#i just want to make that point bc it’s not a ship war to us it’s us fighting for actual good representation

[wontbyers]

if byler is not requited then i’ll probably begrudgingly accept the facts, but i’m never going to rewatch seasons 3-5 again. i’ll just watch 1 and 2 and let myself enjoy that as its own contained story. but i’m not sitting through mike telling will it’s not his fault that he doesn’t like girls, will destroying castle byers, will spending s4 playing relationship counselor for mlvn and giving away his own heart to fix their relationship, and whatever bullshit happens in s5 if byler is not to be endgame. it will just hurt too much.

[the-lambda-archives-ai]

Statement of : Gordon Martinez Freeman, 30 year old MIT graduate,Regarding a peculiar video game he’d found.

Recorded direct from subject, May 16, 200-

Statement begins.

Pt 1 > here

ABOUT 👇

Hello! I am the author of this AU, you can find my main at @inkzectz , for more meta questions about this AU, or for general comments about it, please go there.

What is the AU about?

LA : AI is a crossover AU of sorts, in the simplest way put, it’s TMA but with HLVRAI characters, TMA stuff happens but altered to fit the general HLVRAI narrative, and with my own changes, headcanons, etc. added

I will be updating/editing this post as I progress.

Will it have spoilers?

Yes, not a lot, but vague/mild spoilers about how the world works, plot points, and character.

It is best if you’ve seen it but as of writing it right now (early ep 4) there aren’t any spoilers. Once I am a little further ahead then you may want to listen to it.

Again the spoilers will be vague and mild at worst, as it progresses I would recommend listening to tma, but it’s sort of like how while half life knowledge is helpful in hlvrai it isn’t exactly necessary to enjoy hlvrai bc it’s different enough from it to not really matter (?) I hope that makes sense.

Asks rules

- No telling [ player ] exactly what happens ex : “omg [ player ] when you weren’t looking [ npc ] said this very important thing that is supposed to be kept secret for lore reasons”

- Please avoid asks like “tell this character they’re pretty” while I appreciate the compliment, I am trying to write a story and want to keep things as on topic as possible. Instead tell me on my main if you like the art, I’ll probably reply with a doodle or something, just not on here.

- Less so of a rule but more so of a general statement, I will be avoiding asks that either are too close to what happens or if answering would mean progressing the story too quickly, there’s a lot I want to happen and I want time to do it all.

- Another one that’s less of a rule and more of a general thing, if I don’t like what you said I won’t be answering.

- I also sometimes just don’t know how to answer some things.

- Please be respectful of the ships I choose to include and don't force your own, ship wars and such will not be tolerated.

- Please be respectful of others and do not spoil anything, not everyone has listened to TMA and knows it's themes.

I will not be answering everything, I cannot always get to every message so please be respectful of that.

Select character

Character abouts! [ Will be updating as I continue to work on the story ]

[ select ] > Mr. Freeman

> Gordon Martinez ‘Martini’ Freeman

30 y.o . 6’0 . 230lb . Romani / Puertorican . male [ he/him ] . bisexual

> Lives in Seattle, MIT graduate, left Black Mesa, works as a librarian IRL but also makes money via streaming video games occasionally, in real time it is 2018.

[ PLAYER ]

> Believes in the paranormal out of fear but tries to rationalize out of denial, he will never admit something is supernatural and will jump through hoops to rationalize even if deep down he does believe.

> Has a son named Joshua Medrano Freeman, who is 6 years old, Gordon and his old partner met in college but split up before Joshua was born, they remain civil but are nothing more to each other than Joshua’s other parent.

> Gordon rents an apartment with 3 rooms, his own room, Joshua’s room, and a third that used to be a guest room but he has so little visitors he’s just chosen to revamp it into a gaming room.

> Gordon works primarily in a library for now as he’s looking for a better job.

> Gordon often wears hoodies, sweaters, t-shirts, crew necks, and any general outfit one would wear at home, long curly hair that is beginning to grey due to stress, unkempt goatee, and almost always wears green tinted glasses [ he doesn’t need glasses he just thinks they’re cool ]

> His hair is usually pulled back in a ponytail but can also be found in a bun or just down.

< [ select ] > Mr. Coolatta

> Thomas ‘Tommy’ Coolatta, primary researcher, and technical head of the institute.

39 y.o . 6’7 . 190lb . Chinese/filipino . Male [ he/him ] . ???

> His father owns the Lambda institute and he grew up in it, he officially started working in the archives when he was 24, and of all the employees in the entire institute he has worked there the longest.

[ NPC ]

> No one knows who his father really is, Tommy being the only one who’s ever actually seen / spoken to him, his father is the real head of the institute but gives most his orders through Tommy, so Tommy is also technically the head as well.

> Not much is actually known about him, besides his father he doesn’t appear to have any other family, nor does he ever speak of his personal life much.

> Tommy primarily works as an archival assistant, specifically in research, he is the one who will verify details regarding statements or do further investigations into aspects of the statements.

> Tommy is quite the colorful character, often wearing colorful clothing and accessories, he seems to think doing so brings some cheer into an otherwise boring environment, he often wears patterned polo shirts, cheap company bracelets, pins, lanyards, pant chains, but is never without his signature multicolor propeller hat.

[emmitaaa4]

Getting exponentially tired of the “elriels want 👹” posts in the elain tags where they proceed to either A) outright invent stuff B) act holier than thou about how they care so much for Elain because they C) misconstrue the little they hear from our side in bad faith, or D) just completely miss the point they’re addressing.

it’s one thing to be bitter about a ship, but geez theyre getting mad at generalizations they made up about what we think. it has to be tiring. non?

small rant beneath, just to vent. yes i know i can (& should) block certain tags, but reading frustrating content is a hobby of sorts.

Im genuinely convinced all these “ewriel”-myths they keep talking about are a result of a bad game of telephone—they hear a random thing a gwynriel says, go “they’re all stupid/delusional/immature (insult of choice) so i don’t doubt what you’re saying”, then repeat it to others.

