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makahimetenshi · 5 months

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Two separated ways - Chapter 3 - Arthur Maxson x Female Sole Survivor x Paladin Danse Fallout 4 Fanfic

This is another story Danse x Nora x Arthur, another different from the last one, totally different, however certain elements are used.

If you are very very very delighted with one fic and want a continuation I didn’t write or post you can donate me at least $5 bucks, most of this fics have next chapters I don’t finish because lack of motivation but hey a $5 is a $5, I see a few reviews and comments that fics that are abandoned months laters receive comments of wanting to know what happens next. Here it is, I finished my handling with you all, enjoy the fic

-Did you summon me elder? –ask Paladin Danse knocking on the Elder quarters door

-Yes, come inside please –the door was open, so the paladin open it just to find Maxson with a bottle of whisky and two shot glasses in hand- pick up those chairs over there, lets go to the sniper post to drink something –oh no not again.

Danse loved the man as elder, as a lider and strategist, as supreme commander, as someone who will make the brotherhood expand and triumph every time but he actually never like him as much as a close friend, obviously he had to keep the appearances tho, wouldn’t say in his face that he was freacking annoying some times , and every attempt to look pissed off it was like Arthur didn’t catch the vibes or something, being called to spend time together was a pain, give this impression of being close was a mistake he is paying until today, now he cant break this pain in the ass friendship.

I mean it wasn’t a bad thing to have a close and powerful friend but the truth is he didn’t like Arthur that much tho, he wasn’t someone exactly enjoyable…

They were good friends in the past its true but with time at least Danse started to find him too damn irritating, now he wanted to avoid him when he is in plan friends.

He picked up the folding white chairs and both walk to the snipers post on the top of the Citadels roofts

-Gentlemen –said Danse meeting the other brotherhood soldiers actually working with the chairs in hand- please go to patrol somewhere else until we are done

Both brotherhood soldiers look at each other with the power armor helmets and the laser rifles in hand.

-Are you sure Paladin? Did you have any gun to defend yourself in case of an attack? Fuckers tend to shoot the Citadels roofts just for fun

-Stay around in case of anything, we just wanna enjoy the breeze tonight –the elder show off the glasses and the whisky bottle, both soldiers take the hint and start walking around, away from them, giving privacy. The paladin place the chairs and when Danse sat the elder give him a glass, In his insides Danse wanna die, he didn’t want to be there at all, he breathe out his nose tired without any desire-tired? Sorry if I summoned you after a long day of work

-I may eat too much in the dinning room and feeling heavy –answer Danse to pretend he is…tired.

-I wanted to talk you about something –never just drink something hu? Arthur poured the whisky into his glass and before taking any bullshit he take a quick shot of liquid-How many years since you met Sentinel Nora?

Oh shit lets better not be about

-almost 10 years

-And how many since you are in love with her? –shit not this. He didn’t want to talk about this with this man

But maybe 10 years, that was the real answer.

-Im not…-gosh he didn’t have the energy or even the setting to have this conversation

-Come on you don’t have to lie to me –said the elder with a smile, obviously predicting that he would do that.

Gosh so tiring, he didn’t feel like close friends like before to be talking about this personal subjects, the thing is that the elder is a very solitary man with very few close connections and Danse never properly cut his friend relationship with him, a mistake, keeps him on the wrong vibe. For him it was like well yeah we don’t hang out often but that doesn’t mean we cant chat normally about whats going on right? And for Danse its like please I don’t wanna do this anymore its not the same I don’t have the confidence you turned to be very awkward to be around lately and I don’t actually want to keep being friends with you

But fuck it was the elder, how can he say no? if he is a yes man to his commands were he tells him to put bombs in the mouth of Mierluks queens how can he say no to something so simple like a chat with whisky and the night breeze just the two of them?

-She started as my initiate, I was her commander officer –nononot the rank bullshit, Arthur laughed.

-Yeah, maybe 9 years ago, come on, again, how many in years have you been in love with her?

He could answer he wasn’t, that she was like the sister he never had, that he would spill gladly his blood to keep her by his side, that he never look at her in that way because of ranks and abuse of power but…

-Its complicated –he said annoyed, asking for more whisky, Arthur serve him and he drank again, asking for more.

-You have been behind her heels almost since the beginning, when are you going to –when the glass was full he drank again surprising the elder

-Never –this time, Danse took the entire bottle, having him the control now, surprising Arthur- I don’t think I will

-But why? –Danse sighted, he didn’t really want to talk about this less with him.

-Like I said its complicated –he said pouring more whisky, saw Arthur in the corner of the eye drinking his, and ask for more.

-Its from her side or…? –the elder was served but he wouldn’t shut up.

-No –he just said- I do like her, but Im afraid of my feelings

Arthur blinked, confused.

-Come on, I saw you both, I caught together more than once–Danse blushed hard and look at him annoyed –in parties, not my fault you don’t hide well, it wasn’t my intention I was just walking and then find u…-drank again to hide himself a bit, he wasn’t a stalker or anything, it just happened that he was walking around and boom, find them fucking in a dark corner, obviously he got on his back and go out of that place to give them privacy but that situation happen A LOT more than he wished to encounter.

-We were drunk…-he replied low and ashamed

-All the times? –not all the times they have sex they were drunk, more than once they did it conscious and full consensuated even planned because they were horny and really close to each other, didn’t have the confidence with anyone’s-look im not trying to interfere…

Now Danse smiled bitterly –really?

-Don’t be like that –he chuckled.

-There’s a lot of things you don’t know

-Because I don’t know her like you –stated Arthur- that’s why I call you

-What do you mean? –Danse blinked

-What if I wanted to step on? –instantly and out of nothing Danse close a hand over his arm, Arthur got a bit nervous but it was more the surprise than anything of course such a thing wont intimidate him.

-Don’t –Danse told him, looking at the view of the wastelands in the night, don’t wanting to face him at all after doing that.

Arthur stood in silence, breathing, until he answers.

-Then step yourself, finally make your move

-Its not what you are thinking –the elder didn’t understand.

-I saw you both together, the way she looks at you, after almost 10 years its going to be reciprocated, don’t be afraid

-I already know that –the tighten on the elder arms grew stronger, that’s when Arthur decided to put a stop and hold his arm, making the paladin jump in surprise and let his fingers off, taking the arm inside his own legs ashamed for his bad reaction- but its not because of that im afraid.

Arthur raise an eyebrow and asked for more whisky, the paladin serve him- then what?

-Look I love her, she is truly like my sister even we have been together more times than my hands can count, I would give my life for her, I will protect her to the end of the world, I will follow her orders and instructions until I give my last breath and…I love her, I truly do –Danse drank from his shot, then, from the bottle, surprising the elder

-Then why? You have been simping over her ass for the last 10 years –from the commonwealth to DC and more, even more and more cities and places, together- the only reason you are not already married then is because your shrimps are dead then

-That’s the thing -he said looking at the man in the eyes- she is crazy, hella crazy

-I don’t follow -he said asking for more whisky.

-She is capable? Yes, very. Strong? Of course. Smart? Clearly. Beautiful?

-Gorgeous –interrupted Arthur laughing- sorry

-She is a devil, a demon, a catch –Arthur nooded and Danse served him more –but has her head fucked up

-Come on

-Worst than a raider -the aclaration made the elder wink.

-You are not talking seriously –heck yeah Danse was serious, tense and trembling even.

-You don’t know her like I do –the paladin breath out and poured more whisky in his glass- she had done some fucked up things, that’s why im afraid of my feelings for her, I shouldn’t be…attracted to someone like that, im also afraid of her sometimes

It was really that bad?

-I guess it has something to do with the death of her husband and son –the paladin nodded- but that was almost 9 years ago, I even forgot about that sometimes

-Once you are mother you are a mother forever –Danse drank again, then, copying, the elder drank- your first son its like the first love she says

-Sorry I don’t think that’s enough reason to keep torturing yourself –no, this chat was torture, it has him unravishing feelings he didn’t have any interest to keep in the air, this feelings have to be enclosed deep down on his heart.

-Well I know what I see, and heard, and was obligated to do because she outranks me –he pointed to Arthur with his empty glass- I follow some fucked up orders, effective? Yes? Cruel? Also? Gives result? Don’t doubt of it, unmoral? Heck yeah

The elder take out the bottle of his hands and serve both –So, you don’t want her? –he said finally

-I love her, but not like this -the elder hummed- I don’t think is part of her personality, or her persona, more about circumstances –the man keep his eyes on the dark wastelands as the other talked- she hates the world, the wastelands, the air, the water, the rain, the people, the society, the food, the buildings, the landscapes…everything…so she looks at everything like she was superior. When she talks about her past self she talks about another totally different person

-She knew better –he said frankly.

-Well I cant deal with her hatred just because she loose a baby and a husband and its resentful of the world, its more than I can handle honestly, and im not going to force myself, I know what kind of pitt it is try to change and force somebody into your point of view, its not a business im going to run –okay okay seems like a very well thought and respectable decision, clearly he took a lot of time thinking in that statement for himself, he knew himself and knew what he didn’t want for his life- im going to protect her forever, but im not risking my sanity into a relationship I just know its dangerous.

Both stood in silence, looking at the wasteland night.

-And if I want to? –ask Arthur.

-I already warn you –Danse drank- this realization make the last 10 years a torture, I cannot forget this feelings or let them pass, but I will not engage any kind of romantic relationship with someone so unstable.

-Maybe ill give it a shoot –the paladin look at him bad, annoyed, in a side, jealous, that he wanted to take the love is his life out of him but in the other angry that he was being ignored about a really serious warning.

-You don’t know what you are getting into if you try -said taking out the shoot of whisky from his hands maybe it was enough for the elder now, that was a bold statement.

-I just know that she is really a good option for me, with her prewar genes –truth is Nora took contraception pills, because she feared to get pregnant, not by Danse exactly but from any motherfucker that by any chance rape her, as the wastelands were a crazy place- her minutemen force, the places she claimed, her fame as an intercontinental hero –he was interrupted by Danse.

-The other elders are pressuring you to have an heir –Maxson rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world

-Of course they are pressuring me im 32 they are afraid my milk will dry out and I need to start bearing children’s, the more the better

Oh no this was bad. He wanted children’s and her…

-Im sure they already have matches for you

-They do, but I know a better match so im curious–something give Danse a sharp pain.

-You don’t know her

Ohohoho that upset the man.

-I could try, if you don’t want to -Arthur give the other man a defying glance, who grew even more annoyed.

-Im talking serious Arthur she is a problem, she has a lot of problems –the image in his head of both together infuriates him but also he was worried about so much stuff

-Well I cant think on a better match for the elder than a sentinel, and a leader faction –it was true even he can understand it but Nora doesn’t work like that.

-Im being very open and honest with you -said the man in serious shock that he was ignoring it- do you really trust your future children to someone crazy?

Truth is Arthur believe it wasn’t that bad, he may be exaggerating

-I have to do it anyway, its not exactly my choice –it was true anyway, he was being pressured into finding a partner soon, if it was one of the elders daughter the better but if he finds one by his own no one will say a thing.

-Do you call me to talk because you want me to step up or because you have an interest in her? –Arthur only interest was because she was prewar and a faction leader but it was really little interest nothing else, he didn’t even care that much that she was a sentinel, it was a more a thing of power…and she was beautiful yes why not he can see it but nononoon he really call him here to talk because he was curious about when the hell the paladin was going to do something with the chick that breaths out with every step near to her. Even for him it was noticeable her attraction to him, painful to see

-What do you think? –ask the elder trying to take his glass away from the paladins hands, but he didn’t let him do it.

-Are you talking seriously? –I mean if the paladin keeps defying him why not, maybe, now he was considering- she isn’t blond enough for your tastes

The elder stop in his place and bit his lips with force, more than he wished.

-Son of a bitch

What? He didn’t wanna talk in plan friends or what? He is the one who can only tease about his romantic life? fucker

-She is not one of your blond gals –now Arthur rob him the bottle of whisky and pour it into his lips, feeling a pinch of pain on his chest.

-Shut the hell up –oh, now he touch a sensitive subject.

Both stay in silence, until Danse talk again.

-I fear

-To what?

-I don’t now, I suppose everyone, Nora is not…normal, is an anxiety, I just fear –but it was selfish not letting her have a romantic life if he is purposely not corresponding to her feelings, he was aware of that. It was painful to knew he wasn’t enough for how broken she was even if he desires her so much, he wanted with all his heart be enough but she needs so much more than he cant and honestly is not willing to give. If she was more like the past self she often talks about…he would correspond to her obvious all well know feelings but now…no, he cant never be with someone as sadistic and crazy like her, it make his spine shiver, all that problems will fall over his shoulders, she was a bag of problems.

