shippers who had, at the time, kind of only been casually shipping them because, hey, wouldn't it be nice? and they were slowly and steadily getting more crumbs, and the ship gathered momentum as the seasons progressed.

But lo and behold, everyone else was saying such things as:

"they're a female/female ship, it will never happen, even if you want it to" (even shippers of Korrasami were resigned to this because the precedent in youth animation in western cartoons at the time, was of course, not inclusive of same sex couplings).

We SAW the subtle development between the two and DARED to hope and dream that it might one day become canon, even though we thought it unlikely because of the trend towards heteronormativity. We saw their interactions and toiled over if they were trying to hint at something more between them.

"They're just friends. You're reading into it"

Because the "just friends" behavior of Korrasami in later seasons were:

-Asami being deeply supportive of Korra when she was injured (and for a time, disabled) Like, literally, getting on a knee, putting her hand into Korra's and saying "I'm here for you, for ANYTHING you need" kind of supportive, even offering to COME to the SWT with her. (Korra sacrificed her desire to have Asami close because she didn't want Asami to drop her duties as basically a CEO to tend to her)

-Korra receiving letters from all of her friends during her healing period, but ONLY responding, in a very beautiful letter, to Asami's.

-Korra honestly apologizing for being gone so long without writing more than one letter or sharing more of what was going on or where she went

-Asami complimenting Korra's new hair and Korra BLUSHING and looking SO charmed(and returning the compliment of how amazing Asami always looks) --there is no hetero explanation for this.

-being battle partners and constantly having each other's backs

-Asami protecting Korra from pursuing enemies while she's in the Spirit World(leaving her physical body vulnerable)

-other characters in their circles being literally like "What's going on with you two??"

-Culminating in the final episode after the final battle with Asami breaking down, confessing that she wouldn't know what she had done if she had lost Korra in that final battle(she'd even lost her father the same day) AND THEN Korra comforting her and suggesting that they, the two of them, alone, take a trip together, to get away from it all for a bit.

-It ends, when They literally walk into the spirit world portal holding hands and staring lovingly into each other's eyes as the camera pans from them into the spirit portal

Which, LET ME TELL YOU, watching this when it first premiered, for the first time, WAS AN ALMOST TRANSCENDENT EXPERIENCE. It was a soft scene, emotional, beautifully animated, and the MUSIC just hit you right in the heart. Like, they didn't even kiss to really hammer it in that THEY ARE IN LOVE, however, it was an EMOTIONAL PAYOFF and there was NO arguing that they were not a couple. Creators soon after confirmed, yes, they are both bisexual women, and they are in love.

And so, you could definitely say that Korrasami could have been interpreted as just "Very Good Friends" behavior, of "Gals being Pals", and many people DID argue that, and would later claim that there wasn't "enough build-up to the relationship". And part of the atmosphere in media back then(esp. Nickelodeon at the time) they really couldn't be blatant about it up until that ending. It was even a thing that Nickelodeon had been kind of shooting them in the foot for a while with switching around air times, and eventually taking it off air and putting it only available to view ON THEIR WEBSITE. There was a lot of fuckery with the studio at the time, and It wouldn't have been far off to think that they had issue with the idea of this series ending with two girls together romantically.

..

It just kind of makes me think of people telling BKDK, not only "They're m/m, it'll never happen in shonen manga" but ALSO anything from "they hate eachother" to "They are toxic because Bakugou bullied him(blatant disregard for any current development of Bakugou's character) and so it can never ever happen" to "Ok sure they're becoming friends again, but that doesn't mean they love each other or will by the end of the story"

When arguably, Korrasami was basically given the same dismissal.

And my dudes, it's only gonna get more intense from here.

Like, Bakugou and Izuku are friends now(again). There's no denying that. They would literally die for one another. Their relationship, and the emotions between the two of them in the coming arcs will only be compounded, with how the last arc left off and how Izuku SUDDENLY left and how Bakugou has so many unresolved feelings, and how, like Korra being the Avatar and having to save the world multiple times over(and the PTSD she got from it), Izuku is carrying a heavy burden that Bakugou is determine to help him see it through to the end without LOSING Izuku in the process. Their stories are so closely tied together and they are SET to return to each other, and it CANNOT end WITHOUT them being together, in some capacity, even if it is just platonic.

So...I wouldn't write BKDK off just yet. We're at the same spot right now that Korrasami shippers were when they were starting to seriously think that there was something canon about Korrasami.

So, Am I saying that I for sure, 100% believe that BKDK will become romantically canon? Not really; the hurdle of it being a Shonen-oriented manga being actively marketed for boys, is admittedly a huge hurdle to overcome, and I, as an American, cannot begin to understand all of the cultural barriers, or implications breaking any of those barriers would have to a Japanese audience or for Horikoshi/his career as a manga-ka.

I still don't know what Horikoshi is thinking when it comes to BKDK, he's obviously very private and all we can do is speculate on what he feels about it; there's still a possibility, however small, that he may actually be the biggest BKDK of us all, and "telling the story he wants to tell" may yet include BKDK becoming canon(that quote may also have nothing whatsoever to do with any romance, but we don't know)...But, much like I was at the point in the Korrasami tale, I'm still painfully aware of the precedent that remains in the way.

Like the Korrasami tale, though, I suppose there is that possibility that we will see something completely amazing and groundbreaking, and I will once again have that transcendent experience where an unlikely ship suddenly becomes reality. At this state in the Korrasami tale, I had NO IDEA that we were shipping the real, canon deal, and it honestly surprised me, being that I usually attach myself to something that never becomes canon, lol(*cough*Zutara).

We're in the thick of it now, we just gotta wait it out and see.

[valcalico]

Athena and Ares

(Just my thoughts on them and their relationship)

I have a lot of feelings about these two. They have a very complex dynamic, where they don’t really like each other, but they can’t work without each other either.

Athena provides rationality to the cruelty of war. She is the strategy and logic behind it. The objective. One might say she represents the generals, and the politicians and the main heroes. Basically the big players.

And Ares? He’s the opposite. He represents the emotion associated with war. He is the bloodlust and the desperate fight. Where the battle is thickest, where there is no room for thought, and when its pure survival instinct that drives you, that’s Ares. He represents the worst parts: the blood and the violence and the cruelty. He is accompanied by fear and terror (Phobos and Deimos). One might say he is the god of soldiers.

So they need each other. If they actually worked together, they’d be one of the dangerous forces ever, even in god circles. But they don’t. Not only because of how differently they view the world, but also because of deeper nuances in their relationship.

Athena is beloved. She is Zeus’ favourite child and his right hand goddess. The people love her. She is the patron of one of the most powerful, influential cities, Athens. She is highly respected everywhere else too. A protector of heroes and a friend to humanity.

Ares, on the other hand, is disliked by many. Zeus says he is “the most hateful of all gods” and says he would have thrown him into Tartarus if he wasn’t his and Hera’s son. (Its in the Iliad) (This part always makes me sad poor ares) He is highly respected in Thrace and Sparta. But Athens dislikes him and worships him out of necessity only.

Even in modern times, Athena is considered a feminist icon and badass lady, while Ares is labelled a brute.

Most people know this. So why did I just type out all that? Cause context is important when delving into the myths.

So first of all, let’s debunk that last point I made. In the ancient myths (and I’ll try not to include romans esp. Ovid), it didn’t work that way at all. Of course it’s important to keep in mind that ancient Greece was very misogynistic. But still, Athena was not feminist at all. Her being a “masculine” woman (mostly) was what made her so acceptable to Athens and she was regularly used to shut down other women. Also:

(The actual translation of this scene was circulated a while back. So you’re probably familiar with this. Also I’m not saying this to offend any worshippers of Athena or anyone who admires her. There are a lot of bad things in greek mythology and Athena’s internal and external misogyny is probably the least of my concerns. Plus if the greek gods did exist, i believe they change with the society, so they will no longer be Like That in the present day.)