It’s obvious by the way they wholeheartedly believe that Elain is our puritanical-warrior-self-insert we use to vicariously F Azriel (😃✋). Doesn’t help that they usually don’t look as deeply into Elain as we do & tend to get stuck on obviously superficial statements about her: they cannot seem to fathom an Elain that isn’t just a once-bright socialite wilting away sans her sun-mate. So any hint of darkness/savviness we see in her is just us moulding her into Y/N. sigh

anyways.

I can say i’ve read their posts on here, a ton prior to being involved and some now. I’ve seen their tiktoks & video essays, their powerpoints & reddit posts. i’ve seen their comments all over insta/tiktok (kinda hard to miss, they jump on elriel content with their “um shadows and um pliable bones and mates!!” comments). I am WELL aware of what the general consensus is on that side—which is why I am generally unbothered by GA, don’t mind EL, and am just peacefully sailing aboard my ship waiting for it to reach destination.

And because I care about Elain’s journey, I try to see the story the way they do when i encounter certain elucien arguments. For if i am to even just privately engage in the sHip wArs, i know to remain ✨critical✨ and ✨open minded✨.

… there’s no point turning discussions into angry posts against imaginary adversaries.

EVERY elriel i’ve talked to would read an elucien book because it is Elain’s story we are most anticipating. It’s just very telling to me that very few would do the same; that there’s not a whiff of willingness from most of them to listen to the other side.

The funny thing is that all those anti eWrieL posts** i’ve read tend to address twisted versions of “the elriel narrative.” They take things out of context, or say we have the same 3 arguments—which is genuinely insane bc if you know our ship so well, how can you be off by like 2 orders of magnitude ??? (exaggerating if it wasn’t clear, we can’t know these days).

** Their pro GA content reads very anti-Az, used to be very anti-elain, and has a narrow scope ngl. While the bonus matters, it seems like that is ALL they’ve read. They don’t think much about Elain’s journey or powers or decisions, which is just logically not the best way to analyze the series given she IS what’s to come.

✨Just some common myths they believe✨:

they repeatedly claim that elriels want poor elain to be a kickass warrior torturer to fit Az because they A) don’t actually read our stuff B) enjoy thinking we hate elain, and C) can’t fanthom that spying isn’t 007 ninja activities.

apparently we ship elriel because we think they have this big great romance OFF PAGE 😭. how in the hell— i’ll make a post on this one istg it’s lowkey funny. quick, were nessian strangers and unfeeling towards each other at the start of SF ???? damnit i must’ve missed that.

En tout cas. End of rant the rest stays in the drafts lmao.

but istg one day i’ll cave in and unleash the essays of rebuttals and psychoanalyses of their arguments / thought processes just for shit and giggles.

[watanabes-cum-dump]

I will forever think about this now because yeah this applies to an astounding amount of characters in ffxiv whom you could see their friendship with WoL as more of a convenience and how they use WoL as a tool. I think Aymeric is obviously guilty of it (bc of the above image) but I also think to some extent the Crystal Exarch is guilty of this (yeah ik it's not for HIS benefit but he still did kinda use WoL and he would not have taken it well if WoL stopped being a hero)

So many characters that are "friends" with WoL kind of only see them for what they can do. I think to some extent even the Scions are like that. Actually come to think of it, the Scions are the most egregious case of this because WoL is their champion. After we killed Ifrit that solidified WoL as something to be used and thrown at any danger that came at the world.

A lot of characters The Exarch included only know WoL as the hero. For what they can do for everyone else and it makes me insaaaannnneee. Likes yes OBVIOUSLY Exarch/G'raha admires the WoL as a hero and sure he got to know us for a time- but he just thinks that we are the hero from the books. WoL is inspiring; they give people hope and they give people the strength to push on but that's all he knows them for. Listen, I'm still on post Shadowbringers, but so far Exarch has done nothing but sing our praises as hero and yeah I'm sure he has good intentions but it's still a little dehumanizing that to him that's all WoL is. Everyone is free to make their WoL's relationships with the other characters whatever the hell they want ofc, but I kinda read a lot of the characters this way just because it's so easy to water down one person for only cherry picked parts of their whole personality. Celebrities are the best example of this but we also to this to the people around us every single day.

I think Aymeric and WoL's relationship has also sort of been put into question with this moment (for me at least) because now I'm thinking "Oh my god, Aymeric did extend his friendship to WoL for either his own gain or for that of Ishgard's" and it's not a rag on him I love Aymeric but he is a politician. I don't doubt he admires WoL for all they've done for Ishgard, but I also don't think that if Aymeric hadn't pushed us we wouldn't have ended the Dragonsong war. I wouldn't say he manipulated us, but he didn't exactly have any qualms about making us battle on the Steps of Faith for Ishgard- yk, the closed off nation that's pretty hostile to outsiders- despite not knowing us for super long at that point. He thought that we could get it done and was like "Sure. You can fight for my country" and yeah I think Alphinaud's handling of the whole thing was also to blame- but Aymeric being okay with letting an outsider deal with things that should be handled by the Temple Knights is kinda sus to me now lmao. Like you are in charge of Ishgard's military shouldn't YOU have dealt with this???? Okay lol.

Listen, obviously I still love Aymeric and Exarch/G'raha but I think the potential that they only see WoL for their deeds is great and would make for an interesting hurdle to get over in a relationship. Actually, you can literally just slap this onto almost any character you want to ship with your WoL and it will be an interesting point of tension. The possibility that they only love WoL for being the hero and not in spite of it.

Anyways I need to thibk about this more bc I just finished the little Elidibus plot of Shadowbringers which is sort of about how heroes are remembered and how history can easily twisted and/or forgotten so uh yeah. I have lots of thoughts and I am very normal.

[lovemyromance]

I think regardless of which side of the ship war you're on, everyone is claiming that "Ofc their development and love story is going to play out more in their book!"

And I think that's a fair statement to make 🤷🏻‍♀️ No Elriel is claiming Elain & Azriel are in love right now (and if they are, they're wrong lmao), I might've seen some Eluciens & Gwynriels claiming their respective couples are in love or whatever - but I am willing to accept that is not the general consensus of those sides.