The only reason she contains enough is because she still tries to win his heart fully, to make him fall on his knees, he wants to surrender and love her back but…she is too much and he can see it.

-I was honestly hoping to make you honest with your feelings for her

-I know what im purposely missing, and im not happy or neither proud of my decision, but im content knowing my limits and capacities

-I understand -he said and fill with the last of the bottle Danse shot- you also give her hopes by staying single for so long –the paladin look at his shot, paying attention to his reflection on the liquid- only letting her fuck you like you were exclusives –it was not the paladin intention, the man heart was conquered by Nora…and the brotherhood, if Nora was out he would be fully married to the brotherhood cause and nothing more, maybe getting laid by random sisters in the brotherhood like before but not with a woman around 24/7 scaring the shit out of every other pussy around

-Bold thing to say about my love life being the creepy stalker –said Danse taking his last shot of whisky, Arthur bit his lip ashamed, he never wanted to see them in the first place, it was an error.

-As elder im pretty much aware of the couples around –he let his back rest on the chair now the liquid was over- the beds are not comfortable to have fun so people sneak into some other places, its normal

-You know Nora its 45 years old right? –said the paladin calling the elders attention, also letting his back relax against the chair now there wasn’t more alcohol- may not be the best option for bearing children –his protecting side was interfering, protecting her from Arthur and protecting him from the crazy sentinel

-How old are you? –ask Arthur out of place

-52, give more than half of my life to the brotherhood

-and 10 years to love her –silence, the paladin look to another side- sorry, I just wanted to ask about you two because the tension seemed almost palpable, I was always rooting for you to get together, I didn’t know you feel that negative about her.

-I will follow her to the other side when the time comes, just not like her partner

-No matter if it hurts her?

-Even if it hurts her and she doesn’t understand why

Maxson wonder if she was really that much a reflag for the paladin to torture himself like that until their last breath.

So…45 hu? Conceiving a pregnancy at that age could be…fun to try…

#fallout 4 #sole survivor #elder maxson #arthur maxson #paladin danse #paladin danse x sole survivor #makahimefanfic

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lavellander · 3 years

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hello im feeling extra “touch the stove”-y today so. i was looking for any dialogue where solas just straight up lies and (of what i could find online/transcribed, obv) i didnt find anything that was 100% untrue. he’ll completely avoid the question, change the subject, give part of the truth, etc etc etc, but nothing was just Entirely A Lie

what really gets me is that there’s a handful of convos where someone infers something from what solas says, and he will even point out that he didn’t directly say that. like, he tells people how to see through his shit, lmao

here is an embarrassingly long ass list of examples, all sorted by what kind of not-lying he’s doing lol, just bc i am unhinged<3

*note that some of these are cut from longer bits of dialogue or have been split up from one conversation into different categories*

literally just Not Answering The Question lol

Dorian: How much “will” do they have? They’re amorphous constructs of the Fade. Solas: Hmm.

Dorian: Solas, have I offended you? Solas: If you have, why would it concern you?

Dorian: Solas, what is this whole look of yours about? Solas: I’m sorry? Dorian: No, that outfit is sorry. What are you supposed to be, some kind of woodsman? Dorian: Is it a Dalish thing? Don’t you dislike the Dalish? Or is it some kind of statement? Solas: No.

Dorian: Let me get this straight, Solas. Dorian: You’re an apostate – neither Dalish nor city elf – who lived alone in the woods studying spirits. Solas: Is that a problem for you?

Solas: [has a whole tactical moment about the red jennies lmao] Sera: Where d’you get all this, then? Solas: Do you wish to be unnerved by another tale of my explorations of the Fade? Or do you wish to learn something?

Vivienne: You must be pleased with what was revealed at the Temple of Mythal, Solas. Solas: Why should those ruins please me, Enchanter?

changing the subject before he backs himself into a corner

Gatt: I don’t see any tattoos, but you’re carrying a staff. Are you from a Chantry Circle? Solas: No. And I would prefer not to discuss it.

Solas: I find the fall of the dwarven lands confusing. Varric: What’s so confusing about endless darkspawn? Solas: A great deal, although that is a different matter.

giving the truth, but not the whole truth

Blackwall: Skyhold. How did you find it? Solas: I looked. Blackwall: Now you sound like Cole. You looked? Solas: This world is full of wonders for those who seek them.

Blackwall: You spoke of seeing death and destruction. Did you fight in a war? Solas: There are struggles across Thedas at any given time. I doubt you would have heard of it. Blackwall: An elven skirmish? Solas: In a manner of speaking, yes.

Cassandra: Solas, have you always lived alone? Out in the wilderness, as an apostate? Solas: For the most part.

Cassandra: Have you ever encountered templars before? Solas: Only at a distance. I am an apostate, after all. Cassandra: And they never caught you even once? Solas: I am a very careful apostate.

Dorian: We found elves, living ancient elves, at the Temple of Mythal. Does that bother you, Solas? If Inquisitor allied with the Sentinels: Solas: I am pleased we were not forced to kill them, if that’s what you mean.

Iron Bull: You’ve got an odd style, Solas. Your spells are a bit different from the Circle mages or the Vints. Solas: That comes from being self-taught. Solas: I discovered most of my magic on my own, or learned it from my journeys in the Fade.

Vivienne: So, an apostate? Solas: That is correct, Enchanter. I did not train in your Circle.

Solas: You are a man who made a choice... possibly the first of your life. Iron Bull: I’ve always liked fighting. What if I turn savage, like the other Tal-Vashoth? Solas: You have the Inquisition, you have the Inquisitor... and you have me.

from cutscene at beginning Inquisitor: [mentions the anchor closing a rift] Solas: Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake – and it seems I was correct.

from cutscene at beginning Solas: [to a Dalish Inq] You are Dalish, but clearly away from the rest of your clan. Did they send you here? Inquisitor: What do you know of the Dalish? Solas: I have wandered many roads in my time, and crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion. Inquisitor: [Crossed paths? dialogue choice] Solas: I mean that I offered to share knowledge, only to be attacked for no greater reason than their superstition.

from “I’d like to know more about you” convo in Haven Inquisitor: What made you start studying the Fade? Solas: I grew up in a village to the north. There was little to interest a young man, especially one gifted with magic. But as I slept, spirits of the Fade showed me glimpses of wonders I had never imagined. I treasured my dreams. Being awake, out of the Fade, became troublesome.

actually telling the truth but no one picks up on the gravity of it

Solas: [...] I believe the elven gods existed, as did the old gods of Tevinter. But I do not think any of them were gods, unless you expand the definition of the word to the point of absurdity. I appreciate the idea of your Maker, a god that does not need to prove his power. I wish more such gods felt the same. Cassandra: You have seen much sadness in your journeys, Solas. Following the Maker might offer some hope. Solas: I have people, Seeker. The greatest triumphs and tragedies this world has known can all be traced to people.

Cole: No, inside. I don’t hear your hurt as much. Your song is softer, subtler, not silent but still. Solas: How small the pain of one man seems when weighted against the endless depths of memory, of feeling, of existence. That ocean carries everyone. And those of us who learn to see its currents move through life with their fewer ripples.

Cole: You didn’t do it to be right. You did it to save them. Inquisitor: Solas, what is Cole talking about? Solas: A mistake. One of many made by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything.

Solas: Empires rise and fall. Arlathan was no more “innocent” than your own Tevinter in its time. Solas: Your nostalgia for the ancient elves, however romanticized, is pointless.

Solas: Our people used to be here. Sera: Pfft, you say that everywhere. Solas: It is more true than you want to believe.

Vivienne: You must be pleased, apostate. With the Templars dissolved, your rebels will be most difficult to pacify. Solas: My rebels? Am I an agent for their cause, whispering poison into the Inquisition’s ears? Solas: How comforting. Vivienne: You enjoy seeing yourself as a villain? Solas: No more than any other clever man who wonders what he could do if pushed.

Vivienne: [about the Temple of Mythal] Now you know the elves were once a mighty nation. Solas: I always knew, Enchanter. The Temple of Mythal is just another reminder of what was lost.

(in the Emerald Graves): These forests have changed much since I was last here.

during the Fade!Haven cutscene Solas: It seems you hold the key to our salvation. You had sealed it with a gesture... and right then, I felt the whole world change. Inquisitor: [romance option] “Felt the whole world change?” Solas: A figure of speech. Inquisitor: I’m aware of the metaphor. I’m more interested in felt. Solas: You change... everything.

pointing out that people assume he means things he did not directly say

Cole: There is pain though, still within you. Solas: And I never said there was not.

Solas: You may well become fully human, after all. I never thought to see it. Cole: When did you see it before? Solas: I did not say that I had.

Iron Bull: We’ve got the alliance with my people. Given how much you love the Qun, I figured... Solas: I might scold you? Berate you for your decisions? Iron Bull: Hey. The Chargers died as heroes for the good of the mission. Solas: I never said otherwise.

Sera: Don’t you start. Solas: I’m reasonably certain I said nothing.

Vivienne: [talking shit about grey warden mages] Solas: I never claimed mages should be above the law, Enchanter. Vivienne: No, darling. You merely implied it, while offering no viable suggestions for improvement.

after infamous “side benefits” dialogue Warrior Inquisitor: You find my muscles enjoyable? Solas: I meant that you enjoyed having them, presumably. Warrior Inquisitor: Ah. Solas: But yes... since you asked.

diminishing things he does actually know by saying he he “believes” or “thinks,” or that things were vaguely “said” or “told”

Solas: I say what I believe to be true, even if it gives offense to those who prefer the lie.

Dorian: That orb Corypheus carries... are you certain it’s of elven origin, Solas? Solas: I believe so. Why do you ask?

Solas: It is said that we lived at a pace that sustained us for... ages.

making it sound like he’s talking about something/someone else, but it’s just him lmao

Cole: Do you know a lot about wolves? Solas: I know that they are intelligent, practical creatures that small-minded fools think of as terrible beasts.

Solas: No man can kill so many people without breaking inside. To survive... those you fight must become monsters. Iron Bull: The ones that kill innocent people, yeah. The rest... I don’t know. Solas: The mind does marvelous things to protect itself.

during In Hushed Whispers Inquisitor: I’m glad you understood what he just said because I’m not sure I did. Solas: You would think such understanding would stop me from making such terrible mistakes. You would be wrong.

misc

this one i wanted to include because it’s the only circumstance (that i came across) where someone directly asks solas to lie and he literally says he can’t

during the fucking crestwood breakup scene Inquisitor: [angry option] Tell me you don’t care. Solas: I can’t do that. Inquisitor: Tell me I was some casual dalliance so I can call you a cold-hearted son of a bitch and move on! Solas: I’m sorry.

*also note that most of these are banter transcriptions from the wiki; some are cutscene / other dialogue posted by either @/daitranscripts or u/karinini on reddit; it’s not all his cutscenes obv, but I’m not about to look up every single one individually sdlkfj*

#i am................incredibly embarrassed that i did this #forgive me. the brain worms would not leave until it was Done #also sorry that its ugly no matter what i did tungle was NOT happy w my formatting. just know its clean and easy to read in my mind :/#and i know none of this is new information but i am riddled with terminal grad student brain disease so i like having my evidence organized #long post #(bc its long as hell if u open the read more)#im going to put this in my #ref #tag. bc i sometimes get tripped up writing his dialogue to be cryptic but true

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flowers-creativity · 4 years

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Whumptober day 3: Forced to kneel/held at gunpoint

Fandom: The Musketeers

Characters: Aramis, Porthos, Athos (Comte de la Fere)

Warnings: Blood, canon-typical violence

Notes: Giving up on summaries, sorry, everyone...

Living on the wild side writing in real-time and posting with barely any editing *yeet* ... If you find any mistakes, you're free to keep them.

AO3 link

“Kneel.”

Aramis raised his head and straightened his shoulders, ignoring the muzzle of the pistol digging into his back. “Excuse me?” he asked mildly as if he hadn't understood what he was asked to do.

The man, a minor noble with delusions of grandeur, scowled and repeated more forcefully: “Kneel. That's what you do before your king every day, don't you? Scraping and slobbering for his attention like the dogs that you are.” A sneer twisted his features. “Though you're a pretty one, so you're more of a lapdog, I guess, not one of his attack dogs.”

Aramis tried to smile pleasantly though he could feel tension seeping into it. It was one thing to deal with a disgruntled and rebellious man but this one was clearly approaching madman territory. “You should give him more credit,” he said, “he's quite content with bowing, most of the time.” He raised an eyebrow. “I could indulge you with one of those, maybe?” he offered. It was risky, of course, but if he twisted just right … After all, there was only the man at his back, the others of the noble's small force still out there looking for his brothers. He needed to get free before they returned, with or without the other Musketeers. Preferably without them, though that could also mean two very different things.

