#tell people they should go to prison for shipping two characters

[princelythirsts]

kinda debating making a post with some phrases I use to figure out if someone who made a post I want to reblog is an anti

like stuff that’s not explicitly ship discourse related but tends to be a red flag

big disclaimer that it’s more like “here’s what I look for to make a quick decision about if I want to reblog a post or not” vs it being a judgement of the person’s character and capacity to change, etc

but even outside of ship discourse like I still would include stuff that makes me feel off yknow? like people who call others “freaks” etc

[saunne]

HSR Theory - Bailu is set up to fail by her Preceptors

or "we may have an ongoing political overthrow attempt"

Okay, I'm relatively new to HSR but I've been going through lore pages up and down for almost 8 hours now and I need to talk about it.

I started by looking into Dan Heng lore (obviously), which of course led me to the whole Dan Feng + Blade + Jing Yuan + High Cloud Quintet etc mess... and you get the general idea. And there are several things that struck me as odd.

And these things make me think that Bailu, the adorable little Vidyadhara supposed to inherit the title "Imbibitor Lunae" formerly carried by Dan Feng/Dan Heng is currently set up to fail by the same Preceptors supposed to guide her.

A bit of Vidyadhara politics

Each ship of the Xianzhou Alliance has at the head of its Vidyadhara community a High Elder, a Vidyadhara who has developed "more draconic features such as horns and a tail" (Only special Vidyadhara can turn into dragons). They are responsible for the well being of their people (Source).

Those High Elders, when young, are tutored by Preceptors, senior Vidyadharas. Bailu is currently under their tutelage, while Dan Feng was tutored by a certain Lady Xuepu.

However, while the High Elders are the rulers, the Preceptors still have some political clout :

In the case where the high elder cannot lead, the Council of Preceptors assume governance in their place : "The Preceptor Council is a stop-gap measure for when the High Elder position is vacant or governance is untenable" (Source)

The Preceptors have the power to strip the current high elder of their name and power and elect a new one in their place should the circumstances deem fit to do so.

Imbibitor Lunae

This title belonged to Dan Feng / Dan Heng before what was named the "Imbibitor Lunae Sedition" the exact details of which are still unknown.

After the Sedition, Dan Feng was captured, and his punishment was carried out: he went through the rebirth process and his subsequent incarnation, Dan Heng, was held in the Shackling Prison for a period of time before being exiled from the Luofu. 

This leaves the seat of High Elder vacant, and thus puts the Preceptors in position of power.

However, Imbibitor Lunae's position is particularly important within the Luofu, as they are the ones tasked with watching over the seal of the Ambrosium Arbor.

Their mastery of cloudhymn magic (Dan Heng's shown ability to split Scalegorge Sea in half) is obviously an important part of that and Bailu showed some talent in cloudhymn magic : "since the high elder has already demonstrated her powers of calling lightning and commanding the waters" (Source).

Bailu's character stories also tell us directly that she is meant to inherit the position of Imbibitor Lunae : "Only after her coming-of-age ceremony will the Preceptors confer the title of Imbibitor Lunae on her."

So, what's wrong in this whole story ?

First Problem : Dragon Transmutation

Jing Yuang is the first to tell us about the "dragon transmutation", a certain power that Dan Feng supposedly possessed that should have passed to Bailu, but didn't.

By logical association, we can assume that this "dragon transmutation" has something to do with the "Transmutation Arcanum": "It is apparent that either her dragon heart is in some way damaged, or the "Transmutation Arcanum" has not been carried through in full."

In the Preceptor Assembly Chronicle Fragment, it is said : "Our solemn responsibility is to confiscate the Transmutation Arcanum and the Orb of Abysm from Dan Feng to uphold the continuation of the Ichor Lines."

Ichor :

The Vidydharas are called Long's Scion because they are their descendants : "It is commonly thought that the source of Vidyadharas' immortality is different from that of Xianzhou natives and Foxians. The Vidyadhara race did not gain immortality from the Plagues Author. Instead, as the descendants of Long the dragon, the majesty of the Permanence flows in their blood." (Source)

However, the two objects mentioned are important, because we learn their use in Bailu's character story : "All past high elders, after receiving the "Orb of Abysm" and the "Transmutation Arcanum", will re-experience the events of their dragon ancestors' lives in dreams. [...] Although such dreams tend to be fragmentary and difficult to understand or interpret, it is after all the only way our kind have of coming close to the Permanence."

Meaning: The High Elders can dream of heir ancestor's life, Long's life, tand thus come closer to their Path, The Permanence.

Also, there is another instance of "transmutation" present in the Vidyadhara's history : "Teacher says that back then, we could use our powers derived from Long to change the form of any creature, as easily as children playing with modeling clay." (Source)

Imbibitor Lunae is known to be a title passed down from generation to generation and there's a strong possibility that it's always been Dan Feng and his previous incarnations, given the statue looking very much like Dan Heng (March even asks if it's of our brother) that we see at Scalegorge: "High Elder Yubie, bearer of the Azure Dragon's legacy, spreading clouds and rain to bless all living souls. Unstunted by 90 rebirths, just as the Alliance remains strong after 300 years." (Source)

This could indicate that the goal of the High Elders could be to recover access to this power granted by Long (which could have disappeared with Long, which would have made the Vidyadhara's home world uninhabitable)… or even to transform one of their High Elder in a new Aeon of Permanence.

Second Problem : Bailu's Power was Sealed

Bailu's particularly draconic appearance is important, given that she has both horns and a tail. Which is an extremely obvious symbol of her power as Vidyadhara (Only special Vidyadhara can turn into dragons).

However, we learn that this power was sealed : "I have instructed one of our finest crafters to make the Dragonhorn Pilory to shackle her tail, to prevent a loss of control over her powers and a repeat of the disaster of the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae."

But if High Elders are expected to commune with Long's Path, it seems like a terribly counterproductive decision.

Third Problem : Bailu's Growth

Then comes the problem of her growth. As indicated somewhere above, the title of Imbibitor Lunae will only be entrusted to her by the Preceptors when she comes at age.

Except that Bailu is not growing :

"It is the same as regards my own health. It is now six or seven years since I first sprouted horns, but I have not grown taller in that time." (Source)

"Still no physical change in the high elder. She has not grown." (Source)

Which leads to the following statement : "The gist of my reply was that Lady Bailu is still young and in need of the assistance of the Preceptors." Preceptors who, as a reminder, are in power as long as the seat of High Elder is vacant.

This lack of growth is not considered to be of concern "as slow development is common among Vidyadharas", but I'm just going to take the opportunity to slip an idea. I'm sure you've seen Dan Heng's theory of de-aging rather than reincarnating properly ? I will make a post dedicated to this whole de-aging thing but one thing to say :

And if it was not Dan Heng who had rejuvenated, but Bailu who was prevented from growing up ?

Fourth Problem : Preceptors Monitoring

Bailu herself gives us her feelings about the way the Preceptors control her and we can say that she is not really happy about it : "I am sure it is because I have those horrid Preceptors watching over me all the day long. If a child does not get out to run about, how will it grow tall? Healers who read this case study, when will you release me? I am not some truly wicked ne'er-do-well. Why am I so closely guarded?" (Source)

However, there is one sentence that strikes me even more strongly as the Preceptors are deliberately setting up Bailu for failure :

"Are you trying to waste my talents?" (Source)

According to Jing Yuan Characters Story III and IV : Dan Feng, the most recent Imbibitor Lunae, joined the High-Cloud Quintet and together they accomplished many feats: drove out the Borisin invading Thalassa, destroyed the alliance between the Houyhnhnms and Wingweavers in the Abundance Axis, rescued the Xianzhou Yuque and defeated the living planet Ketu Mirage, becoming one of the most prolific Vidyadhara of his time.

While Bailu on the other hand seems to be guarded very closely, restricted to her activities as a healer with her powers sealed and the impossibility of inheriting her title unless she undergoes a growth spurt, which is still long overdue.

Final Problem : Preceptor Assembly Chronicle Fragment

I don't think it can be any obvious than that, honestly. It is said clearly in the text.

"Therefore, I propose that the Luofu Vidyadhara should temporarily move away from the rule of the high elder and instead submit to rule by the council of Preceptors, to ensure [Missing]"

"Xuepu's message rings loud and clear. She wants to take advantage of [Missing] being cut off to completely replace the High Elder position with the Preceptor Council."

"I am in agreement with you. The High Elder system is an outdated one, handing over power to a single chosen one. This has caused countless tragedies in the history of our kind."

So we have at least two Preceptors, Xuepu and Fenghuan, who actively wish to overthrow the solitary rule of the High Elders and instead institute "power to the people" (or in this case the Preceptors).

And with the power vacuum caused by Dan Heng's exile and the fact that his possible successor, Bailu, might not have been born yet/still a tiny child…

Yeah, I think we're seeing a discreet ongoing political overthrow.

Addendum : The Ten-Lords may be involved in the whole scheme (as well as Jing Yuan, which puts certain things said to Dan Heng in a whole different light)

"The elder's voice is youthful, but it sounds weary and emotionless" : The term elder here could refer as a Preceptor instead of a High Elder since they are the "senior" Vidyadharas. I have the feeling that it could be the same people talking with "Unfeeling Voice".

Also, "if you can complete this I can assure you a seat in the council of Preceptors" ?

PLEASE.

[mytalemyworld]

They are the most popular couple right now on social media, actually it's not very surprising since there is no love story happening in other tv shows so it's like there is literally no ship wars or something but…even if there was, I think they could still be at the first place.

You didn't ask for my two cents but I'll tell you anyway. The show is a complete mess. Nowadays the writers just don't waste any efforts on their scripts. This one is no different, there's so much craziness going on that I can't stop judging.

So the main character Yaman (his real name is Ali Soysalan) was kidnapped when he was a child. Then he somehow ended up on the streets, grew up with three homeless children. (Cesur, Asi and Umut. Their names come from their characteristics I guess since they have no identity. Cesur means "Brave", Asi means "Rebellious/Rebel". Umut means "Hope". Yaman means "the person who doesn't give up, is strong") They become a kind of family. One day he finds out his real family and the story begins.

This might be too cliche, I don't care about that, but the problem is if you want to watch a heartfelt family reunion you may be very disappointed. After he reunites with his family, there is no bonding, no family time, no thought about how to spend their days from now on…The family find their kid and act like "so yeah, this is your family, stay in our home, these are your other siblings, let's move on." Come on! As a mother more importantly as a doctor mother, you just have to see the emotional damage and the endless gap between your kids.

And don't get me started on how Mother Soysalan announce the news to her other children: They just find out from the tv like the other citizens in the country.

Nothing makes sense, but let's just forget all nonsense and accept that this story is more like about a lost kid who turns back his home to get his revenge on the bad guys.

