#HIS TREATMENT IN THIS QUEST WAS BULL

[poisonous-honey]

Fontaine Is Committing Childe Slander fr

Spoilers For The 4.2 Archon Quest

Content: Sagau reader insert (not the cult au), a lot of swearing

Note: Wrote this a while ago, just didn't post till now. This was written because of how frustrated I was with Childe's treatment in the quest. They did him so, so dirty.

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"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Hearing your scream, Neuvillette, Aether, and Paimon nearly flinched and gave themselves away if it wasn't for Skirk quickly turning around and staring them dead in their eyes.

"AFTER ALL OF THAT, WE DON'T EVEN GET TO TALK TO HIM? WHAT THE HELL"

They never liked hearing you get upset, but since this was a scripted event, they could do nothing but play their parts. Aether wanted nothing more than to jump in and find Childe for you, if even just to get you to stop yelling, but his hands were tied. And seeing the intense look the lady across from him was giving, he doesn't think he'd be able to get away with it even if he tried.

"No 'hey, how're you doing? What's up? Where the fuck did you go? How did you end up fighting a god-damn space whale? I was worried.' We really get to say none of that? Skirk just throws him away like he's yesterday's trash? At least, I think that's Skirk... Okay, fine, whatever."

The group notices a slight twitch in Skrik's expression, as if she was annoyed, but it's gone not a moment later.

"Skirk I hope you're kinda funny cause this is a terrible first impression."

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Skirk watches as Neuvillette sends the traveller topside, hoping that he starts the scripted conversation without any hassle.

"Was it necessary to throw him so aggressively into the portal?"

Of course, that's not what happened. If Childe's mad ramblings were anything to go by, all of those that become the players "characters" seem to grow inexplicably attached to them. She didn't hold his words in high regard since he was insane, but seeing the hydro sovereign already taking a liking to you gives some weight to his words.

"He’s fine. It’s nothing he can’t handle."

Neuvillette, still looking troubled, tells her that you really wanted to see him again after nearly 2 years of nothing.

"Didn't you also upset the player when you pounced on him and sent him to prison for no good reason?"

Neuvillette gave a slight wince, "I had no other choice. The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale gave the sentence and the law must be upheld."

Skirk doesn’t look amused, Neuvillette just sighs "... And the action itself was scripted. I had my hands tied."

"Then you have no right to look so troubled over my actions. It was simply scripted, nothing deeper. I would not intentionally go looking to upset the player, especially since they can control whoever they want. I have no desire to go back to the surface, which I would be forced to if they ever felt like messing with me."

He hums, "The player has much less control than you think. Even if they wanted to take control of you, they wouldn't or shouldn't be able to do so for quite a while. Falling into their good graces is the only way to get chosen, and you seem to have only just piqued their interest."

Neuvillette was just stating facts. He heard you crying about how your latest wishing session for Furina took everything you had. He doubts even if Skirk’s banner was a couple patches from now you'd have enough to get her. Skirk herself looks a little frustrated at the mention of gaining your favour, but quickly lets it go. 

"As long as I have time to prepare, I suppose. Anyway, We should have our scripted conversation before time runs out. Unless you want them to start freaking out again."

"Of course not, let us continue."

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"The fuck do you mean he's already in Snezhnaya."

Lyney's eyes slightly widen in shock, not expecting that visceral of a reaction. Aether slightly shakes his head to try and get him not to worry about it while Paimon starts her bashful idle as a way to look elsewhere without arising suspicion.

"We don't even get to say goodbye, what the heck. Wait, we never even figured out what was going on with his vision either. They actually just threw him to the wayside! If he doesn't show up in the next interlude, I'm going to be ☆mad☆"

Aether tilts his head down as he starts to ponder. He was also a bit frustrated with how little they learned about what was going on with him. Obviously the whal- Narwhal was involved in someway, but nothing is explained outside their connection. He's suddenly ripped from his thoughts as you pick his next dialogue option and continue the story.

The story continues for a little bit as Arlecchino arrives to join the conversation. You add in some quips of your own as you're watching, but are mostly silent. They just take it as you being tired from the whirlwind of emotions the quest put you through.

Aether then realizes the next actions he has to take and struggles to keep a straight face.

*Actually, I just remembered something... Please help us deliver this.*

"I swear to god, don't give her Childe's vision. He hates her. He trusted us."

Aether can no longer hold back his wince as he holds out Childe's vision for Arlecchino to take. She almost looks amused as they hear you sigh.

"Goddammit."

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Childe was in agony.

This pain went far beyond his physical injuries. The last words he heard from you were you crying out to him. It frustrated him to no end that by the time he gets to see you again, he passes out. He can barely remember your words of praise and cooing about how cool he was for fighting such a creature. Your worry and the fact he doesn't even get to talk to you after all this time hasn't left the forefront of his mind since he woke up. Injuries be damned, he wanted to find the Traveller. He wanted to get something out of that vacation, more than just one conversation, getting arrested, and an incomplete fight. He thought that as long as you still had his vision, he would surely see you again and his vacation would end smoothly, but of course the story seemed to have it out for him. All he could do now was lay here in pain, stuck in his mind while his family is off doing something else.

He's upset he didn't get to finish his fight and that you had to finish it for him.

He's upset his foul legacy has taken such a toll on his body, he can't do anything.

He's upset that his family has to see him in such a state.

He's upset he missed your first encounter with Skirk.

He's upset he didn't even get to talk to you again.

And more than anything, he's upset he can't be there for you.

As he was about to continue wallowing in self-pity and regret, he suddenly finds himself fully geared, standing in front of the Abyss, with no injuries.

"Such bullshit. I loved the story quest, but why was Childe pushed to the side. It's almost like they had no idea what to do with him after they got him to the whale. Oh! It's just one of the creatures he's been wanting to fight for nearly all his life. Do we get to know how he feels about it? Nooo of course not. My man just wanted to go on vacation, and he had to deal with all of this."

Hearing your voice almost washes away all his stress, and hearing you complain about how he was treated washes away all his sorrow. It pleases him to know you hated what happened to him just as much, if not more, than he did. He could tell from your ranting and the fact you've already gotten 36 stars that you were going to fight just to let off steam. That's perfect for him. Killing something is just what he needs to take his mind off of recent events, killing things with and for you makes it even better. He'll be sure to make the best of this before you log off for the day, and he's back to being bedridden.

#sagau #self aware genshin #genshin x reader #childe x reader #iw8wgwbsiwhwbd JUSTICE FOR CHILDE #HIS TREATMENT IN THIS QUEST WAS BULL #WHAT KIND OF A VACATION WAS THIS #and after everything he went through for Tuecer you know he hates that he had to go home like that #I'm not even a Childe simp but omg i just couldn't #I like my plot holes to be filled in please #though if they were actually answered in the quest please let me know #i need answers #Pois.Posts #pois.writes

[keerysfreckles]

idk if you write angst of stuff but if possible could you write a angst -> fluff fic with Luke castellan where they get into a huge argument right before a quest, on the quest someone gets super injured and then it’s just a bunch of fluff and apologies as the other one tries to help the one who’s injured

not strong enough — luke castellan

pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader

warnings: use of y/n and she/her pronouns, blood and injuries mentioned, angst, rushed ending but shhhh

a/n: once again.. luke castellan brainrot.

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

y/n was confused. she wasn't sure why luke asked her to go on this stupid quest with him. less than thirty-four minutes ago the pair got into a ridiculous argument about luke being too overprotective of y/n.

why she agreed to even go with him? well, y/n didn't know how to answer that.

so here she was, not even five minutes away from camp half-blood, already regretting her decision.

"did chiron even tell you why we're going on this quest?" y/n asked luke. he was in front of her in the path, and she wasn't looking at him as she kept her focus on the bumpy dirt road beneath her feet.

"cool, don't answer me," she responds to herself, sarcasm very heavy in her words.

less than a minute passes before y/n speaks up again. "i don't even know why you're so angry."

luke stops and turns to face the girl, "all i want to do is protect you!"

"and i don't need protecting!" y/n yells the same way he does, only resulting in a grumble from luke, as the two continue down the path in the forest.

luke stops again, causing y/n to bump into his back from her being too busy looking where she was stepping.

"okay silent treatment and being stubborn? luke really you-"

luke turned slightly and quickly placed his hand over y/n's mouth. her eyebrows furrowed for a moment before her eyes traveled to the reason luke stopped walking.

less then twenty feet away from the duo was a sleeping minotaur. y/n looked to luke in concern, not knowing how to get around it.

they weren't truly surprised a minotaur was there, considering they were out of range from the camp, it could be possible that a hundred different creatures were out in the woods.

"i think he's in a deep enough sleep," luke whispered, "if we're quiet enough we can go around him."

the two commence with luke's plan. it went smoothly. too smoothly.

luke led the way, y/n almost copied his every step in order for the minotaur to not hear them. just as they were about to get around the giant animal, y/n's foot slipped and cracked a branch.

"shit," luke cursed. the two teens turned to see the minotaur rising. "run!" luke yelled, before grabbing y/n's hand to make sure she was still behind him.

moments pass and the minotaur is still chasing after the two.

"luke!" y/n catches his attention while they were still running south, "we can't outrun him! he's a freaking bull!"

luke would hate to admit it, but he knew the girl was right. the bull behind them was plowing down tree after tree, trying his best to get the two campers for his late lunch.

y/n stopped running, and drew her knife from the holster around her waist.

"y/n!" luke called, realizing she had stopped. "what on earth are you doing?" his voice was filled with panic.

"i'm going to kill him the only way we know how to!"

with her words still ringing in luke's ears, y/n runs towards the minotaur. she propels herself off of a large rock, getting on the right side of him. she slashed her knife through his skin, making the animal cry out harshly. he immediately went after her.

luke knew he couldn't just sick back and watch. he ran towards the minotaur just like y/n had done, and his sword was drawn.

thirteen minutes pass. luke and y/n have barely made any progress with the angry animal, and were now both running out of energy.

luke was in the process of trying to slice the bull's head off, however his focus drifted. y/n was running once again towards the animal. luke watched as she jumped right into the minotaur's grasp. she tried cutting his hand off with her own weapon, however the animal only threw her onto the hard ground. y/n felt all the air leaving her lungs, and the last thing she saw was the minotaur's hand coming down at her.

luke could've sworn his heart stopped. y/n was laying lifeless on the forest ground.

"no!" his voice echoed through the green trees. somehow, maybe just by pure luck, by luke's loud scream the minotaur whimpered before running away. luke looked over at the animal, and threw his sword with every last bit of strength. the sword speard the minotaur's head. luke couldn't care about his sword at this moment, while y/n was bleeding out in front of him.

as luke got closer to the girl, he couldn't help it as tears started to spill onto his cheeks. he kneeled down, not hesitating to pick y/n up into his lap. he rubbed her shoulder with one hand while the other was caressing the side of her face.

luke scanned over her body. she had three large gashes going across her stomach, the blood was staining her shirt, and now luke's from holding her close to him. there was dirt and small scratches littering her face, but luke thought she was still the most beautiful girl at camp.

"y/n," luke's voice was soft, his tears spilling over much more heavily than before.

"y/n, baby, you have to wake up now," he cried.

"the minotaur's gone, you can wake up now," he reassured.

luke shook the girl once, then twice, then repeatedly.

"y/n! you have to wake up now! please!" his voice was failing him. he became to choked up with tears.

"someone help!" luke wailed, echoing in the forest, "please! help! someone help!"

luke only choked on more cries, before looking back down at y/n. he brushed the hair out of her face, and continued to rub his thumb over her cheek.

"you're gonna be okay," he whispered. he wasn't sure if it was ressure y/n, or himself.

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

luke hasn't left his cabin in four days. he hasn't seen y/n in four days.

annabeth was starting to worry about luke. she saw the condition he was in when chiron brought both him and y/n back to camp. he was an absolute mess.

today was no different as annabeth knocked on the hermes cabin door. all of the campers were busy making their canoes for the yearly canoe race, but luke was no where to be found.

however, the only difference from today and the other three days she visited luke, the girl had news for him.

"luke," annabeth called, earning a mutter from the boy.

"luke sit up," she ordered.

annabeth sighed as she didn't get any sort of response from luke. she walked to his bed and pulled the blanket off his body.

"y/n is awake!" she got straight to the point.

luke turned as quickly as humanly possible. "are you serious?"

annabeth nodded fast, and laughed as luke practically lept out of his bed and was running towards the infirmary. he didn't care at the possible stares he was getting from the campers. y/n was awake.

luke walked into the infirmary, out of breath but hopeful as ever.

y/n was in the far right bed, with chiron and one of the camp nurses beside her. luke and y/n made eye contact, and luke wasn't sure if he could cry or scream.

chiron motioned himself and the other nurses out of the door, after muttering to them about giving the couple privacy.

luke instantly went to y/n, and couldn't help but let a few tears spill.

"i can't believe you're okay," he admitted. "how are you feeling?"

y/n took ahold of his shaking hand, "oh you know, as good as someone who got attacked by minotaur can be," she joked, which definitely lightened the mood in the dim infirmary.

y/n moved the blanket down and lifted her shirt to show luke her stomach, which was now cleaned, stitched and bandaged.

"looks like you'll have a cool scar now," luke chuckled.

"yeah, but now as cool as yours," y/n simply leaned forward and kissed luke's cheek, specifically where his scar was, causing a blush to cover his cheeks.

#shelbi writes #keerysfreckles #luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan x you #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan imagine #luke castellan x fem!reader #luke castellan x fem reader #luke castellan x y/n #pjo #pjo show #pjo tv show #pjo tv #pjo series #percy jackson #percy jackson show #percy jackson series #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson and the olympians show

[thearchercore]

Hi!

You mentioned Daniels nonexistant social media presence in one of your posts.

Can you please elaborate?🥺 What do you think why doesnt he post? I noticed redbull not posting him so much.

I read it in a lot of places how he will be great for alpha touri rebrand but will he really?

I started watching this year and I simply dont see it.

I would love to read one of your deep dives on Daniel

well, let's say daniel is a very interesting case when it comes to PR as of lately. he was in his prime when DTS started filming and they essentially picked him as the unofficial narrator of the series.

he was fairly popular, especially in the US market because of it. then, however, his career got twisted by a series of questionable team moves -- from red bull to renault, then immediately to mclaren.

his mclaren move was also affected by the way he was mistreated as a driver (bad mental health support, had to lose more weight than usual, contract terminated earlier etc etc) to the point daniel had to leave F1 for a bit.

that being said, daniel's personality and history still makes him easily marketable. just look at all the tiktok edits of him, he has an audience without a doubt.

he also has a lot of potential to be relatable to the new audience, he's funny, a solid driver, great marketing weapon for other marketing side quests. he also, for example, is a huge harry styles fan. (and harry even wore a shirt with daniel's name!) little fun facts like these would make him very appealing to the new audience.

the first thing i did not enjoy with his PR was the way he's gunning for checo's seat. sure, he wants to go back to red bull, we all get that it's his ultimate long term endgame. but because of him, alpha tauri terminated a contract of a rookie driver to basically offer him a set. which was a questionable move.

even after he scored an f1 seat back, he was still making comments about how his dream would be back at red bull, the RBR accs also posted him significantly more than they should have.

then, his treatment towards his alpha tauri seat is also questionable. he treats that team more as a back up and rather presents himself as a third RBR driver than an alpha tauri driver, or yuki's teammate per se.

daniel finished the season by saying in abu dhabi "this year was for me to prove myself that this is still my passion, and it is." which GREAT STORY. he could do so much more with it, but the narrative of him stealing other people's seat (nyck, potentially checo) is somehow louder than that, and that makes him look a bit like a villain.

again, his mistreatment at mclaren would also be a great PR asset -- his journey of going back to his original form and re-building confidence, but he's not doing much with it on social media. in fact, his presence outside of daniel.jpg is little to none.

just look at how his fans act when he posts something random, he's not exactly selling himself and his assets online and it's really quite a shame because it means he's not really connecting with the new audience that was not there for his prime at RBR.

also he had multiple PR oopsies as of recent, for example showing up to this known problematic podcast and laughed at misogynistic jokes about female drivers. he could be spending his time doing PR anywhere else, but what he's doing now is not exactly working.

so yeah, that got a bit long but really, daniel is just a package of potential that was never really used that well and i wish he got a better PR team to help him rebrand himself to the general public on social media.

#formula 1 #f1

[leading-manhattan]

During the strike there's more time between the rally and the plan to use the printing press in the basement of the World. Newsies are rightfully pissed with Jack and he'd be the first person to tell you that he deserved the cold treatment he's been getting ever since his betrayal. As aware as Jack is that this is just the consequences of his actions he'll still do anything to make up for what he's done, he despises what things have become and he won't just stand by and let the people he cares about pull away from him. He throws himself into his quest for forgiveness without so much as a second thought.

Jack didn't realize that even though his boys were angry with him they could never hate him. Maybe if he'd just taken a minute to talk about what happened things wouldn't have spiraled the way they did.

