#so then i thought. yk. why not make them from the same village

[devotedlystrangewizard]

well after *checks notes* approximately 9 ancient ocs i finally have motivation to work on.. my actual.... canon..... azem....

[neoivy1]

OKOK I have an idea

Yk there's a headcanon about kaiser growing up in a poor village so I thought about reader who was his childhood friend and offered him a football that he treasured even after he left for bastard munchen (the blue rose tattoos reminds him of reader since it's their fav rose) and then after years he saw reader again!!

Can you please write about it? Thanks xoxo

okay so for this one i also had another anon requesting childhood angst , so i decided maybe change this up to yknow do both requests

"Micha! Your too fast" yelled the small child as they descended down the hillside of the village park. Ecstatic laughter rang from the boy whom they were chasing as he stopped at what seemed to be blue roses.

The roses shined under the sunlight and gave a radiant glow , next to the other tulips ,daisies and violets.They reminded the boy of his friend , they were breathtaking compared to others of his hometown and with their kind heart , it was as if to Michael ,only they mattered.

Y/n had always loved the same roses Michael admired , for her they symbolised her unspoken passion for the boy with blonde hair and sapphire orbs.

"What do you mean your leaving?" The h/c asked desperately , as she was given news of his plans to leave their poverty filled village .

"Plan to make it to the big league "was the answer she got .The boy had said this with a lazy smile as if he didnt care for her , for their friendship ,for the time they spent together. "No what about us?!you can't leave like that !"their lungs erupted,if looks could kill , y/n was sure they'd have been charged for murder by now. They couldn't believe it , the man they had given so much of their time to was just gonna leave them in the dust like that .

Before the boy had a chance to respond to his best friends screams , they had ran off , now them being the one to leave him in the dust.

its funny , he thought .Who thought that he would be at his childhood house ,years later searching for the thing that he felt completed him .'Foolish' he wasn't a puzzle , he didn't need completion. Wrong . he saw it , dusty and out of air but it was still there , the object that started the spark of passion that eventually grew into fire within him. A ball. Not just any , but one you had gifted , on it were doodles of a small rose , a blue one.

ahh , he remembers it , the rose he compared you to as children , how long has it been. four years , five . He had stopped counting. Oh the guilt he felt for leaving ate him , but he never admitted it .Why would he , Michael Kaiser ever admit to something like that. Such nonsense.

Once again he was wrong ,he thought as he sat there putting up a facade of strength while getting his neck drawn on .It hurt , but it hurt less than the fury you most likely held for him after he left. The rose that was being tattooed on him symbolised you , the thorns , your story and how it ended before you began. he called it the tale of

....his precious rose.

a/n:guys remember requests are open<333333

[oathofkaslana]

so i was busy/not in the mood when cyno's second story quest came out, and therefore missed all your ramblings, and i am not scrolling back a whole month

so. what were the thoughts. why did you hate it. 👀 (aside from. general hyv racism i didn't think it was that bad? but i am not at all as interested in cyno lore as you are and so i open the floor to you)

YIPPEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok i honestly dont think its the worst ever or anything i did like a lot of it its just that explaining what i dislike about it and my disappointment in it takes up a lot of words and that in time makes me dislike it even more :'''

i have a list of things i liked and didn't like here (lmk if you want me to send it in dms instead :3). long story short: i hate the way it portrayed crime at the beginning (specifically with the arrest) and i hate how normalized it treats arrests, especially with the arrest being of a child with dark skin. i hate the way they write the temple of silence as an extension of their religious racism by villainizing them and that feeding into their very very binary view on racial prejudice. and i also just think they wasted a lot of opportunity.

honestly part of me is hung up on the fact that it just wasn't as cool as i wanted it to be which yk whatever. and part of me is also upset at how much cooler it couldve been even if they decided to make the truth as mundane as it was. even if they didnt decide to make the temple of silence as important as i wanted, i feel like they underutilized particular characters in favor of marketable relationships they know will sell (ie: 4ggravate). for example :i feel like it didn't focus on sethos as much as it should have either, given that they're literally narrative foils. ideally, the quest should've focused primarily on cyno's relationship with cyrus and sethos with a parallel between cyno & cyrus || sethos & bamoun. they introduced sethos wayyyy too late imo. it doesnt help that i dont really like the pacing of that half of the quest. it felt kinda awkward which sucks since its the literal meat of the story.

also more of a general complaint that becomes relevant here: but i hate the way they separate characters into cliques and never allow them to venture outside of their clique. (re the 4ggravate thing. them and desert gang can and should coexist i hate mhy). this is pertinent because i really really feel like the story wouldve been much better off if cyno had brought along candace who was designed as a foil to him. (both of them having motifs of the eye of ra/eye of horus, candace being representative of night/moon and cyno being representative of the day/sun via the eye of ra, both being guardians of sumeru, both wielding the same signature weapon, etc.). candace is also yk. the guardian of aaru village, the last surviving village apart of deshret's kingdom which, given the lore of the temple of silence feels like it shouldve been brought up at least once. especially since candace's family lineage is portrayed as being blessed by deshret in particular.

AND!!!!!!! FUCK THIS IS WHERE I START GETTING AYRUGHRUYIRGHRU!!!!!!!!! okay my interest in cyno's story does heavily skew towards his relationship with family and his culture as a person from the desert that was raised in the rainforest but clearly dons desert cultural clothing. the fact that the 3.1 desert gang was composed of two characters from both the desert and the rainforest, and that being representative of the unification of the desert and the rainforest since it shows them working together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND! i think its important to note that a big point of contention in 3.1 was the fact that cyno is an unfamiliar face in the desert. the people of desert are scared of him and don't trust him!!!!! that has to make him feel like shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! especially since he started telling jokes and playing genius invokation to make people less afraid of him!!!!!!!! the cultural disconnect between him and the desert people makes me so fucking ill because its not like he's treated the best in the rainforest either as a child from the desert and as a kid who needed protection from the akademiya's wants to weaponize him (at least im assuming thats what the windblume conversation meant bc if he did mean the temple of silence it would kinda fuck w the continuity a bit by making the lore dump redundant.)

cyno reconnecting with his culture with the introduction of sethos and the temple of silence wouldve been sooooo interesting to watch! especially if candace, his foil, was there!!!! candace being a child of the desert raised in the desert and never has any plans of leaving because her duties and wants are so deeply intertwined with the culture in aaru village!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it also sucks because cyno's affiliation in game is literally with the temple of silence, not teh akademiya. seeing him fight as a representative of the akademiya makes me feel like they did nooot think his story through before they released him. AND WHY DOES HE NOT SHOW MORE INTEREST IN RELEARNING ABOUT THE TEMPLE OF SILENCE I DONT FUCKING GET IT. SUMERUS ARC IS ALL ABOUT RECONNECTION WHY DOESNT CYNO GET TO RECONNECT WITH HIS CULTURE IM SOOOOO......

ok thats basically the largest chunk of it :3:3:3:3:3:3:3

[elytrafemme]

OKAY SO it was where do we go now/wa hala2 la wayn and its this lebanese movie i got assigned 2 watch for cinematography class for the chapter on international cinema and it made me very happy hehe however. i have Thoughts. first off positive ones do you know how nice it was to hear just Genuine Lebanese Arabic in a movie it was SO nice. thats how i talk!! i use those turns of phrases!!! the old ladies remind me of my grandmas!!! the humour is also on Point like it feels very Classic Lebanese humour yk? and theres a great balance between humour and the more serious parts in a way that feels very true to the culture itself? if that makes sense?

less positive points uhhh why did they burst into song out of Nowhere like 3 times its not a musical it felt so. Why Is This Here. the last song where the women are baking is fun though. my biggest gripe with it though is. okay a bit of context so!!! the main plot in the movie is that its about a village thats half muslim half christian and they coexist peacefully and then they start hearing news of skirmishes between the two religions elsewhere and tensions start to rise and each side starts blaming the other for Every Little Thing that goes wrong and it just keeps escalating and escalating. and so the movie focuses on the women of the village devising various schemes to keep the men from fighting each other. its very much denouncing religion wars (which like. Yeah its a thing. my grandpa almost got shot once)

anyways SO all of that to say. the movie ends with the men waking up one morning and all the muslim men find that their wives have taken off their hijab and are praying to the virgin mary while all the christian women are veiled etc. and theyre basically saying well if you want to go fight them for being christian/muslim you'll have to fight me too and it makes them see the error of their ways etc. i. did nawt like this. i feel like theres better ways to get this message accross than basically saying "yeah religion is surface level and you can just violate everything you believe in just to make a point" like its not that they went i Look like them now its straight up they switched yk. like "this is who i am now". idk. left a bad taste in my mouth but maybe thats just me!!

the ending ending scene is the village going to bury a kid that was killed on his way back to the village and . like at the beginning of the movie we see the cemetery and its divided in2 tombstones with crosses and ones without but now the tombstones all look the same. and the title of the movie comes from the men carrying the coffin asking that yk. where do we go now. and i feel like that was a Much better way to get the point accross than the whole switching debacle sobs. anyways yeah!! those are my thoughts . this is so long i am SO sorry

YAY LONG REVIEW TIME!!! omg omg nice! i absolutely adore that, both the language part because that's so important but also the fact that it nails the culture down because? i feel like that's so hard to do with any culture, matching the humor and the specific phrases/customs with the generational trauma / more serious aspects of it. i really want to reconnect with more iraqi media for that reason because i really want to see how a film reflects that kind of thing

God movies where they just do random song and musical segments will never not be funny to me. this is a little different as to my understanding this is more expected in the genre, but watching bollywood movies with my friends was like. okay so there's a dramatic scene going on Oh wait now they're dancing on a shoreline in iceland. for the next eight minutes. this is fine and normal. like its so ABRUPTSDHKFJ

that's honestly a really really really cool concept for the film but i agree in that that's a really weird way to resolve it? i feel like in something like a film talking about religion its important that the religion component isn't entirely lost if that wasn't what the whole point was, does that make sense? like in this context it shouldn't take a person dneoucning their religion when the entire point of the show isn't about losing your faith just about reconciling with other people, it feels irrelevant and like the religion is being centered in the religious wars and not the violence. side note glad your grandpa didn't actually get shot that's a major yikes

man that other ending scene you described though... like imaginably this would be much more impactful if i had the visuals as well and could see this unfold in the film but like. your description even now feels really really emotionally impactful and. yeah. glad it has a good actual ending to it that kind of rounds it out i guess? seems like a good film overall but with some weird quirks and bad parts definitely

ty for the movie review! sorry if my response is scatterbrained im mulittasking rn but this was very cool to read :DDD

[lettersgarden]

The Hashira confessing their love for you on accident

Now that I've finished the manga and cried like a baby it's about time that i wrote about them :)

This are going to be little scenarios/imagines mixed with headcannons. Also this is my first time writting something that aren't hc sorry if it sucks hehe, i only write this for fun so ig it doesn't matter.