In any case, he would show this man that he was anything but a lapdog.

The muzzle dug deeper into his back, and the noble snapped: “On your knees! I won't ask again.” At the same time, the heavy hand resting on Aramis' shoulder began exerting pressure, and even though he tried to resist, his legs bowed involuntarily until his knees hit the dirt.

He held his head high and stared at the man with all the scorn he could muster, which was quite a bit. “Happy now?” he asked.

The noble pursed his lips and stared hard at the kneeling man. “It'll do,” he finally said. “Stay there and don't move – I will think about what to do with you once your friends have joined you.” He got up from the box he had used as a makeshift chair and moved away, leaving Aramis' field of vision and leaving him in the company of his silent sentinel, the hard edge of the muzzle pressing against his neck now as a constant reminder not to move.

It did not take long until his knees and back began to hurt from the uncomfortable position he had been left in, but Aramis refused to show any outward signs of his discomfort. Instead, he finally broke the silence and said to his warden cheerfully: “The weather is nice these days, isn't it? Almost summer. And in a region like this, it's surely quite enjoyable!”

The man grunted and shoved his head forward with the pistol. “No talking!” he barked.

“Don't be like that. I'm just trying to pass the time until your friends come back,” Aramis said. “They seem to take their sweet time with it, don't you think? And here you are, stuck back in camp watching me kneel. Very rewarding, I assume.” Sharp pain at his temple interrupted his stream of words, and he gasped, swaying slightly. But the pistol at the back of his head had disappeared.

“I said no talking!” The guard stepped to the side, and Aramis took his chance. He threw himself to the other side, his leg shooting out and hooking behind the man's knee, and he half pulled, half kicked him. A short outcry escaped the man as he was wrenched to the side and overbalanced, following his prisoner down to the ground. Aramis breathed in sharply when he landed on the rough ground but did not waste time. He pushed himself up and turned around, launching himself at the other man. His bound hands grappled for purchase, and for a moment, he could take hold of the man's belt and one flailing arm. Then another hit clipped his temple, he was shoved to the side and rolled over, and the guard loomed above him, face dark with fury. “You insolent worm!” he spat as he grabbed Aramis' upper arms.

Aramis didn't bother replying. At least the man had lost the pistol, and while his hands were bound, he could still fight this way. He brought his hands up between them, interlocked in a double fist, and rammed them into the man's face. Something gave way under his hands, and blood began rushing out of his opponent's nose down on him. The Musketeer gave him a feral grin that would have made Porthos proud, then pulled up his knee and shoved it into the man's lower body. A grunt was his reward, and he pushed again, feeling the hold on his arms loosening. Slowly, the guard toppled off him to the side, and he wasted no time to shove him away and scrabble upright, then shuffle forward until he was directly above him. “You deserve a nap,” he told him as the man blinked up at him in a daze. Again folding both hands together in a fist, Aramis brought them down on the man's head, and with a small sound escaping the guard, his eyes rolled back in his head.

Aramis let himself slump to the side, breathing hard. He knew he needed to move, to find a knife to free himself and then his weapons, but for a moment, all he could do was blink his eyes and convince his body that no, having a rest was not in the cards for him.

He straightened up – and froze at the sound of footsteps approaching. He had hoped the noble was not close enough to hear the scuffle but today was not his day, it seemed.

“Aramis?” a voice came floating from behind him, sounding almost uncertain – and oh, he would know this deep, rolling bass everywhere. Tension seeped out of his shoulders like water, and he turned his head and grinned over his shoulder at his brother. “Porthos! So nice of you to join us!”

Porthos' worried frown only deepened, and he hastily took the remaining few steps to Aramis' side. “You alright?” he asked even as he already drew his main gauche and set to work cutting Aramis' bonds. “You're hurt?” His gaze lingered on Aramis' face, and it took the marksman a moment to understand before he remembered the guard's nose breaking and the amount of blood that had rained down on him.

“Ah, not much.” Aramis shrugged and drew back his hands when Porthos released them, now free of the rope around his wrists. He rubbed them with a wince and added: “The blood's not mine. I got a hit to the head but I can see straight – so I possibly escaped a concussion, this time.”

Porthos grunted, the worry lines in his face smoothing out slightly. “Your lucky day.”

Aramis grinned, nodding. Then he looked around and frowned. “Where's Athos? d'Artagnan?”

“Athos is--” Porthos started, then stopped. “Athos is coming – and look, he's made a friend!”

Aramis looked in the direction Porthos was pointing in and had to laugh. There his friend was, striding towards them with long steps, and behind him, he was dragging the noble who was ineffectually sputtering at him in sentence fragments like “you have no right!” and “--hanged for this!” Their leader came to a stop before them and looked Aramis up and down. “Are you alright?” he asked in a clipped tone that was barely covering the worry underneath – at least for someone who had known him as long as Aramis had.

“I'm fine,” the marksman said. “You have great timing.”

Porthos snorted. “Not really,” he said. To Athos, he added: “He already took out that one before I got here.” He nodded at the guard lying insensate on the ground. The noble devolved in another bout of incomprehensible outrage.

Aramis smiled and got up laboriously, gratefully accepting Porthos' hand in support. “Still great to have you here now.” He looked around again and frowned, repeating his earlier question: “d'Artagnan?”

“I sent him off to send a message to Treville – informing the Captain of treason took precedence over a rescue mission, I'm afraid,” Athos explained. “As much as it seems the latter was not all that needed.” He nodded at Porthos. “Tie that one to his master,” he ordered, with a gesture to the unconscious guard, ignoring the protests from the noble with a great deal of experience.

Aramis shook his head, the last bit of tension evaporating and leaving him feeling wrung-out and beaten. “I bet he loved that,” he murmured and got a bark of laughter from Porthos and a half-smile from Athos in return.

“He did not,” the swordsman allowed. “But alas, duty called, and we are the King's men.”

“That we are.” Aramis nodded and then grinned at the captive noble. He playfully snapped his teeth at him and gave a short bark. “But not his lapdogs.”

#whumptober2020 #no.3 #forced to kneel #held at gunpoint #the musketeers #fanfic #blood #flower writes #aramis #porthos #athos

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pikapeppa · 4 years

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Felassan/f!Lavellan: Questions

Chapter 12 of The Love That Grows From Violence (Felassan x Tamaris Lavellan) is posted!

As the title implies, in which I dip my toe into lore. Just one toe, though. 😭

~4060 words; read on AO3 instead.

************************

Over the course of the next few days, Tamaris and Felassan settled back into their routine of mana retraining, overhauling the house, smoking on the roof and eating the delicious food that Felassan prepared for them both. They played cards together and chatted idly about their lives, and they kept ripping on each other for fun just as they had done before.

There was one very significant difference, however: Tamaris felt much more at ease now that she’s spoken more openly to Felassan about her relationship with Solas. She wasn’t thrilled that he’d witnessed her falling apart like she had, but the benefit of no longer feeling guilty or wary or just plain fucking uncomfortable was so much of a relief that she almost wished they’d talked about it earlier.

That wasn’t to say her emotional landscape was by any means perfectly repaired. Explaining her qualms to Felassan was only the first step to getting her mind around the wound of mistrust that Solas had unwittingly left behind. But for the first time since Solas’s departure, Tamaris was starting to believe that the wound might actually heal. She still felt uneasy at times when Felassan touched her tenderly or when his soft gaze lingered on her for too long, but mild unease was better than panic.

Felassan occasionally asked more questions about her relationship with Solas, and although her immediate response was to put up a wall and block him out, she forced herself to reply. She would never have imagined that talking candidly about her ex-lover with her current lover would be helpful instead of terribly awkward, but the truth was that it really seemed to help. In fact, as the days went by, Tamaris started to feel the way that Cole had described easing people’s pain: like something tangled inside of her had been loosened and was slowly being smoothed out with every day she spent in Felassan’s company.

With Tamaris’s greater comfort came another very enjoyable consequence: she and Felassan spent considerably more time indulging in their sexual appetites, which were just as great as their appetites for the scrumptious food that Felassan made. By the fourth day after their talk, however, they still hadn’t had sex again yet, or even done anything more than kiss and touch as much as they could through the barriers of their clothing. Their mana-training sessions now ended every time in a torrid clinch that left both of them breathless, and Felassan joked that the promise of Tamaris’s lips was the main driving force for his magical progress. They continued to sleep in their separate bedrooms, but Felassan kissed her every night before they retired to their rooms — that is, if ‘a kiss’ was what one could call it when Felassan pinned her against her bedroom door and ground himself into the cradle of her hips while she hungrily licked his tongue. Every night when he stepped away from her, she would stare at the blazing glow of his eyes and the rise and fall of his collarbones as he panted for breath, and an invitation for him to join her in her bed crept closer and closer to the tip of her tongue.

But she kept the words to herself, and Felassan didn’t push. And so they continued to fall together into increasingly ravenous embraces as the days went on, embraces which always ended in them breaking apart and grinning stupidly at each other while they tried to breathe through the lust that was swelling over them with all the delicious weight of a summer thunderhead.

Tamaris wasn’t sure what exactly had made them both decide not to push their physical relationship back into sex just yet. They hadn’t explicitly talked about waiting, yet both she and Felassan would stop themselves when her grinding against his lap got right to the point where one or both of them was nearly ready to burst, or when his fingers started playing over the laces of her bra or her breeches. Maybe Felassan could sense that she wanted to hold off for a bit before launching back into the sex that they both so clearly wanted. Or maybe Tamaris could see that he was trying to gain more control over his urges. Either way, the tension between them continued to grow — in a delicious, mutual way that was not at all like the demon that Felassan had so colourfully described — and it wasn’t long before Tamaris became convinced that what was really happening was an unspoken game of who-gives-in-first. Was Tamaris going to give in and tell Felassan to fuck her again? Or was Felassan going to be the one to turn those delicious pleasured moans of his into an actual plea for her to join him in his room?

Neither of them could say, and neither of them was ready to cave. And yet, without speaking about it, Tamaris knew without a doubt that Felassan was enjoying – and cursing – the torturous pleasure of their fully-clothed trysts as much as she was.

Aside from their more physical pursuits, a more intellectual one also came back into play; Felassan started reading This Shit Is Weird with more focus, as he seemed determined to get to the part of the book that mentioned the Inquisition’s encounter with the Titan. When he finished reading about their ordeal at Adamant Fortress and their tumble into the Fade, however, the resulting discussion took most of an afternoon.

Felassan wanted to hear as much from Tamaris’s perspective about what had happened and how Solas reacted. When Tamaris explained how the Nightmare had tried to unnerve everyone by picking away at their greatest fears, Felassan raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t suppose you remember what this Nightmare demon said to Fen’Harel?” he asked.

“It was something in Elvhen, so I don’t really know,” she said. “It said it knew him, though, which I just chalked up to Solas making weird friends in the Fade. But Solas did also say he’d never been to that sector of the Fade before…” She rubbed her forehead. “Fuck, I wish I remembered.”

“Shame,” Felassan said. “I would have liked to know what a demon would use against him to unnerve him during the time that he was with you.”

“I can tell you the three main things that unnerved him,” Tamaris said dryly. “Killing archdemons, Morrigan getting stuff wrong at the Temple of Mythal, and tea.”

Felassan’s face went slack with surprise. Then he barked out a laugh. “I may fall over from that onslaught. Morrigan — she was with the Inquisition? You were at the Temple of Mythal?”

“Yeah, we — oh, you haven’t gotten to the Halamshiral part of the book yet,” she said. “Morrigan joined the Inquisition after the whole shitshow at Halamshiral. Solas was less than thrilled with her, especially when we got to the Temple of Mythal. They were like cats and dogs.”

Felassan stared at her, then snorted a laugh. “You were at the Temple of Mythal with–” Another little snort cut him off. “–with Mythal’s alleged daughter and Fen’Harel who was trying to pass as a simple apostate…” He guffawed.

Tamaris couldn’t help but smile. “When you put it that way, it is pretty funny.”

“Funny!” Felassan exclaimed. “It’s the makings of a farce!” Another burst of laughter spilled from his lips. He dragged in a breath and patted his belly. “I can only imagine the steam that must have been coming out of his ears.”

Tamaris chuckled. “Yeah. You should have seen him when that Sentinel guy Abelas came out. He almost lost it.”

Felassan’s face went slack once more. “Abelas? Abelas?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Tamaris said with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t tell me you knew him.”

“Huge tall warrior, gold eyes, white hair, very stern?”

She raised her eyebrows. “He was wearing a hood so I don’t know about the hair, but the rest, yeah.”

