#so many shippers were well fed with the finale but I feel like either this got overlooked of viney/em is just not as big as I thought

[razberryyum]

Scumbag System (SVSSS donghua) Episode 10 Thoughts (spoilers)

(covers SVSSS chaps 24 - 26, BC Novels Translations)

And thus the first season of the SVSSS donghua comes to an end...rather weirdly abruptly to be honest, but more on that later. Obviously I love the donghua. It was not perfect, but it still exceeded my expectations. I truly appreciate what they were able to do within their budget constraints and I think they captured the spirit of the source material perfectly, which is really all I hope for when it comes to adaptations.  The writing was strong, the humor hit the spot always (for example, when poor Shizun got motion sickness from sword riding, I guffawed), and they also gave us some of the most beautiful characters I’ve ever seen on screen, especially with Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge. I really, really hope they release official figurines for them. I’m going to start saving my money now just for that possibility.

Even though their time together in this episode was short, the BingQiu love was definitely strong. They gave them a combo move that was not in the source material: for someone like me who grew up watching Cantonese dramas, two characters who have a combo sword move (”雙劍合璧”!) are usually a couple so I was especially tickled by this addition. I am always thankful to the donghua team for the little Easter Eggs they give us for BingQiu, like the way Binghe's eyes lit up when he sees SQQ... 

or when SQQ touches him...

Once again, for those not in the know, it can easily be interpreted as a disciple just being devoted and filial to his Shizun. But for those of us who have read the novel, of course we know it’s indication of Bingmei falling in love with SQQ. I love how subtle yet significant these little expressions of Binghe’s are, and I hope they continue on with these little touches even in the next season. 

Of course then there are the more obvious gestures, like that HUG:

It lasted for a good 15 seconds and oh my God look at the Binghe’s hand placement!  There was totally nipple groppage happening there! This wasn’t in the book by the way...SQQ didn’t get woozy and Binghe most definitely didn’t have to catch him like some fainting damsel, so we have the donghua team to thank for this wonderful moment of (sexy) physical contact between the two of them. 

The donghua team was also especially generous in this episode since not only did we get some BingQiu love, but we got a pinch of LiuShen and QiJiu love too.

LQG’s eyes were on SQQ the entire time! And then Yue Qingyuan as usual took any opportunity he got to touch his Qingqiu.  So all shippers were fed. Hell, they even threw in some more straight-baiting again so peeps who are watching the show for the “straight” romance between Luo Binghe and his never-to-be-future-wife Qin Wanyue were fed too since the scene where Binghe gives her the handkerchief to wipe away her tears were not in the chapters of the book for this episode, and racking my brain I don’t even think it was in the book, period. I’m trying to remember if that handkerchief even holds any significance but even if it does, it’s all for naught since we know Qin Wanyue is at most just a minor side character. She does pop up again later on but then is mostly forgotten, so...not quite sure what that moment was all about other than to, I don’t know, throw off the censors?

I’m also not sure why we spent so much time with Liu Mingyan and Gongyi Xiao in this episode. Nothing against them personally, I like both characters very much (despite my previous complaints about GYX’s character design), and it’s not that they don’t deserve more screen time, but this was the season finale! Even though the next season has been announced, God knows when we’ll see it next year and how many episodes it would be, so every minute of screen time matters! That’s why I was a bit puzzled that they used up half of the episode showing LMY basically facing the same perils with her group of fellow disciples as before and GYX just running from that huge serpent. Even if that thing DOES turn out to be Zhuzhi-lang, it was still a bit much. They weren’t exactly character building scenes either so...why? Budget reasons? Didn’t have enough money to pay SQQ’s voice actor (Wu Lei-laoshi) so they had to stick in miscellaneous scenes to lessen his screen time? 

I’m kidding of course. God I hope that wasn’t the reason because that would just be sad.

Speaking of miscellaneous scenes though, what was going on with these two dudes?

I gotta admit, I’m a bit salty that these two mob characters got to do what our main couple can’t. What’s their story? Why do they get special privileges? Damn these nobodies. XD

All kidding aside, I have to say, of all the episodes this season, this might be the weakest one, not only because of the “filler” scenes, but also, the way the episode ended was so odd, especially for a season finale. The season basically ended on a scene transition. Not a cliffhanger, just a scene transition, and then cut to credits. What?? Why??? It’s almost as if they just ran out of time so had to stop the show all of a sudden. And then as if to make up for it, they added post-credit scenes which, honestly blew me away because it was so unexpected. It was indeed almost enough to make me completely forgive the weakness of the episode as a whole and that weird-ass ending.

I teared up!  The scene was kind of chopped up, didn’t even flow that smoothly, but I still got emotional! I’m sure when I see this scene in its entirety next season I am just going to be destroyed. I think they made it even more gut-wrenching than it was in the novel. Looks like the donghua team really aren’t gonna hold back when it comes to delivering the BingQiu knives. 

We also got to see Mobei-jun appear in the post-credits scene; I guess they had to stick him in there since he was featured in the poster for this season, so it would have been weird if he didn’t at least make an appearance.

I immediately thought of him as Sephiroth’s younger cousin when I first saw him on the poster and I still feel that way. Anyone related to Sephiroth, I will approve and instantly have affection for. For the MoShang shippers’ sake, I hope the Shang Qinghua they create for him will be just as pretty. I think I can now safely discard my guess from last time and also that moon-faced bearded ojisan others have guessed. We actually got a glimpse of the real deal in this sequence:

They strategically made him blurry so you can’t really make out his features, but what we still can tell from there is that he does not have facial hair (hence, he cannot be the ojisan) and the hair crown he’s wearing is silver and different from the twinky sect leader. So I guess we’ll be getting a fresh out of the microwave Airplane Bro instead of any of the no-name potential cannon fodder we’ve already seen. 

We’ll probably get the abyss opening up in maybe even the first episode of next season but that’ll still leave a lot of ground to be covered in just 10 episodes (rumored). There haven’t been any talk about a third season, but I really hope it’ll happen, even though it might take them a while to make it. I know it’s premature to even think of a third season when we haven’t even gotten an actual release date for the second, but I’m greedy because I already miss the donghua. This season was over so quickly, I’m already mourning the lack of new episodes. I hope we get the second season in the first quarter of next year and then by some miracle, a third or even fourth to properly finish out the story. I know we will never get the FULL story, but as long as they keep the spirit of BingQiu’s love and continue to hint at it like they’ve been doing this season, I will be more than satisfied. 

And while I’m wishful thinking for new seasons, I hope we also get a BingQiu duet and character songs. I love the opening and ending theme this season, if they want to save money I totally don’t mind if they just use the same OP/ED themes in the next season as well, but I hope they throw in a good BingQiu insert song and then release some individual character songs as well. I’m still not a fan of Binghe’s voice, but maybe they can have someone else do his vocals for the songs. SVSSS is the older son of MXTX’s works, I feel like it already got short-shrifted in terms of adaptation since it got the lesser budget compared to MDZS and TGCF. Hopefully with how popular the donghua is this season, it will be given a bigger budget next season so they can bring to life all the subsequent proceedings from the book properly. And whatever they’re paying Wu Lei-laoshi, SQQ’s voice actor, they should double it because that man is just amazing. I worship his voice and performance. I wish he would read the audiobook version of the the novel. I would listen to the hell out of that.  I have always loved SQQ, but if I’m going to be honest, I came into the show just a little more excited about seeing Bingge being brought to life. I still love Binghe of course, in all his phases, however, now,  because of Wu Lei-laoshi’s stellar voice performance (and of course SQQ’s beautiful looks), I’m leaving this season absolutely head over heels about SQQ/Shen Yuan. Also thanks to the show, I’m completely obsessed with Liu Qingge as well.  So for those two reasons, I will eternally be grateful to the donghua team.  

#SVSSS #Scumbag System #Scum Villain donghua #Scum Villain Self-saving System #BingQiu #LiuShen #QiJiu #MoShang

[lycorogue]

Thoughts about episode “Lie”

Okay. Here we are. This is back to the better writing I was talking about the other day. I love me parallel stories, so this was just *chef kiss* in that department. 

Before I delve into my thoughts on the episode itself, I want to take a step back and talk about my views of the non-love-square ships Lukanette and Adrigami. (Feel free to skip ahead; I have a header for when I start talking about this episode again)

Lukanette and Adrigami

For me, Marinette and Luka had romantic chemistry from the word go. As much of a Marichat shipper as I am, I knew that if anyone could make Marinette forget about Adrien, it wouldn’t have been Chat Noir. It would be Luka. Chat Noir would then come in at a close 3rd (a bit ironically) when it comes to Marinette’s heart. Meanwhile, Kagami slowly grew to have a crush on Adrien post-Riposte, and then charged forward knowing exactly who she wanted. On the flipside, though, I stand firm that there wasn’t really much romantic interest coming from Adrien. If anyone was going to make Adrien forget about Ladybug, it would be Marinette; not Kagami.

The episode “Frozer” - the one where Kagami makes her crush known for the first time, and Adrien first attempts dating her - practically gives us some foreshadowing of their entire relationship. Aside from clearly finding Kagami attractive (as showcased by the pink-bubbles-vision when Adrien first sees her sans-helmet in “Riposte”), he doesn’t seem to have any romantic inclination towards Kagami until after she cups his cheek and lets him know, in not so many words, that she likes him. Even so, it isn’t until Marinette basically gives the thumbs up that he should pursue this relationship does he give it a try. He’s still very uncomfortable around her, and only gets a bit more comfortable in “Animaestro”; probably because he’s seen his father around Kagami’s mom and just mimics that (as seen in “Backwarder”). Going back to “Frozer” though, Adrien spends most of his time with Kagami watching Marinette, and even abandons Kagami in favor of checking in on Marinette - something Luka could have easily done and probably doesn’t because he sees Adrien already on it and knows Marinette would prefer Adrien’s comfort. So Luka doesn’t push the issue. That whole ice rink interaction shows that, while Luka trumps Chat Noir as a potential alternative love interest for Marinette, Marinette still surpasses Kagami as a potential alternative love interest for Adrien. This, for me, is again hinted at in the episode Heart Hunter where, while enjoying himself seemingly equally with both girls, there’s just these little hints - complimenting Marinette more than Kagami, asking Marinette to choose the ice cream - that, at least subconsciously, Adrien is leaning a touch more towards Marinette over Kagami. His heart just isn’t all that into this relationship. This is again showcased in the New York special when Adrien (at least in the English dub; I haven’t watched it in other languages) asks Marinette to dance with him with an almost pleading tone in his voice. (To be fair, clearly Marinette isn’t thinking of Luka at all during that trip either...)

I think the final Foreshadowing nail in the Adrigami coffin is this dialogue from “Frozer”:

Kagami: “You still keep doing what other people want you to do.” Adrien: “No, I just want him to be happy.”

In the end, Adrien did the same thing with Kagami: he did what he thought would make her happy because he’s a people pleaser to his core.

Adrien of course found Kagami attractive and fun to hang out with. She was a fantastic companion, and I love their companionship so much. However, I feel like he dated her mostly because he knew he had to find some way of getting over Ladybug, and here’s this pretty girl who clearly has a thing for him, so why not???? Their parents were practically setting them up as a couple anyway, between the trip to the royal wedding and the movie premiere. Plus, this “approved” friend meant he could spend more time outside of his father’s house while genuinely enjoying the company. Win-win. He then did all the pseudo-dating stuff he’s clearly witnessed in media; kind of following a play-book as it were. 

However, he never did anything even remotely romantic or flirty towards Kagami that was on par with his romantic gestures and flirtations towards Ladybug (or even Marinette, for that matter). His love language is obvious after watching him with Ladybug, and he uses some of that same language (albeit subconsciously... probably...) while interacting with Marinette. Things like leaning in playfully (ending of “Troublemaker” and when asking Marinette for a macaron in “Despair Bear”), sharing a romantic picnic (“Glaciator”) even if it was just to cheer Marinette up, winking (the endless winking in too many episodes to list here), whispering in her ear (“Despair Bear” and one other that I can’t recall right now), Soft SmilesTM (“Chameleon”, pretty much all of the NY special, tons of season 3 episodes), confessing insecurities or secrets (“Gamer” and “Gorizilla”), or asking her to dance (“Despair Bear” and “NY Special”). I’m sure there’s tons more and each example has more episodes it’s showcased in, but you get the idea. Alternatively, Adrien just never used that same love language with Kagami. With her it all felt like calculated moves; it was expected of him to lean in for the kiss in “Heart Hunter” and “Miracle Queen”, or wipe away the smudge of ice cream by Kagami’s mouth, so he did it. Aside from his protectiveness and care for Kagami in “Onichan”, Adrien never really treated Kagami any different than his other friends.

Marinette, on the other hand, does show some of her love language towards Luka. She blushes around him and does that bashful little shoulder shrug. She makes excuses to touch his arms, hands, chest, or back. She literally leans on him. She has an interest in his interests and even goes above and beyond for gifts, such as the necklace (yay; Luka looks so good in a necklace!) and, unofficially, the contract with Bob Roth for Kitty Section. 

Granted, she doesn’t flirt with Luka like she does with Chat Noir, but, as someone who also used to flirt with my guy friends without truly realizing the romantic implications (I was a disaster as a teen, okay?), I don’t know if Marinette has truly realized how flirting is part of her love language. If she is anything like I was, flirting is more a fun past-time to see if you could get a rise out of someone in some sort of sextual-tension game of chicken or something. It’s not something you do with someone you have serious feelings for. 😝

Back to Kagami though. I want to stress that, while I didn’t see any romantic future for Adrigami, I do still very much like Kagami and appreciated the character development the writers gave her. I love her as one of Marinette’s potential friends and, as I mentioned, a companion for Adrien. I just never saw any romantic interest coming from Adrien towards Kagami. He never even truly seemed himself around her the way he is around Ladybug or Marinette. I don’t think he’s comfortable enough to not be Textbook BoyfriendTM around Kagami. He even mentions in this episode that him being a clown IS the real him and she calls bullshit (although @gale-gentlepenguin​ does have some nice commentary on how even that wasn’t exactly truthful and Kagami was right to call him out). Point being, Adrien loves to be nerdy and goofy and playful, and she just doesn’t get that????? A lot of what Adrien likes she seems to dismiss.

I’m sorry, Adrigami shippers. There could have been potential there as these two grew, but as it stood? I just didn’t see it.

The Episode “Lie”

Going back to my thoughts on “Lie” though with all of that above commentary for context. I just feel a bit cheated that Clearly-There’s-Mutual-Pining Lukanette gets ONE kiss lean-in for the whole “love rival” arc they’ve had set up for 1.5 seasons before the relationship implodes, but Clearly-Only-One-Has-Feelings-And-The-Other-Is-Just-Kinda-Going-Along-With-It-Because-Hey-He-Likes-Hanging-Out-With-Her-And-She’s-Cute-So-Why-Not Adrigami has THREE kiss lean-ins in THIS ONE EPISODE ALONE (not to mention the 2 from Heart Hunter/Miracle Queen)!? Like I said, I feel a bit robbed, but... well fed, Adrigami shippers, I guess...

Anyway, my heart hurts so much because yes, Kagami deserves someone who will take the time to be with her (just like how Luka deserves the same), but also, it’s not like Adrien WANTED to abandon her (much like Marinette not wanting to abandon Luka). These poor kids. All four of them. My heart breaks. 😢

I did feel a much stronger emotional gut-punch with this episode, which is surprising because a) we already saw a good 5-10 min of it in “Truth” so this episode was essentially shorter than the premiere, and b) I’m a much stronger Lukanette shipper than an Adrigami shipper (see above). So, bravo to the writers on this episode. I hate that this team broke so many hearts, but this is the caliber of writing I was hoping for. 

(I know Marinette is the Guardian, but can we agree to have more Adrien-centric stories, please? They’re just so good).

My final thoughts though: WHY ON EARTH DID THE WRITERS EVEN BOTHER WITH THE “LOVE SQUARE RIVALS” STORY LINE IF THEY WEREN’T GOING TO FOLLOW THROUGH!? ADRIGAMI AND LUKANETTE FINALLY GET TOGETHER AFTER 1.5 SEASONS ONLY FOR THE RELATIONSHIPS TO BE DOA BASICALLY THE NEXT EPISODE!? WHY!? TO RESET THE STATUS QUO THEY WORKED SO HARD TO SHAKE UP!? I already talked Friday about the lost story potential with Lukanette, but there’s also a lot Adrien could have learned from his relationship with Kagami. 