Ares, on the other hand, was incredibly feminist, especially for that time. He surrounded himself with women he loved and respected. (Aphrodite, Eris, Enyo, etc). His lovers were often famously women who challenged the status quo (Otrera, Cyrene). He was regularly show to be a good father to all his daughters, immortal and mortal. (Harmonia, Hippolyta, Penthesilia, Alkippe). Also:

If that isn’t the coolest thing EVER-

Anyway, I won’t delve deep into that (well, any more than I’ve already rambled about it).

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can get to the hypotheticals.

I headcanon that despite ALL the evidence to the contrary, they maybe don’t despise each other completely. I see them having more of a love-hate relationship.

The thing is, gods are very contrary creatures. Zeus and Hera’s fights shake the world one moment, and in the next, they are as loving as any. Apollo is smiling and singing in one moment and skinning a satyr alive in the next. This complexity should be given this relationship too.

Like I said above, they need each other. Both general and soldier are equally important in war. And I don’t think you can completely truly need someone and hate their existence at the same time. (There are exceptions)

This scene in the Iliad really got me thinking:

If you take the scene at face value, this is probably not something to think too much about. Its Athena going to Ares, insulting him a bit, and taking him away from the war.

But its more than that. First off, Athena goes upto Ares and can calmly convince him to listen to her. Second, look how she frames the question. She says “shall we” which i think is pretty important. Athena doesn’t need to worry about Zeus’ anger or his rules, as she shows later on in the Iliad, and before, during the Rebellion. Both Athena and Ares knows this well. So why does she also need to withdraw? She can make the point without adding herself to the equation. She can also fairly easily run him off the battlefield like she does later. But she doesn’t. And there isnt any hostility from Ares.

Instead, they go together, away from the battlefield and...sit down near a river bank? Basically relax as much as they can? That doesn’t sound like a hateful relationship.

There is also the fact that Ares was going to join sides with the greeks (aka on Athena and Hera’s side) until Aphrodite convinced him to join her instead.

Its clear from this that Ares doesn’t really have much of a stake in this fight. He doesn’t care much about the greater objectives of the war. The only thing that can convince him to take a side is the people one the sides. He fights for the people he cares about, not for any greater good. He easily changes his loyalty because of his love for Aphrodite. He frequently gets into fights to save his children. He goes against Diomedes partly because of how he wounded Aphrodite. All of this means that he cares for Athena too. (And for Hera ofc). Maybe he doesn’t care for her as much as he cares for Aphrodite, but its not really fair to expect him to.

I like to think they genuinely do care for each other a great deal, they just kinda suck at showing it. Maybe that changes as time passes. I can see Athena being quietly protective of Ares (maybe she makes up an excuse to send him away during the Rebellion because she knows he will be in danger otherwise). I definitely think she felt a little guilt (guilt, not regret) at stabbing Ares, seeing as it wasn’t really fair. Ares didn’t know she was there.

I also think that Ares, who spends a lot of time with awesome women and is very fierce in standing up for them if the need arises, will be the one who calls her out a lot of the time on her misogyny or hypocrisy. Athena also has a habit of suppressing any “vulnerable” emotion. She likes to keep all her guilt, sadness, fear, hurt, and regret all locked up tight. I feel like Ares is one of the few people she lets a few of those emotions out around, even if she still tries not to. And in the lighter moments, in private, maybe they joke around a bit and laugh, too.

Okay, now for the heavier bit. While i do think they care for each other, there is also a lot of resentment there. A lot of it, unfortunately, comes from how they are treated by their peers and elders. They like different people, they are liked by different people and they are liked to different degrees. Let’s talk about 3 of the main players.

1) Zeus. Does this surprise you?

I do think Zeus loves all his kids. He doesn’t like some of them, but he does love all of them. And he isn’t as bad of a father as everyone thinks. People have discussed that better so I’ll not rant about it here.

All that aside, he definitely has favourites. Athena is his favourite child (Apollo, I think, being his second). And this favouritism is SUPER OBVIOUS. Its like none of the rules apply to Athena, which is weird considering Zeus isn’t forgiving of those who defy his authority (did someone say Prometheus?)

Ares, on the other hand, is on the other side of the spectrum. The one Zeus dislikes the most.

We can see how this affects them in several instances. The most notable is probably in the Iliad, after Athena deceitfully stabs Ares and forces him to flee to Olympus, injured.

Ares calls Zeus out on his favouritism. He says that gods weren’t allowed to fight each other and if it were anyone else, they would have been punished. He says Zeus always does this, always lets Athena get away with everything, and that he needs to start getting his daughter under control.

Zeus doesnt like this too much and basically tells Ares to stop whining and that he isn’t much better when it comes to destruction. He says Ares is the most hateful of all gods and loves bloodshed. He says he would have gotten rid of him if he weren’t his son, but seeing as he was, Zeus cannot bear to see Ares in pain. He then gets Ares healed.

I can definitely see how this kind of blatant favouritism from someone who should be better to Ares would affect him. Ares is the firstborn son of Zeus and Hera. He should be getting a lot of respect, as per ancient standards but instead, he is overtaken by his virgin half sister from Zeus’ previous marriage, and many bastard half siblings.

Athena being able to break rules left and right, and Ares having to be nervous about even toeing the line will cause distance between them.

This in addition to his position as a god of civil order is a reason that i think he wouldn’t want to break any rule until he deems it absolutely necessary, like if someone he cared about were in danger.

I can totally see a situation where both of them try to help a hero but Zeus orders them not to. Athena then wants to break the rules, but Ares is very hesitant about doing so. Athena convinces him, either by taunting or by calmly urging him, to go along with it. They get caught but only Ares gets punished. Ares can then truly show Athena the difference between her and everyone else.

Remember when i headcanoned earlier that Athena sends Ares away during the Rebellion? That ties into this. She knows that if they get caught, ares could get into trouble whether or not he did anything. I expect Ares will be furious about it when he returns and finds out what happened though, thinking it was just to get him out of the way, until its revealed why she did it. Then he’ll probably be super awkward.

2) Poseidon

The equal and opposite force to Zeus.

Well, maybe not equal, but quite close.

Lets start with the canon. Poseidon HATES Athena, despises her completely, and he frequently clashes with her father too. They worked together one (1) time and as a result, Athena wasnt punished while Poseidon was enslaved for years. Then there is the fight for Athens, the whole epic of the Odyssey, and so on.

Meanwhile he and Ares are actually shown to be close. Other than the Halirhothius incident, they are pretty chill. Poseidon is the one who vouched for him after the Net Thing With Hephaestus. Poseidon is also pretty cool with Aphrodite and they work together occasionally.

I think Poseidon thinks of Athena as this bratty kid of his brother, who is constantly working against him. You know that one annoying cousin you have who you try to avoid during family reunions because you KNOW you will clash? This is that, but a thousand times worse.

Meanwhile Poseidon really cares for Ares, and Ares takes fatherly affection from anywhere he can get it. Poseidon maintains a good relationship with both Aphrodite and Ares. He is closer with Aphrodite and doesnt love Ares quite as much as Zeus loves Athena, but he still cares a lot.

3) Aphrodite

It is no secret that Athena hates Aphrodite. Even when Athena warns Diomedes not to harm any god, she says Aphrodite is the exception. Athena, along with many of the other Olympians, see her as nothing but a silly, flighty, hysterical goddess.

On the other hand, Aphrodite and Ares are known for their intense love for each other, from even before her arranged marriage. They have a lot of kids together, and are shown to be close with all of them. They each have like one story of jealousy/one story where they are at odds with each other, which is pretty good for such a high-profile couple (Aphrodite curses Eos and Ares kills Adonis). They are there for each other, like in the trojan war, when Aphrodite was wounded and Ares gave her his chariot to go back to Olympus. He also changed sides very soon, just because Aphrodite asked. Athena complains about this too.

I think I wouldn’t be far off in saying that Athena is definitely resentful of how close they are, and how much sway Aphrodite has over her brother.

While Athena definitely doesn’t see eye to eye with Ares, and disagrees with his domain, she still sees him as a War God. One of her kind. And she just doesn’t see how a War God can go for someone like Aphrodite. Basically, she doesn’t think Aphrodite is, for lack of a better term, good enough for Ares, seeing as she is a Love Goddess.