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

He can't stop thinking about the deal. If you could really call it that. It hadn't been a deal, it had been a threat. Pulitzer knew damn well that he couldn't buy Jack. Pulitzer had Snyder in his pocket ready to push all of Jack's buttons and Snyder had been more than happy to oblige. Jack can still feel the buzz of fear in his veins remnant from when Snyder had appeared around the corner with that vile smirk plastered all over his disgusting mug. The way his stomach dropped and his heart clawed its way into his throat. He can still feel that all-encompassing dread. Jack was proud of how swiftly he reacted regardless of how the Delanceys had been right there to keep him from bolting. If nothing else his survival instincts were still intact. Even if he swore it took him an extra few minutes to remember how to breathe as he struggled fruitlessly for his freedom.

Despite how pathetically terrified he'd been he was still prepared to stand his ground. He'd survive in the Refuge, he'd done it before, but he wasn't going to turn his back on his boys for a few pretty pennies and a tainted promise that he'd remain unharmed. The strike was more important than him. Then Pulitzer started talking about his boys. The threat had been clear wrapped in the low bite of his voice.

Jack felt his defenses start to crack and the fear that had been squirming beneath his skin boiled over when he realized that it wasn't just himself on the line anymore. He hates how easily Davey's name slipped Pulitzer's mind and he despises just how easily it fell out of Snyder's mouth. It made Jack sick and all he could do in retaliation was make sure that Pulitzer knew he was a bastard. Suddenly Jack really understood how small he was in comparison to the big bad. He remembers the betrayal that sat heavy in his chest when he recalled that it was Katherine who called Pulitzer a modern day Goliath. He supposes she'd know, wouldn't she.

He'd still had some fight left in him when he was carted down to the cellar.

Snyder has always been good at beating that out of him.

He can't stop thinking about that damn deal. The rally was over, he'd stood in front of all the newsies in New York and painted himself as nothing more than a sniveling, cowardly rat. It was done. The strike was still on despite Jack's compliance, thank God, but he still couldn't get the whole damn thing out of his head. He's painfully aware of just how alone he is up in the penthouse, curled up in the corner of the roof with only the low whistle of the midnight breeze and the faint call of some late night drunkards to keep him company. Crutchie isn't here, Crutchie's been gone for days, but now Jack feels his absence more than ever knowing that not a soul beneath this roof wants anything to do with him.

It's worth it though. He can imagine what it would've looked like had Snyder and the Bulls stormed the theater; Medda screaming about how they can't just barge in there while newises scrambled for a way out. He's an artist, after all, he can paint a picture. It adds to the hollow dread still burrowed in his stomach and he feels so empty his eyes start burning not for the first time that night. He blinks away the tears that try to form— what right did he have to cry over his own shortcomings?— and turns over to burrow deeper into the ratty blankets piled up around him.

He wills himself to sleep despite the well of unpleasant memories his reunion with Snyder has dug up. It's because he needs the rest that he craves sleep but because he's desperate for the escape. The guilt is festering deep inside of him and he wants to drown out the rotting sensation eating him alive with anything he can, even if it's images of locked rooms cramped too full or basements spotted with years of blood stains.

He has a lot to make up for in the morning anyway.

Jack, surprisingly, wakes to the sound of the morning bell. He hadn't expected to sleep that long, if he'd slept at all, but maybe he was too exhausted from the last few days to do anything other than drift off. He groans as he uncurls from his fetal position tucked away in his blanket cocoon. Fresh bruises splattered across his torso make themselves known as he attempts to just breathe through the pain. It hurts, of course it does, but he can't just hide away up here all day no matter how tempting that is. Snyder and the Delanceys sure hadn't pulled any of their punches. Jack was sure feeling that today now that all the adrenaline was finally out of his system and the chill of the night could no longer sooth his aches. Hesitantly he waits to see if anyone will call up for him. The pit in his gut hasn't shrunk any during the night and it somehow grows impossibly bigger when the minutes pass and there's no effort to get him. He didn't expect anything more but the sting is still there all the same.

He can hear Racetrack waking everyone up, taking the lead with an undercurrent of bitterness that does nothing to dampen his jovial tone. Racer has always had an upbeat energy that couldn't be tamed. Jack wishes the pride he feels wasn't tainted with the sorrowful realization that they don't need him any more than they want him.

The strike is in a weird place right now. The boys know they need to keep selling, they can't survive with nothing in their pockets even if Kloppman has been outrageously supportive during the whole ordeal. They needed to pay the old man back for heaps of free lodging for dozens of boys and they didn't have any money left to feed themselves. They had some savings put aside that Jack kept up on the roof but not even the whole jar would be enough to cover their debt to Kloppman and keep everyone fed. No, newsies still had to work even if they were still protesting. For the other boys showing up at the gates and getting their papes was still done with defiance but Jack knows that no one will see that when they watch him place down his dime and collect his papers. They'll see a rat; a scab.

Jack also knows he can't just sit up here and wallow. There wouldn't be anyone to come draw him back in like last time. No Davey to sniff him out and tug him out of his rut, no Katherine to call him out on his whining, no Les to cheer him on. Jack had to pull himself up because for the first time in a long time there was no one else to do it for him. He was all he had. So he pries himself off the floor with nothing more than a grimace, using the ledge to haul himself to his feet so he can pull his shirt from the fire escape railing and get ready for the day ahead of him. It takes him a pathetically long time to pull on his button up but there's a deep bruise on his shoulder that makes it near impossible to raise his arm high enough to get the sleeve on so his only option is to suck it up and suffer through the pain.

By the time he makes it down from the penthouse and slips into the boarding room everyone is gone. It's no surprise. He doesn't know why it still hurts.

He peers at the empty bunks while he passes, habitually glancing at the ruffled sheets and small side tables to make sure that no one forgot anything. Race had his cigar, Specs rarely forgot his glasses, Finch's slingshot was nowhere to be seen, and there wasn't a scally cap in sight. The place feels eerily vacant as he makes his way through the halls and down the stairs, the walls closing in on him and turning his sedated pace into a rush for the door. He doesn't think he's ever left without the familiar roughhousing and rowdiness pressing at his sides and the world feels so empty without it. Sure he's had his fights with all the boys before but never has everyone been so unanimously furious with him. He's never felt so suffocated inside the lodging house before and he doesn't even spare a glance Kloppman's way as he bolts out the front doors and out into the streets. He can't breathe any better out in the open air of the noisy city but at least he doesn't feel so abandoned. These people don't know who he is, not really, and they don't know what he's done.

Jack tries to bask in the noise of New York as he treks the familiar path down to the circulation gates. He tries so hard to enjoy the usual sounds of the city waking up but everything feels so dull and there's not a damn thing around to lighten his mood. That only makes him feel more ridiculous. He's done this to himself, hasn't he? He was the one who stormed into Pulitzer's office like he owned the place. He's the one who took the damn deal. This was his own mess and yet here he was whimpering about the consequences like he had the right. At least the burst of anger and self-loathing that sparks beneath his ribs feels like something, a lick of flame in an inky vacuum.

He's grateful that by the time he gets to the circulation gates it sounds like only a handful of newsies are lingering around. At least he's successfully dragged his feet enough to save himself from the humiliation of all of his boys watching him buy his papes like he's Pulitzer's loyal dog. These boys are here because they have to be but they see Jack and they think he's here because he rolled over and bared his throat like a bitch. Maybe they're right. The tremor that still shakes through his hands and the desire to keep looking over his shoulder tells him that maybe he's been knocked down further than he'd like to admit. Jack may be a traitor but he won't be a coward. He raises his head high and rolls his shoulders back before stepping through the gates with the confidence of man he wasn't sure he would ever be again.

Jack is glad to see that he was right at least. There's only a few boys left and they're already slinging their bags over their shoulders and tucking their papers away. He can't hide from their scathing glares no matter how much he'd like to and they don't say anything to him as they storm right by to start their days. He swallows down the urge to call after them, clenching his jaw to physically bite down the desire to plead for them to just listen. Jack Kelly didn't beg. Besides, there wasn't a thing he could say that would fix anything. Instead he lets them pass as he stalks over to Wiesel, digging the necessary coin from his trousers and silently slipping it into the box. He buys more than he usually would even before the price was hiked and it makes him uneasy just how empty his pockets are afterward. Jack hates the way Wiesel grins smugly down at him, pleased to see him quiet and subdued. He also sees the Delanceys over Wiesel's shoulder with bruises on their knuckles that match the ones on Jack's ribs and he pretends the trembling in his hands doesn't become more pronounced at the reminder. He takes his papers just as silently as he'd paid for them even as he refuses to bow his head, returning Oscar's snarl with one of his own and snatching up a bag with more anger than strictly necessary.

It's while Jack is slinging the bag over his shoulder that he realizes the last few stranglers still haven't left and he hesitantly turns his head to meet Davey's expectant gaze. Davey and Les are quiet as Jack shoves his papers into the bag, adjusting the strap to give his hands something to do. He expects Davey to say something, anything, considering the other boy had obviously hung back to talk to Jack. When Davey just stares Jack can't help but open his mouth. "Whatcha starin' at?" He bites, the anger that'd been a blessing before only succeeding now in helping him dig a deeper hole to die in. Davey just sighs and shakes his head, the disappointment clear even as he wraps an arm around an uncertain Les tucked into his side.

"What happened, Jack?" Davey demands, his brilliant crystal eyes so cold. He's never looked at Jack like that before. Not even when they'd first met and Davey was certain Jack was just playing them for a bigger payout. There had been wariness and doubt but never once has he looked at Jack with this calculated contempt before. It made Jack feel small. The same way he had when Pulitzer stared down his nose at him like Jack could never be anything more than the dirt beneath his shoe; like the strike was an inconvenient joke and not hundreds of boys screaming out at a terrible injustice. Davey wasn't supposed to make him feel this insignificant.

"Nothin' happened," Jack huffs, swiping the back of his hand under his nose and clutching at the strap of his bag like a lifeline. No one needs to know what happened. No one needs to know that he was beat into submission. He made his choice and he had to live with that.

"Bullshit," Davey snaps and Jack startles, even Les uncharacteristically quiet at Davey's side jerks and stares up at his brother in awe.

"Davey-" Jack sighs.

"My name is David," Davey— David— hisses, a fiery glare replacing his frigid gaze. "You can't just show up and- and tell us to give up and then refuse to explain yourself! What happened, Jack?" David's anger is a quick flash, a spark that settles before it can catch, and after it dies out all Jack can see is desperation. David's begging for answers that Jack just isn't willing to give.

"Nothin'." Jack insists, fixing his own glare on his face and grasping at the fury still burning inside of him like it can keep him from falling apart. "I just ain't gonna fight a losin' battle," Jack shrugs, shoving his free hand deep into his pocket to hide the pathetic shakes. He can feel the Delanceys eyes on him and he wants nothing more than to whip around to make sure they can't get the drop on him. Thing is, he isn't so sure anymore that he's safer with David at his back.

"Since when have you just let people walk all over you?" David huffs, his irritation growing when Jack doesn't give. If anything David should be used to Jack's stubbornness by now but somehow the other boy has gotten it in his head that he's the exception to Jack's rule. Well, Jack's great at disappointing people. "You were right, Jack, if we let him Pulitzer is going to keep raising the prices and that's why we can't let him win!" David gestures back to where Wiesel and his lackeys are still poised not even pretending to listen to their squabble.

"He already won," Or at least Jack felt like he lost. Nothing about this felt like they had a chance, not anymore, and Jack can't believe he'd ever been stupid enough to think otherwise.

David scoffs, looking at Jack as if he couldn't believe the boy standing in front of him was the same one who started a strike against one of the most powerful men in New York with reckless abandon. Les looks so impossibly small pressed against David's hip and he looks at Jack with wide, disbelieving eyes but all Jack can think is Good, I ain't fit to be your hero anyway. Something dark settles across David's features when Jack doesn't say anything more, that frozen steel glinting in his eyes again when he finds whatever it is he's been searching for. He shifts, gently guiding Les over to the gates so they can get a start on the day. Les doesn't even look Jack's way, his head tilted down and his chin wobbling as he scampers past, and David roughly shoulder checks Jack as he leaves. Pain ricochets down from Jack's injured shoulder all the way down to his fingers and for a brief moment the air is stolen from his lungs leaving him gaping breathlessly, frozen by the wagons. Part of him expects David to realize, to glance back and ask. When he finally manages to suck in a trembling breath and turn around David and Les are long gone.

"Better get a move on, Cowboy!" Wiesel shouts from the stall, "Those papers aren't gonna sell themselves!" He's right, as much as Jack loathes to admit it. So Jack gathers his bearings and stumbles back towards the streets. He heads off to his usual selling spot, unsure if David headed off the same way or if he split off to sell with someone else but knowing either way there's no where he'll be welcome. He doubts anyone would be happy to see him in their territory today, even his own boys. He's positive his boys would sooner raise a fist than let him sell with them.

Luckily there's no sign of David when he makes it to his first street. He hates that David not being around is a relief. How wide the divide between him and the others feels makes his heart plummet. He loathes that he did this to himself but it was still better than the alternative. It was either him or them, this separation or who knows how many of them locked up in a place that'd tear them apart. The fight wasn't over, they hadn't crumbled when he spoke out against the strike, they were still powering through even without him. Knowing that, he's certain that he'd do it all over again. He could take it. He'd spend the rest of his sorry life trying to earn their forgiveness as long as it meant he had the chance to work for it at all.

So he does the only thing he can. He sells. He hawks papes with more vigor than he has in years, throwing himself into the craft and weaving the most interesting headlines he could possibly think of. He'd bought more than he typically would've for a reason and if this was going to serve as even a drop in the ocean of everything he had to do to make up for the rally than he had to sell them all. It would be easier with Les, especially with the look of hurt that'd been in those big eyes. The kid was probably an absolute gold mine right now and he prays that the Jacobs brothers are holding up out there. Knowing David and Les they'll sell out long before Jack does, especially with the extra papes weighing down his bag, but Jack still prays he'll be able to find them after he wraps up. Jack wouldn't be shocked if their partnership was called off after everything but that didn't mean he had any intention of keeping everything he made for himself. He'd hunt them down to divvy up the money regardless but it'd be a lot easier if they didn't fight him on it.

It takes Jack hours to sell out. Longer than it ever has before but by the time he's finished his pockets are so full they jingle loudly with each step. That's step one wrapped up even with his ribs throbbing and his shoulder screaming from the exertion. It's past noon now, he's lucky some kind older folk were willing to buy in support of the news boys and their strike otherwise there's no way he would've sold his last few papes this far into the afternoon. He yanks off his hat and uses the back of his hand to wipe away the sweat that's accumulated on his brow. The weather wasn't in his favor today either. The morning had started out overcast but warm enough but as the day progressed the clouds had disappeared and left him selling under the bright light of the hot sun. Sweat was pooling beneath his clothes and sticking the cloth painfully to the bruises and welts coloring his skin underneath. The pain and the heat leeched away all of his energy and left him exhausted. He's not done yet however. He still needs to find David.

First, though, Jack allows himself a few minutes to sit down and catch his breath before he collapses. He tucks himself away on a bench in the shade, melting into the hard wood panels and wondering if all of this would even make a dent. He knows that it won't be enough but he doesn't know if the effort will even be noticed at all. Will David even realize? Jack swallows thickly. What if he does notice and David thinks he's trying to pay him off? It's a disgusting, bitter thought that leaves his mouth dry but he knows that it wouldn't be unwarranted. After all, the whole rally saw the bundle of cash shoved into his hands. Why wouldn't David think he's just going to do same thing to him that Pulitzer did to Jack? Shit, maybe this was a terrible idea-

"Sleepin' on the job?" Jack jerks up— he hadn't even realized he closed his eyes— and snaps his head towards the speaker. Albert stands a few feet away with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face but there's something like concern in his eyes that makes Jack's heart pound.

"Hey, Al, just finished up is all," Jack doesn't know if he should be playing along like this but Albert spoke to him first so he latches onto the conversation while he can. He ignores the flash of confusion that crosses Albert's face and sits up, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain that circles around his chest and squeezes, "I need to split up the earnin's with Davey, you seen 'im?"  

Albert just stares at him for a few seconds and Jack thinks that maybe he fucked up. Maybe he wasn't supposed to act like nothing happened. Has he already lost touch with his boys after just a few measly hours? But Albert shrugs, "He was sellin' with Race today, theys headed to Jacobi's. Might still be there."

Jack grins, hauling himself to his feet with only a small grunt of effort, "Thanks," he reaches out to lay a hand on Albert's shoulder before he thinks better of it, drawing it back and shoving it into his pocket to ebb to desire. He's always been a tactile bastard. He debates on making his exit now but before he can think better of it he opens his stupid mouth again, "I'll see you around?" he asks hesitantly like it isn't painfully obvious what he really means.

Albert's expression softens just so and hope sparks in Jack's chest. Maybe he had a chance to make up for the rally after all. "Of course you will," Albert says, "We live together." He means more than that. He's still pissed, it's obvious in the way he holds himself, but he hadn't swatted away Jack's olive branch and that gives him something to hold onto.

