MOTHPOOL AU SPIEL
more info abt my mothpool wc au beneath da cut
info for the au (also lionbranch is a stand in name im using while i try to figure out a better name lmfao. its puzzling me a lot. im torn between lionfern, lionburr, and lionlily)
lionbranch is much more involved in the dark forest plot since he is lacking powers. when he sees ivypool there for the first time, he becomes much more wary and they bond while lionbranch tries to deprogram her as well as himself
dovewing is thought to be the third cat because she can still hear and smell from very far away. this isnt the same as the books tho. she cant see visions from far away like w/ the beavers. but regardless, after lionbranch (in this au) flees after he is found out for working with the dark forest (albeit not loyally, instead trying to protect ivypool), holly and jay are desperate for answers and overlook ivypool
ivypool has lionbranch's strength, but since she was lead to believe she doesnt have powers, she is merely seen as a capable warrior. while lion is self exiled, he realizes very quickly that she is the third cat.
jayflight is not a reincarnation of jays wing. he is a reincarnation of moth flight . she follows him like a ghost, though, and can talk to him as if they were two different cats. jayflight can dreamwalk in this au (STILL DISABLED THO, NO WEIRD FAITH HEALING SHIT), and thru moth flights dreams, he sees her life and learns the meaning of the prophecy: the code must change so that medicine cats have more freedom, as well as allow mixed clan relationships. Only then will they come together.
hollyflame sees visions of either a future just out of context, or vivid and jarring flashes of other places in the forst in current time if she touches objects theyve touched (kinda like jays stick but more broad. example would be holly touches some wood that came from the dam from the beavers and sees them)
that being said, sol is in this au toooo. holly still has a big arc surrounding her mental health and her devotion to the clan. she relies very heavily on her visions, but once sol comes and predicts the eclipse before her, she's distraught, and every vision becomes taunting and deceitful as she slowly loses faith in starclan.
the fire scene is much more chaotic. hollyflame is plagued with visions every time the fire touches her, and she can barely see. her and jayflight are stuck with lion as ashfur confronts them and squirrelflight. the second squirrelflight says they arent her kits, moth flight appears to help jayflight and hollyflame out. hollyflame, at the same instant, stops having rapidfire vision zaps, and instead is just cold and stony, both in shock from the fire and the confession.
lion however stays behind! as ashfur begins to taunt squirrelflight cruelly, he leaps at him, and pins his former mentor down. lion is adament that even if he wasnt squirrelflights kit by blood, she is the best mother any cat could have, and if ashfur wanted to hurt her, lion would put his dark forest teachings to use.
hollyflame, jayflight, AND lion (if i were to write these as books, each would get a chapter where its implied they snuck off after vague thoughts) all kill ashfur. hollyflame is the one to give the killing blow, though, which jayflight and lion both take note of.
however, ashfur had already told firestar about lion training in the dark forest, despite him realigning his loyalties at this point.
hollyflame is really fucked up at this point. her parents arent her parents, her brother was training in the dark forest, and she hasnt had a vision since the fire.
ok more to come but thats awl for now ... all of this is still kinda being roughed out soooo may change later on but if i do comics im gonna refer to this post as a kind of overview of a lot of major changes :3
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i love the way you write clethubs so so bad you capture their essence in a bottle and then like, add glitter. it's so good. do you have any tips for writing them?
this is so kind and if nothing else it surely gives me an excuse to ramble and explain my feelings abt them because i have. a lot.
they are united for the love of a good mean mocking bit and their particular brands of loyalty. tragically this has meant so far that it's almost impossible for all three of them to be united at the same time as the demands of a bit too good to resist or not realizing they don't share the same definition of loyalty drag them into flux. two people are arguing and the other one is egging someone on to be worse, or also one person is being reckless and the other is trying to save them and the third is watching knowing they're not actually allied in that moment, and sometimes it's both at the same time. they all take turns, constantly switching.
for me, when writing, it's helpful to find one thing as an anchor, especially physically since dialogue is usually a little easier. i have just listened to enough bdubs talking to know the phrasings and cadence; cleo is harder, bc i haven't watched as much of her old stuff but she's got the tacked-on yeah? at ends of sentences and uncontrolled giggling interrupting a funny moment as she tries to keep composure. (she's like etho in trying to keep a facade but the allure of the bit lol.) etho's the person i've watched the most of but a lot of his distinctness is in the how of saying things, the rare full-bodied laughs, the overexplaining and then coming back to be self-conscious about it, lots of "oh but wouldn't you...? don't you...?" like telling skizz you don't even know me when skizz correctly predicts etho is in fact a boogeyman or any time he interacts with scar and is clearly trying to make scar commit to being friends aka not trying to kill him.
bdubs is coiled energy, springs and wherever his center of gravity is - hunched down, waving around, halting movements, flowing speech but interrupted movements. cleo is more the angles of her face, the degree of the curve of her arched eyebrow or the tenor of her smile, without teeth or uncontrolled or cruelly exacting, a stillness that could either be born of fear or intimidation but that breaks when joy bubbles over. etho is like an absent-minded slice of the hand from center to down and outside the body during an explanation, not characterized by movement or analysis but always trying to secure his place in relation to other things, that awareness of space even as he fails to manipulate it.
having a core thread to return to, whatever it is, helps you when you're stuck and it also can just accidentally become a fancy motif that readers begin to notice and can orient themselves by, which makes you feel very smart even though it's an unblocking technique. what's their core? what do they tend to want, what things do they predictably do? in this situation, what tendency would they lean to first? and frankly, what's most enjoyable? i lift a lot from canon scenes honestly, retooling it. writing often takes a long time bc i'm just trying to imagine and then going back and watching certain scenes and discovering new things and trying to retain a voice and then only comes the writing.
also i wrote everything below the cut first but it's just me talking abt each of them individually and it's not writing advice. but it is the rationale for everythign above and i'm not deleting it so
cleo is so, so loyal. doesn't get enough credit for it, even though her dual loyalties got her killed in DL. it's not necessarily to one person, but she weighs her relationships against their contents, how the person she's loyal to treats her. she gets her revenge on big b for his betrayal and starts lying to bdubs only after he lies to her, changing everything. but she's also always down for shenanigans and is not the voice of reason at all times! 3L crastle is so special because they trade places constantly on who's causing problems and who's trying to protect the problem-solver by fixing it up a little bit. she's not afraid to be judgemental like when she straight-up calls the red king schtick in 3L pathetic or being mean when she helps scott steal away the goats in DL. she does, in fact, like a little rudeness.
bdubs' loyalty is ride-or-die me and them regardless of what came before, but prior partnerships make it sweeter. unlike cleo, bdubs constantly alludes to history with etho and absurdly insists he'd never kill etho in LL when he literally extrajudicially firing squad executed tango for the sole motive of killing etho as well in 3L, as cleo points out. long history gives him the freedom to know it's the terms of the current world and moment that matter most, because they'll freely choose a new iteration next time. (this is. central to the argument of do it again btw. this is it.) he is bombastic and says things he feels are true with complete sincerity even if they are absurd in the scope he makes you think in. he - and this is crucial - does NOT care about the consequences of his actions, if it ever occurs to him there might be some. he is playing this game to fuck around and find out.
etho is silently playing 4D chess or whatever at all times but also, i cannot emphasize this enough, he is NOT thinking about it. about what? all of it, he's so sad and stressed his life is so hard oh noghoho. he's fine drifting with whomever will let him hang around, he doesn't expect much of anything in return unless he's whining to remind someone else what he's done for them in an attempt to save his own hide like when he's trying to survive cleo picking on him after bdubs first goes red. he's never serious unless he's condescending (him explaining how bubble columns work and tango telling him off for it in one of the seasons LOL). but he loves a bit; he loves using what he knows to poke and prod and make fun with plausible deniability, which is why bdubs is such an easy target in 3L because he knows what buttons to press and even though it's strategically so stupid to sabotage the fragile near-alliance he has w the crastle he can NOT stop from making fun. as long as things aren't permanent, anything goes; but when push comes to shove, he can't shoot bdubs who's red in 3L and he gets bdubs a life to come back from red. he's even the only person to really fall for bdubs homewrecking bc bdubs is his FRIEND. and etho is not using his brain, he is so trusting of people who treat him kindly and give him bits to weave off of like cleo trusting him by transitive property.
