#then on once and future queen we get An Actual Storyline

[icecreamkink]

sigh a bit of a arthur gwen vent on the tags

[lilycolbertsstuff]

Ok let’s talk all things Bridgerton.

First things first, we’ve all binged it the day that it came out, right?

Second, Nicola Coughlan the woman that you are.

Now let’s move on to the serious stuff.

I have to say that so far I’m liking this season but there are some things that I really don’t understand, namely all the subplots. Some of them should’ve either been cut or they should’ve had less screen time. I understand for example the introduction of Francesca and John because of how their story plays out in the future but what about the Mondriches? Don’t get me wrong I like their characters and their chemistry but I really don’t get why they’re such a prominent part of this season, hopefully their presence will be justified in part 2 for it would be heartbreaking to see unnecessary hate towards them.

Another aspect I liked is Eloise and Cressida’s friendship. In the beginning I didn’t think it would be something genuine but turns out that El does actually come to care for Cressida, who is finally not just relegated to being the mean girl.

Kate and Anthony are a dream to watch on screen, their chemistry is out of this world and they most definitely deserve the long ass honeymoon for god knows how hard these two have worked for their families.

I found Francesca to be such an interesting character and her and John were cute but the side couple that I’m really curious about is Violet and lady Danbury’s brother.

The Featheringtons were a highlight of this season to me. They had no business being this funny. Every time a scene with them came on I was prepared to laugh.

Queen Charlotte and lady Danbury are such icons you can’t help but love them.

Last but not least, Benedict. My boy what have they done to you? It’s so painfully obvious that they didn’t know what to do with his character because give me a valid reason why his storyline this time around is him going to bed with a widow; I would’ve much rather liked to see him in those artists’ parties or whatever like he did in season one and maybe explore more of that aspect of his personality in preparation for his own season, which hopefully will be next.

Time to talk about the leads:

I wish we could’ve seen more of Colin’s identity crisis but I feel like whenever the script was lacking Luke did a great job compensating with his body language and facial expressions. Also can we all agree that he’s just so whipped for Pen after their first kiss?

As a fellow wallflower I really related to the scenes where Penelope felt frustrated with the ton and all the socialising. I can confirm that even when we get all dolled up and feel confident in our own skin for once it’s still so hard to put ourselves out there. We feel called by the wall and somehow we find it more fascinating to observe all the different dynamics going on around us rather than actively taking part in them, even if sometimes we want to.

The scenes where Pen threw herself on her bed and sighed? Yep, I felt that.

I honestly didn’t mind that Colin and Pen got together by the end of the first part of the season for we’ve been watching the build up to their relationship for three seasons now. These two have been friends for ages so it’s not like they had to go through all that getting to know each other phase. Furthermore, I’m pretty sure that part 2 will focus on the unfolding of the lady whistledown storyline and having Colin and Pen be together makes more sense because now he loves and wants to marry her leading to an even more crushing reveal.

The carriage scene?! I died and resurrected in the span of like 3 minutes, and that’s just their first intimate scene I don’t know what will happen to me with the ones to come.

These were my overall thoughts on Bridgerton season 3. I can’t wait till part 2 comes out but also I will be deep in exam season so it’ll be a wild ride, let’s hope everything turns out for the best.🐝🩵

[queenofmalkier]

Queen Nynaeve is nowhere to be seen in the second of the season

Interestingly, the showrunners seem to be favoring Egwene by making her the hero in both season finales. However, I have high hopes for Nynaeve's character development in the next season, depending on how the writers handle her storyline. One thing that I don't enjoy about the books is the lack of Nynaeve's point of view in the later books and the disregard for her safety by her friends. Nynaeve is my favorite character, and it's disappointing to see her become an afterthought to move the plot forward at times in the book, so I am happy with the show expanding her storyline. With that being said, I was disappointed with the finale, but I do see a path forward in season 3 and future seasons. What are your thoughts on the lack of focus on Nynaeve in the second half of the season? What is your expectation for season 3 and future Lan and Nynaeve moments?

I love this ask because I have so many thoughts.

To start with, I have felt disappointment with Nynaeve in the show not being straight up BAMF. I want to see her get hulk!mad and blow stuff up! SHE ANGY!!! But when I take a step back from my violent need to see Nynaeve commit violence of all forms, I'm actually left pretty satisfied with what they've done so far?

Season 1 was about establishing everybody, including Nynaeve. We needed to see that she came from a position of power and respect in the Two Rivers despite her young age. People trusted her because of her knowledge, because she'd proved herself worthy of that trust.

As she's older in the show we don't see the outbursts she's known for in the books nor does she whack people with a stick, but that's too be expected. She's grown past feeling like an imposter as a wisdom - though she still feels the sting of it, as evidenced by how she interacts with Moiraine.

We see her do some incredible things, and then we see she's capable of wielding some truly awe-inspiring power.

Season 2 takes that Nynaeve and scares the hell out of her. I think Ishamael said it best - she's afraid of power. I have a whole schpeel on the arches that I want to do because I think that episode (mostly) hammered home that pure terror she has about wielding the one power, but that's for another day.

Contrary to the books, Nynaeve isn't treated as another novice. Instead these mythical, powerful women she does not trust are borderline obsessed with making her channel . They keep talking about her potential, about her gift, about what she'll do... but none of them is really talking about Nynaeve al'Meara doing those things. They're thinking about the woman they want her to become: Nynaeve Sedai.

They don't even ask what she wants.

The fact that she has a block and cannot control her power is explored more in the show than it is in the early books, in my opinion. Later books she breaks down and admits just how afraid she is, but instead we're getting that earlier - in the arches, she can't heal Tam, then later she explodes in the same rage she did in season one but nobody is healed, nobody is saved.

Close your eyes, think of a flower. We've seen Nynaeve react negatively to that statement more than once, and I think that's a really, really good way to demonstrate just how unlike the other Aes Sedai she is. "It doesn't work for me like that!"

It's heartbreaking to see, and it's why Liandrin is able to manipulate her, because she doesn't treat Nynaeve like everyone else, nor does she really put her on a pedestal. She challenges her, she shows her the possibilities, she tells her there's no one way to be an Aes Sedai. She makes Nynaeve feel seen. (Putting aside the stolen Siuan scenes.)

Ryma is also able to break through Nynaeve's fear because she approaches it on Nynaeve's level, from a place she'd understand. No flowers, no soft petals. Healing.

Without Ryma there she cannot heal Elayne's leg, and she's so hurt and upset that she can't, but she can still help. She still has all the knowledge of a Wisdom inside of her. It lessens the blow of being unable to channel through her fear.

As much as I want to see Nynaeve channeling like a beast, I'm enjoying watching her work her way through her fear in a way that will make her channeling later on feel earned.

I'm hoping in Season 3 that she acknowledges that fear, as well as her feelings of being a failure to those around her when that imposter syndrome comes back in full - and that she gets past it with the help of Egwene and Elayne, two women who see her for her, and not for the power she can wield.

In regards to Lan/Nynaeve if we don't get the ring scene in Season 3 I'm gonna be so upset lol. It's really difficult to judge where they're taking things from here - how's Tear going to fit in? The hunt for the Black Ajah? Are we staying together? My guess is the 'better together' theme of Season 2 is going to expand to Rand breaking up the gang again because of his own fears, but I really don't know and I'm trying not to overthink it.

[acourtofthought]

Do you think elucien will defeat koschei next book? I feel like koschei is a part of the overarching bigger plot, and it would be too soon for it to happen next book. Sarah said that each couple would have their own little story while there's a bigger plot that connects the books. UNLESS the human queens and the situation with the human lands and the wall is the overarching plot? Hmm

I do actually.

Once upon a time we thought we were only getting two more ACOTAR books after SF (with one possibly being set in the past which means she was never sure on Koschei extending beyond two spin-offs) and a novella but since then, SJM has signed up on for additional books (though we don't know exactly which series those all belong to) and has said that she knows she'll never be done writing the acotar series.