Btw, I am usually not that kind of person who comments on the performances of the actors but I don't know why, the lead actor doesn't make me really feel anything. The same actor also acted in Kardeslerim as Kadir a.k.a. the eldest brother, (this already looks like typecasting btw) however he is really not convincing here. There's a lack of chemistry with everyone, but this also might be a directing or a script problem because the other actors can't give any strong feelings in some specific scenes too. In short, I fast forward his scenes most of the time. The fact that his actions are so predictable doesn't help either.

So here comes the problematic part.

They are twins but I prefer calling them Jessie and James from Pokemon.

Since The Council of Radio and Television in Turkiye doesn't care the degrees of violence shown or the importance of right labelling for tv shows, I shouldn't be surprised by how this show is tagged. I, however, will give you a warning. The show is dark, there is drug use, excessive violence, emotional abuse, family abuse, physical abuse…oh my, you can put any warning actually. The worse, they are not handled very well. Law enforcement, is there even such a thing in this show? No. Any law? No. Stupidity ever ends? No. I know they are portraying the underdog people so the violence part might be kind of realistic, but the adults are so frustrating when they can not do anything useful.

And these twins are suffering from childhood emotional neglect. (To be honest the half of Soysalan family must be in prison, the other half should see a therapist.)

Alaz Soysalan, he is one of the problematic characters in the show. The younger sibling of the main character and doesn't like his newly found "big bro" (he uses this word with a mocking emphasis) because he sees him as the main reason for his lonely and motherless childhood. He doesn't know what empathy means, he just doesn't feel the others' pains unless the other party also goes through the same thing he does.

He definitely isn't likeable, but for a tv show where everybody shows acute reactions, his choices blend in the rest. Don't expect anything from him, he is a complete disaster.

I can overlook many of his wrongdoings because that's fiction, but I wish I had never seen the way he behaved towards his twin sister at the early episodes. I think it doesn't make sense since he is overly protective and possesive of his family.

Yeah, let's jump into the shipping part.

She is Asi. Your typical tough tomboy. Thanks to growing up together with a bunch of boys, she knows how to deal with them. She swears, she fights. But she is also loyal and compassionate. She is unfortunately helplessly in love with Yaman. He isn't aware of her feelings and sees her as his family, his sister.

When she first meets Alaz, they don't have any important one-to-one interaction. They just don't like each other and naturally turn into enemies. But this is the slowest burn of the show.

Like I said, he has lack of empathy unless he sees someone is hurt from the same pain as he is.

This is the moment he truly sees her because both of them are suffering from one-sided love. He realizes she's in love with Yaman and she knows he loves Rüya. Unlike the other people in the cell, she knows why he's frustrated and angry. Not communicating at all, they share something here.

I'm going to post more about them. They're the only interesting thing in the show. For the rest...meh. I usually adore family dynamics, but don't have expectations here after having seen the found kid part was badly written.

[alias-milamber]

Today I completed a Blades in the Dark campaign

Lessons learned:

Blades in the Dark isn't great for a short story-focused campaign

BitD works well for a single-session or a long campaign with the territory/growth rules it defines, less well for short campaigns

Even when I think I'm making a short campaign, it might last a year.

Full improvisation is fun, but if you don't take notes you'll goozle yourself.

"Your Theorycrafting about the nature of the plot is entirely correct" is a vicious Devil's Bargain

As is "I'm not going to tell you, but it gets you two dice"

Write a vague prophetic dream, and use the details later to make them pay attention when you need to.

You can build an entire year long arc on the stupid pun "the bad guy is called Carson. He wants to turn everyone into crabs"

"He wants the whole world in his claws, the shellfish bastard"

A shop full of monkeys-paw magical artifacts that you improvise on the fly is like catnip to players.

Keep a list of random threads you haven't looped back to. Don't bother to check them off, things can mean two things.

If in doubt, add more cultists.

If in doubt, venetian masks.

If in doubt, add an NPC's mirror-verse twin.

"Everyone gets nightmares about being shelled and covered in Mary-rose sauce."

Three handouts:

A Dream Of Seafood

(after a player has eaten of the sacred flesh, disguised as a prawn vol-au-vent)

The world is cold and wet, and you like it that way. The sandy floor below you, the stars above, as it has always been and will always be. In the distance you hear the song of the leviathans, cutting through the ocean water like bagpipes over a mountain hillside. The words mean nothing to you, their song as alien as yours would be to them.

You do not sing your song, sound isn't what you're made for. You are, you see, you feed, you eat.

You obey.

The sandy floor rises up below you in ribbons - you never even process the net that has caught you. Your life flashes before your eyes, hits this moment, and goes beyond into the future.

You see the world above the ocean briefly, before darkness. The smell of wood and others for a long time, and a long descent into clean water. The water scalds and burns, and the life life leaves you, without your presence going with it.

You haunt the flesh of yourself as your shell is peeled back from you. A bath of pink sauce and a bed of puff pastry. Music, and strange people.

A mouth, and darkness.

And despair.

A Dream Of Shellfishness

(The first character to atune to a sacred artifact)

Within your dream you awake. You are underwater, and this seems oppressive and terrifying until you realise that you're breathing the water without difficulty, and then it just seems oppressive and differently terrifying. You breathe in brine, it fills your lungs and then you breathe out again, and beyond your initial panic, a deeper worry sets in.

You are surrounded by stars, refracted by a perfectly clear sea. Above and below you, constellations unrecognised, twinkling gently in the pitch black night. A moving black patch above you can only be a leviathan, its gigantic form gliding through the pitch black sea like a bird of prey. Behind it, the keel of a hunting ship disrupts the surface with its infernal motorised screw engine spinning to try to keep up, but the monstrous creature swims away with no apparent concern. Around you is a barnacle encrusted cage, glowing runes engraved on a wooden frame that you somehow know cannot be broken, even by you.

That's no mean feat, you discover, as a sense of scale kicks in and your perspective shifts. You realise that you could hold that leviathan in the palm of your hand, should you be able to break the cage that surrounds you. You beat against the bars soundlessly, unheard and imperceptable.

A voice, a sound like the antithesis of music, and you see one of the glowing runes go dark on your prison.

Vengeance will be won.

The Crab God's Shanty

(To the tune of the work song from Les Mis)

We sit, we row. Fourty fathoms low. We sail, wind blow, Forty Fathoms Low.

We load cargo, Forty fathoms low, We lift, we stow, Forty fathoms low

The stars, they glow, Forty fathoms low, The tide will flow, Forty fathoms low.

The deep, plateau, Forty fathoms low We see, he know Forty fathoms low.

The undertow, Forty fathoms low, Will make us go, Forty fathoms low

He speaks, bestow, Forty fathoms low, We feed, he grows, Forty fathoms low.

Our life, forgo, Forty fathoms low, The world will know, Thirty fathoms low.

Give up, let go, Twenty fathoms low, He rise shadow, Now ten fathoms low.

He rises slow, Just five fathoms low, Yo ho, heave ho. Claws at your ship bow.

[dangermousie]

While I am not in the least shipping Chu Qiao with YY this time around, I do like him as a character a lot. And I think the main reason is he is a rare person who accepts responsibility for his fuck ups and outcomes of his actions or inactions.

Think of the scene when he visits Yan Xun in jail. YX, desperately, keeps asking him whether he did X, Y, and Z - all actions that contributed to the platform tragedy (not warning him, preventing his escape etc etc etc.) And YY admits to it all even though there are explanations or excuses for each and every one of these.

He provides none of those explanations or excuses because he gets something most people do not - that all those explanations and excuses would be insults to Yan Xun, that all they would be is attempt for YY to justify himself as not that bad, but none of them would change the ultimate fact - his actions and his inactions (even if different in gradation or kind from what YX believes they are) all led to Yan Xun on that platform, being broken over and over. Trying to justify himself would be trying to go "I am also suffering! see, I also have pain" to the actual victim.

The closest he comes to that is this:

But he stops after that one sentence escapes him. Because ultimately whatever he did or didn't do, he realizes it all comes to this:

He protects them from outside prison (the only way YX and CQ survive the waves of assassins is because of him) but once again, neither knows because for all his coldness, for all his passivity, YY understands what is fair and what is deserved for him, and does not deviate.

PS As I was telling @aysekira, I have pictured LGX as my Mo Xi from Yuwu for years and years but never could figure out who I wanted for Gu Mang. And now I am going - aaaaaaa just have Shawn Dou be Gu Mang in my head cast. The look, the vibe, hell even the fact that he's a little shorter than LGX all work. And hey, they totally were great at both jumping into beds or fighting to the death. So mmmm.

PPS I normally loathe love triangles, but rewatching PA made me realize something - I don't really hate the trope, it's just that it's almost never done to my satisfaction. It's always ML and SML clearly delineated so you know the outcome/importance so what is the point. Also, it's either an OTP and an annoying interloper who has no chance or FL is waffling and if she doesn't care enough to pick, why should I? BUT!!!!! The very few times it's done right, I lose my mind - this, Bu Bu Jing Xin, Lost You Forever. By that I mean, both choices have to have equal narrative importance and arcs and time (PA for example, is definitely a dual ML drama in the traditional, not "we are putting a fig leaf over a danmei adaptation" form), but also I am a sucker of there is a possibility for either depending on reactions and the world and/or FL loves both differently for different reasons during different points in her life. This is vvvvvvvv hard to pull off right but when they do, mmmmm!

PPPS I don't usually go "threesome would solve all your problems" (and here it definitely won't since YX's issues are not of the type to be healed by love) but it would be at least worth a try? Chu Qiao definitely has enough energy for both of her dudes, YY is icy enough he needs two people to melt him and clearly poor YX needs double the TLC. win win win, say I.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

The Dialogue That Sent A Ship Reeling And What It Might Mean for the Overall Story Arc

***Possible spoilers for future episodes****

@bookqueenrules:

So, I read a ton of reviews of season 1 before episode 1 aired. Many of the reviews were from “Carlyers”. I am always interested in seeing their perspective.  

They all seemed to agree on a few things.

First and foremost, they HATED Daryl’s response to Laurent in this exchange from episode 1:

 L: “Do you have children, a wife, parents?”

D: “No, nothing like that.”

I believe this exchange at the beginning of the episode speaks VOLUMES about Daryl’s “happy ending”.  We see him think of Judith and Carol, the people he is closest to at home, as he is regaining consciousness.  However, soon after that he does not acknowledge Judith as “his child” nor does he acknowledge Carol as a type of “wife” or “life partner”. 

This tells us that in Daryl and the writer’s minds Daryl has never been a father nor husband/life partner to anyone, yet. 

Being able to be a good husband and father after the abuse and trauma Daryl has experienced, I believe, will be his happy ending. 