Characters mentioned: Sanemi, Giyuu and Tengen.

Gender neutral reader x the hashira // fluff ?

🌬 Sanemi

You have known this man for so long but still have never talked to him. You've always looked up to him and loved seeing him train, his technique is perfect but you are too scared of him to go ask him for some lessons and will be too scared to talk to him until the two of you will be assigned on a mission together.

- That mission is going to be awkward af, and also really long.

- He's obviously not going to talk to you until after a week walking into the destination he has to save your ass after you don't see the demon that's behind you.

- But he's not going to be nice with you at all, he's going to tell you off and then be extremely cruel with you.

" I don't understand why you were assigned this mission, you have only been a pain in the ass who doesnt even know how to hold their katana right, you're too stupid for this. Why don't you go back to your home so I can do my job without getting distracted by you"

And that's exactly what you're going to do, not even bothering to answer his little monologue. Once you start walking the opposite way you were coming from you'll feel someone grabbing you by the arm and making you face him and pulling you closer and without realizing you feel Sanemi's lips touching yours, just for an instant before he pushes you away a little too hard, leaving you there, confused.

"Sorry about that and for calling you stupid, I actually like you a lot but... shouldn't you be heading home"

- YOU BETTER GO HOME BEFORE HE REGRETS WHAT HE SAID TO YOU. RUN, bestie, RUN !!

🌊 Giyuu

We all now Giyuu is not specially known for his social skills or having a lot of friends, but somehow he did have one friend, and obviously it was you. Just because you were friends it doesn't mean he was talkative he indeed did not say a word whenever you were with him, but it was okay because you both enjoyed each others company and didn't really need to say anything when you were together.

- He loves listening to you talk, even though at first you thought he never listened to you because he is too awkward to look at people in the eyes when they talk.

- His favorite place to be at is the river cause he is the water hashira yk so you often hang out there where he comfortably sits on a rock while he watches you jumping through the other rocks, trying not to fall.

One day while you two were coming back from the river you told Giyu that you were leaving on a mission for a couple weeks which he responded with a saddened look he had never given before.

"Why are you reacting like this? You know I always come back"

"I know, I'm just scared some day you won't"

"Aww, I know you love me Giyuu, but there's no need to worry"

" Yes, actually I do love you, but I don't know how to tell you" he whispered

You looked surprised at him because you had, indeed, heard what he said and once he realised he blushed and nervously said goodbye trying not to run too fast when he left.

🔊 Tengen

- If he likes you, he probably straight up tell you that he likes you, so it's not really going to be an accident but probably in the most inappropiate moment you can imagine...

Tengen may look like a player since he has not one but three wives but he does know how to treat women right and you have always loved that about him. You both have been in a couple missions together, and he has always made you feel comfortable and respected.

Even though he is your superior, he never treats you like it, unless during fights where he tells you what to do when he sees you are in trouble.

-He likes talking to you whenever you both are off duty and somehow you two always end up seeing each other no matter how far away you might think you are from his house or yours.

For example when you went to visit your family and he was in the same village as you, apparently buying something for his wife Suma, or the time you went to the Swordsmith Village to get your katana fixed and there he was.

But the second time you had to go there you didn't actually think he would be there too right, so you went for a bath not even imagining that he would appear ten minutes latter and getting inside the thermal bath* with you.

"What a big coincidence, right? I think this is a sign for me to tell you that I like you" ...

* I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CALL IT BUT IF YOU HAVE READ THE MANGA IG YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN

⚠ MITSURI, SHINOBU AND KYOJURO coming up next week!!! ⚠

[beepboopgoodsoup]

i had a coffee and if i don't write down my thoughts about minecraft lore i will literally explode

it's a zombie apocalypse game right, it sure doesn't feel like it because it's blocky and pixelated but it sure is one.

i would say it's been decades if not centuries after the zombie thing went off, the player joins the world that already adjusted to the new nature of itself, it's balanced and pretty much thriving.

the player somehow ends up in this world completely alone with no other people like them anywhere (maybe the player has friends with them but in that case too they are Alone). the world is extremely hostile to no one else But them. they are not meant to be there.

but we have other people there too, we have villagers and pillagers, they are not the same type of people as the player but they sure are humans. they created safe places for themselves, they have rules they live by and they are not Surviving, they are just living.

in the nether we have piglins, who are i would say also "people" (they are not human but they are very much people), they build houses they live in, they hunt just like pillagers do and they have some sort of society going on there.

and piglins just like villagers are not immune to the zombie decease. although it seems like it doesn't spread as much with them (they are not humans so makes sense). and i would make a wild fucking guess and say that the decease is actually only kicking off in the overworld (because when the piglin goes through the portal they turn into a zombie piglin yk).

now let's get back to the player. the player learns how to survive and adjust to the world around them, discovering places that were built long time before they set foot in this world. now whO THE FUCK BUILT STRONGHOLDS? is the question that will haunt me in my sleep until the day mojang takes pity on me and comes up with an answer. strongholds, nether portals (although i think ruined nether portals are more like the game devs telling the inexperienced player "hey you should try making this maybe something cool will happen") and the ancient cities in the deep dark I Think were built by the same people. not the villagers, not the pillagers, the people who were trying to run from the zombie apocalypse long time ago. they went to the nether, went to the end, neither of those places turned out very livable. so they dug deep into the earth and built that damned portal frame.

now let me tell you what i think about the deep dark.

before the sculk came into the picture, the zombies were he only universal "problem" (we also have the ender dragon but i Do Not understand what's up with that honestly like why is it even there). the sculk is not the same as the zombie decease but it is hostile not only to the player but the world around it too. it spreads and attacks things and it's definitely not balanced out like other things are. why did the people decide to build an entire city around it? or were they there before it spread? they were making experiments on it so maybe it went out of control and killed them all (because we know it feeds on dead things so it would make sense it got so big). i like to think it's some sort of fungus and the wardens are actually the creatures it turned into sort of zombies too. but the question still holds, where did it come from? in the world where everything exists in a peaceful harmony (if we forget about the player getting brutally murdered 63738 times during the night), where did the thing that corrupts and destroys everything in it's way come from? did something from behind that portal frame leak through and created this creature or did it happen during some of the experiments in the redstone laboratory? did the people finally found the world they can run off to or did they get killed by their own creation?

i hope i get answers in future updates.

[fakeikemen]

The "Cave of Two Lovers" foreshadows the Zutara interactions in "Crossroads of Destiny"

[And maybe after that too; (yeah this part will be purely based on speculation)]

(See also: A meta that everybody has already written but I haven't because I was living under a rock and watched Avatar very recently)

Like seriously, it is so obvious? I see people try to interpret "The Legend Of Oma and Shu" in so many other ways; like yeah, you're free to interpret it however you want but— most people try to make sense of it while thinking that the tale is just a random occurrence? But it's not.

And here's why:

(I'm so sorry, I tried to add the "keep reading" link here because this gets kinda long but it just won't work) (Also click on the pictures if you want better resolution).

The tale of Oma and Shu is about two lovers who belonged to villages that were at war against each other. To continue meeting each other, they learnt earthbending to create caves in the mountain that divides the two villages. But one day Shu didn't come to the caves. He'd died in the war. So Oma unleashed a terrifying display of her power. And then when people were willing to listen to her, she called off the war and strived for peace between both the villages. As a result the city of Omashu was created— as a monument in remembrance of their love.

So in comparison:

1. Two people belonging to the opposite sides of the war

(Other than the 100 year old war that has been going on, Zuko and Katara are involved in a very fundamental conflict: Capture the Avatar Vs. Protect the Avatar.)

2. With the same colour scheme:

3. Share intimate moments in a cave lit by green crystals:

A popular argument for this comparison is that; Oma and Shu had a positive impressions of each other when they first met. Unlike Zuko and Katara where Katara's first impression of Zuko was pretty negative because he invaded her village.

Zuko and Katara's first proper conversation happens in "Crossroads of Destiny" i.e.; the scene I'm talking about here. After this interaction that they have, I think it's safe to say that they did have positive impressions of each other. (Until Zuko made the wrong choice.)

Other than that, about the colour scheme being a coincidence: Here and here are posts by @marsreds about how the colours are definitely not a coincidence.

But seriously guys? Oma and Shu were the FIRST EARTHBENDERS and yet, instead of greens and yellows they were designed with RED and BLUE?!? (I'll take about Oma's green dress below.)

And on that note, why were Zuko and Katara the only ones who were thrown into the catacombs when everybody else was being held at the dungeons? The dungeons wouldn't have been easy to escape, neither for Zuko nor for Katara.

It's because Zuko and Katara were meant to share an intimate moment in a cave that was supposed to jog our visual memory to remind us of the caves built by Oma and Shu.

(Seriously though, I wasn't really paying attention during CoTL and thought that the Omashu legend was just put in to consume screen time, so I missed the red/blue thing. But then I watched CoD and saw the catacombs and I was like: "Isn't this like that cave made by the lovers?" And then I proceeded to have an oh shit moment because, I knew that Zutara was not canon so I never even considered the possibility of the narrative hinting at anything between them but then this happened. I mean, it's pretty darn obvious).

The colour of the crystals being the same in both caves is no coincidence either— if they just wanted two random caves with crystals, then they could've used a different colour because crystals of different colours exist:

Moving on,

The Visual Cues:

According to the colour coding Zuko = Oma (red) and Katara = Shu (blue).

So,

EXHIBIT A:

I feel like this one speaks for itself.

(I personally think that in this parallel Oma is in red because Katara at this point still sees Zuko as the face of the Fire Nation.)

EXHIBIT B:

This sequence of frames show Oma (dressed in green, like Zuko was in the catacombs) and Shu (dressed in his usual blue), standing on neutral territory and reaching out to each other and then being torn apart by the war.