Ares, on the other hand, does not want to hear anything like this. He is fiercely defensive of Aphrodite. He defends her warlike aspect (Aphrodite Areia), while everyone else tells her that she has no place in the battlefield. He sees Aphrodite as more than what people have labelled her to be. Which is why I believe (other than Eos and Adonis), they have one of the healthiest open relationships in greek mythology.

This can definitely cause animosity between Athena and Ares, because of Athena’s scorn and Ares’ temper. It can also increase the conflict between Athena and Aphrodite.

Maybe as time goes on, Athena can start seeing Aphrodite as having more depth. I certainly hope so. While they wouldn’t be best friends, I don’t see why they can’t learn to get along. This could also strengthen Athena and Ares’ bond. As long as people don’t insult her or lay their claim on her domain of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite is often very supportive. I truly think Aphrodite can help Athena overcome her misogyny, with Ares.

In conclusion, Athena and Ares have a very complex relationship. They do not simply hate each other, and neither do they have the most loving relationship. But they do care for each other. But strain can often be put on their relationship from their relationship to other people as well. Hopefully as time passes, they can overcome that, and have a healthier relationship, instead of sharing a good moment and then proceeding to fight each other for the next 500 years.

[icecreamkink]

watched all of the untamed / cql in two weeks after my friend 1 told me abt mdzs a hundred years ago and my friends 2 and 3 tried to get me into cql for like two whole years and there are.

feelings.

very first scene is a very dramatic death in the middle of nightmare battle on sith planet land . i will forget abt it in the next tenish episodes and then will be very surprised when it becomes Extremely Painful

anyway magic flying gays and possession and human sacrifice! we are off to a great start

in retrospect, chaos goblin wei wuxian must have had a blast pretending to be so cRaZy and be as disruptive as he could as mo xuanyu lbr

listen. why is fire always evil coded. cant a magic clan wear red, black and orange and have flame motif while being wholesome?

For Legal Reasons These Are Not Zombies

i wish the politics of the sect were a bit clearer, especially at the beggining when the wen clan had sm power, was wen ruohan the chief cultivator? is that why they were so slow in responding to the attacks? im v confused by the pre yiling patriarch politics

fighting in the roof by the moonlight as way of flirtiiiiiiing. as i understand this is a wuxia/xianxia trope and honestly...... thank u for ur service

slight bullying and being a nuisance in general, as a way of flirting we love to see it

wwx: if i drink on the rooftop, thats not inside the cloud recesses! hmmm check and mate :D lwj: i will fuck u up so help me god   wwx: :0

i lov them

through hell or high water (quite literally) wei wuxian rem ains a trashfire gremlin till the end and i love him with my whole heart

in the pt subs wei wuxian calls jiang cheng a stubborn duck and i dearly wish that had come back

my opinions on almost every character goes from love to hate u - Hmm Me Like U - BABY. ILY. and i am Very Pleased w that. its been a while since i loved such a complete cast so much i think

no really. i WONT go into a detailed rant abt what i love about each of these characters and each of their relationships to each other. but i COULD. 

some lan disciples in the loudest whisper ever: YEAH THATS THE JIN BASTARD MENG YAO HEARD THE GOT SUPER HUMILIATED BY HIS DAD LOL SURE HOPE HE DOESNT TAKE SLIGHTS TO HIS CHARACTER TO HEART

lan xichen, immediately: i must Love him 

being into problematic ppl is in the Lan genetics, we come to realize

wen qing deserves so many awards for so many things but not snapping and just stabbing wen chao is at the top 

that scene at lan qirens class where wwx talks about using resentful energy to fight a violent spirit. exquisite.

 It establishes Good Student lan wangji, wei wuxian as curious and questioning and not afraid of taboo,  lwj sees that wwx is not, in fact, a dumb ass hes just a Dumbass,  shows us the audience (esp. a western audience) how shocking the idea of disrupting the dead/dying and controlling resentful energy actually is,  the theoretical foreshadow arguing, everyone else like ‘shUT UP’,  “and how could you ensure that the resentful energy would obey you and not hurt other?” “well i havent thought that far” and of course, lan qiren just straight up lobbing a hard object at wwx head,. chefs kiss

fellas is it gay to bother the hot rule obessessed nerd from ur school and make drawings of him with flowers in his hair and then hide gay porn in his book to antagonize him and ask him to hold ur hand and be ur friend and talk to him all the time and get him drunk and give him bunnies bc you know he likes them and give him a lantern and always want his attention and dedicate yourself to getting him to smile-

and after all of that wwx rly said oh i Admire him, aksd like yeah we all were there in high school buddy

i have Learned. caves = gay.

 accidental marriage +beint physically tied together with the sacred married ribbon+ gay panic+foreshadowing+bunnies! in the cave (1)

the story abt lan yi and baoshan sanren tho. i would like to see it

early days wen bros pull my heart strings like a guqin 

EVERYTHING about the lantern scene; disaster hets jiang yanli and jin zixuan; how wwx made lwj a bunny lantern. how soft and touched lwj was. wwx gleefully pointing out he was smiling and lwj IMMEDIATELY PULLING HIW SWORD ON HIM LMAO. tragically foreshadowy promises to do right by pepople, living without regrets. lwjs 'oh no do i love him??' face. just. all of it. 

i have it on good acc that in the novel lwj is explicitly Repressed Gay Panicked Big Horny which is delightful and rly Adds to the performance

 baby lwj is really just conceal dont feel dont let them know u have EMOTIONS (derogatory)

jiang cheng rly went "why dont.u go play with HIM if u like him so much"

jc and wwx have big BIG annoying sibling energy dont think too hard abt it or youll cry

lotus pier is soo pretty :((((((((((((((((

up until episode 13 you could think this could be a magical ancient chinese gays pride n prejudice w swords and shenanigans ................youre just not prepared for the game of thrones of it all

seriously ha ha ha i cried so much w this show my eyes genuinely swelled up . like. physically. fun timez fun timez

that being said, its hilarious that wen xu goes to cloud recesses like 'come out or ill kill all these hostages' and then DOESNT WAIT FOR AN ASWER AND KILLS THEM ALL IMMEDIATELY. do u know how blackmail works sir

 would like to make it recorded that from day one i was like 'CALL A GODDAMN CULTIVATION G20 THIS ASSHOLE SECT IS LITERALLY MASSACRING YALL!!' and it took them like 3 or 4 massacres to do anything and they STILL sent their heirs into their territory  LIKE

when wwx cites the gusu lan rules to wen chao tho. that rebel/attention whore/cutie pie 'look lan zhan i DID memorize the rules after all' ‘also a big fuck you to the wen sect :D :D’ sweet spot that scene achieves . delicious

all the cultivator young masters being petty af even though they are practically prisoners at the cave is hilarious and i love them

hurt and comfort + gay mistunderstandings + watsonian gay declaration music + accidental evil acquisition! at the cave (2)

its like where do i start? the fact theyre both trapped and kind of heavily injured inside an isolated cave with a murder turtle? wwx gay panicking lwj into coughing up bad blood? lwj being jealous as wwx babbles abt mianmian? telling him he shouldnt play with people and wwx saying he never played him? wwx going Oh. I See what is happening. YOU like mianmian, and lwj absolute done face ??? (iconic) wwx touching the sacred married ribbon Again? the telepathic communication? the sword? WEI WUXIAN ASKING LAN WANGJI TO SING TO HIM AS HE IS PASSING OUT AND LWJ SINGING HIM. THE SONG. HE WROTE. FOR WWX. AND THAT HE CALLED. THEIR SHIP NAME????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

they are SO insufferable pleeeeease

in the words of my friend 1 : “CQL is so gay we were all amazed how it got past the censors Ofc unfortunately it can't be novel level gay But they did their best And we love them for it”

in the theme of songs THIS OST. WUJI HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY MIND RENT FREE SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT the whole ost is so so sO beautiful.