If she plans on continuing ACOTAR for an undetermined time frame, it's a fair assumption to say that the Koschei plot is not going to drag out over the course of many more books, she'll have to wrap up his story then introduce a new plot to the characters.

She also had a WIP named Twilight of the Gods and is suddenly giving attention to the would have been "Dusk" court.

I think Koschei is the big bad to close out the Archeron sisters saga, which will leave Prythian, the fae on the other continents and the humans in the human lands in peace once again.

I think a novella will then bridge the gap to a new round of books, closing out the HEA for Feyre, Nesta, and Elain then focusing on non Archeron sister main characters, set partially in the ACOTAR world but also connecting to her multiverse (though the sisters would still make appearances as side characters).

HOFAS clearly seemed to set up for a future reunion of Nesta and Ember, the possibility of threats from other worlds, and SF included the possibility for the characters to travel through time and space.

But right now in the ACOTAR world, (and even at the end of HOFAS), there are no actual threats involving time travel. The possibility of them yes, but nothing concrete.

And I think the Valkyrie will be at the center of the new round of books but to me their storyline and anything time travel related doesn't seem to be priorty over that which is going on in Spring, the continent, with Beron and with Koschei (plots that seem strongly connected to Elain and Lucien).

All the language SJM uses for the Valkyrie and time travel seems to hint at something that will take place in their world later. After they secure the peace elsewhere, after the treaty is signed, after Koschei and Beron are dealt with, after the climate elsewhere is settled.

Considering the Valkrie were just reborn in SF, I think it makes sense for there to be a bit more time from their inception (which right now only includes three females who haven't had battle training yet) until they are a fully formed elite female fighting unit heading into battle and possibly traveling to other worlds. Having an entire unit of female warriors who have never fought in battle together, who have never trained together (again, right now it's only three females, not a whole group and two who only just left where they were living for the first time ever) become a major part of the series the same year the idea of the Valkyrie was reborn seems less likely to me.

And I think it makes sense for SJM to close out the three sisters arcs, the ones who basically launched the series as it now is for her since she's on record saying how their return in book 2 changed the course of the books for her, and then focus on what comes after, the world as it expanded while writing SF.

[thislilstangirl]

shuri and the rejection of queenhood

the other day on twitter, i remarked how shuri’s rejection of queenhood fascinated me. shuri is offered queenhood thrice. and she rejects it thrice. but she deals with two different types of queenhood which is the most interesting part. let me explain.

mythic queenhood: “you said you wanted to burn the world. then let's burn it together.”

let’s start with mythic queenhood. i view a lot of elements of wakanda forever through a mythic lens. it’s something that comes naturally when a story is so textually rich and layered. and it invites us to not take things at face value and play with the extremes myths often do.

when isolated from the rest of the movie, the scene between shuri and namor in talokan feels like something from a fairytale. a chapter from an epic where the princess gets taken to an underwater kingdom, gets courted (politically/romantically/whatever your interpretation) by the ruler of this kingdom, and they are able to see themselves in each other. namor gifts shuri a family heirloom (an heirloom which symbolised a promise that he would be royalty and rule), and they watch the sun shine on the beauty of talokan.

there’s just such a different vibe to these moments between them on talocan. hence when namor offers allyship, a union between two kingdoms, and specifically proposes to her that they “burn it [the world] together” i can’t help but see this as a mythic proposal to become queen who, by his side, will wage war on the surface world.

shuri refuses this strongly. despite her anger and grief, she understands what this union could bring: a world in ruins. she rejects alliance, the mythic queenhood, and most importantly, acts nobly as the protector she will become at the end of the movie.

literal queenhood: “you are queen now.”

the rejection of mythic queenhood and the dead of two innocents, is met with an inevitable retaliation: there’s rhyme in the tragedy: the death of a servant/handmaiden, ultimately leading to the death of a queen.

namor, the ‘peter pan’ god king he is, was told no and sought out a yes. once his mythic proposal was rejected, he decided to force the title on her. shuri was unable to outrun a fate that namor, a ‘god’, bestowed upon her, despite her steadfast rejection of it. you don’t just reject a ‘god’. she messed with myth and myth swung back hard. there’s a concurrent mythical storyline happening here, which i won’t completely explore here, but it’s exciting to think about.

anyway, this pushback by fate leans nicely into what happens in this part of the film. which can only be summarised as shuri’s illusion of control being shattered. this can refer to her belief that she is her grief when really it’s eating her alive. it can refer to shuri ‘containing’ her anger at the world. it can refer to her need to be purely pragmatic and logical, when her world her life is actually steeped in spiritualism. all is broken.

a vengeful protector: “i am the black panther, and i am here for retribution!”

the rejection of her this literal queenhood starts once shuri becomes the black panther. not to say the two titles can’t coincide, but with a furious, vengeful shuri, one falls by the wayside. seeing killmonger in the ancestral plane and not her mother, solidified this. to me, the mantle of queen wasn’t completely passed down. instead we have this terrifying and beautiful hybrid of duty and vengeance.

when namor greets shuri as “princess”, she replies back “NO. “i am the black panther, and i am here for retribution!”. despite literally being queen, in her words (or lack of words) and her actions this is a rejection of that part of her.

she is the protector of wakanda, perhaps a deadly goddess in the heat of her battle with namor. her role as black panther becomes a vessel for all her pain and anguish. and more importantly the future of wakanda is second to her revenge. eternal war was about to be triggered until she is pulled back from the brink. who helps her? the queen mother.

this moment is not queen to queen, because shuri was not acting like a queen or even completely believes that she is one. it’s queen to princess. it’s mother to daughter. And it’s only after queen ramonda is able to pass on those words that shuri couldn’t receive in the ancestral plane, does the mantle truly get passed in that moment. shuri is now the queen.

and isn’t it funny, that after shuri accepts literal queenhood, she also accepts a mythical queenhood, in the form of an alliance with namor. of course, at the moment, this is a queenhood rooted in the love of her kingdom, and the empathy and understanding of namor’s kingdom. and its forged not in fire, but in water as their alliance is communicated to their soldiers over the atlantic ocean.

the final rejection

there isn’t too much to say. skipping straight to the end of the movie, shuri formally rejects literal queenhood clearing the way for m’baku to be king. and it’s…peaceful. she has control over her own narrative, finally because she has control over her emotions. but this could only come from her being born again through the literal flames of her fury. there’s a lot of death and rebirth in this movie. the mythical queenhood still stands. and she has the bracelet, and the heart shaped herb that came from that bracelet, to prove it.

but for now, she has decided on being princess shuri, the black panther, protector of wakanda. a role that is steeped in tradition, but gives allows her a way to channel her technological prowess and her tremendous love for her kingdom.

_

so what happens next? that’s a whole different meta, but let’s just say i don’t see a forth rejection on the cards. if her arc in this movie was partly about rejection- rejecting spiritualism and her grief until it couldn’t be neglected no more, i would like to see acceptance play a big part in her next arc. but again, that’s a different meta.

[fairygeek777]

Aight so I finally reread Volume 10 like I said I would. I gotta let my brain work for a minute.

SO I've had this thought for a long time.

How in the world does Present Day Japan get to 30th Century Crystal Tokyo??? And not just that. How does this happen WITHOUT CHIBIUSA???

The number of events in the Sailor Moon present cannon storyline that occur specifically because of Chibiusa is ridiculous.

Think about it.

-The Black Moon goes to present day Japan looking for Chibiusa

-Sailor Moon and the Inner Senshi are given new powers by Neo Queen Serenity

-The Moon Chalice used to achieve Super Sailor Moon is created through Chibiusa and activated with the support of Mamoru and Chibiusa.

-Mistress 9 obtains the silver crystal, because Chibiusa has one.

-the battle to defeat Pharoh 90 and Mistress 9 is put into motion because Chibiusa was dying.

-Queen Nehellenia is defeated after Helios reaches out to Chibiusa and through her he finds Princess Serenity.