Pretty much like:

The first time they are in each other's presence without the cause of their conflict (i.e. the Avatar), Zuko and Katara reach out to each other empathetically and attain bone deep understanding of each other within a matter of minutes. This whole encounter is in Ba Sing Se, which counts for the neutral territory because it hadn't been completely taken over by Fire Nation at that point.

And honestly? The raw vulnerability and intimacy of this scene and the high emotional energy of their powerful dynamic is just— wow. (I put off my binging spree for a whole day because I didn't have the heart to see Zutara not become canon after all of this.)

And soon after, Zuko and Katara face each other in battle, their tentative friendship torn apart, as they fight from their respective sides of the war.

EXHIBIT C:

Whenever Oma and Shu appear in the same frame during the visualization of the legend, Oma is always on the left half of the frame and Shu is on the right.

Similarly, throughout all their interactions in the Catacombs, whenever the frame exclusively includes Zuko and Katara, Zuko (like Oma) is on the left half of the frame and Katara (like Shu) is on the right.

The parallels (or foils rather):

#1

In CoTL, we see Song who is a healer (cures Iroh of his poisoning). She mentions that she hasn't seen her father since a Fire Nation raid took place in her village. Zuko empathises with her and says that he too hasn't seen his father in a long while. But then he refuses to say anything else about it.

Later Song tries to reach out to Zuko and tries to touch his scar— which Zuko prevents her from. She shows Zuko her own scars to show that she understood him.

And yet, Zuko doesn't open up to her.

After a while of life-changing and eye-opening experiences, in CoD, when Katara has her meltdown and cries while saying that her mother was snatched away from her by the Fire Nation; Zuko sees an opening to offer an olive branch and he takes it, he empathises with her and tells her that how his mother was snatched away by the Fire Nation as well.

Then Zuko opens up to Katara in a show of complete vulnerability. He openly talks about his scar and what he feels about it. In response, Katara offers to heal his scar and then Zuko lets her touch his scar.

It was nothing but a deliberate choice to make Song slightly parallel Katara (a healer, lost a parent because of the war) and then making Zuko not open up to her and not let her touch the scar, only for Katara to be the one he opened up to and allowed to touch the scar.

#2

After being trapped with Aang in the cave in CoTL and sharing an intimate moment with him, as soon as they find their way out, Katara runs straight ahead without looking back.

But after her time with Zuko, trapped in the Catacombs in CoD, while leaving she turns back to look at Zuko.

Judging by the amount of time the animation puts into showing us Aang's disappointment at Katara running off and into making it clear that Katara did look back at Zuko and that Zuko looked right back at her, to me, it feels like the choice to show this was pretty deliberate.

(Turning back to look at a person while leaving is a romantic trope that has been overused to death? Or is it just bollywood?)

Also I wouldn't have paid this much attention to this small detail if not for the fact that just a hint of the Omashu legend theme is played here?

No, I swear I'm not making it up.

The Omashu legend theme is used in CoD:

The Omashu legend theme is largely dominated by the music of a stringed instrument (forgive me, I don't know what it's called) alongwith a steady melody playing in the background.

In CoD, when Katara and Zuko start conversing for real, (i.e.; when Katara says: "I'm sorry I yelled at you.") what sounds like a variation of the background melody in the Omashu legend theme, starts its subtle ascent as the background score, but sans the music of the stringed instrument.

It is when Katara says: "Maybe you could be free of it." [About Zuko's scar], when then first hint of the stringed instrument is heard. It is only a single note of the strings but it's there. And this "single note" sound keeps on repeating at regular intervals with the melody building up until Aang and Iroh burst into the catacombs.

But then, when Katara is leaving with Aang and she turns back to look at Zuko, this time the music that plays for a few seconds at best, is dominated by the stringed instrument again and this time it's unmistakable.

Also I don't think this music is used anywhere else in the course of the whole show? So it can't really be a coincidence? But I don't really know. I'm saying this on the basis of as far as my memory can reach.

And this is as far as canon stands testimony to what I am trying to say here.

But what about the second half of the story yk, the dying thing, you say?

Well this is where the speculations come in.

Speculation Time:

#1

As a thumb rule, a romance foreshadowed by a tragic tale is meant to have a happy ending.

So this time when Katara's (Shu) life is in danger (Azula's lightning bolt), Zuko (Oma) steps in at the nick of time to save her life (by jumping infront of Katara to intercept the lightning).

(Since I have crossed the limit of images in a post, here is a post by @araeph which illustrates this point.)

Yes, I am completely aware that Zuko taking the lightning bolt for Katara is not his declaration of love for her. What I mean to say is that the whole scene was so very painfully obviously romantically framed (the immediate change in music when Zuko realises where the lightning bolt was headed, both of their expressions, Zuko's agonized "Nooooo", the slow-mo throughout the shot).

I am also aware that Zuko would've taken the lightning bolt for anyone. But it is the narrative that demands that Zuko take the lightning bolt for Katara and Katara only. Because this has atleast 10 different payoffs (a direct callback to the Book 2 finale where Azula had shot Aang with the lightning; the grief of which was for Katara to bear but this time Zuko himself stands between the lightning and Katara instead of being the silent spectator, the culmination of both Zuko and Katara's personal character arcs, Zuko's scar would parallel Aang's: Aang got it because he chose Katara over the world and Zuko got it because he was willing to give up the world to save Katara, etc, etc).

Tl;dr: The lightning scene wouldn't hold all that much weight if it wasn't Zuko taking the hit for Katara because the narrative literally demands it.

#2

This is where we start wading into really murky waters.

From mucking around on Tumblr due to Zutara feels™, I came across this post where some of the ideas for Book 4 were written:

• The Southern Water Tribe experienced the longest series of attacks from the Fire Nation. Zuko and Katara become political partners and work together to help end the animosity and repair relations between their two nations.

• Just like how Zuko learned to appreciate the Earth Kingdom, he would learn to appreciate the Water Tribes. Katara also learns to respect the complexity of Fire Nation culture. There is no such thing as an “evil” nation.

And that basically means that Zuko and Katara would've been working together to de-escalate the hostility between their respective nations and improve the relations between the two nations, while learning about each other's cultures simultaneously as the world would be in the process of being rebuilt after the war and they would be major role-players in shaping the new world.

Which is quite similar to how Oma strived for peace between the two villages and then as a result of the improved relations between the villages, the city of Omashu was built as a monument to the love story of Oma and Shu; which might just be symbolic of building a new world where both the villages could live in peace due to the initiative taken by Oma on behalf of herself and Shu.

The story would've come a full circle; that's all I'm saying.

If you've stuck around for this long, thank you for taking the time to read this long ass post with points that you may already have read ♥️

[cloudy-leonhart]

Marleyan Warriors with a Filipino S/O!!

[Author Note: this is literally a re-do of my headcanons bc tumblr’s being mean and deleting my drafts, anyways trying to rush another finished bc outta here 😭 also! Reminder that my requests are OPEN, don’t be afraid to send in any requests!!]

Summary: Marleyan Warriors with a Pinoy S/O!

Recommended Song: Titibo-Tibo by Moira Dela Torre

TW: Swearing.

Theme: Fluff, Modern AU.

Characters: Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Zeke, Pieck, Porco.

Annie Leonhart

Annie knew, she actually met you at an event for those with cultures, and saw you dancing with your friends to traditional filipino folk music.

She was kinda hesitant to go when you asked her to accompany you to the Philippines, she didn’t like traveling.

She was kinda shocked on how welcoming your family was, your mom and dad hugged her out of nowhere and she just let out a squeak.

Your little sister forced her to go to SM mall with her omg- She literally came home with bags of candy.

Yes, Annie has a soft spot for your family, she probably almost spent all her money on them.

Buchi rivals her love for donuts. She looked like she discovered a new universe after eating one of them thangs.

God, help her when she’s watching filipino movies, your family encouraged her to watch movies with them, and by the end of it she was a mess, pretty sure she cried into your shoulder after watching Seven Sundays.

BUT LIKE SHE ENDS UP BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PARENTS.

You see, Annie is a really fast learner, she was bound to learn to be able to speak some point in her stay.

You were shocked when she spoke back to you in tagalog, like ‘dropped my stuff out of shock’ kinda way. 

IT WAS A PAIN GETTING HER INTO A BARO’T SAYA. But bribing her with Buchis got her to keep it on for like 2 hours so like..good enough.

Her favourite filipino song is Porque.

Everybody acts like it’s a concert for every karaoke night because she’s there, like she’s just THAT good.

Reiner Braun

This man was so awkward. He went on a trip with Bertholdt to the Philippines, and met you.

He didn’t think you would understand him, so he just stared at you while you talked with your friends, until you were creeped out enough and asked him if he had a problem.

When you and him started dating, you convinced him to travel all around the country. 

Firstly, you guys visited your family, your dad absolutely loved him, your mom was a little bit hesitant in letting him in the family, he was blonde, big and buff. Filipinos are bound to worry. Until Reiner cooked with her, then she started to warm up to him.

Okay but why did your family’s chickens like him so much??

He likes the feeling of being around your family, him not having a dad left an impact on him and he felt complete being with you and your family, he swore to himself that he’d marry you.

He almost fainted when he found you battling with one of the kids with your pet spider, mf was deathly afraid of your spider, it was like the size of your hand pls-

I think he’d be fairly good at speaking tagalog, he’s got an accent but people can understand him. 

He eats like a tito omg- You lost him at a party once and when you found him, he’s already eaten half of the barbecue. 

Everyone thought he was really old, because of his beard so everyone called him tito Reiner. 

He’s somewhat good with the village kids, you could see Reiner playing soccer with the kids or goofing off.

He says he doesn’t like watching Manny Pacquiao but it’s his guilty pressure.

He doesn’t really listen or watch anything filipino, but he will listen to old filipino bands if you play them in his car.

Bertholdt Hoover

HAHA PLs- you got mad at him for eating your cake and started cursing in filipino. He was confused because he thought you were just blurting out nonsense.

One second you’re explaining what you were saying and the next second y’all are on the way to the Philippines.

He sweats like a waterfall, LITERALLY. Everyone would like move away because he sweated that much.

You had a private island..because y’all were RICH rich. he was kinda awestruck, you literally just said out of nowhere.

“oh yeah, we have a private island.” ‘YOU HAVE A FUCKING WHAT??”

Poor baby was kinda intimidated by your basket-ball player of a brother, he was taller than Bertholdt omg-

You’re always worrying him somehow, he’s be on the toilet and he’d just hear you scream and he comes running down with his boxers, just to see you watching a telenovela and you had to tell him that you were just gushing over the drama.