Jack walks away before he manages to make an even bigger fool of himself but he feels lighter than he has since the rally. The walk to Jacobi's is easy and familiar and by the time he's at the deli he isn't sure whether or not he wants to find David and Racetrack inside. He crosses the threshold and almost immediately his eyes are drawn to a table not far from the entrance where three familiar boys are sat. David and Les both have their backs to him but Racetrack is sitting facing the doors. Well, at least he can't go putting this off any longer. He doesn't allow himself to hesitate and just walks over. He wonders just how much of that Kelly charm he should be injecting into this performance to avoid adding a black eye to his long list of injuries.

It's obvious the moment Racetrack spots him. The smile on his face drops and his eyes shutter, the mirth draining away and leaving only open disdain in its wake. It hits Jack like a punch to the gut but he forces himself not to falter. It's only through a lot of practice that he can puppeteer himself like this. "What'd'ya want, Kelly?" Racer sniffs, aiming for disinterest but his biting tone sounding nothing less than hostile.

Jack raises his hands in surrender, watching out of the corner of his eye as Les and David turn to see who just walked up. David's face falls similarly to how Racetrack's had and Jack tries in vain to ignore how it brings back the hollow sensation in his gut with a vengeance. "I ain't here to cause no problems," Jack swears, reaching into his pocket and digging out what he's earned for the day. He holds it out as a peace offering, "Just here to split things with Dav-id." He barely stops himself from saying Davey but for some reason David still cringes when he audibly stumbles to corrects himself.

Race leans back in his chair, looking Jack up and down like he's sizing up a threat, and Jack feels bile climbing up the back of his throat, "I thought you was all about money now, eh?"

Jack can't help but flinch then and the shame that follows curdles in the black hole that's made itself at home inside of him. "I ain't gonna cheat someone outta a deal," he says before he realizes just how terrible it must sound coming out of his mouth.

Race snorts, pushing his cigar between his teeth in an obvious effort to keep from exchanging more choice words. He pointedly looks away, glaring daggers off to the side while David heaves a heavy sigh. "Let's get this over with then." He shifts in his seat, reaching deep into his own pocket to pull out what he and Les made this morning. When the coins are placed on the table it's a noticeably smaller pile than the heavy handful that Jack places down beside it and David huffs, rolling his eyes. Jack is sure there's a smart comment on his tongue that he's holding back even though Jack pitifully wishes he wouldn't. He hadn't realized that David being mad at him meant that he'd talk so much less but even after just one morning without David to chatter with Jack's desperate to hear his voice again.

Jack is quick to start the sorting himself before David has a chance to try. That'd ruin everything and he was already on such shaky ground. He's grateful, now, that Racer won't even look at him because the younger boy would clock him in a second. Still, Jack moves quick. He moves the money swiftly, placing as many pennies into his pile as he could while conveniently placing whatever dimes or quarters they managed to wrangle into David's pile. By the end of it David and Les' pile looks much smaller regardless of how much more he's given them. It was about a fifty-fifty split, though he gave the extra penny to them just to be safe. Before they have a chance to say anything he scoops up his pile and shoves it back into his pocket. He grins, hopes it doesn't look as shattered as it feels, and steps back, "Always a pleasure."

David frowns, watches as he pulls away, and for a beat Jack is worried that he's going to call him out. About the money or about how fake his smile is he isn't sure but he's still worried just the same. But David just sighs again and turns back around. Jack takes that as his chance to make a quick exit before something else can happen. He thinks, actually, he would've preferred if Race had just hit him.

Again stepping outside does nothing to alleviate the pressure on his chest the way he hopes it would and again he pushes himself to keep going anyway. He can't stop, he doesn't have the luxury to take a break if he wants even a glimpse of redemption. Usually after a successful morning he'd be off to check on the boys or sitting back at Jacobi's with David and Racer but he's not welcome now so he heads straight back for the lodging house to complete the next step of his feeble plan. It's not much and it's even more subtle than what he'd just done with David but he's afraid that if it's obvious he's asking for forgiveness then that'll give everyone another reason to deny him what he doesn't deserve. He knows that by the time he gets back to the lodging house that some of the others will be there too and while he's glad that they'll be bringing some life back to the place he's equally anxious of having to face them. He hopes that if nothing else whoever he runs into will be like Albert and Race; rightfully pissed but at least able to restrain themselves from giving him a physical or verbal lashing. He's in no state to take any sort of beating.

Jack hates that he has to brace himself to walk into a place that he's lived in for the better part of ten years. Still, though, he has to pause just outside the doors and take a deep breath before he can step into the lodging house. Immediately he hears a conversation somewhere to his left die out but he wills himself not to look as he strides up to Kloppman's stall. He digs the coin out of his pocket and counts it out carefully before laying down enough to pay for three nights. It's almost all of what he has but he gives it up all the same.

Kloppman just raises his eyebrows, curious but not going to pry, and Jack offers the man a stiff nod before he ducks away and makes straight for the stairs. He notices how the conversation picks back up the second he's out of sight and he hopes it's not obvious how quickly he's fleeing. Kloppman probably thinks that Jack is paying for his boarding in advance. It's unusual but not unheard of. Jack will have to make sure that it's clear he's trying to pay off their debt when he comes back tomorrow to pay for another three nights, assuming he makes enough.

There are a few boys strewn about the boarding room when he makes it upstairs. He notices Finch sat on one of the bunks sewing up a pretty bad hole in pants and Jojo laid out across his own bed with a tattered book held in his hands. Both of them only offer a quick glance in his direction before they return to their tasks. They don't look up when he climbs out the window and makes his way up the ladder to the penthouse.

Alone again after a whole day of craving nothing more than a companion he walks over to the emergency savings he keeps up on the roof, a broken glass jar tucked away in the corner of the open space, and drops the rest of his earnings in. He convinces himself that he can survive the night without anything to eat despite knowing that he hasn't eaten in well over twenty-four hours already. The last time he'd had anything in his stomach was the morning before the rally but he hadn't been able to eat the next day and he certain hadn't had an appetite after.

He'll survive. He was good at that.

For a moment he doesn't know what to do with himself. Usually it's a struggle to get any time to himself but now there's no one vying for his attention and no gathering he's expected to make an appearance at. It only takes him a second to decide how he'll spend the rest of his day but the moment the idea pops into his head he's already moving across the rooftop and grabbing at the art supplies he's collected over the years. He sifts around for a stretch of clear paper before he tucks himself neatly against the ledge and snatches a loose lump of charcoal from the floor. If there was one thing Jack knew he could do it was transfer his pain onto a page. He would never say it out loud in fear of sounding like some emotional sap but art really was an intoxicating release.

He throws himself into the sketch, focus zeroing in on the chunk of charcoal clutched between his experienced fingers until the rest of the world fell away. He doesn't have anything in mind when he starts but the rough shapes build swiftly into a vivid picture. It doesn't feel like long before the lines come together and he finds the printing press in Pulitzer's cellar staring back at him. It's still nothing but an outline, basic in every way, but his stomach still twists at the sight of it. It looks so unimposing all on its own, innocently tucked away in the center of Pulitzer's basement like the garbage it was, but Jack can't see it that way. He huffs and rolls his wrist before starting in on the rest of the picture. The metal staircase off to the side, the clutter pushed further back into the musty room, the dirt coating the cold stone walls. It's when he's adding details and shading to the piece that he notices his lighting has shifted. The warm yellow of the sun had changed to the cool white of a day coming to its end somewhere along the line. When he lifts his head to get a look his neck protests after being stuck in one position so long.

Jack hadn't realized just how lost in his art he'd gotten. Even if that was the goal it would usually only take a couple hours at most before there was a newsie clambering up the ladder to drag him off. It's the reminder of just how outcasted he's become that returns his attention down to the drawing settled in his lap. It's a painfully realistic depiction of his temporary prison even though the angle itself isn't familiar. It's the detached outside perspective of an audience rather than a first person account. Anger makes a reappearance deep in his chest, bursting and snapping like a wild fire, and Jack grips the charcoal tightly as he channels that fury into messy scribbles. He scratches the vague outline of a man under the walkway of the stairs, hidden under the dark shadows of the cellar but still a clear and dark silhouette with a cane clutched in its hand carried around for more nefarious purposes than a walking aid. He smudges dark splotches onto the floor and across the warped wood of the old printing press, dark pools splattered across the surface and blending into the muck and dust covering every inch. Even in a picture devoid of color the mess of blood is clear as day.

Jack wishes that the anger fueling the haphazard additions was directed at his boys but it's bitter and raw and directed inwards. He's so, so angry with himself that the self-loathing only intertwines with the guilt and loneliness that's been crushing him all day. That only succeeds in making the rage that much worse. It's an endless cycle of emotions building a torrential cacophony inside of him and he doesn't know what will happen when it reaches its inevitable climax.

Throwing the charcoal to the side with enough force that it shatters against the roof Jack rolls up his drawing with quick, jerky movements before shoving it into the tube containing all the pictures he's made depicting the horrors of the Refuge. No one was allowed to touch that tube and he prayed that no matter how much they all now despised him that everyone would still respect that.

It's still early despite how the sky is quickly blackening but Jack doesn't pay the last vestiges of sunlight any mind as he crawls into his bundle of threadbare blankets. His stomach is growling hopelessly and the sweat from working injured and hungry under the sun all day clings uncomfortably to his skin; he's exhausted from fighting too many battles alone and he's grateful when unconsciousness swallows him up readily.

No one comes to call him for supper.

#| jackie | #| davey | #| Racer | #| lodging house | #|| circulation gates #newsies live #newsies broadway #livesies #jack kelly #david jacobs #racetrack higgins #newsies fanfic #newsies fanfiction #angst #hurt/comfort #// injury #javey newsies #javey

[queenaeducan]

Thora Cadash Companion Questions: Blackwall: Did their treatment of Blackwall change after discovering who he was? If yes, how so? Solas: If your inquisitor was told they were “unlike others of their race” by Solas, how did they respond? Were they angry or grateful? Sera: How did your Inquisitor respond to the truth of Sera’s childhood (the cookie scene), if they received it? Did they empathize? Cole: What did your Inquisitor think of Cole’s ability to see into people’s thoughts?  IB: Was your Inquisitor wary of Bull upon learning he was a spy? Vivienne: Did your Inquisitor share Vivienne’s views on the circle of magi or disagree and why? Varric: Did your Inquisitor approve of Varric’s stories? Did they read any of his books? Dorian: Did your Inquisitor attempt to have Dorian speak to his father or not? Does your Inquisitor relate to Dorian in terms of struggles with family or sexuality? Cassandra: What was Cassandra’s role in the Inquisition to your Inquisitor? Was she a crucial friend/ally or an unnecessary soldier? 

Blackwall: Did their treatment of Blackwall change after discovering who he was? If yes, how so?

Initially, yes. Thora had sort of clued into the fact that he was a criminal, not only do Wardens famously accept criminals into their ranks, but as a former Carta member trying to do better herself the vibes he gives off are immediately recognisable to her. However, she fully bought into the fact that he was a Warden, and she didn’t anticipate the full horrors of what Rainier did.

She is immediately ready to get him out of jail and spare him the noose, and pretty quickly decides it’s best to let him continue the road of redemption he’d walked with the Inquisition. The trust she had was eroded, however, and she doesn’t initially return his offer to get back together. She says she needs time and she can be kind of cold when they travel together in the weeks after his quest, brushing off friendly gestures as she tries to make sense of his feelings and her own. Even when they’re back together, it takes a while to build up trust. Good-byes in particular are important for her going forward.

Solas: If your inquisitor was told they were “unlike others of their race” by Solas, how did they respond? Were they angry or grateful?

Disappointed is probably the best word for it. Solas is the companion she grows closest to the fastest, being there from the beginning and (from Thora’s POV) having fewer class barriers between them than most of the beginning companions/advisors. Casual dismissal of dwarves is something she’s accustomed to from strangers, but from Solas it hits her where it hurts.

However, I tend to approach Solas’s ignorance by mirroring it with Thora’s. What he dismisses and misunderstands about dwarves, she does the same with spirits, and part of their growing friendship is unlearning those things. So in the moment she refuses the compliment and advocates for dwarves, instead. A few years ago I actually wrote about how their version of the scene might go, you can read it here.

Sera: How did your Inquisitor respond to the truth of Sera’s childhood (the cookie scene), if they received it? Did they empathize?

It explained a lot about Sera, for her. Their relationship is often one of confusion as Thora struggles to connect with The Youth (tm) as it were, being at least ten years Sera’s senior. Their dynamic often reminds me of mine with my teenage co-workers, tbh, which cracks me up when I think about it. Thora can definitely empathise with Sera’s feelings, being an outcast from her own culture as a Surfacer, it makes her reflect on how often she blamed herself versus Sera projecting her frustration and alienation onto others. After the cookie scene they definitely start to understand each other more, the Sera-Thora friendship I think only truly begins near Inquisition’s end.

Cole: What did your Inquisitor think of Cole’s ability to see into people’s thoughts?

It made her uncomfortable, but she comes to appreciate the ability as one that can help in ways no one else she’s ever met could. While there are times Cole makes mistakes, there’s no question that he’s trying to help, and she comes to admire him and his abilities.

IB: Was your Inquisitor wary of Bull upon learning he was a spy?

Ajlksjdf Thora... threatens him with Leliana, so yes. She has a learned suspicion of qunari and the Qun specifically from her time in Kirkwall and purposefully keeps Bull at arm’s length for a lot of Inquisition (more or less until his personal quest). Not helping his chances is that he and her cousin, Cadri (another of my spouse’s ocs) start sleeping together and while it starts casual it quickly gets more serious. So you have a side of “if I’m right my family will be hurt” that keeps the wariness alive.

Like with Sera, their relationship improves in between Corypheus’s defeat and Trespasser.

Vivienne: Did your Inquisitor share Vivienne’s views on the circle of magi or disagree and why?

In my last playthrough I discovered that one (1) line of dialogue was all that was keeping Thora from Vivienne’s disapproval scene, and almost all of Thora’s disapproval is garnered from her anti-Circle views. She... vehemently disagrees with her to say the least. If Inquisition had happened when Thora was like twenty, they might be on a similar page, but her experience in Kirkwall and with former Circle mages has too great an effect on her for her to fall in line with Vivienne’s views. A younger Thora who is perhaps best described as mage-neutral (wants to improve their conditions if they’re bad, has less knowledge of the system and why it’s bad) would instead find Vivienne’s perspective quite attractive.

Varric: Did your Inquisitor approve of Varric’s stories? Did they read any of his books?

Yes, but she didn’t think much of Hard in Hightown. His writing is a little pulpy for her tastes, which err towards more classic lit and poetry, and she’s fond of the dwarven literature that Varric disparages in banter with Solas. She likes his storytelling better when it’s not in a book.

Dorian: Did your Inquisitor attempt to have Dorian speak to his father or not? Does your Inquisitor relate to Dorian in terms of struggles with family or sexuality?

Thora encourages him to speak with his father. Not because she thinks he deserves forgiveness or Dorian’s company, necessarily, but she thinks that Dorian will regret it more if they don’t speak. She’s struggled with her own father’s expectations, and while their relationship never degraded to the point of Dorian’s and Halward’s (and is much-improved), she does use that as a basis for why a conversation may be in Dorian’s best interest. Either some reconciliation happens, or Dorian is able to decide once and for all that he wants his father out of his life forever.

Cassandra: What was Cassandra’s role in the Inquisition to your Inquisitor? Was she a crucial friend/ally or an unnecessary soldier?

Her support was critical in the early game and her approval later on means a lot to Thora. Her ability to back Thora even when Thora makes choices Cassandra wouldn’t (supporting the mages), standing beside her despite that is important to granting Thora legitimacy. Their friendship never runs as deep as some of the Inquisiton’s other members, but they do make for good allies. The one thing I’ve yet to figure out with these two is what Thora encourages Cass to do when she discourages her to disband the Seekers.

#thora cadash #long post #ty for the asks!!!!!! xoxooxoxoxoxox

[inquisitorpup]

Timeline

Just a list of big events/ficlets to date in roughly chronological order, for easier searching. Will update as needed.

DA2 Pre-Act 1:

How Pup got to Kirkwall

How Pup met Anders

The day after the rescue

1-2 weeks after the rescue

A few weeks after the rescue

DA2 Act 1:

Pup meets Hawke, Carver, Merrill, & Aveline for the first time

Bonding with Anders

Pup and Hawke

Pup and Varric

Pup and Merrill

Pup, Merrill, and Fenris

Getting to know Fenris

Pup meets Fenris’ asshole cat

Pup adopts a pup (named Seth)

Pup gets arrested with Fenris (yes, seriously)

Pup is a little shit to Sebastian

Companions and presents: the origins of Pup’s comfort objects

Carver joins the Templar Order

DA2 Act 2:

Pup confronts Anders about his treatment of Merrill (based on this)

Pup’s hobby: rebellion, helping others

Pup’s other hobby: making bets w/ the misfits regarding when Anders and Hawke are finally going to hook up

Just after “All That Remains”

The Qunari attack

Unspecified/multiple Acts:

Little Pup: Song

Cute Pup things

Sleepy Pup thoughts

Crafted Gifts: Anders teaches Pup how to knit

The first time it snows in Kirkwall

Pup learning how to take up space and speak their mind

Sad Kirkwall happenings, courtesy Mok

Things Pup learned from the Kirkwall misfits

Post-Kirkwall:

A Parting of Ways: how Hawke & Anders part ways with Pup after Kirkwall

Pup is given Dalish names by Clan Lavellan

Justice wants Anders go back for Pup (based on this)

Hawke and Anders track down Clan Lavellan looking for Pup

Inquisition:

Inquisitor Pup!