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sols roundup masterpost
i mentioned i was reworking the original post on my ao3 and so here it is! please note that a) there are a LOT of spoilers under the cut (guy who has 80+ hours and multiple multiple endings) and b) there’s a lot of ways to take sol and these are just me having fun with them, if u dont like thats fine but dont tell me i don’t care. lol. also worth noting i think time loops are most fun when they subtly influence each other so there’s a lot of that in here LOL
worth noting i think theres a few traits that are pretty universal to them? wants to do right and full of love are the big two, tho curiosity, (seeming) warmth, and ability to fit in w/those around them are also pretty important tho i think more flexible. its just fun the way various sols can have those traits like.... manifest? an alien-hater sol who goes hunting all the time is just as valid as a sol dating dys that wants to end the war. just different ppl they love and different experiences. its fun
with that. onto the Meat
1) solana (she/her (demi?)girl, loyalty leaning lawyer, neutral end)
baby’s first run! outwardly warm but pretty cold inside. hypercompetent everywhere except in her love life. fell for tang when they were like nine on the ship and just sort of, never stopped, feeling that way, including when she was 100 years old and had outlived tang by nearly forty years, partially bc fixating on tang as people were dying was kind of. the only solace she had. wouldve really benefited from a good therapist.
2) solanaceae (he/him tguy, governor, peace ending)
childhood optimist with a hero complex turned "realist” but actually-exactly-the-same-just-depressed-about-it adult. saves tammy and tonin and hal! cannot save his parents :) grows a little distant from most of the people around him as a result, except dys, who Gets it. avoids tang for pretty much no reason he can understand, just has a sense of She Will Hurt You If You Get Too Close when he sees her sometimes. becomes governor solely bc he wants to save people. the kind of person you can trust in your house with your keys and your valuables and then someone asks ‘hey whats his favorite color’ and youre like. i dont. actually know
3) solane (they/them nb, gardener ending)
manic overconfident freak. definitely a ‘i wont tell people about my dreams bc it’s like i’m a HERO this way!’ type. saves everyone and extremely proud about it. coasting through life from ages 14-19 until they go find dys after the bomb has gone off and he’s dating. someone else? which makes them freak out bc THEYRE the hero. so instead of being normal about this they become a gardener in a desperate attempt not to be left behind
It’s Bad!
4) solanaceae (he/him cisguy, colonial hero, neutral ending) x / x
this is the one ive been referring to in private as “fascist manwhore sol” and honestly. yeah. just as overconfident as the last but extremely charming about it. the kind of guy you kinda wanna hit but also can’t help but like? somehow manages to be close w/most everyone in the colony despite their various opinions. really really hates the gardeners + even sym, for some reason w/in himself that he can’t explain.
in Love with dys for most of their lives but cant ever make it work, fwb with rex, dates vace despite having matching tattoos with his ex-gf. hes just that kind of guy. dies young and a hero, less than a year after dys disappears into the ridges. dont think abt it too hard.
5) solane (she/her nb, neutral end, roboticist on accident somehow but a social skills job wouldve fit much better)
if third sol Thinks theyre god this sol like. actually Is. extremely clear dreams, used to talk abt them pretty much always until her first trip to medbay, at which point she stopped ever letting adults know. kind of existentially exhausted as a result. using this life literally just as a coffeeshop au lol. poly but also probably aromantic; open rship w/rex, who they love a lot but no more so than literally any of their other friends. pretty happy with stuff!
until they go to see dys off when he “vanishes” from the colony and they accidentally let it drop they couldve like. ended the whole war. he’s. displeased. they still make an effort to enjoy the rest of their life but when they die theyre thinking abt how they should try to be a better person next time. and also hoping they remember less.
6) solanaceae (genderfluid but generally refers to self as a lesbian, peace end, botanist) x
cheerful heroine! desperately wants to be normal and tries so so hard to ignore her dreams, which works kind of, right up until they very purposefully ignores the one abt tammy and tammy dies immediately after :) at which point they completely switches gears and uses their dreams to try and save Everyone they can. bffs with nem since childhood & into her pretty much Always. everyone’s friend! dies content and at peace.
interestingly, bc this is the route where i got paradox ending on a save, probably the sol closest to the wormhole + everything about it, despite not actually remembering much from his dreams. it manifests in other ways. lol.
7) solane (she/her cisgirl, neutral end, roboticist)
coward who can only be brave when it’s for the sake of the people she loves, most notably tammy who she actually dislikes until she saves her life, at which point she realizes maybe she Can be a hero too. better with robots than people, spent most of her childhood following cal around bc he was one of hte only ppl to make time for her. falls madly in love w/tammy; their family is her biggest joy. a good parent.
8) solanaceae (he/him agender, neutral end, doctor)
feral intense child who becomes a terrifying eagle-eyed doctor. max perception by age eleven, somehow. STRONG sense of justice. strongest belief is “if you ignore someone you couldve saved, you’re garbage.” not quite high enough friendship w/nem to convince her to leave vace as teens; helps her later on when theyre adults. years and years later after dys “dies” they end up moving in and spend the rest of their lives together.
9) solanaceae (they/them nb, peace end, entertainer)
awkward ace kid who always speaks their mind. accidentally destroys tammy’s confidence every time they talk. gets confessed to by both marz and rex, shoots them down extremely awkwardly due to both aforementioned asexuality and the fact theyve had a crush on dys since they were thirteen. takes their promise to let him go seriously to the point that when he tries to bomb hte colony, they let him, and when he wants to be a gardener, they don’t stand in his way. is alright with this at first but slowly begins to feel lonelier and lonelier about it as time passes, and when they die and realize they won’t actually be with him again they feel. Very Bad. pass on wishing they’d not let him go but resenting him for asking to.
10) solane (she/her cisgirl, neutral end, xeno wrangler)
ive been calling this one “cuckoo bird sol” for a reason. desperately wants someone to be devoted to Her and Her Alone who Won’t Leave, and feels like. cal is good for that. doesn’t like tammy as a result, which means that when she has a nightmare abt tammy dying she doesn't even care, it’s not like its REAL. yeah. It’s Bad! she feels guilty abt it and then feels bad bc she’s also happy bc cal spends more time with her but also she does sure feel like shes competing against a dead girl huh! so! that’s fun!
eventually she does work her shit out and realize she does like cal himself and does want kids on her own terms but like. the process of getting there! one fucked up kid. dies more content than she realized she could be, glad for her family.
11) solanaceae (she/her nb leaning, peace end, parent) x
rowdy. her heart is 80% love and 20% pure unadulterated rage. unaugmented, which she personally doesnt care abt, but she sure does get pissed off at ppl trying to be soooo nice to her abt it! too busy w/sfc stuff during wet and as such completely misses her chance to talk dys out of the bomb. when she finds him on the ridges afterwards they yell at each other abt being in love w/each other for forever and she manages to drag him back home.
in some ways this would be my “golden run” (full friendship with everyone) (jesus christ) but despite that her actual bffs besides dys are tammy and (unfortunately) vace. in another world i would retcon this to ot3 but in this one she kissed sym and then he died in front of her and despite herself she kind of cant stop flinching away from him now if he tries to make a move. they do hinge poly instead it works. has a boatload of kids and never augments any of them. dies exhausted and delighted and in love w/the world.
12) solane (he/him cisguy, peace ending, parent oops)
delusion run! sol who cant stop talking abt his delusions even when he knows he should. pursues dys in the “we were In Love before so we will be again!” way not the “i like you!” way until he gets. y’know. lobotomized. in some ways not focusing on his dreams is good for him but also he loses a lot of his personality? focus? afterwards
teases tammy relentlessly but ends up falling for her but bc for some reason this run glitched and tammy’s pregnancy just. kept going. she never had the kid? so i didnt date her even tho he wouldve lol. tbh most of th ending for this one is what id consider noncanon for him but ill retcon it later when i have more Vibes in place
13) solanaceae (they/he, peace ending, astronaut) this is a dead dove run (mentions of abuse)
unlucky number thirteen :) sol coming out of a delusion run with the creeping sense that they should not trust Anyone with their secrets. a little disconnected from the ppl around them tho they get on well enough w/dys and tang. madly in love with the wormhole. desperate to get off the planet and back into space so they can see it, a sentiment no one shares until, y’know. vace.
in Love (lol) with him after his 50. first time theyve ever met anyone they think Gets them so they enable him. fucking crushed when he starts dating nem. when he offers to cheat they take him up on it, which means he learns nothing and they lose one of their childhood friends :) eventually they go into space together just like they wanted! it’s bad! die in the wormhole and i think thats the first time they ever truly, from the bottom of their heart, regret everything. never want to fall in love again.
14) sol (no pronouns whenever possible but sort of ok w/they, peace ending, farmer) warning for abuse mentions in this one as well
sometimes you get so badly abused in one life your next life it still affects you! kind of an odd child, gets along better w/congruence than the other kids but thinks of cal is like a brother. doing ok until helios lands and then it’s like. h
avoids vace like the plague, despises/is afraid of him but doesn’t realize why until after sol starts understanding dreams more. when he dies i think sol wants to be like Good Riddance but. cant fully. approaches rex bc sol want to know What’s Up With The Whole Rex+Vace Deal, end up falling pretty hard. dating sym also, the three of them living together is an Experience i think. dies full of Love.