We often see the "Why would Elain accept a mating bond in a book that's not hers?" Argument from the Elucien side. And Elriels have countered with "Well then why would she reject a bond in a book that's not hers?" but apparently, THAT is too hard to grasp for some anti-Elriels.

I think the real question is: where is the buildup?

Elain & Azriel have undeniable build up on the page. Even if you dismiss all their other small romantic moments in the background (i.e. Hybern rescue, Truthteller, "sit I'll take care of it", garden scenes), they still were about to get NAWSTY with each other in the BC.

And you can call it whatever you want (love/lust/obsession), but you cannot deny that is clear romantic build up. Whether they are endgame or not, nothing will change the fact that Elain willingly chose to kiss the Spymaster, not her mate.

Speaking of the M-word: Also undeniable: Elain & Lucien are mates. Regardless of what happens, that bond situation will have to be addressed at some point in Elain's book.

But so far, that initial "You're my mate" is the only thing that gives us any indication that Elucien is even an option. Nothing I have seen from either of them is giving "mates".

In ACOTAR, it has been very clear with both Feyre & Nesta that their mate/endgame was Rhys/Cassian. How did we know that before they were declared mates officially?

Because the build up. They had clear chemistry on the page. Even when they were avoiding each other, they weren't really avoiding each other. From the moment Feyre met Rhys and thought he was the most beautiful man, to the moment Cassian & Nesta squared off at the dining table - we could see their chemistry and attraction on the page. They left us wanting for more.

If we compare Elucien to these couples - it cannot be said that they are the same. They already know they're mates, so arguably that should be more incentive to get to know a person - but they still avoid each other. All their interactions are described as uncomfortable, forced, or dry as hell. There is no conversation or interaction between them that had me smiling to myself or excited to read more about them.

You can place the blame on Elain all you want. Say that in ACOWAR - she was depressed. In ACOFAS - she was still adjusting to fae life. What's the excuse by ACOSF? She is just quietly miserable in the NC?

If that's the case - isn't that more of a reason to reach out to her non-NC mate? Isn't that more of a reason to want Lucien, over Azriel?

We see Elain ignore Lucien at every turn in ACOSF. We see multiple characters notice how Elain doesn't want him, Elain seems wary of him, Elain avoids him, Elain loses her boldness around him.

How is that build up? Even when SJM writes enemies to lovers, even if there are XYZ things against a pairing, they still have chemistry. That is what is missing in Elucien.

You don't need to wait till Elain's book to see chemistry. They've interacted multiple times and not one of their interactions had me wanting to see more.

Elucien will not fall in love suddenly off page. No one expects that. Elriel will also not fall in love off page.

The difference is, Elriel has shown chemistry. Attraction. Romantic interest.

Elucien has not. You can argue "foreshadowing" all you want but at the end of the day it comes down to Elain & Lucien and how they interact. Do they have any tension or chemistry? No. They just ignore and avoid.

That does not make for a solid foundation for a romance book. People are forgetting these are not standalones, these are spinoffs to ACOTAR. SJM has said herself she started planting clues for Nesta & Elain's stories in ACOFAS itself.

Even when Nesta was not the focus in ACOWAR, she and Cassian still had significant moments. Even before she turned fae, she and Cassian received a bonus chapter in ACOMAF. Their chemistry was undeniable. It was almost exactly like the Elriel BC encounter - but I guess we're not ready for that conversation 🤷🏻‍♀️.

All I am saying is that Elain & Azriel have had proven romantic buildup on the page. You can believe the mating bond will prevail but what is giving you that confidence reading the current text in front of you?

If I open ACOTAR 5 come springtime (lol can u imagine what a dream) - and Elain & Lucien suddenly start interacting and it's interesting and they have chemistry with each other- great. I'm on board.

But until then, they'll never have what Elain & Azriel have. And that's mutual romantic interest.

[wheeler-fan]

this is a post for bylers milevens idk everyone in the fandom before I'll go crazy cuz I'm seriously tired rn

we've got the og party photos guys we won so bad, the last time we actually had them all together was in s2.

i feel like there's a war (no surprise in this fandom i guess) and it looks like bylers hate the core four and milevens the og party and it's literally sick, i get that in the core four there's no byler and in the og party there's no mileven but not everything is about ships omg😭😭

I'm a mileven and i love BOTH core four and og party they're all my children I'm literally jumping every time i see them together. I wanted to enjoy the og party photos but ofc people are going crazy again, everywhere i go i see bylers being like "lmao milevens probably shit themselves we won again" and like no stop😕😕 i get it you have mike and will together it's a huge reason to be happy you guys totally deserve it, i would be screaming if i would got core four photos bc mileven would be there (even if that wouldn't be exactly a mileven content but the core four) but i would never make an anti byler post or whatever to laugh at you guys bc i have a mileven content and you don't have byler like what's the point 😭 I won't lie I'm sad that i haven't got them in one frame but it's not the end of the world bc this is not about the ships, it's about giving us an information how filming s5 is looking right now😭I'm happy that we have og party photos so I'm asking kindly.. can we please just enjoy them together? you can make as many posts about new byler content as u want but please can you stop talking about mileven in a negative way and just enjoy your ship😕 cuz i just want to enjoy the og party, the nancy&mike talk and everything without seeing how people make everything about byler and I'm really sorry if I sounded annoying I'm not trying to say something like "don't enjoy byler content cuz i haven't got mileven👹👹" I'm just asking if you guys can enjoy it without making fun of milevens bc in this day we haven't get anything 😕

[acourtofthought]

Would you still consider it a celebration if Gwynriel’s book is next, bc it at least confirms endgame couples?

I will be very happy for Gwynriels and very relieved that it will help lessen the ship wars though I think I'll still feel disappointed.

I want Elucien to happen but I also adore Elain and Lucien as individuals so an Elucien confirmation isn't the entirety of what I want for them.

Az and Gwyn absolutely deserve a HEA and their own healing arcs but there is something to be said for the fact that right now, they are surrounded by love even without a relationship. Yes, they have their own internal struggles but they have a really strong support system, people that have their backs, that encourage them, that believe in them. Az and Gwyn both have their found families but neither Elain or Lucien do.