Another thing they seem to hate is that by the end of the series, Daryl is torn as to whether he should stay with Laurent and Isabelle or keep trying to go home.  I assume that happens in episode 6 because a DEVOTED Carlyer said that was the hardest episode for her to watch.  Daryl being torn is more understandable when you see the parallels in Daryl’s mind: Isabelle is a platonic friend he becomes close to(Carol), and Laurent is a child that is not his, but that he feels responsible for because the parents are not around (Judith). Now, of course, we all know he will and should choose TF, but just the fact that he is torn should let the viewer know that Daryl still feels he is missing “something”.  Back to that in a minute.  I think it’s helpful to look at all of Daryl’s close relationships during the flagship to see why Daryl is still looking for “something”. That “something” is to belong to someone.

Merle- Daryl did at one time “belong” to Merle. It was just the two of them.  Neither had other close family nor significant romantic partners or friends.  It was a dysfunctional type of belonging, but a “belonging” none the less.  Daryl believed he belonged with Merle.  In season 3, Daryl was torn between his new family(TF) and Merle. He did leave with Merle, but would have returned to TF even if he hadn’t convinced Merle to go back to the prison with him. So, he chose TF over Merle in the end. 

Beth- Beth is the ONLY character that Daryl asks to settle down with him.  HE asks HER to stay at the funeral home and try to make a life.  He gives up looking for Rick, Carol, and the rest of TF. He feels he now BELONGS to Beth. This is an example of functional “belonging” because she restores his faith in himself and in the possibility of good in the world.  This is further emphasized in the “Buttons” episode where Daryl and Aaron are trying to save Buttons the horse.  Oh! Buttons the horse, Daryl’s highlighted button in the promo pictures, and the button on Beth’s necklace… Sorry, I just made that connection as I type!  Major symbolism there. I digress. In that episode, Daryl says of Buttons, “He once belonged to someone, but now he just belongs to himself.”  The implication being that the statement is true of both the horse and Daryl. 

Rick- Rick becomes the better brother Merle never was. However, he can never really belong to Rick in the same way he did Merle because Rick has a family of his own and didn’t live through the same childhood trauma Merle and Daryl did. 

Leah- Daryl is torn between belonging with her, TF, and searching for Rick.  He leaves even though she has issued an ultimatum. It’s only after she is “gone” that he says he belongs with her. I believe that indicates that Daryl really does want to belong to someone, but Leah is not the right one.  He knew it when he walked out on her.

Carol has belonged to Zeke for a long time now. Even when they drifted apart, they drifted back together.  Before him, Carol belonged to herself drifting in and out of storylines fighting her need NOT to belong to anyone. She initiated romantic connections while Daryl was free and clear to form that kind of attachment with if she chose. Zeke is the one that showed Carol she could have her “happy ending” family after the dysfunction she experienced with Ed and Sophia. Though Henry didn’t live, Carol still had six years of a “happy ending”. 

After telling Judith he wouldn’t leave her, why does Daryl leave to explore? There were many others in Alexandria and Hilltop who could have gone.  So, Daryl must have WANTED to go. Judith seems to be OK with it because she connects it to his “happy ending”. Carlyers are interpreting Daryl’s call to the Commonwealth, presumably to Carol, about coming home in a week, as Daryl realizing his “mistake” and wanting to come home to his “happy ending” being Carol and Judith. If that were the case, he would have responded differently to Laurent’s question. 

The Carlyers all LOVED the last minute of the season(We can all guess that is when Carol shows)

They also agree that some of the themes are fatherhood, purpose, and belonging. Curiously, they don’t see the “happy ending” as a theme for the most part. It’s been pretty obvious, but few of them comment on it. I am assuming that episode 5 will be heavily related to the theme of fatherhood based on some vaguely worded reviews. 

  I wanted to mention a couple of other things that I don’t believe you discussed in the video. Forgive me if I just missed them.

Isabelle’s comment in the bath about scars showing you have healed.  I believe that is heavy foreshadowing for Daryl healing his scars from childhood.

Also, I don’t believe you mentioned the radio in the “map room”. Would that be another Sirius/radio connection? I thought it was interesting that Isabelle is caught in a lie about the radio. It is clear that Isabelle is willing to lie and manipulate to get what she wants.  She reminds me of Carol in that way.  She feels the ends justify the means for the greater good. She also reminds me of Carol in the sense that Daryl, Carol, and Isabelle are all characters who were “broken before the world ended”.  It was after the world ended that Beth broke for a moment, but all of these characters have proven they are survivors. It will be interesting to see that play out if/when they all meet. 

@twdmusicboxmystery​:

Love, love, LOVE everything you said here! And totally agree! It’s fun to know what the Carylers are saying.

Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about Daryl’s reply about not having a wife and kids. And great call about the foreshadowing there. It’s clear that he’ll have them eventually, and we all know it won’t be with Carol. 

Honestly, I think the reason he’ll be so torn will be Laurent, rather than Isabelle. I was thinking as I read what you wrote is that part of the reason he was willing to leave Judith was 

1) she doesn’t truly need him anymore. She’s okay with him going, which means she a happy, healthy, well-adjusted kid. He still loves and wants to be with her, but if someone else is depending on him as a lifeline physically or emotionally, well, he’s going to stay for as long as they need him. And Judith is such a badass all by herself, that she doesn’t necessarily. 

2) It’s also true that he doesn’t see her as truly “his” and if there’s any chance her real dad (Rick, although biologically that’s a can of worms, lol) is still out there, he wants to bring Rick home to her. So, once again, it’s Daryl doing something for someone else, rather than himself. Which is why Judith says the thing about the happy ending to begin with. She recognizes that he deserves to think about his own happiness every once in awhile, rather than everyone else’s. 

Anyway, I’m actually excited to see the part where he’s torn about staying or going. It plays into Daryl’s changing his mind/what changed your mind theme, which started with Beth and has been constantly in play since S4. 

Isabelle reminds me a lot of Leah. Not in her personality or toxicity, of course. But in the sense that she’s an interesting blend of Carol and Beth. I already like her relationship with Daryl and I can see them becoming close friends. People say Clemence Posey’s performance here is really amazing. Up there with Norman’s. So I’m excited to see more of both of them.

Thanks so much for the post! Absolutely love it! 

Oh, and yes, the radio is a Sirius symbol. Because Sirius Radio XM. It’s also part of the Communication Theme. 

Thanks Dear! 

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/perfectlypanda/659481021941710848/zutara-and-the-unimportance-of-canonicity

what do you think about it?

The points I agree with

1 - A ship being canon or not does not tell us anything about the quality of said ship.

2 - Zutara fans need to chill with craving canon validation.

3 - The spin-off works like the comics and The Legend Of Korra often contradict the canon of the original show, and thus people need to either take only one as canon and ignore the other, or have "double-thinking" to take both as true. Honestly, even just within the original show there are canon inconsistencies: We are told in Book 2, by Iroh himself, that he got the nickname "Dragon of The West" by breathing fire on his enemies like a dragon, but in Book 3 we get ANOTHER explanation for that name, that it is a title given to someone that killed an actual dragon.

4 - Bryke can be real dicks sometimes. Saying "you like this ship, therefore you're doomed to always have bad relationships" is just pure nonsense, because even with stuff that actually IS deeply problematic, what really tells if a person's idea of how romance works is deeply unhealthy is not their enjoyment of the fictional relationship, but rather if they can tell what would or would not be okay okay in real life. I LOVE Beauty & The Beast, this does not mean I think people should marry someone that held them as prisoners. Azula is my favorite character and I would like her to have a redemption arc (and for the comics to stop claiming that being mentally ill means you're evil and any abuse you suffer is justified because you're "crazy and unstable" even when you're not doing anything) - this does not mean I think she never did anything wrong and am "part of a cult" like Bryke said.

The point I slightly disagree with

"There is no canon confirmation that Aang and Katara kissed for the first time in Cave Of Two Lovers" that one is partially true - we did not see the kiss, and the characters did not mention it at other points in the story... but COME ON, if they didn't kiss, why were Aang and Katara blushing at the end of the episode, when hearing the song about Oma and Shu? Sure, it's not explicit confirmation, but it is the show VERY STRONGLY hinting that the kiss absolutely happened.

The point I REALLY disagree with

"Zutara would have objectively been a stronger narrative choice" No. Just no. Not only do I feel it would not have been a better choice than Kataang and Maiko, I say it would be a TERRIBLE writting choice.

I could end this post with a "we'll just have to agree to disagree", but unfortunatelly I can't, because this person did not say "In my opinion, Zutara would be the superior choice, here's a link to my thoughts on why that is" They said "OBJECTIVELY Zutara would be the superior choice, here's the list of 'proof' I got."

And that's the thing I cannot stand with Zutarians. Even when they're making a solid point (in this case "This fandom gotta chill with using canon to dunk on other people's personal preferences, or demanding their headcanons to be elevated to canon so they can dunk on other people's headcanons") they HAVE to ruin it by going "But Zutara is totally the best and if you disagree with me, you are just completely incorrect" without a shred of irony or self awareness.

This really is their equally terrible alternative to "It is totally canon, people just think otherwise because of an evil conspiracy Bryke was in charge of." Instead of saying that, they go with hidden entitlement "Canon does not equal good... but Zutara SHOULD have been canon because it is scientifically proven, by me, that it is the best ship ever"

People have every right to disagree with me when I say Zuko and Katara would never work as couple, or ever be into each other in the first place. They can write all the meta about it too. But they do not have the right to try to force me to change my mind - be it explicitly or trying to be sneaky about it.

[boltlightning]

hey guys. me again. i just noticed we only see norrington receiving and following direct orders in awe; in cotbp he’s got a much more open relationship with governor swann. this is partially because we don’t meet a higher naval power than the commodore until the EITC is introduced, but i think there’s some real fun (read: painful) parallels there:

gov swann commissions norrington’s sword for his promotion ceremony, and it’s clear he wanted it to be something special. both swanns knew he was gunning for the promotion, and both were delighted to see him receive it. i certainly like to read into the three (3) lines of dialogue that reference this way too much, but it establishes very early on that there is fondness there.

after jack saves elizabeth and the royal navy finally catches up to them, governor swann is pretty insistent that jack be arrested on the spot. norrington takes his time assessing the threat and explains to both swanns his reasoning rather than slapping the irons on jack immediately. you only see glimpses of their professional relationship, but there’s clearly a huge amount of trust between the two: when elizabeth goes missing, swann trusts him to find her even if he isn’t setting sail immediately. he trusts that norrington knows what he’s doing when he lets jack lead them to isla de muerta, even when he wanted to head straight back to port royal to get out of danger.

then, of course, there’s the big moment on the precipice: elizabeth stands between norrington’s state-mandated justice and will and jack’s freedom. governor swann could order norrington to stand down, let jack go, and grant will clemency (...again). but instead he gives norrington a gentle reminder that maybe life isn’t just following the law. and norrington trusts governor swann enough to see his reasoning and come up with a compromise of his own. as poorly as it ends in the sequel, it really warms my heart that they trust each other on something so major. it gives you the smallest peak into how port royal is run, between loving, emotional governor swann and prim, rigid commodore norrington.