15) solana (he/him tguy, peace end, athlete)
rambunctious! cheerful! kind of dumb! falls in love w/cal from a young age and is convinced they’re gonna grow up and get married and is subsequently crushed when cal starts dating tammy instead esp bc. cal sort of. lead them on a bit w/it. slowly falls in love w/dys in the aftermath.
a bit immature. plays sportsball even in the middle of war, tension with both cal And nem as a result despite still being their bffs. he and nem are on opposite sportsball teams for the rest of their lives and yet go out for drinks after constantly. she’s his sister, basically! dies pretty happy w/how things turned out
16) solanaceae (she/they, neutral end, merchant)
greedy greedy greedy. wants money and love and attention, time and people and things, everyhting you can think of she wants it. she marz and tang are the Terrible WLW Trio of Girls Who Might Be Dating. bit of a soft spot for dys she can’t quite rationalize, will be kind to him when she’s not to anyone else. fond of rex as well.
she and marz flirt by flirting with tang, aka the person she Actually likes. pretty happy when they finally hook up, but isn’t devastated by the breakup as much as she is.... left hollow. another mistake on top of everyhting else (capitalism, dys vanishing, girl shes liked forever dumping her, also theres maybe a fleet from earth coming but haha dw abt it) she tells rex abt the fleet maybe a year? before it shows up. dies wishing desperately she had been able to be kinder.
17) solana (he/him tguy, peace end, professor) x
sugary sweet! childhood friends with tammy, they’re v similar people. loves her a lot, cannot wait to be best man at her wedding to cal LOL. despite his gentle demeanor he is also absolutely the kind of guy to do Whatever It Takes for the ppl he loves (ie poisons uncle tonin to keep him alive LOL)
thinks nomi is like, the coolest person in the universe when they meet bc they can MAKE things. so so stupid about them. when they start dating its embarrassing for everyone but they are so happy together no one can actually say anything. dies happy but wishing he was more confident in himself/brave
aaaaaaaaanyways that’s the current list. for Now. there may be more coming. i have offshoots of some of these as well that may or may not pop up wwww generally for fic that isn’t set with a specific sol i tend towards an nb sol closest to personality+dreams to my sixth sol? cheerful and trying to help but also Just A Kid about it!
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what do you look for in character dynamics? i think you like desert duo a lot but i dont know what their deal is
don’t know what their deal is like you don’t know who they are? desert duo is grian and scar from the mc series third life. it’s a competitive series that turns into improv storytelling which i like to divorce from the game aspect and view entirely as a story, where all the players are actors cast as characters (the actual players do this as well, a lot of them referring to themselves or each other as ‘characters’ or leaning hard into a specific ‘character’ for the game (ren im looking at you))
what draws me to desert duo is the same thing that draws me to a lot of character dynamics i like—deep-seeded loyalty which has been purposely earned or gained, said loyalty based on a promise or formal roles, a leader & right-hand dynamic that is actually mostly equal, fun complementary characteristics, and a compelling test (and, sometimes, break) of that loyalty
anyway you’ve given me an opportunity to talk about desert duo so i’m taking it. gonan examine them against the points i look for in character dynamics. i’ll put it under a read more because i dunno how long it’ll be but i do know it will be long
first session of third life, grian accidentally kills scar with a creeper. everyone in the game only has three total lives (green, yellow, and red), and scar is pretty quick to die even on servers where their lives aren’t limited. losing his first life first before everyone else, in session one, in a game where you want to be the last one standing, puts him at a pretty strong disadvantage. so grian pulls him aside once he respawns and promises his first (green) life to scar. once he’s made things even and gone to yellow, scar’s on his own, but until then grian’s going to do whatever scar says and try his best to keep scar alive
which, check your boxes, ☑️ formalized promise and ☑️ a leader and right-hand!
grian then spends the rest of the next two sessions insisting he’s going to leave as soon as he can. any attempt by scar to talk abt lasting plans is shot down, and any scheme scar starts grian tries to undermine—he has to do what scar says, but that doesn’t mean he can’t warn the people they talk to scar’s trying to scam them (because scar is scamming everyone always in 3L. he spends all of sessions two and three scamming people. it works also. nat 20 charisma on near every role that man made for all of 3L)
all that said, grian’s actively building them a house in the meantime and, by the end of session 3, actively helping with some of the shit scar is pulling (such as encouraging taking a diamond chestplate). he insists when asked he’s going to leave, and often says he doesn’t care what scar is doing because “i have no stake in this,” but he already does
then scar dies. again. falls to his death, complete accident, putting him on red, his final life. red lives operate under different rules—while yellow and green names cannot attack other players or engage in pvp, red lives not only are allowed, but it’s their main goal. scar’s supposed to be attacking other players now. some people in chat float the idea grian should be allowed to leave now that there’s a red name at his base. if grian really wants to leave, he has an out
scar comes back on red and the first thing he does is throw grian flowers and ask “can we still be his friends?” now that he’s ‘scary.’ and grian assures him that yes, he will stay. he has to, right?
(this is a little loyalty test, and a step in building that deep loyalty, but hold off on checking those boxes quite yet) (this also makes me feel fucking insane)
now. grian’s favorite block in the game is tnt. so now that his partner is red, he starts immediately planning traps. grian can’t kill, but he can do it if scar ‘tells’ him to. you can now check off the ☑️ complementary characters box, because we have a fun parallel: a green name player who plays like a red life, and a red name player who plays like a green life. grian immediately gets the largest kill in the series, taking out three people with a bomb left outside the gate of ren, who scar antagonized/threatened when he was on yellow (and it didn’t really mean anything) ((3L ren also makes me insane))
scar talks a lot of game about murder, but he’s not really one for pvp—pretty sure he says outright to grian he’s all bark. grian talks a lot about having no stakes and following scar’s orders, but is the one calling the shots about who and when and how they’re going to get kills (check off the right hand and leader dynamic being ☑️ mostly equal, actually). grian digs his claws in deep with scar by killing a lot of the rest of the server—i think he gets like four kills incl the bomb and contributes to at least one other, from all three other major ‘factions’ on the server—which doesn’t exactly do him any favors when he’s ‘free’ of scar and needs somewhere to go. he still insists hes going to leave, but scar doesn’t acknowledge it. pretty sure the one time he brings it up, scar even says grian won’t actually leave, but i don’t think grian acknowledges that
session 7 rolls around, second to last. players are starting to be eliminated here—of the 14, three of them die permanently in this session. grian and scar get into a big fight against an opposing faction. grian dies. on yellow, he runs right back to scar. neither of them acknowledge it. he stays (you can check two points: ☑️ deep loyalty that is hard-earned. ☑️ compelling loyalty test). when grian finally addresses this alone, to the audience, he explains, “i just can’t let him die”
final session is session 8. it’s basically nonstop battle. the others are whittled down one by one—ren and martyn go on a fuckin killing spree and ren takes out three lives, eliminating two players (ren my beloved), then the survivors get into another large fight ending with four more dead (grian says to scar, right before this, entirely unprompted: “is this where we prove our true allegiance to each other and no one else?”). there’s five left, and this is where the betrayals start.
one person betrays someone who had helped him since day one, someone who had sworn his loyalty (the fun thing about improv stories is the thing that become foreshadowing by accident). now there’s four. scar breaks a promise to another person, having him killed. now there’s three. grian, scar, and a third, bdubs: another red name who just betrayed his day one and killed the fourth place winner for scar.
both bdubs and grian are following scer, so scar essentially just says “whoever gets this piece of paper i won’t kill” and drops it on the ground. bdubs get it. scar and bdubs turn on grian immediately, killing him and sending him to red
and that’s another check, there. ☑️ a compelling loyalty break. at the end of it all, grian follows scar to the end, and scar kills him.
but there’s still like ten godamn minutes left! grian hunts scar down, promising to kill him for being a traitor, and as soon as he gets there, scar kills bdubs. he turns around and tells grian “you can kill me, for everything you did to keep me alive this long” and encourages him to win. grian drops the anger immediately and insists he can’t do it
which is already insane enough as a scene. deeply fucking insane. but the people who have already lost insist there can be no double victory, and someone has to win. scar and grian go back to their mountain in the desert, drop all their gear, and fight bare-handed to the death.
something that interests me about the final fight is it’s impossible to tell if scar is throwing or if he just sucks at pvp. regardless, in the end grian wins. the entire fight is just them apologizing to each other. grian immediately turns around and jumps to his death, ending the series with no winners at all
…which is all the detail i’ll give abt the final fight bc i think about it SO much and this ask is long enough without me going into it. suffice to say the whole finale, from scar and bdubs killing grian to the end, is just… fascinating to look at through the lens of their loyalty. grian spends the whole series insisting he’s going to leave as soon as he can, but in the end, his whole life is dedicated to keeping scar alive. and it blows up on him! scar turns on him! grian fails to keep him alive! he kills scar in the end, and then takes his own life. its tragic and i’m obsessed with it
loyalty-based dynamics have always done it for me. Luffy and Zoro, for example, hit all of those points except the loyalty break: start with a promise, complementary characters, leader and right hand (but rather informal), Luffy earns Zoro’s loyalty over a number of important scenes, ending with Zoro’s sacrifice at 485. there’s even other third life dynamics that hit those points that i also really like (ren and martyn).