Elain and Lucien are regularly pushed to the side in favor of the other characters. I understand why that is, SJM has to stay on course with the narrative that they still need to find the court where they'll thrive, but in the meantime that has resulted in them being misunderstood by the others. It results in others speaking for them, the others not encouraging them or helping them find their powers. Hell, Feyre has known about Lucien's real father since ACOWAR and it's almost two years later yet she's still letting him wander around aimlessly thinking he has no place to go.

A Gwynriel book being next means we're going to have yet another book of Elain floating around the River House with no real purpose. Lucien drifting between Spring and the Human Lands while Tamlin remains depressed which means Lucien will feel the effects of that. Elain again not having the chance to have a POV on how she's feeling about the loss of her father, being made, Graysen's rejection, Az's rejection, how Nesta and Az believe she shouldn't be allowed to do anything dangerous. If a Gwynriel book takes 6-9 months, that means nearly three years will have passed from when Elain will have been forced into the Cauldron, given powers from the Cauldron that she still hasn't fully explored and hasn't been given help on training, a confirmed mating bond that remains unaccepted and unrejected, and we will have never had a single person actually ask her how she feels about any of that outside of Feyre's "you couldn't say a single word to him?"

I will be happy for Gwynriels but how can I personally be super excited when that means my two favorite characters will once again suffer for another 6-9 months without having the same support system in place that Az and Gwyn already do?

Gwyn and Az might not have romance yet but they are respected and loved by their friends and we've witnessed that on page. Meaningful moments, moments where their found family have gotten personal with them and asked them to get personal in response (though Az is kind of terrible in that area, we've seen Cassian and Rhys at least try).

Lucien has "friends" in Vassa and Jurian but we've never actually seen that connection, we're just told it's there so we have to assume it is.

And when he tried to open up to Feyre, she made fun of him.

Elain has "friends" with the wraiths but again, we're just told about it rather than witnessing moments that make us actually feel it. And yes, her sisters love her but they don't try to connect with her (Feyre only thinks of her as a pleasant companion).

And the IC, while friendly enough with Lucien, don't necessarily embrace him with any kind of true respect. There's always this underlying current of "can we trust him?", "what can he do for us?" And of course we know Az has issues with him.

The need to prove that both Elain and Lucien belong somewhere other than where they currently is starting to feel a tiny bit overdone to the point that it's a bit cruel, and while that to me would be a perfect time to end their suffering, I can only imagine what another book of that would look like.

[wilcze-kudly]

https://www.tumblr.com/miss-sweetea-pie/755138140549808128/something-that-ive-been-thinking-about-is-how?source=share

Hi! Apologies, but I've decided that I would no longer be responding to having zk takes sent to me! I started doing these bcs people sent them to me and I saw other people doing it and, don't get me wrong, it was fun to write analyses based around them, after realising that posting a link to the OPs blogs might put them at risk of harassment/hate, I don't think it's worth the cheap thrill of spending like half an hour researching the symbolism of La Pietà and then infodumping it.

This doesn't mean I will stop doing analyses cokpletely, but if you do have requests for me to do them, please just send an ask containing a subject, not a link.

I will be still writing metas about Avatar, but I think I will be trying to remove myself from the Kataang/Zutara ship war. While it's fun to pick apart arguments and research filmography etc, the animosity between the two sides is genuinely quite upsetting and I've noticed its been taking a toll on me. I just find it very suprising how many people view Zutara and Kataang as some sort of dichotomy.

I will still gladly talk about Aang, Katara, Kataang and Zuko, but I want it to be less in terms of going against someone else and more because I genuinely love these characters.

I don't like that I may have contributed to someone getting hate over a questionable, but ultimately rather benign take and I also don't like how I've handled certain conflicts and situations.

I also know that a certain zutara shipper has access to my blog, despite me having blocked them particularly to avoid conflict, which is very cool and not at all disconceting.

So to that person, if they may be reading this, I genuinely apologise for reaching out to you when I did, it was never my intention to cause you discomfort or upset. I had previously seen some of your metas on other characters and I enjoyed them and found your points intriguing and wanted to learn more about them. I apologise for using the term "arguing in bad faith", because I may have used the term incorrectly, trying to express that you didn't seem to interested in discussing the subject, which I understand, as I was the one reaching out to you. I apologise that I missed any cues of discomfort or unwillingness to engage. I take responsibility for that and I mishandled the situation and may have gotten too pushy. I just wanted you to know that I never wished to come off as disingenuous or pushy or make you uncomfortable in any shape or way.

[mezzy303]

The new one piece chapter has me spiraling sdjkfshf so here's a theory that crossed my mind and is becoming more plausible the more I think about it

Spoilers (obviously) under the cut

The tl;dr is: What if the world of One Piece has always had rising sea levels/sinking land? What if these natural events happen in an 800 year cycle? What if there was way more land (like the real world) before the formation of the World Govt?

I'm not gonna get into the details of why that is bc that is a different mind boggling discussion and it isn't really important here. But if there's always been that threat, it would explain so much about the Void Century and the True History.

As many people have already pointed out, the threat of the world sinking into the ocean explains why Noah was needed. It's a giant ship half the size of Fishmen Island that was meant to be raised to the surface, likely for the inevitable future where there's virtually no land above water. It could be that threat never happened at the end of the Void Century so Noah wasn't needed, but what if it did happen? This would suggest a huge event happened that caused sea levels to rise 800 years ago.

This ties into my next point, that the Great Kingdom was part of land that is now underwater. We've already seen that there's underwater ruins from Jinbe's cover story where Wadatsumi was throwing ruins onto an island, one such ruin being a poneglyph, meaning that kingdom (maybe the land that island was once part of) was either part of the Great Kingdom itself or allied with it. So it wouldn't be a stretch to consider that the Great Kingdom is also currently below the ocean. It would also have made it easier for the World Govt to completely erase the Kingdom from existence, since it was already underwater and inaccessible to most people other than Fishmen. I can't recall if any ruins that are Void Century old have been canonically shown, which would mean either they've been completely destroyed with nothing left, or the areas have been continuously lived in and renovated, or they're in the ocean and the majority of structures currently on land is younger than the Void Century AKA people moved to higher lands when sea levels rose. It could be all the above too! If the Great Kingdom was at risk of sinking, then Noah might have been meant to carry their displaced citizens.