A grin lit Felassan’s face, and he let out another rolling belly laugh. “Fen’Harel faced Abelas and lost his composure. He… fenedhis. It’s…” He slapped his palm on the table and continued to laugh. Tears of mirth were leaking from the corners of his eyes now, and his laughter was becoming loud and uncontrolled.

She shifted closer to him. “Hey, take it easy. You need to breathe or you’re going to pass out.” She held out her hand.

He grabbed her hand and dragged in a breath, then let it out in an explosion of hysteria. Tamaris squeezed his hand. “Come on, brat, look at me.”

He chuckled wheezily and met her eyes, and Tamaris smiled at him. “Okay, let’s breathe. Come on.”

He exhaled another chuckle, then breathed in hard through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. “I need to read more of this book,” he said. “I can’t wait to devour that chapter.”

“No kidding,” she said dryly. “Should we go back to talking about the Nightmare then? Save the Solas-bitching-at-Morrigan stories for when that part of the book comes up?”

Felassan nodded and exhaled another slow breath. “Yes, let’s.”

“Okay,” she said. She released his hand. “What did you want to know next?”

“I have a question for you, in fact,” he said. “What did the Nightmare use to unnerve you?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Well, that’s a personal question.”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “ And I believe you still owe me a secret.”

His smirk was mischievous but somehow also soft. Tamaris scoffed. “That’s how it is, huh?”

“It certainly is,” he said pleasantly.

She gave him a chiding look, then sighed. “Fine. It…” She looked down and rubbed at the tiny dent in her prosthetic arm. “It mocked me about breaking promises.”

“Breaking promises?” he asked.

“Promises to… protect people who need help protecting themselves,” she muttered.

Marin being dragged away screaming by the Templars. The memory flashed across her mind, and she looked away from Felassan and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The Nightmare’s sealed away, so fuck it.”

“You’re thinking of Marin,” he said quietly.

She clenched her jaw, then forced herself to look him in the eye. “Yes. So what?”

Felassan tilted his head. “She who dances with fire,” he said quietly.

She snorted and looked down at her metal fingers. “For whatever good that does.”

“An entire novel’s worth, at least,” he said. He gestured at This Shit Is Weird. “I’m certainly compelled by the heroine of this novel. I imagine I would throw myself at her feet if ever we were to meet.”

She rolled her eyes at his irreverent tone. “Shut the fuck up.”

He chuckled, then leaned back in his chair and lifted his feet onto the table. “I have to ask: did Fen’Harel comment on the Black City at all?”

“He pointed it out,” she said. “He seemed excited to see it. Well, he was excited about everything, even though we were in a really gross weird part of the Fade.”

Felassan nodded slowly, and Tamaris frowned. “Felassan, tell me something. What is the Black City?”

“What do you think the Black City is?” he asked.

She gave him a flat look. “I’m sure you already know what most Dalish think. It’s where the Creators were trapped by Fen’Harel. I didn’t really have any reason to question that before the Breach happened. But… I don’t know. It’s strange. Corypheus said the Black City was empty and tainted already when he and his evil magister buddies got there, which is counter to the Chantry story about those magisters turning it black and creating the Blight.” She narrowed her eyes. “But here’s the thing. The Black City is in the Fade and only in the Fade, which seems to imply that it’s not a so-called ‘real’ place, right? At least not if things in the Fade are just a reflection of dreamers’ minds or what spirits build from the things they see. But after visiting the Vir Dirthara, knowing that some places could be made from the real world and the Fade, it stands to reason that some places could also be made from just the Fade.” She looked askance at him, and her belly did a pleasant flip; he was smiling broadly at her.

“Go on,” he said.

She took a deep breath. “The Black City is actually Arlathan, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “What the Chantry calls the Black City is the remains of ancient Arlathan.”

Tamaris’s eyes widened at the confirmation. “Holy fuck. So… so wait. Wait.” A buzz of unreality was starting to raise her pulse. “If the Black City is Arlathan, then it can’t be the kingdom of the Maker if Arlathan is Elvhen and the Maker is Chantry bullshit.”

If possible, his smile grew even wider, and Tamaris’s belly swooped with amazement. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Felassan.”

“Yes, Tamaris?” he said cheerfully.

“There is no Maker, is there?” she breathed.

He casually linked his fingers behind his head. “There isn’t, no. The Maker is a figment of human imagination and nothing more.”

She gaped at him. The sense of vertigo in her head was growing as the enormity of this fact thudded in her ears. The Maker isn’t real. The Maker doesn’t exist. The humans were wrong.

She burst out a laugh. “Oh shit. Oh fuck.” She dragged a hand through her hair. “This is amazing. And horrible. I can’t decide whether to laugh because I fucking knew it, or — I mean, I knew it but I couldn’t prove it.” She laughed again and shook her head. “Can you imagine the fucking mess it’ll make if this becomes common knowledge?”

“It would, wouldn’t it?” Felassan said pleasantly. “The irony is nearly funny, until one remembers that the progeny of our people were crushed under the heels of humans in the name of a being who doesn’t exist.”

Tamaris sobered. “Fuck.”

He smile faded slightly, and he gave her an apologetic look. “I regret to point out as well that you don’t actually have proof that what I’ve said is true. So this is probably not something that you should go running through the streets of Val Royeaux to advertise.”

She wilted. “Ugh. Yeah, you’re right.”

“An unfortunate curse of being so old and clever,” he said complacently. “But you can continue to bask in the satisfaction of being correct, if you like.”

She huffed. “Feels kind of macabre to gloat about it now, but thanks for the offer.”

Felassan nodded graciously, and Tamaris sighed and propped her elbows on the table. “So everyone’s religion is a bunch of incorrect bullshit. We’re all together in that, at least.”

He raised his eyebrows. “That’s an optimistic outlook for you. Sort of.” He smirked. “In a charmingly cynical sort of way.”

“It kind of is, isn’t it?” she said wryly. “How nice to have something all in common. We can all swim in bullshit together.”

He smiled at her without speaking, and she lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“It’s at moments like this that I can imagine why your followers literally sang your praises,” he said.

She couldn’t quite decide if he was being sarcastic or not, but she rolled her eyes regardless. “And the rest of the time they probably wondered how the fuck they got saddled with such a ham-fisted bitch as a leader, right?”

“No,” Felassan said seriously. “I am certain that the rest of the time, they found you formidable and fearsome.”

Her ears started feeling hot. She looked away from him. “Uh-huh.”

He chuckled and idly waved one of his bare feet. After a brief pause, Tamaris glanced at him thoughtfully. “You don’t have any other questions about our little trip to the Fade, then?”

“Nothing more at this moment,” he said.

She nodded slowly. “I have another question for you, then. Why was Solas so angry about the Grey Wardens trying to seek out the archdemons and kill them? He would never explain that to me. He always just… talked his way around it.”

Felassan’s pleasant expression instantly sobered and sharpened, and her heart skipped a beat in alarm. When he shifted his feet to the floor and turned to face her, her pulse kicked into an anxious trot.

“That is probably the most important question you have asked me,” he said. “And I’ll tell you now if you want — as much as I know, at least, which I regret to admit is actually not everything.” He tapped This Shit Is Weird. “But I would prefer to finish reading this book first.”

“Why?” she said nervously.

“The answer will be easier to explain if I know first what you know.”

She frowned more deeply, and Felassan leaned toward her. “I am not trying to dodge your question, Tamaris. This is not an attempt to deceive you. I will tell you now if that’s what you want.”

He had that look on his face again: the look of ineffable weariness and melancholy that she now associated solely with elves from ancient Elvhenan. Tamaris studied him with a growing writhing of worry in her gut while she mulled over his words, then finally shook her head. “It’s okay. I can wait.”

His eyebrows lifted slightly. “Are you certain?”

A pang of fondness poked at her heart. He was clearly making an active effort not to prevaricate like Solas had always done. “I’m certain,” she assured him. “It’s just… now I’m scared of what you’re going to say.”

He smiled faintly, but somehow the smile only made his face more serious. “When the world looks the way it does, being afraid is the only intelligent response,” he said. “Only fools will tread through these days without caution.”

His words made her gut twist a little more, and she wrinkled her nose. “Well, that’s grim of you. Someone needs to cheer the fuck up.”

His sad little smile warmed to something more genuine and Felassan-like. “Not grim. Just realistic. And that was unusually optimistic of you, for the second time today. Have you been nipping into the deep mushroom without me?”

She huffed in amusement. “No. The felandaris, on the other hand…”

He laughed heartily. “Nice try, but you’d be frothing at the mouth if you were nipping into that without my help.”

“Good to know,” she said. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time you wake me up at the crack of dawn.”

His smile curled with mischief. “Then I’ll be sure not to drink anything you prepare for me anytime soon.”

She returned his smile, then eyed him speculatively. Something strange had just occurred to her — something that she had just assumed, but had never actually asked him.

He leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the table again. “Ask, avise,” he said warmly. “I can practically see the questions flitting through that lovely ebony-haired head of yours.”

“I was just wondering,” she said. “Do you miss it?”

“Do I miss what?” he asked.

“Arlathan,” she said. “Your time. All of it.”

His smile faded, but this time in a pensive way. He was quiet for a moment, and when he finally spoke again, his tone was somber. “The time when I was born was both more and less than the Dalish could ever imagine,” he said. “Spirits did not just walk alongside us; they were us. Magic infused every structure that we built and every footstep that we walked, potent and tangible as the blood that flows through your veins.” He let out a wistful little laugh. “We had these gardens: beautiful wild gardens bursting with flowers of every size, in shapes and colours that have no words in this language. And yet, despite the beauty, it was rotting from the inside out. The equality and cooperation that the Dalish imagine did not exist. We could be petty and power-hungry and short-sighted. We had great capacity for creativity, and we squandered it on competitions and power struggles like any human nobles from this time.”

“You’ve mentioned this before,” she said gently. “But that’s not what I asked you. Do you miss it?”

His expression blanked with surprise for a brief moment, just the way it did every time she asked him specifically about his feelings or his thoughts. A sudden rush of affection filled her chest, followed by the usual instinctive feeling of vulnerability at how much affection she bore for him already.

She swallowed hard to try and relax. Felassan, meanwhile, was frowning thoughtfully at his feet. “There are things I miss,” he said slowly. “Those gardens I mentioned, for one. The food, for another; some ingredients are just impossible to find in this time. But I think what I miss the most is… knowing who I was. Knowing my purpose, and knowing that everything I did was a step toward that purpose, even if my steps seemed convoluted or indirect. Always intentionally, of course, in keeping with a slow arrow,” he added with a sly little smile.

Tamaris nodded silently. Then Felassan sighed. “If there is anything I truly miss, it is knowing who I was. I was the slow arrow of Fen’Harel. I was the silent strike that they failed to notice until it was too late.” He met her eyes. “I am not sure who I am now.”

“You can still be a slow arrow, if that’s what you want,” she said. “You just need a new target.”

He gazed at her silently for a moment, and Tamaris watched with an increasingly erratic pulse as his pensive frown morphed into something undeniably tender.

He slowly lowered his feet to the floor and leaned toward her, and when his hand rose to carefully cradle her neck, her breath hitched with excitement and just a hint of fear.

He brushed her jawline with his thumb. “I want to kiss you,” he murmured.

She nodded dumbly, and Felassan smiled before lowering his lips to hers. He kissed her carefully, his lips pulling at hers in a series of slow and infinitely gentle kisses that kicked her pulse into a faster beat while also lulling her into a sense of dreamlike contentment. It was a clear contrast from the scorchingly passionate kisses they usually shared, and by the time Felassan pulled away, her heart was pounding her ears and her throat, and she couldn’t quite decide whether it was panic or pleasure or something more tender — and far more terrifying — that was kicking her heart into such a rapid beat.

His smile was so warm and his eyes so meltingly soft, and she wasn’t ready yet to accept everything that they implied. She took a tremulous breath and dropped his gaze. “Felassan, I’m — this is…”

“I know,” he said gently, and he released her neck and leaned back. “But it was a good kiss, wasn’t it?”

She smirked at him despite her nerves. He was such a smug brat. “It was passable,” she said dismissively.

He barked out a laugh. “Passable! You cut me deeply, avise. Fortunately for you, I don’t hold grudges.” Then he stood up and chivalrously offered her his hand. “Come. We have so much wallpaper to strip from the study and so little time to do it.”

She playfully smacked his hand away and rose to her feet, and they continued to tease each other good-naturedly as they made their way to the study. But as Tamaris carefully peeled long strips of ugly gold-striped paper from the walls, she couldn’t help but worry about the question she’d asked Felassan about Solas and the archdemons.