Adrien is still VERY vocal about his love, and, while he has learned a lot, matured a lot, and has eased up a lot, Adrien does still semi-burden Ladybug with his feelings; something Luka never did to Marinette. Adrien, possibly due to witnessing his parents - I have theories about the romance dynamic between Emilie and Gabriel - seems to have this view of love being okay even if unbalanced. Ladybug is far more powerful and crucial to the protection of Paris, but they are still partners and equals in their eyes. So maybe he feels the same about love; he may be more romantically devoted to her, but as long as Ladybug loves him even a little, it’s like they’re equals in romance... right???? So... yeah, a more balanced relationship with Kagami could have taught him how important a romantic balance is as well. Plus, if I am right in my assumption that he just kind of went along with the relationship because he thought it was expected, then he could have also learned something about being a people-pleaser. There was a lot of growth potential for both Marinette and Adrien in these non-love-square relationships, and it just feels squandered.

Also, as I mentioned with my review of “Truth”, I’m fearing that the writers are kind of railroading the Ladynoir ship. First, there’s Marinette realizing that she can’t have a boyfriend because he wouldn’t be safe, nor could she be truthful to him about why their time was so limited. The exception being Chat Noir, who can very much protect himself (except for when he’s shielding Ladybug, but she yelled at him for that in “Lie”), and she can be fully honest with him as long as it doesn’t involve their identities, and he very much knows and understands their time restrictions. In fact, he even goes so far as to state that ANY time with her is a gift he cherishes. He’s basically the perfect boyfriend for her in her situation; she just needs to be lonely enough to “realize” it. >3> On the Adrien side of things, Kagami tells him that she can’t trust someone who isn’t honest with her, but there’s Ladybug: fully understanding and completely trusts him even when she knows he’s lying. She also doesn’t fault him for their lack of time together and understands if he needs to run away without a moment’s notice. He’s already in love with her, but this whole situation just paints her even more as the perfect romantic partner for him. I get it, but I also hate it. I hate this feeling of this one corner of the love square being railroaded. It basically dismisses the other 3 corners as possibilities right alongside the Lukanette and Adrigami ships.

All that grumbling aside, I would like to give some applause to how the episode ended. I very much enjoyed that Kagami was like, “nope. You lied to me, and I can’t trust you, so we can’t be friends. I need time away from you. I’ll let you know if we’re ever okay again.” It shows the consequences of playing with someone’s emotions, even if under the best intentions. It also shows that it’s perfectly okay to cut out toxic relationships, even if the other person didn’t intend any harm. Well-intentioned people can still cause toxic relationships, and if you need to step away from them (as Kagami did), then you are completely valid in that decision. It’s an important lesson for kids to learn, I think. I’m just worried that Kagami brushing off even being Adrien’s friend (while justified) might mean not really seeing her in the show anymore, and that would be a shame. 😟 I do enjoy her as a character, and would love to see more of her growth. Plus, she is so limited in social interactions as-is, so I hope we see more Kagami and Marinette friendship growth.

I am also interested in how Adrien reacts to the knowledge that he can indeed ruin his friendships with people if they aren’t in the same emotional space. This is most likely what’s preventing Marinette from confessing: fear that Adrien will reject her so severely that he might not even want to be her friend anymore. So having Adrien now possibly have that fear as well has some interesting story potential (if the writers don’t drop the ball like they did with the Lukanette/Adrigami ships). Meanwhile, having a dejected Luka still offering friendship and support to Marinette - something clearly Adrien assumed would happen with Kagami; once a friend, always a friend - might give her the confidence to confess to Adrien, now trusting that they are good enough friends and he’s a kind enough person that they can still remain friends even if he doesn’t return her feelings.

There’s a lot of potential birthed from these opening episodes, but especially from “Lie” and I’m interested to see what the rest of the season is going to look like now.

Also... ARE WE SURE THAT LUCKY CHARM BRACELET IS ACTUALLY LUCKY!? IT’S BEEN THE HIDING SPOT FOR AN AKUMA TWICE NOW!

#ML #Miraculous Ladybug #ML season 4 #MLS4 #episode review #LycoRogue review #LycoRogue thoughts #LycoRogue original #Lie #Lie spoilers #Adrigami #Adrien Agreste #Kagami Tsurugi #Lukanette #Luka Couffaine #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #difference in romance dynamics #non-love-square relationships #Adrien the People Pleaser #I do like Kagami as a character I swear #no salt intended #long post

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. XC

It was a love story from the very beginning.

Breaking Walls (Part I)

(12x20/12x21)

Hello my friends! I'm here with another meta from season 12! This time I'll try to resume these two episodes pointing important subtext and foreshadows I found in them.

We/Us vs Only Dean

Resonating with the previous episode, the mixtape one. We will meet Tasha Banes and her son's Alicia and Max. And with them will come the difference between WE/US and I/ME.

First of all, we were fed with Dean Winchester's worries for Castiel.

Gif set credit @starlightcastiel

The scene opens with a close up to Dean's hands. This focus on the hands will continue through the episode, related with my Quantum theory about Dabb's era, it talks about a foreshadow. And because is centered on the knuckles, is a foreshadow of Dean hitting on the door from the Burger Shop after praying to Chuck in 13x01. Linked to his worries for Castiel, opens the door for the incoming mourning for him.

Dean: That freaking baby isn't even born yet and it sock puppeted him. Think about it.

Is very meaningful Dean uses this word PUPPET here, to explain Castiel's odd behavior. But is also related to this episode: a witch killing people and constructing puppets she can command as she wishes. If this sounds particularly known by all of us, is because is a very smart Foreshadow for Chuck appearing in the ending of season 14 and the whole season 15. The puppet master.

This is what makes Dean feel so worried: CAS having faith in Lucifer jr. As Dean calls it. Is not good sign for him. And because he knows what CAS is willing to do when he is in soldier mode, when he has faith in something. He can give everything in exchange. He knows it. And he is worried because CAS is in danger now. And he can't understand how CAS is having faith in that nephilim he was trying to kill hours before. He needs to understand what's going on, Because Castiel's safety is in danger. And Cas' means everything to Dean.

SAM: I don't know. I mean, look, this doesn't make any sense to me either, Dean. But if we wanna have some shot at finding Cas, the we have to...I don’t know. Uh, try and think like him.

DEAN: How? Seriously...

He sounds desperate here. He knows exactly this is the first time he saw CAS like this. Again brainwashed? He is scared. Dean is afraid of losing CAS. He didn't recognize Castiel looking back at him. Because CAS had a new mission now. Cas had determination in his eyes. And the mission comes first.

Then, one phone rings, and is Max and Alicia. And the dialogue here will separate the therms WE from INDIVIDUAL again.

ALICIA: Yeah, sorry to um...Uh, Mary gave me a couple different numbers to reach her, and we thought –

Max loudly interrupts Alicia to make a point that this is not his idea.

MAX: No. No. Mnh-mnh.

Alicia looks exasperated.

ALICIA: I thought Mary would be down to help. Uh, be our backup on this, um...

The parallel with the Barnes brothers here is loud, not just the missing parent in a hunt, but the blatant difference between WE/US vs INDIVIDUAL (Alice and Dean).

Max doesn't want his sister use him as a shield for showing his worries. Just like Dean used Sam in the mixtape scene or when CAS arrived at the bunker.

After Sam accepts to help, Dean turns into worried boyfriend mode...

He is like: 'Come on Sam, didn't you heard all my worries? We have to find CAS! CAS CAS CAS!'

Then we have Dean calling Mary...

His face here is loud. He was thinking about Castiel being in danger since CAS left. I bet you he couldn't sleep neither. And he needs to talk with someone about this. But how he feels about this. Becay Sam ia confused but he keeps doing his job. Dean just can't go on if he can't rescue CAS from the 'evil child'.

The Foreshadows

Before jumping into the symbology of this episode, let's show another example of we/u vs me/I:

ALICIA: Well, then why didn't you call us? I mean we–

MAX: Ahem.

Sam and Dean look slightly uncomfortable.

ALICIA: I called and texted a lot.

TASHA: I'm sorry, baby. My phone hasn't been charging all day.

Is the difference between the amount of worrisome and the effort from the writers to point out that to us. To make it noticeable.

Now, let's go with Mary Winchester: there's this scene in which Mary discovers Mick's corpse and she uncovered his face. Is a sad foreshadow of Dean in episode 13x01 uncovering Castiel's face when he laid dead on the table.

Also the finding of the corpses ina dark place by Dean and Sam, was a foreshadow of dead and the Empty.

Then, Tasha attack Alicia and Max, as a foreshadow of Mary coming against her own boys.

But it caught my attention what Ketch says to Mary:

KETCH: But I can keep you safe. If you just play your part, if you play nice...

In an episode where we are talking about puppets Ketch asks Mary to play her part. And I just recalled the whole season 9 with Metatron and the repetitive quote: Everyone needs to play their role. As an attempt coming from the writer to control the story and the characters. This is very important because is anticipating Chuck's plot in season 15. Mary answers: 'I don't play nice' as a reflection of TFW.

When Alicia dies, the dialogue between Sam, Dean and Max is another example of loosing a brother/family and loosing the love of your life.

SAM: Hey, Max, um, this is, uh... Look, you – you're probably in shock right now, but it's gonna pass.

DEAN: And then it's gonna hurt.

They're talking from their places, they had lost many people in their lives, family. Wich is pointing too what we will be seeing at the beginning of season 13, the big difference with loosing the love of your life, incarnated I'm Dean mourning Castiel.

Eileen's death and Brainwashing

Just a few words about episode 12x21.

Is the episode in which Eileen dies, in a dark Forest. Saileen always had been a Destiel mirror and showed the path for our ship. So when Eileen dies, is talking about the lovers separation through death. Sam uncovering her face in the morgue, again, as a prelude of Dean doing the same with Castiel.

BMoL brainwashing Mary, and using her as a puppet against the boy, is slightly showing how Dean sees what's going on with CAS.

But is also a foreshadow of AUMichael!Dean.

Later in the episode, we have Crowley who was controlling Lucifer's vessel as a puppet too, but something goes wrong this time.

DREXEL: The ability to control is transferring from Crowley to you.

LUCIFER: So you're saying that Crowley's gonna be my puppet.

This could be showing two interesting Foreshadows: first, when AUMichael will take control over Dean's body and kidnap him in episode 13x23, and second, what will happen once Dean will lock Michael down in his head, taking full control of his own body.

Then, another parallel between CAS and Mick. Remember Samadriek saying he has too much heart and that was his problem? Okay...

TONI: Oh, Mick's dead.

SAM: He's dead?

TONI: Quite. It was determined he was too sentimental for the job.

So Mick also had too much heart...

To Conclude:

Dean is a mess of worries for CAS and it shows. He is afraid of loosing him this time for real.

There are foreshadows of Cas' death all over the episodes, preluding the finale.

There's also a lot of references to puppets, for the incoming plot of Chuck and Dean's possesion.

Hope you like this volume. See you in the next one!

Tagging @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weird-dorky-little-d @michyribeiro @meleansu @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @authorsararayne @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @isthisdestiel @dizzypinwheel @jawnlockwinchester @horsez2 @qanelyytha

@destielle @spnsmile @shippsblog @robot-feels @superlock-in-the-tardis @superduckbatrebel @2musiclover2 @madronasky @anon-non2 @cea1996 @lisafu02 @asphodelesauvage @destiels-canonahhhhhhhhhh

If you want to be added or removed from this list, just let me know.

If you wanna read the previous metas from season 12, here you have the links:

Vol. LXXV, LXXVI, LXXVII, LXXVIII, LXXIX, LXXX, LXXXI, LXXXII, LXXXIII, LXXXIV, LXXXV, LXXXVI, LXXXVII, LXXXVIII, LXXXIX.

Buenos Aires, November 30th 2020 7:03 PM

#destiel #destiel chronicles #destiel meta #supernatural meta #season 12 meta #vol. XC #dean winchester #bmol #sam winchester #castiel #mary winchester #arthur ketch #crowley #lucifer

[teamsarawatshusband]

Word Of Honor - 1st watch insta thoughts - Episode 2

Here’s Episode 1

Okay, before I get started with the episode, thank you so much for your likes and kind words and explanations. Thanks @averageace​ for letting me know that ghosts aren't necessarily dead. And thanks @ pretty-much-obsessed for letting me know it's not xianxia but wuxia. K, no cultivators. Got it!

Oh, just for future reference: I love when you guys help me out in the comments with understanding stuff like this! As long as you don’t spoil the story, I'm super grateful for all the genre info and cultural insights <3

Anyway, here we go!

Episode 2:

Oooooh, it was smirky guy who stopped the whip. And everybody is watching. How embarrassing.

I kinda like purple girl. She's so feisty and sassy.

Ok, the kid wants to make friends with alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy. He's in town to buy pastries for his mom, that's so cute. I need a shorter name for alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy. Anyway, the kid gives him a bookmark like a key to where he lives. Alright.

So smirky guy really did recognize the fighting. Oh, Four Seasons Manor is a sect! Ok, ok. And that's their fighting style. Was smirky guy once a part of them? Still so mysterious.

The kids are singing about the 5 lakes. That seems to be important somehow.

K, alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy wants to hitch a boat ride. And the old man looks like the old guy who got the 7 nails last time, but he's probably not, i'm just bad with faces again.

Yooo, does alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy have so much silver? Yeah, I wouldn't trust him either, old man. Oh, smirky guy intervenes. And now the old boatman wants to do the ride.

Whoaaa, nice scenery with the water and the blossoms and the music. I wanna go there.

So, now he's at mirror lake manor. Was that the kid's place? I forgot.

Wow, that boatman is really something, shouting out his insults as alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy is simply standing on the dock. Can't he be a bit nicer? LOOOOOL, yeah, so now he really dashed without paying, that's what you get for being rude.

But shame on tragic hero lord guy.You should always pay your debts. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Whoaaaaa, the blossom trees. I'm in love. Tragic hero lord guy flies over them in slo-mo.

And when it's not snowing, it's raining petals. Why is there a boat on dry land? Is that gonna be important?

Ooooh, fan fight! Must be smirky guy. Yusss! And now they're dancing.

Oh, and now smirky guy is being poetic. Dude, you sound like you’re crushing on him hard, man. Alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy isn't having any of it, lol.

There's two guys talking about war in the next scene. One of them is the dad and the other a son. Is that our kid from before? He seems older. I hate being bad with faces. Oh, he's not the kid. He's his older brother. And apparently there's one more brother even. I'm gonna get them all confused so much. Ugh

Tragic hero lord guy gets to stay in a woodshed. And likes it. I mean... whatever makes him happy, I guess.

Ooooh, back at the palace, I remember the helmets of the soldiers. And there's the guy who took tragic hero lord guy's job and... the other, like... boss guy. Maybe a king or an emperor. New at the job guy talks about... stuff. He's killed people. And seems proud of it. And now he's talking about a children's song. Oh wait, is that the song that alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy noticed earlier on? Oh, the song is connected to the glazed armor. Got it.

Ooooh, they sent a spy after tragic hero lord guy. So that's why he went into hiding.

Back in the woodshed, either the alcohol was bad, or tragic hero lord guy is having issues with the nails thing. His veins are moving and it looks disgusting tbh. And he's kinda... fuming. Literally. Looks like he's got a bad smell. And now he's... trying to meditate the smell away?

Oh, there's a fire outside.

Why?

Oh no, it's the red guys with the masks again. They're killing people.

Ooooh, tragic hero lord guy jumps into the fight, alright. OMG, I LOVE THAT TREE IN THE BACKGROUND!!! It's so pretty.

I want it.

Somebody is trying to sneak a kid out. Possibly our kid. Not sure. And the red guys are following them. Hmm.

Oh, a bird. Tragic hero lord guy calls it a sparrow and a spy from the window of heaven, which... okay, but it's definitely NOT a sparrow. Maybe it's just a not so good translation.

Aww man, and now my tree's on fire! :(((( Why can I never have nice things? :(

Now it's raining yellow paper thingies. They kinda look like those smiley potato chips thingies that you can get in the freezer section at the supermarket.

Oh, they're weapons from the red guys. And the guy who's trying to sneak the kid out... is that the boatman?

Oooh, tragic hero lord guy jumps in. If that WAS the boatman, then he's getting paid alright. Heh.

Ok, wth? Swords are not supposed to be that bendy. That does not look like a good sword. How are you gonna stab anybody with a wobbly, shaky weapon like that?

And smirky guy is sitting on the window sill watching the situation unfold like a supermodel waiting to be called onto the runway. Instead of... like... HELPING?! Wth?

And he's an alcoholic too? Hmm

K, that was a short stay, they're back on the boat

Eww, the red guys cut of somebody's arm. Wait, is that the dad from before? And the others are... the kid's brothers? Maybe? Oh, whoever they are, they're supposed to have the glazed armor, and the red masked guys want it. And they're gonna kill them all? That's brutal, man.

