#just me fangirling as usual

[darabeatha]

/ I've noticed that at this point I'm not even writing on any blog anymore, I just come and yell about some blorbo and leave. Rinse and repeat my lieges

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

*I’m about to do a whole lot of nonsensical rambling so feel free to ignore*

The theory that Jaime Lannister will join the Night’s Watch at the very end of the story has always intrigued me, mostly because of the very visual changes that would encapsulate his series long character arc up to that point.

Because from the very first time that we see him on page, he’s always been in colors that are bold…or even glitter in a way? His main characteristic has been that of a man of the kingsguard - a highly prestigious institution. The highest point a knight could reach I guess. Not only that but he’s also one of the greatest living knights in the land as far as sheer skill goes. But just as we’re introduced to his place in this illustrious position, we’re immediately told that he’s a kingslayer. He’s a knight whose main job is to protect the king, but he killed the damn guy (then sat on his throne as if rubbing salt in the dead man’s wounds). And it’s not badass or anything. This monicker is one given to him through mocking.

He does some pretty messed up things too (like the defenestration of poor Bran Stark). So it’s shocking (and lowkey poignant) when the very thing that helped him rise to his illustrious position (his sword hand) is taken from him and he has to in many ways start from scratch. And this starting from scratch even opens up a path to redemption for him. And an important aspect of that is the introduction of Brienne of Tarth, who to many readers represents the ideal of what a knight should strive to be even though she isn’t one necessarily: Brienne whose “no chance and no choice” lives up to the basic knightly vow of protecting the weak.

So Jaime is a white knight. A white knight in shining armor who historically is presented as an unblemished hero. But this shining knight’s white cloak is soiled - by his own admission. Then he loses his knight’s hand and goes on this journey and to a lot of us, it seems like he’s now trying to be a good guy and trying to live up to the actual idea of being a “good knight” (whatever tf that means). He’s also struggling with keeping all these vows that he swore. We as readers can’t help but to cheer for Jaime. We want him to find redemption. We want to say, “look how he made his white cloak anew! Look how he actually became the white knight in shining armor that he yearned to be”.

So him joining the Night’s Watch is not something a lot of people would say they predict for him; I certainly didn’t at first! That’s a black cloak, not a white one. Many of us want him to mend the pretty white cloak, not don the black one that has so far not represented anything positive in the story. The kingsguard is an illustrious order whereas the NW is everything but. The kingsguard holds skilled knights but we’re told that the NW is full of unskilled old men and green boys. A man of the kingsguard has great reputation but a man of the NW is at best a criminal. You join the KG for a taste of glory but are sentenced to the NW which is essentially a suspended death sentence - there is no future and you swear a vow to win no glory AND your honor goes to shit; which is absolutely hilarious because two things that are representative of Jaime as a knight, his horses, are named for ‘honor’ and ‘glory’.

But then think about it: it seems so simple right? Jaime starting out in an institution that is high in honor (theoretically) but then ending the story in another that hasn’t seen any honor in millennia seems like the very sort of thing that GRRM would do. The visual dichotomy of moving from a white cloak that is soiled to a black one that cannot be soiled is pretty neat as well - I mean you could argue that a black cloak can still be soiled just that the stain is not visible, but I choose the interpretation that whatever blemishes there are do not remove the base purpose or identity. And again, black can represent purity.

So the white -> black shift is thematically very neat…but then I always get stumped because well wait, what will the NW look like at the end of the story? And an extension of that question is who will Jaime be as a member of this NW?

The NW from the very first page of the series has been rotten to the core. It started out with this noble higher purpose (to guard the realms of men against the Others), but it has long forgotten it’s true purpose and has (in a very caricature-like performance of duty) spent thousands of years fighting against the very people it was sworn to protect. Not only that but this once great institution that housed hundreds upon hundreds of great knights (men who were once exalted from all corners of the seven kingdoms) now houses hundreds and hundreds of criminals: rapers, thieves, political prisoners, etc, from all parts of the seven kingdoms. The people who exist outside the social contract are the main part of the NW.