She couldn’t help but wonder how much trouble the answer would bring – not just to the cocoon of peace she and Felassan were building around themselves, but to the entire world at large.

She forced herself to put the worries aside for now. For now, she had a mansion to strip of all its gaudy gold trappings, and she had a handsome companion by her side to strip it with.

And maybe soon, when the time was ripe, some stripping of a more pleasurable kind would happen as well.

#felassan #save felassan #felassan romance #felassan/lavellan #felassan x lavellan #felassan/inquisitor #felassan x inquisitor #the love that grows from violence #pikapeppa writes

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ed-edward-blackbeard · 4 years

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Fanfic Author Meme. Keep Reading after question 2 for 3-50.

1. What was your first fic and could you stand to reread it today?

Jesus Lord, no. I’d die of secondhand embarrassment before I got halfway through it. It was never published online, thank Christ. It was called … ugh, I don’t remember what I called it, but it was a line from Edmund Spenser. (Don’t judge.) It was an OC female character and Autolycus, from Hercules and Xena, played by Bruce Campbell. It was… a SHAMBLES. Self-insert, wish-fulfillment of the worst kind. But, my friend Alicia read it at the time and she told me how great she thought it was, and I should keep at it. So, thank you, Edmund-Spenser-titled-fic.

2. What’s your most recent fic and how far do you think you’ve come?

It’s called “i commit sins every day but i never give my soul away”, and it’s on my AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/22951009. And I actually don’t have a unit of measurement for how much I’ve improved. But it’s also been… God, I’m 43 today, so it’s been 27 years I’ve been writing. Almost thirty years. Shit, I’m old.

3. In your opinion, what’s your best fic?

Oh, man. Tricky question. If by best you mean technically written, most enjoyable? I’d say maybe wasting the dawn. Definitely By Inches We Fall. But to be totally honest with you? I think my best fic, the one that got me, personally by the throat, shook me, and hasn’t let me go? Shoah. It’s one of my earlier fics, from the Sentinel fandom, but man. Writing this was rough. I did my research on concentration camps, and I couldn’t sleep right for weeks. Lisa and Patt were holding my hands over AIM practically every night when I was sobbing that I couldn’t finish it, that I couldn’t do it, that it was too much. (I’d have been about fucking seventeen, maybe nineteen, when I was writing it.) I bit off way more than I was prepared for, but I didn’t quit. And I’m proud, quite frankly, that I even finished the damn thing, but even this far removed from it, I still feel that gut-punch when I go back re-read it, which is why I don’t. And haven’t for a couple of years.

4. In your opinion and without looking at any numbers, what’s your most popular fic?

It’d probably be Consortio.

5. Is there any fic that makes you super happy to reread and remember you wrote that?

I actually feel that way about 99% of my stuff. Even some of the older stuff, I re-read it and I get really happy because not only do I see myself changing and maturing, I realize I was harder on myself than I should have been. I didn’t suck like I thought, and I get the warm fuzzies.

6. Is there any fic that makes you super embarrassed to reread and remember you wrote that?

Er, not really? I mean, there’s some cringey shit I wrote when I was like, twelve, but not even I know where those notebooks got off to.

7. What’s the fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?

By Inches We Fall. It’s my only Game of Thrones fic, and I feel like I really want to continue the story of Jamie and Brienne and their kids, and of Jaime being Hand to King Jon and Queen Sansa.

8. What’s the oldest (longest since last update) fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?

How Firm A Foundation. It’s a Deadwood fic, and I (many years ago, when Deadwood was actually on the air) actually sketched out how every chapter would go. There’s a few things I’d change today, if I started it again, just because I can plot better than I could ten years ago, but I think the thread of the story is gone forever.

9. Have you ever written for a fandom without watching/reading/playing the source material?

Yami No Matsuei. A friend of mine was actually heavily into YnM, and I wrote several stories for her. Later I’ve watched some of it, and I realize I did okay on my characterizations, but there’s always things I could have done better.

10. Have you ever written for a fandom without reading other fanfic for it?

Pretty much every fandom I have ever been in. I don’t read a lot of fanfic, because I’m afraid (almost paranoid, in fact) that I’ll internalize something I’ve read and later spout it out in my fic, and I don’t ever want to copy anyone, deliberately or otherwise.

11. Have you ever written a fic for a concept you know someone else has done before? How did it impact your writing process or feelings after posting?

I have, and I didn’t publish it for the reason above; I didn’t feel like my take on it was original enough to bother.

12. Have you ever written a fic and decided never to publish it? Why?

Lots of reasons, actually. Sometimes I write with the intention of not publishing, it’s something just for me. I’ve also written a few fics that I ended up absolutely hating, and they’ve never seen the light of day. I’ve also done some that I felt wasn’t original enough, or they were written about the trope du jour, and I had nothing else to offer that ten other people hadn’t already done.

13. What’s the biggest change between your style when you started in fandom and today?

Sentence style and structure. I used to do the whole, “He said.” “In reply, she said.” “The sky was blue when he rode in.” And then a few of my better friends (and betas) took me in hand and showed me how to mix it up, chop my comma addiction in half (seriously, I once had a single sentence run on for twelve lines.) and I feel like I get a better grip on characterization.

14. What’s the biggest change in your taste between when you started in fandom and today?

Sex. I used to write it in everything. And then the more I wrote, and the older I got, the less I wanted to write it (or read it, or talk about it.) So I’m a lot more comfortable writing non-sex stories than I used to be.

15. Have you ever purposefully written one fandom/fic idea over another because you knew it’d be more popular?

Of course. I think everyone has, at one point or another.

16. Have you ever stopped writing a fic/for a fandom because it wasn’t receiving enough attention?

Anything I’ve ever abandoned was lack of my own attention, not anything else. I’m kinda used to not getting a lot of attention.

17. In your opinion, what’s your most overrated fic?

What He Wants. It’s pretentious wankfic, for a pairing I don’t actually like all that much (Lucius/Harry), and I just feel like everyone loves it way more than it deserves.

18. What’s your most underrated fic?

I’m gonna pick on Shoah again, because I feel like it just doesn’t get enough love. I’m biased, because of how emotionally attached I am to the fic, but I feel like it’s ignored.

19. If you had to pick one fic/scene/chapter of your work to describe your entire portfolio to a stranger, which would you pick?

Wasting The Dawn. It’s a Magicians fic, and it showcases every character from the show, and I think I did a passable job of hitting every voice. So I’d be proud to show that one around.

20. Have/Would you ever rewrite a fic? If yes, would you take the original down?

Would I rewrite it? Sure. Would I take down the original? Um, that’s a little more difficult. On the one hand, I’m not really ashamed, as such, of anything that I did. But having two copies of things would get really complicated and onerous. I might actually start a second pseud, like maybe kelex-originals or something like that, and move the originals over to that, and leave the rewrites on my main, with a link to the original in the notes. Yeah, that’s probably what I’d do.

21. If someone starts kudosing and commenting your fics in a spree and has a few works of their own, would you go look through theirs?

HELL YES. Mostly because I’m always looking for shinies to read in fandoms I don’t write for. I also kind of like to read their stuff and get a feel for who they are and why they like what I’ve got. But mostly, I just love it and it makes me giggle watching someone go through my fics and like EEEE THERE YOU ARE AGAIN.

22. Has there ever been anyone who’s made you freak out because they read your work and followed/favorited/reviewed?

Fucking scads of people, actually.

23. What’s the nicest review you’ve ever gotten?

Oh man, I’ve got a fuckton of good ones. But the one that I always get a kick out of is on one of my Gotham fics, and the comment was along the lines of, the tag mentioned bed-sharing and they thought that was all it was going to be, but it was so much more and they got caught up in it and it was wonderful. And that’s my favorite (if not the nicest) because I love the fact that I was able to give someone something they enjoyed, even more because it was unexpected!

24. What’s the meanest review you’ve ever gotten? Do you think the reviewer intended it?

It was a review back in the days of OneList, and I was told that my pencils should be broken and my keyboard taken away because I was a terrible writer. And yes, I know they meant it.

25. What constructive criticism, however well-meaning, always makes you feel bad when you see it in a review?

It’s less a concrit and more a crit. But it’s always, “why did you do X? It was out of character!” and that makes me grit my teeth. Mostly because I feel like I’ve always explained, thoroughly, why I’ve done something (whether in dialog, in the writing itself, or heavily implied in monologues), and that question always makes me want to throttle someone because either they didn’t get it, or I didn’t.

26. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised?

Humor. I’m a sarcastic bitch, and when it’s appropriate (and sometimes when it isn’t), I have funny characters or have characters deadpan things. And it delights the fuck out of me when someone highlights that as one of their favorite parts.

27. If you could only ever write crossovers or single-fandom fics ever again, which would you pick?

Single fandom fics. I’m not a fan of crossovers, though I’ve written them from time to time, and probably will again if I think it’s appropriate. I just prefer not to cross the streams, as it were.

28. if you could only ever write for a single crossover or a single fandom again, which would you pick?

Good Omens. Hands down. So. Many. AUs. So many ideas. So many delightful characters.

29. Does the division of your writing across fandoms line up with your reading? What’s the biggest discrepancy?

It does not. I read far, far less than I actually write.

30. Do you continue to write for a fandom after you’ve moved on or do you focus solely on the new one?

I usually focus on the new one, however, I’ve occasionally re-visited a fandom after I’ve left it, because inspiration hits me, or I’ve gotten back into it.

31. Who’s the one character you’ve just never managed to get perfectly right?

Margo Hanson, from the Magicians.

32. Who’s the one character who shines without you even trying?

There’s a few. Eliot Waugh, Lex Luthor, Jack O’Neill, the Doctor (9 & 10 mostly)

33. Is there any particular character whose scenes always wind up being longer/more frequent than you expected? Does the quality hold up?

Not really? Characters and scenes are as long as they need to be. I do think the quality holds up, though, because honestly, by the time they’re done, I’m done.

34. Was there any fic that you wrote that really surprised you in the fandom reaction? Was it just by the numbers or did they take it an entirely different way?

Not really, or if there was, I don’t remember it.

35. Have you ever written a ship into a fic without meaning to?

Yup. It snuck in there, especially in the background early on, and by the end I was like, what the fuck, I don’t even ship you, YOU DON’T EVEN GO HERE.

36. Have you ever sincerely written a ship you do not support into a fic?

Nope. If I don’t like a ship, I don’t write it.

37. Have you ever purposefully bashed a character/ship in a fic?

No. Not as a writer. But like, I have written a character saying “I don’t think X belongs with Y, they belong with me!” because that’s pretty much how the actual relationship went down. (Spike, Buffy, Riley most specifically.)

38. Have you ever purposefully written something you know your readers would find uncomfortable/would not enjoy? If yes, why?

Very, very, very many years ago. I wrote it just to see if I could. I could, I did, and I haven’t written it again.

39. Do you consider yourself to have a readership?

No.

40. Do you feel like you put out enough content?

I feel like I put out what I need to. Is it enough? idk.

41. If you cross-post your fics on multiple sites, do you have a favorite? Are there certain fics you would only post on certain site?

AO3 is, hands down, my favorite. For awhile, I was posting to WWOMB (Wonderful World of Make-Believe) but I’ve stopped there, sadly.

42. How many views has your most popular fic gotten?

Consortio is my most popular fic, and it’s gotten 21,658 hits. Although the fic is multi-chapter, so I don’t know how to break that down into individual hits. In fact, four of my five most popular are multi-chapters. The only single-chapter fic is What He Wants, clocking in at 6,743.

43. Your least popular?

The Rose and the Yew Tree, with 0 hits.

44. Do you follow/favorite/kudos/comment/review more stories than you have received?

Unfortunately, no.

45. If you had to call yourself an author of a single genre (besides fanfic) what label would you give yourself?

Pornography.

46. Do you consider yourself a diverse author?

Diverse as in fandoms? Yes. Diverse as in style? Not so much.

47. If someone you know in real life who isn’t involved in fandoms asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?

I’ve done that before, and I’ve tailored it to the person and what I know they like. For example, my old boss got me hooked on La Femme Nikita (the Peta Wilson one), and so when she wanted to read my writing, I gave her my LFN fics to read.

48. Does anyone you know from outside of fandom know you write fanfic? Are they involved in the same fandom too?

Yes, and some of them.

49. Has anyone in your life ever read your fanfic just because you wrote it?

Yes.

50. Has writing fanfic had a significant impact on your life? Would you say it’s entirely positive?

It has had a very significant impact, and no, it hasn’t been at all positive. Some of my best moments, as well as my worst, are because of fanfic and fandom, but fanfic in particular. Fic’s brought me close to people, fic’s pushed me away from people, and it’s made people change the way they look at me.