i find gradual growth and strengthening and tests of a bond/loyalty to be inherently interesting and i always have. watching two characters face adversity against their bond and choosing each other over and over is always compelling to me. the fact only one person can be left standing in third life adds an especially fun layer of flavor on their dynamic bc that loyalty is earned and developed and inherently doomed, it can’t be forever. it’s really fascinating. esp when it’s entirely unscripted improv, evolving like that on its own. the whole story is just so fuckin fun and i like it a lot
if anyone reads this far shoutout to you for being the bravest motherfucker alive. anon thank you so much for asking. if this wasn’t exactly what you were looking for and you want me to talk abt character dynamics more broadly feel free to send another ask, i’d be happy to keep going on this
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PLEASE tell us about the tether. or deathbringers in general. obvi if it's a secret then that's cool but I would LOVE to hear about ur wips dude they sound rad as hell <3
THANK U i love rambling on abt deathbringers ahaaaaa <3333 read more for length reasons
So, for context: the "tether" that I made up is just a spinoff of a real phenomenon that we call the stellar binary system! This happens when a pairing of stars pull each other in and begin to orbit around each other, creating a "bond" that may last indefinitely or, if the orbit of one star decays and becomes unstable, may lead to stellar collision. This phenomenon actually makes up more than half the stars in our galaxy!
In Deathbringers, the tether is first employed by the current "god" of the world (The Lovely Prince) with his personal Reaper (Mortimer Crackbone). It serves as a bond of trust and loyalty; Mortimer is at the Prince's mercy, and the Prince does not abuse that power (in theory). The tether is mostly a dormant thing, since its complete activation would result in the Prince having full control over Mortimer's autonomy. But it does foster constant, intimate knowledge of one another; Mortimer can pick up on the Prince's feelings many miles away, and the Prince is vaguely aware of Mortimer's actions day to day. It's a level of shared connection unique to the tether. The purpose is more akin to a space tether that astronauts use: safety, security, and an insurance policy that someone will protect you and watch your back.
But because the tether is a bastardization of the nature of the stars, and not a finnessed practice, it manifests differently the second time it's used. It acts more like a backyard lead on a dog. Mortimer experiences a degree of pain when the tether is "pulled" and he does not respond. While he doesn't have the same hyper-sensitivity that he does with the Prince, the tether is temperamental, for lack of a better word. He despises the person he's tethered to, so that makes their connection unstable and fickle. He is less emotionally attuned to the tetherer, but also has far less autonomy naturally than his tether with the Prince provides.
The third and final time it's used, it's more of an emergency insurance act, and manifests in a more distant, mellow fashion. It's more like a parasitic attachment; it's not necessarily painful for either party, but it still isn't the healthiest thing to have. It doesn't last especially long before Mortimer is finally freed of being tethered entirely, giving him complete ownership over his own physiological and mental wellbeing. It takes him a bit to adjust to being un-tethered again, having spent the last 5 years of his life bouncing from one tether to another.
If u want to know more abt anything pls don't hesitate to ask btw!! I'm very excited to start writing deathbringers for real and share stuff abt it =)
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THREE SONGS / not accepting .
what's our song (don/fred)
#1 : BACK OF YOUR CAR / RYAN STAR .
#2 : WORK SONG / HOZIER .
#3 : RUN / DAUGHTER .
@redruined.
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aaaaaaaa @yukiyuuki‘s tags are so good it makes me want to talk abt what I think this panel means some more,,,,
the panel in question:
Post under the cut!
So when I was in middle school I had this blowout fight with my dad about something stupid and it escalated into yelling. But y’know, yelling back at your parents gets you in even deeper shit, so like... it’s best not to.
We had this cheap set of window blinds at the time that we got from a discount outlet that were “supposed” to look like wood but were really just plastic and tbh you couldn’t fool anyone. So in the middle of this fight I feel like I’m going to explode because I’m trapped in a fight with my dad and he’s yelling at me--instead of yelling back, I turned around and sank my teeth into the blinds like a bite block.
Again: these were made of cheap plastic and it left a very clear indent of my teeth. But the blinds were newish, they were a pain in the ass and took two men with DIY know-how to put them up, and my parents had to be careful with money, so they weren’t replaced for many years after. Any time I walked into the kitchen I would see it, and I would feel (irrationally, mind you) ashamed at my “loss of control.”
That’s what the phone is to Mike.
He’s had it for a very significant portion of the comic, over 40 chapters.
This is Call Waiting, page 2. It was posted in June 2011, just over ten years ago now. This is a very long ways back from the current chapter (Eternal Flame).
Oliver’s commentary on the page notes that Mike’s family is pretty comfortable as, in 2008, an iPhone would have been pretty expensive -- especially for a teenager. Mike was so desperate for the phone that he cashed in his birthday and Christmas presents for it so he could text Sandy.
sidenote: It’s been mentioned, probably by Mod Brambles iirc, that Mike’s lockscreen has never changed. It has always been this picture of Sandy from when they were much younger.
During their fight/breakup, Mike threw it very hard and with very little care across the room, causing the screen to crack. Presumably, like my window blinds, this serves as a permanent physical reminder of what happened that night. The phone is his link to Sandy, and represents nearly the whole of their relationship. Every since getting together, Mike and Sandy have met face-to-face twice, and all other communication has been through letters and phone lines. Mike’s cell phone is representative of them as a couple.
And... it’s about what you’d expect from two teenagers who have nothing in common.
In page 64 of Eternal Flame, Mike looks down at his cracked screen and tells his friend that they’re going to “get rid of distractions.”
As yukiyuuki said in their tags, this doesn’t just mean Francis. It means Lucy, too. Mike intends to continue his relationship with Sandy through the phone (with promised schedules calls and more frequent replies). But every time he unlocks it to text her... he’s going to see these cracks in the screen.
another sidenote: I don’t believe Mike would go out of his way to fix the phone within the confines of the narrative. The phone is expensive and a repair would be as bad--touchscreen electronics, if not insured, can be less costly to just replace instead of fixing. And while Mike gets along with his parents, unlike my relationship with my dad, he still understandably shrinks like a violet when they’re angry at him. also, Vero would have to dedicate writing/art to a scene as such and she has better things to be working on irt the comic it’s gonna be soooo funny if I’m wrong.
anyway.
additionally, there’s plenty of analysis on the way Mike sees cheating/cheaters and @bramblepaws put it a lot better than I ever could have, check it out here. the point is that he takes loyalty and commitment very seriously. while it wasn’t technically cheating since she’d dumped him immediately prior, I’m willing to wager that the fact that Mike went out and kissed Lucy as soon as he was cut loose is going to weight very heavily on their relationship for the rest of the time they’re in it, even and especially if it’s only by his own guilt. he absolutely saw this as a hiccup and not a true breakup, since it probably didn’t even last an hour. so not only was Sandy compromising fidelity, (wrt to Bramble’s post: “I really love him”/”you’re so... nice”), so was he.
after all, this wasn’t exactly the same at the other two kisses they’ve shared...
One of these things is NOT like the others, if you catch my meaning.
And while none of these kisses were technically cheating on Sandy or disrespecting his feelings toward her (the first two were before they got back together and the third is, of course, right after their breakup/makeup), Mike has always looked back on them as such because they represent the idea that when Sandy left, Mike fell in love with someone else and therefore he wasn’t “loyal enough,” hence the trauma surrounding being perceived as a cheater by his peers.
yet another sidenote: it occurs to me that these three kisses each have different instigators. the Confrontation one is instigated by Lucy, the Pillow Talk one is instigated by Mike, and while you could argue that Mike instigated in Eternal Flame, the truth is that they both made the decision and came together into that kiss and therefore it was a mutual decision.
so yeah. not only does Mike have another “tally” in his Wasn’t Faithful box, self-imposed and self-inflicted as it is, but Sandy does as well. Sandy’s as-of-currently [checks time] 4:51pm 7/15/21 emotional unfaithfulness (we don’t know how far it goes as the camera’s not on her, but it was unfaithfulness) paired with this third kiss is the coffin for Mike and Sandy that December was for Mike and Lucy (and in a previous post, I described Mike’s behavior toward Lucy in Eternal Flame as the “final nail,” and while we have yet to see Mike and Sandy’s this is a good way to frame the countless parallels between this chapter and December).
Neither of them are going to be able to forget about it. they’re attached to the point that I would describe their relationship as nearly codependent, and absolutely toxic... but it’s no longer a genuine relationship either of them are taking genuine pleasure in. they’ve each has encounters where they’ve experienced pretty explosive chemistry with other people, but they’ve been together since they were kids and for fear of hurting each other and in the unknown variables of new relationships, they’ve decided to stay together.