The NW sucks ass but(!) it’s true purpose still remains. Winter is coming and in true GRRM fashion, the very men who will have to protect the realms of men are the ones who have been cast away, damned, and forgotten by the people they’re sworn to protect. Then in comes Jon Snow (a bastard, mind you, who also exists in the fringes of society) who tries and fails to restore the NW to its true purpose. The result of his failure is well: stabby-stab-stab. Due to the mutiny at Castle Black (and the general state of the Watch up until Jon’s last chapter in ADWD), many Jon fans want the Watch to be completely destroyed. It’s rotten so might as well just get done with it…

But I’m not so sure that the total annihilation of the Watch is necessary. I’m a firm believer that the fallout from Jon Snow’s assassination (and possible death) will be the important catalyst needed to uproot the decayed moral center of the Watch. I believe that the Watch as we know it will die…but sometimes, things must die in order to be reborn. And what better way for the Watch to be reborn than with the death and rebirth of its most important member, Jon Snow? I’ve said many many times that Jon in ASOIAF is the very embodiment of the cycle of life after death; the cycle of death and decay then eventual renewal. Jon’s arc has been about taking charge of the cripples, bastards, and broken things, the criminals and the unwanted. He takes and leads the ones who are othered. And then he takes them and gives them purpose. Arms them and empowers them. Sam and the NW recruits, Arya, the wildlings, etc.

So given what Jon represents in this story and his relation to the NW (let’s be real, the NW storyline is Jon’s) I don’t think it’s fitting for the NW to be destroyed and cease to exist. Rather, it makes sense for it to die and be renewed into something closer to its true purpose: to protect the realms of men. And since I’m a firm believer that the NW will be remade, I’ve always believed it would be repurposed post WFTD to be an institution that guards the survivors and helps rebuild the land/community. The seasons will be balanced so that means that winter/death will still be coming, but first the men of the NW must live.

I not sure yet what these changes will entail but I do know that the issue or vows will come up. The swearing and keeping of oaths and vows is an important motif in both Jon’s and Jaime’s arc. Both of them struggle with the weight of keeping vows they’ve sworn to their respective institutions, especially because they’ve some times been made to perform actions that are against those vows.

In my ideal world, the entire business of swearing vows is done away with once Jon restructures the Watch. We see time and time again in his arc that there is a difference between saying and keeping oaths/vows. One of my absolute favorite scenes in the entire series is when Jon faces off against Marsh and co. in ADWD and then proceeds to recite the NW vows from start to finish because while his detractors know the vows by heart, they do not keep the spirit of them. In fact, many advocate for actions that would be the exact opposite of their vows. The lesson here being that just because you swore to do something, doesn’t mean you’ll actually follow through in ways that count.

See, I think parts of the NW vows are very important (i.e., protecting the realm, being a shield, etc). But other parts seem unnecessary. A man may be doing a bang up job of wearing no crowns or winning no glory but is he actually performing the actual job of the NW: to protect the realms of men? Part of me has always felt that an ideal NW wouldn’t need any vows to be sworn. As long as any man or woman has the will and zeal to perform the basic function of the Watch, which is to protect the realm, then no vows are necessary (might be an unpopular opinion I know).

I guess it sounds like my ideal NW is basically the BWB in its foundation: a band of people who were joined under the common goal of dispensing the king’s peace and justice; and this tracks because Jon and Beric are parallels so it shouldn’t be far fetched for the NW and BWB to also mirror each other. AFAIK, the BWB swears no fancy vow despite its noble purpose.

So I was just thinking that wouldn’t it be interesting for Jaime, a man who has struggled under the weight of a dozen vows (I’m probably exaggerating) to join an institution where no vows are necessary, but to uphold himself to a standard where he will keep the spirit of the vow anyway? Before he was made a kingsguard, he was a knight. And a knight swears to protect the weak. The NW’s purpose is to protect the men and women of the realm, with the understanding that there will be no personal benefit/gain. There will be no honor or glory, it’s just what one should do.