-Chibiusa is one of the senshi that gives power to Super Sailor Moon thereby having a hand in Usagi achieving Eternal Sailor Moon.

Chibiusa plays a significant role in every battle.

So let me transition back to Stars. In the 30th century, Pluto begins to sense distortions in space time. Abnormalities in the past, that are directly effecting the present.

The senshi, and King Endymion fall unconsious due to this.

But if this battle that Usagi is facing in the present is an event in history, then why is Pluto calling it an abnormality, and why doesn't NQ Serenity know what is happening???

If NQ Serenity fought this battle against Galaxia and won, then why should it effect the future in this way???

Let's look at some panels of Sailor Cosmos

Is it possible, that NQ Serenity and present day Usagi are NOT the same versions of themselves???

Is the Usagi that we follow in the main cannon actually destined to become Sailor Cosmos?

Sailor Cosmos remembers this battle. She went backwards in time to correct her past mistakes.

I've often wondered why in the 30th Century the inner senshi and Pluto are not in their Eternal forms. And has anyone ever noticed that we still have never seen Uranus, Neptune or Saturn???

Sailor Pluto of the 30th Century had never once left her post. So how could she have ever assisted in past events like we see her do in the main cannon?

Its stated by Diana that Eternal Sailor Moon is a power that NQ Serenity achieved. So I'm not about to say Chibiusa is the sole reason they defeated Nehellenia.

But if that's the case wouldn't all of the senshi also have their Eternal powers??? Did King Endymion ever release the power of his Golden Crystal??? And if Princess Lady Serenity is the one who informed Helios of the Golden Crystal SEVERAL YEARS later than where does this all line up???

If NQ Serenity never ACTUALLY fought Galaxia then that means she never witnessed the power of the Golden and Silver crystals.

If she DID fight Galaxia then somehow she never stole the senshi's Sailor crystals, never took Mamoru's either. But I find that hard to believe.

Something has to trigger this fork in time. Something causes Small Lady to travel to the past. Something that doesn't happen in other timelines.

With that in mind I'd like to bring in this page from Act 55

That is literally Wiseman. Wiseman is the one who tells Galaxia of the Sagittarius Zero Star. He also just happens to be the one who manipulated the Black Moon in the 30th Century.

The one character who plays a role in the very arc Chibiusa is introduced, is the one character Naoko used to inform Galaxia of the Galaxy Couldron.

There's no fricken way that's a coincidence.

So my current theory:

The timeline in which Usagi Small Lady Serenity travels in time and stays in the past for an extended period, is the timeline that Sailor Cosmos comes from.

The timeline where Small Lady does not directly influence the events leading to Crystal Tokyo is where the Neo Queen Serenity that we know is from.

I'm not saying Sailor Cosmos was never also NQ Serenity. I'm saying she's the only version that ends up becoming Sailor Cosmos.

Basically once Wiseman involved present timeline Usagi, the timeline that Neo Queen Serenity is from, and the timeline that our Usagi is from became intertwined through Chibiusa. Which is why NQ Serenity's 30th Century is being effected by the events occurring in the past and why these events are a Distortion.

Anyway that was my attempt at sorting through the wibbly wobbly timey wimey shenanigans that occur in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

[horizon-verizon]

A Response to Ozymalek’s Video on HotD’s Alicent Hightower

LINK to Video on Youtube, “Let's talk about Alicent Hightower...”

This was my comment on their video, specifically responding to them answering the hypothetical of a company asking them to make Alicent a more “sympathetic” character than she was portrayed in the book (skip to 9:07):

Your "sympathetic Alicent" sounds much better. If Alicent were Aemma's lady in waiting and another mother figure to Rhaenyra or at least matronly towards her, Rhaenyra's loss of a mother would make her emotionally more needful of Alicent's presence and they would spend more time together. Perhaps Alicent even becomes Rhaenyra's l-i-w. Viserys, in visiting Rhaenyra, sees Alicent and has more conversation with her than before when she was serving Aemma as Alicent as Aemma's "peer" of age. Having been physically closer to her, Alicent can regale Viserys with moments and memories of Aemma, which would comfort Viserys and bring them closer. 

Thus we still have the element of semi-seediness and feeling conflicted for both parties (maybe in this version, Alicent loved or cared for Aemma very much). Thus they have a noncoercive emotional bond that still presents an uncomfortable storyline that audiences contend with: the show could have asked: “Is this right, when Alicent was Aemma's l-i-w? But they like each other, but then Alicent may have a son. Is Rhaenyra going to be disinherited before she ever reaches adulthood, and through her own mother figure? Will Rhaenyra lose another mother? Was this Alicent's plan (even semiconscious) all along? Where does her ambition start and her love for him end?” Etc. 

As for Rhaenyra, I think that to some people, the sense of betrayal may not come as sharp as between childhood friends because she already sees Alicent as a mother figure and just lost her mother, she might be grateful for that. Or because they think that mother-daughter figures where "mother" betrays the "daughter" is somehow less poignant or serious than two female peers doing it....but no, it has its own pain and is still a mighty betrayal. It's an adult hurting a child AND having had some sort of genuine connection with her before. Which makes the betrayal as damaging and as terrible as it is. But what makes up for that (or what else, rather than "makes up, "to the careful observer) is Rhaenyra's fear of being replaced--politically and emotionally, being “abandoned” by both matron figure, actual mother, and father all at once.

And what about Alicent, now smarter, thinking of the future and the happenstance of her birthing a boy? Does she now spend less and less time with Rhaenyra, semi/intentionally separating herself from her? To make it juicy, yes she does, and intentionally. Thus the break between "mother-daughter" occurs even before Viserys marries Alicent, as each woman sees the other's ambition and priorities. She and Alicent can get into actual public debates and confrontations even before Alicent marries Viserys because 15-year-old Rhaenyra sees the writing on the wall. If she is 9, like in the book, Alicent could still try to separate herself from Rhaenyra, or a change worth exploring is that she actually does try to foster goodwill between them so that later when she fights for Aegon's claim, Rhaenyra is more conflicted and caught off guard (in Alicent's perspective). 

What's even juicier is that 9-yr old Rhaenyra perhaps feels more and more, as she grows, Alicent's duplicity and lack of earnestness in her regard and affection before and after marrying Viserys. Children are people, they can still feel ill will or impatience from adults and this itself could make a stifling environment for Rhaenyra, and set up her self-doubt. This woman has always cared for me and she loves my mother, aren't I betraying her by questioning her intentions? That sort of thing. The queen's party is small and discreet until Alicent accidentally shows her hand or Rhaenyra hears what happens with Otto's dismissal and hears Alicent vie for Aegon. 

 The point is there is a break. Here is still room for feelings of betrayal that are also suppressed, by both women/girls. After Viserys shows how he doesn't want Aegon despite Alicent caring for him and building an actual relationship with him, she grows resentful while also feeling it her duty to be emotionally accommodating to a degree and out of Viserys' line of sight. Most of the time. Sometimes, she can't help but direct her resentment to Rhaenyra through innuendoes, subtle insults, recriminations for slouching, looking a certain way, acting "unseemly", etc. Because maybe she convinces herself that as the Queen and Rhaenyra's stepmother, she has a duty to "guide" her toward that only "right" way of dress, thinking, etc. Meanwhile, she's not being totally honest with herself and is actually trying to break Rhaenyra down while gathering her own supporters. Before Viserys dismisses her suggestion to marry Rhaenyra to Aegon, she thinks that she's molding Rhaenyra to be a good woman for her son. 

Thus leading to Rhaenyra's red/black dress moment, and Alicent reacting to that by also declaring her party's color, green. I think we can still have Otto being emotionally abusive towards Alicent from her childhood, and inserting even more motivation for her wanting power, some of her attraction for Viserys, and wanting her son on the throne. It doesn't have to be all about Otto hurting her and wanting power over him, escaping him, or surpassing him (though that would be still part of it). 