and then yeah norrington loses everything for that clemency but then beckett makes him an admiral and he just had to use all his wits to become the very thing he hates to get there. but hey! he’s an ADMIRAL! he should be the authority on the sea! but the first time you see him in his new rank, he is being summoned to show up to beckett’s cabin. he is not an equal. beckett gives him his sword back, the sword that should have been his the whole time, and it is not a gesture of kindness or fondness, as it was originally. it is a reminder that everything norrington has now, it was given to him by beckett. and he will serve.

and yet — AND YET – in that same scene, he and swann interact for the only time in the film. and they exchange no words, but a single glance, one that reads spells out all the fear and apprehension they are both sharing as prisoners aboard beckett’s ship. neither want to be complicit in the EITC’s actions upon the sea, but both their power belongs to beckett. both are trapped. my eternal kudos to davenport and pryce for making whole meals out of these scraps of character development.

norrington and beckett don’t exchange any words the rest of the movie, yeah yeah, but the one time you do see them interact, beckett is gesturing him around like he’s a dog to be commanded. he is taking orders quietly; he is not making decisions. he is not even given the chance to get a word in edgewise. and then beckett further breaks his trust by telling him, off-screen, that governor swann went back to england and all is well. when he was in fact murdered and everything sucks.

it is no wonder that norrington’s first instinct, upon finding out that elizabeth is alive, is to express the relief her father will feel. they’re his last friends on earth, the only people he can trust!! and he has inadvertently betrayed elizabeth’s trust by returning to her father’s side, only for it to have gotten him killed. like, of course norrington immediately defects to help elizabeth. if he doesn’t have her trust, if her father is gone, then what is there left for him as an admiral?

and this, gamers and ghouls, is one of many reasons why they shouldn’t have cut that fucking scene where governor swann is told elizabeth is dead and tries to stab jones’ heart himself. norrington restrains him instantly, and they struggle — gov swann could overpower norrington if he truly wanted, but instead he begs, pleads, to let him do this, to avenge his daughter. and then davy jones enters to torment them, and norrington is holding swann’s blade steady even as he points a gun at jones. he is literally holding gov swann’s death in one hand and protecting his life with the other.

and then beckett comes in to be cruel to him, to thank him for averting disaster — and norrington can only laugh, because it’s not like he had a choice. beckett trusts norrington here, but only in that he trusts he can be controlled — or at least predicted.

this deleted scene is the only time in awe we would have seen norrington acting without orders before his big betrayal. it would have been a fantastic and elegant reminder of all that james norrington has to protect, and all that he is capable of, and all the love and trust that motivates him.

[memento-morri-writes]

hi !! I was wondering if you have any dnd characters you wanna talk about :) (in response to ur tags on my post)

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, OF COURSE I DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is going under the cut because I talk too much!

So, the love of my fucking life is my swashbuckler rogue, Rook. (art of him here and here.) He has a very, very fucked up backstory, which I talked about here. (mind the tws on that post.)

I posted several snippets of the prose version I did of my favorite session I've ever played with him here. (again, mind the tws.) (I will gladly share the link to that entire doc if anyone wants to read it, as I'm very proud of it.)

But to be brief, he's the bastard son of a nobleman who's father hated him. He ran away from home as a teen, booked it to the nearest port town, and joined the crew of a pirate ship, captained by a woman named Zara. She was his mentor for YEARS and taught him everything. She also gifted him his magic rapier.

He got named first mate, which some people took issue with since he was one of the youngest crew members. They betrayed him and kidnapped him, giving him to rival pirate captain Kora Wolf, who kept him prisoner for two years before he was able to escape.

He ran away and entered the Feywild and was hiding there for several months before he was recruited by the party.

Currently, my poor man is having a terrible time. Two of the his party members are close with Captain Wolf, and one of them bought her lies about Rook, and now doesn't trust him. On top of this, he's been cursed by a demon lord, which is currently affecting him by not letting him sleep, partly due to terrible nightmares.

He's a super interesting character because on one hand he's very paranoid and mistrusting (especially now with his lack of sleep), but he also has never been shown much kindness in life, and it doesn't take all that much for him to be willing to die for you. He's incredibly reckless and will dive into dangerous situations without a second's thought, especially to save his friends. He joined a pirate crew because he was terrified of getting stuck in one boring place, and that says a lot about him. He idolizes Zara, and I have NO IDEA how he'll react when he meets her again, since he never got to say goodbye and has changed so much in the nearly 3 years since he saw her. Our party's gunslinger lowkey adopted him, and after the scene I linked above, he told someone "I missed having someone to take care of." which almost broke me.

As you can tell, I'm obsessed with this man, and I love making his life miserable. But don't worry, he'll get his happy ending. I have plans for an Inigo Montoya-style revenge duel between him and Wolf, and it's gonna be great.

My other current character is Cyra (she/they), a fire genasi barbarian/fighter. She was raised by a cult-like warband following the destruction of her hometown as a child. Later, she ended up falling in "love" with the daughter of the leader, and having a very toxic, fucked-up relationship with her. She eventually realized how bad her situation was, and realized there was no saving her gf or changing her mind, so she ran off, stealing a sand skiff as she left. They're currently becoming buddies with our party rogue, which was completely unexpected to all of us, players and characters. Last session we left off mid-combat with undead pirates in attempts to get some cursed treasure. Oh, and they have a flaming metal quarterstaff that they can summon by pulling it out of their chest. Which a major villain (who happens to be the rogue's ex-wife) wants so badly she tried to rip it out of Cyra's chest...

As for other characters, I have some very, very fun concepts for a few, including:

Zenara (they/them): tiefling warlock who was an accidental mix of a bunch of character from Critical Role Campaign 2. Occasionally gets possessed by their patron and wakes up with no memories of the shit they've done.

Avra: shadar-kai/reborn assassin who should be dead, but woke up somehow "alive" again after a mission gone wrong.

Morana: character for a future pathfinder game that will happen someday. Autistic necromancer witch with a raven familiar. Creepy as hell and very morbid. No empathy and very practical, to a degree that other people occasionally find disconcerting. Exiled from her hometown for graverobbing and necromancy. Apprenticed under a guy who turned himself into a lich.

I have literally over 30 other character concepts, but most of them are not well-developed, and this post is already WAY too long.

Now, PLEASE, TELL ME EVERYTHING. I wanna hear about your characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how long have you been playing? what's your favorite class? Tell me all about your fucked up little guys!!!

[ellieellieoxenfree]

🍄 ❄️ 🧩

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

hghhhhhhh i should save all my juicy chenai ones for fics. but since most of them involve pre-canon timelines, i'll go with one of my old standbys for my favorite ships: food. i think ai di developed a really fucked-up relationship with food in prison -- not only a bland, tasteless utility rather than something eaten for pleasure, but also something he associates with danger due to the communal nature of mealtime. i think he spent all that time eating just enough to be able to stay alert, but forcing himself to get through it as quickly as possible so he could fully focus on protecting zong yi and watching for threats. and conversely, i think chen yi picked up a lot of cooking skills while ai di was inside, and he goes out of his way, especially in the early days, to make ai di's favorite dishes and try to help him work through all of the issues he clearly has but isn't talking about. as much as he would fight it, ai di wants to be cared for (on an extremely repressed level), and i'm a huge proponent of food as an act of love.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

this is mean and you know it. :( i so so so so SO desperately crave that thematically rich, narratively probing character work for my kiseki boys. there's so much to pick apart and so many approaches you could take -- so many pieces of their pasts to fill in; so many missing scenes or scenes that would benefit from extra depth -- and i don't want to write it myself because i'm slow, my brain is bad, and also, i know exactly what i would write and so the element of surprise isn't there. unfortunately, i'm an exacting and demanding bitch so even if someone did write this dream fic, i would probably still find a reason to kvetch. i am permanently trapped in the 'i don't want to write it but no one is going to write exactly the fic i want to see unless i write it myself' hell and it is 100% a self-created problem. every day i'm self-owning.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

i'm VERY picky about authorial voice, and that goes for fic and published work alike. i have been known to drop books within a few paragraphs if the voice grates on me. (this is @ tim o'brien when i made it four paragraphs into america fantastica this morning and deleted it.) i see very stilted writing in fandom spaces that speaks to a certain level of insecurity and lack of practice, and i just can't do it. writing doesn't necessarily need to flow in a mellow fashion -- a choppy, staccato rhythm can be brutally effective -- but you can absolutely tell when someone has an underdeveloped authorial voice or is trying too hard to cultivate one they're not entirely comfortable with.

(in terms of developed authorial voice that i just cannot do, the two that immediately spring to mind are very smug, self-satisfied cleverness (people who grew up as teeaboos or who are constantly mimicking pterry or douglas adams) and extremely flowery language. get to the fucking point already!!)

i also will immediately tune out of something with bad grammar, especially inconsistent tense changes or dialogue that isn't punctuated correctly, OOC behavior (extremely vague umbrella term here, let's be real, but much like pornography, i'll know it when i see it), and repetitive word choice. i have closed out of fics for using 'the other man' or 'the blond' or 'murmured' so many times within a chapter that if i took up a drinking game while reading, i'd be dead of liver failure within 500 words.

i'm a huge snob and i never read anything, basically ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[demonscantgothere]

I feel like I need to get some popcorn because I just love reading everything you've post on Galadriel and Halbrand. LIKE YES DOOM SHIP DOOM SHIP!!! Ahem sorry Ill leave now !

Omg, let's be friends! I can't stop talking about it. Every Friday, I'm rushing to sit down and watch The Rings of Power like, "What clues will they give us this week?"

Halbrand is the only original character deeply tied into two huge Sauron-centric canon Tolkien stories, both Númenor and the title card story regarding the forging of the rings of power. No other original character has been pulled into the rings of power storyline but Halbrand now that he is going to meet the Elves, nor has any other original character been pulled into Akallabêth, the story of Númenor.

Not only that, but Sauron came willingly to Númenor as a prisoner in Akallabêth. And what happened to Halbrand when he arrived in Númenor with Galadriel? He was imprisoned.

And Sauron came . . . For he perceived that the power and majesty of the Kings of the Sea surpassed all rumour of them, so that he could not trust even the greatest of his servants to withstand them; and he saw not his time yet to work his will with the Dúnedain. And he was crafty, well skilled to gain what he would by subtlety when force might not avail. Therefore he humbled himself before Ar-Pharazôn and smoothed his tongue; and men wondered, for all that he said seemed fair and wise. But Ar-Pharazôn was not yet deceived, and it came into his mind that, for the better keeping of Sauron and of his oaths of fealty, he should be brought to Númenor, there to dwell as a hostage for himself and all his servants in Middle-earth. To this Sauron assented as one constrained, yet in his secret thought he received it gladly, for it chimed indeed with his desire. —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, Akallabêth

Y'all, we literally already got that scene in the show. Episode three. Did Halbrand not humble himself before Ar-Pharazôn and Queen Míriel and accept being their hostage guest?