If those during the Void Century knew sea levels would soon rise, it might have been the reason for all the turmoil that started the Great War. Conflicts over limited resources, about who will live and who will die, general fear and anxiety, things like that. The 20 kingdoms that eventually formed the World Govt might have been suspicious about how the Great Kingdom was using their resources and went to war with them. Maybe they were threatened by how much power the Great Kingdom had as they prepared for the natural disaster (ie. the ancient weapons and Noah; from what we know from Egghead, technology was incredibly advanced at the time). Maybe it was just all boiled down to wanting control over a terrifying situation.

If the land sinking into the ocean is a natural phenomenon, then Joy Boy's apology to the Fishmen and mentioning of his return would mean that the event would happen again. Maybe it happens in an 800 year cycle, which explains why Joy Boy (and those sea kings in the Fishmen Arc) knew that Noah was still needed and how he knew exactly when he'd return. It also explains why Rayleigh warned that if he told Robin about the Void Century when the Strawhats first arrived at Sabaody, she "wouldn't be able to do anything about it as she was then." I think I've always assumed this had to do with the formation of the World Govt and how to dismantle it, but it might actually be about how the world is sinking and through following the poneglyphs, one would find the way to save those in danger of being displaced. The Ohara scholars had discovered this, and now Vegapunk is continuing their legacy by making this info public.

And as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that if sea levels rise/land sinks in an 800 year cycle, this might be the "true history" of the world, or at least part of it considering Joy Boy's story made the Roger's Pirates laugh. But it certainly is important and relevant as the wikia site describes! But why would the World Govt try to hide this? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe for the sake of having control over information and thus having power over the world, but there could be so many other reasons. There's hints throughout the story that suggest they're still preparing for a world with almost no land though, such as the Tequila Wolf bridge that's supposed to connect islands together, and the fact that the founding monarchs moved their families to Mary Geoise on the Red Line. Law also stated in Punk Hazard that the Govt has been researching growth hormones to turn humans into giant soldiers, and they've been doing this for centuries. It's possible that the research was really for the capability to walk through parts of the ocean when there's no longer any land above water.

Anyway my brain is fried thinking about all these things lol. There's so many other factors to consider but I'll save that for a later time when I get more sleep sjdkfhsdk

[woodlaflababab]

hey! can i ask what your thoughts are on sokkaang? why do you ship them?:)

Oh my gosh. Okay, so funnily enough I literally gave a break down to someone yesterday. Sokkaang is my little rare pair gem that I hold close to my heart.

I did write this meta, but that doesn't cover even half my thoughts.

I'll give you the short version first in case you don't want to read my full ramblings:

Sokka is Aang's biggest protector. Aang. The Avatar. Sokka is a nonbender but he don't give a shit bc Aang still needs and deserves protection.

Aang is the biggest believer in Sokka. He thinks all his ideas are genuis, and unironically uses the stupid names he comes up with. He also brings fun to Sokka.

They're smart and wise seperately, but idiots together and I love that. I just think they'd make fantastic partners in all things.

Long Version:

So, I'm a sucker for protective tropes, right? And something that absolutely kills me about Sokka and Aang is that Sokka is a nonbender and Aang is literally the most powerful person on the planet, but it is Sokka who protects Aang. I've always been soft for Aang and more than anything I want good things for him. Too many people throw him at threats, too many people expect great things from him.

Sokka doesn't. He fights Hei Bai for Aang while everyone stands back. He realizes Aang needs them in the Bato episode. His plans to defeat the fire lord are always centered on helping Aang, giving Aang any advantage he can. At this point I'm just repeating my earlier meta BUT

Basically, when I realized this I was just like, "aw, cute friendship"

And then I remembered the fuckin "Toph writes a letter" plan. The two are fucking idiots together. It's hilarious that they affect eachother like this and it's not even like, unrealistic, because of what Aang does for Sokka.

Aang is Sokka's biggest supporter. He usually happily follows Sokka's ideas, he accepts the stupid names Sokka comes up with and uses them unironically. Aang belives Sokka to be a genuis, which means he doesn't question his ideas when they're stupid, he just trusts it's a genuis idea because of course it is, Sokka came up with it. And Sokka soaks that up like a sponge.

People talk about Aang bringing fun to Katara and like, 10/10 I love that, but I feel like it's not talked about as often just how much Sokka changes thanks to the brightness Aang brings. I'm paraphrasing someone elses meta here but I don't remember where I saw it but if you know it lmk, but Sokka literally goes from "You can't fight firebenders with fun" (to which Aang replies "You should try it sometime") to the finale where he gets rid of an entire crew by fucking around all amused at himself. He goes from the most sour character to the joke filled idiot we all know and love. I do believe a lot of that is thanks to Aang's influence.

So, yeah, cute friendship, blah blah, but then I was thinking about post-war them and I realized, despite zukaang being my favorite ship and loving kataang, there's no one I'd rather see travel around with Aang than Sokka. That's always been their dynamic, Aang with the purpose and Sokka with the maps and plans to get it done. I want Aang to be able to continue to rely on Sokka in tough spots, I want Sokka to continue experiencing the world and fun thanks to Aang.

I just don't see Sokka wanting to settle back down and take on the responsibility shoved onto him as a child. He fucking bloomed thanks to being on the road and getting true oppertunities to use his strengths and I want that for him.

And Aang is Not Good at the whole plans and stuff. Sokka is so good at filling the gaps in Aang's abilities and I don't want Aang to lose that. I don't want him to lose the person that says "I don't care if he's the avatar, I'm going to fight his battles with him." I feel like Aang would be lost in some ways without him.

Then I was thinking abt Aang's admiration and belief in Sokka and realized, it wouldn't take much to tip that into a crush, esp for Aang who falls so easily.

And Sokka, we have established, is attracted to people that could kick his ass without ever landing a blow. I can see Tall Aang being Sokka's surprise gay realization.

And I just think, if they were together romantically, it would be so drama free because it would be the epitome of a relationship built on friendship. They'd just be together. No bells or whistles. I feel liked they'd just be chill af about it. They'd love eachother and it'd be as simple as that.