And I got to thinking about Jaime’s AFFC arc. This is a little reductive (forgive me for that) but he travels the Riverlands trying to establish the king’s peace. But he’s supporting a rather corrupt regime and going around with his horses named Glory and Honor, wishing and calling himself “Goldenhand the just”. He is rebuilding Westeros after the W0t5K, though this is being done under the banner and interests of the Lannister regime and under the umbrella of Lord Tywin’s legacy…which isn’t great to say the least. He, a damned man, covered up the loss of his knight’s identity with a golden arm. And while he understands that this is renewal for him, he can be something different now, he hasn’t really understood just how different he could/and needs to be.

So I’d like a reversal of his AFFC arc. But instead of a white cloak, he has a black one. There’s no honor and no glory to be won. But he decides that he wants to help rebuild Westeros the right way. There’s no benefit for him. But he will be living up to the Ser part of his name. It would even be more poignant if he’s doing this under Jon Snow, whether Jon is the 1000th LC or Lord of Winterfell or whatever. Because Jaime gains his dishonor by killing Jon’s grandfather Aerys. He donned the white cloak for Aerys. But to find honor (though unexpectedly and not out of self interest) and wear the black cloak under Jon is such an interesting continuation; let’s also remember that Jon is Ned Stark’s spiritual heir in many ways, and Jaime has a uh complicated relationship with honor as it relates to Ned Stark.

Btw I’m not advocating for Jaime to be Jon’s lapdog or anything. He’s a wholly different character whose arc exist away from Jon. I’m just mentioning Jon because there are thematic intersections, and I fully expect him to still have a relationship with the (renewed) NW at the end of the story. Thus, their arcs could possibly clash at some point.

So yeah, jaime joining the NW is something so wonderful to me because the thematic closure is actually quite rich. He doesn’t have to die for his to be a good story, and he doesn’t have to get an absurdly happy ending that ignores the things he must atone for. He’s one of my favorite characters (a solid top 5), so I have to admit that I very much want him to live. But I do want him to live and find himself at a place that provides him a purpose that he thought had eluded him. He can still be a knight, maybe not the one he wanted or expected. But it would give him the opportunity to effect some real positive change that he tried and failed to do in AFFC. A knight is sworn to protect the weak. And Westeros will be battered and bruised after the Long Night. It will need to be rebuilt, especially up north where the othered wildlings could be. So I’d like for jusrt Ser Jaime to find his purpose helping those he probably never even acknowledged.

[frau-wilhelm-klink]

For anyone who wants and/or needs Burkhalter in a towel, here you go. (My apologies for not enhancing them, but none of the pictures have ever came out right when I've tried it in the past.)

[copiawife]

i will say. i have a passphrase in my carrd but if you're a self-shipper i don't really worry if you don't send it in i mean i do appreciate it but it's mostly for fandom folks who want to follow me because they're on thin fucking ice and if they're going to follow they need to know and agree to respect my boundaries

[spectrum-color]

I can’t get over the fact that Bee is Fitz and the Fools magic love child. This is like something from a fanfic (affectionate) only it’s in an actual highly acclaimed series

[bugeyedfreaks]

(Last Anon) Definitely agree, I think I saw an old post that said Blossom seems to be the favourite/popular depending on which side of the fandom you’re in.

VSB seems to be the more casual/animation fans’ least favorite episode, they usually put it on the same level as the worst episodes from season 5/6 (the audacity! Lol) Blossom is usually ranked the least favorite, I guess it goes to show that they don’t understand her character at all or refused to accept her as anything but flawless. Also yeah, never understand why Town n Out is up there too, honestly it does felt like these people don’t understand the show they’re watching and claimed to love so much.

It actually never occurred to me that she’s a bad liar, since all 3 Girls are pure and good I thought its a trait they all share, but I guess Blossom would probably have a hard time with it than her sisters. I think she’d be smart in deflecting and not telling the whole truth but also not lying either technically.