But if they ARE the kid’s brothers and they’re about to die, then at least I won’t get them confused, so there’s a plus side.

Anway, alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy, the boatman and the kid are in some dusty place. And the boatman is savage as fuck. He wants his money, lol. I like him.

Oh no, so much information. I'm so bad at this. So the kid is supposed to hide at 5 lakes, but doesn't want to. And somebody saved somebody, I have no idea. I wanna know if alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy is gonna go meditate again, because it looks like he wants to.

And now the potato smileys are flying in again. Great. I'm never gonna unsee the potato thing now.

Anyway, alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy who seriously NEEDS A NAME(!!!) is getting smelly again. And the kid wants to defend them all and instantly drops the sword. That does not look good.

So many red masked guys.

LOL, alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy needs 15 minutes. To smell better, maybe.

Wow, the old boatman is a good fighter, but he stands no chance. Are he and the kid really the ones supposed to fight, while tragic hero guy is being smelly and smirky guy is still chilling who knows where?

See the stinky fumes?

Whoa the kid is willing to sacrifice himself for alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy. Who is just as surprised as me. And if it weren't for somebody intervening, they'd both be dead. Who is it?

Yooooooooo, purple girl coming in to the rescue. Of course. Need a job well done, leave it to the woman.

Wow, she's so badass. And the kid and the boatman are helping too. Alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy went back to meditating.

:O There were two nuts!!! I saw them!!! Is nuts guy one of the red masked guys?

Oh, NOW alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy is starting to fight. Probably smelled the nuts and got into it.

LOL, wth? Now that he's done fighting, he faints? And THAT's when smirky guy shows up? To catch him? And alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy wakes up again instantly to fight.

Lololol, wth? Smirky guy is like "Heh, you cute, let me wrap your sword around us." ;)

Maybe the wobbly bendy sword is a flirting technique and actually does serve a purpose.

He has really long fingers too.

Just saying.

Aww, would have been a cute moment if the boatman weren't deadly hit. And now he's smelly too. Wait, do smelly fumes mean doomed to die?

Ohh, he's gonna make him adopt the kid, isn't he?

Alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy drops a name, and says he's Zhou Xu. Is that his real name? Feels like smirky guy would probably recognize him if he gave his real name. But also maybe not. I know nothing. And smirky guy is mysterious as fuck. But I’ll take the name,because it’s shorter than the one I gave him.

Boatman is still a bit rude, threatening to curse Zhou Xu’s ancestors if he doesn't take care of the kid. Aren't they cursed already? Anyway, boatman can't know that.

Ok, old boatman has died and the kid is adopted. Cool, cool.

Oh, some fighter guys in nicely pleated skirts... who are they? Are they the guards of the manor? Are they there to help the kid? Whoever they are, they came too late and they set off fireworks.

Ok, smirky guy introduces himself. Wen Ke Xing. Oh boy, I hope I can remember that name.

Why is the kid dizzy? Did he get hurt?

Now they're discussing about the bread and nobody's willing to eat first while the kid is empty handed and very clearly hungry as hell. I feel so bad for him.

Why does smirky guy come across so snobby? I wanna like him.

Wow, they finally give the kid some food and now HE's refusing to eat it as well.

Purple girl is the only person actually getting fed tonight.

I mean, she deserves it. She fought the hardest.

Oooooh, smirky Wen Ke Xing guy is onto Zhou Xu lord guy. First stares him up and down while he's resting (lusting much?) and then flat out asks if he's in disguise.

Oh and the kid IS hurt. And smirky Ke Xing is the only one to realize too. He's redeeming himself. A little.

Zhou Xu lord guy doesn't want him to touch the kid though. Why?

Oooh, they're dancing again.

LOL, purple girl gets it. I saw that smile. I bet she's a shipper. What is the ship name? KeXu? ZhouXing? I literally had to scroll up and reread the names. We should just call them smirklord.

Okay, end of episode.

What did I learn? Names were dropped.  Zhou Xu lord guy has adopted the kid. Smirky guy is called Wen Ke Xing. He comes across a bit shady and pretentious and also flirty. Very flirty. But Purple girl is cool, and she trusts him so he must be kinda cool too. Still don't know who they really are and what they want. Like any of them. So far, I like the kid and purple girl best. I hope they all travel together to bring the kid to... wherever he's supposed to go.

Goals for future episodes: Find out who nut guy is. Learn the freaking names reliably. Find out people's connections to each other.

#word of honor #1st watch insta thoughts #word of honor ep 02

[wonderlandleighleigh]

85 Thoughts while watching Return of the Jedi

1. THE HELMETS ARE DUMB

2. I still love the idea that Stormtroopers fucking loved Vader, and all of the commanders were terrified of him. 

3. Vader helmet so shiny.

4. Back on Tatooine. It always comes back to Tatooine, doesn’t it? 

5. 3P0 was so hoping that the door wouldn’t open. He just wanted to go home. 

6. Everyone in Jabba’s palace looks really...gross. I guess that fits, right? Jabba’s palace is super gross, so.

7. I never understood as a child the slavery - and the sex slavery - aspect of Jabba’s palace. Only as an adult have I fully understood just how fucked up this is.

8. Remember kids, Luke has NO IDEA that Anakin was a Hutt slave as a child. Is there any canon stuff where he finds out about that? I’d be interested. 

9. Han’s carbonite face is so fucking dumb. 

10. Man droid torture is no joke. If that’s what they do to droids, think about what they do to people...

11. Oh god, the musical number. Like I thought it was funny when I saw it for the first time when they did the re-releases, but also, it’s this weird dissonance between that and Oola’s death. 

12. Jabba is so much creepier here than in New Hope. 

13. I love all the disguises and subterfuge in the opening storyline. And I love that they took the time to deal with Jabba and the bounty on Han’s head. It’s a nice break from the Galactic War. 

14. I remember watching this for the first time, and when Leia pulls the helmet off and is like “Someone who loves you” I was like OMG! And my shipper heart grew ten times as large.

15. Han is so...moist. Here. Blugh.

16. Ugh. God. Poor Leia. They do a good job of illustrating just how fucking terrible Jabba is, but...god dammit. 

17. Han and Chewie reunion! <3 <3 <3 

18. Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight. Somewhere Mace Windu is looking at all of Luke’s attachments and impulsive behaviors and dry heaving. 

19. THE BIKINI IS GROSS! The only thing good about it is that Leia will eventually strangle Jabba to death while wearing it. Otherwise? Ugh.

20. Luke Skywalker. Jedi Knight. Fashion icon.

21. I always felt bad for the Rancor’s master. He loved his Rancor. And the Rancor was just as much a slave as any of the people in Jabba’s palace. It was probably only fed when there was a person Jabba wanted to kill so it would be as vicious as possible.

22. This trio is so bad-ass. 

23. Luke knows what the Sarlacc is. 

24. BANTHA HERD! 

25. Ugh. The Dune Sea is really fake-looking here.

26. R2 as waiter makes me so happy. It’s so ridiculous. 

27. “Convenient.” 

28. Anakin Skywalker would be so fucking proud of his daughter strangling Jabba the Hutt to death. It’s everything he ever wanted to do to fucking slavemasters on Tatooine. 

29. “Boba Fett. Boba Fett. WHERE?!” 

30. Per Dettiot: Luke went to Obi-Wan’s old hut on Tatooine and found the handbook to make his lighsaber, as well as some kyber crystals. What else he was up to between Empire and Jedi, I’m not sure.

31. Knee. High. Chanel. Boots. 

32. The sheer utter chaos and destruction would make Anakin Skywalker kvell*. 

33. I don’t know if Yoda considers Luke his friend. More like just another snot-nosed apprentice who will eventually disappoint him. 

34. Leave us alone, Palpatine. What a fucking pruny piece of shit. 

35. Yoda’s death is so bitter-sweet for me. I love Yoda. But he made so many mistakes in his life that he never really owned up to. I suppose he felt that his exile was his penance. But I don’t know if I agree. He could have come out of hiding to aid the Rebellion. 

36. Also, he was planning to die without coming clean to Luke about Vader. And that is some horse shit.

37. “Suffer your father’s fate.” At least he’s admitting that Anakin wasn’t solely to blame. That there was manipulation there. 

38. “I can’t go on alone.” Go find Ahsoka and Ezra! You’re not alone!! 

39. The fact that Obi-Wan truly believed that that Anakin had died and Vader took his place. 

40. Yoda and Obi-Wan never moved on from their trauma. They keep reliving their trauma and so they cannot move forward, and so they keep making the same mistakes over and over. Asking Luke to kill Vader is proof of that. 

41. And it really shows that Obi-Wan, even after his attachments to Satine and Akakin and Ahsoka - does not understand family. Luke saying “I can’t kill my father,” and Obi-Wan being like “Whelp. There’s no other way so the Emperor wins.” 

42. There being no mention of Luke and Leia’s mother ANYWHERE except for the one moment later on, drives me CRAZY. Obi-Wan could have told Luke about Padme then.

43. I love that Han and Leia can sit next to each other in a meeting and not have to have arms wrapped around each other. Just being next to each other is enough.

44. GENERAL SOLO! Leia’s face. “Excuse you, how did you suddenly get hotter?” 

45. The painted backgrounds are so beautiful. 

46. Poncho game is strong in this movie. 

47. FLY CASUAL is such a stupid line. I love it.

48. Skywalker twin exasperation is the best. Padme would be proud. 

49. Leia just going for it is so so good. 

50. I know Ewoks catch a lot of shit for...well..being Ewoks. But I love them. They’re adorable! And they have no qualms about eating humans! 

51. “My Son.” I think this is the first time Vader has referred to Luke as his son to someone who isn’t Luke, instead of the “Son of Skywalker.” 

52.  Watch as we realize that Leia has been holding the one brain cell this entire time, and Han, Luke and Chewie get totally clueless. 

53. PROPER. 

54. I love Ewok tree houses. 

55. Remember kids. They were planning to eat Han, Luke and Chewie. 

56. Where the hell did that dress even come from that Leia is wearing??? They just had that lying around? 

57.  I guess they ate the last woman who wore it.

58. I love that 3P0 in New Hope, claims he’s not much of a storyteller, and then in the Jedi like is like a master storyteller lol. 

59. And here, we get the only mention of Padme. And it wasn’t even Padme. It was a handmaiden. I will forever be salty that Padme isn’t mentioned at all because George didn’t think of her until the prequels. Argh.

60. Luke’s unwavering belief in Anakin is so amazing. The sequels did that part of his character so dirty. This version of Luke would never have tried to kill his nephew. 

61. “It is too late for me.”  God dammit, Anakin. The thing is that if he goes with Luke, he is admitting that everything he has done for the last twenty years is all for nothing, and he just fucking can’t do it. So much denial .So much pain. Fuck you, Vaderkin.

62. EWOK ON A SPEEDER 

63. REX! A REX SIGHTING! YES! 

64. Y’all remember that Ewok movie with the blonde child? “Star cruiser crash!!” 

65. Padme would be so proud of Luke’s fashion.

66. Wedge got promoted! Yay! 

67. I love the old Hollywood trick of shadowing the Emperor’s face except for his eyes. 

68. I just. I love that the Empire is defeated by fucking teddy bears. I know a lot of people hate it, but it’s just- it feels so karmic.  They’ve done such terrible things. And to be taken down by these fuzzy, little bastards. *chef’s kiss* 

69. Palpatine hitting in that nerve that Luke has about his attachments. About his hope. Oof.

70. The entire Vader fight is just him trying not to see how much like Padme Luke is. That’s gotta hurt. 

71. Bro. Vader. You do not want to try shit with Leia. Like. No. Fuck’s sake. Don’t try it. She’ll have all of you arrested and then executed. 

72.  Yes Luke. Thow away that lightsaber. Show that wrinky fuck who’s boss. 

73. I love that Anakin gets to make the right choice here. He does what he didn’t do with Mace. He finally realizes all the lies...all the manipulation...that he can make things different. And he does. And it rightfully costs him his life.

74. Vader couldn’t survive. Vader would have been tried for his crimes and either executed or jailed for the rest of his life. The same thing happened to Ben Solo in the sequels. He had to die. Otherwise he’d have to have a real-world ending: Prison or execution.

75. I feel so sad that Anakin became this fucking horror show of a person. It didn’t have to be this way. Fuck. 

76. “Tell your sister...you were right.” 

77. Oh Han no. No no no. 

78. No Han.

79. HAN. 

80. Han’s face when he finds out Luke is Leia’s brother is hilarious. 

81. I wish that Rex and Ahsoka had been there when Luke burned Anakin’s body. I feel like they needed to, for their own closure. And Luke would have felt like he had people who understood. Who loved and knew Anakin before all of this. 

82. AND NOW WE PARTY! 

83. Let’s eat Stormtrooper! 

84. I am SO MAD that all of this will be undone by the sequel trilogy. Ugh.

85. I want them to refilm Hayden now that he’s just about the age Anakin would have been when he died as a Force ghost. I feel like that would be really nice. 

*Kvell -  Yiddish - to be bursting with pride 

#Thinking about Star Wars #RoTJ

[lovelyladyventress]

Tell me which one of these AUs sounds the most interesting and which one you’d like to read more about? (uhh rep0st?)

I’m reposting this since TUMBLR HATES MY POST/TAGS OR SOMETHING, SORRY IF YOU’VE ALREADY SEEN THIS!

Here I am, back at it again with my AU bullshit. Complete with my ugly ass dauntingly long list of AUs that I’d love to write about but can’t seem to 

decide which one to start writing. This has been going on for the past week, dammit! If it’s not too much trouble, could you please help a girl out and let me know either on here or in a PM which one of these you’re curious about or would like to see implemented in an actual story.

Here are four Cloud-centric AU ideas which include (multiple) gay, bi, and (some) straight main/side pairings. Regardless of which one I decide to write first, I (wistful thinking) want to eventually complete most or all of them, even if some of them only end up being one-shots. Thank you! <3

Mercenary Zack and Delivery Boy Cloud AU

Zack, a mercenary, and Cloud, a delivery boy, have been best friends since they were youngsters. Zack is straight but is undeniably (and confusingly into Cloud. Cloud is bi (with a strong leaning towards males) and he’s only recently started to explore that. One day, while Zack and Cloud are hanging out, Zack’s PHS dies and he asks to borrow Cloud’s laptop to check some work-related emails. Cloud says sure, completely forgetting what he’d been “researching” before Zack came over to hang out.

Cloud, suddenly remembering the content of said “research”, screeches out, “NoOoOoO!” whilst comically tripping over himself as he races to stop Zack from opening his laptop.

Zack, being Zack, laughs good-naturedly at Cloud’s behavior and says, “What, don’t want your bestie to see all your fReAkY sHiT LOL?”

Before Cloud can stop him, Zack unlocks the laptop (he knows the password, because, hello, besties) and proceeds to open up about ten tabs of LOUD GAY LEMONY YOU KNOW WHAT (all with actors that are blond and black-haired, hmm s u s p i c i o u s).

Cloud is fucking mortified and literally RUNS out of his own apartment and disappears (disintegrates) into the void while leaving Zack sitting there like a stunned D U M B A S S *insert shocked Pikachu meme here* Hilarity, fluffy romance, and “LeMoNs” ensue.

Main ship and only ship will be Clack/Zakkura. Syrupy sweet, comical, with only a pinch of plot-related angst. Will most likely be a one-shot/two-shot.

Vampire Slayer AU

Set in a world where Shinra keeps the existence of vampires and vampire covens a well-guarded secret from the general public of Midgar in order to keep its citizens calm, orderly, and manageable (see controllable).

Due to the frequency of recent vampire attacks in Midgar’s slums and outlying towns and villages, they charge their best slayer, Cloud Strife, and his partner with the task of finding and killing the progenitor of all vampire-kind in order to end the covert war between humans and vampires and kill off their kind, for good.

That is, until Cloud is double-crossed by his partner, who wants the title of Shinra’s best vampire slayer for himself, and Cloud is left for dead in a forest miles away from civilization. Cloud thinks he’s finally done for this time, until he’s saved by a half-vampire named Vincent, who then proceeds to take Cloud to his maker, Sephiroth, the son of the first progenitor.

Cloud’s only shot at making it out of this alive is playing at Sephiroth’s personal interest in him in a game of cat and mouse until he can get the vampire to trust him enough to let him get close to the progenitor in order to (finally) end the war once and for all and return to his former life.

Main ships are Sefikura with a possibility of some Strifentine. Side ships are Aerti, Scarlet x Elena, and a bunch of others. Angsty, passionate, romantic, and dark. Will probably be a six-shot or more. Who knows?