So then we’d have a better narrative and concrete scenes in her childhood/adolescence of her anxiety growing and growing, more than what we got in the show. She may also just want power that the average noblewoman/woman of Andal-descent families get and feel justified in wanting such power by serving Aemma, being Rhaenyra's role model (in her eyes), and bringing comfort to Viserys. Like Catelyn, Alicent could have had a living contradiction in her belief that she, as a woman, was entitled to decision-making power, but through her son and husband being paths to that power denied to her. Using as well misogynist principles to place herself on top. That need for power would itself be corrupting.

blankwhiteshield says this:

You can have an irredeemable and evil character that the patriarchy still suppresses and affects the psychology of immensely, rendering her a bigger monster. The commentary on the destructive capacity of static social constructs is not lost as a result. A character can turn into the devil of the story due to a world that ceaselessly strips her of her humanity, as well as as a result of the choices she actively makes.

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

Dear Em,

*you're not obliged to answer all these questions my Queen*

Will you include the Maester conspiracy in your story? Perhaps they try and ruin one of Babey's later births in an attempt to limit the amount of Targaryens. Something I notice is that Targaryen numbers are quite thin during all the years they ruled; there are fifteen Targaryens in the time of the first Viserys if you count Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and Maelor and their numbers are thinned out by the Dance. I read somewhere that the Maesters could've had a general policy of weakening the Targaryens when possible, which seems to me more realistic than a plot carried out since Aegon I's reign. Perhaps a Maester Mellos or Orwyle may try to convince Babey to stop having children after her fourth one and try to justify it by saying that too much royal children can later cause chaos in the realm?

How do you plan on handling the dying of the dragons? Or are you simply going to ret con and make it happen a century after Daemon and Babey and her children's era? I think, personally, the Storming of the Dragonpit was one of the weaker aspects of George's Fire and Blood; however, I understand if you haven't yet started considering that particular plot point.

Also, will we ever see Ser Criston Coles internal turmoil about Babey externalise itself more forcefully onto her than expected? Will he ever express anger at her due to his jealousy over Daemon? I prefer Criston's characterisation in the book over the show personally; in the book he was a savvy political schemer who divided brother and sister for motives that George didn't really spell out, which makes him all the more interesting. I feel that the show focuses too much on the storyline between him and Rhaenyra; they even edited out his fantastic Green Council speech about Rhae-Rhae and her 'gaggle of bastards.' However, that's just my hot-take, lol.

And do you think Viserys will give into Hightower's poison and p'raps try to annul Babey's marriage with Daemon? I can see Otto becoming gradually more aware of the possible dangers Babey may pose if her successful marriage is allowed to continue: she's already become more outspoken. Maybe Viserys will get a darker characterisation and try to control Babey via her children? He could make all sorts of threats.

Will Babey realise when comparing how much her children's hatchlings grow on Dragonstone vs Heleana's children's in the Dragonpit, that the Dargonpit actually negatively affects dragon growth?

Good day/evening Em!

Hey, nonnie!

Wow - gotta admit, I haven't actually really thought of the future plot of the story. I'm VERY much a write-as-I-go kinda gal, which I understand is BEYOND frustrating as a reader as I really have no more clue than you do, lol. Some of these questions I have brewing in the back of my mind, and I shall not spoil, haha - others, entirely new considerations! Because this story has so far not been intended to be a complete canon divergence, I honestly don't know how grand a scope I'm intending to go with it - at present, my aim is to feed back eventually into canon-adjacent Game of Thrones, or at least this will be heavily implied to be so. That being said, I owe that when I do actually get to the action sequences of the story, I might end up going wildly off-script. No idea; just vibes, man.

OMG I am so sorry for how inept I am, I have zero clue what's gonna happen until it gets onto the page. Sometimes, I don't even remember writing it, like it's an out-of-body experience. I've said to one of my buddies that it's safe to say that I have NO ANSWERS about anything that isn't A) already written or B) the immediate future (within one-two chapters of my current chap). It's just me and my braincell Bob, bouncing the vague thought around every once in a while.

Sorry for the annoying response, nonnie! But these are EXCELLENT questions, and fuck I'm saving this post somewhere so I can go back to it! Thank you!

[scentedflowersong]

A Swen’s Guide to the Into the Story-Verse Alternate Realities

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Christmas Eve Eve and that means it’s time for the last entry of our guide where we explore the 6 alternative realities presented in the latest addition to the Swan-Mills Saga by the ever so marvellous @swanqueeneverafter​

This time we’re gonna explore...

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

Code name: Zeta Reality

First appearance: chapter 40

Set: our world the duration of Pilot (s01e01) but as altered by Emma’s journey to the past in the Once & Future Queen

Fixed by: a true love’s kiss between Emma and Regina in chapter 47

Unfinished business: not finishing what they started way back when in chapter 1 of the Story of Us

Zeta Reality presents us with a Groundhog Day AU we (read: I) never knew I needed. And it actually might be my personal favourite alternate reality.

The storyline follows Regina, newly with all her memories, trapped in a Groundhog Day kind of situation where she has to relive the day she met Emma for the first time, only this time it’s more heartbreaking for her because the Emma arriving with Henry from Boston every evening is actually her time travelling wife who disappears after sharing a true love’s kiss with Regina.

Emma and Regina aren’t the only couple we’re all rooting for (pun intended) as Root and Shaw finally get together in this reality too.

So let’s look at Regina’s attempts at breaking the cycle.

Attempt No. 1

As with every endlessly repeating cycle, the first one or two repeats the protagonist doesn’t usually immediately assume that they’re stuck in a loop. The same naturally happens to Regina too, so the first repeat can be hardly even counted as an attempt at breaking the cycle.

Attempt No. 2

Regina goes to Sister Astrid/Nova/Root to ask for help, as she understands that Root has been helping her and Emma through the realities. Root also tells her that she has just the one day that keeps repeating itself to make Emma fall in love with her.

And so Regina and Root don’t waste any time and go to Boston, where Emma tries to steal a dress in a store and gets caught by Walsh. Fortunately, Regina shows up just in time to save the day, however, she lets herself slip when Emma asks her whether she’s married. Emma walks away and Regina, sad, returns home.

Attempt No. 3

Determined to redo her last attempt at wooing Emma, Regina (with Root) once again travels to Boston. 

This time, Regina preventively knocks Walsh out and tries the “Indecent Proposal” approach, but when that does not work on Emma at all, she eventually opts for telling Emma how she sees her and that she reminds her of her best friend.

Attempt No. 4

Any further development in their romance is, however, prevented by Walsh who called for backup in the form of the police. Seeing Emma and Regina get arrested, Root and Shaw try to break them free - unsuccessfully.

This time, Regina approaches the issue at hand like the nerd she is - by gathering information. After all, it’s not an easy task to make someone fall in love with you in a day, even if the person IS your true love.

So, Regina asks Ingrid how to approach Emma in this phase of her life - her walls as high as they can be. Then she tells Rumple where he can find Neal AND Belle (kinda sweet of her).

The last person Regina asks for intel is Emma herself - only the “future” version of her, who shares a TLK with Regina every evening. “Future” Emma not only gives Regina advice but also takes her to the “past” Emma’s apartment where they... make most of the time they’ve got before Henry arrives. Then the whole family travels back to Storybrooke.

 Attempt No. 5

Regina’s happy bubble about finally knowing how to approach Emma is burst by Rumple who warns her she’s running out of time and attempts.

In her last attempt, Regina changes the tactic and lets Emma come to her instead (well, as much as that counts when Regina needs to go to Boston ;)), and so Emma saves her from getting run over by a car, then being the knight in the shining armour even takes Regina to a doctor.

Regina then offers to make Emma believe in magic, and though sceptical, Emma agrees. Their first stop is a planetarium, where Emma starts having flashbacks of her other selves’ memories also finds the magic compass in her pocket, but decides it doesn’t mean anything.