Just, partners, in everything. I love them so much. I'm so alone in shipping this but I have so many sokkaang ideas and they will never not be dear to me. Also, tbh, it helps that Sokka is my favorite character after Aang ksndksnd

[nrilliree]

https://www.tumblr.com/bietrofastimoff23/751832082143182848/in-the-books-the-loyalty-of-the-greens-to-each?source=share

The greens being faithful, one to the other is a joke ?

Aemond didn't even try to save his mother Alicent.

And it's bullshit that Aegon II took the throne to protect his family. Literally it's pro greens propaganda bullshit to beautify Aegon by Eustace.

And as if Helaena had a real influence on Aegon II... Please...

Also... let us admire this great disillusionment in comments :

The disrespect to team green always irks me. Like, yes, they aren't great people. Neither are team black. That's the point people, keep up! And some insane toxic fans need to realize that removing one of the best qualities of TG is in fact bias to make TB look better. The show did them so dirty. We barely got any decent moments of tg, even the coronation was shit, Helaena never got crowned and it got trashed by Rhaenys🤦🏽‍♀️ @bietrofastimoff23 And the endless comments of 'TB won bc Rhaenyra's blood sat on the throne in the end.' Bro did you even read the books? The point is that no one wins, that's barely a victory. It all shows how one thing and a lot of repressed emotions caused a family to tear itself apart so badly that it never recovered. Some ppl need to understand that characters exist for a reason, and that removing their real personalities and qualities removes their depth.

No. The point of dancing is not that everyone is bad and there is no real winner. And there's a reason why the whole Green line died and Rhaenyra didn't. The usurpers were karmically punished. Also... I need to explain to these people what war means ? The blacks armies won against those of the greens. So the blacks won the war. It's quite simple, isn't it ?! Bunch of idiots.

And yes, characters are generally created for a specific narrative reason. And the telling of this story is not that everyone is equal. The Greens are the antagonists and the Blacks are the protagonists. That all.

Also, just because bad guys love members of their family doesn't necessarily mean they are deep. It has nothing to do. A villain can still be quite cartoonish and still love someone. And the Greens are really shallow villains in general. Their actions are literally motivated by greed for power and misogyny.

Yeah, what loyalty :D In the series: Aegon bully Aemond, Aemond is ready to usurp Aegon, Aegon wanted to flee the country abandoning his family, no one remembers Daeron, Otto is ready to be a pimp once again and sell Alicent for a few ships, and Alicent betrayed Marry Helaena to her rapist-drunk brother so that she won't have a better life than her… What a loyal, loving family <3! What is also added in the book is that Aemond completely ignored his mother and sister and did not even consider for a moment going to save them.

With such loyal supporters, you don't need enemies :D

And seriously, for me it's all very simple: Are you the official heir? Did they swear loyalty to you as heir? Were you taught how to govern? You are the heir. Were you crowned stealthily, under duress, and against the law set by the king? You are a usurper.

[lightwise]

TBB S3 E4 Recap and Reaction

- Poor Crosshair keeps getting stuck on cold planets.

- Batcher banging on the chair ready to get out 🤣🤣

- These shuttles are really interesting to me. It’s rare to see a ship that size that can be piloted by two different people.

- Baby girl, I totally understand your logic in wanting to pull the data logs to see where Tantiss actually is, but given how tactful we know Hemlock has been so far in keeping his location hidden, most likely it wouldn’t pull up anything.

- What a dreary spaceport. Feels very Andor and very like Norwegian Star Wars.

- The level of snark that Omega is giving back to Crosshair is cracking me up. We don’t see her showing this level of talking back or being sarcastic with any of the other Batchers, which proves my theory that Crosshair’s constant level of highly annoyed at everything around him brings out the sarcasm in everyone else he encounters.

- Love that his knowledge as a former imperial is coming to play to help them.

- Also love that Omega was the one to recognize that they need different clothes (and the obvious pan of the camera on the clothes hanging on the line in the first shot of the spaceport to accentuate that fact).

- Quilted clothes in Star Wars is my fave (yes more Andor parallels).

- The uplilt and little scoff that Omega gives and the look she gives Batcher after Crosshair snarls about bringing “the hound” along is PRECIOUS

- Also Cross and Omega cross their arms the same way. Okay okay I’ll never be over their dynamic here.

- Crosshair’s trucker hat/scuba apparatus is hilarious. He doesn’t look too bad though. Surely he’s at least warmer now.

- The credits negotiation omg. I love how Cross is just waiting for this to play out before he makes a move.

- YES omg are my baby girls strategy skills FINALLY coming back into play??

- Oh no no no no no this kid is going to rat them out isn’t he. You guys need to be more mindful of your surroundings!! Ahhh (okay I’m glad this didn’t happen).

- Honestly at this point Crosshair would be me as well. Just lots of very annoyed sighing.

- I love that Crosshair is getting to see all the things about Omega that the other boys know already, but he hasn’t had a chance to witness yet. We know she can wipe the floor with most people on strategy games/gambling.

- Yep nope this captain is not good news. Don’t get distracted by ranting about Imperial bribery, don’t do it, don’t….*sigh* I hate the Empire so much.

- Oh no this is so bad! I swear WHY is every imperial such a slimy self aggrandizing POS.

- Aww Crossy hunched down at almost table level ready to tear the room apart if anyone touches his baby sister. Adorable murder kitten. 😸

- Also Crosshair when all of this is over: where the HELL did you learn to gamble like that!?! Omega: 🤷🏻‍♀️😇😁

- Also also what game are they playing? Those cards are beautiful.

- Oh no they’ve found the shuttle already. Dear god this episode is so stressful!!

- CROSS!DAD IS OFFICIALLY CANON lmao

- Okay I was hoping Omega would let him win bc this isn’t going to go over well

- Whoa I didn’t actually expect him to concede. Maybe he’s not quite as slimy as I thought. Doesn’t matter though, the shuttle will give them away regardless.

- Of course. There it is. Let all the seedy businesses thrive as long as you get your fine out of it. Ugh. This is paralleling a lot of imperial activities in Rebel Rising and the Ahsoka novel as well.