(please wear safety goggles in the fireworks lab, folks.)
but again, they won’t forget what happened here, and it’s going to have ramifications for how they move forward. the only thing they’ve done by getting back together is delayed the inevitable and gotten other people hurt in the crossfires.
and that’s what the crack in that panel means.
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Can you write a drabble about jealous taehyung with lace? Ty 🥺
So... I had to brainstorm with my dear mate abt this one since we never really saw Taehyung as someone who could be openly jealous or would even consider the feeling, since we see him as a confident person, and even more than that, we think that he and Lace are very open about trust and loyalty. We think that both of them would be happy with introducing a third party in the bedroom ��� not on a regular basis though. Lace is a sucker for Taehyung — and Taehyung alone; he knows it, and he also knows that he has a beautiful girlfriend who is bound to attract people’s attention and make them believe that they can flirt with her. Still, Lace gives the cold shoulder to anyone but her man.
HOWEVER
We found out a potential loophole.
Pairing: Kim Taehyung x reader (nicknamed Lace)
Wordcount: 1.5k (sorry, I got carried away)
Genre: angst/smut/fluff
Rating: 18+
TRIGGER WARNINGS: uhm, there are dirty thoughts in the middle (mild) and smut at the end (mention of oral male receiving, female receiving, rough penetration, biting). Possessive!Tae. Takes place a few weeks after Love Talk and mentions a few events in Illicit Affairs (which should — hopefully — come out soon).
As you walked down the long corridor of the small gallery, Taehyung tried not to notice — or better, not to care about — the young artist waiting by the door, walking several steps behind you.
Taehyung’s hand twitched before he shoved it in his pocket. He wanted to touch you.
Having that... that vulture staring at you... It made his stomach sour.
Maybe it was because this was your first date after having you all to himself, after knowing how you taste and how you moan, how your breasts flush when you’re about to cum, how good it feels to grip your hips while you ride him, to feel his fingers sink in the flesh of your ass.
He took his hands out of his pockets and joined them behind his back, cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders in an attempt to calm down.
You stopped in front of a picture, observing it for a moment. It was a hyper-realistic painting of a watermelon sculpted into a cube, placed there in the middle of the white canvas. It was truly the game of a virtuoso.
“Impressive.” You said, before turning toward the man about a metre or two away. “How long did it take?” You asked nicely, still impressed by the amount of details: the seeds, the small veins, the grainy texture of the watermelon.
“About three months.” He replied. “I had started it as a still life, but I changed my mind and redid it with a more... Surrealistic approach.” He explained.
Taehyung raised an eyebrow, trying to keep his annoyance at bait, licking his lip before biting it. “Good job.” He said, trying to be grateful even though he wanted to rip the man’s eyes away from his skull.
The only thing holding him back was that he didn’t know how you would react to that. And if you would ever love his fingers as much after seeing him perform such a crude act.
You smiled at the artist and took a few steps to the next painting, this time a basket of cherries — only barely visible from behind a lace curtain. It was alarmingly realistic, truly breathtaking in the amount of precision poured into every small thread making the see-through effect. “Wow.” You commented under your breath.
Taehyung thought about how different his style was from these pictures. Sure, they were very good and they showed great talent, but that didn’t mean that he would want one in his own house.
“I was in Greece when I made that one.” The artist explained. “Beautiful country. Have you ever been there?” He asked.
You turned, making your light summer gown twirl in the motion, exposing more of your calves and the soft skin of the inner side of the knee as the slit parted, the plump, soft flesh of your thigh still protected by the row of small buttons that ran from your belly button to your knees.
Taehyung thought you were too beautiful for this universe. Nevertheless, as he stared at you and the artist there, right in front of his face, he felt actually menaced, for the first time. Something ugly slithered around his chest, tightening and tightening as your calm, composed voice said: “No, I’ve never been to Greece. I’ve only ever visited Jeju once, and I’ve travelled to Japan a couple times but normally I don’t get the chance to travel much.” You explained, blushing.
He would take you all around the world, Taehyung thought. He would spend Christmas with you in the Alps and make love to you in Amsterdam for your birthday, and of course, he would take you to Greece, feed you grapes and cherries and damn watermelon too. He would have you in white, light clothes and take pictures of you standing by the sea, your bright, flowy skirts contrasting with the deep blue of the sea — like the one he saw in Malta. He would rent a small house away from anyone and watch you sunbathe naked, with no one interrupting him as he drew you again, and again and again, until his hand could draw you with his eyes closed. He would leave the windows always open, the long white curtains flowing in the breeze as he would wake up from his afternoon nap and wrap his naked body around yours, kissing you and rubbing against you until you were nothing but two bodies melting into each other, like an embrace could naturally slide into passionate lovemaking. He couldn’t even think about nights. Nights were something he was too weak to think about.
Lost in his musings, he didn’t even realise your visit had come to an end, the gallery empty just like it had been when you had arrived, booked for a private visit for Taehyung and you alone, for safety and viewing pleasure.
“Thank you for visiting,” the artist said, bowing to Taehyung.
“Thank you for guiding us,” Taehyung replied. “I’ll let you know if I find any of the pictures fit.”
“Of course.” The artist said, kindly.
Taehyung nodded and was ready to leave the moment he heard the artist speak again. “Excuse me, miss, I’d like to ask... I’ve been working on portraits for my new collection, and I would be extremely pleased if you would pose for me.” He said. “I don’t usually... I usually book professional models but I thought someone with your looks could be really interesting to portray.” He explained. “I can leave you... Uhm.” He rummaged in his pocket and offered you a small piece of paper. His business card. Stealing a pen from the entry table, he wrote something on it. “I’d be honoured.” He commented, offering you the card.
You raised your eyebrows and smiled. “Thank you. I can already tell you I don’t think I’ll accept.” You looked at the floor. “I don’t have much spare time and I’m a bit too uncomfortable when people stare at me.” You chuckled embarrassedly. “Plus, I don’t think my boyfriend would be very happy with it.” You said, giving him a hint.
Taehyung was furious, still he kept all his inner turmoil to himself. Until you reached the car. The moment you sat at his side on the passenger’s seat, he started the car and began driving silently.
“Are you upset?” You asked, looking at him, keeping all the enthusiasm about the exhibition to yourself. You were more than capable to divide the artist from the person behind it. He was talented, maybe a bit sleazy as a person — and a bit too flirty — but still, talented. Plus, Taehyung hadn’t made it clear that he was with you as your boyfriend.
Taehyung tutted. “No.” He replied.
“Did he make you uncomfortable?” You could feel his mood poison the air in the car like dark waves of black oil covering the surface of the sea. It reminded you of a scene from Howl’s Moving Castle, when the young, beautiful wizard gets depressed and all his house starts getting covered in green slime.
“I’m okay.”
Catching his free hand, you placed it on your thigh pulling it toward the inner side.
He couldn’t resist, his thumb immediately drawing slow, lazy circles on the smooth, tender skin.
You noticed him taking the route to his apartment. “Aren’t we going out for dinner?”
“Mh.” He noted, counting the minutes until he could claim you all to himself.
“Do I need to un-book?” You asked with a mischievous grin.
He looked at you, his mouth forming a slow, insecure smile before he nodded in reply.
The rest of the night is a fuzzy memory of his mouth hungry and his hands grabby on the lift on your way up to his apartment, the shape of him hard in your palm as you entered the door, your attempt at offering him a blowjob, already lowering yourself to one knee before he pulled you up.
“That’s generous of you but I need inside.” He growled as he walked the both of you to his bedroom.
You didn’t even remember anything of him undressing you, it was all a whirlwind of limbs until you found yourself with your legs spread open and his mouth on your clit, his fingers stretching you before he stood on his knees and grabbed a condom.
You remembered his groan as he slid inside, your walls welcoming him with their tight embrace. “Dammit Lace, love this pussy.” He spoke through gritted teeth, your hands landing on his butt and pulling him toward you, inside you, harder, faster. “That’s my pussy.” He said, ramming in. “All mine.” He said, slowing down only to get the right angle. “My girlfriend.” He said, biting your breast, and giving the most precise jabs to your g-spot, suckling your tit, tugging at it, stretching it with his mouth before letting it fall back heavy to your chest. “My nymph. All mine. Mine.” He said again, your body too tense for speaking. Your high reached you as his fingers started toying with your bundle of nerves, rubbing it furiously until both you and him were nothing but two desperate beasts fucking each other.
“I love you.” He said, as soon as he was back to planet Earth, his body heavy on top of yours, his cheek glued to your chest with a mix of drool and sweat. “Love you, my precious dove.” He said again, rubbing the outside of your leg. “My love.” He repeated as you patted his head and reassured him yourself.
“Only yours.”