Emma in turn takes Regina to a karaoke bar, where Regina’s singing triggers another wave of flashbacks leading to a fiery make-out session which is, however, broken by Emma running away, scared of what might be - the SPARKS, these two could start a fire everywhere BUT Emma’s walls are still much too high for Regina to take them down in just a couple of hours. So, Regina leaves, heartbroken but knowing she couldn’t do much more.

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

Unexpectedly, to say the least, Emma comes home to Regina, having remembered everything thanks to a copy of the Storybook her future self left in her apartment, and the two of them fix the last reality in the most perfect way possible - by making love by the fireplace in Regina’s study.

Alright everyone, this has been so much fun! Hope you’ve all enjoyed Into the Story-Verse as much as we did, thank you once again to @swanqueeneverafter​.

Happy Holidays! ❤

[glapplebloom]

Requisition me a beat.

It is the first time in a long time that the Convocation of the Creatures is happening and it seems every creature has a representative going to Mount Metazoa for it. We got the Seapony/Hippogriff  Queen Nova, Princess Cadance, Dragon Lord Ember, Prince Rutherford and others ranging from unique species like Giraffes, Bat Ponies and Parrots to the Buffalo, the Breezies and Comic Exclusive Species Deer and Cats. 

And for some reason this jerk.

But we’re not focusing on them. As Twilight takes a tour of the Mountain to relax after greeting every creature, she of course finds the Library. There, she once again meets Raven Inkwell as well as other creatures updating the Paper Archives for their representing species. We got We got Yak Historian Horwitz (who graduated from Oxenford, so he doesn't have the accent), Dragon Archivist Blacktip, Griffon Archivist Glenda (because she's the only one interested in working on the papers) and important to me Changeling Librarian Urtica.

As you can probably guess, since I made her Head Researcher for the Changeling Kingdom, the story isn’t going to be 100% accurate… Yet. But now that I got Twilight back, I could always remake this story in the future. Of course, that would require making more sprites. But I’ll cross that bridge in the future. Either way, Twilight is among her people: creatures who are actually interested in the paper work.

So the next day, with Raven thinking there are only two aspects for this trip: Paperwork and Speeches, Twilight invites them all to the Cultural Festival part of the Convocation of the Creatures. They’re all having a great time, enjoying each other’s company and all the cultures they’ve found. After a fun time, Glenda sadly is forced to bring a plot into this two parter and it ends with us finding out Griffonstone is supposed to get back a huge chunk of land, including Canterlot.

Next issue begins with our heroes sadly bringing up the news. While Lord Gestal is more friendly, he’s one voice in a group and they want something out of it. Either land or gold. In fact, gold seems to be the option people are open to but one of them happens to suggest not just the original agreed upon price but interest. That would bankrupt the Equestrian Treasury 7 times over. So land it is. And funny enough, Lord Goldstone, the Griffon that suggested the interest, will have his personal holdings increased if they get this land.

Luckily he’s trying to hide is schemy nature so he and the rest of the Griffon Lords give them time to prepare a speech about this move. In the meantime our Bureaucrats have to find something, anything, to at least delay this move. And it's thanks to Urtica who found the solution. She pointed out that there are three signatures and the Yaks have a different calendar from Ponies so they find the proof that the land was paid for in full. Proper archival saves the day!

But Goldstone decides to change from legal villain to actual villain by ordering the guards to capture them and destroy the paper. Shenanigans later, which is a fun callback to the previous issue, and Raven delivers the papers to Gestal and Celestia, as Goldstone gets arrested for Treason. Raven enjoyed her time and was glad to make new friends from the people she only worked with before but will prefer to stay in the background.

Overall, a great set of comics. The build up of these characters and their understanding of others cultures in the first issue and all that coming back for the second. Sadly, it won’t be canon… Yet. But one day, I will make a storyline or even a short fanfic adapting this to GLAB.

[lovelyjasmari]

Twisted Wonderland Reaction Part 14 ~ STOP PERCIEVING ME Edition

Hello everyone!

So I debated on weather to make a post abt this part of book 5 but I decided to anyway cause I have some kinda strong emotions abt it that I have to get out, preferably soon before the  en discourse begins to set in and I risk being nuked off the internet. Next reaction post will be 90% blind so there’s that. 

Warning: Pic heavy, swearing, emotional musings, slight Epel slander,  Vil simping and mention of my ocs (I try to keep it at a minimum). Also TW: Slight mentions of homophobia and my personal experiences with gender dysmorphia. 

Bonjour Honey!!! If you understand that reference, congratulations!! You have unlocked level 200 friendship access to me, please DM me to claim your prize~

Seriously are there no ad-blockers in Twisted Wonderland?!

I’ll say it once, I’ll say it again, Disney missed a huge opportunity playing it safe with Neige’s design and I hate them for it. Especially when we get to his SDC song. No spoilers but it’s pretty bad and I’m not just saying that cause I’m a Vil simp. 

Rook, sweetie, I usually love everything that comes from your mouth but this instant, kindly shut the hell up. You always struck me as someone who would appreciate beauty that is more dynamic and compelling and not so transient, please don’t fail me! 

And this right here, this is the seed Vil planted resulting in me really respecting and admiring him as a character. Carry on, my Pomefiore queen, crush Epel’s toxic way of thinking. We stan. 💙

Uhhh...it’s sounding like you wouldn’t mind that. Not that I’m judging. We don’t kinkshame in this house, for the most part. 😅

Ohhhh Kalim, my sweet sunshine, nice save cause Vil was really about to dropkick you here. And I’d probably let him too...

You truly are the fairest one of my heart. Now and forever. 💙

But seriously, these chapters really made me feel for Vil. I can appreciate the frustration he has of the world perceiving him in a certain way and then punishing him for those false assumptions. Especially since he seems not to be truly cruel, just incredibly tenacious. I’ve been suffering from people’s false assumptions of me for most of my life and I’ve yet to find a way to make people see who I truly am. But I think I could learn not to care about what they think, if I could one day be as radiant as Vil. 

More character development for my sunshine child! And for personal reasons that I’ve mentioned before, this moment made me even happier because it shows that even Kalim is capable of this level of introspection. It really makes me curious and excited for how his and Jamil’s relationship will develop in the future. 

Shut the fuck up Grim! Before I beat your ass with a stick! Christ, we’re having a deep moment and you had to ruin it with your fucking one track mind! You are seriously the worst! (half serious, half affectionate)

This cannot end well...

Your gluttony will be the doom of us all...

Everyone’s gansta ‘till Vil pulls out the ara ara~

👀👀👀 *bonks myself with my own stick* 

YESSIR!

OH FUCK NO! I CHANGED MY MIND VIL! I’LL SLEEP ON THE LOUNGE FLOOR WITH THE IDIOTS! THE SLEEP PARALYSIS RAT IS BACK!

Yes I can but I really wish I wasn’t. Also, Mickey having his OG design really throws a wrench in my Unreality theory I was working from for Yuulan’s storyline...not that I’m gonna fix it at this point though. 

Okay, WHO THE FUCK designed this new twistune?! Cause I’d like to have a word with them! No anger, just wanna talk cause I can usually SS most twistunes on easy and normal but this?! I JUST WANNA TALK

No not really, he was too busy pissing Danica off and she finally had enough...

Okay, so this was the moment that made me REALLY wanna punch Epel in the face and lowkey why I’m not pulling for him this week. The translation is also toned down some so if you understand what he’s saying, Epel comes off as VERY misogynistic here. It’s clear he’s dealing with some serious homophobia and by homophobia, I don’t mean hatred of gay people, I mean actual fear of being perceived in a feminine way which is just as bad (is there a word for that?Cause I know homophobia isn’t the one I’m looking for). Especially since some of his personal stories have shown that Epel does genuinely have some more feminine-perceived interests like embroidery, apple carving, etc. 