Reuniting with Varric

Getting to know Cassandra

Pup and Vivienne

“In Hushed Whispers”

The aftermath of “In Hushed Whispers” (mages taken in as allies)

Sleep & nightmares at Skyhold

Reuniting with Hawke & Anders

Catching up w/ Hawke & Anders: just after their arrival at Skyhold

Pup’s nightmare:  after reuniting w/ Hawke & Anders; based on this

Anders’ nightmare: sometime after he & Hawke arrive at Skyhold

Opinion Fishing: Pup tries to gauge Dorian’s opinion about the Kirkwall rebellion

Meeting Anders: Pup introduces Anders to Dorian

“Here Lies the Abyss”

“Last Resort of Good Men” (Dorian’s personal quest)

Inquisitor Pup the combination Spirit Healer/Blood Mage (!)

…explaining that blood magic use to Anders and Dorian.

“Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts”

What demon would Pup be most vulnerable to?

The new Divine

Character tags:

Anders

Justice

Hawke

Seth

Merrill

Fenris

Varric Tethras

Carver Hawke

Isabela

Aveline Vallen

Sebastian Vael

Dorian Pavus

Cole

Cassandra Pentaghast

Solas

Sera

Iron Bull

Blackwall

Vivienne

Cullen

Josephine Montilyet

Leliana

Fiona

#timeline

[snowymuses]

Name: Nanamo Ul Namo Alias:: Sultana, Random names Species: Lalafell Height:3'0 Age:21 Birthday: Third Umbral Moon, 28th Sun (6/27) Gender: Female Orientation: Demisexual Hometown: Ul’dah Occupation: Sultana

Physical appearance:

Nanamo Ul Namo is a Dunesfolk Lalafell with pale skin and green eyes. She is fair-skinned, notably more so than most other inhabitants of the city, with only her eyes to distinguish her as a Dunesfolk

Personality:

Nanamo is kind-hearted and generous, and a mindful leader who cares deeply for all of her people. In contrast with the strict material-driven mindset of the ruling class of Ul'dah, Nanamo believes that all of her people, rich and poor alike, deserve fair and equal treatment, and is in favor of a purely democratic government. She is frustrated at her status as a puppet leader and her inability to do much to ease the suffering of her subjects.

Story:

Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo is the Sultana of Ul'dah, the seventeenth in the line of Ul, the royal family of the city-state in Final Fantasy XIV. Though nominally the head of state of Ul'dah, her power is limited by the Syndicate. Most of her influence is due to her right-hand man Flame General Raubahn Aldynn, the head of the Immortal Flames.

A Dunesfolk maid of royal blood, Nanamo Ul Namo came to power at the tender age of five when her father passed. Naturally, none so young could fathom the intricacies of government, and the sultana was relegated to the role of royal puppet.

Despite having ruled for more than a decade and a half, to this day, many dare to accuse her of being little more than a mammet mouthing the Syndicate's words.She is not, however, without her allies. At the age of nine, she surprised the city-state by pardoning Raubahn Aldynn on a whim. As his Coliseum winnings were conferred upon him, the Bull of Ala Mhigo swore an undying oath to serve as the sultana's sword.

When he joined the Syndicate, Raubahn made good on this promise, and remains entirely loyal to Nanamo.Though she is the picture of propriety when sitting the throne, Nanamo is still a maiden of twenty-one years, and has a more playful side. She is known to leave the palace incognito, and take tea and crumpets at the Quicksand.

The Sultana delivers a speech during the Carteneau memorial service, propped on Raubahn's arm. She later presides over the Eorzean Alliance meeting discussing the terms of Gaius van Baelsar's ultimatum (an imperial Legatus of the Garlean Empire on a quest to conquer Eorzea). Though the leaders considered capitulating in light of the struggles following the Calamity, the return of Minfilia and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn convinces them to retaliate against Gaius with Operation Archon.

After Alphinaud pulls strings to arrange an audience for the Doman refugees, Nanamo, Raubahn, and the Syndicate hear Yugiri's testimony. Despite being moved by her plight, Nanamo and Teledji Adeledji cannot sway the other Syndicate members in the face of Lord Lolorito's filibuster, who turn down Yugiri's request for asylum. They later learn that Teledji Adeledji had stirred up unrest in Ul'dah among the other refugees in response to the Domans being turned away. During a confidential meeting with Alphinaud and the Warrior of Light, Nanamo reveals the Carteneau Flats holds a secret–"Omega"–and the Carteneau Reclamation Bill was likely the reason Teledji incited the riots, as a means to get to it. Nanamo Ul Namo holds a meeting with Kan-E-Senna and Admiral Merlwyb about her plans to dissolve the Syndicate. They have the same conversation with the Warrior of Light during the feast after the fall of Vishap, but the Sultana collapses after drinking the wine. When Teledji enters the Royal Chamber and takes notice of her, having secretly laced her wine with a toxin, he claims she has been poisoned and accuses the Warrior of Light and the Scions of regicide.

Lolorito had learned of Teledji's assassination plan and had Nanamo's servant swap the poison with a potent sleeping potion to use the event to remove both the usurper and Raubahn from power. Lolorito gave the antidote to Raubahn.

Nanamo appeared at Ishgard after the fall of King Thordan, declaring Aymeric de Borel the new Archbishop, and that Ishgard is again becoming part of an Eorzean Alliance. From then on, she set her mind forward to rule her people, especially in Raubahn’s absence when he went to Ala Mhigo.

This event did bring the two cities closer than ever, and she often goes back and forth to check on the citizens of both.

Verses: None

#Nanamo #Nanamo Bio

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Through The Looking Glass Ruins" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck! I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

When Disney announced episode titles/synopsis for the new season (On a day that left my head SPINNING!), there was one episode that I knew deep down that would cause controversy and discourse amongst the fandom. And that episode was "Through the Looking Glass Ruins." Not because it would be bad, far from it. Instead, because the episode was a Gus episode with a Lumity subplot, that meant that discourse would start as fans decide which story they prefer more. A situation that, might I add, would result in no winners.

Do you prefer the Lumity plotline? Well, guess what! You're a racist who chose to talk about an overrated ship rather than a heavily underrated character who just so happens to be a person of color.

Do you prefer Gus' plotline? Well, guess what! You're a homophobe who decided to shine a light on a character who's underrated for a reason instead of praising a ship that just so happens to involve two girls.

Either side you pick is going to result in making people mad. The only way to avoid that is by explaining in heavy detail that you still enjoyed one side despite preferring the other. Even if you loved both, you'll most certainly have to explain to everyone that you mean it and that you're neither racist nor homophobic. And all I have to say is this: F that.

F that S in the A right now.

Because I, or anybody else for that matter, shouldn't have to explain myself when it comes to saying why I prefer one plot line or the other. I shouldn't have to prevent getting ripped apart by some bulls**t, black and white mentality of people who can't accept that others like a show for different reasons than they do.

You wanna know what I think about "Through the Looking Glass Ruins?" Well, continue reading to find out. You'll have to make your way through spoilers, but it's the only way for you to learn why I consider this episode not worth any discourse that I'm already certain is cropping up.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

The Opening Scene: I'm kind of digging how snappy and to the point these opening scenes are getting. In the span of what has to be less than a minute, we're given all the information we need to know: Gus is insecure about his illusion magic because he accidentally got Willow injured. It's a great way of setting up why Gus wants to prove himself to the Glandus students and a great way of showing how much Willow's friendship means to him. Look at how he's reacting a few days after the incident. He's still mopey and guilty about it, and I feel bad for the little guy.

Gus in General: And while we're already talking about him, let's give this episode a round of applause for giving Gus the spotlight without having him screw over his friends...except for Willow.

"Through the Looking Glass Ruins" really fleshes Gus out much more so than past episodes. As I said, it plays heavily into his own insecurities while proving how he's capable as an illusionist. He's also the best possible outlet to explore more about what illusionist magic can really do. It can't hurt anybody or work well in a fight. Instead, its strengths lie in the act of convincingly tricking others into thinking that something that should be fake is actually real. And Gus got to prove he really is a super witch because of his illusions through a jaw-dropping scene that's as dark as it was enthralling. The fact that he did it all by himself, without the help of an illusion elder who was right there, is honestly even more impressive. A lot of people aren't that interested in Gus as a character, but I feel like, after this episode, he certainly won a few more fans over.

Willow Getting Injured and Missing the Episode: This is a smart move, in my opinion. Willow acts as the voice of reason in the friend group, so if she tagged along with Luz and Gus right away, she would have easily talked Gus out of joining the Glandus kids on a dangerous quest. I love Willow, she's a solid character, but writing her out is really the only way the plot could have progressed.

(I also love that she wasn't mad in the slightest over Gus getting her hurt. She has every right to be, but she also understands that it was an accident, and Gus wouldn't do anything to purposefully hurt her. And that's sweet!)

King’s Prerecorded Message for Gus: That's just adorable. We need more cute friendship moments between these two, DAMN IT!

Gus Being Sick of Luz’s S**t: Of all the characters I expected to get sick of the whole Lumity situation, Gus wasn't really one of them. I'd always thought it'd be Willow, primarily because the rest of the fandom latched onto that idea, but for Gus, I'd figured he'd be more supportive rather than annoyed. That being said, seeing him call Luz out for borrowing his library card to see Amity (Not ask her out. Just to see her) is not only a hilarious moment for Gus but also an adorable moment for Luz. It's something I would never have seen coming, but now that I have it, I want more. GIVE ME MORE!

(Sorry if I'm being a little intense)

Luz Trying to Cheer Up Gus: It's moments like this that prove why Luz is my favorite character.

Willow might have the most common sense out of the group, but it's Luz who still has the biggest heart. She knows her friend is down in the dumps, so Luz pulls out all the stops in cheering him up. Whether it's researching the first-ever human (really surprised he wasn't the tiniest bit excited about that, by the way) and lending him glyphs for his mission to help show up Mattholomule. She may be slow in the romantic relationship department, but episodes like this prove that she excels with a platonic friendship.

Bria: I consider Amar adorably optimistic, and I have no strong feelings for Gavin, one or the other. But with Bria? Holy hell, did the writers do everything they should with her!

At first, it seems like she'll be a generic nice girl for Gus to have a crush on. Only for that writing to be a perfect twist into how she's kind of the worst. You see hints of her true personality in the overly sweet way she threatens to force Amar to eat a bug he gets distracted by. A viewer's initial reaction to that would be to think that while she's sweet, she still means business. But no, it's actually a perfect way to reveal her true intentions while hiding them at the same time. Bria may be rotten to the core, but with how perfectly executed this twist was, I can't help but adore her contribution.

Mattholomule: ...I would sooner expect to have gone insane before believing that this little s**t weasel would make his way onto my good side. Despite that, here we are in episode five of the new season, and I like Mattholomule now.

The reveal that Glandus High forces students to believe that the strong survive and the weak are inferior explains so much for Mattholomule's thirst for power in "Something Ventured, Someone Framed." It doesn't excuse his actions, not by a long shot, but it definitely paints a clearer picture. It also explains his treatment of Gus, as well as Mattholomule's reasoning to help him. Because of Glandus High inserting a "the strong survive" mentality into Mattholomule, he belittles Gus due to thinking that illusion magic makes Gus weak. But after seeing how they're both stooges to Bria's mistreatment, he's quick to apologize and willingly helps Gus out. In the process, the two of them create a believable and cute friendship...a friendship that is absolutely going to be interpreted as something else by the fandom...which is something that I'm more than supportive of--HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! I WENT FROM ONE OF THE BIGGEST GUSTOLOMULE DENIERS TO ONE OF ITS SUPPORTERS IN LESS THAN A DAY! HOW DO THESE WRITERS MANAGE TO TAKE ELEMENTS THAT WERE ONCE ON MY S**T LIST TO THEN MAKING ME MORE THAN OK WITH THEM!

IT'S INSANE!

Mostly impressive.

BUT ALSO INSANE!

Edric and Emira: More so than ever, I am so happy that the writers took their course correction with Edric and Emira. These two work so much better as supporting characters rather than minor antagonists like several fans thought they would be after their treatment of Amity in "Lost in Language." They're quick to pick up on Luz and Amity's mutual affections for one another and do their part to help their friend and baby sister out. It's wholesome to watch, and, you know what, I'm gonna go ahead and say it: Edric and Emira Blight are much better mischievous twin characters than Fred and George Weasley. As much as I adore Fred and George, there is an issue how they're always referred to as Fred and George, not Fred or George. It's because their personalities are as identical as they are, so separating them is pointless. With Edric and Emira, they have enough individuality that you could enjoy them separately as much as you could seeing them together. Emira is more emotionally supportive in how she listens to Amity vent her frustrations about her feelings, while Edric is more of a doofus who can't take a hint to save his life. It creates a great set of characters who can potentially work well on their own. I hope they get explored more at some point, but for now, I'm happy with the cute moments these two offered already.

Lumity Moments: BUUUUUUUUUUUUT, nothing compares to the cuteness of these two.

I don't care if I'll be called a racist for it because these! Moments! These moments are the highlights of "Through the Looking Glass Ruins" for me! Seeing these two interact in this episode, now that the pining is mutual, was everything I could have ever hoped for, and so much more. Seriously, how can you complain about anything about all of this when you get cute bits like:

Luz getting flustered of seeing Amity with her hair down

Amity risking her job to help Luz

Amity being motivated to find the diary due to the possibility of a date with Luz in the human realm

Luz going through hell and back to get Amity her job back

All of the blushing

And that F**KING KISS AT THE END HOLY SH--Don't you dare think I'm not going to further discuss that. DON'T YOU DARE!

Gus' story was entertaining with how it surprised me in all the right ways, don't get me wrong. But seeing Luz and Amity's relationship develop more and more always fills my heart with glee that, believe it or not, I'm always going to remember it more. I love you, Gus, but I love Lumity more.

Philip Whittabeen: So we finally have a name to the alleged human who was here years ago, and we get properly introduced to him through a really visually appealing animation change. I'm personally curious to see where the writers go with him, but it's too early to say if his inclusion will be worth something. But I will say one thing, though. One thing, and then I'm going to move on.

Here it is:

Philip sounds eerily similar to Emperor Belos to me.

That is all I'm going to say about that.

Luz’s Sentences in Spanish: I want to give a personal shout-out to mi buen amigo @l-egionaire for pointing this out because there are some things to analyze in what Luz says in Spanish in this episode. Knowing what she means, it's clear that they are ideals that Camila instilled into Luz. Ideals that possibly show a lot about Camila's personality on top of revealing where Luz got her hopeful optimism and sense of determination. It's the second sentence that Luz says later on that I really want to delve deep into:

"Nada funcionará a menos que lo haga funcionar."

Translated, that means "Nothing will work unless you make it work." Again, this proves the dedication that Luz has filled into her soul, but to me, it says a lot about Luz's dedication to Amity. She wants to make this relationship work but fully understands that it won't unless she puts in the effort. It's a sweet sentiment that says so much about how Luz feels about Amity that some fans might not be able to pick up on if they don't speak Spanish. Or, in my case, have a good friend who finds the translation for you (thanks again @l-egionaire).

The Galderstones: Pretty interesting concept, I'm not going to lie. It's also interesting that of all the types of witches in the Boiling Isles, it was illusionists who were the ones that guard over the Galderstones. Because illusion magic can't really harm anyone, it makes a weird type of sense that they would be the ones to keep the Galderstones out of the wrong hands. And, even better, it showcases Gus' strength as an illusionist when he was able to take down Bria, who was hopped up on Galderstone power, through that same "harmless" magic. It just goes to show that if you have a big enough brain, you don't need to overpower somebody. You need to outthink them.

Malphus Being a Surprisingly Cool Dude: What can I say? I'm a sucker for expectation subversion.

Luz and Amity Crying: First of all, a HUGE round of applause to VAs Sarah-Nicole Robles and Mae Whitman through their vocal performances in this scene! They really sold how upset and broken apart Luz and Amity were due to their feelings for each other messing things up. More so with Sarah-Nicole.

Second, this might be the closest these two have gotten to a confession so far ("so far" being the keyword). I specifically latch onto Amity's expression after hearing Luz agree that she's always weird around Amity. In one way, it looks like Amity is surprised to see she made Luz cry, but in another, it could be that she realizes that perhaps that Luz has feelings for her as well. Or, at least, that's how I interpreted things. The thing about art is that there's no one interpretation to agree on. And that's what this scene is: Art. It's performed, written, and animated well, that no matter how you look at it, it's a masterpiece.