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loh has to be one of my fav stories to ever use time loops because even the characters who don't remember get continuous character development
i am going to go insane. this turned into rambling abt zaira and krom and their reversal in extreme. with an additional hard mode laphlaes and nine because when do i ever not think abt those. i am not sorry.
especially with extreme mode, this becomes so apparent.
take for example, krom and zaira. krom's story is about putting down your privelege and learning what it means to see others as equals. zaira's is about coping with your anger at the world for how it's treated you just for how you were born, and rising beyond it.
in normal, krom, having failed his duty, becomes lost and disappears. Zaira joins the knights of avilion. however, she remains just as loyal to lord as she was to charles, to a degree only perhaps matched by johan. she struggles to see herself as an equal.
in hard, they don't even remember this! And yet, krom joins the knights to not just blindly serve what he's been told, but to put good into the world! zaira joins the knights, but she learns to value herself more, to see what she is truly capable of. and the two of them can reconcile!
extreme mode is where this gets dialed up to the, of course, extreme.
in a more equal world, where zaira is valued more and krom is a smidgen less privileged, zaira wins. Her strength is fully acknowledged, and she becomes captain of [thronknights]. This is what she had always been capable of! In her fully deserved position, she is at peace with herself. She is happy. She knows she has earned this.
in this more equal world, krom loses. instead, he becomes charles' bodyguard. The monarchy crumbles, and krom is forced to choose between his values and his privilege. they simply cannot coexist anymore. ultimately, he even needs to fight his own family and forsake his position to truly do good, even if it hurts.
i keep thinking abt that one d krom / l zaira scene where krom admits he's jealous of her, it's so good. firstly, the element choice is incredible.
in normal and hard, zaira is fire, and krom is water. water beats fire, just how krom becomes captain because he, as a noble, is valued more by king and country. fire is a good element choice for zaira, since the f heroes tend to have a more.. fiery temperament. it fits well, since normal/hard zaira tries to reconcile her anger with her loyalty.
in extreme, zaira is light, and krom is dark. both their elements beat each other. This means!!! this is the only elemental constellation wherein neither has the advantage. Elements are mainly for gameplay and scarcely, if ever, relevant to the story, but this specific choice is still so 👌👌👌👌
it's a gameplay reflection of their story inversion. they are on equal ground, in both ways, and zaira wins.
d characters are also known for having just. Trauma Hours. appropiate for That Time Krom Had To Kill His Brother As The Ultimate Separation Of Himself From Privilege.
l characters are rarer, i think, but they just seem to have their shit together. generally at peace with themselves (see l lairei, or l walther compared to e walther). excellent pick for zaira, because she doesn't have to grapple with her anger anymore, and just flourishes in her position.
since this turned into "oh my god i love zaira and krom," i wanna give more examples of continuous charater development except i'm only on third tower in extreme.
a vry good example that i love a lot is laphlaes (and nine).
normal mode laphlaes stuggles with the question of "can i take responsibility?" can he atone for the harm he's done under another's influence? he's more a sidechar in normal, yet nonetheless he arrives at the conclusion that, yes, he has to. it was still his own doubts and fears that drove him to act.
there we have e laphleas, who grapples with the logical followup of "how do i take responsibility?" here, he has to deal with something he's not directly responsible for. namely, being a dad, suddenly.
i friggin love how laphlaes, nine, lumie, and solphie play into each other here.
normal nine is "am i a tool?" and hard nine is "do i deserve to be anything outside of that?" so they play into each other perfectly and it hurts me.
laphlaes wants to be responsible for nine, but nine is still so lonely and repressed. Laphlaes doesn't know how to love nine, and nine doesn't know how to be loved. Laphlaes doesn't know how to be a father, and nine doesn't know how to be a son.
Absolutely beautiful, man. I think abt that scene where the knights capture nine, and you get laphlaes and nine being wistful at each other because maybe both of them want to be a family, but they just don't know how.
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wait why tho am i missing smthn? abt the ao3 tags
silver and thomas have NOTHING in common except flint. they never meet, and given their canon personalities, would probably hate each other. it’s madi to whom silver shows the most fervent loyalty, more than flint even, and silver asserts over and over that she’s the love of his life. flint and madi have an incredibly profound friendship and their ideologies are, if not the same, HEAVILY inspired by each other/each other’s experiences, and flint says explicitly that he doesn’t think madi will or should forgive silver’s final betrayal, the implication being that his forgiveness of this betrayal is tied in some way to madi’s. given all that, explain to me a post canon scenario where flint/thomas/silver makes ANY fucking sense at all.
it DOESNT. this is a general fandom disease but black sails is definitely not immune lmfao like all people care about is 2-3 white men fucking, and in order to write fanfiction abt their white men fucking, they will ignore any characters, any nuance, any ACTUALLY GOOD STORYTELLING that would throw a wrench in that. like literally just look at the stats
thomas, an underdeveloped character in an underdeveloped relationship, who LITERALLY only matters insofar as he mattered to flint and miranda, who has MAYBE 15 minutes of screentime, features in 1349 fics in the ao3 tag. there are 1239 flint/thomas fics, 323 flint/thomas/miranda, and 212 silver/flint/thomas. madi, a MAIN CHARACTER of the third and fourth seasons, who has her own storyline, who has agency and personal conflicts and the most important explicitly romantic relationship in the canon timeframe, features in 417 fics. 301 madi/silver fics and 64 madi/silver/flint.
its SO OBVIOUS that like. madi as an apparently straight black woman is inconvenient to the fixation on seeing white men in a relationship so she’s just excluded from the whole thing. its disgusting and its also a BAFFLING misunderstanding of the show itself like i cannot imagine the mental gymnastics it takes to write a silver/flint/thomas fic where madi isnt present or is just in the background when like. the show is about silver and flint and madi. they are the most important characters. they are the vessels thru which the message is delivered. how do u just totally ignore everything that black sails was trying to say and still say u like it??? like what actually compelled u about the show if THOMAS was the most interesting part???????
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so i’m really excited to start this blog off and i want to make everybody cry as much as i’m crying abt genya always — so genya & the darkling and genya & nikolai are two of my favorite dynamics for her because they pull her in opposite directions but through the same methods
the darkling is a protector. he offers her to the queen intending that she’ll someday act as a spy, but from what i can tell in the books he doesn’t realize that the king will be so vile. the impression i always got was that he expected genya to navigate the court and to deal with the dangers of court, but not that he offered her up to be abused by the king — and i think “the tailor” confirms this, when the darkling actively offers to get genya out, and promises her that it’s her choice.
for genya, that’s the first time in years, possibly in her life, that someone’s given her a choice of that magnitude — your safety, or revenge against the people who hurt you — and that’s monumental. the darkling lets genya choose her own path, and promises his support regardless, and genya chooses revenge ( or, more accurately, justice ). she remains in the grand palace because she believes that the darkling can do three things for her:
first, he can guarantee that there will be retribution on her behalf;
second, the king will be prevented from harming another girl the way he harmed her;
and third, genya will have power. real power. she’ll be welcomed back among the other grisha, and she’ll not only be protected, but she’ll have the power now to protect herself.
and so genya trusts him, and believes wholeheartedly that she’s doing the right thing. it’s personal for her in a way it isn’t for a lot of the darkling’s allies, because removing the king from power is so vitally important to her. because she trusts the darkling, she’s willing to suffer pretty significantly in the attempt to assassinate the king, because she believes there will be something better put in place and that she’ll be safe down the line, if she’s not safe now. she hesitates when she meets alina, because alina is easy to love and alina is easy to orbit around.
and she forgets that the advice she gives alina is advice she should remember when it comes to the darkling — be careful of powerful men, because even if the darkling would never hurt her the way the king did, the darkling does still hurt her in the worst way he can: he has her attacked by the nichevo’ya, wounds that can never be fully healed even by a tailor, and forces her to carry the pain with her for the rest of her life.
so when genya comes into contact with nikolai again, for the first time in years — nikolai, who she calls sobachka and generally dismisses as a non-entity not because she dislikes him, but because she’s preoccupied with the king’s abuse and the queen’s complicity and the fear that vasily will be like his father someday — she expects nothing from him. and she doesn’t have any reason to: they don’t know each other. ( the darkling knew her, and he betrayed her, brutally. ) why should she expect that nikolai would defend her over his father, over the man who raised him, over the man who could make him king?
and, given the opportunity, nikolai does what the darkling never does: he protects her, unequivocally. he takes immediate action to not only defend genya, but to fully remove the king and any threat he could pose to genya ( or another vulnerable girl ) ever again. finally, he installs himself as king — and the process by which he becomes king emphasizes that he values the word of a servant even over the word of royalty, and that there is no victim who doesn’t deserve protection. he fulfills the three things that she wanted from the darkling, and he legally absolves her of the attempted regicide. the loyalty she once gave the darkling, she redirects to nikolai — who’s earned it.
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Sea do you think Louis and Harry are still dating?they were not together in Christmas, they were not together New Year’s Eve or holidays! the day after we knew felicite was dead Harry was papped in London he was not with Louis! They’re not giving us any sign anymore or something to know they’re still together it’s like they don’t care anymore abt Larry or Larries.I could be wrong I know we don’t know anything about their life but comparing to now Larry were loud in 2016-2017 They’re not anymore!