Once again, Vil is the right one in this situation. He can see Epel’s potential but because that potential is tied to society’s narrow perception of weakness and strength, Epel himself does not see it. Oddly enough, this is an issue that many of my female ocs deal with. Many of my main girls are very feminine and charming but they also posses incredible strength in various ways. Most of their stories focus on them balancing their strength with their femininity without forsaking their femininity all together. I don’t often see these kinds of stories in media but since I've struggled with my womanhood for so long, my characters are all the more important to me. Because strength is not mutually a masculine trait and there is power in grace. 

And I know some people have interpreted Vil’s actions and words towards Epel as harsh and even abusive but I don’t really.  As someone who has dealt with some serious gender related trauma and dysmorphia in the past, I really take issue with Epel’s comments here. Frankly, I feel like these ignorant societal notions cause as much dysmorphia in people as anything else. So I really cannot tolerate it. What’s more, I don’t really think Vil is trying to force Epel to change how he is, nor does he have contempt for Epel as he is, but he is trying to change his narrow way of thinking which is what’s REALLY holding Epel back. I’ll explain this further in a moment. 

I actually like blastcycle better than magic wheel, every now and then EN makes a translation choice that isn’t totally out there.

Awww, Ii really love Deuce and Epel’s interactions. There’s nothing heterosexual about them but that’s okay! ❤

DISNEYLAND!!!

Dumbass (highly affectionate)

Sweet, filthy farm child (also highly affectionate)

Another reason why I really haven’t taken issue with Vil’s actions yet. Even though he is harsh, Epel isn’t all in the right either and has some serious prejudices against certain types of people. Even after Vil vibe checks him more than a few times, he still hasn’t gotten what he’s trying to convey to him. He’s pretty hardheaded and sometimes gentle guidance doesn’t remedy that. 

If I’m being truly honest, out of all the boys who have OB so far, Vil IMO has been the LEAST problematic. I probably would not be saying that if it weren’t for some of the very specific experiences I’ve had in my life but really, Vil doesn’t seem genuinely cruel or malicious or even sus. Even Jamil was just a little sus though his grievances were equally as justified as Vil’s (but he went about things not in the best of ways). Now that may change since I stopped reading Book 5 at a certain point but as of now, if Vil is wrong for how he’s treated Epel, then Epel is just as wrong for his hardheadedness. 

But I want to make it clear I DO NOT DISLIKE EPEL AS A CHARACTER. His way of thinking is pretty common in more rural and conservative areas bible belt states and its only when some people grow up that they take on a different POV. And Epel probably has the same issue as Vil, being perceived a certain way by society and being punished for it. Hopefully with what Vil did for Epel’s family, he will soon understand what Vil has been trying to teach him. 

SEE?! HE IS LEARNING!!! 💖💖💖😊😊😊

OH GOD! FUCKING JUMPSCARE! They’re so sorry, Vil-san! Please don’t be too hard on them! They’re knuckleheads but they know better now! Have mercy!!

Ahhhhhhh, ahhhh, ahhhhh, oh god, is that who I think it is?? Does this mean...

MY DARLING DRAGON HUSBAND!! I squeezed my Malleus plushie so hard when he appeared! 💚

Really, if Lilia hadn’t run off so fast at the end of Book 4, I would have invited him to our holiday feast too! But concert tickets will have to suffice for now, please come over for ice cream when it gets warmer! 

Awww, he wanted to see us perform, he really is simping hard for MC and it’s adorable!

Goodnight, sweet prince. And with that, we conclude Book 5 part 2. Next time shit will likely hit the fan fast and hard and from what some of my friends playing JP have told me, it will hurt. So let’s enjoy this sweet reprieve for as long a we can. After the emotional roller coaster I’ve just had, I’m so happy I was able to make Malleus smile like this. 💚💚💚

[imaginarianisms]

i& was thinking about this for a hot minute &. the reason why i& don't have sansa as the consort of anyone, even if she would end up as queen of westeros in the process like she would have been had she stayed wed to aegon vi, is specifically because she's supposed to be the matriarch of the family after robb perished at the red wedding. she's intended to be the queen that brings a golden age to the north with all the power of the north to herself during her lifetime. sansa's gonna be full of herself & attention seeking all she wants, she loves attention, she loves feeling beautiful, indigenous girls and women are Never shown in jewels, they're never compared to legends like beyonce or marilyn monroe, we never see them in sexy dresses & walk down red carpets or be the shining star & pinnacle of femininity, indigenous girls & women are literally almost Always reduced to stoic characters & the noble savage trope, native girls & women deserve to walk down runways like beyonce, they deserve to be on vogue & be beautiful without any bullshit inspirational quotes & wisdom spouting stereotype charity cases for nonnative & especially white people to consume, indigenous girls & women deserve to be seen as regal & graceful the same way that so many white women are, they deserve to be smiling & covered in flowers & to be covered in riches that were denied by white folx who tried to make us like them.

but most importantly, possession of her becomes equated with the possession of winterfell which is why the tyrells attempted to marry her off to willas tyrell & the lannisters forcefully marry her to tyrion lannister & littlefinger to steal her away for his own political machinations, & sansa's children can be used by her husband's family to attempt to take control of winterfell. whoever marries sansa stark owns her in all but name as long as she is a lady, not just her own autonomy & her body, but whoever marries sansa gets access to winterfell & the north & thus access to her culture.

sansa's entire storyline begins with her father lord of winterfell eddard stark essentially trading her to robert in exchange for the king's trust & bc of the patriarchal society, the horrible truth is whoever is the head of the stark family essentially owns the right to sansa's body & its reproductive abilities. so ned transfers these to robert & upon both of their deaths, the lannisters immediately seize control of her & her rights as the richest house in the realm & later the tyrells attempted to steal control of sansa & littlefinger actually successfully does so. then once sansa is back in the north & her family is in control of winterfell again, the right to determine her future will also return to the head of the stark family. which means that if anyone other than sansa - jon, bran, rickon, even her sister arya ( although bran won't be ruling winterfell, he's disabled & can't have children because of it, rickon's too young & wouldn't care about politics anyway & arya is more foreshadowed to be a nymeria figure leading a group of people off to lands like the west of westeros ) - ends up controlling winterfell, sansa will never gain control of her own body & future, she'd have spent her entire life as someone else's pawn & a vessel for others' goals & dreams of greatness.

now i& hear some of y'all saying "but they'd never do that!!!! they only have her best interests at heart!!!!!" ok. just like her father did at the beginning of the story right. yes, ofc they love sansa but even if they promised her that she'd remain single if she wanted to, there's no guarantee that whoever rules winterfell won't change their mind & ask her to marry for the good of the family. even if they promised her that right to choose her own husband, all it'd be is simply a transference of ownership. if her husband died before her, her future would either pass onto her son or back to the head of the family. so no, she won't end her story as a political pawn of a family member, nor will she end her story as someone's consort; she becomes free to control her own marriage & her own reproductive choices by becoming the head of the stark family. she doesn't remain lady of winterfell, either, because as a vassal to the king ( or queen if we're going with daenerys targaryen here ) in the south, she still doesn't retain that control because her liege could still force her into a marriage she doesn't want, not unlike how robert used his power as king to pressure ned into accepting the betrothal between joffrey & sansa despite robert knowing Exactly who joffrey was. sansa stark i becomes queen of the north in her own right.

[eros-vigilante]

posting an essay i wrote once on bestower of power so i can link it in my rewrite lol don't mind me.

spoilers for master of all and bestower of power

Bestower of Power is one of three storyarcs for the third main story segment of CotC. It is a direct sequel to Master of All, as it focuses on the future of Edoras after Alaune's ascension to the throne. Mostly, the future was uncertain. Surely it would be better than it was under Pardis the third's bloody reign, but like how nobody knows when the next male dancer will release, they had no way of knowing what might happen.

Now, this was a promising story set-up. Queen Alaune of Edoras, King Solon of Altinia, and King Richard of Riven are meeting in the Edoras Castle Square to sign a peace treaty. Master of All was successful in realistic-enough political drama for a fantasy world, so there were many ways Bestower of Power could explore the social unrest of many areas of Orsterra.