Boom. I can keep going. A red herring is one thing, but Halbrand's entire story is canonically Sauron's story, and they have crafted it very carefully on purpose.

Is someone gonna tell me that was an . . . accident in the writing room? Pfffffft. Are you gonna be there with me when this tag becomes Sauron/Galadriel? Because it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. And a lot of people are going to be jumping ship like, "I didn't sign up for this!" and I'm going to be over here like Halbrand,

"This ship ain't going down! I'm coming for you!"

I know, I know. I didn't say, "I'll rescue you." Pffffft, he ain't gonna rescue her. He's gonna plot to kill her husband and try to figure out how to bind her to him always. Bwahahahahaha. I'm so here for it. We got front row tickets, baby, let's go.

I'm almost done with the Galadriel/Halbrand bedside bonding fic I promised yesterday. Unless it spirals away from me and gets more complicated because writing Sauron!Halbrand gets complicated like that with this warring duality he undoubtedly has going on inside of himself. "Oh, you're so pretty and fiesty. How cute. I must possess you." Ahem.

[shipposttt]

The Ship of the Day: SatoSugu

(SEASON 2 SPOILERS WILL BE INCLUDED SO PLEASE AVOID IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED)

Name: Satoru Gojo x Suguru Geto

Ship Name: SatoSugu (plus many others)

Original Content: Jujutsu Kaisen

Ship Info:

Moving on from the slash of Jim Kirk x Sprock, we tread into anime territory with a ship that destroyed the way fans viewed KFC… Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto.

Coming from one of the most highly recommended new generation of anime, Jujutsu Kaisen has smashed expectations and captured the hearts of fans from all over the world. But in capturing our hearts, a certain duo has also destroyed these hearts with the bittersweet ending the two shared.

Classmates. Best Friends. Enemies. And possible lovers for some fans, the two characters known as Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto bring about a certain melancholy wherever they go. Although I would love to have a full ten page, single spaced essay on every interaction involving the two, I’ll spare you the pain and summarise a few of the key interactions between the two that really cemented themselves into peoples hearts.

At the start they were best friends. Going to the same Jujutsu High School in Tokyo and aiming to become Jujutsu Sorcerers. Sadly, we never got to see this. As a series of events lead to Geto spiralling into depression and changing his idea of how they (Jujutsu Sorcerers) should protect and fight for the weak, he completely breaks Jujutsu Regulations when he murders an entire village of non-sorcerers which lead to a ‘execute on sight’ command for all Jujutsu Sorcerers if they ever saw Geto. This lead to what fans dub as the KFC ‘breakup scene’.

Gojo desperately tries to get explanations as to why his best friend would possibly do such a thing and begs him to reconsider, which fails. When Geto turns away, telling Gojo to kill him if he wants, Gojo finds himself unable to do so. He aims, but can’t fire. After all it would mean killing the person who knew him best. His best friend. He is left realising that he can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.

When we next see the pairing (in chronological order) it’s during the Cursed Child Arc when Geto Attacks Jujutsu High but is defeated by Yuta Okkotsu (a current Jujutsu High student) and forced into an Alley situated in the academy. When Gojo finds him they exchange a brief conversation, with Gojo saying how he trusted him not to hurt his students and Geto joking that “he didn’t think he had any of that left”. In their (thought to be) final moments, Gojo says three words the audience can’t hear, to which Geto laughs and responds “at least hit me with some curses at my end”. These unsaid words lead the fandom into a war in deciding what was actually said, many interpreting it as ‘I love you’ and other with ‘we’ll meet again’. And with that, Satoru Gojo was forced to end his best friends life. But he could not bring himself to discard the body which takes us to our next scene.

In the most current animated arc ,the Shibuya Incident Arc, Gojo arrives in Shibuya and kills one of the main cursed spirits involved in the attack and also 1000 of people who had been mutated. When he suddenly noticed a Prison Realm Cube, he found himself distracted when his name was called by a familiar voice. Suguru Geto. Gojo does not believe when this imposter claims to be Geto stating how “all the information provided by my six eyes are telling me you’re Suguru Geto, but both my heart and my soul know otherwise”. After it’s revealed it was in fact an ‘ancient entity’ that possessed a cursed technique which allowed it to switch bodies, ‘Geto’ blamed Gojo for not discarding Geto’s body, as that’s how he possessed his body. As he sends Gojo to be sealed away with a ‘goodnight’, Gojo lastly tells Geto that “it’s time to get up”. Once this is said, we see ‘Geto’s’ arm suddenly reach and grip his windpipe, suggesting that Geto’s body was rejecting its new brain. After the ordeal, it’s revealed this is the first time a body has ever rejected the entity. Which fans said was due to the bond the two had, one arguing it was a platonic bond while others claimed it was a romantic bond. Sort of like a ‘true loves kiss’ scenario.

Type of Ship: Queer Read

Despite all the fanfics, theories that fans have came up with and the endless amount of angst edits that make us believe there was a possible romance between the two (big up the JJK edit community), in terms of what’s canon they are just best friends. Platonic soulmates I’d love to add. So that is why it is a Queer read, due to fans interpretations of what they read.

Some see them as an old married couple sort of ship due to the comedic arguments we saw mostly during their early years. Some ship them due to this idea that Geto is Gojo’s Achilles Heel and his fatal flaw as it was due to his sudden appearance in the Shibuya Incident Arc that lead to the most powerful sorcerer in the franchise to be captured (very angst of you). Opposites attract as well due to their constantly contrasting beliefs, and heir overall colour pallet and personalities. And I could go on and on.

But despite how fans might interpret these interactions, the author (Gege) has confirmed them to be best friends and has in an interview said that he could not picture any romance possibly happening (except with Miwa).

But they did prove one thing that I think we can all agree on: there can be two pretty best friends.

Admin 🦒

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

would you consider animorphs a greek tragedy/the characters traditional tragic heroes? if so, what would you consider their fatal flaws?

Ehhh, it's never gonna be one-size-fits-perfect to apply a stage genre from ~2300 years ago to a novel series with entirely different media constraints from ~20 years ago. However. To paraphrase Aristotle, a tragedy has to have a:

Basically decent and likeable protagonist for the viewers to stan, BUT

Your fave is problematic: they think they're too cool for the gods, BUT

At least they figure it out in the end, BUT

It's too late to prevent them from losing everything and/or dying, ERGO

The audience leaves going "man, I feel bad but kinda good? Like, that ending made sense but it was a bummer and I didn't like how my blorbo died there, and I dunno I got a lot to think about, three out of five stars" [catharsis]

So there are contemporary stories that fit the bill of Greek Tragedy better, e.g. a lot of horror movies. Almost every Friday the Thirteenth involves the characters being told outright not to transgress ("don't go in the lake", "watch the kids, not each others' butts," etc.), followed by the characters' arrogantly transgressing anyway, followed by a godlike creature (Jason Voorhees) taking a disproportionate amount of revenge on them. Similarly, a lot of survival horror movies cast forces of nature as entities that punish anyone stupid enough to disregard them (Jaws and sharks, Frozen and blizzards, Cujo and rabies, Open Water and open water), and have the characters be basically likeable people who still mess up out of arrogance and get killed real dead for it.

And I would argue that Animorphs doesn't fit the bill as well as horror movies like Blair Witch Project or The Ruins, because those latter examples involve experts (i.e. prophets) waving their arms and shouting "don't mess with this force of nature" as the protagonists walk on by to go mess with the force of nature, only to get killed by it. However, I also think that there are ways that Animorphs does fit the trope.

The characters are likeable: they look out for each other and their families, they tell funny jokes, they try to protect their planet, they risk their lives for their principles.

The characters are deeply flawed: they kill prisoners of war, they draw moral lines ("don't morph sapients without permission", "don't kill humans if possible") that they later trample over, they commit mass murder in the name of expedience.

The characters don't get happy endings: Marco gets a successful career that proves hollow, Jake hides at his parents' until he can't, Rachel dies, Ax dies, Tobias hides in a meadow until he can't, and Cassie... sort of does okay.

The characters (mostly) figure out their own flaws in the end:

When going into her last battle, Rachel says "Cassie thinks I'm fearless. Marco thinks I'm reckless. Tobias... well, Tobias loves me... By loving me, those two [Tobias and Cassie] would have messed everything up."

Jake tells Ax on the beach, after Visser One's trial, that "You did call my attention to the possibilities on the Pool ship. And when you did that I guess I should have thought, Well, Jake, it's a harsh, terrible thing to do, but you're justified because, after all, you're the victim here. But that's not what I thought. You know what I thought?... Die, you filthy worms. Feel the fear, Yeerks. Feel the pain. Feel the helplessness. [I] wanted them to suffer and the idea of them suffering and dying made [me] happy..."

Tobias's is subtler, but when watching the hikers in his meadow and says: "If they stayed another night she would play her flute again. Which shouldn't bother me. But if there's one great lesson to surviving alone, it's this: Don't lie to yourself. I was all I had, and I had to tell myself the truth, and the truth was that their presence bothered me." He doesn't say it outright, but he implies that he gave up everything to be alone and that he still gets lonely sometimes.

For Marco, when Jake interrupts him whining about his TV show with "Marco, you were bored out of your mind", Marco says "Yes, I was." Again it's subtler, but Marco is clearly aware that the things he wants are rarely the things he needs.

Ax never quite unlearns those glory hound tendencies. He knows he's not supposed to lead a boarding party, "But I was bored. And I knew the T.O. wouldn't argue: I wasn't just the captain or a prince, I was... a living legend." And then "You were supposed to want to stop fighting and go home to your meadow... At some level I did, too. But how do you weigh the sharp rush of battle against... watching your trees flower?" He loves glory a little too much, and he gets his whole crew killed for it.

For Cassie, her confrontation with Erek forces her to realize her flaw when she angrily tells him "Rachel and Tom are both dead... Thanks to you." When Erek shoots back that the Animorphs drained the Pool ship, she starts to say "Jake did what he had to do... We needed a div—" But cuts herself off, disgusted with her own rationalizing, before she finishes the word "diversion." Erek then spells it out: Cassie's fatal flaw is that she cares more about one life (Tom, Rachel) than 17,000.

Anyway, I think that some parts of Aristotle's idea fit reasonably well. But also that it's not a perfect example of the trope and that there are contemporary works that fit the trope better than Animorphs does.

[pesterloglog]

John Egbert, Vriska Serket

Page 491-496

JOHN: vriska!!!

VRISKA: Well well well, looks like 8ingo let out early!

JOHN: oh man, i found you just in time! i need you to come back with me, and–

JOHN: wait, how are you already free?

JOHN: and why are you covered in leafs

VRISKA: Leaves.

JOHN: weren't you supposed to be in the "clutches" of jane, or something?

VRISKA: John... do you really think I would need YOU to 8ust me out of some rinky dink operation like that?