 the costuming in this is also soooo exquisite. the embroidery? the fabrics? the details? how every sect and clan has a distinct style and architecture? (also ik they based each off of dif periods in chinese history which is REALLY fucking cool) just chefs kiss

the direction too!. i enjoy the unusual camera movements and i think they give it that Vibe, also their composition is PARTICULARLY good when it comes to telling the subtext through position of camera/position of character (like nhs off to the side in scenes he at first glance doesnt need to be/ how lwj is often centered when hes Jealous Yearning at wwx being affectionate w other ppl, wwx return from burial mounds etc)

ik madam yu is like Badass Milf Check and shes not getting any mom of the year awards but im delighted at how messy she is. IMAGINE that woman on tiktok

you better have enjoyed gay cave (2) bc its Just Pain from here on out! 

jiang fengmian and madame yu win the Most Dramatic Way to show they do care about each other, actually ..... ever :)

i thought jiang yanli jiang cheng and wei wuxian forcing themselves to escape yunmeng barely holding on after their parents are killed was going to be the height of pain in this show. ha. 

the family dynamics in general on this showwwww, both blood/ adopted/ found families, brotherly bonds and lifelong friendships just. rly. truly. fucked me up. theyre all so important and complicated and well rounded and beautiful and tragic

and beyond being a Win For the Gays im so glad the relationships w wwx and jiang yanli/ wen qing were NOT changed from platonic bc they are so much better like that imo. like maybe if we didnt Live In A Society it wouldnt be so, but the fact wwx and others can love and value them so much and theres nothing romantic or sexual abt it is like. so refreshing. especially @ jyl, with the way he and jc are overprotective of her and shes such a nurturing/care taker figure for them, it would just not vibe as well if they made it romantic

i love that this is a story abt Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch aka Actual Satan/Boogey Man/Village With/Public Enemy Number One , my dude is literally a necromancer who only dresses in black and has evil smokey black tendrils wafting out of him, but the really edgy one is still jiang cheng, pastel purple fashion icon

and speaking of best/worst siblings wei wuxian and jiang cheng *immediately starts crying* 

The Golden Core Transfer i just. no thots only tears 

wen qing and wen ning putting themselves in so much danger just.... to help them. wn saving jc from wen chao. wq finding a way to get wwx to transfer his core. like thinking about the monumental work these two did to help wwx and jyl and jc... jyl trying so fucking hard to be strong and keep on moving and giver her little brothers comfort after losing everything... jiang cheng. losing his parents and his home and his ability to do anything abt it and his complete desperation and lack of self worth and turning on them with agression  when he didnt realize all that they did for him ... hhhhhhhhhhhhh

me, pointing at the whole cast “i just LOVE them mom!!!”

its sad tho, that BARELY ANY of the women have like.... actual important conversations let alone relationships with each other at all in the story. and like wq and jyl have stayed at the same place for extended periods of time, where wq actively took care of her TWICE,  and still! not one measly convo, nothing! ................ .𝓌ₕᵧ

everyone in this show need a good sip of Self Worth and Stop Sacrificing Yourself juice 

ngl the sword flying looks very dumb 

“a-cheng, please bring a-xian back.” “i will, i promise.” ;-;

the whole calling each other by the More Intimate Version of the name, first as teasing and later as true intimacy. mmmhmmm yes

untamed where everythings the same but wwx evil flute song is eoeo

related that scene when wwx comes back from the burial mounds for the first time w demonic cultivation and he acts all formal and calls lwj hanguang-jun and keeps being evasive and distant and mean and soooooo................. facetious 

and how hes kind of desperately trying to keep intense lwj at bay (A FIRST) and avoiding actually talking to either of them and its all tension ughhh and then he MOCKS his and lwjs relationship, he jokes w him in this like... mean echo of their usual ~banter~ oof 

 and like!!! uncertain but so relieved jc who just HUGS him w no reservations for once and its not like he isnt just as worried as lwj abt wwx and what hes doing, but he chooses in that moment to enjoy getting him back first and mmhmMMMmMm yes (maybe my favorite scene in the whole show? MAYBE SO. ) 

highkey hurt me but also. i might be into mean wwx. i will take no criticism.

lan zhans sad eyes tho :((((((((( 

on one hand i wish we could have seen what happened at the burial mounds but on the other the timeskip adds so much flair to his return so im hnnn

also i love that hes been missing for 3 months reappears kinda melancholic and bloodthirsty and knowing malign tricks and jc is like 'so. are u sad bc of lan wangji'

when ur bae survived the war but he thinks ur evil/ might be evil so you cant kiss :///

hmmm talking at the rooftop under the moonlight not mentioning everything that stands between usssss

they are the two jades of lan and we’ll be the two heroes of yunmeng is the type of line u dont even need to know whats gonna happen to know thats gonna be sad

when they fight wen ruoshan at the nightless city i thought that was the battle we see at the first ep and its not and its so easy and theyre all like ‘yayy we won go wwx!’ i was just. SCREAMS WHAT is gonna HAPPEN

so like. post burial mounds/sunshot campaign pre yiling patriarch wwx is like. ultra arrogant, ultra mocking, peak lil shit and it gave me e v e r y t h i n g i wanted

even tho having the wen prisoners at the targets at phoenix mountain and still having wwx and jzx shooting the arrows was???? so.... tone deaf 

wwx: fucking w demonic energy   jyl: he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever <3 <3 (mood)

the parallels between meng yao/wei wuxian (and even xue yang a bit?) are Seen and they are Valid

wwx post burial mounds: can yall SHUT UP abt the goddamn sword (suibian left the chat)

LIKE truly, we talk abt the angst and yearning with wangxian. but what abt wwx and suibian. xianbian / xianqing angst and comfort 100k

take a shot everytime someone coughs up blood

zidian is simply the coolest spiritual weapon rip to suibian and chenqing and bichen and sendou and baixa........ but tis the truth 

cons: everyones families died in a nightmare war! everyones homes burned to the ground! everyone is traumatized! pros: everyone gets cooler clothes and weapons!!

wen ning and a-yuan and yanli bestest babes squad dont touch me rn

everyone: brooding and fighting                                                                wq and jyl: why dont you try some acupunture/drinking some soup and calm down huh? how abt that bitch?? 

showing the battle/massacre at the nightless city first was genius actually bc then everytime we have a cute scene w yunmeng bros and theyre like 'we'll be together forever! uwu' youre like oh. oh no. oh no no no. 

justice vs lawfulness vs means and ends 👁

jc: stay in the right path and practice the art of the sword                        wx: yeah thats not gonna happen chief

my reaction to wwx renouncing to the sect politics to help the wens was just that elmo burning gif in succession

the dramatic rain. wen qing desperately calling out to wen ning. the ghosts/puppets killing the guards. how terrifying wn actually was while wwx was controlling him :( lwj goeing after him to try and stop him and then he just; he Sees him and understands him even if he cant actually do anything about it other than let them go. 

“there must be somewhere in this earth we can go to :(((((((((”

"IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THEM, I'D RATHER IT BE YOU. DYING BY YOUR HANDS WOULD AT LEAST BE WORTH IT." oh my god oh my god oh my goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddd

also lwjs umbrella is white w black smoke.. .  . nice

yiling patriarch / demonic farming burial mounds settlement is like one of my favorite concepts. they an "EVIL" FARMING COMMUNITY LED BY THE VILLAGE WITCH COME ON

they planted TURNIPS and LOTUS FLOWERS and ONE (1) baby and made lanterns and a common hall :(((((((

wen qing and wei wuxian, baddest bitches and genius science best friends i absolutely LOVED to see it. they rly went ‘is anyone gonna sibling/project partner that’ and didnt wait for an answer

both wwx and jyl getting lotus ponds at the burial mounds and in lanling bc they miss lotus pier ;;;;;;;w