#everything you ever wanted to know about me #but were afraid to ask #fanfic writers meme #askbox meme

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itsgalaxy29 · 5 years

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Archenemies Review

Archenemies, the second installment in Marissa Meyer’s Renegades trilogy was outstanding. Meyer has completely outdone herself with this book. It expanded beautifully on the politics of the world but kept the story interesting and all-consuming the entire time.

--The relationship between Nova and Adrian developed so much in this story. To becoming closer than ever all while being the most separated they have ever been is heart wrenching.

--The philosophy and morals of both Adrian and Nova was so intriguing. This novel dives deep into why each of them believe or don’t believe in the Renegades, and why each character reacts in certain ways to specific events.

--Politics are always interesting to me, but the Renegades’ ability to create a government where the people are completely dependent of it, all while securing the love and admiration of the people never ceases to amaze me. They continue to be an entity that is publicly adored, even if they are enacting policies that completely inhibits the rights of some people.

--Although Archenemies was less action packed than Renegades doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. I loved every second of this book and am highly anticipating the finale. Definitely a 5/5 star read.

Spoilers Below

First of all, this book was hilarious. The characters work so well together and have the best banter. But the dialogue wasn’t even the funniest part to me, but rather it was the internal thoughts of either Nova or Adrian when they thought about the other’s vigilante side.

‘“Well,” she muttered, “at least I won’t have to worry about [the sentinel] anymore,”’ (21).

You thought Nova.

“His dads would all it denial. His team would call it his typical uncanny optilism. But Adrian couldn’t help it. The truth was, he did not believe that Nightmare was dead,” (40).

This is the funniest thing to me. Adrian’s character has always been one of determination and stubbornness, but this is just taking it to a new level. Little does he know he’s in love with his archenemy.

Political Perspectives/ Motivations

The characters in this novel develop into something so much more complex. Their beliefs and reasons for those beliefs become amazingly clear.

Nova is someone who is driven by her failures. She separates herself from Adrian because she can’t allow herself to fail her family again. She assumes that the death of her family is not only the fault of herself, but the failure of the Renegades. The Renegades not coming to save her family spurs Nova’s belief of how bad the dependency on the Renegades is. In her eyes, the people should be responsible for themselves. Their dependency on the Renegades has made it possible for a situation with Agent-N to occur. Sure some will question the morality of Agent-N, but most, because of their undying support for the Renegades, will accept it as righteous; and that is a dangerous path for people to continue on.

What I loved about Nova throughout this book is that despite needing to keep her identify a secret, she always questions the Renegades about the potential corruption in their decisions.

‘“And once they-- she paused--”once we have total power, what’s to keep us from become villains ourselves?”’ (85).

The renegades have to be destroyed in order for society to restore itself. Nova would rather have no prodigies at all so the people would be forced to take care of themselves and create a new beginning.

“Sometimes, things did have to be destroyed before something better could be built,” (270).

This can be seen coming into play when Nova recognizing the she didn’t hesitate when killing Ingrid (64). Ingrid was destructive and chaotic. Although she was an anarchist, Nova killed her without hesitation. It was a necessary death to further the Anarchists’ rise to power. Nova has always hesitated when trying to kill before; with her parents’ murderer and Captain Chromium himself. This development only proves her devotion to her family and the Ace’s vision. Some things need to be destroyed to be built anew.

Adrian on the other hand, is the opposite. He believes the Renegades are a force of good, and that the people need them. Although he does think about how Nova is probably right-- the people do depend too much on the Renegades-- Adrian still believes that the Renegades are necessary. There needs to be someone or something to help guide and protect the people. In his perspective, that is exactly what the Renegades are doing. While he does question this with the debate over Agent-N, overall Adrian wants the Renegades to continue and is convinced that Agent-N will protect the people.

But with the Renegades comes rules. The reason why Adrian takes on the persona of the Sentinel in the first place is so he could go outside the law to do what he believes is right. The law restricts him in a way he feels hinders his ability to achieve justice. But Adrian is also impatient and wants recognition. He greatest fears are not having power and being forgotten. The phase that Frostbite yells at him sticks in his head for a reason.

“Just like no one will miss you,” (295).

Adrian wants to help, so he will do whatever is necessary to achieve this goal, even go against the renegade codes. The Sentinel is just a way for him to do that. However, Adrian’s motives might be pure now, but they could easily turn to the dark, like I suspect they will in his pursuit of Nightmare in the final installment.

The Relationship

The development of Adrian and Nova’s relationship killed he. Nova was deliberately using Adrian so she could help Ace and preserve his vision. Everytime the two of them had a scene together, Nova was always thinking about how to manipulate him into liking her. This was so frustrating to me but in such a good way. Despite Nova trying her hardest to keep her feelings separate, Nova can’t help but fall in love you Adrian. She is disappointed when she tries to kiss him and his rejected (159). She falls asleep in his arms (318). Adrian drew a star that became hers and hers only (310). Nova obviously loves this boy, but I’m glad that she doesn’t give up her moral and goals for the sake of him. She says goodbye to him, thinking that her charade will be over, and fully ready to let it go in order to achieve what she wants.

And Adrian’s perspective is all the more entertaining. Of course he still has no idea of her real motives, but he trusts her so much that he wants to tell her about the Sentinel (199). Page 246 is literally just Adrian listing all of the things he likes about Nova. And of course she already knows about the Vitality Charm. But Nova makes him fall asleep while kissing, and he stills suspects nothing. Adrian trusts Nova, possibly more than anyone else. I cannot even begin to imagine the betrayal he will feel once he finds out.

Anticipation of Reveal

The development of Nova and Adrian’s relationship will make the reveal all the more powerful.

There are so many things that have built up the anticipation, especially the little hints.

--Nova or course have seen the sketchbook of the Sentinels tattoos, as well as the Rebel Z comics.

--Danna obviously knows, it’s just the matter of her escaping the confines of the jar she’s trapped in.

--Max might know. “She couldn’t tell if there was recognition there, but she knew there was a question,” (455). -- this was when Nightmare forced Frostbite over to Max so he had a chance of survival.

--At the gala, Nova once again uses the word “neophyte,” (387) which is the word the Sentinel questioned Nightmare using when they first met in the Renegades. Adrian recognizing the word, this time used by Nova, and is reminded by Nightmare herself.

--And of course Max getting hurt

Max

I love how Max is the key to everything. He is why Agent-N exists and why Adrian wants to destroy Nightmare.

When the Vitality Charm is introduced, I was convinced it wouldn’t work. I was preparing myself for something to go wrong any second. But thankfully nothing did and Max finally has the opportunity to actually be with his family. Page 227 ripped my heart out in two, especially now knowing the ending.

Honestly Max being on his deathbed wasn’t that surprising to me overall. The vitality charm was a huge win and Max is such a loved character that something bad had to happen to him. But Nova helped him and I do believe he will survive this injury.

But it is this injury that spurs Adrian’s true desire to end Nightmare

Adrian believes that it was Nightmare that tried to kill Max. This is what will turn the Sentinel into a means to an end.

“He would not give up the Sentinel until [Nightmare] was destroyed,” (463).

This hate of Nightmare will only deepen in the finale. But of course, Adrian goes to Nova, searching for help.

‘“I’m going to destroy her… Nova… will you help me?”” (471).

This line killed me. The chaos that is going to erupt doing the next book is going to be monumental. Adrian finally truly hates Nightmare and finally truly loves Nova.

Nova in turn tells Adrian she will help him destroy Nightmare “as she stared into the empty eyes of Ace Anarchy’s helmet, glinting at her from the shadows,” (471).

She has finally helped her family, and has not failed. She only wants to help maintain Ace’s vision for the world, but in order to do that, she has and will have to betray the one she loves; always being slightly in the shadows, always having the Anarchist's vision on her mind.

Renegades/Anarchists

For the final book, the dynamics between the Anarchists and Renegades are finally going to come to light.

Ace is dying. The Anarchists might very well lose their leader in an anti-climatic middle of the book death. Nova and the rest of the anarchists will be crushed, but that might just led them into their rise to power once again. Nova will carry on Ace’s vision, but to what extent? She has already questioned some of her uncle’s beliefs and now has a strong connection to the Renegades’ point of view.

Either way, I do think the anarchists will rise, and Renegades will face tragedy and destruction.

“The crack continued past her, burrowing through the red R in the center of the lobby, driving the foundation apart,” (432).

The Renegades’ are going to be divided and maybe even fall apart completely.

#renegades #archenemies #nova artino #nova mclain #adrian everhart #novadrian #archenemies spoilers

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pop-a-caprica · 6 years

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I am so so sorry to all of you Major Crimes fans...(sympathy from the BSG fandom)

I’m so so sorry to all of you Major Crimes fans. First I want to start off by saying I have never been a fan of the show and I don’t think I have ever sat through an entire episode. Crime drama is just not my thing and despite being a huge fan of Mary’s the writing just never worked for me. The few times I tried to watch it the dialogue seemed contrived and dull. Mary shined but that was it. I don’t know much about the head writer but from what I’ve seen of his work he has more than just the travesty he bestowed upon all of you to be sorry for. Still, even though I didn’t like the show I was so happy to see Mary working hard and happily for the most part. I followed your blogs to see your stunning screen shots of her each week b/c I truly have missed Mary since BSG ended and I enjoy seeing her gorgeous face all over my feed. Along with all of those screen shots, gif sets, promo shots and works of fan art I have seen the level of passion within the MC fandom. I didn’t always understand it but I felt it without even being part of it. It was that evident.

When it became clear that the show might soon end I remember all of the comments and posts I was reading all over. A few times I made jokes or teased the MC fandom about the end of their beloved show in order to lighten the mood. I kept telling fans to take a page out of the BSG fan handbook and start a perpetual loop of watching season 1 episode 1 all the way to the finale for the rest of your lives like many of us BSG fans do. Mary even replied to my joke and laughed along once on instagram which made my heart skip a beat for sure! The thing is, after seeing all of your heartbroken reactions today I understand why it just won’t be as easy for fans of MC to do rewatches as it is for BSG fans.

You were lied to and that sucks. As BSG fans we were told from day 1; Laura is going to die, Laura will die, Laura must die, it’s her fate, it’s her role to play, her destiny, it’s going to happen. And even after years of that it still hurt to watch a beloved character pass away. I can’t imagine being promised that she would live only to watch her suffer and die anyway. That was low and I’m sorry that was done to your fandom.

I think the other difference is the purpose; the art, the symbolism, the meaning of the death…Laura Roslin’s death hurt like hell and it still does every time I watch it, but GOOD GODS was it one of the most BEAUTIFUL FRAKKING things I have ever seen. Laura Roslin’s fate of death gave her life and her hard work and suffering validity. It confirmed parts of her faith and though heartbreaking, it gave her a chance to rest after all of her struggles, loss and sacrifice. Laura’s death was supposed to happen. Sharon’s, from what I can tell, just wasn’t.

I trust your reactions and opinions. This was obviously not supposed to be the character’s fate. It did nothing to honor her life, it simply took it away. It left a darkness in the MC universe where Laura’s death left the light and hope of the future in the crazy mixed up world of BSG. For that I am also so so sorry to the fandom.

My heart hurts for Mary who seems to be doing her DAMNEDEST not to call this what it is. No matter how much she is trying to stick up for her team of co-workers it is evident that she’s upset, hurt and maybe a little bit angry. I just read her FB post and I think that much is obvious. Not only was her character killed off, she wasn’t even able to finish out the season. That’s mind blowing. It makes me grateful that though the pile of rocks on Laura’s grave were painful to see, at least they appeared in the very last seconds of the story. I’m so sorry for Mary and for all of you that she didn't get to finish this one out. I think she’s hurting and I’m not sure whether or not all of the tears and rage of her fans is helping her or making it worse BUT I think it’s really special that she is so connected to the MC fandom and that she is literally going through this WITH all of you through the blessing of social media.

I’m sorry for the actual hurt this has caused many of you. I hope and pray we can all follow Mary McDonnell to another project and continue to support this wonderful actress that our two fandoms share.

Many of you I’m sure are also BSG fans but if you are not please consider watching the show despite knowing that Mary’s character dies. You will never see a better example of her skill and heart as an actor. She is breathtaking in every episode. Laura Roslin is one of the most hauntingly beautiful and complex characters I have ever come across and if you haven’t yet I encourage you to watch and follow her to her end b/c that was a death worth living for.

Your fandom may have left a bad taste in your mouth but remember the good times in the height of your enjoyment and try to rewatch those episodes once you are ready. They still hold all of that beautiful talent and energy.If you are the creative type get your emotions out via fan art or fanfic! Fanfic is such a wonderful tool to use with these characters that we grow so attached to.