VRISKA: Escaping some cushy human prison is gru8's play to me. They didn't even try to torture us!

VRISKA: Even my protégé managed to free herself of this sad excuse for a facility.

JOHN: oh.

JOHN: wait, rose's kid was here with you?

VRISKA: That's what I said! Try and keep up, cryptkeeper.

JOHN: ok, well, if you would stop shaking your head and look at me you'd know i am rolling my eyes so hard right now.

JOHN: anyway!!

JOHN: where do i begin! uhh... ok, so roxy has this secret lair that's for some reason hidden underneath our old bed, the world is gonna fall apart... umm what else... oh! there's this thingy called "the Plot Point"--

VRISKA: Yeah, I know.

JOHN: you know?

VRISKA: Yes!!!!!!!! I Know!!!!!!!!

JOHN: oh.

JOHN: what else do you already know? :o

VRISKA: John! Focus! I can't have you holding me 8ack just 8ecause you're slow and old now!

JOHN: aw ):

VRISKA: Ease up, Eg8ert.

JOHN: ok, ok, fine.

JOHN: ...

JOHN: wait, hold on. back up. vrissy is gone??

VRISKA: You are really getting caught up in the minutiae aren't you?

JOHN: please don't tell me you guys were trying to escape through a tunnel crossing a water pipe and she sacrificed herself by sealing the pipe closed from the outside, giving you the chance to escape?

VRISKA: What the hell are you talking a8out????????

VRISKA: No, you know what, don't answer that.

JOHN: its from a show!

VRISKA: John, she's a Vriska. She can handle herself! I'm sure she can take anything this fake-ass timeline can throw at her!

JOHN: what?

JOHN: fake? what do you mean?

VRISKA: This universe! Haha! It's a fake! Fakey fake fake.

JOHN: you can say fake as many times as you want, i still won't know what you mean!

VRISKA: Pleeeeeeeease don't tell me none of you have noticed!

VRISKA: This whole universe is like someone's shitty RP, and everyone's out of character! None of this reads!

VRISKA: Like, who the FUCK is Yiffy!!!!!!!! Why should I or anyone CARE????????

JOHN: i mean

JOHN: i don't really get it either, but i had this long talk with roxy, and that feels relevant to this?

VRISKA: Yuck, don't even want to think a8out that whole mess.

VRISKA: What were you two even thinking with that, 8y the way? What was setting sail on that dingy schooner of a relationship ever going to accomplish?

JOHN: don't call my marriage a dingy schooner! it was a completely reasonably sized ship!

JOHN: we had our reasons!

JOHN: i am pretty sure!

VRISKA: Yeah, you sound super sure a8out all of this.

VRISKA: Making up pro8lems to have pro8lems!

VRISKA: So lame.

JOHN: it does sound... kind of bad.

JOHN: but that doesn't mean it's fake!

VRISKA: Come oooooooon!

VRISKA: Do you honestly think I spent all that time commanding a kickass ghost army to not know a haplessly doomed little world when I see one?

VRISKA: I can practically smell it on you!

JOHN: hey, not this again!

JOHN: i smell completely normal!

JOHN: my odor is well within "real john" standards thank you very much.

VRISKA: This is exactly what I'm talking a8out. No8ody real would say that.

VRISKA: You're like a sadder, less interesting version of a guy I kind of liked talking to. When was the last time you did........ anything?

JOHN: i get around. i've been talking to people. i just talked to a new guy on the way.

VRISKA: Snore!

VRISKA: What happened to the guy that punched me in the face?

JOHN: that guy is right here, he's still me!

JOHN: ok, wait, that makes me sound way too proud of myself.

VRISKA: It was like the 8est thing you've ever done!

JOHN: it was not! you're just weird!!!

JOHN: anyway what i am saying is, this is just how it's been for a while?

VRISKA: Surely you can see that's a pro8lem? 8e serious.

JOHN: i am serious! and don't call me shirley.

VRISKA: Ugh.

JOHN: (hehe.)

JOHN: it is true though, everything did feel pretty... pointless for a long time. and it would bother me SO MUCH!

JOHN: when i was living by myself i would consider where to go next. except there was no "next." nothing was worth trying for anymore.

JOHN: but harry is. he's real!

VRISKA: ::::/

VRISKA: As real as a guy can get, stuck here.

JOHN: what, like he could be magically more real???

JOHN: load him up in some silly circus cannon and blast him out of the mirror verse!

JOHN: hahahahaha

JOHN: actually you might think this is kind of funny!

JOHN: a long time ago i was supposed to go back and defea-

VRISKA: SNOOOOOOOORE!

VRISKA: Your ecto-human-guardian-si8ling or whatever is pro8a8ly sending a squad of 8ozos to apprehend your ex as we speak. So I say the less we talk and the sooner we 8low this gru8sickle stand, the sooner we can get there 8efore we lose access to our shortcut.

JOHN: yeah when you spell it all out like that i can see what y-

JOHN: wait, WHAT!!!

JOHN: why didn't you just say that earlier?!

VRISKA: John. That's what I've 8een doing this whole time!

VRISKA: Now, c'mon! Race you there!!!!!!!!

JOHN: hey, that's not fair!

VRISKA: Last one there is a rotten egggggggg(8ert)! >::::)

[twdmusicboxmystery]

not sure if you are aware but amc plus is not doing early release of any of the daryl dixon episodes. My initial thoughts are, is this because they do not want anything spoiled, that they want everyone to see the same episodes released at the same time. If beth returns I do believe there will be mixed reviews from the GA, the same with the hate that TD got especially in the beginning.

Another thought, Glenn's fake out death. On the Talking Dead right after the episode where he is revealed alive, one of the writers- can't remember which one said something along the line that the reason they did the fake out death for Glenn was to test the waters on fake out deaths. TDers always believed this was about beth. That they planned to revealed her alive. Imo bringing back Madison and Troy are examples of seeing how the GA feels about bringing back "dead" characters. As far as I have read, the GA wasn't mad about them returning.

I have always wondered if the backlash about bethyl was why they didn't bring her back sooner. In the beginning the writers played with her age too much. At the farm she was a teenager. Hershel makes the comment about this, when talking about her and Jimmy. At the prison she is raising a baby yet she tells Axel she's 16 or 17 I can't remember, then daryl refers to her as a dumb college b. Yet EK was in her 30s and you could tell. For example other young characters like lyda, Enrid or Carl seem young on the show, they felt like teens. Beth never did. She should have been aged in the beginning the same as tara or rosita. Everyone argument about bethyl was age. Still is if you follow reddit. After all these years beth would not be in that teenage category. Possibly meaning the GA would be more open to the idea.

Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?

I think they messed up from a PR standpoint when it comes to not showing the episodes to those who pay for the app early. Personally, I don't really care when the episodes drop. I'm watching them either way. But they've released them early for all the shows for so long now that if they were going to change it, they should have done a very big, very obvious announcement about that, and they didn't. People were expecting to be able to watch it yesterday, and that's not happening. So, now they're doing a lot of damage control. Not good.

As for the rest, you make good points about them wanting everyone to watch the episodes together. I seriously doubt it's about episode 1. So much of that episode--practically all of it, tbh--has been spoiled already in one way or another, that it wouldn't matter if they showed that episode early.

But it's probably not about the first few episodes at all. Maybe they're just setting a precedent so that everyone watches the last episode together. And if that's the case, it does suggest something huge happening in that episode. Let's hope so!

I really enjoyed reading what you said about tptb testing the waters for the fakeout. I'd forgotten that about Glenn's death. And I agree that no one seems particularly angry about Troy's or Madison's return. Which means tptb have done their job, getting the GA used to this sort of thing so there will be less of a backlash. There will always be detractors, of course. And Troy and Madison aren't a big part of the shipping wars, as Beth is, so there's that. But still, all great points.

And yes, I totally agree that no one will be able to say anything about Beth's age anymore. She told Axel she was 17, and that was only a year or two into the apocalypse. I read in one of the review articles that the Daryl spinoff goes out of its way to tell the audience we are now 12 years into the apocalypse. There must be some reason they are being so specific about that. So, without a doubt, Beth would be close to 30 now.

And just like that, arguments about her age are gone. ;D Anyway, thanks for your thoughts. I guess we'll have lots to talk about on Sunday. 😊 Xoxo! 🍁🍂💓

[oblivious-aro]

Where the Sky Meets the Sea Ch. 1/3

And now, presenting a fanfic where the main couple of the show don't get together. Happy Valentine's Day!

Summary: Rewrite of the parts of season 6 of Ninjago (Skybound) that make my blood boil. The main change is that Nya's struggles are respected, and she's allowed to yell at people. Also, Jay isn't a complete tool the whole time abs actually goes through some character development. Follows roughly the same plot line as Skybound. The parts that are unchanged are just skimmed through.

Word Count: 4800

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Being framed for a number of petty crimes and thrown into prison had been a bit of a setback, but the ninja did manage to obtain a solid lead on how to defeat Nadakhan from one of the inmates before they escaped.

All they needed was a map hidden in a lantern on his ship, Misfortune's Keep.

The only problem was that they had no idea where Nadakhan's ship was located.

Scouting for information on Nadakhan would be difficult with the police on the lookout for them, but Jay and Nya managed to sneak into police headquarters under disguise.

Nya had only been trying to keep their cover from getting blown when she'd requested a lunch break, but once they were outside the smell of burgers cooking made her realize she was actually quite hungry.

"Two double cheeseburgers, one with double cheese, double ketchup; the other double pickles, double mustard, ready to go!" the hamburger vendor finally announced.

Nya reached into her pockets, but Jay stopped her.

"Lunch is on me." he insisted.

"That's okay Jay." Nya said.

"Nonsense, what kind of gentleman lets a lady pay for her own food?"

Nya rolled her eyes, but she didn't want to cause a scene while they were undercover, so she let Jay have his way.

But when he dug through his pockets, all Jay could find was lint. He didn't have the money to pay for his lunch, let alone Nya's.

"Uh...um...wrong pants?" Jay smiled nervously at the unamused vendor.

Nya sighed and gave the vendor money for both their burgers.

"I-I can pay you back later." Jay said.

"Nonsense." Nya grinned coily "What kind of lady lets a gentleman pay for his own food?"

Jay sighed.

Not one of his smoothest moves.

Jay and Nya walked for about a block until they found some benches that were semi-hidden by a giant tree.

Nya sighed in relief as she pulled off her itchy moustache and police cap.

"If I had a nickel for every time I was broke..." Jay laughed.

But Nya wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Jay," she said, "We need to talk."

"Oh?" Jay's throat went dry "About what?"

"About the way you've been acting. You've been making moves on me all week, and frankly, I don’t appreciate it."

"Whaaaat?" Jay tried to smile innocently "I don't know wha-"

"Don't you dare play dumb with me Jay Walker!" Nya snapped "We both know very well what you're doing!"