I think I’m just dreading for all the weird tweets Craig’s going to receive when the reboot comes when those fans sees their favorite characters not act or act in a way that doesn’t fit their headcanons. Lots of super weird takes on twitter about “buttercup would hate this” or “bubbles wouldn’t do that” etc etc they only know the flanderized version of these characters, its almost like how the reboot2016 sees them…

Re: not understanding Blossom, I’ve known people who told me she’s their favorite character because she’s an unfeeling, uncaring killing machine who doesn’t let emotions get in her way (???) and others who’ve said they love Blossom for her docility and strong emotions and susceptibility to fall for evil (also ???). Legitimately bad takes about Blossom are weirdly common. I don’t get it! She’s so awesome but there’s so much rampant mischaracterization from fans with her (even the reboot basically just made her Lisa Simpson and added that unfortunate character I think all of us don’t want to talk about as an unnecessary love interest, sheesh…).

And yeah, Blossom’s definitely the most goody-goody of the three girls, and sometimes to a fault. I always think of her in Fallen Arches where she sticks soooo hard to what she strongly feels is morally correct to the point where a bunch of elderly people end up beating each other up and have to go to the hospital. And Bubbles and Buttercup are pissed after telling her how dumb of an idea it was the whole episode. 🤣 Or when she (initially) refused to use her ice breath power to save Townsville because she didn’t want to break the vow she’d made to never use it again while her sisters were frantically trying to tell her why it was okay to use when a freaking meteor was headed towards the town. Her sisters don’t normally have those same reservations she does despite also being good kids. I think all that stuff (plus the bad lying lol) all stems back to her pride and her desire to be the most perfect and goodest good-doer who ever did good. …and again, haha, I love that and it’s entertaining to watch when she struggles with stuff like that.

To be fair, if any of the more out there asks I’ve gotten over the years (especially the ones asking me to pass along stuff to Craig) have taught me, I think he’s already gotten enough weird messages about the PPG and seen enough wild takes to last a lifetime. 🤣 I mean, people were angrily messaging him about the 2016 reboot and that he needed to change it STAT. Someone will find something to complain directly to him about and I’m sure it will more or less be ignored.

[todayisafridaynight]

which yakuza dude do you think has the most deranged fangirls

yall gotta stop askin questions we know the answer to

[ezralva]

And please...Gege had stated long ago that JJK won't be a happy ending for all. Even Yuuji, as the mc, is not guaranteed to live. If you can't accept that then perhaps think again before starting it. You can dislike how the story goes or the characters, but throwing hate or insulting the mangaka directly by using his name, questioning his ability of doing his professional job he has done for years, on social media which are public places, are honestly such immature acts and reflect your own lack of manner, reading comprehension, personality, or even mental capacity.

Funny cz nobody asked you, Gege-haters, to keep reading the manga or following the leaks (if you don't even read the manga or just watch the anime) he puts effort every week to publish. People really think that creating original story with abundant unique characters and drawing them on weekly deadline-paced and selling them in shonen jump for years and even be one of the best-selling mangas worldwide is easy?? Sad that people are so quick to defend when there are fan-based creators getting hate but not when it's the original creator themselves. If you feel so great that you think you can write the storyboard better than the original creator than by all means write your own story or draw your own manga and see if you can sell more than 90 million copies worldwide like how Gege does (excluding the online chapters). Most of them don't even give constructive criticisms. Just plain (sometimes veiled) insults or underestimating comments so I suspect this also has to do with how they don't actually understand the story itself.

[ashtcnirwin]

🌻

[gawayne]

ughh SORRY BUT I HAVE TO SAY IT the people you meet in engineering are just by and large so unpleasant I hate it here

[deadsince1973]

your poll genuinely makes me mad when i see it because meng yao was voted out so early! He's perhaps the prettiest person I have ever seen, and he was voted out 4th?!? and people keep voting for wen ning! Stop it!