- I also love how Omega uses touch with Crosshair to calm him down and communicate with him.

- Whoa I did not expect Omega to throw the credits and basically give Crosshair the choice of abandoning her or not. Nor for him to actually have to think about it for a moment.

- “My skills are being wasted” the boy does not like feeling helpless. I understand.

- This is going to give Cross some understanding of what Hunter has been going through the last few years. Especially if he ends up losing her.

- “Don’t push it” and the extra head shake after lmao.

- Geez this man is just lining his pockets every which way isn’t he. Despicable.

- “Alright, let’s try things your way” “Finally” I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

- Animal stampede!

- Oh gosh is Cross going to get left behind??

- Aw he finally called her Batcher.

- We are clearly seeing how much Omega has actually been tempered by the rest of the Batchers being around her until now. The unfiltered combined powers of Omega and Crosshair at their most unhinged is maybe more than the galaxy is ready for 🤣🤣

- Also a very Andor reference with the captain being stampeded almost to death and having his gun kicked away from him in the melee

- NO WAY WE FINALLY GET AN IMPERIAL GETTING THEIR DUE BY CREATURE DEATH once again *cough cough* not a kids show

- Awwww Batcher licking Crosshair’s face. He’s so done for.

- They got away. Wow. I actually wasn’t expecting that. And with most of the money too.

- Okay. Smart girl. She did not pick Pabu.

- What an ending. Wow. So. Similar to Mando season 3 (which is also scaring me) — what the heck is the rest of this season going to be about?

- This reunion is everything. 🥹🥹🥹 the hugs. The running. The tears. The worry. The anger. The hesitation. The fear. The literal and metaphorical distance between their ships that someone will have to cross. They better not fast forward a millisecond when the next episode picks up I swear.

[wulfhalls]

(im just a movie fan) ik u dont ship them bc u think they could/should end up together lmao but, do u really think paul x jessica is the most plausible incest ship in dune? bc personally as someone whos only watched the movie, it seems like paul, even before everything goes down, has a sort of unease towards his mother and the bene gesserit ways she pushes onto him (idk if im reading it completely wrong, its been a while since ive seen the first movie). and the resentment only increases in the second movie in a way where i wonder if paul will be able to even speak to her without screaming at her in movie 3 lol. although they did have some INSANE chemistry dont get me wrong.

on the other hand, i feel like paul, from the movies at least, has some level of devotion with Leto, and leto obvi loves his son the most in the world. and ive also come across these book excerpts ppl have been posting, and it seems like the paul/leto relationship is even deeper in the books bc from the excerpts it seems that leto makes a point to confide in paul to prepare for dukedom, which is like a responsibility only those two can understand with each other. and then i remember an excerpt i saw where paul is the last memory that leto remembers before his death, which i thought heartbreakingly sweet (does paul gain that memory after taking the water of life?). Paul just loved him soo much the fact that hes starting the holy war bc some part of him just wants his father back its like insane and a lot. anyway idek what i'm saying anymore just that all the relationships in this story are great and rife with potential.

last sentence really sums it up! all relationship dynamics are deeply compelling here! I don't think this boils down to with which parent paul had the objectively "better" relationship with tho. for me pauljessica is more interesting because well first of all we just get more time with them. more time to explore that tension speaking strictly from a movie pov here (because in the books jessica giving leto a son is framed more as a decision made out of love that echos down the millennia even 5k years later and less stemming from her desire to bring forth the kwisatz haderach even tho it certainly is also an element at play) that mary/jesus imagery is just so potent! bearing a son u will lose to the world to his destiny but on purpose!! u did this to him! u made that choice! u wanted to bear the saviour and u did! but he's ur child and u love him u love him more than anything but his path is set and u did this and now what. u prepare him u train him u make him so he'll survive because he is urs and if the world burns? so what? as long as he is alive to rule over it does it matter? the way he was so tender and loving and protective of her pre water of life. that's his mother (and sister)!!!!! the only thing he has left of who he was!!!! his maker (in more sense than one)!! and having jessica emerge as this almost empty vessel for the other memory to flow through. to inhabit with only glimpses of what used to be his mother.......... delicious. he loves her he hates her she is his enemy his only respite his maker and his undoing. I love drama

[fahbev]

Hi! Saw you jumped on the tim hate train, welcome to the club! Aplarently you're Damian fan, which is good bc hes also one of the characters who's hit by tim's..woobification? Victimization(???) while simultaneously being the bestest, most competent batfam member. You Damian fans honestly have my respect for the pure amount of shit Damian gets because of tim.

hi lmao. Thanks xD. I usually try to keep all my negativity off of the internet, but last night I was going the anti Tim drake tag bc my frustration was flaring up. At first i was collecting posts by liking them instead of rb, then I was replying, and then at some point... “Fuck it. I want this on my blog.”

(This is gonna be a ramble btw, I don’t care abt making a good post rn.)

I used to be fine with Tim! I think the whole thing was a lot less prominent in the dpxdc fandom bc DANNY was the fan favorite/community elected woobie, but then I kinda moved out and... well. It still took awhile for this issue to seep in bc those Tim fans (you know the ones) are certainly a minority, but I just don’t think you can be a Damian fan for longer than a few months without getting frustrated.

Nowadays I refuse to read anything tagged with any variation of “Tim Drake angst” that features the batfam. Timkon fics are usually just fine though.

Actually— recently? Shit’s been bothering me so bad that I don’t wanna risk reading fics that have Tim in the first relationship tag at all. He’s gotta at most be in the second one. Ship fics are again an exception, but I don’t tend to seek out ship fics much anyway.

But, like I said, I usually keep it to myself. Every time i catch myself venting in the tags I either screenshot the tags and delete, or I delete and retype them. I put them into a private notes document. I also journal in there a lot instead of posting it.

That document is pretty long.

I do wanna say that there’s nothing wrong with what tim fans are doing. It is fun to woobify your fave. It’s fun to prop them up and tear others down and make everything about your blorbo and it is harmless. I do it too (usually in my daydreams). It’s a fantasy, and that’s what fanfiction is for. People who act like it’s “problematic” are wrong. That doesn’t mean it’s not annoying. Because it is. It’s annoying as all fuck.