He has never felt so embarrassed.

Am I the only one who thinks he looks amazing in a Barong?? Like he’d rock that shit- 

He loves eating filipino food, he likes when you guys stay in the country and you go out to buy bread at the nearest bakery.

Like every filipino, he too, dips his bread in coffee.

He ended up learning guitar while he’s in the Philippines, the country’s filled with people who can sing amazingly, he’s bound to learn guitar.

His favourite filipino song to play is Tadhana, it’s also the only song that he knows to sing to, like he absolutely butchers pronunciation for words but this man covers it up with this song.

Zeke Jaeger

He bumped into you and you cursed at him in tagalog, he basically just fell for you at that point.

I just know your family secretly hates this man, he slapped your ass once around your mom and your dad, it’s always tense when he’s around now.

You don’t have the heart to tell him your parents saw because one afternoon, he was gushing and praising your family, you didn’t want to ruin his happiness, his dad’s barely around and his mom passed away. he’d obviously be attached.

Yes you had to talk to your parents about it, a lot of filipinos are very kinds and forgiving, so your parents were very understanding, and made sure he felt loved around the family.

He actually almost cried when your dad told him to marry you already.

He calls your parents nanay and tatay.

You got him to buy a pet spider please- You would catch him fighting a kid’s spider to the death in a match, he’d feel bad though so he buys them new ones after.

Hey this man looks so hot in a Barong, please. You guys had to book a hotel for a night for some alone time yk.

Lord help this man, he tried to do the tinikling dance and he tripped, in front of everyone.

Every night, he comes to bed all shirtless, you could just hear the air conditioner buzzing as he tells you how fun it was playing with the village kids, or talking about he and your titos had a drink while watching a boxing match.

He more so listens to various artists, he doesn’t have a favourite.

but he will replay Joseph Vincent’s filipino covers.

Pieck Finger

She was on a business trip in the Philippines, and you were coincidentally at the same bar they were celebrating at. You were by the karaoke section and she kinda just, fell in love with you. right there and then.

Honestly some people thought you guys were siblings, Pieck can be mistaken as a filipino easily so, you guys expect it from time to time.

She likes to ask from time to time to teach her guitar, your mom probably has a lot of pictures of you and Pieck.

She loves eating the food in the Philippines, she thinks the adobo is great and if you lose her in public she’s probably by a street vendor eating food.

You guys dance to old filipino songs, a replaying song for you guys is Mabagal by Daniel Padillia and Moira Dela Torre.

She learnt Moira’s Part while you had Daniel’s part. 

GUys she looks so beautiful in a Baro’t Saya. And she knows it, she flaunts it so well.

You guys probably have a vacation house in the Philippines after leaving with her to go back to her country.

She helps you with packing balikbayan boxes for your family, she makes handwritten letters, she’s both good at writing and saying anything in tagalog. 

Her favourite artist is definitely Moira Dela Torre, she just loves her airy voice.

Favourite Filipino Movie? Yes.

You cannot tell me she doesn’t have a shelf full of filipino movies you guys watch.

Her favourite street food is probably qwek-qwek. She likes the sauce she dips, and she probably bought almost twenty bucks worth of the fishballs.

Porco Galliard

UGh honestly he’s a little cringey when it comes to the culture, for some reason I can see him accidentally disrespecting it somehow, I can’t help it.

Your family owned a sari-sari store, and he could not help for the love of him, he ended up being the one stocking it up while you chatted with the customers. 

Like Pieck, he and you dance when you’re alone, he probably learnt from Pieck too.

He listens to modern filipino artists, like Ex Battalion, Skusta Clee.

He tries hard to really be respectful, he butchers the way he says nanay and tatay but your parents appreciate the effort.

I can see him being able to secretly make amazing filipino desserts, his ube cake is bomb.

He watches Basketball with your dad, and they both drink during the match.

I can also see him being the type to scream out curses when he hurts himself, a ‘PUNYETA’ comes out of his mouth.

he doesn’t enjoy the hot weather in the Philippines, and due to that, he wears sandos all the time at home, and when he goes out, every girl always looks at him because he’s ripped, yes you’re jealous, but as you should, he’s your mans-

He also knows how use a barbecue grill? You can find him helping your family members while they’re selling barbecue.

he hates going to SM?? He just really hates going, because you genuinely just go for the food court. They sell hella good food.

One time he got chased by the village dogs, so he doesn’t go out without you or a family member.

He secretly loves watching telenovelas with you.

[hiimsociallyawkward]

the darkest hour pt 2

i'm back with my bs. this is for my bestie @lady-ofmagic-andstars. basically, all of my dumb thoughts while i watched 'darkest hour pt 2', 04.02 of merlin. in case you weren't aware.. ✨spoilers✨

right off the bat i'm sad

ok when i first watched this i was really confused. i mean, you see others when they interact with the dorocha have that perpetual frost on their face right? all of them, every single one. so imagine my surprise when merlin has no frost on his face, and he's miserable yea- but he's not dead??

like tbh, watching this again, ik why but when i first watched this, i was SO confused.

arthur looks so worried slkdjfalskfsd

him being willing to abandon the mission to get merlin back to camelot to be treated 😔🤪😎🤤🤩 lots of emotions

LANCELOT. of course it's lancelot. santiago is perfect. actually.

merlin looks so SICKLY. it physically pains me to see him like that

okok hahaa. the scene where percival is carrying merlin. i have several notes on that.

1) ik it's supposed to be all 'noble' looking. yk? them walking in slow mo, percival carrying merlin like he's been slained in battle. knights looking knightly

ALL I CAN FOCUS ON IS THE LACK OF PROPER NECK SUPPORT FOR MERLIN. PLS TELL ME I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE.

like pls

second note, idk why this remind me of hagrid carrying harry back

idk maybe that's just me but it feels oddly reminiscent

colin is SO pale my heart is actually hurting for him what the heck

asf;lsdjfa;lsdfj 'take me with you' stop.

dude they ACTUALLY care about each other. i just love them. arthur is so worried rn and while i'm like 'alsjfalsdj i don't want arthur to be sad and worried' we can see just how MUCH arthur cares about merlin.

like yea, we KNOW that they care about each other. but arthur is the prince and merlin's a servant so arthur can't have friends, but they're friends, and they care, and it makes me happy

ok it's sad and everything that merlin's basically dying but is it bad of me that i chuckle at merlin SLUMPED over on his horse?? probably.

but i mean, merlin is already raising himself up so he can sit more comfortably on the horse. ik that doesn't mean that he's in the clear yet, but he's doing a LOT better than the other people who ran into the dorocha. idk where i'm going with this

to quote the destiny and chicken podcast (who i love btw, if you want an awesome merlin podcast, check them out), they stay on arthur's face for SO long after merlin and lancelot leave.

i feel EVERYTHING that arthur is feeling in this moment. he's so pretty

there's another beautiful landscape. i'm not even sorry i'm gonna attach them ALL.

tell me that's not gorgeous

LMAO WHAT IS GWAINE DOING IN THAT TREE.

gwaine is the EMBODIMENT of 'boys will be boys' when he sticks his hand into that tree and gets swarmed by bees.

he's adorable and i love him

ok but also, someone tell me why capes are so hot. someone TELL me.

separate from the episode but on the note of capes being hot, i want a cloak SO BADLY. like the whole gist. floor length, big hooded cloak. why?? it's not like i'm sneaking anywhere but still. ✨cloak✨

ok the line where leon goes 'if anyone can get merlin back to camelot, it's lancelot' and arthur's face?? idk what to make of it. someone help me pls.

ok actually this probably isn't the best reaction shot but someone please help

the only thing i can think of is that arthur momentarily forgot and was reminded that merlin was in danger bc of him?

another thought is that he thinks he should take merlin back instead of lancelot?

ik for a fact you guys are better at analysising this stuff than i am so pls, thoughts?

i love lancelot so much. first time i watched this, i was CRUSHED

him carrying merlin to the lake(?) pond(?) area and then covering him with his cape? i love it

ok idk why but i love the idea of merlin instinctively going towards the water

it makes me think back to how he's made of magic and basically everywhere, espeically nature, has magic and instinctively- he wants to connect with nature as much as he can so his body just puts his hand in the water

a dumber thought i had, his hand is ✨sparkly✨in the water HAHAH

omg when the water called lancelot i deadass thought it was freya. i'm actually dumb i have WATCHED this before and i STILL thought it was freya

'a future that has been written since the dawn of time' makes me so proud but also so sad at the same time

it's like, yes, merlin is going to 'save the world' but it's like he's there just to do that. anyways, i just want him to be happy

MORE SPARKLY

these water spirts are op but also MORE SPARKLY. hehe i thin kthat's so funny

also, i'm literally only like 7 mins in. buckle yourself in

l;askdjflskdjf arthur going into the tunnels with the wilderons?? i miss merlin ouch. AND THE GAJA BERRIES. arthur misses merlin.

ok percival tackling gwaine?? cuties ;))

heheheeh gwaine kicking a skull and then running directly behind arthur for protection?? pls stop. i already love you

HAHA OK. THEM WEARING THE GAJA BERRIES ON THEIR FACE REMINDS ME OF THIS FACE MASK . THAT'S LITERALLY HOW I LOOK WITH THAT THIS FACE MASK ON HAHAA

yes im dumb, but the 5 of them slowly peeking over the rock and then ducking back down?? i love that so much they're so cute

omg what's wrong with me. not these knights literally FEARING their lives and me going 'they're so cute'

ANYWAYS

gwaine you absolute dumbass. smh merlin just took it but you just HAD to stab it. #cancelled

FRICK. YOU. AGRAVAINE.

YES. i have a love hate relationship with gaius, but BUST into the council room. king energy right there

smh gaius you pUSH over.