I agree with you. I think the “signs” that are noticed in 2019 can often be coincidences, or interpreted with bias. There’s often another way to think about the signs (Jordan drinking Casamigos tequila, for instance) that is ignored.
I guess I would think about this question in a few ways.
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One, there is no objective evidence that they spend any time together. They might be in the same city at the same time, but that’s all.
Two, they seem to lead very different social and cultural lives. Louis has objected to the corruptive influence of the Kardashians, but all of Harry’s public friends are like the Kardashians. This is only one aspect, and of course couples can have different friends, but it’s a matter of having very different, deeply seated values. It’s like the Mary Matalin/ James Carville marriage (very involved in past Republican/ Democratic politics, respectively)— extremely rare. One can think that they’re together if they don’t care about this difference, but it is clear to me, from Louis’ interviews, his rhetoric, his positioning with working class music and concerns, that the question of moral values, fairness, loyalty— is important for him.
Third, the question of whether they’re together is discussed in such an ugly way by both the fans and media— most recently, yesterday, in The Mirror and Queerty. Fans who are invested in the relationship are told that either Louis’ actual or internalized homophobia broke up the band. Throughout hiatus, we’ve seen a consistent angle of media coverage— Harry doesn’t define his sexual preference, Louis is straight and hates the implication of gayness. “They discussed it” cannot be the excuse for one partner receiving hatred from his community and getting zero professional advancement from this stance. Queerty is a supposedly LGBT magazine publishing this garbage— on a day when Louis publicly thanked the lads and Harry was quiet. It just seems unfathomably cruel at this point— not “protective,” not “cute.” Not when we see the state that Louis has been in. Not when Louis has been through what he’s been through, and his family has been what it’s been through. He’s had enough.
(Addendum, as of 25 July 2019, another LGBT publication, Pink News, has tweeted this misleading headline: Louis Tomlinson called the speculation “tragic” (in reference to gay rumors with Harry). Add this to a list of the prominent out gay men— Simon Jones and Dan Wootton— who are friends and colleagues— and Andy Cohen, who amplify Louis’ homophobic image.)
Fourth, Louis has been trying to be a solo artist for almost four years. I would like Louis to be thought of as a solo artist. He’s my fav, so of course I’m biased. The question of “Are they still together” cannot take precedence to his professional career. I do see evidence that their professional teams acknowledge and even coordinate with each other. So far, however, it has been of minimal benefit to Louis. In fact, as with Liam Gallagher praising Harry’s music (when Harry has not shown any interest in Liam’s music), it’s often been the opposite.
Finally, about whether Harry or Louis care about Larries. In terms of numbers, their teams care less and less— Harry because Larries make up less and less of his fan base, and Louis because Syco/Sony controls his branding. I think they both care about their fans, Larrie or not; they’ve both loved and defended their fans. They will always love their fans, as long as it comes from a positive place. But much of the fandom is very far from positive, and it’s a choice that TPTB made. I can’t imagine this hasn’t affected Harry and Louis as well.
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* 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐔𝐏 , pretty kitties ! i'm terribly sorry abt my absence on the dash alongside you angels , & trust that i’m fully embarrassed of my slow ass , but i finally typed this baby out , & i can’t wait for y’all to meet my love , 𝒋𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔 !
* ╰ it’s an absolute dishonour to meet you , julianna / jules . at twenty - one , you’ve disgraced the peralta family name & failed to carry on their legacy as an elite . as a result , they’ve requested that we at the academy do our best to rid you of your venality , & seeing as though they’re worth 86m , we dutifully obliged . while your pleonastic & inexorable attributes have always promised failure , it’s your spar with pride & ghosting your breakout acting role after you found out your daddy secured it for you that got you committed . before we take possession of you , it’s imperative that we know that you are a cisfem who prefers she & her pronouns , & you resemble diana silvers . your birthday is on april 26th , making you a recalcitrant taurus , & you were transported to us all the way from vail , co . at the present time , you work off campus at seaside florist . go ahead & purchase that extra large suitcase , disgrace . you’re going to need it .
your name / age / pronouns / timezone / etc .
hiya loves ! i go by blue & she / her pronouns , i’m 9teen , & i’m a pst baby ! i’m one of the six lovely admins @ #unholy , & they’re all superstars , so imagine my daily awe ! anyway , i’m beyond excited to finally get the ball rolling , & share the dash with you babes !
muse inspo .
noora sætre , the goldfinch , ella of frell , neil perry , charlie dalton , claire saffitz , monica geller , carla lalli music , mia thermopolis , adam parrish , blue sargent , anna ou !
character details :
💐 : sweetly judgmental , adoringly vindictive / vindictively adoring , witty ‘n gritty , bitingly tender , expressively stubborn , softly feral !
😈 : hershey’s chocolate , brooklyn pizza , baguettes , collector edition copies of wuthering heights , selfies , her mom , richard siken anthologies , twilight ( #teamedward ) , crowded movie theaters , english gardens , the air in new york , the air in vail , snowboarding , her hair , hot chocolate ( no whipped cream , half a bag of mini marshmallows dumped atop ) , andrew garfield , her discover weekly playlist , german shepherds , harry potter , lord of the rings , comedies , horror movies , nude lipstick , chocolate chip toffee cookies with sea salt drizzled on top , mamma mia franchise , dissertations , driving , any typa jacket / coat , being the big spoon , her father , coca cola , lilies , disney t - shirts , her father’s films , take out , farms , italy ( every single crevice of it ) , the plaza hotel , mint chip ice cream , hats , trains , monthly horoscopes , ancient history , greenwich village , maggie rogers , mating ritual , vampire weekend , mitski , the wombats , magic bronson , jade bird , hockey , pretending to be a fairy / witch / mermaid as a child , naruto , avatar the last airbender , stepping over state / country lines , hot water with honey , amazon prime !
👿 : the marvel franchise except for the captain america & thor trilogies , coffee & tea , shorts , sweet potatoes , layovers of any length , socks , soy milk , her arms , chihuahuas , a song of fire & ice novels , super fudgy / rich cake & brownies , cooking for herself , being told what to do , being wrong & having everyone know it , people who are rude to employees , bad tipping , margaret atwood , her first grade teacher , plastic coke bottles , too much pepper in a dish !
upbringing & family life , life before the academy , etc .
julianna rachel peralta was born to a beauty - charmed family of three , with a new yorker mother & italian father birthing the healthiest & happiest girl parents can dream for . her mother , susanna ‘ susie ’ peters , was coined the model that pioneered 90′s fashion , a la kate moss , & met julianna’s father , elio peralta ( think the francis ford coppola of this verse ) , whilst she was briefly on set for jack to see friend fran drescher . their love stemmed from there , after she made a mocking comment & he overhead & mocked her in return for it , & the whirlwind romance that captivated their world for the next few years led to miss jules being born . neither of her parents desired marriage from each other , rather believing that their love knew no bounds , even those of matrimony , but never did it dim the bond held between the small family of three . once jules was in their arms , they relocated from new york to colorado , into the quaint town of vail , surrounded by pristine mountains & crystalline air , where susie & elio found a pocket of indisputable peace after a small winter trip in their first year of romance .
it was there that jules grew up , & there that the love of her parents faltered . her mother missed the world of fashion , the rhythms & rhymes of the space she knew as well as in maintaining the fame that spotlighted her so , while elio’s passions for turning out film after film dwindled . & when the offer from vogue came in , waxing poetic about a fresh position as a fashion editor , both she & elio knew that their paths would veer . their love was no less , but integral factors of their relationship were now fractured , & they each desired after different things . this was all said to julianna , in soft tones & with assuring words . yet , never was it promised that everything would be the same as it was , for the truth was in something unsaid . susie moved to new york , while elio & jules stayed in that mansion in the mountains , & all was as fair & well as it could be , with julianna staying with her mom during the fall season & discovering every little piece of italy in the summers . christmases & hanukkahs were always shared in vail , & susie tagged along european dives when her schedule allowed for it . it was as if their relationship & subsequent uncoupling were trivial details no one could bother to account for , until , in the worst spot she’s ever seen her mother , it came out that elio peralta found a new woman to share a life with , & that their new life together would be housed in the same home that susie & elio specially chose & , in emotional terms , truly built themselves & carved their family in its foundations . it was a betrayal of the deepest caliber , & from there the small peace that still was at the core of their little family was forever severed , & it became obvious to jules that those few years were lucky .
she was thirteen when famed actress lily taylor ( aka jennifer connely lmao ) moved into her family home , bringing her adopted eleven - year - old twins with her . in a sense of loyalty to her mother & her own hurt over the despair that her father caused their original trio , jules was heartily & positively prepared to hate the new additions to her family with a vindictive fidelity . her plan was promptly overturned , however , when she spent day upon day with her new fam & steadily allowed them into her heart . this , of course , was paired with doubtless guilt , spurred on by her own mind whenever she flew to nyc to see her mother , but soon enough this was caught by each of her parents , & susie was insistent in her assurance that whatever frigidness she still held for elio & his new beau ( which julianna didn’t bother to correct with wife ) , it in no way extends nor should be mimicked by her . elio , in turn , was quick to promise to jules that his love for her mother flamed in his heart to this day , but each of them are happier living their lives in the lifestyles they’ve chosen , with the people they’ve chosen .