;;;;; wish jyl had actually gone into the burial mounds. we were robbed of jyl and wq meeting again and jyl meeting a-yuan and seeing the settlement and the homes and all ;w; at least jc did go, stab wounds and broken arms and all

wwx like... having thrown his whole life away to help the wens (yeah the sect leaders and jin guangshan in particular wanting his stygian tiger amulet was an Element but still) and not.... necessarily regretting it, but grappling with all of the consequences of it... becoming moody and drepressed at times, missing his family and lotus pier and his friends and probably simply missing being around people and causing trouble, extrovert that he is, lashing out at the wens and at a-yuan, just in general the whole messiness of that experience

the way the resentful energy does affect his temperament is rly nice bc its not too in your face,(i mean outside of the Shaky Hands of Rage) but like he clearly has a much lesser control on his anger and impulsivity (tall order) than both before bm and after hes ressurected

on that note A-YUAN BABIEST BABY BOY BEST BOY

lan zhan being like oh hey there wei ying fancy meeting u and our son here. just passing by u know how it is hmmmmMm and then PLOT TWIST having defied orders to go see him and being punished for it. oof;;

 they habent seen each other in like? a year? and now theyre tgt 10 seconds and are already parenting a child together

also lwj rly kneels down in the snow way too much to be healthy

wwx: calm down guyssss i wont lose control of demonic cultivation omgggg  .   spoiler alert: he loses control of demonic cultivation

did u enjoy cute children? good bc now the Real Pain Begins

jiang yanli and jin zixuan rly out there APROPRIATING both disaster gays AND bury ur gays huh ;w;

i KNEW jin lings birthday was gonna fuck something up but the GASP that left my body when wwx lost control of wn and killed jin zixuan .. . . 

im sorry and thank you aaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAaAAAAA 

when wen ning and wen qing were telling wwx their plan i was saying NO NO NO NO NO NO out loud in despair 

also can we talk abt how wq is definetely talking about only the both of them surrending themselves but then? everyone else just surrenders w them? IT MAKES NO SENSE LIKE WHY WOULD THEY what would be the Point

 sometimes there are some pretty gaping jumps in logic and continuity that are just like                     ?          ?

wwx: oh so when you try to murder me its justified but when i survive through dark magic and murder all of you its a "war crime"

unsurprisingly, his most feral, most spiraling moment talking to the sect leaders on the roof and attacking them and even fighting lan zhan is among my favorite scenes... its like, so painful to watch but also   so       thrilling   (and maybe my wen bbs dying arose some resentful energy in me what can i say) 

and its JUST, all they ever wanted was to do good but then... war. and trauma. and hubris. 

jiang cheng on the ground clearly thorn between what to do and feel is a Mood, lets just say

i was already crying when jyl showed up, but if i wasnt-

 i suffered SO MUCH through this series trying to figure out WHY jc would kill wwx. and when i understood. its somehow not as bad as i thought and also MUCH MUCH WORSE

a look into my group chat during the last flashback episodes:

SO ANYWAY. after the BLOOD BATH and RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT and FEEDING IT TO YOU  the untamed goes ‘ayy back to the present!! tu du dud ud du’ 

literally it ends a quarter into an episode and then KEEPS GOING i had to pause and stare blankly at the ceiling for an hour

babie cultivators and detective soulmates . i do need some cute after All of That 

(not that the pain is over LOL)

lwj is significantly less emotionally repressed in the present and its delightful. hes just ALL IN with wwx. and not just in the ‘i would and have killed various men and risked my reputation for you’ but also ‘ur tired here have a drink i brought it up cause i know u like it and it want you to be happy, always’

“when everyone praised me and wanted my power, you were the only one that challenged me. now that everyone hates me and wants me dead, youre the only one that stands by my side.” hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 

and just filling in the blanks how lan zhan searched for him. for all of those 16 years he searched for him and was punished for it and raised a-yuan, the only survivor of the burial mounds settlement, as his own in gusu......

and jiang cheng.  being the tough love uncle . having raised the yunmeng jiang clan from the rubble all alone, his whole family dead, some of it on the blame of his own brother, his siblings, his closest friends gone.......and only jin ling there needing his guidance. 

THE PARALLEL BETWEEN JIN LING BEING A LIFELINE FOR JIANG CHENG AND A-YUAN FOR LAN WANGJI AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE NIGHTLESS CITY  

great now i made myself sad

and like . the fact! that lwj and jc dislike each other!!. jc projects blame onto him for wwx both “leaving” him and indirectly causing their families deaths and when hes so consumed by it he makes wwx an enemy, lwj is there now? trying to protect him?? and lwj, who can never understand the pain that wwx , indirectly or not put jc through, but who was right there when jc tried to kill him and will never allow him to hurt wwx again. and how they like. in a way project blame of their tragedies onto each other while dealing with some type of survivor guilt and in their own way still loving wwx through it all???  amd in way its kind of fundamentally selfish but also tragically understandable? and like when u put it against the fact that after he disappears during the sunshot campaign they were looking for him together and fought together??

JUST. THE CHARACTERS. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS. MAN. UGH. GOD. 

and like i think thats what makes it so good? its such a sad and painful and violent story, edgy even, but its compelling bc at the center of it there are all of these relationships and different types of love and hope and. :( i love it

enough crying lets talk abt wwx sleeping at the jingshi with lwj and wearing his under garment for a minute 🙏

 jin ling just has that Was Raised by JC energy tho lmao i love him

babie cultivator squad is the perfect ammount of cute and comedic relief while still bearing the weight? of the narrative in a way, both from sizhui and jin lings existences, and also. like. how do i put this. they feel hopeful? they were born after a war, they came of age at a time of relative peace, they dont hold on so closely to the resentments of their parents/father figures, they are specifically shown as more accepting and open minded. and its like.... Hope for the future  

one of the ?? things  i love the most is the fact that the main cast are often in situations where theyre hunted/running but they like. never wear disguises... just going around in their gorgeous expensive clan clothes and hair ornaments and distinctive spiritual weapons.... maybe w a straw hat on, just for kicks

wwx teacher 🥺🥺🥺

so this is why its called Yi City Misery huh

a-qing is such. an icon. im so sad. my girl even knew to leave xys dumb self rotting by the road but no one listens to her thats why theyre all dead or sad 

her and xue yang measuring each other up was so entertaining lmao

 its the funniest thing when hes like. HERES MY SAD STORY. FOR WHY IM A SADISTIC MURDERER. I BROKE MY HAND ONCE. 

like ok someone broke his hand in a horrible way, and like Poverty, i get it but also like.......... that lost the brunt of a proper sob story like, 50 sadistic murders ago bby

and i love that xingchen does not entertain that for a second hes like ‘not ?????? good enough???’ and the best thing is he wasnt even like 'u hadto be the bigger person' or sth but ' well then break that dudes hand back, rip his arm off for i care, what do the rest of us have to do w anything???” 

anjo sensato :(

xue yang is like..... the sexy sadistic evil version of a himbo..... a meanbo...

the fucked upness of xy’s feelings for xxc/ xxc and sl feelings for each other... like my dude literally gave his bf HIS EYES. and xy getting so attached to xxc .... the fucked up fake domesticity.... having him hurt sl..... then desperately trying to bring him back ...................... oof

song lan........... literally had his eyes AND tongue removed, his bfs eyes put in place, was almost killed, turned into a puppet by his bf unknowingly, manipulated by xy, sees his bf killing himself in despair.... and STILL finds the strenght to get up from there, and keep on traveling and helping people and attempting to fix xxcs soul.......... like, my man. damn. 

wangxian looking at songxiao and seeing an Actually more painful parallel for themselves. ft. that Color Coding. 