I LOVE GWEN RIGHT HERE

YES

FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT

DON'T LET ALL THOSE SMELLY OLD COUNCILMEN PUSH YOU AROUND

THIS IS ACTUALLY QUEEN SH!T RIGHT HERE EVERYONE ELSE CAN LEAVE

stfu agravaine 'gueniviere'. ST F UP

ok gwen. pop OFF

you KNOW that arthur would've fought agravaine on this. GO GWEN for speaking her mind

oh look at me with anotehr fic rec. sort of, not really. ok but this scene with gwen talking about all the villagers remind of this fic called To Love, Honor, and Piss Off by @thenerdyindividual .

ok so it's basically a fic where basically merlin and arthur have this 'arranged marriage' type thing for 3 years, and merlin is arthur's 'common consort'. what that means is that arthur marries merlin as a show of good faith and to learn more about what it means to be a commoner- merlin giving arthur the tea about commoner life

anywAYS. check that our if you want, but i loved it

stfu 'i feel the pain as much as you' agravaine. hop off my dick

YES. GWEN. PLANT THAT SEED OF DOUBT THAT AGRAVAINE MIGHT NOT BE ALL THAT HE SEEMS. i love gwen :,)

wow when she's intellegent with her speaking so everyone HAS to side with her but also respectful so NO ONE can get mad at her?? i stan. i ACTUALLY stan

santiago is so pretty

the PANIC in his voice. i stan.

HAHA AND MERLIN'S SNARKY 'SHH'

merlin is ready to GO. he's like, sorry for almost dying. that was ill advised of me.

i'm actually soft for any displays of friendship ever. what does that mean about me 💀 KIDDING. anyways..

i love the *swing* *duck* 'yea, not as quick as arthur

sa;kfs;akdfj lancelot insisting that merlin go back to camelot and merlin just nOt

LADS

stop rn. lancelot's face when merlin turns away. i am in pAin. I AM SO SAD OVER LANCELOT. PLS LANCELOT.

this isn't exactly, but morgana's paleness from here on out reminded me of merlin when he was literally DYING.

anyways, that's my note on that

like, yes- i get it- morgana is evil now. but idk should i feel bad for her? she looks so pale and ghasty and just :(

aksfhaskdjfas;ldf morgana

HAHA MORGANA IS SO EDGY IN THIS MOMENT. 'I'D RATHER DROWN IN MY OWN BLOOD THAN SEE THAT DAY' SO DRAMATIC. WHY IS SHE SO EMO/GOTH. LIKE IK I SHOULD BE SCARED FOR WHAT THAT MEANS BUT I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING

stfu don't kill gwen i'll KiLl you

agravaine literally needs to die

stop. i am literally SCREAMING when agravaine is asking gwen to meet him in his chambers. PLS. STOP. STOP STOP STOP. I NEED A WHISLTE. I BITE MY THUMB AT AGRAVAINE. HE NEEDS TO SACK THE HATEFUL MANSION. BETTER YET I'LL BURN HIS MANSION

again, someone tell me why capes are so hot. especially these red ones?? i'm in love with them.

ok see this guy?? he just died with the forst on his face. not merlin?? he started getting better. surly that should've tipped them off that merlin was different

merlin's little head quirk when he does magic. ALSFJASLDFJAS MERLIN. NO ONE SAID YOU WERE USELESS. AND IF THEY DID I WOULD BEAT. THEM. UP. GIVE ME ADDRESS RN.

wow. seriously. i'm gonna attach all the pretty landscape pictures

morgana's like 'i'll cut a b!tch'. ok ik morgana's evil and everything, but morgana flinging that guard against the wall is bad ass

oh this is weird but gwen telling agravaine to 'show courage' but the whole room tinted green? ik this isn't harry potter or anything but idk i thought that was interesting. i'm not abt to go into if i think agravaine is a slytherin or what but still

STOP. GET. YOUR. HANDS. AWAY. FROM. HER. I ACTULALY HATE HIM. SHE'S SO UNCOMFORTABLE. BACK THE FRICK UP AGARAVINE.

morgana :( smh you can't deny that morgana and gwen carried for each other and morgana flinging gwen away is making me sad. don't touch me

asldjfasldasd 'you're never alone' elyan i love you

lancelot and merlins being lads. omg no them talking about gwen

lancelot is SO noble. stop this reminds me of Die for you in secret by @emrysofmagic so much right now. not gonna lie. your fic LITERALLY lives in my head rent free and sometimes i think of it and my heart just HURTS in those last few chapeters. PHYSICALLy. i am in pain. anyways.

stop the trope where it's like "i love them, but i just want them to be happy. it doesn't matter if they're with me or not. i just want them to be happy"

I WAS LITERALLY SCREECHING AS MERLIN WAS CALLING KILGHARRAH i'm not even capping

ok so it's been like a month ish since i've watched merlin bc i was waiting for @//f-f-podcast 's destiny and chicken podcast, so i don't exactly what terms kilgharrah and merlin are at right now

still i think it's very sweet of merlin to bow slightly when kilgharrah looks at him

'the bravest and most noble of them all' 🥺

aw. merlin is really saying good bye right now

ok this scene is weird bc like i said, i don't rlly remember how merlin and kilgharrah are right now but it still makes me sad

asldjfslakdjfasd merlin and kilgharrah are old friends now. that makes me happy but sad at the same time

ok the 'it will be an empty world without you, young warlock' kills me.

obviously, we know that even though they butt heads, kilgharrah and merlin both care about each other

not only is kilgharrah being forced to let merlin go right now, but he's making peace with the fact that he'll be alone

the last dragonlord is planning to die. and kilgharrah is going to be alone again, like he was in that cave.

another thing is that if merlin died rn then we would never have aithusia. i'm kinda going on a tangent now but idk this scene is sad

this forest is so pretty

literally just lancelot's face and lancelot in this whole episode.

that's my note

HAHA GWAINE BURNING IS SOCKS

LADS BEING LADS

I LOVE THEM

omg i always see posts about this.

like merlin and lancelot planned that lancelot was going to walk in first and trick them and THEN merlin walked in

that's so funny to me. they're SO dramatic HAHAH

merlin looks so happy

BRO

ARTHUR

JUST HUG

HIM

PLS

STO

P

JUST HUG HIM WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM

Tell me why they actually look MARRIED here. PLS

🥲🥲 SELF SACRIFICING IDIOTS I LOVE YOU BOTH YOURE BREAKING MY HEART

LADS I LOVE THEM

🤠🤠 arthur wanting Gwen to be happy is KILLING ME. He loves her so much

This is so pretty. Honestly like how

Who let merlin have this many pretty landscapes

HOENSTLY

Lajs;dlkfajd buds in a boat together.

This reminds me of going to amusement parks and there’s always that boat ride

They’re the cutest

Ok so they also have this picture. It’s actually 3 pictures spliced together because the episode pans down and it’s really badly spliced (sorry) but LOOk how pretty that is.

WTF

Omg not me literally copying merlin with his slow mo head flick at the wyverns to make them go away

;sldkfjasdlkjasd leon percival and elyan and my heart.

Ok i’m not even gonna try to lie. They all have my heart

Frick you cailleah

Omg i was like ‘gwaine you dumbass’ jK i love him. Pls don’t come for my neck

Asldjfasldjfka ‘i’m prepared to pay whatever price is necessary’

HAHA CAN YOU NOT. WHAT IS WITH THIS CREEPY ‘COME HITHER’ HAND MOTION MS CAILLEAH

Stopp rn. ‘It’s my density

STOP. I AM HOWLING. LANCELOT

WHY

COME BACK

NO NONO PLS. YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME.

stop rn merlin is all alone.

PAN TO ARTHUR WHO IS LITERALLY SURROUNDED BY EVERYONE.

Stop they all look so sad. I’m so sad.

merlin looks like he’s cried

I’m not sure abt arthur with his ‘no man is worth your tears’ type business but still

I am ✨sad✨

I screamed at this picture. I am depressed

Anyways

Gwen’s face is killing me

I’m so sad i don’t even want to write commentaries

Arthur realizing that lancelot only died because he loved gwen

Gwen standing in front of the fire

Aslkdfjasldjfa im so sad

HER STANDING IN FRONT OF THE FIRE ALL ALONE.

I. AM. SO. SAD.

STFU THAT THRONE IS NOT “RIGHTFULLY” YOURS MORGANA

STOP PLS GET AWAY

WHAT IS WITH THIS WEIRD TENSION

PLS DO NOT STAND WITHIN KISSING DISTANCE

IK YOU’RE NOT TECHNICALLY BLOOD RELATED BUT STILL.

PLEASE.

STOP.

I HATE AGRAVAINE

✨we hate agravaine in this house✨

😭😭 not merlin having ANOTHER secret. I’m so sorry bby

Anyways! I’ll be back next week to rant more about the wicked day so I’ll see you then! thanks I love you bye

[ktheist]

story time: birth of an empress

warning: spoilers ahead.

tw: i’m not sure, but maybe depression. (those who are okay reading this, please tell me if it’s an appropriate warning)

this is where i rant, cry and scream about my fics. not all fics have a story time though! the ones that do just kind of have a special place in my heart.

x

i contemplated on whether i should do a story time since i don’t necessarily like this fic compared to my other fics that makes me go, this one, i need to talk about this fic more!!

but i put my time and energy into it all the same. and to be quite frank, i may be reluctant to show my love for this fic because it hits too close to home (you’ll understand when you reach the bottom of the post).

i write to escape reality but somehow, with this fic, i ended up writing something so close to my reality - i know, it’s crazy. nothing can be so far off from reality than dragons and wizards and emperors.

but i figured that’s also why i should talk about it here.

i. the title.

birth of an empress represents the oc not just becoming an empress in name, but also an empress in her nature. someone who had something shoved into their face and not really having a choice whether to accept it or not.

if she turned it down, the consequence would befall not only her but the ones around her as well (her family, the villagers and the subjects will suffer when hoseok steps up. they’re already suffering now from how hoseok described the poor conditions of the oc’s village but it’ll foreseeably become worse if hoseok become the emperor.)

but we can see from the scene where oc broke down before jungkook found her in the throne room that accepting the position, slowly made her fall to pieces.

ii. oc and jungkook

the story starts off light and fluffy. it portrays the oc and jk in their younger days, you know, that phase between teenage years and adulthood when everything isn’t what you were told adulthood to be and it hasn’t really hit you.

in short, life was easy for both of them. the prophecy is as old as the earth but being young and starry-eyed (the way jk was described in the beginning), they didn’t really think of the consequences of the future. the prophecy weren’t really a concern because oc never really went on a self-discovery journey like those adventure stories so to her, the thought about marrying with a forbidden fruit didn’t seem all that bad - because in the beginning, she was skeptic about magic (she still was at the end or maybe she just didn’t care, when she was telling jk that she still wanted to be w him).