Instead, however, this storyline introduces an entirely new nation for a very specific plot: racism. G'roha is a nation that is in… "the west," with a people who are mostly tan to dark-skinned and who wear clothing that would resemble what it would look like if you asked a white elementary-schooler to draw a Native American. Two of these people interrupt the treaty ceremony to deliver a dismembered segment of a corpse of a different Orsterra king as a "gift".

Out of the Master of All and therefore Bestower of Power cast, only King Solon is brown, with Queen Alaune, the most prominently presented 'protagonist' besides the Ringbearer, being white. And now she has been threatened by a random group of indigenous people that we have never heard of before. A white empire being attacked unprovoked by a dark-skinned people is the opposite of what usually happened in world history.

And they are explicitly indigenous-coded. In the fight, one of them wields a Chakram, "a throwing weapon from the Indian subcontinent" [1] which was invented by the native peoples. Then, there is the general outfit design of clothing that is most politely described as "non-modern". Note how this looks absolutely nothing like the clothing in the drawing of the people who actually invented the chakram. It is a very common image that indigenous people wore almost nothing, but this is untrue for indigenous people of India and Africa. Most simply, they would get horribly sunburned if they did. The image of all native peoples wearing "uncivilized" clothing is a negative contribution to the stereotype of barbaric-ism and violent lack of intelligence, something that Bestower of Power greatly leans into in all references to the G'rohan people by the non-G'rohan characters. The worst part is that in-universe, it is true. The G'rohan people are every negative word that has ever been associated with indigenous people. I only cut this short because the main villain of Bestower of Power is a much better example, as she is much, much worse.

Tatloch is the ruler of G'roha, and is probably getting severely sunburnt every day. Even without the indigenous-coding, this design is an absolute mess. She specifically is black-coded by the dreadlocks her hair is styled in, which is the only cool part of her design. She has less fabric on her body than Primrose Azelhart and that outfit was a stereotype of a belly-dancer's dress so that she could be Sexy. I wonder why she's the first figure being made of an Octopath character. Now, what redeems Primrose's design is that her chapter one is a criticism of how female performers and sex workers are treated by mostly male managers and clientele. Tatloch has this design for pure sex appeal so that people would pull for her playable form despite her not having any writing of substance at all.

Her reason for suddenly invading Orsterra and Edoras is that she wants all the rings. Why? She wants power over everything. Why? Uh… she wants power over everything. Unlike literally every other villain in the game, Tatloch has no backstory. Even Tytos, the other worst written villain, was explained as having been a hero in war and having that as the starting source of his pride in his might. Tatloch is just evil. Oh, and she eats her people's souls for power. This pretty easily gives her more on-screen murdering of people than any villain before her.

It is not a good look for the only black villain to have absolutely no writing that could help the player understand her better like the other villains have. The reason Herminia and Auguste are popular are because, despite absolutely being morally bankrupt, their stories are compelling in a way that makes how they act fun to appreciate in a fictional context. Herminia's is a story of revenge and infinite security, making sure that she is the best by eliminating everyone else who even passingly comes close. Auguste's is a story of a despairing man so desperate for inspiration that he started murdering people to feel something unique, and had to constantly one-up himself to keep feeling. Tatloch has no past. There is absolutely nothing to humanize her. Like Herminia and Auguste, she is presented as a person made monster by the rings, but unlike them, there are no stories of what Tatloch was like before the ring, no proof that she was ever human. It is not good for the only black villain to have no humanizing story.

G'roha's only purpose is to be a violent, perpetrating peoples that the protagonists of Bestower of Power feel little regret killing in self-defense, and Tatloch's only purpose is to be a hypersexual dominatrix that the people beg to execute.

[HILL, JOHN (1963). "5-THE GANGES PLAIN". THE ROCKLIFF NEW PROJECT – ILLUSTRATED GEOGRAPHY – THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT. London: BARRIE & ROCKLIFF. pp. 173–174. / Wikipedia]

[itstimetotheorize]

Miraculous Ladybug, Cat Noirs future

Miraculous Ladybug season 4 has definitely proven itself to be one very interesting season, every episode thus far has presented some major twist, plot reveal and has even set up a variety of small hidden problems capable of  coming back to haunt the characters of the show. But of all the issues presented thus far within season 4, it appears one issue in particular has begun to circle around the miraculous fandom, causing an enormous amount of worry. The issue I am refereeing to is of course cat noirs sudden lack of assistance within the miraculous superhero team. 

What exactly lead fans to feel this way? well, in the episode “lies”, we discover that after the events of “miracle queen”, cat noir had since been left alone for days at a time to watch over Paris with no word of ladybugs whereabouts

, of course we as the viewers know she is busy trying to maintain all her new responsibilities as guardian of the miracle box, but the fact that she never once bothered to consider informing cat noir of her sudden disappearance has left many to realize cat noir is once again being left out of the loop and is just as much in the dark as when ladybug kept Master Fu and the other superheroes identities a secret from him back in episode  “syren”. 

Despite ladybugs new found responsibilities, we see in “lies” that  she does in fact wonder about what cat noir thinks of her now that she is the new guardian, when asked, cat noir simply states, “ if it doesn't change things between us, then I'm good with it”. 

Despite the worry cat noir had about not being included within ladybugs life as much as he used to be, ladybug and him manage to reconnect with one another in the midst of their fight against truth seeker and lies, providing cat noir a moment of relief from his worry of wondering if ladybugs new guardian duties have left her to busy to ever consider his time necessary ...and yet despite this reconnection, many fans couldn't help but continue to feel worried for cat noir....especially after what ladybug did in “gang of secrets”.

In “gang of secrets”, after no longer being able to bare with the heavy responsibilities as both ladybug and guardian, Marinette finally breaks down and decides to reveal to Alya that she is ladybug! 

Unfortunately, ever since this reveal occurred, ladybug has been shown to become more dependent on the abilities of other miraculous heroes to help her defeat a villain rather than have cat noir assist her as he normally does. Granted, its not her, nor cat noirs fault this keeps occurring, after all, the problems he and ladybug are facing in season 4 have become to difficult to resolve with their abilities alone, they need help! but its precisely this extra help which as made cat noir appear to many as inferior and unneeded within every akuma attack.

 As this sudden pattern continued throughout season 4, some fans began to feel as if the show was leading up to a disaster similar to cat blanc, others felt the show was planning to have cat noir be replaced by Rena Rouge. Regardless of what some believe, if he does feel like he is being left behind and unneeded, its no surprise why he would feel this way, after all, its not the first time something like this has happened. Back in episode “syren” cat noir specifically states how much he hates having so many secrets revolving around his friendship with ladybug, he knows why she has to keep these secrets but it does not make him feel any better knowing she cant fully trust him, the one person who has stood by her through thick and thin!.

 If this situation between him and ladybug is truly beginning to resurface then what could possibly happen to finally convince cat noir that no matter the number of changes and no matter how much ladybug is relying on new superheroes, he and ladybug will always be together and still have the close bond they always had before she became guardian? well...what if the answer was already hinted. 

On June 22, 2021,  Winny (aka a member of the miraculous staff), released to the public a teaser of a future episode within season 4 of Miraculous Ladybug series, the picture teased was something we had already seen before, it was a picture of ladybug holding the miracle box.

and yes, I understand we have seen this image hundreds of times already, it is after all the main picture pose used for ladybug in the season 4 title card.... however ! , judging by ladybugs body figure within the teaser image, many of us have since come to the realization that this teaser of ladybug holding the miracle box ....may actually be an image of ADULT ladybug holding the miracle box!

So then, what does this mean? it means season 4 may include an episode where ladybug and cat noir... meet their future selves! 

Now, seeing future ladybug and cat noir has always been something many fans had been hoping for ever since we get our first glance at future ladybug and cat noir in “time tagger”...the only problem was... we only ever got to see their backs!