Many of you, I know already indulge in it! There are pages and pages of content waiting to be written by someone with the heart to do it and waiting to be read by those with the love for the MC universe. Write what JD didn’t. Write alternate endings, write AUs, write fantasy case files, write corny crack baby fic for frak sake! Just put your hurt to the page and make it something your fellow fans can still enjoy and consume. Don’t abandon the fandom b/c it didnt go well in the end. When the time is right fix it your way and encourage others who also choose to fix in their own way too. I think it might help.

I’m deeply sorry for your loss. Heal together, help Mary heal with your support and please know that your BSG cousins are here for you!

Thanks for letting me see into the Major Crimes fandom over the years, @roslins-lone-sentinel @cylonraydor @maryfrakkingmcdonnell @marymcmagic-hair @shandynumberonefan @annistheanxious @yeahmarymcdonnellandtelevision @fragrantwoods @neverlendbooks and any other blogs I left out or that I have looked at over the years but not followed. Thanks for keeping Mary in my life.

#bsg spoilers #major crimes #sharon raydor #laura roslin #battlestar galactica #mary mcdonnell #fan love #sympathetic post #bsg #major crimes spoilers

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storyofmorewhoa · 6 years

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Fan Review/Rant: Rogue & Gambit #1

"Ring of Fire:" The arc "Ring of Fire," links Rogue and Gambit with another iconic Southern duo in sharing its name with the 1961 country song written by June Carter and covered by Johnny Cash-- while they were both still married to other people-- equating sensuality with destruction. A line from the song, “I fell for you like a child,” particularly fits Rogue and Gambit. For in leaving home, traveling the world, and in ending up falling in love someone from the other side of the river-- is the unspoken hope of a second chance at childhood. Further layering the multi-tiered work R&G is proving to be, is the possibility that the title could additionally refer to the zone of volcanic and seismic activity that surrounds the Pacific Ocean which is also called the "ring of fire". This is interesting because not only does volcanic activity have the potential to create lush and fertile tropical islands, which is where R&G is set, but because it further alludes to natural intensity churning below the surface which has been essential to much of Rogue and Gambit's relationship.

The cover: The cover of R&G #1 is drawn as though from the perspective of someone about to be punched in the face by Rogue with a split second before the punch lands to enjoy a superb view. Kris Anka’s proportions and foreshortening are flawless. With Gambit’s care-free grin, Rogue’s smug smirk and raised eyebrow, the cover suggests that the series is going to be as much fun as those two are having. Frank D'Armata makes fantastic use of their signature colors, incorporating both the same shade of pink for Gambit’s eyes, armor, and charged playing cards, and the same green for Rogue’s eyes and suit into the series’ title lettering. Though the cover is undeniably enjoyable and gets the reader’s curiosity as peaked as Rogue’s eyebrow, it would have been more engaging if it was specific to this particular issue since the absence of plot-related substance makes it feel slightly generic. However, the technical skill behind it is too solid for any criticism beyond that.

a spread of ice or glass?: The comic begins with nine ordered rectangular panels containing: white blank spaces; images of Rogue and Gambit in a fight that is yet to come; and images of their shared past. The next two pages contain a spread of the two crashing through more past images in broken shards, displaying both Rogue's borrowed "flying brick" powers and Gambit's explosive force powers that break things apart from the inside. The broken shard imagery calls to mind two things: glass and ice. Viewing the shards as glass can be further broken down to two readings-- the first of which is best described by Battle of the Atom's Zach Jenkins as a shattered stained glass window. It is as though their relationship itself is a great mosaic of moments that is being destroyed. The second reading regarding glass is that each shard is merely reflecting Rogue and Gambit, but at a different times in their relationship. This recalls the images of Rogue contained under glass in framed photographs and on screens in Gambit vol.4-- as though their relationship was preserved but inaccessible. Lastly, the imagery also suggests ice, and that what they are crashing through is merely the surface of their relationship. Only once that is broken through can a deeper meaning be discovered. The significance of ice is evident with Rogue #1 (2001), in which Rogue is described as "a river of anger beneath... frozen indifference," the events in Antarctica of UXM #348-350 (1997), and XML #234 (2010) in which Rogue likens her sexual attraction to Gambit to melting snow.

"If time is a circle...": The prologue: “If / time / is / a / circle / then / everything / happens / at // once" indicates that the series will recap the evolution of their relationship. Much of this approach works and is achieved with small details in the writing and art. For example Gambit leaning in a doorway, allied with "Stormy" lightly retreads his introduction in Uncanny X-Men #266 (1990). Pérez gives the characters a fantastic range of facial expressions from smug to sensual, and Gambit's boyishness shines through, especially in the shard containing the aftermath of the X-Men #4 (1992) basketball game in which Gambit grabs Rogue. Gone is the chiseled pirate that Jim Lee drew. Instead Pérez draws Gambit like a big goofy kid, suggesting that even though the basketball game was over, Gambit and Rogue were still playing, although it was another kind of game. My favorite of Pérez's variations on back issues is the addition of Gambit's smile in a panel from X-Men #24 (1993). Pérez's action sequence in the Danger Room is fantastic, particularly when Rogue is so distracted by Gambit that she is hit by a sentinel fist, which takes on symbolic poignancy as a superhero whose powers are initiated through touch is immobilized by a giant hand. After the training session, Gambit ends up on top of Rogue with their lips centimeters apart, recalling Gambit #1 (1993). Their post-breakup friendship which was highlighted in XML #265 (2012) is emphasized as Gambit calls Rogue his best friend, and later Gambit suggests that they seize the opportunity for legitimate romance in the midst of an obvious trap as he did in Astonishing X-Men #4 (2017).

"Same as ever?": Other details in the characterizations do not work quite as well, specifically Rogue's return to her XM #4 (1992) disposition that requires Gambit to insistently initiate any kind of communication, and even worse, perpetuates the stereotype of a woman who says no-- but really means yes. It reads like they are back in the 1990s-- before they lived together, and before they were able to treat each other civilly as friends. Rogue even protests being in the same room as Gambit. While this is done to reestablish their early dynamic within this series, I would rather that behavior be left to the past. I also disliked their discussion on Deadpool. Instead of taking issue with Rogue becoming romantically involved with an assassin (to which Rogue could have rebuffed with Gambit's marriage to the head of the Assassins Guild), Gambit complains, "He doesn't even have a face." A lot of Gambit's charm is not just that he is conventionally attractive, but that he treats others as though they are too, and in Deadpool v Gambit (2016), Gambit even seemed to think of Deadpool as friend. While I understand that it is meant as a joke, and appreciated Rogue's defense of, "I didn't kiss Deadpool. I made out with him," her line: "maybe not having a face makes people... I don't know try harder. Maybe people as pretty as you have it too easy" struck me as too immature to be redeemably funny. In Uncanny Avengers #8 (2016) Rogue is confronted with Deadpool appearing as he would prefer to look, and tries to break the illusion gently knowing he is sensitive about it. Part of what made Rogue's brief romance with Deadpool so memorable was her willingness to take on Wade's scars and tumors in UA #22 (2017)-- especially when taking into account her character growth since preferring to kill Angel rather than take on his physical mutations in Dazzler #22 (1982).

"...something bigger": Shadowcat's line, "You're focused on the wrong thing. These mutants need your help, Rogue," and the inclusions of a gay couple and an interracial couple suggests a progressive social commentary in the background of R&G. Already, two very different sides of Paraíso are shown: a city where people presumably live, and the beautiful exclusive resort that locals probably could not afford to stay at. Perhaps R&G will indirectly touch on the effects of colonialism, or the exploitation of a country's natural beauty while ignoring the needs of the people who actually live there. As Gambit is from New Orleans, which depends on tourism for a large part of its revenue, it will be interesting to see if these dynamics will play a role as the series continues. The greatest of Rogue's and Gambit's many similarities to each other is not that they are from the south or had troubled childhoods. It is their acknowledgement that everyone needs to be accepted regardless of their differences. Being on a team that works towards everyone being accepted as they are and being free to love who they love is what brought them together. It's not just fighting, it's work, and I hope R&G allows them to work towards achieving that acceptance and love for others, and finally for themselves.

#Rogue & Gambit #marvel comics #but what i really want to know is if rogue and gambit took turns sleeping on that couch

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casualarsonist · 6 years

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No Man’s Sky (PS4) review

A while back I posted a first impressions run-down of my initial thoughts on No Man’s Sky.

https://casualarsonist.tumblr.com/post/164330011115/no-mans-sky-in-2017-a-first-impressions-review

In it you can find the perspective of someone who was somewhere within the first fifty hours of having an amazing time, and I think it’s a good companion piece to the feelings expressed here. I bought the game for £10 on the Playstation store after a great deal of umm-ing and ah-ing and following the aftermath of the PR meltdown catalysed by Sean Murray and Hello Games’ numerous unfulfilled promises preceding the game’s launch, and upon loading it up I found the incredible size of the game, the beauty of its landscapes, and the utterly unique feeling of dropping down on the middle of a life-sized alien planet with nothing with the sound of the wind howling along a desolate landscape absolutely captivating. But, for some reason, after about fifty hours of engaging gameplay, I just kind of dropped it and never went back. If I recall correctly, it might have had something to do with a PS Store sale and a bunch of other shorter games that distracted me…

You know what it’s like…

But regardless of the reason, I didn’t go back to No Man’s Sky for months. It was only after coming home late one night last week and not feeling like I was ready to go to bed that I sat in the dark, booted the ol’ PS4 up and clicked ‘play’ on the game to remind myself of what was going on. The interesting thing is that after giving myself some time, space, and perspective, coming back to it after all that time away laid bare a fact about the game that had remained hidden to me right up until that moment. A fact that defines the end experience for the player as much as its ambition defines the beginning.

No Man’s Sky is a first-person space exploration game developed by the small 16-man studio, ‘Hello Games’. Having only ever released the side-scrolling racing/platformer ‘Joe Danger’ games, No Man’s Sky was a huge shift from the studio’s base of experience, and an incredible up-scale in scope from anything they had previously attempted. The player awakens on a planet next to the busted shell of their crashed ship. Beyond them lies an enormous, procedurally-generated expanse filled with alien plant and animal life, and rock and mineral deposits, all harvestable for the base resources required to get your ship up and running again. One may find bodies of water, underground caves, outposts both abandoned or inhabited by intelligent lifeforms belonging to one of three alien races, as well as totems that teach you the various languages of the galaxy word by word, and strange monoliths or temples that will offer rewards or punishments to the player for the way they choose to interact with them. Mysterious robots called Sentinels patrol about, sometimes passively, other times aggressively depending on the planet you’re on. The first experience is both incredible and overwhelming, and yet simple to engage with and amazing in scope. You’ll likely spend hours mining mineral deposits dry just for the sake of it. You can sit down with a partner and enjoy the exploration as much as a viewer as you can as a participant, and this to date the only game that my girlfriend is happy to play with me and I with her, which made it a satisfying and enjoyable social experience despite there being no formal multiplayer element.

Once you gather enough resources to repair your ship and regain the means with which to lift off, you can either fly around the planet exploring further and further afield, or take a seamless journey off-world and into the local system, traversing from planet to planet without loading screens, unlocking story missions, gathering more resources to trade or craft components for your ship, fight space pirates or becomes a space pirate yourself or even leave that system entirely and explore other planetary systems. The core feature of the gameplay here is exploration, and it’s important to understand this before you decide to buy, because those expecting to be allowed to blast their way across the galaxy are going to be sorely disappointed with No Man’s Sky’s relatively passive intentions.

Also the space combat is shit.

What can’t be understated is the scale of the game. No Man’s Sky is absolutely. fucking. enormous. There are literally quintillions of technically ‘unique’ planets to explore. Each has its own climate, colour palette, flora, fauna, quantity of life, size…one planet might be a tiny barren rock devoid of all organic life, but with great spires of pure gold jutting out from the ground; the next might be a verdant paradise brimming with creatures in every direction; another might be a radioactive water planet in which most of its bounty lies submerged beneath a purple sea; and yet another may be covered in snow and have floating islands of rock, and giant deposits of metal sinking deep into the ground. The diversity of the variables is impressive, but given the number of planets you’ll likely explore, you will start to see repetition in the different pieces sooner rather than later.

This is not aided by the fact that most of the intelligent creatures you come across will be, for all intents and purposes, the same in their functions. Some will give you small dialogue options in which you’re rewarded for saying or doing the right thing, others will offer to trade, and others still will have nothing to offer you at all. Any radiant quests you might encounter all come from a single quest vendor in each system, located at the same place in each system’s space station. And the radiant quests themselves are only ever of a handful of different types, meaning that, while they are useful for gathering credits, or perhaps eventually earning special rare items or weapons, they will never require any large degree of effort on the part of the player in order to complete them and quickly become activities that you perform by rote.