If it helps at all, some of the people who vote for Wen Ning say something like, "He's cute but not handsome." Also, the most popular poll yet by far was the one where someone added a picture of a bunch of the tags defending Wen Ning, and everyone who reblogged that poll was doing so to agree with the tags. So I don't think that there isn't a lot of love for Wen Ning out there. ^_^

As for Jin Guangyao, I don't have a lot of comfort to offer you, I'm afraid. A lot of people said in the tags that they voted for him because "his evil makes him ugly." If it helps, a lot of JGY fans seemed to make peace with his being voted out by pointing out in the tags that JGY IS pretty (as you said), but not *handsome*. Maybe that's something for you to hang on to? :/

[guiltless-interests]

🤔

[everiistence]

. i really do not appreciate how stressful school is sometimes ngl

[callilouv]

once ir reached 3am im gna plsay ml

[lucientheartisticfox]

whenever i see something about which ship for a character is better i'm always just like, "why not both?" bc polyamory. like, every ship war ever could be fixed by just. making the characters poly. bc then you can have both! especially since not everyone in a poly relationship has to be dating! so if you ever can't pick between ships, just do both!

[anonumber123]

Appreciation Post (Vocaloid, SynthV)

Hey. I'm 'bout to get a little...*sentimental*, hahaaaaa.... I'm sure nobody will read this, but this is my first true post that I have ever made on this account that isn't a reblog, and I'm making this for one reason. As you can see from the Touhou and Super paper Mario stuff I reblog, These have been my two main interests for the entire time that I had this account. I've known Touhou for about 9 years now (2014), and Super Paper Mario for almost 5 years (2018). There are also other interests that I've had besides those two, but I never showed them on this account, One of them being the main thing that this post is about!

Out of all the interests I've had, Vocaloid is the one that goes back the farthest, all the way back in 2012! I would be in the third grade when I would've discovered Vocaloid! I was really impressed by the artistry on display with every single song I came across, even when I couldn't understand the lyrics of, like, 50% of the songs I listened to. However, I would say that I would've stopped being an active fan some time in 2019 or 2020, (probably because Touhou Project had practically taken over my brain lol) and I considered Vocaloid as being a phase. Something that definitely took a huge chunk of my life, but, ultimately, couldn't stand the test of time.

That is, until the Big Dog came along, and my new passion, SynthV.

Now, I've known SynthV prior to this year. I first got introduced to SynthV with Eleanor Forte. Everyone was talking about how she had "such an amazing voice" and how she was "so clear!", but I just couldn't see it (or hear it lollolol). I thought she sounded like just another English Vocaloid, and I never really like how they sound in the first place. However, this was a few years ago, and that story is *different*.

Fast forward to This year, not even a week ago, I listened to a cover made with Kasane Teto's new SynthV voicebank for the very first time. Now, I did hear a lot of buzz that surrounded her about a month prior, but I didn't know, or even care for, what it was about, but because I was a huge fan of Vocaloid, it also made me a fan of UTAU by proxy, so, of course, I knew who Kasane Teto is, as well as her infamous voice. I had no Idea what I was truly in for, or even that this was a new Teto. I caught a whiff before, and now, I had a taste of Teto, and it was at this point that I finally get it!

This new Teto sounded like something that I would never, in a million years, could imagine would come from her, and I was blown away! It was so...heavenly. This choppy, robotic UTAU voice of hers has been made into something of higher quality, and I could not be any happier. This was something that I have been wanting from Voice synthesizers for the longest time, and I never thought we were gonna get it anytime soon. Even with all that I was learning and getting to know about the new her, I was still not prepared for the fact that she could sing in three different languages, with the proficiency of native speakers...I could not handle it. My heart could not take it...! I WAS IN LOOOVVE~~~ Love that I have never felt for a voice since Gahata Meiji, my literal favorite UTAUloid of all time, and the closest thing I had to having a crush on something as a kid (lol)

I could not believe that Vocal Synthesizing technology has advanced to the point that all of this is now possible. Because of Teto, I have now fully delved into the world of SynthV, and I can never go back. I found so many other voices that I have fallen in love with, like I did Teto. SynthV has impressed me so much, that it even got me back into Voice Synthesizers as a whole! This is now a Resurgence period of Vocaloid, and I have SynthV to thank for that! I would also like to thank Dreamtonics for making this possible, and for making my dream come true! (okay but seriously if dreamtonics sees this by any chance I am so sorry for the pun it's just- **cries**) This reignited one of my oldest interest, and I am so happy. I really hope somebody out there reads this and can share these same sentiments I have right now...