That shut Jay up.

Nya sighed.

"Jay, I like you. I really do. But as a friend." her tone was soft but firm "Somewhere out there there's a really great person for you, but that person isn't me. I broke up with you because we weren't right as a couple. It...it just didn't feel good for me. I wasn’t happy. And yeah, I know I probably should have been more upfront with you back then, but I'm being upfront now and telling you to cut it out. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Nya's words hit like a dagger through Jay's heart.

He'd seen the future, they were together, and they had looked so happy. Nya had looked so happy. The sight of relaxed upturn of her lips and the crinkled corners of her eyes had been burned into Jay's memory.

In the present though, Nya's lips were tight and the soft wrinkles of her brow had been replaced with stressed creases.

Jay had just been following the vision. Why was it having the opposite effect of what he saw?

Despite his confusion, Jay knew there was no way he could continue to try and make the vision come true. Not after what Nya had just said.

"Yeah, I got it." Jay managed to stick a smile on his face "Cut the flirting. We're friends. Good...good friends. And friends...don't try to push friends into situations they're uncomfortable with."

"Yes," Nya smiled, her shoulder visibly relaxing. "That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m so glad we’re on the same page. Hug?" Nya stretched out her arms.

Jay usually had no problem hugging his friends, including Nya, but right now he didn't think he could handle such an intimate interaction.

"Uh, how about a fist bump?" he counter-offered, holding his fist out.

Nya, still smiling, enthusiastically smashed her fist to Jay's.

Too enthusiastically.

"Agh!"

Having neglected to set her hamburger down before fist bumping, Nya's sandwich got squished and spilled all over Jay's shirt.

"Oh um, oops." she said.

"Heh, guess lunch really is on me," Jay forced out a laugh "I'm gonna go clean this up."

"Alright, I'll keep your spot saved." Nya called as Jay started across the street to look for a restroom.

Nya looked up at the beautiful clouds in the sky. That had gone way better than expected. Her life was kind of a disaster right now, but at least she and Jay were back to normal.

--------------------------------------------------

"Why Nya?" Jay wiped away the tears that had started to form in his eyes.

They'd been such a good couple! Having a girlfriend who shared his interests and sense of humour had been the greatest thing that's ever happened to him. He'd felt so confident and complete knowing someone so cool loved him as much as he'd loved her.

It was the happiest Jay had ever been in his life.

And then...that stupid matchmaking machine! That was where the trouble started.

Jay supposed it made sense. Nya had lost interest in him the second she realized she could go for someone other than Jay.

Someone better than Jay.

Sure, she hadn't actually ended up dating Cole, but that only proved Jay's suspicions further. Nya had liked Jay enough to start dating him, but it didn't take her long to realize he wasn't worth it.

It hadn’t been that she was interested in someone else, she just didn't want to be with him.

"Maybe if I was better..." Jay glanced over his shoulder "Maybe we'd still be together if I wasn't just some loser who was born in a junkyard without a penny to his name..."

"I may be able to help you with that."

Jay jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice.

When he turned back around someone with four arms and a cloudy tail instead of legs was floating in front of him, grinning sinisterly.

Jay had never met him before, but there was only one person this could be:

"N-N-Nadakhan! I forgot we weren't supposed to be alone!" Jay's head snapped back to Nya, obliviously munching on her sandwich "I can scream, you know. Really loud!"

"Fine, fine, suit yourself." Nadakhan turned as if to leave "Even if you are wasting a golden opportunity to get the girl to fall for you...aw well, it's your decision."

"Ha! Nice try!" Jay gloated "But I already know you can't wish for love!"

"That is true, but..." Nadakhan slowly turned back around "There aren't any rules against wishing for something...a little less direct."

"What do you mean?" Jay asked, his indomitable curiosity getting the better of him.

"You said so yourself," Nadakhan gestured to Jay with his upper right hand, "The girl showed interest in you before, right? Perhaps if you had a little more to offer her than 'boy from a junkyard', her interest would return."

Jay glanced back at Nya one last time.

"Well...maybe just one wish wouldn't hurt. You wouldn't tell anybody, right?"

"Of course not! It'll just be our little secret. Now, what was it you wanted to wish for?"

"I wish...I wish I wasn't born in a junkyard, and I wasn't poor so I can give Nya everything she ever wanted."

"Your wish is yours to keep."

Jay could hear his voice, but when he looked around, Nadakhan was nowhere to be seen.

"Um...Nadakhan?" An ominous feeling began to bubble in Jay's stomach.

What had he just done?

"Hey there, ninja!"

Jay whipped around and saw a familiar mail carrier approaching on his bike.

"Don't worry," he said "I'm not here to turn you in. Just delivering the mail." He reached into his bag and handed Jay an envelope.

"Uh, thanks?"

Who could've possibly been sending Jay mail at this time? He tore open the envelope and started reading.

"Mr Jay Walker, this letter has been sent to inform you of your father's passing, and the vast inheritance he has left you in his will... Wait, my father's...passing?!"

Jay couldn't look away from those two words. His head felt like it was under water, while the rest of his body seemed to turn to stone.

He couldn't...his dad couldn't be…

"Aw, that's sad to hear. Congrats on the inheritance, though." The carrier waved as he rode away.

Jay barely heard him. He just stood there for several seconds, unable to move or even think properly.

"Mom..." Jay suddenly realized.

He summoned his elemental dragon, and they flew off towards the scrapyard at top speed.

--------------------------------------------------

"Mom!" Jay practically screamed as he slammed the RV door open "Mom! Where are you?"

"Jay!" Edna smiled from the rocking chair she was knitting in "I'm so glad to see you, dear! We've been pretty worried after those reporters came by and asked us-"

"Mom, where's Dad?"

"Oh I'm sorry dear, but your father's no longer here."

"No..." This was all Jay's fault. Why'd he have to make that stupid wish? "No, no, n-"

"Well Edna," Jay heard a familiar voice say behind him "I got those diddilybops for the buggy, but I still can’t seem to- Oh, hey there Jay! What brings you-"

"Dad!" Jay was on his father in an instant, nearly strangling him in a bear hug. "You're okay!"

"Of course I'm okay, son." Ed said once Jay finally let him have enough air to breath. "Whew! Quite the arm strength you got there! That ninja training's really paying off."

"Whoops, sorry Dad."

"Quite alright, son. Now, not that I don't appreciate a visit and a hug from my little Jaybird, but what seems to have gotten you so worked up?"

"Sorry dad, I just got the weirdest letter." Jay pulled the document out of his pocket to show his parents. "It said that my dad had died and left me lots and lots of money. It addressed me by name and everything, so I thought something had happened to Dad. But I guess there was some mix up and we can all laugh about it now, huh?" Jay shrugged lightly.

Ed finished reading the letter and looked at Edna somberly. She gave him the same look back.

"Um...am I missing something?"

"Dear, I think it's about time we told him." Edna said.

"Told me what?" Jay asked.

"Well Son," Ed said "We did want to tell you sooner, but it just never seemed like the right time, and we could never really figure out how to say it exactly. I guess we can't really put it off any longer though." Ed laughed emptily.

Jay's heart rate began to pick up.

All his life, Jay's parents had spoken with a bubbly warmth in their voice that persisted through the worst of times. Even when Jay had broken his leg trying to invent a flying machine as a kid, even when the serpentine attacked the scrapyard, even when the two of them had almost turned into snakes-zombies, that bubbliness always lingered.

But now their voices were dead serious.

That scared Jay more than any dragon he’d ever faced.

"You see son, it's just that you're uh...you're...adopted."

Jay hadn’t been expecting that.

"I...huh?" Jay's brain struggled to form words. The walls of the RV seemed to shift and swirl around him.

"It's true." Edna stood up and joined Jay and Ed by the door "We found you right there on our doorstep one morning with a key. Your father and I hadn't really planned on having kids, but you were just the cutest little thing, so we took you in and raised you as best we could."

"A...key?" was all Jay could manage to get out.

"Yes," Edna pulled a key out of her pocket and handed it to Jay. "It didn't come with a note or instruction of any sort, but I have a feeling those directions on the back of that letter might have something to do with it."

"Oh?" Jay hadn't even noticed anything on the back of the letter until Ed passed it back to him "Oh um, yeah. I-I should probably go check that out."

Jay turned and ran out the door, his mind too full to form a proper goodbye to his parents. Once he was far enough from the RV, Jay summoned his dragon and took off to the location specified on the back of the letter.

"Well, there he goes." Ed sighed.

"You say that like he isn't coming back, Ed."

"Edna, that kid's been itchin' to leave the scrapyard behind ever since he figured out it was all we could give him."

Edna didn't say anything. She just grabbed Ed's hand as the two of them watched Jay's dragon disappear into the distance.

--------------------------------------------------

The directions on the letter led Jay to a secluded woods a small distance away from Ninjago City.

His dragon landed on a stone path and let Jay dismount before vanishing.

At the end of the path was a sleek villa surrounded by various types of lush flora. The building was coloured in tasteful gradients of grey, and very expensive looking.

A part of Jay wasn't sure this was the right place, but when he tried the key his mother had given him in the lock on the front door, it fit perfectly.

More confused than ever, Jay opened the door and went inside.

"Hello?" he called.

The house was completely silent.

"So...this was my birth dad's house?" Jay said to himself.

The inside of the house made him think of a magazine cover. Giant windows let in enough natural sunlight that there wasn't any need to turn on a light (which was good because Jay had no idea where the lightswitch was). The furniture was sparse, but very modern and pristine. A giant flat-screen TV hung on the wall above the electric fireplace.

Whoever furnished this place clearly had money to burn.

Jay walked over to a blue-grey chair. He was slightly afraid to sit in such an expensive looking seat, but he really needed a quiet minute to just relax and-

"Fear isn't a word where I come from!"

"Gah!"

Jay jumped and whipped around. Standing behind him was a two metre tall statue of his favourite comic book character, Fritz Donnegan.

"Fear isn't a word where I come from!" the statue repeated.

"Guess my dad was a big Fritz Donnegan fan. That's…kind of cool."

Jay walked over to the trophy case by the statue.

"Gee, he sure won a lot of awards." Jay reached for a random trophy "I wonder what-"

There was a click. Jay pulled his hand back as the shelf slid to the side, revealing a hidden room.

"Woah!" Jay stepped inside. The secret room was full of various costumes and Fritz Donnegan paraphernalia.

Jay's eyes widened when he spotted a limited edition Starfarer Rayblaster lying on a Hollywood-style vanity.

"Wow, I don't even have this one!" Jay excitedly ran over and grabbed the ray gun "My dad must've really liked Fritz Donnegan! I wonder why he had a secret collection room with a giant mirror, though?"

Jay looked into the mirror. Surrounding his reflection were some taped-up notes and a bunch of old photographs of one guy with various people.