but jk’s been on quests w the prince, even though he didn’t enjoy it, he met a few wizards along the way and grew into his role as a wizard himself. he was described to be the ‘brightest wizard of the century’ but that’s the thing, he was textbook-smart but not wise. that’s why he proposed to oc.

but when he found out that oc had a claim to the throne, he finally realized the weight of the prophecy. which was why he was all about oc becoming empress, not realizing that his encouragement on oc marks the first piece falling off oc’s person.

it went downhill from there.

iii. the oc

the oc, being someone who just kind of does something bc she was told she was good at it (like dragon slaying and then becoming empress) fulfilled her monarchy obligations flawlessly as described in the scene after 1 year has passed and she learned the proper way to govern an empire anyway despite her reluctance.

by then we can see that she might still have some spunk but she wasn’t the shy girl who gets flustered in the presence of her crush anymore (as opposed to the first scene where she was flustered when she told jk that she wanted to go to dances and picnics and everything that a girl her age would want).

life just kinda got to her yk.

iv. oc and jimin

having had similar backgrounds with swords and fighting, i’d say their relationship has been really good. jimin will always understand oc the way jk never can. they shared the same understanding between one fighter with another.

they were comrades who turned into life long companions. settled down together, got a kid and were happy.

it wasn’t explicitly stated in the fic but i think the last scene gave it enough portrayal of how oc was or has healed. maybe it’s the fact that she had a daughter. but that definitely made oc and jimin become more like family. before, even though they were married and did what married couples do, they were still more like companions. but their daughter definitely changed that.

v. the ending

to sum it up, oc was basically hung up over her childhood crush more than she let on lmao

her and jk were something.

but doesn’t mean her and jimin was nothing.

i’d say she found a mature kind of love with jimin - the kind of love where it’s wholly one’s choice to commit and nurture. hers and jk were more of a puppy kind of love but instead of fade away, it stayed and grew stronger but love alone isn’t enough yk?

it’s bittersweet but beautiful at the same time, how things turn out.

vi. the message

this fic goes to every adult who once was a kid with dreams and ambitions. the kid who once was told they were bright and would achieve great things but grew up forgetting those dreams because the same adult that told them to dream, told them that that exact dream isn’t achievable. told them to get their head out of the clouds and start choosing a career path that’ll actually help them ‘make money.’

i can only speak for myself when i say i don’t know - i don’t know if you should abandon everything and pick up that dream that you dropped somewhere along the line to adulthood. and i don’t know if you’ll be happy if you did.

all i do know is you shouldn’t give up on it entirely. because it’ll turn you into this tired, burned out person who keeps needing a break from life itself.

fuck what others say. they’re not the ones living your life. you are. keep doing that thing you love even though others might say it’s a waste of time or that it’s ridiculous. at the end of the day, if it makes you happy then no person and thing should make you feel as though what you’re doing isn’t worth your time.

i almost teared up when i started writing this message because i’m that kid. some days i’m okay but other days, i feel so empty inside. i turn to writing stories and creating little universes to escape what i have to face everyday, wondering if my parents are delulu for saying they believe in me and the things i could achieve. i decided to pursue something i’m not so passionate about because of their words and encouragement - but it’s become burdensome. 

there are days when the pressure feels too much and i keep wondering about the what-ifs. what if i knew what i wanted to do then? what if i didn’t let others’ words get to me? what if i just went for what i thought i wanted and figured life along the way.

i’ll never know.

but i hope that my future self will find this blog and read this post (if i don’t end up deleting).

i hope she’ll be happier. 

[bartsugsy]

What’s your favourite Robron moment ?? 😊

OK YOU SENT THIS DAYS AGO AND IT’S BEEN STRESSING ME OUT BECAUSE HOW DOES ONE (1) HUMAN CHOOSE A SINGLE MOMENT???? answer: they do not choose a single moment

ANYWAY RULES ARE FOR LOSERS HERE’S 20 RANDOM MOMENTS I LOVE:

20. THAT TIME DURING THE AFFAIR ERA WHERE ROBERT WAS LIKE HEY AARON AFTER I’M MARRIED WE’RE STOPPING THIS I’M BREAKING UP WITH YOU AND THAT’S THAT AND AARON WAS LIKE ok but what if we didn’t AND ROBERT WAS LIKE OK GOOD POINT WELL MADE GUESS WE SHOULD MEET IN A BARN AND BANG ON THE DAY OF MY WEDDING THIS CAN ONLY GO WELL

19. THAT TIME WHEN ROBERT PAID AN INSANE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO HELP AARON FIND SANDRA BC HE NEEDED HER FOR HIS CASE AND THEN REFUSED TO LET AARON GO TO SEE SANDRA ALONE AND WAS JUST GENUINELY QUIETLY SUPPORTIVE. AND THEY STILL LOVED EACH OTHER AND AARON FELT THAT AND FELT LIKE HE HAD TO KISS ROBERT THEN AND THERE BECAUSE HE DIDN’T REALISE THAT ROB WOULD WAIT FOR HIM TO SORT HIS SHIT OUT FIRST BUT ROB EXPLICITLY CLARIFIED FOR HIM THAT HE WASN’T GOING ANYWHERE

18. A LITTLE EARLIER IN THAT ERA, WHEN AARON WAS HIDING OUT IN IRELAND AND ROBERT WOULD JUST WALK INTO EVERY SCENE DEMANDING TO KNOW WHERE AARON WAS. EVERY SINGLE SCENE.

17. THAT TIME AARON SPOKE HORRIBLE FRENCH (HE LIVED IN FRANCE FOR Y E A R S HOW DID HE COPE) AND ROB WAS LIKE ........i’m dating the hottest man alive?

16. THAT TIME ROBERT LITERALLY GAVE UP HIS COMPANY AND HIS ENTIRE FUCKIN HOUSE JUST TO GET AARON BACK BC HE WAS SO TERRIFIED FOR HIS SAFETY

15. THAT TIME DURING THE AFFAIR WHEN ROBERT FINANGLED IT SO THAT ALL OF THE WHITES WENT ON HOLIDAY AND HE JUST FULL ON MOVED AARON INTO HOME FARM AND THEY ACTED LIKE A FULL ON MARRIED COUPLE FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK, LIKE THE MOST INSANE PREVIEW OF THEIR FUTURE EVER DESIGNED

14. THAT TIME!!!! LACHLAN THREATENED ROBERT!!! SO AARON JUST FUCKIN???? KIDNAPPED???? HIM?????????? A LITERAL TEENAGER???????????? AARON KIDNAPPED A FUCKIN TEENAGER BC HE THREATENED TO PUT ROBERT IN JAIL (and yes used methods that hit v close to home for aaron to do so) BUT HONESTLY HE SHOVED A TEENAGER INTO HIS BOOT BC??? SURE?????? they’re both insane

13. OH YEAH THAT TIME ROBERT BURNED 100K BECAUSE AARON, FEELING ANNOYED AND PETTY, INSINUATED THAT ROBERT LOVED MONEY MORE THAN AARON AND FRANKLY AARON IS ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE ROBERT DOESN’T PUT MONEY AHEAD OF (or he used to, before he Grew As A Person tm) (i’m sure that won’t stick

12.THAT TIME THEY GOT MARRIED

11. ROBERT JUST WANTED TO THROW AARON THIS MASSIVE SYMBOLIC SHOW OF LOVE AND DEVOTION BEFORE HE WENT TO PRISON AND HE WANTED IT TO BE PERFECT AND WHEN IT WASN’T HE WENT OFF IN A STROP BUT AARON COULD LITERALLY GET MARRIED TO ROBERT WHILST STANDING IN A PILE OF LITERAL RUBBISH AND BE HAPPY BC AARON DOESNT CARE HE JUST WANTS TO BE MARRIED (ROBERT ALSO JUST WANTS TO BE MARRIED BUT HE HAS STANDARDS OK) AND SO AARON WENT AFTER HIM AND TALKED HIM DOWN AND THEN THEY JUST SAID FUCK IT AND GOT MARRIED ALONE, IN A PLACE THAT WAS SPECIAL TO THEM, BECAUSE IT WAS LITERALLY JUST FOR THEM AND ABOUT THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER??? AND IT WAS ABOUT KNOWING THAT AFTER PRISON THEY’D STILL COME BACK TO ONE ANOTHER????? AND THAT TOOK LONGER THAN EXPECTED (WAY LONGER) (AND WAS A LOT MESSIER) BUT IT STILL HAPPENED BC THEIR FUTURES ARE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND THEY EARNED THAT AND BOTH FOUGHT FOR EACH OTHER MASSIVELY

10. THAT TIME AARON WAS IN HOSPITAL DURING SSW AND ROBERT SAT IN THE WAITING ROOM WITH CHAS AND LOOKED DEVASTATED BC HE COULD LOSE THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE NBD. ROBERT WAS SO SAD BUT ALSO SO FRUSTRATED WITH HIMSELF AND HE FINALLY GOT TO EXPRESS HIS REGRETS OVER THE AFFAIR ERA AND HOW MUCH ~TIME HE WASTED FUCKIN AROUND BC HE WAS SCARED AND ALSO LBR WANTED THAT WHITE MONEY AND POWER WHEN INSTEAD HE COULD HAVE JUST BEEN FUCKIN HAPPY AND LIVING HIS LIFE WITH AARON, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY THE ONLY FUTURE HE WANTS FOR HIMSELF AND AALDHSDFOH THE JOURNEY!! ROBERT SUGDEN!!!! HAS BEEN ON!!!!!!! IS SO GOOD FIGHT ME

9. SPEAKING OF HOSPITALS, THAT TIME ROBERT GOT HIT BY A CAR AND AARON FUCKIN RACED TO THE HOSPITAL AND CRIED AT ROB’S BEDSIDE DESPITE HAVING OSTENSIBLY MOVED ON FROM ROBERT BC HEY NEWSFLASH AARON NEVER STOPPED LOVING ROBERT JACOB SUGDEN. AND THEN THEY PROMISED TO BE FRIENDS AND ROBERT TOLD AARON HE’D BE THE BEST FRIEND HE’D EVER HAVE AND I DIED.