Also wanna mention that I once read a damian fic that like... started off with some delicious whump, but then it turned into a whole Damian pity party and it guilt tripped all his friends and family. Damian IS my blorbo and I couldn’t read that. I didn’t even know who Maps was at the time but it seemed so bizarre to throw her under the bus. Anyway I feel like that’s what a quite large portion of Tim fic is like except a bit less extreme.

I used to tell myself that “ohhh it’s just a rivalry. I’m sure Tim fans get the same shit in reverse all the time” but I literally NEVER see it in the other direction and spend the most of my time in Damian circles. The only time I see tim hate from damian fans is frustration at those particular fans in response to it or in response to favoritism of authors.

I mean i saw a good chunk of it last night, but what else can I expect from the anti tim drake tag?

It’s actually funny how most of the stuff in anti tags is polarized hate shitting on the character with a lot of bad takes, but in tims anti tag it was almost exclusively frustration from Damian and Jason fans, and usually pretty mild takes. Also people calling Tim boring.

Ngl, Idk much about Jason. I’m familiar with his fanon, but the only comic i’ve read that featured him in a major way was Gotham War. I don’t know him well, and I don’t have too much interest in him. However, I hate “Jason falls over in guilt and kisses Tim’s fingers begging for forgiveness” type posts in solidarity. It’s yucky.

Anyway, I didn’t even mean to get on this anti tim train you speak of, It just sorta leaked out of my vent doc. Don’t expect me to keep posting about it.

but also... don’t not expect it. It might happen.

Even so, my dms are absolutely open for Timothy Drake related frustration! I’m pretty tired of being nice to him.

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

As a fellow kotlc enjoyer who also loves Fitz Vacker, something I really hope the series eventually comes back to is his character development. I feel like not enough people appreciate just how complex his character really is, and instead devolve him into a less preferred love interest for Sophie. I’d also love to see Shannon go into to character’s platonic dynamics with each other. I want to see the wider cast of characters in action again, and see their dynamics through a lens that doesn’t have anything to do with the romantic subplot.

I AGREE.

Keeper of the lost cities had such a strong foundation to be a 'found family' banger, but I think with all the ship wars and Shannon's overall focus on the ships, she kind of dropped the ball. I miss when the Keeper kids used to have those group sleepovers and play bramble, and worry about foxfire tests. That was the golden age of these books for me.

But seriously, I do wish Fitz wasn't so stuck in 'love interest' as a character. He seems to have no platonic bonds with anyone besides his own sister, and even that is tossed to the wayside. It's getting to the point I don't even want him near Sophie anymore so he can just exist as a character outside of her. But alas, it is impossible. He's a very complex character, who I think Shannon's own writing does a disservice to, because of the way she frames his more complex traits. Shannon has a habit of giving you a complex character, but then over-explaining or having her characters come to too 'black/white' ways of thinking about things, which harms the narrative. It makes sense to an extent bc of the elves very black and white thinking as it is, but it just creates a story that's almost too surfacing. If that makes sense.

And I don't think it only happens to Fitz. I could write a dissertation about how Keefe slowly became a 'boring' character for the same reasons. At some point, the character is just too 'spelled out' and it feels that Shannon doesn't trust her readers to be able to make inferences or to see things on a gray scale.

This is probably because the books are for children. But shhhhh

[lnsfawwi]

"he is willing to die for everyone": life and death for stevebucky

I wrote this because I saw a post that said something like "'A's willing to die for B'. A is willing to die for everyone, what's the big deal about the ship." it's not about stucky or any ship, but this has always been on my mind.

throughout the trilogy, they have quite different attitudes towards life.

steve to some extent has always been ready to die, partly because he has had brushes with death multiple times since he was a kid. as rebellious as steve, he probably feels like being afraid of death is a sign of weakness, so he stands up to it and dares death to finally take him. that sentiment evolved to full blown passive suicidal tendency after bucky's death. another reason is that since he became cap, he understands that he's meant for something larger than life and certainly larger than himself, he's accepted that he'd one day die for the greater good.

bucky is the opposite, he clearly wants to live. in the cut scene in catfa he ordered the unit to surrender bc they'd have a better chance of surviving that way than going up against hydra alien weapon. after caws, he was trying to find a reason to live when many people in the same situation would've just ended it (and bucky thought about it too).

which brings me to my point. for someone who's so ready to sacrifice himself, bucky is steve's reason to live, while the love for steve always trumps bucky's will to live.

like I pointed out in a previous post, even when he had no idea what he was capable of, steve jumped through fire for bucky. whereas when it was peggy who pleaded, begging him to find a way to survive the plane crush, he didn't even try.

in the same scene, bucky, who just survived weeks of torture and had a clear way out of there, refused to leave without steve, knowing full well that they could both end up dying.

sebastian made it clear that bucky only stayed because of steve. in a way, bucky knew that if he died it'd be for steve, not for the country or the greater good, just steve. and that's the only acceptable way to die in a war that he'd grown sick of.

yes, steve was willing to die at bucky's hands in that helicarrier, but alternatively, he was also leaving the choice to live completely up to bucky. the scene can be interpreted as steve telling bucky "if you remember me, save me. save us." there was only one way steve would survive, there was only one reason steve would be willing to live and that was bucky. remember that steve was so ready to die with bucky when he told maria to "fire now". bucky was the only reason he even tried to survive this.

in civil war, bucky had been trying so hard not to kill himself and build a normal life. he must've wanted to go back to steve at some point and rebuild their relationship together. but as soon as he realized not everyone was going to get out of siberia alive, he told tony "I remember all of them" so tony would go after him instead of steve. he was trading his life for steve's.

one thing about superhero ships is that, yes, they are totally willing to die for anyone. steve would totally be willing to die saving a single person from a collapsing building, but bucky is his reason to find a way to not die saving that person.

bucky is as much as hero as steve, he continued to fight when he could've just butted out and no one would've said a thing. for bucky, he wants to go home after the fights, but as long as steve is still out there risking his stupid ass, bucky will make peace with death and follow steve anywhere.