“I’ll call the hounds”: One line. One line was all it took for me to love the Keeper of the Looking Glass Graveyard.

Amity Dyes her Hair: I always assumed that Amity would let her original hair color grow out as defiance to Odalia. But dying it lavender? Thus crafting her own identity without having her be compared to either Odalia or Alador?

...yeah, that's brilliant. Whoever thought of that, you are a genius and deserve all of the credit that comes from it.

ALL of the credit.

Amity Kisses Luz on the Cheek!: I'll save my "Wha-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo" for an actual kiss, but for now, THIS IS AWESOME!

This moment, much like other Lumity moments, was everything I could have ever expected and so much more:

Amity's instant panic after realizing she seriously just did that

Ed and Em looking fondly at their sister taking such a big step

The look on Luz's face, which may or may not hint that she realizes that the feelings are more than mutual

And the fact that Luz's legs give out soon after Amity leaves

It was adorable as all forms of hell, and it was a perfect way to end such a perfect episode...or, at least, an almost perfect episode. I do have some issues.

WHAT I DISLIKED

Mattholomule Helping Gus too Easily: The Glandus kids were right there, in-ear and eye-shot, yet did nothing as Mattholomule effortlessly helped Gus and the Keeper escape...how?

Gavin falling for Gus’ Illusion: I want to laugh at how stupidly easy that was...but it's too stupidly easy for me to forgive.

And that’s about it. Just two nitpicks that don’t really take away that much enjoyment from the episode

IN CONCLUSION

"Through the Looking Glass Ruins" keeps Season Two's winning streak going by being another solid A. It fleshes out characters, develops cute relationships, and keeps the story going despite being so character-driven. It's easily more than worth the time...but it's not worth any discourse that comes from some fans preferring one plot over the other.

I highly doubt that some people are racist for loving the Lumity plotline or homophobic for loving Gus'. Maybe some people are, but also consider that maybe, just maybe, a person loves a ship because it's their favorite, or a person likes a character cause he's their favorite.

Which.

Is.

Fine.

There's no definitive way to like a series, and demanding that people like it for the same reasons you do is not worth anything. Because, believe it or not, even Dana Terrace doesn't care how people love her show. In the AMA she did, when a fan asked if she's upset about fans obsessing over Amity's crush on Luz, this is her word for word reaction:

"Not at all! No, the main focus of the series will never be on any romantic thread but that doesn't mean those threads aren't important. And I'm thrilled that people connect to our characters!"

THERE YOU HAVE IT! The creator herself fully admits that she doesn't care what fans latch onto. She's just glad to have people who like the show in the first place! So don't create discourse just because some people enjoy a part of an episode more than others. The second you get that through your heads, the sooner we can all move on with our lives.

(Also, that's five episodes in a row that are hits. And, man, is that stinker going to hit harder because of it.)

#the owl house #the owl house season two #the owl house reviews #gus porter #mattolomule #luz noceda #amity blight #lumity #edric and emira #edric blight #emira blight #what i thought about

[nfp]

the Legendary fight of Gilgamesh :

Tablet one[

]

The story introduces Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third man, is oppressing his people, who cry out to the gods for help. For the young women of Uruk this oppression takes the form of a droit du seigneur, or "lord's right", to sleep with brides on their wedding night. For the young men (the tablet is damaged at this point) it is conjectured that Gilgamesh exhausts them through games, tests of strength, or perhaps forced labour on building projects. The gods respond to the people's pleas by creating an equal to Gilgamesh who will be able to stop his oppression. This is the primitive man, Enkidu, who is covered in hair and lives in the wild with the animals. He is spotted by a trapper, whose livelihood is being ruined because Enkidu is uprooting his traps. The trapper tells the sun-god Shamash about the man, and it is arranged for Enkidu to be seduced by Shamhat, a temple prostitute, his first step towards being tamed. After six days and seven nights (or two weeks, according to more recent scholarship[25]) of lovemaking and teaching Enkidu about the ways of civilization, she takes Enkidu to a shepherd's camp to learn how to be civilized. Gilgamesh, meanwhile, has been having dreams about the imminent arrival of a beloved new companion and asks his mother, Ninsun, to help interpret these dreams.

Tablet two[

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]

Fragment of Tablet II of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq

Shamhat brings Enkidu to the shepherds' camp, where he is introduced to a human diet and becomes the night watchman. Learning from a passing stranger about Gilgamesh's treatment of new brides, Enkidu is incensed and travels to Uruk to intervene at a wedding. When Gilgamesh attempts to visit the wedding chamber, Enkidu blocks his way, and they fight. After a fierce battle, Enkidu acknowledges Gilgamesh's superior strength and they become friends. Gilgamesh proposes a journey to the Cedar Forest to slay the monstrous demi-god Humbaba in order to gain fame and renown. Despite warnings from Enkidu and the council of elders, Gilgamesh is not deterred.

Tablet three[

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]

The elders give Gilgamesh advice for his journey. Gilgamesh visits his mother, the goddess Ninsun, who seeks the support and protection of the sun-god Shamash for their adventure. Ninsun adopts Enkidu as her son, and Gilgamesh leaves instructions for the governance of Uruk in his absence.

Tablet four[

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]

The second dream of Gilgamesh on the journey to the Forest of Cedar. Epic of Gilgamesh tablet from Hattusa, Turkey. 13th century BCE. Neues Museum, Germany

Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the Cedar Forest. Every few days they camp on a mountain, and perform a dream ritual. Gilgamesh has five terrifying dreams about falling mountains, thunderstorms, wild bulls, and a thunderbird that breathes fire. Despite similarities between his dream figures and earlier descriptions of Humbaba, Enkidu interprets these dreams as good omens, and denies that the frightening images represent the forest guardian. As they approach the cedar mountain, they hear Humbaba bellowing, and have to encourage each other not to be afraid.

Tablet five[

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]

Tablet V of the

Epic of Gilgamesh

Reverse side of the newly discovered tablet V of the

Epic of Gilgamesh

. It dates back to the old Babylonian period, 2003–1595 BC and is currently housed in the

Sulaymaniyah Museum

, Iraq

The heroes enter the cedar forest. Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest, insults and threatens them. He accuses Enkidu of betrayal, and vows to disembowel Gilgamesh and feed his flesh to the birds. Gilgamesh is afraid, but with some encouraging words from Enkidu the battle commences. The mountains quake with the tumult and the sky turns black. The god Shamash sends 13 winds to bind Humbaba, and he is captured. Humbaba pleads for his life, and Gilgamesh pities him. He offers to make Gilgamesh king of the forest, to cut the trees for him, and to be his slave. Enkidu, however, argues that Gilgamesh should kill Humbaba to establish his reputation forever. Humbaba curses them both and Gilgamesh dispatches him with a blow to the neck, as well as killing his seven sons.[25] The two heroes cut down many cedars, including a gigantic tree that Enkidu plans to fashion into a gate for the temple of Enlil. They build a raft and return home along the Euphrates with the giant tree and (possibly) the head of Humbaba.

Tablet six[

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]

Gilgamesh rejects the advances of the goddess Ishtar because of her mistreatment of previous lovers like Dumuzi. Ishtar asks her father Anu to send the Bull of Heaven to avenge her. When Anu rejects her complaints, Ishtar threatens to raise the dead who will "outnumber the living" and "devour them". Anu states that if he gives her the Bull of Heaven, Uruk will face 7 years of famine. Ishtar provides him with provisions for 7 years in exchange for the bull. Ishtar leads the Bull of Heaven to Uruk, and it causes widespread devastation. It lowers the level of the Euphrates river, and dries up the marshes. It opens up huge pits that swallow 300 men. Without any divine assistance, Enkidu and Gilgamesh attack and slay it, and offer up its heart to Shamash. When Ishtar cries out, Enkidu hurls one of the hindquarters of the bull at her. The city of Uruk celebrates, but Enkidu has an ominous dream about his future failure.

Tablet seven[

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]

In Enkidu's dream, the gods decide that one of the heroes must die because they killed Humbaba and Gugalanna. Despite the protestations of Shamash, Enkidu is marked for death. Enkidu curses the great door he has fashioned for Enlil's temple. He also curses the trapper and Shamhat for removing him from the wild. Shamash reminds Enkidu of how Shamhat fed and clothed him, and introduced him to Gilgamesh. Shamash tells him that Gilgamesh will bestow great honors upon him at his funeral, and will wander into the wild consumed with grief. Enkidu regrets his curses and blesses Shamhat instead. In a second dream, however, he sees himself being taken captive to the Netherworld by a terrifying Angel of Death. The underworld is a "house of dust" and darkness whose inhabitants eat clay, and are clothed in bird feathers, supervised by terrifying beings. For 12 days, Enkidu's condition worsens. Finally, after a lament that he could not meet a heroic death in battle, he dies. In a famous line from the epic, Gilgamesh clings to Enkidu's body and denies that he has died until a maggot drops from the corpse's nose.

Tablet eight[

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]

Gilgamesh delivers a lament for Enkidu, in which he calls upon mountains, forests, fields, rivers, wild animals, and all of Uruk to mourn for his friend. Recalling their adventures together, Gilgamesh tears at his hair and clothes in grief. He commissions a funerary statue, and provides grave gifts from his treasury to ensure that Enkidu has a favourable reception in the realm of the dead. A great banquet is held where the treasures are offered to the gods of the Netherworld. Just before a break in the text there is a suggestion that a river is being dammed, indicating a burial in a river bed, as in the corresponding Sumerian poem, The Death of Gilgamesh.

Tablet nine[

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]

Tablet nine opens with Gilgamesh roaming the wild wearing animal skins, grieving for Enkidu. Having now become fearful of his own death, he decides to seek Utnapishtim ("the Faraway"), and learn the secret of eternal life. Among the few survivors of the Great Flood, Utnapishtim and his wife are the only humans to have been granted immortality by the gods. Gilgamesh crosses a mountain pass at night and encounters a pride of lions. Before sleeping he prays for protection to the moon god Sin. Then, waking from an encouraging dream, he kills the lions and uses their skins for clothing. After a long and perilous journey, Gilgamesh arrives at the twin peaks of Mount Mashu at the end of the earth. He comes across a tunnel, which no man has ever entered, guarded by two scorpion monsters, who appear to be a married couple. The husband tries to dissuade Gilgamesh from passing, but the wife intervenes, expresses sympathy for Gilgamesh, and (according to the poem's editor Benjamin Foster) allows his passage.[26] He passes under the mountains along the Road of the Sun. In complete darkness he follows the road for 12 "double hours", managing to complete the trip before the Sun catches up with him. He arrives at the Garden of the gods, a paradise full of jewel-laden trees.

Tablet ten[

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]

Gilgamesh meets alewife Siduri, who assumes that he is a murderer or thief because of his disheveled appearance. Gilgamesh tells her about the purpose of his journey. She attempts to dissuade him from his quest, but sends him to Urshanabi the ferryman, who will help him cross the sea to Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh, out of spontaneous rage, destroys the stone charms that Urshanabi keeps with him. He tells him his story, but when he asks for his help, Urshanabi informs him that he has just destroyed the objects that can help them cross the Waters of Death, which are deadly to the touch. Urshanabi instructs Gilgamesh to cut down 120 trees and fashion them into punting poles. When they reach the island where Utnapishtim lives, Gilgamesh recounts his story, asking him for his help. Utnapishtim reprimands him, declaring that fighting the common fate of humans is futile and diminishes life's joys.

Tablet eleven[

edit

]See also:

Gilgamesh flood myth

George Smith, the man who transliterated and read the so-called "Babylonian Flood Story" of Tablet XI

Gilgamesh observes that Utnapishtim seems no different from himself, and asks him how he obtained his immortality. Utnapishtim explains that the gods decided to send a great flood. To save Utnapishtim the god Enki told him to build a boat. He gave him precise dimensions, and it was sealed with pitch and bitumen. His entire family went aboard together with his craftsmen and "all the animals of the field". A violent storm then arose which caused the terrified gods to retreat to the heavens. Ishtar lamented the wholesale destruction of humanity, and the other gods wept beside her. The storm lasted six days and nights, after which "all the human beings turned to clay". Utnapishtim weeps when he sees the destruction. His boat lodges on a mountain, and he releases a dove, a swallow, and a raven. When the raven fails to return, he opens the ark and frees its inhabitants. Utnapishtim offers a sacrifice to the gods, who smell the sweet savor and gather around. Ishtar vows that just as she will never forget the brilliant necklace that hangs around her neck, she will always remember this time. When Enlil arrives, angry that there are survivors, she condemns him for instigating the flood. Enki also castigates him for sending a disproportionate punishment. Enlil blesses Utnapishtim and his wife, and rewards them with eternal life. This account largely matches the flood story that concludes the Epic of Atra-Hasis.[27]

The main point seems to be that when Enlil granted eternal life it was a unique gift. As if to demonstrate this point, Utnapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh falls asleep, and Utnapishtim instructs his wife to bake a loaf of bread on each of the days he is asleep, so that he cannot deny his failure to keep awake. Gilgamesh, who is seeking to overcome death, cannot even conquer sleep. After instructing Urshanabi, the ferryman, to wash Gilgamesh and clothe him in royal robes, they depart for Uruk. As they are leaving, Utnapishtim's wife asks her husband to offer a parting gift. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that at the bottom of the sea there lives a boxthorn-like plant that will make him young again. Gilgamesh, by binding stones to his feet so he can walk on the bottom, manages to obtain the plant. Gilgamesh proposes to investigate if the plant has the hypothesized rejuvenation ability by testing it on an old man once he returns to Uruk.[28] When Gilgamesh stops to bathe, it is stolen by a serpent, who sheds its skin as it departs. Gilgamesh weeps at the futility of his efforts, because he has now lost all chance of immortality. He returns to Uruk, where the sight of its massive walls prompts him to praise this enduring work to Urshanabi.

Tablet twelve[

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This tablet is mainly an Akkadian translation of an earlier Sumerian poem, "Gilgamesh and the Netherworld" (also known as "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld" and variants), although it has been suggested that it is derived from an unknown version of that story.[29] The contents of this last tablet are inconsistent with previous ones: Enkidu is still alive, despite having died earlier in the epic. Because of this, its lack of integration with the other tablets, and the fact that it is almost a copy of an earlier version, it has been referred to as an 'inorganic appendage' to the epic.[30] Alternatively, it has been suggested that "its purpose, though crudely handled, is to explain to Gilgamesh (and the reader) the various fates of the dead in the Afterlife" and in "an awkward attempt to bring closure",[31] it both connects the Gilgamesh of the epic with the Gilgamesh who is the King of the Netherworld,[32] and is "a dramatic capstone whereby the twelve-tablet epic ends on one and the same theme, that of "seeing" (= understanding, discovery, etc.), with which it began."[33]

Gilgamesh complains to Enkidu that various of his possessions (the tablet is unclear exactly what – different translations include a drum and a ball) have fallen into the underworld. Enkidu offers to bring them back. Delighted, Gilgamesh tells Enkidu what he must and must not do in the underworld if he is to return. Enkidu does everything which he was told not to do. The underworld keeps him. Gilgamesh prays to the gods to give him back his friend. Enlil and Suen don't reply, but Enki and Shamash decide to help. Shamash makes a crack in the earth, and Enkidu's ghost jumps out of it. The tablet ends with Gilgamesh questioning Enkidu about what he has seen in the underworld.

#Gilgamesh

[linkspooky]

The Kids Aren’t Alright

There are several things wrong with Bakugo’s mindset in the most recent chapters, and I think they can all be effectively summed up in this image. 

 Bakugo’s focus is still being stronger than the bad guys, rather than on saving people. It’s still all about winning to him. 

Bakugo makes a selfish and bull headed decision to charge right into danger due to his own personal trauma.

Bakugo’s trauma is still unresolved. Rather than coming to terms with what happened to him, he’s still stuck in the mindset that if he had just been stronger then the traumatizing incident would never have ahppened to him. He’s literally in a sense fighting his trauma and trying to punch it in the face rather than processing his feelings. 

I’ll go more in depth under the cut. 

1. The Kids Aren’t Alright

The decision to charge after Shigaraki reflects poorly on both Bakugo and Deku’s characters, and shows character regression for both of them. There’s a difference between being heroic, and making a suicide charge and the difference lies in every single person telling Deku and Bakugo not to run at Shigaraki, and the both of them blatant ignoring that sound and logical advice. 

This arc so far has been about the regression of the heroes. This applies not only to the professional heroes, but also the next generation who are set up to fix the flaws of the previous generation. However, and I hope this is what Horikoshi is setting up, it’s impossible to fix those flaws if the characters don’t even see those flaws in the first place. We are shown several times characters carrying a serious case of hero worship that blinds them tot he faults of their mentors.

When asked to think for himself by the villain, Tokoyami’s black and white vision of heroics is so extreme that he can’t even criticize Hawks. Hawks had to have been right, because the heroes are always right in the end. The fact that the heroes are above criticism at all times prevents the next generation from learning of their faults. 