THE A-YUAN/SIZHUI REVEAL PUNCHED ME IN THE HEART but in a good way for a change

should have know that he would be the Best Boy the cute one w all the braincells

the butterfly AND the bunny lantern. i see how it is

u know is very convenient that no one can see the stark black veins on wen nings neck, ever 

BAT WEN NING 

wns face when lwj comes into wwx room like ‘:0 omg did u two finally get your shit together? good for you master wei good for u’ 

(they didnt) (yet)

DISASTER DRUNK LWJ. JUST. THRUST SOME CHICKENS TO SHOW UR RESSURECTED BAE THAT U LOVE THEM.

i have absolutely no idea WHY they gave lwj the same punishment for fighting his own sect/allies to protect the burial mounds as when they got drunk on cloud recess class days.... like? its such a ... emotional continuity error again

also is lwj gonna get an actual friend besides wwx , ever

mianmian marrying and having a family and a cute life after saying FUCK U AND UR SYSTEM TOO in a much less unhinged and dramatic way than wwx......... fills me w joy

also lol the idea that like. her husband not knowing that shes friends w satan/the boogey man/the village witch is hilarious

i love nie mingjue bc hes the resident Though Guy but also the most dramatic bitch in this show and thats Saying Something

jin ling cant have one uneventful relative can he

the fact that everyone present already knew “mo xuanyu” was wwx at the stairs is so funny, their faces are like ‘oh............ wow. that. sure is a development. shock” 

in the tradition of extremely loud whispers wwx tells lwj with twelve guards standing like one meter away from them: HEY PSH LAN ZHAN PRETEND IM FORCING YOU TO STAY W ME DO IT

oh my god oh my god

the absolute Yearning on his face when he leaves wwx and a-yuan at the burial mounds and refuses to stay for dinner was already Enough but the fact?? they brought it back?? to this declaration of love?? their expressions??????? strike me dead right now just go ahead

lFor Legal Reasons We Cant Kiss but we will have a very sappy declaration of love and trust and look at each other in way that is the actualization of 💞💘💗💖💓💘💞💗💖💘💗💖💕💞

also icb all the sect leaders and guards are standing there watching them say they like like each other with a dozen swords pointing at their neck

i enjoyed the depiction of the fickle public perception and how easily it can be used to scapegoat people. when the sect leaders turn on jgy and wwx knows thats its more for convenience than anything else...

poor lxc is literally like 'oh so when YOUR problematic boyfriend gets called evil its a misunderstanding but when its MY problematic bf-'

ok like i cant get over nmj let jgy play a song that messed with his temperament at all, like maN u KNEW he might be shady wth

wwx: “hey dont say anything bad abt lan zhan hes not an arrogant dick, thats just his face. 

ME ON THE OTHER HAND"

the cultivators as wwx is poking holes in their narrative is literally *nazaré meme*

"wei wuxian-!" "what did i break your leg, too?" not to be problematic but i laughed so hard

not as hard as "you dont have the rank to talk to me " tho

i Enjoy that, over the course of story, wwx sees that... theres nothing truly to Do, but move on. he saw how his arrogance and his mistakes hurt others, and hes trying to fix what he can, but he already did die for his mistakes and there are things he cant fix and that's. just how it is. even towards jgy, the narrative doesn't go gleefully and completely with "lets make THEM pay bc theyre the big bad" bc its not that simple, and it wouldn't lead anywhere but more pain...

re him and jiang cheng and the wens and kinda. isnt that what nhs did? scheming to displace jgy out of revenge more than any justice and doing so in the most painful way?

idk if that actually makes sense im truly just babbling

i thought the scene at the lotus pond would be CUTE but the context was PAIN again

jiang cheng finding out about his golden core and his conflict with wwx at the guanyin temple .... destroyed me but in a nice way kinda.... same way it destroys him look at his face oh god

and. the fact??? he sacrificed himself for wwx?? first?? and he'll probably never tell anyone much less wwx???? keeps me up at night

i havent decided if the neckbreak transition between jgy does sth super Evil or does he he does OR Does He yes he does O R does heeeee is sth i dislike or not

jin guangyao and wei wuxians most interesting parallel is that... theyve both seen 'hmm hey this system is fucked up' and wwx went 'so fuck it all i will renounce it and challenge it' and jgy went 'so fuck it i will use all of it to my advantage and manipulate it to my goals and whims'

the fact jgys mom was actually great and he loved her and his whole issue w it was more than simply being ashamed of being a bastard kinda got me ngl

never trust a dude with a fan.

nhs and jgy: the first rule to a convoluted and decades spanning violent revenge plot is to have fun and be yourself! 

when a-yuan finally FINALLY remembers ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; wen ning has someone in his family back and a-yuan has someone to talk abt his wen family and wwx has him back bc he survived and lwj raised him anD HES THEIR SON. THEYRE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. UGH.

and theyre allowed to heal. everyone is allowed to try and recover and be happy

netflix put all of the 3 endings on top of each other and it looks kinda weird actually BUT I DONT EVEN MIND :’’’’’’’’’)

the gasp that left me when lwj says ‘wei ying’ and wwx turns.........

there was also a screen with ‘thank you mxtx for creating these characters, we hope their wishes come true’ and i might. have cried then too. maybe. 

that was . a ride. as is proven by this behemot of a ramble clearly i just really needed and Outlet. i am currently trying to convince dumb monkey brain to not consume the other medias of mdzs immediately bc i REALLY need to like. live. a life. and take care of real responsibilities.  *longest oh boi ever*

[ichika27]

My thoughts on Yashahime

I’ll make an actual post about Yashahime after the series is over and maybe a bit more (like my thoughts on SessRin as a whole) but for now I’ll be rambling about something I couldn’t stop thinking about since last night.

So... Sesshoumaru’s a dad now, huh? I mean, I knew since they announced the sequel series but it didn’t hit me that yeah, this really is happening until I saw the latest episode (ep. 15) and seeing him with his kids. Like, I watched Inuyasha as a kid and never really imagined that there’d be a time where the word “dad” or “father” would be used to describe him. The guy is stoic and almost emotionless so to think he’d become a dad or would get married at all was a surprising and strange thought. But he’s gone a long way from being the antagonist character he was introduced as at the beginning of the main series and now he has a family and I just... can you imagine all the slice-of-life shenanigans?

I’ll put the rest of my ramblings under the cut to save space...

Sesshoumaru is a serious person who has trouble showing emotions or even admitting he cares about people. Episode 15 shows him seeing Rin after she gives birth and then seeing his kids for the first time and there’s no change in his facial expression although we know as the audience there’s something underneath that. Rin knows and trust him and Jaken does, too of course. Sadly he was not able to watch his kids grow closely especially Towa who was forcibly time-travelled to the future and grew up on a different family. The twins don’t remember him and Rin at all either.

Like, imagine how awkward it would be after all the life-threatening stuff and them trying to be a family again. The kids are teenagers now, too and have their own personalities so it might be extra awkward. Towa probably would have to deal with meeting her biological parents and having them not be the Higurashis and the personalities are different, too (esp. her dad). Setsuna has to deal with having a family period and her memories of Towa would probably return at the end, too but still she had her demon slaying upbringing and always being in battle mode and such.

Anyways, imagine Setsuna being with her mom. She already feels kind of weird whenever her sister that she doesn’t remember shows affection now she has a mom who would probably do the same lol.

And Sesshoumaru is serious and such but his daughter Towa is kind and affectionate. I couldn’t stop thinking about this scenario: Sesshoumaru noticing Towa is using a broken sword all this time and one day comes back to give her a new one and Jaken would explain that his Lord Sesshoumaru had it made specifically for Towa. I can just imagine Towa being happy cause “Wow new sword for me?” and then saying thank you to her dad and hugging him and Sesshoumaru not knowing what the heck he should do and just... staring. Rin and Jaken would watch happily of course as they know he’s not unfeeling and-

And and and Setsuna being like Sesshoumaru (well, almost) would act tsun but she probably would wanna do family stuff, too.

And I want to see the twins interact with Jaken! He would be so overprotective of them while Sesshoumaru isn’t around. He’d be pissed if anyone even looks down on them and Towa would ask him to stop cause that’s totally not it and Setsuna would just sigh. Towa would be so nice and polite and would actually talk to Jaken nicely (the guy needs more appreciation!). He would totally tell the twins about their parents and how amazing their dad is hahaha.

I ship Setsuna with Hisui, by the way. The two have been working together for years and clearly Hisui cares a lot for Setsuna (every time there’s a fight he seem to be watching out for Setsuna a lot). I wish they’d show flashbacks of how the two became close as coworkers/friends at least. Anyways, imagine Jaken seeing the two close and has suspicions but doesn’t trust Hisui enough (even if he is Kohaku’s nephew as he doesn’t know the boy well yet).

Also, I was kinda disappointed at episode 14, I think, with the whole Towa’s smartphone thing as Setsuna didn’t know what it was and stuff. I mean, they showed Towa’s phone works it’s basic properties only without internet (someone pointed out that they could’ve been charging it with the bike like they showed in one of the uh, I have no idea what it’s called. Scene shows up every end of OP). The camera works, too and I was hoping Towa would take a picture of the three of them. I know it’s no big deal but she probably also has photos of her adoptive family on that. Just imagine her taking that photo and every time she opens it she could see photos of her family and once Rin and Sesshoumaru are with them she’ll have a family photo taken and another one with her aunt and uncle and cousin Moroha. I mean, it’s cute... I think it’s cute!