8. THAT TIME THEY JOKED ABOUT ANAL SEX IN THE SCRAPYARD #GAYCULTURE

7. THAT TIME!!!! ROBERT WENT TO A GAY BAR!!! TO TRY AND GET OVER AARON!!!! BUT BECAUSE AARON IS A FUCKIN LUNATIC WHO, AGAIN, NEVER STOPPED LOVING ROBERT JACOB SUGDEN, AARON FOLLOWED HIM AND THEN JUST SORT OF LURKED IN THE SHADOWS LOOKING SAD AND ESSENTIALLY WAS PREPARED TO TORTURE HIMSELF WITH WATCHING ROB PICK UP A DUDE BC HE COULDN’T STOP ROBERT BUT ALSO, INTERNALLY, HE REALLY WANTED TO STOP ROBERT

6. OH AND THEN AARON SAW ROB GO OUTSIDE ALONE AND TOOK HIS CHANCE TO SAY SOMETHING AND THEY JUST SORT OF SADLY FLIRTED WITH EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY BOTH DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE TOGETHER??? AND FELT THAT THEY COULDN’T BE???? BUT STILL COULDN’T NOT FLIRT WITH ONE ANOTHER????????

5. THAT TIME AARON WAS LIKE HEY ROBERT DON’T COME TO COURT WITH ME AND ROB WAS LIKE .....YEAH WHATEVER AND THEN SHOWED UP IN COURT ANYWAY AND AARON WAS LIKE ??? BUT ALSO :’) AND ROB WAS JUST LIKE LOL SINCE WHEN DO I EVER LISTEN TO U

4. THAT TIME THEY TOOK THEMSELVES OFF TO A HOTEL AND THEN LEFT IT IN A LITERAL STATE??? AND THEN JOKED ABOUT IT???? BC THEY SPENT ALL NIGHT BANGING????? AND AARON HAD LITERALLY FORCED ROBERT TO TURN HIS PHONE OFF BC CLEARLY ROBERT HAS A PROBLEM #relatable #me (oh and meanwhile gerry was dying but yk we’re talking abt robron here)

3. GDI THAT TIME WHEN ROBERT LITERALLY THOUGHT HE HAD GOTTEN AWAY WITH SLEEPING WITH REBECCA AND STILL TOLD AARON THE TRUTH ANYWAY BC HE JUST??? COULDN’T LIE TO HIS HUSBAND???????? ROBERT, WHO LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING??? AND AARON UNDERSTOOD THAT GROWTH DESPITE OBVIOUSLY BEING HEARTBROKEN AND DEVASTATED RIP, BC AARON KNOWS ROBERT. THEY KNOW EACH OTHER SO WELL!!!!! 

2. THAT TIME WHEN AARON WAS SO ANNOYED THAT HE COULDN’T BONE ROBERT IN PEACE THAT HE DECIDED TO SUGGEST THEY MOVE IN TOGETHER AND THEN THEY (ULTIMATELY) FUCKIN DID AND THEN ROB WAS LIKE HEEEEY TIME 2 PROPOSE AND PLANNED THIS INSANE PLAN INVOLVING ALL OF THE BREAD IN THE VILLAGE TO SHOW AARON JUST HOW MUCH HE LOVES HIM BC HE DOES

1.5 WAIT I HAVE TWO MORE HOLY SHIT THAT TIME!!!!!!!!! THEY LITERALLY!!!!!!!!!!!! BOTH PLANNED TO PROPOSE TO ONE ANOTHER????? AT THE SAME TIME????????? IN THE EXACT SAME WAY?????????????? WHO ARE THEY WHAT IS THIS???? DID THEY LITERALLY LIKE.... HAVE THIS CONVERSATION MID-BONE???? WHY WERE THEY BOTH THINKING ABOUT PROPOSING AT THE SAME TIME WITH THE SAME PLAN TO GO BACK TO WHERE THEY FIRST KISSED???? AND THEIR FAMILIES, WHEN THEY FOUND THIS OUT, WERE JUST LIKE ....oh lol AND THEN NEVER MENTIONED HOW FUCKING INSANE THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS THAT THIS IS WHAT THEY DID gdi who are they. OH AND THEN THEY ACCIDENTALLY??? ENDED UP AT THE LAY-BY ANYWAY????? BECAUSE ROBERT’S CAR ACTUALLY BROKE THE FUCK DOWN BC GOD CLEARLY SHIPS IT OR SOME SHIT AND THEN AARON WAS LIKE lol where are we never seen it before x EVEN THOUGH NOT 24 HOURS EARLIER HE WAS WAXING LYRICAL TO LIV OVER HOW ROMANTIC IT WOULD BE TO TAKE ROBERT TO THAT VERY SPOT AND FUCKIN ASK HIM TO MARRY HIM. AGAIN. BECAUSE THEY’RE ALREADY FUCKIN MARRIED?????? god they’re lunatics. OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THEN ROB WENT TO PROPOSE AND AARON LITERALL GOT ANNOYED BC HE WAS LIKE NO IT’S MY TURN BACK OFF SUGDEN AND THEN THEY SAID IT AT THE SAME FUCKIN TIME bc they’re literally just insane i can’t deal with them.

1. that time aaron made a speech about how robert jacob sugden, knowing every terrible thing he’s ever done and having been victim to his stupidity, manipulation, hunger for power and money and general terribleness, is still a good person who deserves love bc as much as aaron knows the bad that robert’s done, he also knows all of the good and just how far he’s come - and robert knows now, bc he’s done so much to try and be a better person for aaron and for their family and now he literally is actually sort of proud of the person he’s become and so much of that is aaron’s influence and like... aaron makes robert a better person by loving him as much as he does and robert in return loves aaron more than anything and they both recognise this love within each other and does it literally go beyond common sense? yes. are they basically a cautionary tale as to why maybe there is such a thing as too much love? u know they are. but are they perfect for each other? RIP YES THEY ARE THIS ISN’T GOING UNDER A CUT READ THIS ENTIRE POST AND SUFFER WITH ME GDI

[confusedhost-archive]

Pretty sure i talked about the abandoned village/town/whatever i called it before but like. While yes it was originally made bc i really wanted somewhere in this world that really made no sense, it technically holds H e r in it which is like. A roundabout, yk?

That place is the second place they visit, and it establishes like. The world they live in. The first part is showing the characters and how they relate to each other, and this part is explaining how everything works

Like ALL of it. The funny thing about the abandoned town is that it doesn’t make sense. But it’s rules? Those follow the rules of the world

By rules, I mean like, actual rules. There are signs strewn around that explain rules for… something, but they never figure out WHAT. The signs never look the same, either. One will be made out of stone, elegant and regal, and another will be chiseled into a fallen over tree.

Cool thing about these rules, and I’ll let you in on a secret, is that they’re precisely what I called them. The rules for the world. Something or another about the lore of the world itself.

This is only a possibility right now, but I love the thought of the first creators. Giants. Five of them, who lived in space. They found a spot, perfect for them to sleep in. It was just warm enough. So they curled together under the sun, and they slept. Once, one woke up from a nightmare, crying, and water was brought onto the land. This one saw that they’d created something habitable, and woke the others. Together they set rules. An amount of magic, the creation of gods, if specific requirements were met. And they set these rules down on a part of land, in a way that would not make sense, and covered it with magic that made it reflect the area surrounding, so that no one would suspect a thing. And no one did, and that is why the town created on top of it never did truly die. The people who lived there left when everything went wrong, and now, to outsiders, the abandoned town is a reflection of what it was. Complete with the voices of those that should have lived there.

[sophygurl]

q and u!

woot - thanks!

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

Supernatural. I really really enjoyed the first five seasons. It told a solid story and came full circle and I appreciated the whole thing. Then it just ... kept going, and getting worse and more nonsensical and repetitive and bonkers, so I stopped. I now pretend in my head that anything past season 5 is just fanfic. I only accept the first five seasons of the show as canon. :P

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

Oh goodie, this is a fun one!

Fandom 1: the Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb. My favorite character here is a mad sentient ship named Paragon - I tend to fall for the “crazy” characters, especially if their madness has a mysterious tragic backstory, and especially if the Power of Friendship helps to stabilize and empower them to sort out who they really are and become who they really want to be. 

My second favorite character in the RotE series is Thick, a character who - if he lived in our world and not a medieval-ish fantasy one, might be considered developmentally disabled or perhaps neuroatypical. He is funny, loving, angry a lot - especially at the things he can’t control or the things the people he cares about make him do when he doesn’t want to do them, and is also very very powerful in some of the magics that exist in this world. However, because of his differences, his magic functions differently from the others as well, and most people don’t understand him. He connects to very few characters, but the ones he does connect with end up being very strong connections. 

Third fave is probably Nighteyes, a wolf who bonds with the main character of the primary books in the series (9 out of 16 of the books I believe?). The bond is magical on both of their parts, so Nighteyes becomes a little human-ish and Fitz becomes a little wolfish, and they can talk to together and are basically life partners and soulmates in a very very strong way. Fitz often annoys the crap out of me, but Nighteyes does not - in fact he is often annoyed by the same things about Fitz that I am, which of course is gratifying. He’s got a great sense of humor, is super loyal, and has great instincts. Plus he’s a woofer. I love him. 

(I could probably pick another 6 characters here but I’ll move on)

Fandom 2: General Hospital

Carly Corinthos is probably my top fave soap character of all-time. She can be crass and caustic and schemes like nobody’s business, but she’s fiercely loyal to and protective of the people she loves, always emotionally honest to the point of everyone always knowing what she’s thinking or feeling at any given moment, and while she’ll cast you out if you hurt one of her own - her heart is big and warm and open enough to keep including more people into that inner circle. She’s a hot mess tbh, but she keeps trying, yk. I’ve loved her since Tamara Braun played her and also love Laura Wright’s portrayal of her (love having TB back on the show in another role too btw)

Sam Morgan is probably my second top fave soap character of all-time and it’s a very close second. Sam and Carly have a lot of differences (Sam has a healthy understanding of boundaries, for example - and she tends to methodically plot instead of spontaneously scheme when she wants something sorted out a certain way), but they’re similar in their fierce loyalty and their ride-or-die mentality when it comes to the people they love and care for. Sam tends to hold her cards closer to her chest, and she’s quite independent (whereas Carly tends to lure people in to help her accomplish her goals). Sam is scrappy, she’s a fighter, she loves her family - bio, extended, found, etc. - and she looks goooood in a tight black tank top, some jeans, and a leather jacket. Come ON! 