This is also something that has been set up previously, All Might keeps secrets from Deku like his fallout with Nighteye because he was afraid it would make him look bad to his protege. Bakugo has been shown to have a completely different interpretation of All Might than Deku, to the point where it was called into question what he saw in All Might might have been wrong. 

Bakugo was set up to learn something, and he didn’t, and that’s character regression. Characters don’t always move forward, sometimes they stall, or even fall back. If this arc really is about the regression of hero society than it makes sense that this conflict is completely unresolved. As you said, Eraserhead and All Might both said they needed to do more to address Bakugo’s trauma about being kidnapped, and taking the blame for All Might’s end and yet six months later he is still blaming himself. 

The reason Bakugo is holding onto his feelings all this time is a complicated one and has entirely to do how Bakugo copes with his trauma. This has been a running theme with Bakugo since the beginning of the manga. Bakugo reflects the ideas of hero society, and because Bakugo believes himself to be strong due to having a flashy quirk, he thinks there is no situation where he should feel weak. He always assumes he can overcome everything simply by getting stronger, and trying harder. It’s why the expectations on him are so monumentally high. 

This is not only an idea that Bakugo has of himself, he’s also treated this way by everyone around him. When he’s kidnapped by a villain nobody stops to check if he’s okay, they just compliment him on his quirk and say how strong he was. Because he is strong he is expected to always be strong. To the point where Bakugo’s kidnapping on live television is brought up as a point of embarrassment and shame for him, rather than a point where he nearly died. 

Bakugo has internalized this idea that he can’t let anyone make him feel weak, and he can’t feel weak ever, due to the way people around him are always treating, and also his own personal failure at learning how to process his emotions. In the past Bakugo projected his feelings of weakness onto Deku and beat him up rather than try to address his own personal failings. 

Bakugo is strong, so Deku has to be weak. Bakugo is important, so Deku has to be a pebble of the side of the road. It’s also a repeat of the same biases that hero society has shown him, Bakugo gets special treatment because he has a strong quirk, Deku is put down because he’s quirkless. 

All of these unhealthy attitudes have been passed onto Bakugo and it’s left him completely unable to process his trauma. In his book if he was strong he never would have gotten kidnapped in the first place. Therefore, the only way for him to solve the problem is to get stronger. To simplify, a lot of times trauma is about control. Being kidnapped by villains meant Bakugo was completely out of control in the situation. He’d always like to imagine he’s in control, and capable of winning if he’s strong enough. Even when he was kidnapped, Bakugo kept acting like all he needed was for them to drop their guard down and he would escape. He couldn’t even admit to himself that he was scared and in need of saving. 

The key to that involves admitting that he’s not in control, admitting to his weakness, but Bakugo does not want to do that so instead he’s just gotten stronger and stronger. However, Bakugo negatively foils another character who was unable to admit to his weakness and because of that hurt everyone around him. 

Endeavor and Bakugo reflect one another in that they both have super unhealthy attitudes in regards to their own strength. This is also a parallel that was deliberately set up by the plot. 

All Might compared him and Endeavor as similiar heroes, and Bakugo even directly said he came here to reflect on the differences between him and Endeavor and how he can be better, and Bakugo just didn’t do that. We see the reason he didn’t as well, he was so fixated on strength that he thought he was done growing when he beat up a bad guy faster than Endeavor for once. 

Bakugo’s goal was once again focused entirely in developing his own strength, not caring about his emotional development at all. And so we see, Bakugo has literally no reaction to learning that Endeavor could have murdered his own son, but he reacts this much to just being faster than Endeavor. Bakugo’s priorities are still entirely on physical strength and not emotional strength because due to trauma he thinks if he were just physically strong he would have overcome that situation. Thus he regresses. 

2.  Oh No, You’re Just Another Brick in the Wall

The kids are failing to learn lessons but also adults are failing to teach them. There are several instances of this in this arc alone, and in the leadup to this arc. As you said, Eraserhead had like six months to work with Bakugo, and Bakugo still feels like it’s his fault that All Might retired and he has to fix it, so clearly Eraserhead did nothing. 

All Might is someone who has noticed the similarity between Bakugo and Enji but fails completely to notice Endeavor’s flaws, and how those things make him a bad hero. Not only does Bakugo still hold onto the idea that physical strength is what matters most over emotional strength, but every hero around him believes that as well. 

The Public Hero Safety Commission is forcing the kids into internships. Endeavor only starts mentoring the kids because the hero safety commission says it’s in his best interest. The healthy development of the children is not their number one priority here, but rather how they can be used as soldiers for the upcoming battlefield. Soldiers don’t need have well-developed emotions, they just need to be strong, and fight the thing you tell them to fight. 

Every single adult hero in the system, including Hawks who is a child soldier himself seems to think that physical strength means that it’s okay to put literal teenagers on a battlefield where extremely dangerous serial killers are going to try to kill them, and yes it’s different from normal hero work because normal hero work heroes are not allowed to kill no matter what. It’s been made clear several times already this arc is a war zone, and heroes are fighting for life or death stakes with killing intent towards the villains. 

Bakugo’s failure of growth also represents a failure on the part of the heroes because he actually shares several flaws in common with his mentors. Aizawa and Bakugo have the exact same trauma response. The reason they lose, and lose people is simply because they weren’t strong enough. They take all of the blame on themselves. 

Aizawa admits that people have died saving his life, but his survivor’s guilt is too much for him to bear. So, he tries to fix his trauma in the way that Bakugo does. He tries to simply be stronger. If he’s stronger next time then he won’t lose, and he’ll never have to lose anyone ever again. 

Not only is Aizawa’s power fantasy a bad way to handle his emotions because he’s disrespecting the sacrifices of both Crustle and Oboro who wanted him to live (he’s even going so far as to totally disrespect Oboro who is still alive as Kurogiri, by destroying his precious student he looked after like a lost kitten. In other words Aizawa is killing the cat rather than saving it.) It’s not actually about them, it’s about Aizawa’s own feelings of hurt. Just like Bakugo’s bullying, his obsessive quest to be stronger, are all about his own hurt feelings and not what’s best for others. Not only is he failing to come to terms with his own feelings he’s also decidedly unheroic. 

Aizawa’s interest is not in saving someone, but rather revenge. Like he’s the Dark Knight or the Punisher. Aizawa’s positive qualities all lie in how he can understand the needs of children, and take care of them, and yet he’s doing the opposite of that in trying to kill an abused child. 

Aizawa’s completely tunnel visioned view of the world (just like Bakugo’s) also leads to his own hypocrisy. He needs to live, and he thinks dying is the worst thing of all so he tries to teach students that simply throwing your life away isn’t heroic - and yet here he is making a suicide charge five seconds after his life was saved. He wants to protect his students, but he also lets the Hero Commission bring a bunch of sixteen year olds who have not been properly informed or consented to this at all (and legally cannot consent) to a warzone where people are trying to kill them. 

Aizawa fails to notice the flaws in hero society and correct them, and because of this while he’s talking about how he would do anything to protect his students, Bakugo and Deku disobey direct orders to run away from Shigaraki, and charge straight at him in a suicide charge. Bakugo has failed to learn his lesson, and Aizawa has failed to teach it, and if it continues this way Hero Society can’t improve it will only stagnate. 

#mha meta #metasks #bakugo katsuki #bnha 277 #bnha 276 #bnha 275 #my hero academia meta #shota aizawa #bakugo meta

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Happiness Is

This is possibly my favorite episode of season two. Yet, it is also the point the where the series starts to fall off a cliff. Only that’s not something that you would realize upon a first watch; just in hindsight and only with some basic knowledge of the behind the scenes drama that led to this and the fall out with the fandom that followed afterwards. 

Summary:  Rapunzel begins to feel homesick for Corona when she finds an old letter written by her father in one of the many lanterns sent from her previous birthdays. In attempts to uplift her spirits, Rapunzel explores the island and comes across a magical idol that brings instant happiness to whomever possesses it. Rapunzel begins to hallucinate her family and friends back in Corona and soon shares the idol with the rest of the group. However, everyone starts to become obsessive over the idol, desperately wanting it for themselves. Rapunzel tricks everyone into giving her the idol, but when the Lorbs try to help Rapunzel, they fall under the idol's control and soon begin to terrorize the village.

Let’s Start with the First Elephant in the Room; Frederic 

So throughout the episode Rapunzel is struggling with being homesick. Which is fair enough, that’s an understable reaction to being on the road for months by now. However, to showcase this Rapunzel keeps seeing hallucinations of her father. There are some other characters too, but her dad is the first person she sees and the only one in Corona with speaking lines. He’s the one to tempt her with the idol. 

Did we just forget that Frederic is her abuser? 

Look, even if you accept his apology in Secret of the Sundrop and believe he has learned his lesson, that doesn’t just erase the pain he caused her. Her thoughts about her father should be more realistically complex then this. Now add in how she makes a such a clean break from her other abuser, Gothel, but still holds him on a pedestal shows a disturbing bias on the part of the writers. 

Also where’s this love for Arianna? You know the only real mother on the show? The show that’s aimed at little girls? The one parent who hasn’t flat out abused the main character yet? 

Seriously, Chris, what the fuck? 

This is a Missed Opportunity 

So part of the reason why I like this episode is that we get insights into each of the characters and their desires. As such this is one of the few episodes where the group actual feels like a group friends. However, Cass’s vision is wasted here. 

So at first glance this seems to aline with what we know of the character thus far. She loves her dad and wishes to impress him. That’s only if you take season one into account, though. Later episodes will contradict this goal. If you wanted to set up praise and validation in general as Cassandra’s motives, then here is where that should have happened. 

Show her getting a medal, have cheering crowds surround her, have her be a hero, or something. You can’t claim her relationship with her parents as the driving force of behind her later actions if you don’t actually involve one of those parents as part of the resolution to her arc. 

Either she lacking attention from her dad or she’s jealous of Rapunzel. You can’t have it be both because those two things don’t intersect. Rapunzel is not and never was a threat to her relationship with her father. 

So Umm...I Don’t Think This Plot Point Has the Impact That the Writers Think It Does 

So this hilarious, and it is intended to be funny, but it’s not for the reasons that the show gives. 

The idea is that this is some shocking revelation. That Rapunzel would never do this under normal circumstances and it’s a hint that the idol is corrupting her. 

Only the rest of the series doesn’t aline with that at all. This is just the real Rapunzel behaving as the she normally would but without the usual veneer of excuses. 

It’s funny because it’s the show calling out Rapunzel hypocrisy for what it is plainly, not because it’s out of character. 

But funny only gets you so far. The show is perfectly happy to play up Rapunzel’s awfulness for laughs, but then conventily ignore it when it comes time for the characters themselves to call her out on it so that she can grow and learn.       

The show runs under the sitcom idea that comedy excuses all sins; which then backfires horribly when it tries to be serious and mature. 

You can’t joke that the king threw a random person in a stockade for little reason and then expect us to still like him when he persecutes a child. Same applies here. 

The sitcom set up only works when there is minimal at stake and all parties involved are equally awful in their own ways. 

Then Why Not Just Go Home?

Once again, there’s nothing at stake in season two. Rapunzel has no real reason to be on this trip. Nothing is stopping her from just going home if that’s what she wants. The idol only makes her happy because it shows her want she wants, but she could actually have what she wants as soon as the next ship arrives. So what’s the issue here? 

This is why you need external conflict in order to make internal conflicts work. There’s has to be something preventing the main character from achieving her goal or otherwise she just comes across as a dumbass. 

And Now Here Comes the Second Elephant; Varian 

I have several things to talk about here, and none of them actually concern the scene itself but the creator’s treatment of the character and the show’s fan base.

For you see, Chris did a very, very stupid thing.  

He wrote the character driving the plot out of the show. The character who also happens to be the most popular person in the series. Only to then use said character’s VA and this one cameo as promotion for this whole season. 

Needless to say, fans were disappointed.   

However, the Tangled fandom is exceedingly polite; more so than most. The lack of Varian was met mostly with confusion, and maybe a few off handed jokes, rather than anger. When opportunity arose people naturally had questions concerning the character.     

And that’s when Chris put his foot in mouth. 

This Tumblr post details how Chris got kicked off the Tangled The Series Discord by bullying a bunch of Varian fans while on there. 

https://starxapple.tumblr.com/post/617852117763391488/zhantiri-uuugh-fine-since-people-are-getting

I shan’t get into it fully, but for those who discovered the show after season two had aired, this caused a massive backlash from the fandom. 

A good chunk of the fandom just walked away, and rightly so. The few that stuck around despite these remarks found themselves harassed by certain sections of the fandom who saw Chris’s bullying as permission to pursue the same behavior. However, most importantly, the ratings plummeted. 

Season one hovered around the the 1 million mark, give or take a five point difference. The first part of season two dropped to half of that, and after this episode and the hiatus it sunk even lower, down to the mid-thirties. That’s over 20,000 people who just jumped ship over this. That’s not a normal decline. 

No matter what your personal feelings are of the character of Varian or how he was handled in the show, that’s still a massive PR fassico that cost the series big time. 

To add to this mountain of bullshit, there was also a massive walk out of crew members after season one had finished production. Most of them women. They even desperately threw out ‘we’re hiring’ calls to cover this. Which given that’s it’s Disney and that nepotism is usually how one gains employment in the entertainment industry, something unusual must have happened behind the scenes. Especially if most of the people who left were women. 

We’ll probably never know what really happened. People don't usually talk about behind the scenes stuff like that due to contracts and the aforementioned nepotism. However, all clues point to Varian.   

Something changed at the last minute concerning his story. Chris himself had confirmed as much when discussing the note and the Brotherhood. We also gotten other hints that content was edited out at the last minute. Plus the writing becomes more shoddy as the series goes along, showing how slapped dashed everything is together.  

Then there’s the rumors. 

I must stress to you that this is only a rumor. As pointed out earlier, most animators aren’t in a position to talk freely about what goes on behind the scenes. Do NOT harass them over it or make things awkward by asking them to clarify this. However it’s been suggested that the female crew warned Chris that removing Varian from season two and re-writing his story, along with making Cass the villain, would be a bad idea before they left and Chris didn’t listen. Much to his folly. 

Chris is no longer a Disney employee and has yet to move on to any other projects. He says he left, but I more suspect that Disney just didn't renew his contract and no one has picked him up since. I take no joy in the idea that someone may have lost their job, but if true, then Chris has little to blame but himself. 

So What Did Change?

We don't know anything for sure. We know from discussions about the note that there was a proposed Brotherhood plot that involved Varian that was then cut. There was also talks about a Cass and Varian team up in season three. 

This was then changed to the Saporian take over, which is foreshadowed in this scene. However even that got edited down and under the flimsiest of excuses. 

One of the writers, Ricky, suggested that they thought cutting back to Corona would be too confusing for the audience; which is a load of bull. I mean how poorly do you think of your audience’s comprehension skills that they wouldn’t understand a change of scene or a flashback? Yet you fully expect them to pick up on your lazy foreshadowing involving the mirror? So much so that you sent them on a quest to find it between seasons two and three.

Then there’s this gem from Chris. 

Ok ignoring the fact that you so totally could have featured both Gothel and Varian, seeing as they serve two different functions in the story and mean different things to Rapunzel.... What guilt?!!! 

Rapunzel doesn’t ever act guilty over anything involving her treatment of Varian. 

That’s when you realize Chris isn’t talking about her feeling guilty about Varian’s predicament. He’s saying that Rapunzel feels guilty of leaving her father behind with this ‘dangerous’ criminal. Which is a big fuck you to everyone. 

That’s why Frederic is the center focus of Rapunzel’s hallucinations. Why she’s more concerned for his safety over Varian’s trauma. Chris really be out here trying to use the abused 14/15 year old orphan as a scapegoat for the grown ass dictator who ruined countless lives. Because he thinks a grown woman should feel guilty for leaving her abusive father behind and pursuing her life’s dream.

Dude, I try not to assume the worst of people just cause they write fictional characters that I dislike, but Chris really makes things hard not to when he treats his self insert this way. 

Oh but we’re not done yet. 

When Varian Fans Complain About the Lack of Varian; We’re Complaining About the Lack of a Coherent Plot. 

Certain sections of the fandom, bolstered by Chris’s BS, try to act like simply being a Varian fan is grounds for dismissal of any criticism of the show and it’s writing. As if having personal preference for something makes you automatically ‘entitled’ or some such bull. Yet doing so ignores the fundamental complaint that they are making. 

We’re not whining about our favorite character not getting enough screen time. No one would have complained about his lack of presence in season two if they had properly resolved his story in season three and had Chris not been a dick to the fans. But it becomes evidently clear as the series goes along that removing Varian left a major hole in the plot. One that makes the entire story and the rest of characters suffer as well. 

Think season two is boring? That’s cause they cut out their main villain at the last minute and failed to replace him with anything. 

Upset that Hookfoot was brought along for zero reason?  He’s the replacement character for Varian who no doubt was going to appear in season two originally. 

Wish there was more on the Brotherhood and the Dark Kingdom?  Their story impact was greatly reduced when Varian was written out.