The later the twins could accompany their dad on whatever adventure he gets to and when they get home Rin is there to welcome them all back. Or just Sesshoumaru coming back home and he now has a wife and two kids waiting for him and that wasn’t a thing before and maybe even Towa would try having bonding moments with her entire family.

Also, Inuyasha and Kagome are trapped at the grave of Inu-no-Taishou so the new trio would probably go there, too. Imagine them seeing their grandpa’s grave. Someone on twitter made a joke about how Moroha might want to sell her grandpa’s corpse and I know she probably has a line she wouldn’t cross but it would be funny if the twins look at Moroha suspiciously with Moroha being outraged that they even thought she would do something like that.

Oh and the twins meeting their grandmother! I’m sure as heck Sesshoumaru’s mother wouldn’t be surprised he had hanyou kids. She totally saw it coming after Sesshoumaru saved Rin from death a second time. I wonder if they’ll get along? With the way Sesshoumaru’s mother talks and the twins personalities it makes me wonder how conversations would go.

Of course I still want Kagome to be able to visit her family and properly introducing Moroha this time around. I just want family bonding about them! And Moroha showing her great-grandpa that she kept the kappa’s foot all this time and really does appreciate it and how it helped her in battle.

Of course, Seshoumaru and Rin meeting the Higurashis - Sota, Moe, and Mei. Towa introducing her two families to each other! Mei would be happy to see her two big sisters again and Rin would be talking to Moe and thanking her for raising Towa and there’s Sota who probably would be talking to Sesshoumaru about Towa and how she grew up and Sesshoumaru would act aloof and all but he’s totally listening and is proud of his kid. That said Kohaku would also tell Lord Sesshoumaru about how amazing Setsuna is as a demon slayer.

I know the above is unlikely but still... just imagine! That’d be sooo nice! After all the crap they went through they’d just be happy together.

Also I just imagine the reunion after the trouble in the series with Rin getting her kids back and Sesshoumaru watching over them not saying anything and Jaken is crying tears of joy saying how his Lord Sesshoumaru is happy that his family is together again and Moroha looking at her uncle and is like “He is?” cause the guy isn’t smiling at all on the outside lol.

I couldn’t sleep last night just thinking about these. I know it’s probably OOC for many of them but just let me have my fun hahaha.

I’ll make another Yashahime post sooner or later cause I’m enjoying the series so far. I’m excited for the next episodes! And holy crap I didn’t realize how long this would be!

If you read my ramblings this far, thank you! I do hope it wasn’t that bad of a way to kill time haha.

[beyond-far-horizons]

Katara’s potential in LOK and importance of older female role-models in life and fiction

This was not meant to turn into a meta and yet has done! Just a disclaimer I’m still working my way through The Legend of Korra but have mostly been spoiled by reading some great analysis on here. So this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive take and also isn’t meant to disrespect the people who like Legend of Korra or this particular aspect of it. It’s just a subject very close to my heart and my work as a creative practitioner, student of psychology and media analyst, so I really wanted to discuss it. 

Contains some spoilers esp for Season 1.

So I’m biting the bullet and getting into LoK despite reservations. I overall really loved Avatar the Last Airbender and Katara is one of my favourite characters. I admit one of my biggest issues with starting LoK was hearing how her character and agency were drastically reduced compared to the original series.

Now I know LoK gets a lot of flak for a variety of reasons and it was always going to be hard following such a beloved series as A:TLA and trying to do something different. However I’m actually enjoying certain aspects including Korra herself, despite the fact she can be bratty and immature at times (which squares with her age and upbringing). I also find the premise of the Equalists and especially their mysterious, terrifying leader Amon really interesting and I just wish the creators had done more with that plot line. (I forever seem to be going on about missed potential in the stories I consume!)

However the more I continue the more I’m annoyed because I realised we were robbed of Badass Grandma!Katara and also more matrilineal mentoring/bonding between her and Korra. 

Spoilers but I wanted to see Katara go toe to toe with the villains esp give her being intimately connected to their history. I wanted to see her deal with the shadows of the past, the history of trauma associated with bloodbending and the Fire Nation and also the very intriguing points Season 1 was trying to make about the role of bender vs non-bender and the Avatar themselves. All things Katara was deeply involved with as someone who experienced inequality firsthand, fought relentlessly to abolish it and was the previous Avatar’s finder, teacher and later his wife. 

Katara being Aang’s first mentor and implied to be Korra’s waterbendering tutor adds yet another dimension and potential to explore. That whole relationship must be strange for everyone involved but I’m always a sucker for female bonds, found family and intergenerational friendships.

I know LoK is about the new cast taking over - Tenzin fills the role of Korra’s mentor figure onscreen and is loved by many. There are lots of ways to tell a story and the creators focused on Korra’s issues with airbending to contrast her personality and development with Aang’s, as well as to flesh out Aang’s family and the rebuilding of the Air Nomads. 

Yet I miss the potential of seeing wise fierce mentor!Katara on screen. We fans love callbacks, so seeing Katara in action as she used to be would be a joy, and older more powerful characters need not overshadow younger ones. For example Uncle Iroh was beloved and integral in A:TLA despite the fact we saw very little of his backstory. He didn’t take over Zuko’s journey, he aided and complemented it. Plus Toph gets her chance to shine.

There was so much to play with, especially in Season 1 (and would have been a nice reference to Aang meeting Katara first and then Zuko and Toph later). So much contrast between Katara’s experience with Hama, her thoughts about her mother, Gran Gran and the reintroduction of South Water Style. The trauma of bad parental/mentor relationships vs the good examples one can use to alchemise negative patterns that A:TLA was known for (see Iroh, Zuko and Ozai for reference). I don’t want to get too far into spoiler territory but all of this links back to Katara, Hama and Water Tribe and I would have loved to see a further exploration of that and a contrast between her loving bond and fear for Korra vs the villains’ and their education. This would have created more depth between Korra and Amon and co (and wow do I wish that dynamic was explored further - does she even know what happens to him??), and between Katara and Korra and their respective journeys to shoulder their burdens and mature as people and women.

Just think about all those juicy, angsty callbacks we could have done to Hama’s haunting episode! How Katara could have decided to be a better mentor than Hama was to her. (Katara was always a good mentor but if there was any issues in her relationship with Korra re Aang etc this could have been a good place for dramatic tension and resolution.) Of course for all we know this did happen but we don’t see it because we don’t get to see Katara’s training with Korra or much of Katara at all in LoK apart from her failing to heal Korra.

Plus I adore badass ladies and badass grandmas, I have loads in my original fiction. I love people defying stereotypes and sadly there is still a lack of stories not only depicting a range of female role-models but female mentoring and matrilineal bonding.

Read the incredible bestseller Women Who Run with the Wolves by Jungian analyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés if you want to learn more about the power of storytelling, myth and female hero journeys and initiation. A key part of that book is how women have been historically and psychologically undervalued and harmed by the prevailing culture for centuries. Also how it has broken matrilineal lines of wisdom and support and distorted cultural values of how girls and women (not to mention boys and men) view the Feminine. This leaks down into our modern day stories via inherited psychological conditioning and unexamined tropes. 

For example - how many ‘wise old men’ figures can you think of in pop culture, myth, fairytale, religion? Quite a few I’d imagine. Now contrast that with the ‘wise old woman’ archetype...I guessing not as many. I’m sure you’ll find a few but I bet more often the words that come to mind are ‘witch’, ‘sorceress’, ‘crone’ etc. 

The Fairy Godmother (I gave you that one for free;) ) is an exception but she is a watered down version of the powerful, ambivalent figures of folklore such as Baba Yaga. Trust me if the Yaga was your mentor, as she was to Vasalisa in the fairytale Vasalisa the Wise/the Beautiful, you ain’t coming out of that encounter with a crystal slipper, you’re coming out it with a burning skull that incinerates your enemies and I’d like to see that tale popularised!