Life After Meteorfall Canon Divergence AU (I’m excited about this one)

An AU in which both Angeal, Zack, and Aerith (although, just barely) live and help kick Sephiroth’s ass in the final battle. Sephiroth has been defeated by the gang for good (no really, for good y’all), and now the world has turned to healing, mourning, and attempting to rebuild itself after the scars Sephiroth has left behind in his monstrous wake.

Cloud still has lingering feelings for Zack leftover from his time as an infantryman, but desperately hides this fact from both Aerith and Zack because he knows how long they’ve waited and how much suffering they’ve had to endure in order to be with each other. He also cares deeply for both of them and wants them to be happy, despite his own conflicting emotions.

Although Aerith is (slightly) suspicious, Zack is oblivious to it all because he’s finally got the girl of his dreams and has his love-addled goggles on (god dammit Zackary) and asks Cloud to be his best man at their wedding (ugh angst me upppppp baby).

Angeal, however, is not oblivious to it in the slightest. He sees the overly forced smiles, the longing stares, the glances of complete and utter h e a r t b r e a k Cloud shoots Zack when he thinks no one is watching/paying attention to him. And finally, fed up after months of sitting back and just silently observing Cloud falling into emotional ruin, Angeal finally intends to do something about it, honor be damned.

Main ship is Cloudgeal. Side pairings are Zerith, Rude x Tifa (don’t judge me, y’all, I ship SO MUCH this fandom), and possibly many more. Angsty, fluffy, romantic, and with a ridiculously happy ending where everyone reaches a happy, healthy understanding. Will most likely be either a three-shot or a six-shot.

Omegaverse SOLDIER AU (let me liveeeeeee, dammit!)

After failing to get into SOLDIER three times in a row (the max amount of times one can attempt in their lifetime) and having his childhood dream of becoming a hero shattered like glass, Cloud, a Beta cadet, is more than done with SOLDIER and everything to do with the corrupt Shinra Corporation (Uh huh. Suuuuure).

This opinion is only further solidified when Cloud discovers the tragic fate of his hometown: Nibelheim, in an “unprecedented” explosion of its Mako Reactor, burns to the ground, resulting in the deaths of Cloud’s mother and every single person Cloud grew up with. With no home to return to, Cloud, following his best friend Zack Fair’s advice, begrudgingly decides to join the Shinra military as an infantryman and work as a menial grunt for the military’s more prominent SOLDIER members.

That is, until one day during a mission Cloud’s entire unit, including a group of skilled Third and Second Class SOLDIERS assisting them, are slaughtered in a brutal, bloody conflict, leaving Cloud the only one left alive after the mission’s end.

This not only catches the eye of the Director of SOLDIER himself, but several of its First Class members, who are so impressed with the Beta’s strength that they wish to assess Cloud’s capabilities for themselves, personally. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

This leads Cloud down a path filled with convincing lies and hard truths as he discovers the reality of his origins, unveiling secrets about Shinra and his past that he could have gone a lifetime without knowing. He realizes the hard way that sometimes what you dream for, what you desperately wish for, isn’t always something you want in the long run.

Main ships are a tie between Sefikura and Clack/Zakkura (possibly Sephiroth/Cloud/Zack or maybe even a love triangle, ew). I also really wanna try writing out Strifesodos, but I’m leaning towards Banorashipping as a side ship in this cuz its cute and passionate.

A S T R O N G side ship in this is going to be Aerti (featuring Turk!Tifa and Full Cetra!Aerith), along with minor ships like Scarlet x Elena, Tseng x Rufus, and honestly who  knows anymore, lol. This will most likely be the longest story on the list, I’m planning for at least ten+ chapters.

Also, not shaming it in any way, but just FYI for the people who are interested, there will be no pregnancy in this story. It’s just not my thing. <3

Again, all of these AU’s are subject to change, but I’d love to bounce ideas back and forth and see what certain shippers would like to see in the fandom. I’m really receptive to discussing fics in general, even if its an idea about one of your own stories you wanna talk about. :)

If you actually read all of that, THANK YOU KINDLY! <33333

#Sefikura #SephCloud #Clack #Zakkura #Cloudgeal #i'm seriously so angry about this tagging thing #WHY IS IT NOT WORKING #*SCREAMS* #IM JUST TRYNA LIVE DAMMIT #why did this post disappear #I THINKS ITS BECAUSE OF CERTAIN KEYWORDS #this is a travesty #I NEED ANSWERS #the text is wonky too #UGHHHHHH

[justgottafinishthischapter]

Writing Romance: Pining

We’ve all had crushes. We catch feelings for that cute somebody. Some people watch helplessly from afar, but others walk right up to the one they’re crushing on and ask them out. Again. And Again. And Again. No matter how many times they get rejected. So, I want to break down this romantic trope and highlight why it works in some instances and not in others.

If you looked at Fry and Leela’s relationship in Futurama and Elfo and Bean’s relationship in Disenchantment, you would assume they’d hold the same weight. Both were created by the same person, and Fry and Elfo are both losers hopelessly pining after a strong confident girl who could kick their asses. So why then do I cringe every time Elfo makes a move on Bean, but Fry’s pursuit of Leela is charming? It’s all about the execution.

In Futurama, Fry and Leela are completely separate characters. Although Fry shows an attraction to Leela in episode 1, the first time there’s a genuine display of romance between them wasn’t until season 2 when the crew went aboard the Titanic. Fry has interests and hobbies that don’t involve Leela at all. There are episodes that focus on his relationship with Bender, dealing with his feelings about being so far from his own time, and getting into wacky hijinks on alien planets. For the first few seasons, Fry’s pining took a backseat to his everyday escapades. Leela is just as fleshed-out as Fry. She is a totally independent character with her own goals, backstory, issues, and character traits. Her desire to find her planet of origins and find her place in the universe, her love of animals, her short temper, and her responsible nagginess is in no way dependent on Fry’s character even needing to be in the show to work. But more importantly, Fry didn’t just endlessly pursuit Leela on a baseless feeling of entitlement to her. It was always clear that Leela felt at least a little something for Fry, as there were many quiet moments with her showing her warming up to Fry. Whether it was bonding over their nebula on the titanic, Burning a hole in the picture of Chazz and symbolically seeing Fry as an option for the first time, deciding to forget the coin toss and just go out with Fry of her own will, Realizing that he gave up his oxygen to keep her safe, becoming enamoured with the perfect Fry created by the super worms, and wanting to hear how Fry’s opera ends, even when he lost the ability to play the music as beautifully, there is a clear and steady build-up to Leela coming around to Fry. Fry likes Leela, and he does pursuit her, but dating Fry isn’t just Leela getting fed up with turning him down, there’s a genuine development of reciprocated feelings that genuinely feels earned.

The same is not true for Elfo. Elfo serves no real purpose in Disenchantment. If Bean was not in the show, he would have no real goals or purpose. He states in episode 1 that he wants to experience things other than constant happiness, but then he shows no interest in pursuing this goal upon meeting Bean. All of his character is either pining after Bean or being Bean’s nagging conscience. The show goes out of its way to beat us over the head that Bean has no interest in Elfo. From blatantly calling the spot at her feet “The Friend Zone” and telling Elfo to sleep there, to eating what the audience is supposed to think is Elfo’s leg and saying she likes it, but only as a friend, this pairing completely misses the point of Fry and Leela that made it so charming. And while Fry could get jealous of other guys Leela had an interest in, Elfo is downright possessive, sabotaging her relationships with guys she shows interest in. Where as Fry is generally a nice guy who doesn’t act entitled to ownership of Leela, Elfo deliberately hurts and lies to Bean to manipulate her. As a result, they have no chemistry, and I wasn’t at all saddened by Elfo dying toward the end of season 1. Frankly if they left him dead or forced him to live far away from Bean for a season or two, it might help give him a personality outside of obsessive stalker.

Althought I was an avid Klance shipper, had Allurance at least been well-written I could have unenthusiastically lived with it. But Allurance was straight up toxic from every angle. First and most importantly, Allura never showed any interest in Lance. Unlike Leela who slowly warmed up to Fry and came to like him on her own gradually, Allura always looked annoyed and frustrated whenever Lance hit on her. It wasn’t until after Lotor broke Allura’s heart that she suddenly and randomly gained feelings for Lance literally out of nowhere. It wasn’t earned, there was no build up to the payoff, and Lance didn’t act any differently to change her opinion of him. The only reason Allura finally settled for Lance was because she felt betrayed, she knew Lance wouldn’t do that to her, and she used his feelings for her to validate her self-worth. The entire time they spent as a couple, she completely disregarded his feelings, his opinions, his concerns, his needs, and his help. At no point during their relationship did she put Lance first. He always had to put her needs above his own. And who did Lance turn to when he needed someone to lean on? Oh right, Keith. Someone he has actual romantic chemistry with who doesn’t use him as an emotional bandage. And Lance has Allura on this pedestal, worshiping her like some kind of goddess, to the point that he can’t see the way she’s using him. And if he can see it, he’s choosing to ignore it because he spent so long and fought so hard to win her over, he’s afraid to say anything that would risk losing someone he perceives as being too good for him, when in reality, he’s way too good for her. This entire pairing is just toxic. They’re both terrible for each other.

But a hopeless pining idiot isn’t always excruciatingly painful. In the first three volumes of RWBY, Jaune Arc is hopelessly pining after Weiss Schnee. Every time he does, she turns him down. However, while he is still on the cringy side of “can’t take a hint”, he is able to put Weiss first. When he finds out she likes someone else, he actually gives the guy a pep talk and encourages the guy to go out with her. But with Weiss and Jaune being reuinted in season 5, and team RWBY being officially back together in season 6, we saw a glimmer of this ship rear its ugly little head and frankly, it hasn’t really earned the right to sail yet. While Jaune and Weiss have both matured, nothing has really changed between them. Neither of them has really done anything to shift their dynamic from what it was when Weiss so bluntly turned Jaune down before. If this relationship is ever going to have to work, they both need to adjust their attitudes and the way they see each other. Right now, the most Jaune has is an infatuation. They don’t yet have the kind of bond where they seek one another out or turn to each other for comfort or advice. There are no seeds of trust or mature understandings of who each other are. They simply aren’t in a good place to start dating unless they can learn to be vulnerable with one another.

Of course, not all good pining ships have to end in a relationship. Pearl’s love and admiration for Rose Quartz is beautifully complex, tying into her own feelings of worthlessness and how Rose made her feel like she was more than what society told her she was. Yes, Pearl had elements of toxicity herself, being possessive, jealous toward Greg, and putting Rose on a pedestal above herself. However, a big part of her character is learning to recognize and move past these feelings of entitlement toward Rose. Learning to accept, let go, and move on from this deeply rooted pining. The show fully admits that Pearl never had a chance with Rose. She never saw Pearl that way, and while Pearl’s feelings are not inherently invalid, and there’s a good reason for her to love Rose as much as she does, it doesn’t distract from the fact that Rose never returns Pearl’s feelings and Pearl simply needs to move on with her life.

While pining is not an inherently bad trope, it’s one that’s very easy to mess up. Too often it comes in the form of a “nice guy” who can’t take a hint, making the girl he likes angry, frustrated, or uncomfortable in the process only to be rewarded by being an unrelenting stalker. It’s important that with pining, it needs to be mutual, and it usually works best as a slow burn. A girl turning a guy down and him not stopping isn’t romantic, it’s creepy and annoying. A relationship isn’t built on one person idolizing the other and having the other person settle. It’s about understanding another person better than anyone else. Having someone you can be truly vulnerable and yourself with, who understand the way you think, and cares about you enough to be able to put themselves aside to give you what you need without taking it to the extreme of neglecting themselves in the process. Pining isn’t inherently funny, the loser getting the girl isn’t automatically romantic, and a just because it takes a girl seven seasons to give in to his relentless pursuit is not guaranteed to be endearing to your audience. If you do not build it properly, it will fall apart on itself. This trope needs to be used strategically and handled well to tug on an audience’s heartstrings, but when done right can have a very satisfying payoff.

#writing tips #get it write #writing relationships #writing romance #writing #romance #relationships #ships #pining #allurance #phillip j fry #turanga leela #futurama #bean #elfo #tiabeanie #disenchantment #voltron #vld #pearl #su pearl #rose quartz #rose quartz su #white knight #rwby #jaune arc #weiss schnee

[twdmusicboxmystery]

9x15: The Calm Before - Details

Okay, let's go through the pleasing nuances of this episode. Going to attempt to divide all my observations into categories. Bear with me.

***As always, spoilers abound for 9x15 in this post. Don’t read until you’ve watched! You’ve been warned.***

Whisperers = Wolves

Probably the most important thing that jumped out at me from this episode came during Daryl's conversation with Alpha, when she took him to see the big walker herd. Both of them used metaphors during that conversation that named Alpha and the Whisperers as wolves.

Alpha said the way Daryl's people lived was a shrine to a long dead world. He basically called her on her crap, saying that was just bullshit she feeds to her sheep. So, we have a reference to the sheep and the wolf metaphor. I’ll come back to that.

Then alpha more or less agreed to the way Daryl labeled her. She said her people followed her because she was the Alpha and the people trusted her leadership.

Now, many types of animals follow this dynamic, with a strong leader being in charge of the pack. In fact, the leader of any particular group, including humans, can be referred to as the alpha. But this analogy originally came from wild wolves. They have one strong leader, who generally uses violence to enforce their leadership, which is called the alpha. It's not even uncommon for the alpha of a wolf pack to be a dominant female. So, this fits the Whisperers very well.

The wolf and the sheep analogy often refers to a “wolf in sheep's clothing.” In a way, that fits the Whisperers too. They put on masks (sheep's clothing) and hide among the walkers.

Jesus's death was definitely a “wolf in sheep's clothing” situation. Most of us don’t think of the walkers as weak, innocent sheep, but most of the people still alive in TWD world have learned how to kill the walkers with relative ease. Unless they get overwhelmed with numbers, the walkers are less of a threat now. People are strong and know how to kill them. As we saw in this episode with Daryl's group, very few strong fighters can take out quite a few walkers. But when humans who are still alive and can think and improvise hide among the walkers, they become wolves in sheep's clothing.

Why is this important? I mentioned it yesterday. Because of Up the Wolves, which played at the end of Still. The chorus says, "There's gonna be a party when the wolf comes home."

So, this is another reinforcement of what we've said all along: Beth’s arc is tied up with the with the Whisperers (symbolic wolves).

Anyone who’s followed me long knows that, for a long time, I wondered if they wouldn't do the Whisperers at all, but would simply bring back the wolves and put them in the Whisperers role. Obviously, that hasn't been the case. My group has also wondered if perhaps the wolves are part of the Whisperers and simply broke off from them. That could still be the case, and I still sincerely hope we see the wolves again. They had such potential to be great villains and I felt like we didn't see enough of them or learn enough about them.

All that said, I'm officially leaning toward the wolves being a symbolic foreshadow of the Whisperers. That's why we saw lots of Beth symbolism around the wolves. It foreshadowed that she would return with the symbolic wolves (the Whisperers). So, when we heard Alpha and Daryl referring to the Whisperers as wolves, we might have had a few mini-meltdowns in my group. 😉

It's just a confirmation of stuff we’ve believed since Beth first disappeared in S5: that she’ll return with the wolves.

Another great point made in my group made is that another line from Up the Wolves talks about, “we’re going to commandeer the local airwaves.” Meanwhile, we have Eugene and Rosita trying to set up a radio that will do just that. It feels like the writers are taking lines from the song and making them come to life in the show. It makes me very hopeful because that song ends with the wolf coming home and everyone having a party or reunion.

TD/Grady Parallels:

During the fair, we saw lots of water symbols. Water barrels, Eugene’s dunking booth, etc. Henry changed back into his compass shirt, and the Highwaymen donated mannequins so Enid could do her CPR booth. (The mannequins remind us of the Rich Bitch mannequin/walker in Still.)

There is also constantly music playing at the fair. Even before we saw Luke and Alden singing, there was constantly people singing in the background and playing guitar music. There are also candied apples (Apple theory).

Lots of interesting dialogue as well. This is part of the tragedy of Henry, but he asked Carol when she was leaving and she said, "I won't leave without saying goodbye." Obviously a call back to Beth saying she hated goodbyes and that she was glad she didn't get to say goodbye. But of course Beth didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone, and neither did those who died and were piked, so there’s a parallel there.

Luke and Alden:

While we’ll always relate anything musical to Beth, I thought it was interesting that Luke played the guitar, which is the same instrument she played in 5x09. I also like that, while trying to convince Alden to sing with him, Luke kept saying of Enid, "Sing for her!" It just reminded me of blessing for Daryl in her own.