However, despite all the excitement over future ladybug and chat noirs possible appearance, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of impact they would cause in the past rather than just take the regular “oh look! their future selves are in the past!” type of storyline. 

Well, If cat noir is truly feeling as if he is loosing his bond with ladybug then perhaps it was never ladybug who was meant to give him the closure he needed to know for sure he and ladybug would always be partners, perhaps this was always something he was meant to figure out on his own by talking to the one person who knew him better than ladybug... himself!

 Bunnyx always said there was a time for everything and if cat noir and ladybug will really have the chance to meet their future selves, then perhaps it will finally be cat noirs time to receive the answer to the one question he has always wondered about since “Time tagger”, his future relationship with ladybug!

 When bunnyx was first introduced she talks about having already remembered how her younger self would evidently meet her future self, well, odds are, future cat noir will have already been aware of the fact that he will also evidently  meet his younger self.... except it wont just be to stop a villain....rather, it will be his time to provide the words of encouragement his younger self needed the moment in his life where he knew he felt the most unsure of his future with ladybug!

Where am I going with this? well, what if , just maybe, this one moment between both cat noirs.... is a moment meant to finally reveal to young cat noir how ladybug and him will always be together and fight alongside one another, not just as friends...but as husband and wife! I’d imagine this revelation would be one secret cat noir would be more than willing  to keep to himself and look upon anytime he feels like he is being left behind, because no matter what changes may come, no matter how many new superheroes join their team and no matter how many struggles they may face, cat noir will at least be happy to know that he and ladybug will truly be together forever ....but hey!, that’s just a theory...a miraculous ladybug theory!

[saintobio]

So um before I start I wanted to ask: Does Sachiro have the possibility to develop any sort of psychological trauma due to his father’s absence and sudden appearance/do events of present or future have impact on his mental health?

Also some thoughts/reactions to the chapter

1.this is a small appreciation for my man Nanami Kento. Can we all stand here and talk how this man literally didn’t went all out in YN or Gojo like Gen / Momjo did when some actions were revealed instead he revealed his belief without accusing anyone and without targeting any of the sides or (kind of) triggering them. That’s a great man right there 😔

2. Im dead. Like dead dead. I’ve been simping for gossip queen Naoya since the beginning like entertain me Naoya. BUT IM SERIOUSLY DYING. Not Naoya getting the do I know you card from sera like Naoya baby karma is a bitch. Im high fiving sera on this one even though I never really liked her

3. Im ready to throw hands with Momjo. I love it how she goes against the doctor’s orders to keep with his storyline and she is just there trying to play the matchmaker for GojoxUtahime. I het it you thing YN is responsible for everything that has happened to your son and don’t want her near him but please PLEASE stop trying to play the matchmaker in the middle of critical moments bc if something happens I’m blaming this on you 🙃

4. Manifesting a happy ending for YN Gojo and Sachiro even if they don’t end up together

the only trauma that could possibly develop on sachi is him realizing that he's actually in a broken/toxic household (esp once he sees his parents fighting over him, etc). he's a cheerful, positive baby so it may not be a good thing for him to be surrounded with so much negativity/hostility.

nanami has reservations, but he's generally very civil and unbiased. as for naoya, yeah he had it coming bsjds whenever he has a scene w sera i always think of that one chapter in nana's funeral where toji lied about sera and naoya dating and he was like "uh no? i don't do the label thing" 💀 he was such a fun character to write throughout sn

[hacash]

Ted Lasso 2x03 thoughts

SAM OBISANYA EVERYONE

SERIOUSLY

JUST SAM

EVERYTHING ABOUT SAM

IF YOU DON’T LOVE SAM YOU’RE WRONG

I - just - I saw a preview saying Sam was going to have a ‘protest in sport’ storyline this season and I thought that the writers could probably pull it off, but nonetheless it was a relief to see that they did pull it off. The fact that the momentum of the protest was pushed by Sam and the Nigerian players rather than someone like Ted or Rebecca was good - the fact that Sam fully held his own with dignity and integrity all the way through the ep was good - the fact that we had Ted acknowledging that when bad things happen to white dudes like him the press covers it without encouragement was good….

On a slightly more baseline reaction: I love every second I see Sam’s lovely smiling face on my screen and will continue to do so.

There’s literally nothing I can say about the taping-up-the-shirts scene other than it made me tear up at 9.30AM and that’s not a thing that usually happens in my life.

We’re finally getting more Richmond FC screentime! It’s pertinent that we see this on the ep where Jamie returns - how much camaraderie and genuine friendship has built up since he left - but just any excuse to see those daft happy faces together. The general ribbing of Sam’s ad, the post-match party together - I adore these himbos.

A special shout out to: ‘I’m nervous and excited, kind of like whenever Colin takes me somewhere in his Lamborghini’ ‘Yeah it’s way too much car for me.’ As a fellow Welsh person, I can confirm that flash speedy supercars really aren’t part of our national DNA.

I’m also hoping that Richard talking in French and Zoreaux translating for him becomes a regular thing.

I love how they wrote Jamie’s return: it would have been so easy for him to come back and have all be forgiven, but they made it messy and complicated and have forgiveness come in dribs and drabs. I love that Jamie didn’t immediately understand everything about the team’s feelings and that his first impulse was to buy their acceptance back (that’s a painful little snapshot into his psyche right there) and that we saw people like Sam and Nate and Colin be allowed to be petty with him returning. I also loved seeing Keeley not being put into the role of ‘Jamie’s minder’ again but instead pushing him to speak with Sharon, a person who is actually paid to deal with this crap - it was an understated but neat little moment of a woman demonstrating personal boundaries with the men in her life.

What I absolutely adored, though, was that the final reconciliation comes after Jamie puts his own fame and reputation and wallet on the line by joining in with Sam’s protest. It was a proper ‘I’m part of this team even if it hits me where it hurts’ sacrifice when before Jamie has only ever been about himself, and such a neat resolution to the rift.

Is anyone else concerned about Coach Beard’s relationship with Jane? All these fights do not sound healthy.

I really like how the boys react to Keeley now - it seems to be a genuine friendship between her and the team, as opposed to the mutual objectification on all sides that we saw in the first episode. Her becoming the entire team’s big sister warms my cold heart.

Nora was a delight. I was a little worried about her inclusion because so often TV writers can’t get teenage girls right - they’re always a bit too sassy and perfectly put together and smarter than every adult in the room - but Nora was the perfect blend of snark and teenage insecurity. Her crush on Sam was both adorable and the most relatable thing about her; and her bonding with Rebecca was adorable - I really enjoyed the email composition scene, and hope we get more of her in the future.

Rebecca ‘Ally Who Stands By Her Boys At All Times And Takes No Shit’ Welton is an absolute queen.

For a show about Ted Lasso there wasn’t so much Ted in this ep (the Led Tasso scene was pretty fun, admittedly), but all I can say is a dating app with no pictures that both Ted and Rebecca are on, leading to a YOU’VE GOT MAIL AU TED AND REBECCA???? PLEASE. I need this like air.

Also: Ted Lasso as a sexual partner who is, and I quote, ‘so eager to please’??? Rebecca take notes, girl.

Similarly not so much Roy in this ep, but his appearance on Sky Sports was once again a thing of absolute beauty. (’I hope he dies of the incurable condition of being a little bitch’ is a line I am going to use all the time now.) I would pay Brett Goldstein any amount of money to join Sky Sports and commentate on real life football as Roy.

Higgins being so easy around Rebecca and lying (unsuccessfully) to a teenage girl to big up his boss in front of her granddaughter was a perfect and underrated moment. Their friendship just makes my heart explode.

I’ve already shrieked my head off about Colin being all but confirmed as on Grindr and how it will take a lot to disabuse me of my ‘bisexual disaster who drives like an idiot’ headcanon (I mean, they put the two lines in the same scene ffs), but it does bear repeating. I actually love him, your honour.

Probably my favourite episode of the season so far. Next Friday’s Christmas shenanigans cannot come soon enough.