"That guy looks kind of familiar...oh! It's Cliff Gordan! The actor who played Fritz in the movies. I can respect a fellow fan, but maybe you're going a little far with the decorations here, Dad. I wonder what all these notes say...Good luck Cliff, love Nancy...You're hot stuff Gordon, Vanessa...Go get 'em Cliffy, Libber ;)...Geez, did my dad steal a bunch of personal notes to Cliff Gordon? That's- wait a minute..."

It suddenly clicked for Jay.

"My dad...was Cliff Gordon?!" Jay tok a dizzy step back from the mirror "N-no way! How's that even possible? I can't be...Jay Gordon...can I?"

"Ah, but you can."

The hair on the back of Jay's neck stood up.

"Nadakhan!"

Jay turned and fired his ray gun at the djinn.

A rubber dart bounced harmlessly off him.

"Now now, there's no need for such hostility," Nadakhan smiled, "All I’m here to do is grant your second wish."

"Look Nadakhan, I don't know if you rewrote the past or what, but whatever you did, I don't want a second wish!"

"Rewrite the past? I did no such thing. All I did was merely reveal something you didn't know to already be true. I didn't change a thing, as fun as rewriting the past would have been..." Nadakhan tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Y-you're evil! I don't want to make any more wishes!"

"Oh come now, everyone always wants something." Nadakhan insisted, lazily floating in a circle around Jay "Power, prestige," he leaned a little closer to Jay "Perhaps a ray gun that actually works?"

"No! I don't want anything else! I just wish I wasn't alone with you! No, wait!" Jay buried his face in his hands "I didn’t mean to…"

Nadakhan grimaced. That hadn't been how he'd planned to make Jay use his second wish!

The wish magic surged through and out of Nadakhan before he could come up with a way to turn Jay's request to his advantage.

Ding dong! Ding dong!

"Hello?" a distant voice called "Jay? Are you in there?"

"Nya!" Jay lifted his face from his hands "Is that you?"

"Until next time." Nadakhan grumbled, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Jay didn't waste any time racing out of the secret room and across the foyer. He nearly tore the front door from the wall as he threw it open.

"Nya!" he exclaimed "How'd you find me here?"

"You were kinda gone for a while, so I went looking for you. When I couldn't find you, I got worried and called your parents. They said you'd be here. Why'd you run off without…"

Nya trailed off as she got a look at the inside of the building.

"Wow," she breathed, stepping inside "I didn't know you had a place this ritzy. How long you been hiding this?"

"Oh, uhh..."

Jay couldn't tell her the truth. If anyone knew he had made a wish with a dangerous djinn, he'd never live it down. Especially since the wish involved trying to impress Nya after she'd literally just told him to back off.

Jay desperately wracked his brain.

"I mean...if you can have a secret hideout...why can't I?" Jay hoped he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

"A secret hideout eh? Well, I suppose I of all people can respect that. But why'd you leave in the middle of-"

"Nya, Jay, come in!" Lloyd's staticky voice interrupted Nya.

"We're here." Nya spoke into her bracelet "What's going on? Did something happen?"

Jay quietly sighed with relief, thankful for the distraction.

"Haven't you heard?" Lloyd replied "Sky pirates are attacking the city! We need everyone here stat!"

"Sky pirates? We're on our way now!" Nya looked up at Jay "Come on! No time to lose!"

Jay nodded and followed Nya out of the house. Once they got out of the trees, both of them summoned their dragons and took off towards Ninjago City.

"Hey, about earlier," Nya called to Jay from her dragon, "I'm sorry if I've been kind of in a bad mood lately."

"Oh, uh...you don't really need to apologize for anything, Nya." Jay called back.

"I don't know, I feel like maybe I do." Nya rubbed the back of her neck "I've just kind of been under a lot of pressure. I mean, being the newest ninja on the team, trying to catch up in training, how the general public has been reacting to there being a girl ninja..." Nya briefly frowned but quickly shook off whatever was on her mind. "Anyway, it's just been a stressful couple of months. I'm just really glad I've got at least one person in my corner."

"Oh, y-yeah. No problem..." Jay said,

"Seriously Jay, thank you for just listening to me being a friend. You have no idea how much I need that right now." Nya turned to Jay and smiled.

Jay smiled back briefly before turning away. He genuinely wondered if he should take some kind of medication for the awful feeling in his stomach.

--------------------------------------------------

During their battle with the Nadakhan’s crew, Cole managed to snag the lantern that contained the map to the hidden Tiger Widow Island, but their victory came at a cost.

Kai was nowhere to be found after the sky pirates retreated.

It didn't take long for the remaining ninja to figure out that Nadakhan had trapped him in his Djinn Blade along with Wu and Misako.

The loss hit the group hard. It wasn't that Wu or Misako's absence was unfelt, but Kai had been by their side minutes ago, and now he was suddenly just...gone.

Something flashed across Nya's face that made Jay's heart ache, but before he could even consider consoling her, a determined rage replaced any vulnerability in her eyes.

Nya was the first one to speak, breaking the group out of their stupor by reminding them it was time for the next step in their plan.

Feeling a bit guilty about Kai, Jay offered up his new house for the group to hide out in and plan their next move.

Cole took Jay aside and confronted him about his sudden acquisition of such an expensive property. Jay knew he wouldn't be able to get away with lying to Cole, so he confessed everything. Cole was not happy to hear any of what Jay told him, but he promised to not say anything to the rest of the group.

So long as no one else got hurt.

The island was too far away for their dragons to fly to, so the team headed down to the docks to charter a ship.

Unfortunately, the sailor manning the docks sensed a mighty storm brewing, and refused to lend them a sea vessel.

Luckily, Jay's late father happened to have a robust (not to mention incredibly shiny) boat at that dock the ninja were free to use.

The storm was as bad as the sailor had predicted. Jay had to be tied to the top of the mast to act as a lightning rod, while Zane went below deck so he wouldn't attract any lightning away from Jay.

It was one of the worst storms any of the ninja had ever seen. Everyone was so caught up in the chaos of making sure the ship didn't crash, that no one noticed the island approaching before it was too late.

"Brace yourselves!" was all Lloyd had time to shout before there was a deafening crunch, and the world went black.

--------------------------------------------------

The gentle sound of waves breaking on the sand greeted Jay’s ears as he started to regain consciousness.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the sun beginning to rise, and Lloyd helping Cole stand up. Nya stood nearby, her hand shading her eyes as she scanned the sea.

Behind them was a thick jungle, presumably with the tiger widow lurking somewhere in its depths.

At least they’d made it to the island in one piece, even if the former Cliff Gordon’s boat hadn’t.

Jay blearily stood up and brushed as much sand as he could out of his gi.

"Cole!" he suddenly realized "How on earth did you manage to not get wet in a shipwreck?"

Cole just rubbed his head, not awake enough to form a response.

"Jay! You're up!" relief washed over Lloyd's face "Thank goodness we're all okay."

"Not all of us," Nya frowned, "I can't find Zane anywhere!"

“Zane?" Cole blinked and looked around the beach.

"Oh no!" Nya's hands shot to her mouth in horror "He was below deck during the storm alone! How could we have forgotten? Nadakhan must have-"

"Okay, that's it!" Cole snapped, now very awake and very angry "This has gone too far!"

"Cole," Lloyd said "We're all upset about losing Zane and Kai, but you have to stay calm."

"I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about him!"

Jay’s heart stopped as Cole pointed at him.

"Jay?" Nya asked "What'd Jay do?"

"Ha ha, y-yeah Cole? What'd I do?"

"Don't play dumb." Cole shot Jay a glare before turning back to Nya and Lloyd "Jay already made two wishes with Nadakhan before he visited any of us. He could have warned us, and Kai and Zane might still be here!"

"Wait what?" Nya's eyebrows shot up.

"Wh…” Lloyd scrunched his face in confusion ”Why didn't you tell us earlier Jay?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, I don't know, it just didn't really seem important, I guess..." Jay didn't make eye contact with anyone.

"He didn't tell anyone because he used his wish to get that fancy house to try and impress Nya!"

Jay’s stomach dropped and the world seemed to stand still.

Nya's eyebrows somehow shot up even higher.

"You..." her voice was unsteady, like someone had knocked the wind out of her "You mean when you disappeared at lunch...after I had made it very clear I wasn't interested in dating you..." the disbelief in Nya's voice steadily morphed into rage "You told me you understood, and then you ran off with an evil djinn and tried to wish for my love!?"

"N-no! Nya, it's not like that! I wasn't trying to...h-he tricked me into-"

"Save it Jay." Nya turned away from him and crossed her arms "I don't want to hear whatever lies you're trying to feed me!"

She marched into the jungle without looking back.

"No, wait! Nya! I'm not-" Jay looked at Lloyd and Cole "C'mon, help me out here guys!"

"Here's some advice," Cole said "Next time, don't keep vital information from the team just to save your own sorry hide."

Cole's shoulder bumped roughly into Jay as he walked past him to follow Nya.

Jay desperately turned to Lloyd, but the hard glare Lloyd was giving him destroyed any hope he had for sympathy.

Lloyd didn't even say anything as he walked past Jay into the trees.

"I just found out my parents aren't my birth parents!" Jay shouted into the trees "If anyone cares!"

There was no response.

Jay groaned and ran after the others.

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When they got to the tiger widow's cave, Jay was unanimously voted to go in and retrieve the venom alone. He desperately tried to protest this decision, but no one was budging.

Despite the threat to his life and limb, a part of him was glad to get away from Nya's burning glare.

After much struggle (and screaming), Jay finally managed to procure a canteen of the deadly spider's venom. When he escaped the cave, he found his friends scattered and locked in fierce battle with various members of Nadakhan's crew.

The ninja managed to regroup, but the angry tiger widow had followed Jay, and chased the group across an unstable bridge. The bridge couldn't hold their weight and snapped in two.

The ninja managed to grab onto one half of the bridge and began to climb to safety, but Nadakhan suddenly appeared and took advantage of their compromised position.

He kidnapped Jay, emptied his canteen, and sent the tiger widow tumbling to the treacherous valley below.

"Jay!" Cole yelled as the cackling Nadakhan and his crew retreated into the sky "Oh no, we've lost Jay and the only thing that can stop Nadakhan!"

"Not quite." Nya pulled out a canteen full of-

"The tiger widow venom?" Lloyd's eyes widened "But, how?"

"I switched canteens with Jay before the bridge collapsed." Nya grinned proudly.

"So that means..." Lloys smiled.

"We have the only thing that can stop Nadakhan!" Cole finished enthusiastically.

"And better yet, they don't know we have it." Nya added.

Cole squinted at the sky.

"But there's no way our dragons can fly that far, and our ship was scuttled on entry, so how are we supposed to get off this island?"

"If we managed to escape an asteroid in the desolate void of space, we can get off this island." Lloyd said confidently.

"Lloyd's right. We'll find a way. We always do." Nya tightened her grip on the canteen. "Nadakhan had better watch out, because we're coming for him."

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