As mentioned Katara did feature in Korra’s life as a support, a vague mentor figure and a healer - in fact she is the one that initiates Korra’s heroine journey by supporting her decision to leave the stifling confines of her compound, go to Republic City alone and learn airbending. She also offers emotional and medical support during Korra’s traumatic recovery later on in the series. But mostly Katara’s involvement is at the peripheries of The Legend of Korra except when she was failing to heal her.

This isn’t to say that comfort and softness in female relationships are lesser than battle prowess or mental fortitude. Or that failure always bad, it is human and can be a powerful narrative tool for character development. I’m not interested in the infallible ‘Strong Female Character’ stereotype and neither is Estés. Her book illustrates that the Feminine encapsulates all of these qualities and many more and looking at the original Katara she was a perfect example of that. She was empathetic, intelligent, powerful, fierce, devoted, flawed, playful, angry.

I guess what I’m saying is that I miss that Katara and I miss the opportunity of  seeing Korra interact with and learn from that Katara, especially as they have so much in common in terms of shared history, powers, culture and even looks. I’m also missing the opportunity of seeing that Katara battle Amon and all the drama and backstory that could have ensued from those encounters! After all Katara took on her mother’s killer, Hama and the Fire Nation (including one angsty honour-obsessed Fire Prince and his powerful sister), you’re telling me she would have just let Korra, her family and friends be in grave danger in the name of ‘leaving it to the kids’ ESPECIALLY since her own history turned out to be so deeply connected to all of this? Nah...

It’s important for girls* to see a range of wholesome female characters and dynamics play out in their media from an early age, especially to rework and combat the historic negative tropes that our culture is still steeped in. It’s also important to address the devaluing of the elderly, in particular elderly women. The Legend of Korra does in fact build on this from Avatar the Last Airbender by having an even greater range of capable women and girls across ages and morality spectrum. Korra herself (who I’m liking a lot more than I thought I would), is a real stereotype breaker. Toph I’ve heard fulfils the ‘wise old (crotchy) woman’ archetype later in the series. I just wish, given how much I adore A:TLA’s Katara, that we could have seen her shine in an elder role too. 

(*I use terms like ‘girls’, ‘woman/women’ and ‘feminine’. I mean these to also include a broad interpretation of the Feminine than just the hetero/cis-normative one, but sometimes it helps when critiquing something to narrow things down esp something so already psychologically complex in a simple meta.)

[tora-the-cat]

Surprise surprise I have Thoughts about Peacemaker     ^-^ (and how he neatly ties up the themes of freewill in WoF arcs 1 & 2)

//spoilers for like. all of the first 10 WoF books but esp the very end of Darkness of Dragons

god my feelings about the end of the second arc are Numerous and Complicated and basically revolve around the three obvious Things; Peacemaker, Qibli-Winter-Moon love triangle, & Anemone saying lesbian rights. Lets start off with that first thing tho:

-full disclosure I actually like Peacemaker ngl. Like its smart Kinkajou got her moment to shine (fucking FINALLY) etc etc.  But I also don't think it was, like, a morally good or fine thing to do? But! I also think that was kind of the point!! kinda?

-(also even more important disclosure, I honestly don't like Darkstalker much at all, though if it wins me any favors I do think he's interesting and complex and all!)

-Ok listen so the series is like,, basically about freewill, right? It's kinda the central thesis of the series (or at least the first two arcs lmao that's all I've read lmao); is destiny something made for your or something you choose. Ya know, is Tsunami destined to be queen because she's the lost heir, are Animus's destined to loose their souls, if Peril is 'choosing' who she's devoted to is that freewill and/or how do you develop independence when you've never made a choice before, can Turtle avoid all the bullshit of the world by trying to keep his head down (no <3) was Moon destined to release Darkstalker all along, if you've been under mind warping mind control shenanigans' is your mind really your own and are you capable of making choices, etc etc I can do this with like most characters its REALLY prevalent in the series lmao.

-Anyway! the question posed by the series is 'can you choose your destiny or is it made for you?'. in the first five books there's one obvious massive driving force for this; the prophecy. Sunny is the only one really invested in the prophecy itself, Tsunami thinks it's all bull and is basically offended by the notion, Clay thinks they should just do their best, Starflight believes the prophecy will happen regardless so he's chill, and Glory is disillusioned and apathetic about it.

-Then they reveal that the prophecy is hogwash, and Sunny still believes in it anyway because it's what her whole life was based around and without it her life is meaningless. So her whole arc is finding another meaning in life with Thorn and the Outclaws and then choosing to do her best to fulfill the prophecy anyway, because someone has to and no one else will. So she chooses to do the prophecy, but it's a fake prophecy so it is her choice not something predestined for her, so there. Free will exists and is good and prophecies don't because no one can tell the future end arc

-then you start the next book with a protagonist that can tell prophecies For Real, and you get a little scared they're gonna backpedal or retread the same ground, but don't worry because the definitely-not-evil voice in her head and conveniently knows all about her powers so he can assure everyone that prophecies are not set in stone, just some most likely futures. Free will still exists Tsunami stans, dw

-And they can do that because the prophecy is not the question of the second series- Darkstalker is.

-The thing about the Darkstalker conflict is that it's about Utilitarianism, ya know? Like, he comes out and he says 'I can see all the futures, and I can tell for sure exactly which outcomes make the most dragons happy, and I have the power to not only see them but manifest them'. He doesn't care for other dragon's freewill- as long as they're happy or content or powerful, why would it matter if they got helped along there a little bit?

-OKAY so took us a hot second to get here! But! Peacemaker!

-It's valid and interesting I think because it kinda pushes the whole conflict into a paradox; they can't let Darkstalker carry on like he is, because he thinks he knows best for all of dragonkind and will do anything to get his version of a happy ending. But the only way to stop him from being a god emperor who's fundamental flaw is his lack of care about other dragon's free will and agency. And the only way to stop him and get an ending that's good for everyone is to take away his free will.

-It's the Batman no killing rule. it's that one DLC from Fallout 3 that's actually kind of good. If they're all in 100% on the 'free will matters above all else' angle, they can't stop Darkstalker because he doesn't want to be stopped. It'd be a utilitarian move, putting the needs of the many over the needs of the few, which goes against the Whole Entire Thing

-But! Darkstalker is also delusional and a narcist and an aspiring all powerful god emperor bent on wiping out or driving other tribes into hiding forever who just sucks, like, so much. So of course they turn him into a literal child without power lmao it wasn't really a question, it's just the ideological battle happening in the background. And it's what makes peacemaker so interesting!

-first of all, it's Kinkajou, the one who was most recently under a mind altering spell that she loathed. She hated anemone for even thinking about it and is still a little bitter, but when push came to shove, she's the one that did that to Darkstalker. It wasn't even just a 'make him the same dragon fundamentally but without the trauma and magic'- she changed his body (by turning him half Nightwing) and planted interests in his head (strawberries) and (is at least implied?) to have made him literally incapable of much evil. Like Moon confirms that in his head he isn't the same dragon at all.

-And like I get it! She is, very understandably, erring as far on the side of caution as physically possible! I'd do the same! It's not a diss or anything, and I’m certainly not saying that Kinkajou is just as bad as Darkstalker or will/can go on to be so! Not even a little lmao

-it's just. Interesting. Like, if you think about it, they did the same thing Darkstalker was doing to Fierceteeth for Clearsight, after everyone was loudly and visibly repulsed by it. It's the same thing that happened with Pyrite and Hailstorm, except entirely irreversible. Like that isn’t Darkstalker there anyway you slice it, for all intents and purposes he’s dead. but it's ok because he was a 'bad dragon' with no friends or family that would miss him in that form.

-Basically the first arc said 'free will is always the way to go and there's no justification for taking it away ever' and the second arc spent all of it's time building up to 'sometimes sacrifices have to be made'. So like everyone complains about it being tonally dissonant and out of character and a crop out and everything and I get that and I'm not saying that's objectively wrong or a bad take or anything! And, like most things in DoD, it was admittedly rushed and at least mildly underdeveloped lmao. But that's my first hot take, and hopefully my longest lmao