Luke said he didn't want a mid-tempo ballad. He wanted something more upbeat. That would give people hope. Luke and Eldon collectively represent Beth. It seems to me that a mid-tempo ballad (which Alden wants) is more like the kind of music Beth likes. Yet Luke says people need hope. A very Beth-ish thing to say. So they represent her collectively.

Connie Stuff:

Connie and Kelly’s conversation struck many of us as something that could have been said between Maggie and Beth. Kelly lamented that Connie left without saying goodbye. Check out this dialogue. "You left without saying goodbye… Any goodbye could be the last…What if you die?" Again, that could practically have been said between Maggie and Beth, and Beth and Maggie really didn't get a goodbye. Between this and Henry/Carol’s convo, there was definitely a “getting to say goodbye” theme going on in this episode, and that traces directly back to Beth.

At the end, Kelly says, “It’s okay. I get it.” Two very iconic Beth lines from Grady.

On a more plot-related note, it sounds like Connie might've lost a baby at some point. And this finally made it clear why she went with Daryl to begin with. She couldn't stand that the Whisperers were going to let that baby die. Obviously, she had a very personal connection to that issue, perhaps because she lost a baby herself. She told Kelly all about feelings that she hasn't dealt with yet. On the one hand, this is obviously a Connie thing. It tells us her motivations and also shows why she still alive. Many people predicted her death this season, but obviously she's got more story to tell.

Because she’s had some Beth parallels, we might also connect this to Beth and the Child/Baby symbolism.

Daryl leaves Dog with Connie. I know a lot of the shippers are making a big deal out of this, but the biggest thing I see here are Beth parallels.

First of all, there was really no reason for Daryl to leave dog behind. He's never not taken Dog with him before and he didn't give a specific reason for it. I'm kind of thinking this was a convenience thing for the story. If Dog had been with them when the walkers attacked, one of two things would've happened. Either Dog would've died because there were too many walkers and he would been bitten, or, had he lived, he would've talked attacked Beta and the Whisperers and might have helped TF escape. So, in terms of the story, having Dog there would have been a problem. They had to invent reason for Daryl to leave him behind.

But we’re also seeing strong symbolism here. They very specifically emphasized that, when Daryl was a prisoner a the Sanctuary, they only fed him dog food. We've seen cans of dog food many times. Here, he specifically asked Connie to feed the dog, so this is part of the dog food theme.

The thing is, we can relate this specifically back to Beth in Alone. Daryl wanted to bring the one-eyed dog into the funeral home so they could feed him. He specifically tried to get the dog to come in and eat. That’s when the walkers busted in and Beth disappeared. So again, feeding the dog is something we can relate directly back to Beth. It's yet another Beth/Connie parallel.

When Daryl's group is captured, shows up, shocking Daryl, who doesn't didn't realize until now the Beta had survived. He says that all Daryl had to do was give him Lydia and no one else has had to die. He then says, "But that deal is done." That is EXACTLY what Rick said to Dawn at Grady. "The deal is done." Beta didn't do the head tilt, but whatcha gonna do?

Rosita and Eugene worked on the radio. I won't say too much about this except that it's part of the Communication Theme and as I said the other day, everything around the radio smacks of Sirius/Dogstar symbolism. And Eugene specifically said he was looking for “ham” radio parts.

When Carol, Father Gabriel, and Rachel were all talking, Tara mentioned training new fighters and specifically training facilities. Rachel offered the beach. I'm not sure what's gonna come out of this, but it made me think of Abraham's line. "From Alpha to Omega, battlefield to beach.”

Alpha meets Ezekiel. She says she looks forward to meeting Carol, so obviously they are setting up an Alpha vs. Carol thing. It also stood out to us that Alpha mentioned it being “sweater weather” soon. This is something I haven't really thought about too much before, guys.

Sweater weather made us think of Beth’s sweater. My group tried to relate it to her through that. I think the parallels deeper here. We don't see cold weather very often on TWD. In a few seasons, we’ve seen TF start wearing long sleeves and jackets more, but it doesn't usually go too far beyond that. I was thinking that maybe that's very purposeful.

We definitely saw " sweater weather" in S4. In Still, Beth and Daryl wore T-shirts and sweated a lot. It was obviously very hot outside. It was obvious there was a few weeks’ time jump before Alone, because Beth was suddenly wearing her signature sweater and Daryl had a jean jacket on. But it occurs to me that, while we HAVE seen the weather cool slightly in other seasons, it hasn’t been every season, it hasn’t always been logical, and I think it’s almost always synonymous with Beth symbolism.

For example, Daryl and Aaron wore cool-weather jackets at the end of S5. That's when they came across the wolves and saw the blonde girl tied to the tree. S6 started only days after S5, but we saw no cold weather in S6. From there, we have the infamously slow-moving seasons. From S6 to the end of S8 only a few months passed, and we never saw any cold weather.

Now, Alpha mentions sweater weather again and of course are going to see snow in the next episode. I’m thinking this might be very intentional. Like maybe they were never going to show bad weather on the show until Beth came back. If so, mentioning sweater weather and that winter is coming soon could  almost be another way of saying Beth is about to arrive.

Henry goes to fix the water pipe again and that's when he disappears. Obviously, he's had a lot of Beth parallels this season and it occurred to me that he was trying to fix a water problem when he disappeared, and then died. (Beth equals water.)

Then there was the movie shown at the Kingdom. In it, we watch a duck vs. a fox. That's very important because @frangipanilove has found evidence that the fox is part of the Sirius/Dog Star symbolism. There was even a part where the duck pulled a mask off the fox.

Obviously another analogy for the Whisperers. They wear masks and so, kind of like the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” analogy, it's about them hiding behind the masks. We also saw this theme when Daryl said something similar to Michonne last episode about people wearing hatred like a mask.

More than all that, if this is part of the Sirius symbolism, it may point to the returning dog star character (Beth) wearing a mask too. In other words, she might be hidden in general, or she might be one of the Whisperers. Fascinating stuff. @frangipanilove is working on a whole post about all of this. Coming soon. 

Now, at first we thought the thing in the cartoon was a wolf, not a fox, and it was pointed out that the wolf/fox came home. (Again, “there’s gonna be a party when the wolf comes home,” even if it’s a fox instead.)

Also remember that in Still, Daryl’s story about Merle and the tweaker included a cartoon about a talking dog. Now Ezekiel is specifically showing a cartoon that could fit that mold.

Alpha tells Daryl's group, that Lydia is weak and never lived up to expectations. When it flashes back to Alpha and Lydia's face-off, we saw parallels to Dawn and Beth at Grady. Not only does Lydia stand up to Alpha, much as Beth did to Dawn, but Alpha keeps telling Lydia she's weak. At one point, Lydia even holds up her arm to show off her scars, kind of like Dawn grabbing Beth's arm and looking at the suicide scar on her wrist.

Alpha made Beta leave when she cried. That's a direct callback to Beth and Daryl. It’s sort of a parallel to Beth saying “I don't cry anymore,” but Beth also didn't mind if Daryl saw her cry. In this case, Alpha makes Beta leave because she's crying and doesn't want to appear weak in front of him. Then she kills the guy who was saw her cry. Yeah, never walk up on Alpha when she’s crying.

I noticed the guy she killed was holding a dead blackbird. Kind of interesting. We saw white doves (usually a symbol of peace) released at the fair. So the black bird just before a brutal death contrasts to that. It’s also part of the black/white symbolism, which we’ve seen a lot around Beth and Daryl. It’s also interesting to note that black and white birds are a big part of the new opening credits sequence for this arc.

Another piece of foreshadowing I noticed was when Ezekiel said, "Eat, drink, trade, and be merry." I thought it was kind of an odd thing to say. The reason being that it's a line from the Bible but it's actually a very negative line. It’s about people being carefree and not thinking they’ll have to deal with the consequences of frivolous living. The entire line says, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die…” And basically they think everything will be fine no matter what, but it won’t. So, it doesn't seem like a particularly appropriate line at a fair that’s about being positive and getting people to come together.

Then it occurred to me that it's something of a foreshadow. It literally happened in this episode. Everyone ate, drank and was happy at the fair. Then people died. ☹

Did you notice the sunrise in this episode? Ezekiel called the fair, "A Fair of New Beginnings." The new beginnings was a hint of the new arc and then when Alpha took Daryl to see the walker horde, the sun was coming up. So, we’re moving into a new sub-arc.

One thing I was wrong about: I really didn't think Henry would make it back for the fair. The way spoilers originally reported events, it sounded like Henry would be killed on his way to the fair, so I assume he wouldn't make it. But he did, and that was a good thing. It was good that he got see Carol again one more time. It was good that was Michonne and Tara made up before tragedy struck. Naturally, all the reunions had to happen to make the tragedy of it more potent.

Hilde:

Let's talk about Hilde for a minute. There were a lot of things that we could parallel between her and Beth. She’s the one who makes the H coins, which have a parallel to Beth’s spoon. There's the fact that she's blonde. She wears a green dress with pink flowers on it (Pink Theory). All symbols of Beth. Having Alpha put them on just lends more credence, in my mind, to Alpha being a foil to Beth.

Another thing that stuck out to me was that Alpha scalped her *shudders*. If you watch as the camera pans away, Alpha makes a cut on her forehead and then we don't see the rest of the scalping. It reminded me of the walker in the movie theater in episode 9x11. I said that was a parallel to Beth because Beth had a head injury and the cut was made in forehead (where Beth was shot). I still think that, and I think Hilde’s death here is a parallel to with Beth’s too, but the move theater walker was also a foreshadow of this.

We also heard Alpha sing the Lydia song here again. It’s kind of amazing how much Alpha sings, given the only other person who sang a lot. Again, Alpha = Foil of Beth.

Siddiq:

There's been a lot of talk about whether Siddiq is a traitor of some kind, who gave Alpha information about the communities. We don't really know for certain yet, but on TTD, they did seem to tell us that was not the case. I’m 50/50 on this right now. I sincerely hope Siddiq isn’t a traitor and I don't want him to be, but I thought something was going on with him in this episode. And it will may not be a plot thing. It really might be more of a symbolic thing.

As soon as I heard people talking about Siddiq maybe being a traitor, I actually thought that could work out well for one of my theories. Back in S8 when Carl died, I talked about how I thought something about Siddiq would lead to Beth. The reason is because we saw so much Beth symbolism (like the Phoenix) around Carl’s death. I think they were trying to say that something about Carl's death would lead to the Phoenix (Beth) rising. We haven't seen that yet because Beth hasn't returned. But I still think something about Siddiq will lead to her. That would mean Carl bringing Siddiq into the community, and dying because of it, would lead to Beth. Kind of like one sheriff dying for another.

I still think that's true and I thought if Siddiq betrayed TF in some way, that might be a clue to how this would play out. Which is not to say that Siddiq HAS to be a traitor for it to play out that way. I was just eyeing him suspiciously in this episode. He obviously has a significant role in this episode, and where Alpha is concerned in general, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on him moving forward.

There’s also the fact that Siddiq was tied to a tree. Granted, it doesn’t look quite the same as the blond walker tied to the tree in 5x15, mostly because he was sitting, but we know the Whisperers do this, so it’s still a parallel to that blond walker. Another way to associate Beth with Siddiq. Just kinda interesting.

I also wrote in my notes that the scene where Ozzie takes Daryl’s group to Hilde’s wagon reminded me of when Daryl and Aaron came upon the wolves’ destruction and the blond walker in 5x15. The reason being, Ozzie said something to the effect of, “the dead didn’t do this; the living did.” 

In this case, the Whisperers. But Daryl and Aaron said much the same thing back in 5x15 about the wolves. The reason I mention it is that Daryl and Aaron said that and then came upon the blond woman tied to the tree right after that. Here, Ozzy says the same thing and, though it doesn’t happen right away, Daryl’s group eventually finds Siddiq tied to a tree. Just saying.

Another evidence that something’s up with Siddiq, at least symbolically? Ezekiel’s speech at the beginning of the fair/episode was all about honoring Rick, Carl, and Jesus. (In other words, two sheriffs and the Christ figure?) And the episode where Carl found Siddiq and brought him into the community was called Honor. See what I mean? I'm not sure exactly how or what it means yet, but somethings’ up.

Questions:

Rachel seems to be leading Oceanside, and we still don’t know what happened to Cindy. Yup, the Rachel who signed the charter for Oceanside is little homicidal Rachel that kept trying to shoot Tara in S7 when she first discovered Oceanside. And remember Sydney Park is now on a different show. So I really don’t think Cyndie is alive anymore, but they haven’t told us why or what happened to her. But Oceanside does seem to be alive and well and thriving under Rachel.

I also questioned why, in terms of the writing and story, Yumiko went with Daryl's group. She didn't serve much purpose except to help them fight walkers and look vaguely horrified most of the time. So, I'm not sure why they had her go with them. It could just as easily have been just Daryl, Michonne and Carol who were captured and then found Siddiq and the pikes together. I'm sure there's a reason Yumiko being there, but we don't know what it is yet. Could be symbolic or could be that this affects her moving forward in some way

Things TD was right about:

I'll update the official post about this soon. For now, we can officially say that Ezekiel did not get his comic book death. Yes, it's possible he could still die during Whisperer war, but you all know I think he’ll get a death fake out. S, he may "die," but not for real.

Guys, I've been saying Ezekiel won’t get his CB death since S7. It was partly gut feeling but mostly because of precedent the show has set. Other than Glenn, not a single character on the show has gotten their exact CB death, and specific reasons were stated for why they kept Glenn’s the same. None of them applied to Zeke. Plus, if you look at symbolism around him and Carol, it’s obvious that there’s more story yet to play out for them. So again, TD was right about this, and it’s not wishful thinking or a wild guess we just so happened to be right about. It shows that generally do read the symbolism correctly and that’s why we’re correct about stuff. And then there’s Beth…

Enid and Alden: I didn’t by any means predict Enid’s death—I was surprised to find out she’d be one of the pike victims when I read spoilers—but I did sort of predict this in a round about way that even I didn’t realize would happen.

When we found out Enid and Alden were an item, I had lots of people asking me about the Entwined Fingers Hand-hold Theme. The reason being that Enid and Carl did the entwined fingers hand hold, which showed they were soulmates, so I had a lot of people asking what Enid’s relationship with Alden meant for that theory. In truth, I didn’t know for sure until things played out further, and told everyone as much. I offered a few weak theories, such as that maybe the handhold was for Carl rather than Enid. Like, she was his only love (because he died so young) but maybe he wouldn’t be hers. If that had turned out to be the case, it would have sucked because it would have weakened the entire theory, and sort of leaned toward Daryl possibly getting a new love interest at some point.

The other option I offered was that, more likely, Enid and Alden’s relationship wouldn’t be long term. Either they would break up or—more likely as this is TWD—one of them would die. And what do you know? Like I said, I didn’t at all predict Enid’s death. Honestly, my money would have been on Alden being the on to go. But they really emphasized in this episode that Enid and Alden were still a new and developing thing. (This was apparently the first time she’d called him her boyfriend) so, tragic as it was, they weren’t in love, they weren’t soulmates, and they certainly never did the entwined handhold that we saw. So the theory stands.

In terms of foreshadowing, the two of them being involved in the Grady-like prisoner exchange was probably meant to foreshadow one of their deaths. We can compare them to Bethyl because it was the man (Daryl/Alden) that lost the woman (Enid/Beth).

I also think there could be something to the fact that the one who sings (Alden) is the one who lived, while Enid died. (☹)

Ozzy’s Death:

Most of us are a little mystified about why Ozzie died. It’s just surprising that they introduced him and then killed him so quickly. I don't think it changes anything I’ve said about him, even though I thought he would play a bigger role in bringing Beth back. The symbolism still stands.

Watching a second time, I noticed when Siddiq told the story about what happened in the barn, he says Ozzie found and tried to rescue them. I’m not even sure exactly where I'm going with this, but it's kind of interesting that these guys, who we saw a lot of Beth symbolism around, attempted to to rescue everyone and were killed in the attempt. It just feels like a slightly skewed call back to Daryl trying to rescue Beth and her being killed in the attempt.

Random and Tragic Observations:

Henry had a crush on Enid at the beginning of the season, and, while he ended up cultivating a relationship with Lydia instead of her, he and Enid died together. Maybe in some way, his crush on Enid foreshadowed this?

Siddiq told the crowd that the victims died as heroes. He said, “That's the story I want us all to remember." I thought that could be the theme for the entire series. The writers are telling us that this is the main point. We lose characters often and it sucks. The thing to remember is that they died heroes, fighting for and defending one another.