Maxie Jones is another female character that I adore on this show. Maxie is a lil ball of fire! She knows what she wants and she goes at it full-speed ahead until she gets it. She fucks up a lot (less and less as she gets older tho), but she always gets her head turned back around and makes things right to those she’s hurt. She’s currently going through a grueling heartbreak/loss and the actress Kirsten Storms is knocking every scene out of the park. I just wanna throw daytime emmy’s at her in between dabbing at the tears in my eyes. 

So anyway yea, three very different badass women on my fave soap!

Fandom 3: The Walking Dead

Michonne is such a dynamic and interesting character. The first thing we see and get to know about her in the beginning is just how badass she is - she can fight with a katana, and she has hand-less jaw-less walkers chained to her to protect her from other walkers, and she just seems so mysterious and larger than life.

Then we get to know her, bit by bit. And she never loses that badassness, but she adds in these layers of softness, humor, love, affection, fear, sadness, tragedy, etc. She becomes part of Team Family and she protects her people both with her fighting skills and with her wisdom and willingness to try new things and be open to new people. 

She never loses the core of who she is and she never gives up, but she gets close at times. She’s not really larger than life. She’s very human, and very fragile, and yet still very very strong. I adore her.

Rick Grimes - oh - how I do even begin. He crept up on me. I never consciously thought of him as a favorite or whatever, but as the seasons continued I found myself feeling very protective of him against his critics. He’s a leader character, and his people sometimes follow him very willingly and openly, and sometimes more reluctantly and angrily - but follow they do. And, like Michonne, he’s very human. He loses it sometimes and he makes giant mistakes sometimes.

But overall? This is a man who gives his all at all times. He protects his family at all costs and sometimes that means his wife and kid, and sometimes it means a network of communities of hundreds of people. It can mean anything in between. We call our group Team Family in large part because that is how Rick sees them. And once Rick decides to take someone(s) under his wing, whether it’s a lonely wanderer by themselves or a whole freaking village, well the rest of the group also end up deciding these people are now part of their family.

Everyone on this show has seen and experienced and even done unimaginably horrific things, but I feel like Rick has shouldered the most - not just what’s been done personally to him, but the responsibility of everything that’s happened to anyone in his care at any given point of time. It’s a lot to take on. But he keeps doing it.

He just keeps doing his best, over and over and over again. And I admire the shit out of him. And I discovered somewhere along the line that he was not only a favorite character but someone I truly STAN for. I will die any hill defending this man with my whole heart. 

And yea, he loves Michonne. And she loves him. And when the two characters you love and admire the most in a show fall in love, it’s one of the most delightful things in the world. 

Carol Peletier. I don’t know if I can’t talk about this lady without tearing up. She started the apocalypse still under the thumb of her abusive husband. She was quiet, unassuming, but clearly warm and caring as well. She’s had an incredible character arc in these past eight seasons. 

Carol lost her husband (a good thing), and then her only daughter (a tragic thing), and found the will to not only live but continue on and thrive and learn to protect herself and her people. She is a fierce fighter, she takes necessary actions that no one else can take, and she can put on a character to fool people into underestimating and/or trusting her at a moment’s notice. 

Carol has spent a lot of time deciding what kind of person she wants to be, and what her ethics in this new world should be about, and how far she should go now that she knows how far she CAN go, and as a result she has become very deliberate with both her words and her actions. She’s even learning to lighten up a bit here and there. She’s an amazing, wonderful, thoughtful woman who continues to grow and change but in believable and deliberate ways that make sense for her character.

I can’t wait to see what she does next tbh!

[bartsugsy]

It’s kinda sad though Aaron has to suck it up and not move on at all and accept a baby his husband conceived while he was probably off his head in prison it’s kinda cruel, Aaron would never ever in a million years to this to Rob makes me wonder how people think they’re love is ever equal at all

i mean, he probably couldn’t do this to rob bc any cheating he would do would likely not result in an unxpected pregnancy so

it’s not really fair to argue that, is it?

also, like… this is absolutely a product of robert’s bad decision

but it didn’t happen in a vaccuum - this wasn’t rob sitting around like OH BOY IM BORED AND MY EX IS LOOKING FOINEEEE LETS GO GET SOME OF THAT NO I WOULD NEVER USE PROTECTION HEY BEX LETS BANG

that’s not… what happened… like jfc you’re genuinely skimming over the entirety of what happened in canon

aaron put a guy in hospital, which landed him in prison, which led to him being abused in prison, which led to him doing spice - that’s aaron’s side of things

rob’s side, on the build up, was… he couldn’t sleep in a bed without aaron and was generally a complete wreck, one day the prison didn’t let him see aaron and then liv told him that aaron was doing drugs, he finally went to see aaron who was acting like a shell of himself, was so heartbroken that he got drunk, got really fucking angry at aaron, called rebecca over to rant at her because she was his only friend and someone he’d been able to talk to about how he felt about missing aaron, decided to hurt aaron and came onto rebecca, knew exactly what to say to get her to say yes, she said yes, they banged

like…. the situation was deliberatly not as straightforward as ‘oh hey, it’s rob being a cheat again, knew he couldn’t stay faithful!’ 

it was 100% robert doing the wrong thing, but jfc so was aaron beating up kasim

look how fucking much robert and liv suffered while aaron was in jail - but that never gets held over aaron’s head - and yes, aaron was absolutely suffering while he was in prison and his suffering was moreso than rob’s suffering has been since the break up but that doesn’t change the fact that aaron is still responsible for being put in prison and aaron is still therefore the cause behind rob and liv’s suffering during that tiime.

and i’m not necessarily saying that this should be held over aaron’s head - but i don’t think it should be given less weight than the baby. rob fucked up and slept with rebecca, she got pregnant and decided to keep it, thereby destroying rob and aaron’s relationship. the root of the problem is rob’s horrible decision making, and rob’s tendency to lash out at people in insane ways, but the baby wasn’t a fuckin concious dig at aaron and liv. it has obviously caused them an incredible amount of pain and heartbreak, but the baby itself was more of a perfect storm of awful consequences - much like prison and the horrors was for aaron in a village where people genuinely get away with murder.

so no, it’s not fair to aaron. and yes, it’s a much more long-lasting consequence than prison ended up being - although aaron was supposed to be there for a year, so robert and liv would have had to survive for a year without him - imagine that after how much they struggled after a god damn week. just as they were innocent victims to aaron’s prison sentence, aaron and liv are innocent victim’s to rob’s new baby. 

it’s not fair to aaron, but also it will clearly be something he manages to get over. it’s not about rob winning and aaron losing. robert literally said today that he’s never been more miserable. aaron has been on this amazing journey of growth and come to a place with his mh where he’s much more able to handle this shit and it’s sad and i’m sad for him but… 

this baby isn’t a sign that robert and aaron don’t love one another.

aaron beating up kasim happened because rob called off the wedding, because he’d spent so long thinking he was going to lose rob (and this was again because of rob - i’m not saying he’s an innocent bean or that he doesn’t desperately need to be redeemed, because he makes horrible fuckin decisions at all time)

rob cheating on aaron happened because he was angry at aaron for going to prison and for doing spice and had spent a whole day terrified that aaron had fuckin died - he slept with rebecca because he loves aaron. and because where aaron lashes out with violence, robert lashes out by doing this sort of stupid impulsive thing.

no, that doesn’t make it better and no that doesn’t mean he wasn’t 100% spot on when he spoke about how he destroys people’s lives because he does, he fuckin does - he said ‘i do what i want and it’s always the wrong thing’ (that’s not the exact quote but yk) and he’s so god damn right. it is always the wrong thing. 

but the situation they’re in, much as it is a product of rob’s horrible horrible decisions, is not a product of robert intentionally wanting to destroy aaron’s life. yes, in that moment and fuelled by whiskey he wanted to make aaron as hurt as he felt, but that’s a perfectly human feeling to have. following that fucking impulse was the stupid part. that was where the damage was caused.

they both fucked up this year, anon. rob moreso, to be fair. i’ve said all of this before, but there’s a reason why he’s the one who needs the redemption storyline and why aaron needed the storyline about finding ways to start to heal and better coping mechanisms. but they still both fucked up. aaron having a shitty time with his mh doesn’t excuse him from putting a guy in a hospital or throwing a wrench at robert’s head. and they really really did need their break up. they really did. and rob needs a period of growth, just as aaron needed that time alone, to grow, without robert.

but people always say that aaron will force himself to love the baby and he’ll just have to ~suck it up~ and i just… why is it so out of the question that they could write it in a way where he genuinely realises that the baby isn’t as painful to be around as he thought? that he can be in rob’s life with the baby around and that it doesn’t actually hurt, that he doesn’t mind it, that maybe the baby is growing on him, that he still misses robert, that…. actually, that time apart was more valuable than he realised… especially when we have robert finally facing up to the part he’s played in destorying all these people’s lives, including aaron’s

their biggest issue blocking their happiness isn’t the baby anon

it’s rob’s potential to cause chaos and hurt aaron again, just by making the same horrible decisions and never considering the consequences, by taking ridiculous risks with other people’s lives and well-being and happiness because he has no semblance of self-control

that’s the shit that’s stopping them from being a couple that stays together and is happy, really, not the fuckin baby

that’s what needs to be dealt with. the baby is ultimately secondary to that, in terms of letting them work and getting them to a place where they can get married in the summer

i mean, fine, we don’t know how it’s going to work, we don’t know if aaron is going to warm to the baby or if it will all be an act or whatever, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll be there at the end of the year, feeling forced to suck up the existence of this child. just the poor little pineapple, constantly shit on by the narrative and by everyone around him. THAT’S NOT THE FOREGONE CONCLUSION FOR AARON’S FUTURE AND I HIGHLY FUCKIN DOUBT DANNY WOULD BE WALKING AROUND SINGING THE PRAISES OF WHAT’S COMING UP IF IT WAS 

BECAUSE WE FUCKIN SAW HIM WHEN HE WAS UPSET WITH THE SHOW ON AARON’S BEHALF AND IT DIDN’T LOOK LIKE HE’S BEEN LOOKING RECENTLY

just… god. canon exists for a reason. robron have so many god damn problems to fix and i’m sure they’ll only fix a small portion of them, but we know that part of the christmas episode is dealing with that and that’s what kicks off the route to the actual reunion so it’s hardly the most out there thing to suggest that they’re gonna deal with some shit that’s not entirely related to the baby

i’m sorry you struggle to see how their love is equal, or how aaron is anything other than a victim of robert but… just because that’s how you view it does not mean that that’s the only way to view it or even that it’s the story the show is telling. i’m js.