Are you a Eugene fan and mad about how the Dark Prince plot went nowhere?  That’s cause the original Brotherhood/Dark Kingdom plot was dropped when Varian was.

Dislike how Cassandra’s character was ruined with her villain arc?  She was originally meant to be possessed but was changed last minute to be a Varian rip-off in the hopes that she would gain some of his popularity.   

Wish Zhan Tiri, Demantius, and the Disciples actually went somewhere and that ZT had coherent plan?   That plot were changed last minute to make Zhan Tiri a scapegoat for Cassandra now that her story was changed to replace Varian.

And of course let’s not ignore the character who suffers the most from lack of Varian.... Rapunzel. 

Chris’s defense for leaving Varian out of S2 is that it’s “Rapunzel’s Story” and that Varian was only ever a plot device meant to push her along on her quest.  Which means that Rapunzel no longer has anyone pushing her along on her quest!!!

All characters are plot devices. If they aren’t there to serve a story function then they need to be cut. Even Rapunzel herself serves a plot function. She’s meant to be the protagonist of a coming of age story. Which means she needs both an external conflict to face and an emotional arc where she grows as a person. Varian is the plot device that serves both of those functions but he’s now been removed and is no longer allowed to serve his original purpose. 

Chris reached into the machine while it was running and pulled out one of the main gears and acted like he always meant to do that. He legit sat there and pretended that everything was running smoothly even as smoke poured out and warring alarms blared. He then tried to shove bubble gum in its place hoping no one would notice as everything fell apart around him. 

Cause he’s the thing; no idea is without merit. It’s all about presentation. Removing Varian from season three still could have worked, but it required A.) replacing him with another foe and B.) making sure his arc still got a proper conclusion. 

I’ll talk more about Varian’s half-arsed redemption when we get to it; but for now let's focus on the more immediate problem. No one thought to give season two an actual overarching conflict in light of Varian’s absence. 

That’s a fundamental oversight that pretty much signals that season two was re-written at the last minute. You have an overarching plot in an action adventure show but no main adversary? I refuse to believe that everyone involved was too stupid to do that on purpose; but if they were rushed and lacked a crew because they walked out due to last minute story changes....yeah that’d I buy. 

Because there’s more than enough options to go around; Lady Caine, The Baron and Styalan, Hector and/or Adria, Zhan Tiri’s Disciples ect. were all options. So was keeping the rocks a threat, or have Cass start her villian arc earlier; with proper motivation this time. They could have even come up with someone entirely new. 

You had over four years to plan this shit out; why is it not more well put together?! 

How Come Rapunzel Can Easily Admit Fault to Pascal But Not Anyone Else? 

Pascal should have sat perched on Varian’s and Eugene’s shoulders giving Rapunzel ‘I’m done with this’ looks all throughout season three. It’s apparently the only thing that she responds to. 

Why is the untalkative camelanion the only one allowed to call out the main character’s BS without going villain? 

Conclusion

That’s all there really is to talk about in this story. The actual episode itself is good. It’s the behind the scenes crap that bubbles underneath its surface that needed to be discussed. That way when going forward with the marathon you’ll better see what I’m talking about when I explain how future episode suffered from the lack of planning and foresight. 

#Varian #tangled #anti-tangled #anti-rapunzel #cassandra #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #tts #rta #king frederic

[vegalocity]

The Red Groom

It seems as though i’m done writing horror for spicynoodles rn because all my brain wants me to do is get some real romance in here lol

SO WHO WANTS A PRINCESS BRIDE AU?

--

Once upon a time, long long ago, there lived a prince.

This prince was the son of the Demon Bull King and his wife Princess Iron Fan, and as is the wont of royalty he suffered very little in his early years. Red Boy as he was called in his childhood, was a studious boy. Very eager to please his family and often would he train with his magic, his studies, and his weapons. He was a brilliant child, but he lacked kindness. He was loud and opinionated, the boy had a firey temper and had difficulty sitting still, thus he was rarely allowed to sit in as his parents went about the daily business of managing their demon court. He was often sent into the nearby town disguised as a human child to play with others of his similar assumed age.

This treatment continued long after he grew to reign himself in, It continued as he fell out of favor with weapons and began to take up tinkering, it continued as he proved himself the most brilliant student any of his tutors had ever educated, and it continued until he was old enough to change the 'Boy' in his name out for 'Son' as he properly grew into a man.

At this point he'd grown used to the treatment, no matter how many advancements in their way of life the prince now called Red Son had come up with, his parents would still give him little to no respect. However he continued to hold out hope that should he create something great or do something wonderful, his family would finally begin to put him through training to some day inherit the throne. Therefore when sent down into the nearby town he would find himself holing up in a nearby Inn to continue his work.

It was there that he met the Inkeep's son, a bright boy with a sunny grin named Qi Xiaotian.

At first the prince had nothing but derision for the Inkeep's son, referring to him derisively after the dish he would suggest to any who ask for recommendations in the restaurant potion of the Inn, his fathers 'famous' noodle bowl.

So the prince had at first very little opinion of the noodle boy beyond a passing appreciation for his looks and annoyance at his staunch desire to befriend him, he either did not know who the prince was, or he simply didn't care. Neither of which improved the noodle boy's stature in the prince's eyes.

However, one passing annoyance to another began to mount up, and out of a desire for the noodle boy to stop bothering him, the prince struck up a conversation with him, in hopes of talking his ear off about subjects that he was sure would bore him, things that he was interested in yet every time he'd try to speak of, even within his parents court, he'd get about a minute's worth of ranting in before he could see his conversational partner's eyes glaze over as they tuned him out.

But the noodle boy's gaze did not fade or waver. He listened with rapt attention even as the prince tried his luck and got into the nitty gritty of a current experiment. He asked informed questions, asked for him to define a word he used because he'd never heard it before. And once the prince realized he wasn't going to scare the noodle boy away, he'd grown silent and wondered aloud why he cared so much. To which the noodle boy responded that there was a sort of magic in asking people what they're passionate about, and how he loved watching a friend light up as they spoke of what they loved.

The prince hadn't known what to say so he simply asked the noodle boy what HE loved. To which he responded two things, stories, and art, especially stories of the Monkey King. Though the stone monkey was more infamous than famous, there had been whispers of the monkey recently escaping his prison under the Mountain of Five Phases to become Buddhist and escort a reincarnation of Golden Cicada on a quest of some kind, and the noodle boy had been fascinated with his story even before the rumors had made their way to this town. He found himself remembering something his father had told him of in his childhood and mentioned that his family were once allied with the Monkey King, though since his havoc in heaven had ended so tragically his father and the Monkey King's sworn brotherhood had since been made null.

It seemed the noodle boy really HAD not known who he was, as he suddenly was very formal indeed toward the prince. After the one true conversation and scores of attempted ones, the prince found that once it stopped he'd found himself bereft of company. So when he next returned to the inn he struck up conversation with the noodle boy, starting for once, by doing one thing he rarely did outside the palace, ordering something to eat. The noodle boy was flustered, and the only thing he'd been able to get out was a quick squeak of 'as you wish'.

That quickly became a running phrase between the two, the prince asking for the noodle boy to sit with him and tell him of the art pieces he would work on in his down time: 'as you wish', if he'd like to hear the story he'd been able to pry from his father about his time allied with the Monkey King: 'if you wish', if he would mind terribly if he vented his frustrations to him about this or that project that simply was not turning out; 'Do as you wish'

Even as the awkwardness and embarrassment on the noodle boy's part faded it turned from a nervous turn of phrase to an in-joke of sorts. Whenever the prince would ask something of the noodle boy, he'd respond with 'as you wish'. And soon enough the prince and the noodle boy became great friends, and the prince would complain far less about being denied entrance to his parents' political meetings. Oftentimes taking matters into his own hands to go down into the town simply to see the noodle boy and spend a time talking.

Then one day, as the prince was rambling about one of his planned projects that he simply could not wait to start on, he'd glanced sideways toward the noodle boy, simply from the corner of his eye, to check to see if he was even making any sense, only to find something the noodle boy had been holding so close to his chest that he would never have seen if he had thought the prince was watching him.

And it occurred then to the prince that the noodle boy loved him. It took the prince a time to get adjusted to, a time to assess his own growing regard for a peasant boy whom worked in his family's inn, and came to the conclusion that he just may love him back.

So he confronted the noodle boy with his discovery, and under little pressing the noodle boy confessed his own feelings.  That he'd been pining from afar long before he'd recognized the prince as who he was, and that in part was why he was so adamant to befriend him. That in his own foolishly pining way every time he'd said 'as you wish' to him he'd really been meaning 'I love you'.

They spent only a single night together, as any more would make the prince's parents suspicious. Their relationship carried on in secret for a time, conversations in the inn carried on innocently, yet letters full of secret truths were slipped between either of them at every meeting. But no secret can last forever, and the noodle boy decided that before the prince's parents found out about the two of them and likely forbade the prince from ever returning to town, that he'd travel afar, gain fame or riches and return with enough of a title or enough gold that his parents would have no qualms with him courting their son the proper way.

So the prince and the noodle boy parted with a promise. A promise that the prince would staunchly keep for three years, even as his faith began to wane that his beloved would return the prince would continue to turn away suitors, claiming that he would not marry someone whom he cannot have a conversation with. Even those whom COULD keep up with him had such a smug arrogance about them that the prince turned them away as well, this had begun to grate on his parents whom had believed him free for too long already and would need to pick a bride soon to ensure an heir.

The prince however had no interest in humoring this train of thought, one of the few times he would hold his ground against his parents, and would often return to the Inn in town to keep his ears open for any news of his love's return. And on one of those trips, the inn's doors were locked. Asking around town the prince received news that none left waiting would ever wish to hear.

His love had been staying for a time in a small village that was housed to a great battle, Where the Monkey King had apparently split ways with his new master and his traveling party to return to his mountain and devour any who dare come near. The entire village was razed to the ground in the Monkey King's wrath, and other than his former traveling party, there were no survivors, ensured by the Monkey King himself.

Qi Xiaotian, his precious noodle boy, was dead.

The prince's despair was so great that he needed to be escorted back to the palace by a kind stranger, wherein he locked himself in his workshop and refused the door for anyone. The sound of the forge long into the night revealing he dared not sleep, and the scarcely touched plates left outside the door around meal times implying he barely ate. His parents, who were informed of the affair by the same stranger whom had escorted the prince to them were furious with their son's secrecy, but below that, were deeply worried for his health.

For three weeks the prince stayed in his workshop, and when he finally emerged he had written down all operational guides for all of his completed projects and set them beside his parent's bedroom door. For another two months the prince didn't say a single word to anyone. Not to the court, not to his former tutors, not to either of his parents. His work began to consume him, as it was understood to be the only thing he could focus on without remembering.

At the end of two months his parents' worry far overshadowed any anger still harbored toward their son, and the prince ended his silence upon one night, the moon was high and the stars were bright, as his mother came into his room to try and coax him into bed properly instead of letting him work himself into collapsing onto the stiff pile of cushions in his workshop once more.

The prince's voice was barely over a whisper, weak and cracking from disuse.

“I will never love again.”

And for the first time since he was very young, his mother wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him tight.

Another year passed, as the prince slowly regained his will and strength. Though his voice returned, and his studies picked up once again, the fire and passion that had thrived in him had dimmed. And to many surrounding demon kingdoms that meant nothing but good things. Most notably, that he'd likely be far less antisocial to their suitors that sought out allyship with the Demon Bull Family.

And it was true, though the prince still held no interest in the new swath of suitors that had begun to form his once near offended dismissals had become halfhearted and resigned. The prince had no heart left to give away to another after all, his heart had been burned away in a small village far far away from there.

But the prince and heir to the throne needed to marry SOMEONE, and as another year closed out, it was decided that the prince had spent long enough mourning over a peasant boy he could never have truly been with anyway, and his parents ensured his engagement to another prince from a kingdom far away. The prince put up resistance, as he had no intention on ever finding another to love, but his parents reminded him bluntly that for those in their position, marrying for love was a rare, nigh unattainable gift. But if he was willing to put in the work he could GROW to love this other prince, just as his parents had grown to love eachother before him.

This prince's father was dying due to a curse of some kind and he was slated to be king very soon, so it was decided to send the prince to his palace for their betrothal instead of the other prince coming to his own.

But this other prince had no interest in a union of houses. He had planned for the prince we know to be kidnapped and murdered by a small yet fearsome group of mercenaries while in the territory of an enemy kingdom of his, so when the Demon Bull Family found out of their son's wretched slaughter they would lend their forces to the prince's own and he would be rid of his enemy for good.

But of course, unknowing of this plan, the prince resigned himself to his parents forcing him to betray what little remained of his ashen heart, and prepared himself for the journey. Though there was ONE good thing about it.

The prince you'll remember was gifted in his studies, and part of those studies were in mastering his fire magic. And the path between his family's palace and his betrothed's palace was near a very particular mountain. Perhaps he could move on and accept his betrothal if he were able to avenge the love he lost.

#Spicynoodleshipping #Vega writes stories too #Monkie Kid #Lego Monkie Kid #Qi Xiaotian #MK Red Son #This aint going on AO3 because its a multimedia au #i aleady am storyboarding a comic for the reunion scene bc i knew i couldn't write it out #I hope you guys have SEEN the princess bride else the premise might be a bit confusing lol #Red Groom AU #-insert 'done being evil just wanna be loved' meme here- #The Princess Bride is like SURPISINGLY easy to adapt to a new setting like this

[tabloidtoc]

TV Guide, May 10-23

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: NCIS: New Orleans' happy ending -- Scott Bakula and Chelsea Field

Page 1: Contents, Your Feedback

Page 2: Ask Matt -- Law & Order: Organized Crime, Chad, Younger

* Coming Next Issue -- in TV Guide's May 24 issue, we're cheering on America's Got Talent Season 16, which premieres with the same gang including Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara

Page 4: TV Insider -- 25 top shows

Page 5: First Look -- Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in the third and final season of The Kominsky Method

* The Big Number -- 465 millions of dollars Amazon will reportedly spend to produce season 1 of its upcoming Lord of the Rings series

Page 6: How to pick a streaming service

Page 8: The Roush Review -- Debris

Page 9: The Handmaid's Tale, Mythic Quest, Pride

Page 10: Cover Story -- Pride and Joy -- with backyard vows, a bride in red and one last dance with danger, Scott Bakula's NCIS: New Orleans lawman Dwayne Pride gets his happy ending with his girlfriend Rita Devereaux, played by real-life wife Chelsea Field

Page 14: Mom's the Word -- Allison Janney and the cast of Mom share the outrageous moments (the Valentine's dinner! the Tylenol spitting!) that made it a hit

Page 16: No Kidding -- Jean Smart leaves 'em laughing as a Vegas comic who reluctantly hires a joke writer on the new comedy Hacks

Page 18: What's Worth Watching -- Week 1 -- Death & Nightingales

Page 19: Monday, May 10 -- Nashville, Family Ties, Lifetime Presents Variety's Power of Women The Comedians, 9-1-1: Lone Star, The Crime of the Century, Race to the Center of the Earth

Page 20: Tuesday, May 11 -- Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer, Little People Big World, Mayans M.C., America's Book of Secrets

* Wednesday, May 12 -- Married at First Sight, Home Economics, Nancy Drew, See No Evil

Page 20: Thursday, May 13 -- Young Sheldon, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Dark Side of Football

Page 22: Friday, May 14 -- Blue Bloods, Night Gallery, Happily Wherever, We Are Family: Songs of Hope and Unity

Page 24: Saturday, May 15 -- The Personal History of David Copperfield, Popeye and Pink Panther's Party, China: Nature's Ancient Kingdom

Page 25: Sunday, May 16 -- Poisoned in Paradise: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery, Naked and Afraid XL, Run the World, MTV Movie & TV Awards, The Story of Late Night, Good Witch, Murderous History, Fear the Walking Dead, The Rookie, Mare of Easttown, Fall River

Page 26-39: TV listings

Page 40: Stream It! Your guide to the very best streaming available now -- Netflix -- Amy Adams on The Woman in the Window

Page 41: Comedies of All Kinds -- The Upshaws, Special, Master of None

* The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness

Page 42: Prime Video -- Barry Jenkins on The Underground Railroad, Solos

* Britbox -- Line of Duty

Page 43: Hulu -- Some Kind of Heaven

* Discovery+ -- Clipped

Page 44: New Movie Releases

Page 45: Series, Specials and Documentaries

Page 46: What's Worth Watching -- Week 2 -- The Conners

Page 47: Monday, May 17 -- Max Greenfield on The Neighborhood, The Man in the Iron Mask, 9-1-1, Bob Hearts Abishola, Running Wild With Bear Grylls with Bobby Bones and fiance Caitlin Parker, American Experience: Billy Graham, Bull

Page 48: Tuesday, May 18 -- Tyler Hoechlin on Superman & Lois, The Resident, Catfish: The TV Show, Prodigal Son

Page 49: Wednesday, May 19 -- Cher & the Loneliest Elephant, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Life at the Waterhole, SEAL Team, S.W.A.T., Wipeout

Page 50: Thursday, May 20 -- Last Man Standing series finale, Manifest, Rebel

* Friday, May 21 -- Jungleland, Inside the Met

Page 51: Saturday, May 22 -- Wonder Woman 1984, Critter Fixers: Country Vets

Page 52: Sunday, May 23 -- Uzo Aduba on In Treatment, Perry Mason, American Idol, 2021 Billboard Music Awards, NCIS: Los Angeles, Black Monday

Page 54-69: TV listings

Page 72: Cheers & Jeers -- cheers to 9-1-1: Lone Star, The Conners, The Circle, Girls5Eva, jeers to ABC for moving A Million Little Things, Hulu's How I Met Your Father, reality shows in a rush

#tabloid toc #tabloidtoc #tv guide #television #tv #tv shows #tv stars #ncis: new orleans #ncis: nola #scott bakula #dwayne pride #chelsea field #rita devereaux #mom #allison janney #jaime pressly #kristen johnston #mimi kennedy #beth hall #jean smart #hacks #hannah einbinder #the woman in the window #amy adams #barry jenkins #the underground railroad #the neighborhood #max greenfield #superman & lois #tyler hoechlin

[housamo-side-blog-2]

April Fools Part 1 AGAIN?