Of course, Carol finding Henry was a total replay of Sophia. Even Norman confirmed that on TTD.

And finally, Lydia visited the pikes and left her H necklace there as a memorial to Henry. This was an obvious call back to Alone. Not only because of Lydia/Beth parallels and H necklace/spoon parallels, but putting it at the base of the stake felt a lot like Daryl putting yellow flowers on the “Beloved Father” grave. Then he and Lydia walked off together, much like Beth and Daryl left the graveyard together.

And this is actually more North Star stuff. Hilde said the H stood for “hope” and “home” among other things. So Lydia put a symbol for hope on Henry’s grave (who had insane parallels with Beth this season) and it just happened to be at the northern border (North Star) which Carl told Judith in S6 was how one finds their way home. Exciting stuff. The North Star/Sirius symbolism is directly tied to Beth’s return.

Okay, I think it's all I have to say for today. I’ll do predictions tomorrow. I'll talk more about what was said on TTD (because it's huge) and also what we’ve already seen from 9x16. If you haven't yet, get on the app or YouTube and watch the opening minutes of 9x16 and the sneak peaks. I’ll be referencing them. I’m seeing something awesome that makes me feel very hopeful that we could see Beth next episode. Stay tuned.

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

[casino-lights]

and ethan and rowan too 🔪

The last of my ship breakdowns (sadly) is finally here!

How did they they meet?

Rowan stumbled across Ethan while he was hunting and she watched him for a while to see if he would pose a threat. She lost sight of him for a moment, and then he was behind her with an arrow nocked against the back of her neck. She was equal parts irritated and impressed.

Who developed romantic feelings first?

Rowan. She finds herself with a little bit of a crush on that weird guy from the sticks and she tries to push it away but she keeps finding herself going to places like his favorite hunting grounds or the old compound or the outskirts of New Eden itself.

Who is their biggest “shipper?”

Joseph. As soon as he finds out Ethan has a friend he’s all !!! and secretly wants that friend to be a nice person Ethan can settle down with. He didn’t expect a former Highwayman.

When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances?

Rowan tried to stop Ethan from going to the Highwaymen with a deal. She all but begged him not to go, telling him the Twins would either take him or break him and that he’d regret whatever deal they made. He asked her why she cared. She said “Because I like you, you stubborn hippie,” and kissed him.

Who confessed their feelings first?

Rowan! See above :D

What was their first official date?

I don’t know if it counts as a date but they lit the Flame of Eden together after Ethan complained about it to Rowan and she told him she could help him get to it.

How do they feel about double dates/group dates?

They’d prefer to spend time alone with each other.

What do they do in their down time?

They explore. Ethan knows the North well but the Holland Valley and Henbane River are places he’s unfamiliar with, and Rowan is entirely new to Hope County itself. They like finding new places and either keeping them as hideaways for themselves or reclaiming them for New Eden or Prosperity.

What was the first meeting of parents as an official couple like?

Awkward. Joseph is not the most subtle person, nor does he understand the concept of personal space, which Rowan values highly. Add that to Ethan’s strained relationship with his father and you’ve got a recipe for one terribly uncomfortable dinner.

What was their first fight over and how did they get past it?

Their first fight was after they reclaimed the statue of Joseph and lit the Flame of Eden. Ethan didn’t thank Rowan, which pissed her right off, and she got snarky with him, which made him frustrated with her. After a little bit of the silent treatment, they both agreed to forgive and forget.

Which one is more easily made jealous?

Honestly, neither of them are jealous people by nature. Rowan’s fine with letting Ethan do his own thing and Ethan knows he has no claim upon Rowan’s time or attention. The respectful distance between them serves them well.

What is their favourite thing to get to eat?

Bear. They hunted one together to boost New Eden’s food supply and they got to savor the fruits of their labor that same evening. Now, bear reminds them of each other.

Who’s the cuddly one? What their favourite cuddling position?

They’re both awkward cuddlers, especially at first - Ethan‘s limbs are too long and Rowan is too bony - but they become accustomed to each other and eventually Rowan discovers that napping while curled up on Ethan’s chest is comfortable for them both.

Are they hand holders?

Only when they’re alone.

How long do they wait before sleeping together for the first time? What’s the circumstances?

They wait a surprisingly long time before sleeping together - mostly for lack of opportunity - but they find themselves alone in one of the old cabins at the start of the Pilgrimage and they just go for it.

Who tops?

At first, Rowan, but they take turns.

What’s the worst fight they’ve ever gotten into?

Rowan doesn’t remember her parents. As far as she’s concerned she never had any. So when she gets fed up of the bickering between Ethan and Joseph, she confronts Ethan about it, saying he should be thankful he has a dad in the first place. Ethan gets mad at her for inserting herself into his family life when they had previously been so respectful of each other’s privacy, and they actually went at each other physically and got a few swings in until they were interrupted by Highwaymen who’d overheard them yelling.

Who does the shopping and the cooking?

Ethan’s the better hunter and chef but Rowan can take some random, potentially inedible ingredients and turn them into a palatable dinner, so they can both cook.

Which one is more organized and prone to tidiness?

Rowan lived in utter chaos as a Highwayman, so it’s definitely Ethan. He keeps everything just so and every time Rowan messes something up he dies a little inside.

Who proposes?

They don’t actually get married. If they did, however, I’m sure Ethan would be the one to propose.

Do they have joined Bachelor/Bachelorette parties or separate?

Chances are good if they got married they wouldn’t have bachelor/bachelorette parties.

Who is the best man/maid of honour? Any other groomsmen or bridesmaids?

Even if they did get married I think it would probably take place somewhere where it could be just the two of them. They’d probably elope. So no bridesmaids or groomsmen.

Big Ceremony or Small?

See above!

Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where?  

Anywhere outside Hope County. Honeymooning would be harder after the Collapse, so they likely wouldn’t go far.

Do they have children? How many?

They don’t. Rowan doesn’t think she’d make a good mother. She doesn’t even know what a good mother is.

#faithsgate #you’re a bad influence on me #gracelogs #long post #ship: we both get what we want #oc: rowan black #ethan seed #far cry new dawn #ship breakdown

[justanearth-boundmisfit]

destielette1 replied to your post “It's fucking hilarious how you don't even have to give a hint...”

I sent the comment too fast anyway i was saying that the show and the fandom are agonizing, that’s a fact , I don’t think they can save it now , not with these writers , and not with the main reasons that made the show go to its 15th (no matter what the incest shippers say) are being treated like shit and literally killed, and I’m talking about both Cas and destiel. 

We lost so many good people , so many excellent meta writers , like awed frog for example, people are fed up, thousands Shippers get fed up of their queer baiting and left the show, and it shows in the ratings. And the way the show been pandering to incest Shippers lately made things even uglier , I will always cherish Cas and Destiel no matter what , but I will not keep a good memory of Spn. I always said that a show success doesn’t lie in its longevity but in its ending , 

The shows that end badly are quickly forgotten , the main actors of these show often pay for the writers errors and they rarely find other significative roles again, just look at the actors of lost, this getting really long , I needed to someone who is not an hypocrite , thank you for trying to stay honest and don’t ever change , love you 🌹

I hope you don’t mind I put all your comments together because I think they are on point. And coming from you, and how much I know you love Destiel and Cas are incredible important right now. 

Under the cut the rest because it got long... as usual...

I agree almost completely in all that you say. And I say almost because I think when spn ends is not going to be forgotten or forgiven. It’s going to stay in the history of queerbaiting tv forever. It’s already happening even before the show ends, the only thing that maintains it like you say, it’s destiel and Cas, and I’m saying this not as a shipper or a Cas’ fan, it’s simple facts. We don’t have to search too hard for these facts either, destiel has been on lists with otps and canon ships on major sites for quite a while now, everybody knows that making a list with deancas is surely going to get thousands of clicks, the polls always have them for the same reason. The amount of fics, art, codas, metas, articles about them is incredible. And we are talking about a ship that is not canon, and that Dabb made sure to kill it dead. Imagine if things were different, just imagine. 

That’s why I say that spn is going to go infamous in that respect, is going to be up there with Sherlock, and the meltdown johnlock created is going to pale with the one we are going to have with spn. It’s going to be hard af to watch and I have been saying “please don’t listen or read meta bs that is is lying to you because is not healthy” like a parrot, because I KNOW some people are going to get hurt so so much. 

I’m glad that I can finally started to distance myself a little from the show and from the ship, it’s really liberating not to be so down or angry all the time. Or just waiting for my 3 minutes of Cas every now and then just to be disappointed again, I’m not letting tptb do that to me ever again. And yeah it’s fiction, but fiction can hurt you too, can turn into an obsession, and that’s what happened with spn on so many levels... Tptb play with that constantly, and worst of all they know VERY WELL what they are doing. Metas like to talk about how “everything is so well crafted in the writer’s room!” and that “everything has a reason to be” yeah the reason is to keep fans watching, buying merch, going to cons, and spending money. Sorry not sorry, but spn at this point is so clearly just all about the money tptb can get out of fandom. 

What is sad af, it’s the lost potential, spn could’ve been incredible, not only if destiel went canon, but if the writing wasn’t so shitty, repetitive and boring. Also metas likes to point out how “season 14 is all about characterization” lmao! If the 300th ep proved something is that they dgaf about characterization! They brought back John with a storyline that didn’t make sense AT ALL, it was pure fan service. They also like to point out how much the bros have expanded their family and “it’s not about only them anymore”. But again, the 300th proved them wrong, it’s all about blood family, it’s all about the bros (and I totally agree with you that we have so many wincest winks lately wtf). I have talked so many times why this is not going to change, that I feel the deja vu running through my veins. They have a formula, a formula that gave them 15 seasons, they are not going to change it, even if the ratings are down, they are stuck with their bs. Dabb’s era is the worst that I have seen, and I’m not afraid to say it. Even when I hated Gamble for so long, at least we had great eps now and then. But these last three years oh gods, they are so bad! They totally destroyed Cas and Dean, and deancas, and the myth arcs and lore were non-existent to them. Continuity? What’s that? And don’t make me talk about their obsession with abusive white males that they keep bringing back or giving a redemption arc too (ketch, john, nick/lucifer to name a few).  

Ugh... there’s so much more to REALLY analyze about spn, instead of writing about parallels and the light, and the wardrobe. But alas, I’m no meta, and I’m really tired of all their bs. What I feel the most is the lost of great bloggers, friends and fans, I terribly missed them. Nowadays we have to go around social media, esp twitter, being really careful about what you say, otherwise the horde of positivity police will bury you shouting “you’re a casonly! you’re bitter and that is as bad as being a bronly! you’re the dark side of the fandom!” And that’s why metas and their positivity policing are also responsible for destroying fandom. It shows in the amount of blogs that are deleted or changed by fans, it shows in the mess that fanfiction is right now, it shows in the wars that we have and how much the fandom is divided. We have to thank them for that imo, I have seen them in action, I have experienced their policing. But idgaf about what they say about me or my little blog. I’m not shutting up, they can all go fuck themselves because I’m not forgiving or forgetting how much they clapped when tptb killed Cas in season 12. And they call US the dark side of the fandom? Lmao!

Sorry it go this long. But I’m venting and ranting, well you know me at this point. And I want to really thank you for your last words, because I know that we have different opinions on certain matters but you always showed me so much respect... I really appreciate it like you have no idea, because it shows me that we can all exchange opinions or think different but also we can be decent with each other. For me you’re one of the greatest in this fandom. I have to thank spn, despite everything, that I could meet people like you. All the hugs, and love you too. 

#destielette1 #rant #vent #rant of rants #replies #ranty replies #opinions #don't like don't read #anti spn #just in case #destiel for ts #just in case too #anti metas bullshit #dirt for ts

[fangirlunderground-blog]

Meta Monday

!MAJOR SPOILERS! for season 6 of Voltron: Legendary Defender. If you can’t watch yet, might I recommend some of my favorite Sheith AUs instead? For everyone else, here are six things I’m currently living for: 

1) “I love you;” 2) “You found me;” 3) Schrödinger's Shiro is finally over; 4) Keith is now 21, end of debate; 5) Space Wolf has two daddies; and, of course, 6) All this new Sheith meta on my dash! ...So much meta, in fact, that despite it only having been out for a couple of days, I might have gone overboard on today’s Meta Monday (and yes, it’s exclusively about Sheith in season 6). 

At this rate, I may even wind up doing a Part Two in the next week or two, or maybe a follow up with meta from previous seasons. Let me know if you’re interested in that! And, as always, let the original authors know you appreciate their work. 🦁 

Voltron: Legendary Defender - Keith/Shiro

Black didn’t pick Keith to be her paladin, Shiro did by @belovedsheith, You know what I just realized? We’ve been talking about how Shiro allowed Kuron to pilot Black, right? But that means…Black didn’t pick Keith to be her paladin. Shiro did. (Mirror Link)

Brother vs. ‘Brother’: A Sheith meta by @ea-stofnar​, [...] Still with me? Okay, so to lay the groundwork for this meta, I first need to address the elephant in the room; the word that a lot of people in this fandom seem to get stuck on. That word is ‘Brother.’ Now whether you’re an anti or a Sheith shipper, that word holds a lot of weight. For antis because they’ve stuffed, mounted and made it their grizzly rallying cry; claiming that it means Sheith is dead and we are fools who continue to ship it. And we shippers get caught in the trap. The majority of the fandom seems to either try and talk around it, or pretend it doesn’t exist within the context of Shiro and Keith’s relationship. I say, we don’t have to do either. (Mirror Link)

The DND episode was so important for Shiro/Kuron than we think and here’s why by @jaegereska, It showed Kuron was fucking human being, that it wasn’t an act, and that he is still Shiro, himself, despite it all. He wanted to spend his time off with the team, he was already playing with Coran Pidge and Hunk before Allura and Lance decided to join them. (Fun side note: Haggar probably watched the whole dnd session through Kuron). (Mirror Link) 

Sheith evidence from the French version (and other languages) by @spiftynifty, I’m tired of the totes desperate brogane/dadgane rhetoric going around about this season. So here’s the french version of the “raising him” scene, just in case anyone needed further clarification that Krolia wasn’t saying “thanks for adopting my son”. In dialogue she says, “He’s the man he is today because of you.” The captions offer a slightly less profound, “Thanks for making him the man he is today”. (Mirror Link)

Sheith isn’t dead by @saltyshiro, Here’s the thing, anon - I don’t at all feel that sheith is dead or anything like that bc of the “You’re my brother. I love you” line. In fact it just reaffirmed my love for sheith :’) @arahir made a great point about this before the season dropped - the whole brotherly or sisterly love thing is something that’s pretty common among queer ppl. (Mirror Link)

Shiro’s love for Keith by @arahir, Oh man, I’m really glad someone asked [if Shiro cares about Keith just as much]. I think the way Shiro acts toward/around Keith is one of the most well produced parts of vld. they do such an incredible job with Shiro’s character in general, but so much of his character depth is centered on Keith. No matter how you interpret their relationship, the fact that they love each other is never in question, and it’s done so well. (Mirror Link)

Keith and Shiro’s bond by @as-many-times-as-it-takes, It wasn’t a lack of time, but a lack of connection. He was able to appear just brief enough to Lance, as they still have a great bond, as Shiro does with the other Paladins. But not like Keith. (Mirror Link)

Krolia’s line on Shiro “raising” Keith is not literal by @quiznackingqueen, I’ve gotten a few asks about this, and I keep seeing antis harp on this line, so we’re gonna take a closer look at it. This is definition of raise I see the antis using: to care for a child or young animal until it is able to take care of itself. This doesn’t fit the situation. Shiro was not Keith’s guardian, he wasn’t a parental figure, he was not literally responsible for Keith’s well being. That fell to Keith’s actual guardians, be they the Garrison, the employees at the home, or Keith’s case worker. These were the people that kept Keith fed and clothed and safe. (Mirror Link)  

Kuron’s Reaction to Older Keith by @dent-de-leon, Yes!! I’m a bi guy myself and I wholeheartedly agree. So, let’s get to it–for one thing, Kuron is a bit flustered in this scene, it’s so sweet. As soon as Keith gets on the comms, you can hear in Kuron’s voice just how much this boy means to him. He literally stutters. One moment he was completely composed and in control, but then Keith is suddenly back and his whole world is off its axis. “Keith? I–are you okay?” He stumbles, stops. He just doesn’t know how to place his emotions, and he’s visibly affected by this. He’s also the only one who takes the time to ask if Keith’s alright. Because no matter what, that’s what matters to him most. He obviously cares a lot. (Mirror Link)

The part I can’t stop thinking about from this season is this by @arahir, [...] He has absolutely no hope for himself anymore. For all he knows, this is the last time he’s going to see Keith or talk to anyone, but still, all he cares about in that moment is Keith. He just wants to know Keith can believe in himself and be ok. (Mirror Link)