there really wasn’t anything to do but swallow their words , & live by the sentiments they expressed . jules was both a mama’s & daddy’s girl in one , so to take their words as fact was an ignorance she allowed herself , even when the hurt look on her mother’s faced inevitably shone through in hidden moments .
but when jules turned seventeen , susie fell in love with a musician / designer named tommy lever she met while interviewing his collection for vogue , & the two fell deep , far enough to sway susie into moving to brazil during the spring season , away from her beloved manhattan loft , to be with him in his home ( the link is crucial to his characterization lmao , as lenny kravitz is essentially tommy lever ) . when she can , jules visits as often as she’s allowed ( always ) & has gained a room herself .
after that , however , the cycle between her various homes continued , well into her slipping teendom , & when the prospect of college crunched down on her , the choice seemed inevitable . nyu gained a classics & theater major for its class of 2019 ( she skipped the third grade , a fact she didn’t stop bragging about at that age ) , but in her senior year of university , the walls came crashing down .
what sin are they categorized under ? why ?
jules belongs to the sin of #pride through & through . after all , if there was one damning trait to send her straight into the pits of burning infernos , her prideful sense of self would be it . that’s not to say she’s arrogant ( nor am i saying she isn’t ) , but it’s more that she can’t take being undermined or allow the supposed undermining to go unpunished . she has a great deal of #pride in her own self worth & capabilities , though she’s usually loathe to make it known in plain terms , & if she feels attacked in that manner , she’ll completely close up . this often , as you’ll surely be able to tell , beckons problematic shit .
what got them sent to the academy ?
during jules’ senior year at nyu , she was contacted by her agent ( shared with her father ) & offered an audition for a leading role in a major hollywood studio film . throughout the years , she dabbled in theater & attracted a starring role or two along the way , especially in school productions , but the plan for success was always envisioned after college . when she got the call , however , she handled it with a happy - go - lucky fuck it sort of approach , & a week later , when she received the good - bearing call , there was no backing out , or so she thought . tentatively dropping out of the semester in which she would graduate , jules modeled the next few months of her life around the film , happily doing so .
yet , the first week into rehearsals brought down a cloud so dark she thought she’d choke under it . she overheard a few producers on their lunch break , talking about this - & - that - esque bullshit , but just as she was passing , one of them made a comment about the peralta girl , & how hollywood legacies are the roaches of the industry . how directors from the middle ages should just stick to ruining things behind the camera , not forcing a disaster in front of it .
that day , jules walked out of set & never took a step back in . effectively ruining her future career in the process , she ghosted all contact from the production & even went as far to jet off to brazil to regenerate with her mom as an escape . she couldn’t even pick up where she left off during the semester , & simply had to sit back & witness her classmates of four years graduate without her . her parents were furious , but the only thing she gave in return was a steely silence , refusing even turn a glare to her father . now , she’s been shoved into the hands of the academy , biding the days until she could return to nyu in the fall .
what do you think they’ll struggle with the most at the academy ?
tbh , the biggest issue for jules is the resentment curling at her core . at her father , the film , the academy , herself . right now she’s just in a foul mood & sick at being forced into glitterati rehab , but her #pride won’t allow her to fail , even if she wishes to do it just to spite everyone . she is a people person , however , & will almost definitely warm up , even if it’s just for appearances sake .
extra details : links you’d like to incorporate , wanted connections , literally anything else you want to include , etc .
wanted connections will be coming soon ! for now , please enjoy this authentic video of jules chillin in her fav corner of the world , aka italia , taken by her bff eli 😔✌️
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Do you think there is a reason why Theo & Boris didn’t recconect when they’re older later in the book? Yes, there are still obvious feelings - of whatever they had when they were younger - but I can honestly see it only on Theo’s side. Also, the quote abt Theo’s and Kitsy’s souls not mixing together that Boris says, do you think it’s supposed to be connected to Theo and Boris and the ‘thing’ they had back in Vegas?
I guess it depends on what you mean by ‘reconnect’. If you’re referring to them reconnecting emotionally, then I actually disagree. I do think they resurface something together as adults (a small spark from their adolescence, a loyalty, a magnetism), and that the lingering existence of those feelings is actually a subtle, but ongoing, theme in the last quarter of the book—especially in Amsterdam. Yes, their relationship as adults is different, in a multitude of ways, from how it is when they were younger (far more muted and subdued, with time and distance having driven major wedges between them and their ability to communicate, their willingness to cross lines), but the core essence of it is still very much there, saturating the majority of their third-act interactions. It’s almost entirely spoken through action and body language though; the smaller things (like Boris’s unfettered tactility, that pull to be near Theo, to be physical, still present, untouched by age) and the bigger ones (Boris signaling (!via their old silent language!) for Theo to run away and save himself during the garage shootout, and, concurrently, Theo being unable to leave Boris alone, despite the danger, as well as Theo ultimately picking up a gun and actually killing someone on instinct in order to protect the two of them, in order to save Boris who was injured and vulnerable on the floor). Their tie to each other is only further fortified, if anything, in adulthood. Through that near-death experience (and through the both literal and figurative release of the painting) they become bound by blood, crime, truth, and secrecy. The sheer monumental weight of this all— as well as the choice to have Boris present in the very last few pages of the book—to me, suggests that their relationship (and correspondence) with each other is unlikely to die out any time soon.
And as for only seeing this come from Theo’s side, I actually felt the opposite when reading.
If anything, I thought Boris was the (mostly) unchanged one, that Boris was the one who—despite brushing off what they did in Vegas—still seemed unable to resist reverting back to his old self and habits (practically jumping on Theo in the airport, proposing the idea of them working together like it’d be an adventure, casually affectionate and flirty as ever). For me, Theo came across as the one who was trying to pull away, the one who had drawn an invisible line between them at some unspoken point in time. You can tell, right from their first reunion, that adult Theo doesn’t really see the two of them as belonging to the same category of people anymore. I mean, he struggled with that as a kid too (constantly wondering how he became friends with “someone like” Boris), but in adulthood it’s far more pronounced. He observes and interacts with Boris from a cautious, self-instilled, distance. He acts, at times, as if Boris is a source of danger, as if he (as Boris even points out) is a “criminal”, someone who might ruin his carefully curated life and drag him back to the wasteland of his teen years. He’s thoroughly convinced himself that he’s the superior adult, and consequently judges/distrusts nearly everything Boris says to him as a result (descriptions of his job, wife, sobriety—and even attendance to the engagement party—are all doubted and met with condescension). And then there’s also that conversation they have in the hotel, once Boris returns. A large part of that interaction is Boris trying to reach out, trying to talk to Theo, not only about the painting, but about them, about what Theo meant to him and what Theo still means to him. But Theo, for the majority of Boris’s visit, is almost completely shut off and detached from all of it. He likens the deadened way he feels around Boris at the time to how he used to feel around his dad, which is a pretty steep and irregular association for him to make between the two.
That being said, even then I still don’t think that anything (at its root) is really one-sided about their relationship as adults. There’s a deep rift between them, for sure, and a sense of dubiousness that definitely breeds hostility, but all of that is pretty normal given what they both had gone through (both pre and post shooting), as well as the unresolved note they’d departed on in Vegas. All in all, I think the way their reunion is treated—the fact that both of them are needed in order to move the story to its close, that their feelings for each other are demonstrated as being strong enough to withstand the strain of time, and that they are each other’s agents-of-rescue during the novel’s most perilous point—serves to show that they are inextricably invested in one another in a shared instinctual manner.
Lastly, about the quote: I think that its general, surface-level, purpose is aimed toward Kitsey and the shallow, uninvolved, nature of their engagement, as that’s the immediate, obvious, example—the negation which exemplifies what that soulful kind of love is not. However, by virtue, that also prompts us to consider what is an example of that bond, in which case there are two other clear contenders: Pippa and Boris. Pippa is the second obvious option here, but in truth the only reason we’re urged to think that is because that’s how Theo has framed their relationship in his head, that’s how he wistfully, and unrealistically, perceives their bond. In actuality, however, Pippa is not the one he’s tied up enough in to feel like he must “stay away” from. His behavior toward her is actually another antipode to the type of love Boris was describing, as Theo has no problem throwing himself headfirst into Pippa’s life, her sphere of being. The only people that actually keep themselves distanced from each other (both physically and emotionally) out of caution are Boris and Theo. They, indirectly but very much functionally, demonstrate the psychology behind that advice, and have also been simultaneously putting it into practice since Vegas. So yes, it could certainly be applied to them.
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