Recapping on, Harumo was sent to the infirmary for a medical issue and Shiro and the others are quite shocked and worried about him,What happened to Harumo i tell you?

{E-CLASS ROOM}

Mr Mononobe:And thats why Oda Nobunaga is called the the first “Great Unifier” of Japan and become one of the most powerful “Daimyo”in 1573.

NOTE: DAIMYO (in feudal Japan) one of the great lords who were vassals of the shogun.

{SCHOOL BELL RINGS}

Mr Mononobe:Okay,thats going to be it for today,Now remember to do your report about the feudal lords of Japan and you”re going to be presenting it next week,Now Shiro if you please end the class.

Shiro:Yes,Everyone Stand,Bow.

EVERYONE:ARIGATO GOZAIMASU.

With classes finally over the summoners quickly rushed to the infirmary where Harumo is being taken care of,But they are stopped by Shennong the nurse that is responsible for Harumo”s treatment,He halted them for a minute to tell them something,But the news is quite shocking that they could not even believe he said that,But the long horn bull also does”nt want to believe it either,But he sounds as serious as a red bull.

Ryota: I-I NO WAY THATS TRUE!!!!

Shennong:Sorry kid,I like to believe its not true either,but we have to face facts here people.

As sounding desperate Ryota quickly opens the door to find Harumo, looking at the window with bandages wrap around his head,and quickly turns to face Ryota only to be met with a blank stare as though this is the first time he has seen Ryota,

Harumo:Uhm??.....Hello? *waves hand* 

Ryota:Harumo? Are you okay? 

Harumo:HMMM?!....How do you my know my name? do i know you from somewhere?

With those words Ryota,He could even believe that the news about him having amnesia again? Was actually true,With that confirmation the summoners began to enter the room, only to met with a confused look and stared blankly at the group.

Shiro:So it is true,Harumo has amnesia,But how did this happen?

Shiro asks Shennong the cause of this accident but even Shennong does”nt know how this happened,He was only informed that they found Harumo laying on the floor unconcious.

Shennong:Its a good thing his head was”nt bleeding or else there may have some permanent damage to his brain.

Kengo:Hey partner!!! come on this has to be joke!! Don”t tell me you forgot about us?

Harumo:S-Sorry but....*groans* *puts hand on head* i can”t remember anything,

Ryota:Harumo.......

Toji:This is quite a problem,How are on earth are we suppose to regain memories?Motoori to do have any ideas?

Shiro is deeply in thinking mode,and quite busy on figuring out how to get Harumo”s memories back to him,And Kengo and Ryota are both at Harumo”s side seating and worried about him.While the Canis Therian of the group still quite shocked about his guildmaster”s condition.

Moritaka:This is unexpected!! to think you would lose your memories the second time 

Harumo:WOAH!!

The amenisic guy suddenly gasp looking at the Canis Therian,Because he has amnesia, everything that he has remember including becoming friends with beings from different worlds,the summoners reacted and asks what was wrong only to be.

Harumo:WOAH THAT CUTE DOG JUST TAIKED!

Moritaka:OFF COURSE I CAN TAIK DO YOU REMEMBER WHO I AM?!AND WHY DID YOU CALLED ME CUTE?!

Harumo:NO,But can i pet you? You look so CUTE!!

Harumo even though he has amnesia,He is still very charismatic,And Moritaka was flabbergasted along with his face turning red and turn the other way as though he is embarrassed by it.

Moritaka:{NO MORITAKA YOU HAVE TO BE RESILIENT,HE DOES”NT REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE}

With Moritaka facing the other way around face red,Shiro with his thinking mode over,He shared an idea to everyone and signals everyone to huddle up 

Kengo:all right Shiro do have plan or something?

Shiro:I do but its just theory,But its our option possible.

Ryota:Okay,what do have in mind?

Shiro:Since Harumo has lost his memories,I figure we need to remind him about those memories and hopefully he”l be able to atleast find those places familiar.

Kengo:Okay,SO? How do we remind him about that?

Ryota:Yeah,but Harumo has been to places we never been to and we don”t even know where to start?

Shiro: Yes thats true,But there are also places that we have been to with Harumo and i know just the places to start.

Ryota:Where?

Shiro:THE GUILDS THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED BEFORE!!

Toji:There”s a possibility that might work but.

Shiro:Yes,there is also the possiblity the Rule-Makers and Invaders might try to manipulate Harumo into joining them and we don”t want that to happen.

Kengo:Okay,so we to be careful and keep our guard incase some shady bastard tries to manipulate Harumo.

Ryota:Yeah!!IM UP FOR IT!! we need to get Harumo”s memories back no matter what.

Moritaka:I fullheartedly agree with this,we need to help our friend in time of need.just like he always do to us.

Toji:*nods in agreement*

Shiro:Okay then! Do you all know what the plan is?

Kengo:Yeah!we go BEAT SO SHADY BASTARD AND...

Ryota:Go to the other guilds to help him remember.

Shiro:It seems you two know,Moritaka?Toji?

Moritaka&Toji:*Both nod in agreement*

Shiro:All right we know plan but first we need to introduce ourselves to Harumo again and convince him we are his friends.

Summoners:Right!

As they waiked towards Harumo with a plan in their heads they lined up vertically infront of him and began introducing themselves to him one by one and convincing him they are his classmates and friends.Shiro is the first to introduce himself along with Kengo,Ryota,Toji and Moritaka.

Shiro:Nice to meet you Harumo my name is Shiro Motoori and im the class representative of the class you go to.

Ryota: HI im Ryota Yakushimaru and im your classmate in class since you lost you lost your memories.

Kengo:The name”s Kengo,Kengo Takabushi.

Toji:Im Toji Sakimori 

Moritaka:Pleased to meet you my name is Moritaka Shino Inuzuka and im one your classmates and member of your guild.

Harumo:Nice to meet all of you....Wait guild?

Shiro:Oh thats right,you don”t have your memories,Well before you lost your memories you are our guildmaster and we are the summoners.

Harumo:Wait im a guildmaster? And whats a guild?

Shiro:*clears throat*Well allow me to explain, A  guildmaster acts as the leader of that guild,And the guild is like club or organization that participate in certain activities,Think of it like a afterschool club.

Harumo:Oh i see!

Shiro:Yes, well we figured that we might be able to get your memories back if we go to the places that you have been to and the number 1 place to start is our own guild.

Harumo:Hmm,Well i feel like i could trust you all into helping me regain my memories back,so,can we go there?

Shiro:Off course in fact there is also people there that you would like to meet.

Harumo:Huh? Who?

Shiro:You know when we get there {Maybe i should inform Agyo and Hanuman about our current situration}

And as Shiro explained everything to Harumo and with his head injury seems to be okay now, the group is off to the safe house with the quest to regain their guildmaster”s memories.

AND THATS GOING TO BE IT FOR PART 1 EVERYONE HOPEFULL YOU”LL ENJOYED READING IT AND IM FLIPPING SLEEPY RIGHT NOW,AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL LIKE PART 2 BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE DOOZIE,ANYHOWS THANK YOU ALL VERY FOR READING THIS FANFIC IM REALLY STARTING TO ENJOY DOING THIS AND ITS BEEN REALLY FUN TO ME.AND I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU ALL TO PLS COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THINK OF IT AND IF ITS TO YOUR LIKING THEN YOU HAVE MY GRATITUDE,AGAIN THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH FOR READING!!

#housamo #tokyo afterschool summoners #fanfic #april fools day #part 1 #mc5 #summoners #again?

[sneakyneighboururchin]

Genuinely asking here bc maybe I've missed/forgotten some stuff but... when homo- and transphobic stuff is said in DA, it's addressed in game as being bad, isn't it? Like Dorian's first personal quest is about his dad acknowleding his homophobia and apologizing to Dorian. And with Krem, Krem and Bull both correct the Inquisitor pretty sternly if you misgender him, and Bull explains how gender identity is respected under the Qun. Not trying to fight you on this, nor do I think DA is by any means perfect, I just don't recall seeing homophobia or transphobia that isn't quickly shut down by the player or other characters. Don't feel pressured to answer tho, I know it's not your job to pull receipts for every shitty thing in a video game lol

Well first off thanks for being so polite and nice in this message, I appreciate it. I'm gonna try and cover the stuff that I've seen myself and have had pointed out to me by other people but keep in mind that I'm not trans, most of what I'll say here on the transphobia issue is me parroting other trans fans who've said this sort of thing before. I am gay though, so I guess we're clear on that front. It's also been a while since i played any of the games so if i get stuff wrong, I'm sorry. This is gonna be long so sorry for that in advance.

So homophobia and transphobia in our world. Why is it a thing? A combination of humanity hating and fearing what it doesn't understand (which Dragon Age also has) and religion, specifically in my experience Christianity (which Dragon Age does not have). Yes the Chantry and Andrastianism is heavily based off of Christianity and Catholicism but it doesn't have any of the bullshit about sexuality and gender that Christianity does. Neither in it's holy texts or it's teachings. The in universe writing about sexuality, a codex by Brother Genitivi, is also kinda homophobic and doesn't explain why this is a thing in Thedas at all. Queer relations and relationships are aparently viewed by most of Southern Thedas as 'peculiar' but no explanation is given as to why. Now I'm gonna go into specific instances. 

First off, let's look at some of the stuff you've mentioned. Dorian and his dad. Yeah that whole situation hit me pretty close to home as a queer person who's pretty much accepted at this point that my dad will never accept who I am and my mother died still not having accepted me. What Halward did is definitely portrayed as a bad thing, that is correct. The narrative kind of subtly pushing the reconciliation being the good option is a bit iffy. What Halward tried to do to Dorian is straight up abuse and I really don't like plotlines that push making nice with the abuser and forgiving them as a good resolution. This is kind of more personal feelings than straight from the script fact but I wanted to say it anyway. 

Second issue: Krem's treatment. So many trans people have talked about this before me, if you want some more in depth analysis of this you should go check out some of their stuff, it won't be hard to find. The basics though: Krem is voiced by a cis woman. This immediately sets a shitty precedent on the side of the devs lending proof to the theory that they don't care about uplifting trans people, just making money off them. Krem should have been voiced by a trans actor. In the actual conversation with Iron Bull you get the opportunity to be extremely transphobic. And if you do this you get told off, and that's kind of it. The fact that your character even has the option to do that is a) gross from an out of character writing perspective, and b) makes no sense in character. Why would your character have these views? There is no in lore reason for any of the potential groups your character comes from to be transphobic. Also, and this is just my opinion, but if you're transphobic to Krem (even though it makes no sense in universe) the Iron Bull's reaction shouldn't be a bit of disapproval, he should send you through the fucking wall. Seems more in character. Also, gender roles under the Qun also have a lot of potential to be transphobic, they are by no means an improvement on ours imo. Under the Qun your gender is essentially decided by your role. So if you're a fighter you're male. If you care for children you're female. Not only is that pretty hella sexist and reliant on our dumb ideas of gender roles (that again aren't supposed to be a thing in Thedas) it also has potential to be hell for trans people. Yes it would work for someone like Krem, but for someone who was AMAB and good at fighting but they were a woman? Being shoved into male gender roles and treated as a man would not be good. If the writer's intent was to create a society with an entirely different concept of and approach to gender they've done it wrong because of how much of it is reliant on the audience's perception of gender which (going by general gaming demographics) is pretty cis and het normative. 

Now I'm gonna talk about the transphobia that doesn't get challenged. Sera makes a couple transphobic comments throughout the game I believe, the one I can remember in detail is in the Winter Palace when she says someone presenting a certain way isn't actually that. And without any further context the only way the audience can really interpret that is that the writers decided to take a cheap shot at someone cross dressing in a bad attempt at comedy. 

Sera's writing in general is super homophobic because she was written by a homophobe. I'm not gonna go into all of that in this cos this is already too long and I could write essays about it. Other people already have! But basically, she's the only out and out lesbian romance we have in the series, and her writing in that respect is really not good. 

So how about the other games? Well. In origins you can hire sex workers at a brothel. The 'special' on offer is a very masc presenting dwarf in a poorly fitting dress. This was a very transphobic attempt at humour. Zevran, much as I love him dearly, is a walking bisexual stereotype, made worse by feeding into the 'sexy Latine' stereotype on top of that, which isn't an in universe problem so much as it is proof that the writers are guilty of prejudices whether they know it or not. I suspect there's more instances in origins but I can't remember right now. 

In Dragon Age 2 Seneschal Bran has a relationship of some kind with a sex worker named Serendipity, a feminine presenting elf with a very deep voice. This is played as something that Bran should be ashamed of. At least I think so, it could be that he's ashamed of having a relationship with a sex worker. Not that far fetched considering Aveline's weaponisation of the word 'whore' against Isabela. But this is also something that doesn't make sense honestly. Why is sex work taboo in thedas? Christianity isn't around to make it so and Andrastianism doesn't have purity culture going except for their clergy ( which also is never explained why and makes no sense.) Additionally, Uncle Gamlen is super homophobic. Why? There is no reason culturally or religiously for him to be that way? Yes he's an asshole but why is he an asshole in that manner? And you don't even get to challenge him on it! It's passive dialogue that you trigger when walking into his house and you don't immediately get the option to fucking fight him about it? Why put it in then?! 

A good amount of this is off topic from the actual question so sorry about that but TLDR there's a lot of in universe homophobia and transphobia, most of it is not handled well in or out of universe. I do believe that they're trying to do better in this respect, inquisition was a step up from previous games it just wasn't enough of one. 

If you want more stuff like this go check out @dalishious cos they have a ton of very good meta on subjects related to this.

#dragon age critical #homophobia #transphobia

[secretsfromwholecloth]

Dragon Age: Inquisition, day 6.

Uh, sure, Bull, Avasis will hit you with a stick if that’s what you want.

Oh, Cole. And you know, usually when a quest has two equally appealing paths, I choose based on “which companion’s advice is my player character more likely to want to take?” But Solas and Varric are both major influences on Avasis, so that doesn’t help. (That said, I went with making him human last time, so maybe this time I’ll make him a spirit.)

See, Cullen is capable of tearing himself away from his work for more than five seconds. Avasis is contractually obligated to root for Dorian in any chess matches, though. You understand, Commander.

“Pack them off to the Wardens” is becoming a pattern in Avasis’ judgments—he just did exactly that with both Erimond and Ser Ruth, and Blackwall will be getting the same treatment once he does the thing.

And he hasn’t executed a single person all game. What started with a commitment to trying my level best to soften Leliana eventually took over his whole character, and the ramifications have been great fun to discover as I go.

And Dorian’s sex scene has happened. Aww, Dorian.

Finding and killing the last Venatori in Griffon Wing Keep took entirely too long, but it’s done now. Hello there, Rylen.

Oh, it’s Coracavus time already? Excellent, being able to access the whole of the Western Approach is kind of important.

And Servis has been recruited as a smuggler, continuing the whole Executions To Date: 0 streak so far.

I was all set to go for Spirit!Cole this time, as I mentioned above. But that path apparently involves pushing him to forgive that Templar’s hand in the death of his original, and you know how I get about forced forgiveness. Welp, Solas is Mr. Knows About Spirits Guy, and I went the other way last time, so let’s take his advice. Even if it hurts a little.

Well, that was less painful than it could’ve been. And Spirit!Cole Coleing it up all over Val Royeaux is very sweet.

...and I’ll be skipping the “ask Krem vaguely transphobic questions” part of the evening, if it’s all the same to everyone else.

Oh, Cullen.

Yep, that was definitely at least a lingering pat on the back, if not a hug. Good. I look forward to seeing the romantic version next time out.

Huh, herding really is easier from nugback. (What, you thought I’d have Avasis riding a horse when the Avvar War Nug is available? It’s so majestic!) Enjoy your new life, golden halla!

And more in the morning, it’s late.

#dragon age #dragon age: inquisition #avasis adaar