The purple glow by @kcgane, Okay so if Shiro’s soul was in Black all along and when Allura transferred his soul back to the clone body that purple glow showed up... when Keith was piloting Black and that purple glow was there could that have been Shiro’s presence there with him?!?! (Mirror Link)

Sacrifice and Keith’s Development by @begrudging-fudanshi, I just have to point this out. These two scenes have some very interesting parallels that really showcase Keith’s development. First and most obvious, it’s pretty clear in both that Keith thinks he’s going to die, and in both he closes his eyes in preparation for what’s to come. However, there’s a huge difference between them. (Mirror Link)

Shiro went out of his way just to be in Keith’s arms by @im-love-sheith, [...] This scene at the end where Shiro leans into Keith. At first i thought “aw thats sweet, he happened to lean into Keith” but thinking back on it, even though Shiro was exhausted and literally just came back from the dead, he chose to lean on Keith specifically. (Mirror Link)

There’s always one episode in each season in which Keith finds Shiro by @zoetekohana, I had a thought about the “you found me” + “how many times are you gonna have to save me before this is over? as many times as it takes” quotes for Shiro/Keith. (Mirror Link)

Why I still ship Sheith, and it’s not “dead” by @dent-de-leon, [...] So, let’s get started with the dreaded ages thing that always comes up, just get that out of the way. According to the guidebook, they were 18 and 25 respectively at the start of the series. Shiro hasnt aged in the astral plane. Since, you know he’s been dead. And it’s more or less implied that Shiro has been gone for months, and then they meet Lotor and there’s the whole time that conflict plays out, then we fast forward to after he lays low and Keith says “Lotor hasnt been seen for months.” we can infer that more or less a year has elapsed since Shiro’s death/disappearance. Adding in the two year time skip, that puts them at about 21 and 25 respectively. You know, a completely reasonable age difference. (Mirror Link)

“You’re my brother.” by @biscoote, I’m gonna be honest I’m not the best at articulating my thoughts into words but hear me out because I think it’s worth looking at just what the term brother, and what brotherhood means to two men. So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days after watching this episode, thinking especially about this comment and all the different responses to it and Shiro and Keith’s relationship as a whole. I’ve also been especially attuned to male / male dynamics (platonic or romantic) and how they play out in media specifically. (Mirror Link)

#vld spoilers #vld s6 spoilers #sheith #takashi shirogane #keith kogane #vld s6 #voltron #vld #voltron: legendary defender #m/m #meta #meta monday #fangirlrecs #mm37

[juuls]

Why canon ships suck

So! You like a ship, right?

You want that ship to become canon, but it hasn’t yet, or never will.

So what do you do?

You read fanfiction, of course!

In many people’s opinions, fanfiction can often be better than canon. It allows us to explore ships, characters, alternate universes… and sometimes we encounter authors who do it way better than the canon writers do. It’s pretty spectacular, to be honest.

Fanfiction and fandom allows us to explore the what-ifs. The ‘what would happen if this event didn’t happen, or this character didn’t die, or these two characters met who never did in canon’. It provides us an avenue to ‘fix’ what canon screwed up – well, in some people’s minds. In an age where we are only just starting to get LGBT+ representation on the screen, or in books (but only really just now, in any fair way), fanfiction gives slash/femslash/polyamory shippers a place to explore the ships that they wish were on screen – but aren’t yet, unfortunately. I know that fandom is a bastion for me in that regard.

But… have you ever stopped to wonder what would happen if your ship became canon?

In my opinion…

…and in the minds of a few people whom I have spoken to at length on this topic… canon makes the ships less fun.

They’re together. The people we shipped, the people we wrote fics about… they’re together. What more is there to write or read about? Yeah sure, you could still write some fics, especially legacy and alternate universes. But there will be far less interest in it after the fact. Fanfiction is more often than not a place to explore the ‘getting together’ part of a relationship, and once they’re together, besides wrapping up the plot… what fun is there?

Not much, honestly.

Yeah, there’s the whole fandom attitude of ‘winning’ over another ship. And maybe the canon ship breaks up and ends with someone else. That is entirely possible. But I’m talking about those ships that become canon and end the series/movies/books that way. Yep, we can be gleeful that we ‘won’. We can dance and say nananabooboo! and be all happy and whatnot. ‘Winning’ a ship war can be fun.

But do you know what those shippers have that we don’t, after everything is said and done?

… they get to keep writing/reading fanfic, and it’s interesting for them, exciting, and they can ignore the scene/episode/movie/book/epilogue (I’m looking at you, J.K. Rowling) at their leisure. When we get our canon ship… it sort of, I dunno, ends there for a lot of people.

It kinda sucks.

Actually, it really sucks.

So, you know what? I don’t want my ships to become canon. Or, at the very least, I would love evidence that they’re moving in that direction, at the end of whatever it is, TV/movie/book, that I’m watching or reading. That way I’ve got this pretty strong feeling that they’re going to end up together… but, like… they aren’t actually together.

So then I can write whatever I want, whatever I see as possible for them getting together.

I just don’t want to be spoon-fed.

So… I’m looking at you, Johnlock. I’m looking at you, Hannigram. I’m looking at you, Reylo. I’m looking at you, SSHG. I’m looking at you, Stucky/Stony. 

Basically what I’m trying to say is… that I really enjoy it when my ship becomes canon… but then I lose the fandom love for it. Then it just becomes another aspect of the show/movie/book, and not a way of life, in a way. Because fandom/fanfiction… shipping… it thrives on the unknown. Thrives on the fix-its. Thrives on the getting-together.

Once we have all that. Once we have the known, the fixes, the getting together, the wrapping up… it’s not fun anymore.

But I’m not saying I don’t enjoy when things are pointing in my ship’s favor. :)

So, let’s take a look at a few stats.

I’m not diving deep here, because there are a lot of facts that don’t get taken into account with the numbers. You have to have been part of the fandom to understand the ins and outs, when a fandom was popular, and what effect the decade it was popular in had on a ship or fandom, or the decline of a ship over a certain amount of time, or after it becomes canon (because a ship can still be at the top of the charts, but its fic contributions rapidly declined after it became canon), or if a fandom moved to another website, or was/is more prevalent on another site or whatever, etc. But the numbers are still interesting.

So yeah, this isn’t thoroughly researched empirical data, but… it’s a start.

Red = non-canon, blue = canon (I’m not outlining all of them, just a couple here and there.)

(Edit 9/10/17: Since some people have insinuated some rude things about me, I would like to clarify my stance. I went into it briefly above, but obviously I should have delved more. 

Because writers of books/tv/movies these days are still less likely to write in an LGBT+ romance, the statement that canon ships suck still holds true. As a bisexual and polyamorous woman, I know that it’s very unlikely that I will see the latter, and that it is not something common to see the former, either.

So fanfiction has become something of a safe haven for myself and others in that regard.

HOWEVER, I would be beyond ecstatic if there was a poly relationship, for example, but as long as it was done with respect. I would be beyond ecstatic for a gay or lesbian relationship, that was treated well and respectfully and not fetishized. Not there for shock value. Which is starting to happen more, I’m pleased to note (the ships happening, not the fetishizing).

Take one of my favorite ships: Hannigram. I love it. I ship it on and off screen. On the show and in fanfiction. I mean it practically is canon. I would very likely still read fanfiction even if/when they continue the series and it becomes a reality. Because I’m pretty damn sure that they would show the good and the bad of the relationship and keep it interesting.

And oh my goodness I would be beyond ecstatic if Marvel would follow through on Stucky. I think we all would be. Gah!

And like… if Star Wars would finally give me a polyamorous relationship as part of its main, or near-to, characters… it would warm my soul to feel a part of me recognized in mainstream culture. And you’d be damn sure I’d still be shipping it.

(Game of Thrones had a really good opportunity to make Rhaegar and Elia and Lyanna married, all three of them, but instead they stomped all over poor Elia and her children… my heart!)

As some people have pointed out, a lot of writers don’t know how to write a relationship after they’ve gotten together. This feels true to me. Good examples of the opposite, though, are Bones and Castle and Outlander, and even Shadowhunters with Malec, and Buffy. Usually, though, writers don’t quite know what to do with characters once they’ve gotten them to this point.

This is what I am referencing when I say I have bad experience liking ships after they become canon.

But I am SO here for writers getting better at it. Especially as they start to explore LGBT+ and minority representation. 

(And maybe part of why I don’t like canon ships… is because I am also bored with the het white ships that keep popping up… just a thought that came to me reading comments and reblogs. It’s worth considering.)

I don’t check out if the ship becomes canon. Not at all. I cheer alongside the rest of people.

All I am referencing is that the fanfiction about these canon relationships (something I typically love more than canon) seems to suffer and peter out afterwards.

And here is my response ^ that will now be viewed as “the lady doth protest too much”. But whatever.

Enjoy. xoxo)

#johnlock #hannigram #stucky #stony #snamione #sshg #finnreylo #reylux #zukara #kylux #finnrey #stormpilot #reylo #skysolo #hanleia #anidala #obidala #obikin #sherlolly #rumbelle #captain swan #swan queen #drarry #romione #harry x ginny #dramione #jonerys #jaime x brienne #jonsa #sansan

[yvvaine]

I was wondering if any [past or present] Jonerys, Pro-Daenerys fans like myself feel this way.....?

Firstly Id say please be nice i just enjoy analyzing the shit out of fandoms I like, (im a history/polysci major ((with an emphasis on Peace Justice and & Conflict Studies)) all i do is analyze and try to be diplomatic lmao) but considering all they petty drama between both ships as well as pro/anti Daenerys stans ON BOTH SIDES I’m going to be “That Person” and at least ask for people to be respectful/civil, I want to hear from everyone and their metas/what they think which is why i tagged like, all the tags, no matter if you love her/the ship or cant stand it, as long as everyone can keep civil So firstly I’ve loved Dany both books and show from the beginning. She’s gorgeous, wants to be the best person she can be, and her hair/fashion style game is always ON POINT.  That being said, somewhere around season 5 i think i’ve found my opinion on her cooling a little bit, ep after ep, till now. Like I still like her bc she was my first character love on the show but I’ve def soured in my opinion on her. Maybe it’s because I love learning about the subject that im more baised (im hoping thats the case) but she just seemed to have no interest in actual governance, just the reputation (esp of being the ‘rebel queen’)/the awe/the power/the thrill of the adoration that went along with it to the point where I feel like though she still wants to be a ‘good queen’ or at least wants to be seen that way, she doesnt want to do much work for the title. Like yeah she freed all the slaves and that was a def progressive and awesome move on her part (major props! slavery is sin and im glad someone recognized that who had the power to do something about it) but she didnt handle that aftermath or ensuing problems well at all nor really mulled heavily on the subject to find the best solution. She just got fustrated with pretty basic/common (albeit complex in themselves) issues of standard governance and kind of went agh! fuck this! (obv not actual quotes but that was the vibe I got). And then ESPECIALLY after season 7 her character has kind of nagged at me in the back of brain which i hate but its inherent like its just a feeling i cant help it?? I just dont know why to be honest that Im feeling so negative towards this character i used to love.  The whole ‘ bEnD thE knEe ‘ thing w/ Jon and yet pinning it on Jon’s pride not equally on his and her own was more than a little hypocritical, when hon they can discuss it later like at that point they have two common enemies the WW and Cersei they both want to do away with, and then again with the Bend the Knee or Die bit w/ the Lannister soldiers. In fact the whole sequence before that point felt kind of villinous I dearsay, I mean  deliberately burning the harvest that most of westeros needs for the winter or even strategically not willing to try, and well, nOOt intentionally burn the food considering its winter, the harvest is over (so likely not much is gonna grow in the time being) when she has a G I A N T ass army of her own to think of feeding???? Like i get it is war shit happens soldiers die but the F O O D ? Was that an impuslive in the moment mistake or did she just not give a fuck? And back to the aftermath scene/Bend the Knee 2.0, her speech was again quite hypocritical...and burning dickon?????? not willing to keep prisoners???? either bend or die??? I actually am glad she did away with Papa Tarly bc he was an awful human, but dickon????? a young idealistic man about to loose his father??? the heir to a major ally/house???? And honestly that bend or die strategy is soooooo dumb bc now she cant trust any of them like theyre only bending the knee out of self preservation homie, no one wants to die. they bend  the knee to survive and now they all of the sudden think youre their queen? Nah fam, prisoners were better, all you got are spies in your camps or people willing to backstab you at the smallest promise of coin. And i dont want that for my girl

IDK the whole “im gonna BREAK THE WHEEL,,,,,,,,yet im stating my claim mainly on my housename (aka the predominant force of said wheel for a literal dynasty) and the fact that i can scare people who otherwise are unconvinced bc lets be real westeros has had a bad run of rulers a lot of which were Targs in the past couple decades, into submission bc ill burn you otherwise???” doesnt sit well with me nor does it feel like the character ive been rooting for the past five-ish seasons. She just doesnt seem to put into effort on understanding Westeros, why things go wrong, being self-critical or sharing the blame,thinking on what a “good” ruler would do.... anyone else feeling this way and if so do you think this is just shitty writing? D&D butchering her character? or a new arc for her? perhaps the way shes always been? She just seems like a tantruming child bratty and entitled idk (a beautiful child but still)  As for jonerys...... im not gonna go into it much but how are other shippers happy????????? I honestly dont understand. I was SO looking forward to this season/this ship. like so much! But it felt so forced? And i know a lot of people claim its cause its rushed but tbh we’ve had a lot of romances in a similar time frame that felt like A C T U A L romances.....even Talisa/Robb who the Northerners will prob compare any of this too were so much better. THIS WAS MY EPIC SHIP DUDE. I feel the dany side of things (took a while but theres def heart eyes) and yet Jon???? He felt hollow. Still does even after sex. Im so disapointed but more than that I cant see the romance or the chemistry. He looks constipated. Hes never smiled like with his teeth around her the way hes done w others he cares deepily about (ygritte, toramund, sansa, even fkin gendry in the first scene they had together). He never reveals anything about himself. And between the “my queen” ep (and remember he was look warm when discussing her to toramund throughout it) and the previous the only thing that changed was that he saw the actual difference dragons made against WW. You could argue she saved them all too but that doesnt make you fall in love w someone out of the blue and also people have saved his ass before and??? Sansa w the vale anyone??? (Not an argument for jonsa js its happened) (though ill admit ive transitioned to loathing jonerys and loving jonsa more as a potential couple in the space of seven eps where if you asked me I wouldve been like PSH u cray. I never thought it would happen in a mill years but D&D ruined my ship and here i am! Shipping aside tho since its best too look at these things as neutral as possible).  Anyways the sigh of his after she left and when he pretended to be asleep.... idk. The only scene that felt genuine and where Jon smiled and it didnt look like a full on grimace and they actually kinda joked around was really nice and at the pit at the finale and if they do a LOT more of basic romance stuff like that I could ship it again but. It was followed by boatsex and boy.  I was hoping boatsex might rekindle my like for the two together. I could see the chemistry the passion. I was hoping the passion would overwhelm me and make up for the rest. But instead......like there was no foreplay, it lasted 2 seconds, and it was overplayed by brans voice and a reminder of future conflict or at the very least major angst b/w the two. i didnt see the parallel between regear and lyanna playing alongside their scene as anything romantic or that it should be taken as such. and the look they shared.... I was hoping jon would bring it bc Dany’s look in her eyes is like soooo smitten and adorable and say what you will I still have a space in my heart for her and still dont want her to suffer, but again Jon looks like oh shit/constipated. And not in a good oh shit way either.  There is a bunch more too but Imma stop there bc Im just tired at this point.  So many things were just....off this season. And it cant all be blamed on the “rushed” time frame. I’ve read the undercover lover theory and hon it makes the most sense (not perfect sense but still, more than what we’ve been poorly spoon fed) but im not willing to believe it just yet. Still, maybe D&D are just butchering a lot of things like making the romance believable and stuff for the sake of time that could be true i guess. But they like to go AHA GOT U so  Idk I dont find a lot of meta in the jonerys tag bc honestly (((((i think its bc the tag and ship are more popular and theirs more people both good and bad)))) it doesnt seem like snowballing theories is something all fans take really well in the tag at all. But whatever. I really want to know, is there any meta or theories im missing to either validate the icky feeling Im haveing about D or her “romance” or on the flipside anything that might make me change my mind about it? Theories, meta people! I just want to reiderate im not trying to hate on anyone or any point of view and I will flag any comment anti one ship or person or another if its plain hateful or rude. I just want to understand it and see what Im missing, esp because of how much I was looking forward to her arc and jonerys’ dynamic and how much the words “falling short” dont seem to cover it. And to see if im not the only one to either have critique on the ship or her character [or even actually change ships] Also i apologize for how much ive said “IDK” i just..... I DONT KNOW 

#this was way longer and is so rantish but #i might delete this later #depending on if i get hate for 'daring' to be critical #for now tho help a girl out? tel me your opinion? thx #jonsa #anti-jonsa #anti-jonerys #daenerys targaryen #anti-daenerys #plz be nice to eachother or just dont interact at all i just like knowing every side of things #and i feel like theres a side im missing or something im missing #i have a lot of feelings

[angeliamaritudinem-archived-blog]

Max and Gabriel for any of the ship memes you want to do

OTP Asks 1, 2, 3 || Accepting

Excuse me as a do all three~~.. *cough*

Also, long post so I put it under a ‘read more’

WHO USUALLY INITIATES THINGS?: Mmm, I’d say they’re both pretty comfortable asking each other to ‘initiate’ things. Though Gabe might try to tease Max until he gets fed up.WHO IS LOUDER?: 1000000% Gabe. Though he usually tries to make a game out of it, seeing if his partner can make him moan/make noises louder than breathy whispers.WHO LIKES TO ‘DRESS UP’ AND HOW?: Gabe, without a doubt. He’s... Very into pet play and other things. WHO IS MORE EXPERIMENTAL?: I’d say they both are. But Gabe is probably the more willing to suggest something pretty out there.WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO BE CAUGHT MASTURBATING?: Hm.. It could honestly go either way. They both know each other’s schedule extremely well and probably wouldn’t accidentally be caught masturbating. But.. Probably Gabe, at least more often?WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO SUGGEST A THREESOME?: ... I’d say, Gabe. I am pretty damned sure that Max is mostly if not completely monogamous so the idea would never really occur to him. WHO COMES FIRST?: This is a tricky one... Both of them like to take care of their partners, so they both make it a competition to see who comes first. It’s honestly all up to who touches the sensitive spot first/more often.WHO IS BETTER AT ORAL?: I... Kinda want to say, Gabe, because of, well. Reasons.WHO ENJOYS BEING SUBMISSIVE MORE?: Gabe, but he does take on the dom role if Max asks him to/expresses a desire to be dominated.WHICH KINKS DO THEY SHARE?: Oh, quite a lot. In all honestly, I would have to say they share most, if not all of the same kinks.WHO IS THE BIGGER TEASE?: Gabe, without a doubt.WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST PLACE THEY HAD SEX AT?: Hm... It would be somewhere public... Perhaps in the stall of a dressing room at a mall or something of the like.WHO IS TALKING DIRTY?: They both do? Probably Gabe more so. He enjoys being able to use his words to make his partners melt.FAVOURITE POSITION?: Somewhere where they can look into each other’s eyes. Probably either missionary or cowgirl... (I actually kinda shuddered at typing that)WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO GET WHINEY?: ... Sweet fucking lord, Gabe without a doubt.

who wakes up first in the morning: Max.who’s the first to fall asleep at night: Mmm... They usually fall asleep at close to the same time.what they playfully tease each other over: Gabe teases Max that he can start to see gray hairs mixing with the dark strands. Max teases Gabe that he’s going to get arthritis with how sloppy his posture is, especially when he’s tattooing.what they do when the other’s having a bad day: Gabe just forces Max to sit down, grabbing a hot chocolate, popcorn, and other snacks before settling himself into the other’s lap, an impromptu movie night. Max simply picks Gabe up and tosses him into their bed before grabbing some water and food before wrapping himself around the other.how they say ‘i’m sorry’ after arguments: Gabe is quiet and skittish, silently watching Max from afar before he finally makes a move to apologize. Granted, this would be at least two days later, but the artist would simply bury his face into the other’s shoulder and wrap his arms around his waist, trying to meld their flesh together. Max is silent as he gently pulls the smaller into his lap, resting his chin on top of his head, thumbs rubbing against his waist before he quietly exhales and murmurs his apology right into Gabe’s ear.which one’s more ticklish: Gabe, he will without a doubt kick the fuck out of someone if they tickle him without warning.their favorite rainy day activities: They enjoy going out in the rain and splashing around in the puddles with their dogs. Other than that... They usually spend the day quietly inside, Gabe working on his newest sketch while Max cooks or they both settle down to watch something on TV.how they surprise each other: Gabe is terrible with surprises, and can’t keep secrets for the life of him. So that’s why he has Izzy buy Max’s gift and forces her to not tell him what she got him so that he doesn’t ruin the surprise. Max will periodically make breakfast in bed for Gabe, or buy him a bouquet of flowers and drop them off at his work.their most sickening shows of public affection: It would probably be whenever they start teasing each other in public. So little gropes here and there, quiet giggles and noises as they struggle to contain their glee, as well as slight arousal.

How did they meet?: If we’re going with the modern thread right now... Then Max was interested in getting another tattoo and found his way to Gabe’s and Danny’s tattoo shop. Who developed romantic feelings first?: Hm... I kinda want to say, Gabe? They were certainly attracted to each other at first glance, but I think Gabe say some semblance of hope that he could have a future with the other first.Who is their biggest “shipper?”: I want to say their closest siblings/family/friends.When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances?: I do believe we discussed this and said that it was after Max first met Gabe’s father/after a nightmare or something. This would be... At least a month or two into the relationship.Who confessed their feelings first?: ... I want to say a sleepy Max to a not-quite-asleep Gabe. What was their first official date?: Hm... They’d both want it to be pretty private, at least at first. So probably a café or maybe a movie and dinner after.How do they feel about double dates/group dates?: I think that they’re quite okay with doing group couple things. Mostly with Izzy and Aden though.What do they do in their down time?: That... Is a loaded question! Gabe is almost always working on new sketches or art or baking and always tries to drag Max along with his escapades. Max is more content to cook, read and/or watch some TV.What was the first meeting of parents as an official couple like?: Hahhhhh. I think that the Trevelyan parents would adore Gabe. He’s just the right amount of hype that keeps Max on his toes, but it’s obvious that he adores the man like no other. The Aquilus parents on the other hand... Gabe would never willingly take Max to meet them.What was their first fight over and how did they get past it?: Hm.... One of them not taking care of themselves. Either Max not taking his pain medication/not going to physical therapy or something of the like. Or Gabe not taking his anti-depressants, ADHD pills, etc. It takes a bit, but the two realize that whilst they are annoyed with one another, something this fixable shouldn’t get in the way of their relationship.Which one is more easily made jealous?: Kinda want to say, Max. Or well, he’s more visibly jealous. Gabe can hide his for quite some time until he reaches his breaking point.What is their favorite thing to get to eat?: Honestly? Anything. I don’t think that either of them are really picky eaters, though Gabe probably drags Max to all different kinds of Asian restaurants.Who’s the cuddly one? What their favorite cuddling position?: They’re both extremely cuddly, and I would have to say... Gabe’s head resting on Max’s chest as their feet become more and more entangled.Are they hand holders?: Oh most definitely, Gabe craves that sort of soft attention.How long do they wait before sleeping together for the first time? What're the circumstances?: Hm... At least... 3 months? So perhaps after the party that the Trevelyan parents invited them to? They’re both a bit tipsy as they stumble into their hotel room, but the subtle glances and touches had become too much. Who tops?: Max, although Gabe will sometimes top if Max wishes him to do so.What’s the worst first they’ve ever gotten into?: Honestly? I’m not sure as of right now. It might have something to do with Gabe hiding his family from Max and the other finally gets fed up with not knowing and cracks open the can of worms without even really realizing it.Who does the shopping and the cooking?: They both do, it’s something that they adore doing together.Which one is more organized and prone to tidiness?: Hm... I’d say Max, but he’s probably not a whole lot neater.Who proposes?: ... Max. He’d probably ask his parents for a family ring, and if they didn’t have one, he’d go out and craft one himself.Do they have joined Bachelor/Bachelorette parties or separate?: Joined, just because their groups of friends aren’t that large separate and the two just want to enjoy time together before the ceremony.Who is the best man/maid of honor? Any other groomsmen or bridesmaids?: Max - Aden, Gabe - Izzy. As for groomsmen... Probably Fen and Danny for Gabe, I’m not 100% sure about Max.Big Ceremony or Small?: Decently sized because I’m sure that Max’s parents would have a heart attack if their youngest had a tiny wedding. But only about 200ish people are at the wedding. (... Is that a lot of people for a wedding?)Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where?: Hm... Anywhere warm. Maybe Mexico, Italy, Spain. Or perhaps they would travel to Korea so Gabe could show him all of the sights.  Do they have children? How many?: At least one son and one daughter... It’d be hilarious if the two were twins....

@chasindtrevelyan

#OTP: 내 달과 별 #chasindtrevelyan

[lovelyladyventress]

Tell me which one of these AUs sounds the most interesting and which one you’d like to read more about? (long post)

Here I am, back at it again with my AU bullshit. Complete with my ugly ass dauntingly long list of AUs that I’d love to write about but can’t seem to decide which one to start writing. This has been going on for the past week, dammit! If it’s not too much trouble, could you please help a girl out and let me know either on here or in a PM which one of these you’re curious about or would like to see implemented in an actual story.

Here are four Cloud-centric AU ideas which include (multiple) gay, bi, and (some) het main/side pairings. Regardless of which one I decide to write first, I (wistful thinking) want to eventually complete most or all of them, even if some of them only end up being one-shots. Thank you! <3

Mercenary Zack and Delivery Boy Cloud AU

Zack, a mercenary, and Cloud, a delivery boy, have been best friends since they were youngsters. Zack is straight but is undeniably (and confusingly into Cloud. Cloud is bi (with a strong leaning towards males) and he’s only recently started to explore that. One day, while Zack and Cloud are hanging out, Zack’s PHS dies and he asks to borrow Cloud’s laptop to check some work-related emails. Cloud says sure, completely forgetting what he’d been “researching” before Zack came over to hang out.

Cloud, suddenly remembering the content of said “research”, screeches out, “NoOoOoO!” whilst comically tripping over himself as he races to stop Zack from opening his laptop.

Zack, being Zack, laughs good-naturedly at Cloud’s behavior and says, “What, don’t want your bestie to see all your fReAkY sHiT LOL?”

Before Cloud can stop him, Zack unlocks the laptop (he knows the password, because, hello, besties) and proceeds to open up about ten tabs of LOUD GAY LEMONY YOU KNOW WHAT (all with actors that are blond and black-haired, hmm s u s p i c i o u s).

Cloud is fucking mortified and literally RUNS out of his own apartment and disappears (disintegrates) into the void while leaving Zack sitting there like a stunned D U M B A S S *insert shocked Pikachu meme here* Hilarity, fluffy romance, and “LeMoNs” ensue.

Main ship and only ship will be Clack/Zakkura. Syrupy sweet, comical, with only a pinch of plot-related angst. Will most likely be a one-shot/two-shot.

Vampire Slayer AU

Set in a world where Shinra keeps the existence of vampires and vampire covens a well-guarded secret from the general public of Midgar in order to keep its citizens calm, orderly, and manageable (see controllable).

Due to the frequency of recent vampire attacks in Midgar’s slums and outlying towns and villages, they charge their best slayer, Cloud Strife, and his partner with the task of finding and killing the progenitor of all vampire-kind in order to end the covert war between humans and vampires and kill off their kind, for good.

That is, until Cloud is double-crossed by his partner, who wants the title of Shinra’s best vampire slayer for himself, and Cloud is left for dead in a forest miles away from civilization. Cloud thinks he’s finally done for this time, until he’s saved by a half-vampire named Vincent, who then proceeds to take Cloud to his maker, Sephiroth, the son of the first progenitor.

Cloud’s only shot at making it out of this alive is playing at Sephiroth’s personal interest in him in a game of cat and mouse until he can get the vampire to trust him enough to let him get close to the progenitor in order to (finally) end the war once and for all and return to his former life.

Main ships are Sefikura with a possibility of some Strifentine. Side ships are Aerti, Scarlet x Elena, and a bunch of others. Angsty, passionate, romantic, and dark. Will probably be a six-shot or more. Who knows?

Life After Meteorfall Canon Divergence AU (I’m excited about this one)

An AU in which both Angeal, Zack, and Aerith (although, just barely) live and help kick Sephiroth’s ass in the final battle. Sephiroth has been defeated by the gang for good (no really, for good y’all), and now the world has turned to healing, mourning, and attempting to rebuild itself after the scars Sephiroth has left behind in his monstrous wake.

Cloud still has lingering feelings for Zack leftover from his time as an infantryman, but desperately hides this fact from both Aerith and Zack because he knows how long they’ve waited and how much suffering they’ve had to endure in order to be with each other. He also cares deeply for both of them and wants them to be happy, despite his own conflicting emotions.

Although Aerith is (slightly) suspicious, Zack is oblivious to it all because he’s finally got the girl of his dreams and has his love-addled goggles on (god dammit Zackary) and asks Cloud to be his best man at their wedding (ugh angst me upppppp baby).

Angeal, however, is not oblivious to it in the slightest. He sees the overly forced smiles, the longing stares, the glances of complete and utter h e a r t b r e a k Cloud shoots Zack when he thinks no one is watching/paying attention to him. And finally, fed up after months of sitting back and just silently observing Cloud falling into emotional ruin, Angeal finally intends to do something about it, honor be damned.

Main ship is Cloudgeal. Side pairings are Zerith, Rude x Tifa (don’t judge me, y’all, I ship SO MUCH this fandom), and possibly many more. Angsty, fluffy, romantic, and with a ridiculously happy ending where everyone reaches a happy, healthy understanding. Will most likely be either a three-shot or a six-shot.

Omegaverse SOLDIER AU (let me liveeeeeee, dammit!)

After failing to get into SOLDIER three times in a row (the max amount of times one can attempt in their lifetime) and having his childhood dream of becoming a hero shattered like glass, Cloud, a Beta cadet, is more than done with SOLDIER and everything to do with the corrupt Shinra Corporation (Uh huh. Suuuuure).

This opinion is only further solidified when Cloud discovers the tragic fate of his hometown: Nibelheim, in an “unprecedented” explosion of its Mako Reactor, burns to the ground, resulting in the deaths of Cloud’s mother and every single person Cloud grew up with. With no home to return to, Cloud, following his best friend Zack Fair’s advice, begrudgingly decides to join the Shinra military as an infantryman and work as a menial grunt for the military’s more prominent SOLDIER members.

That is, until one day during a mission Cloud’s entire unit, including a group of skilled Third and Second Class SOLDIERS assisting them, are slaughtered in a brutal, bloody conflict, leaving Cloud the only one left alive after the mission’s end.

This not only catches the eye of the Director of SOLDIER himself, but several of its First Class members, who are so impressed with the Beta’s strength that they wish to assess Cloud’s capabilities for themselves, personally. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

This leads Cloud down a path filled with convincing lies and hard truths as he discovers the reality of his origins, unveiling secrets about Shinra and his past that he could have gone a lifetime without knowing. He realizes the hard way that sometimes what you dream for, what you desperately wish for, isn’t always something you want in the long run.

Main ships are a tie between Sefikura and Clack/Zakkura (possibly Sephiroth/Cloud/Zack or maybe even a love triangle, ew). I also really wanna try writing out Strifesodos, but I’m leaning towards Banorashipping as a side ship in this cuz its cute and passionate.

A S T R O N G side ship in this is going to be Aerti (featuring Turk!Tifa and Full Cetra!Aerith), along with minor ships like Scarlet x Elena, Tseng x Rufus, and honestly who the fuck knows anymore, lol. This will most likely be the longest story on the list, I’m planning for at least ten+ chapters.

Also, not shaming it in any way, but just FYI for the people who are interested, there will be no pregnancy in this story. It’s just not my thing. <3

Again, all of these AU’s are subject to change, but I’d love to bounce ideas back and forth and see what certain shippers would like to see in the fandom. I’m really receptive to discussing fics in general, even if its an idea about one of your own stories you wanna talk about. :)

If you actually read all of that, THANK YOU KINDLY! <33333

#Sefikura #Clack #Cloudgeal #ff7 fanfiction #FFVII fanfiction #good god this does not even come CLOSE to covering all the ideas I have for cloud ships #DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON AERTI CENTRIC AUs #SOMEONE HELP ME #I'M HAVING AN AU ATTACK #I NEED ASSISTANCE #HELP A GIRL OUT OKAY #at this point ima just throw my AUs in a basket and blindfold myself and pick one lol #someone save me from this AU hell im in #forgive all spelling errors this was hella rushed #lovelyladyventress