On the plus side, travel time = wank time.

But perhaps the most important thing that hinders No Man’s Sky’s diversity is the necessary homogenisation of its planets in order to maintain a sustainable gameplay environment. See, whilst the procedural generation allowed Hello Games to create a literal galaxy of planets with comparatively little effort, it also introduces an element of dangerous randomisation into the equation: for instance, say you use your last bit of fuel to travel to a planet that spawns without the materials that can be turned into more fuel, and you get stuck? Say you enter system after system, and every single planet spawns as a barren, uninteresting rock? Say a planet’s climate is so hostile that it kills the player as soon as they leave their ship? The size of the game’s galaxy and sheer number of planets within means that reducing the likelihood that a feature will appear by even 1% might mean that no players will ever see the feature because it ‘only’ appears in six trillion planets that will forever remain unexplored, and so Hello painted themselves into a corner in which they needed to ensure that each planet in the game fulfilled certain basic requirements so as not to render the experience unplayable for any user, whilst also ensuring that each player experienced enough diversity to stave off boredom for as long as possible. The end result is that while there might indeed be many distinct variations in the environments that one travels to, ultimately they are all going to fit within a rather narrow sliver of available options; no gas planets, no water planets, no ice balls, no planets with crushing gravity, and all, after a time, exhibiting fairly homogenised geometry. Looking at it from this perspective is the glass-half-empty approach, and a player coming in with lowered expectations and a positive outlook will find far more wonder in the experience than I’ve just described, but it still remains true that, for all the scope of the project, there are certainly some clear and present boundaries and restraints in the final product.

And this is what I found myself seeing clearly after coming back to the game following a months-long break: free from the momentum of the wave of wonder I rode for a good fifty hours after starting the game, the first planet I journeyed to was identical to the amalgamated image of all the other planets I’d been to that now existed in my memory. Whilst I had a distinct idea of the things I wanted to see and do in the game I was left innoculated against any overwhelming sense of repetition, but here I was having made my largest jump yet to a system nearly 200 light years away, and the first planet I land on is the epitome of the ‘average’ planet.

Which begs the question - how would one improve the situation? Because the current release of No Man’s Sky is certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to developing the space exploration genre. Whereas a game like Elite Dangerous might have better performance, a more accurate diversity in planet types, and more engaging controls and combat mechanics, one is limited to a very sparse series of activities in space, and their execution of on-planet traversal is, in a word, tediousandawfulandshit. There is far less to be found in that game on foot than there is in the sky, and far less content overall than No Man’s Sky in total - a game both much cheaper, and easier to pick up and play. I honestly don’t think there is a better middle ground as of yet because the aforementioned randomisation conundrum inhibits too much variation, and to hand-craft a game of this size would literally be impossible. Perhaps we will never get the perfect space game, and perhaps expecting such a thing is folly; I suppose the only change that could have really improved things would have been a managing of expectations.

Incidentally, it’s nearly impossible to find gifs that aren’t from the ‘Queen Elizabeth II tearing Sean Murray a new asshole’ basket.

The release build of No Man’s Sky was lacking a lot of the narrative and mechanical content, as well as some of the diversity that is in the current release, but even then, had it come out of some dark corner from a little-known indie studio it would be seen as an utter triumph - a milestone in independent games development. Hello Games’ neurotic insistence that their game would be something more than it was killed not only their audience’s goodwill, but also any chance that their game would be seen for the incredible indie accomplishment that it is. Instead, it will only ever be seen as inferior to what they said it would be. And while I think the mainstream awakening that occurred as a result of the scandal is good for consumers and the industry at large, it’s a shame that it happened to a game that deserves much more praise that it gets.

But I suppose that that is the nature of the current industry climate - the people calling the shots have a dreadful distrust of the quality of their products, and so good games will disappear into the ether if their lucky or be ruined if they’re not, and all because the people controlling public perception can’t help but fuck things up for themselves. No Man’s Sky is the Betamax of video games - a quality product brought down by its parent company’s bungling business tactics. Hello Games told the public what they thought they wanted to hear, and once they’d popped that cork there was no chance of being able to put it back in. But for those that are untarnished by the backlash, I assure you that the game is a huge departure from almost any space exploration game you’ve played before, and any sense of purpose that it may have been missing in the beginning has been restored, at least somewhat. If you can ignore the negative rhetoric (despite the fact that it’s all I’ve talked about for the last two hundred words) then I think you’ll find something wonderful here. Its price tends to fluctuate, and it has gone back up to fifty pounds at the moment, which I feel is a bit steep. But as far as I know, they’re still working on large, free updates, so any discount on this is a steal.

8/10

Very Good

#no man's sky #hello games #review #video game #space #exploration #planets #space exploration #crafting #survival #casual #relaxing

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thecorteztwins · 7 years

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“X-MEN MUTANT EMPIRE, BOOK THREE:(SALVATION)” PROLOGUE + CHAPTER ONE

@malakhvent @hexiva @muffiewrites @magnetician @superiorvengeance @actually-i-prefer-magneto @taintedhero @magnet-dad Hey there folks! For those new to being tagged in my Mutant Empire reading liveblogs, the “X-Men: Mutant Empire” books are a trilogy written by Christopher Golden in the 1990s. They are novels, not comic books, and the X-novels occupy a very shakey/debated place in canon. That said, they're excellent characterization sources (in my opinion), especially for characters that didn't get much in canon, such as Carmella Unuscione or the Kleinstock brothers. The reason I'm tagging you all, however, is because of the Magneto characterization. He is the main villain of this series, having used a reprogrammed Sentinels to take over Manhattan, along with the help of his Acolytes. He has rechristened Manhattan as “Haven” and invites all mutants to live there, while allowing humans to remain if they agree to live by his new rules under which they are second-class citizens. The X-Men are, of course, trying to intervene, both to stop Magneto himself but also to prevent the US military from deploying their own solutions. Magneto's characterized in these novels more similarly to how he's written today than how he was written in most of the 1990s. For a lot of the 90s, Magneto was, to put it simply, terrible. Like the worst he's been since the Silver Age. As in, literally killed THOUSANDS of innocent civilians. He's not movie fandom Magneto, who only ever hurts very bad people who definitely deserved it, and who usually has no other choice. The Magneto of the 90s is dark as fuck, much like everything else in comics was at the time. However, the Magneto of these books is far more complex, noble, and (by comparison) moderate...while also still not straying from the flaws that make him a villain. It's a little-known, under-rated series, and probably only of interest to Acolytes-loving nerds like me, but I think it's valuable for fans of Magneto who seek to balance his good and bad traits into the most accurate picture possible, so I think it will be of interest to you all even if most of you are writing a movie-based Magneto. So, that's why I tagged you all, I thought you'd find it interesting and enjoyable! This is the THIRD book, so if I haven't tagged you before and you want to catch up, the tag on this blog for it is “mutant empire”! Also, everything in here is opinion, you don’t need to agree with the characterization of Magneto in these books or my analysis thereof, it’s just my own thoughts as I was reading. With that preface out of the way, let's began!

PROLOGUE We begin with Manhattan, which is now called Haven. As a mun who writes the Marvel character called Haven, this keeps making me double-take when people say things like “let's go to Haven” or “you're of no use to Haven”. As a note, I don't think Magneto ever knew about the person Haven (though she is shown to know about him) since he was dead during her period of conflict with X-Factor. Anyway, as for THIS Haven, the subway is down and there's very little traffic, but lots of restaurants and small business are open because they have a fuck ton of new patrons coming in. Mutants are pouring in from across the country, across the world. On the good side, a lot of them doubtlessly need a sanctuary like this. On the bad side, Magneto sees their gathering here as a way to enlarge his Mutant Empire. This is typical of Magneto, if often forgotten by fandom: He wants to save mutantkind as a whole, but the individuals are still means to that end. He did the same thing on Genosha---using the population to form an army---and who can forget his “pawns go first” line in X3? Oh, wait, a lot of people, no one likes X3.

But anyway, this is on the first page and I already like the balance going between the aspects of Magneto as savior and villain. Also, I don't think this connection was intended by the text, but I can't help but see an analogue to Xavier here; he offered a home to mutants in need, then trussed up those same vulnerable teenagers as a private paramilitary group. Both these men have good intentions, but they will take advantage of the very people they're trying to save in order to reach that larger goal.

Also: “In less than a day, he had transformed one of the most important cities on Earth so that it conformed to his vision: a planet where mutants were the masters and humans were the servants. It was the only way for mutants to survive human prejudice.” A lot of people will note that Magneto doesn't want to kill all humans, and that's generally true, but the fact is he does frequently still want mutants to be the dominant species. In his early 2D Silver Age days, this was due to just straight-up thinking mutants superior, but in current times (again, this book was really ahead of its time in terms of Magneto) it's more like what he says here, it's to keep mutants safe. Because humans can't hurt them if THEY'RE the ones who are the underdogs instead. As a note, this is the mentality that I write Anne Marie Cortez as having. She looks at history, looks at the horrible things humans have done to each other, at the horrible things done to mutants now, and is like, humankind obviously cannot be trusted to be in charge. She believes that a mutant-dominated society will be better for mutants AND humans. And she doesn't think mutants will be as bad as humans either, because she believes God created mutants not just to be the physical improvement upon the flawed humanity, but a spiritual one as well. She believes that while some mutants are doing “bad things” now due to this imperfect world, they WILL be better than humans are, they CAN be better, once everything is put right (that is, mutants put on top with Magneto leading them) She, uh, she has religious delusions (with Magneto as the modern Christ in this paradigm, obviously >.< Anne Marie no!)

“From the observation platform at the top of the Empire State Building, Magneto looked down upon his Mutant Empire and his heart swelled with triumph, happiness, and pride. The sun forced his slate-grey eyes into a squint, the wind whipped his silver-white hair across his forehead, and Magneto smiled. It was a beginning.” AWWW I ALMOST WANT THE SERIES TO END HERE! Instead, we go to Wolverine and the Beast, whose exchange is irrelevant to the topic of this post (Magneto) and then to Amelia Voght of the Acolytes. Amelia Voght was a past lover of Charles Xavier, but split up with him when he formed the X-Men. She wanted to live a quiet life, and felt that Xavier's means would attract human attention to mutants. Years later, when she had, despite her attempts at a quiet life on her own, lost everything (including her family) to humans, she joined Fabian Cortez among his second-gen Acolytes recruits. Though Fabian is currently dead at the time of this novel, Amelia, like the other Acolytes, now follows Magneto in his stead (and much more happily) Unlike most of the Acolytes, Amelia receives far more complex characterization, and she's not the bloodthirsty sadistic bigot-for-fun that most of them are. She's actually a lot more like Magneto, which might explain why she follows him, despite having her doubts that his way is any more hopeful than that of Xavier. Anyway, now that you know who she is, here's what's going on. She's pretty pleased too, like Magneto. She's also surprised, not that he succeeded but that humans are still in the city. For those who weren't with me for the first two books, Magneto did NOT kick humans out. He said they could leave if they wanted, and stay so long as they accepted his new rules. A lot did leave, but some did stay (I imagine a lot COULDN'T leave, it takes money to be able to move and set up somewhere else ASAP, so there is definitely a class privilege thing going here, which overlaps with race and sexuality/gender. I don't think Magneto intended that, but the reality is that it's the people who are already the most oppressed that don't actually have a choice in whether they go or stay) Amelia is surprised by this, she thought that the island of Manhattan would be devoid of humans once Magneto took over, but reflects that, as I already noted earlier, “But Magneto's intention had always been for mutants to rule humanity, not destroy it. Voght had privately doubted it was possible. On this day, she changed her mind.” Anyway, Voght thinks about how the US government is still on the fence about what they're going to do, but Voght figures that save for a nuclear strike, Magneto and the Acolytes have it “all wrapped up”.

Amelia enters the reception area. There is one woman (the deputy mayor; the mayor himself “abandoned his city without a thought) and three men, one of whom is the police commissioner. Deputy Mayor Perkins is direct and no-nonsense. Amelia takes them all to meet with Mags, but before she does, warns the police commissioner that “As of this day, Magneto is the only law this island knows. He is not in favor of the death penalty, but that does not mean he does not see its uses.” Kinda like on Genosha, when he killed Fabian Cortez and all the good guys are like OMG YOU MURDERED HIM (come on guys, are you really THAT upset?) and Magneto was like “look, I run Genosha, consider this capital punishment, they have that in the USA you know” Magneto is of course “resplendent in his regal purple-and-crimson uniform. Without his helmet he wore during battle, his silver-white hair fell around his shoulders.” Ooooh, we got a long-hair Mags! He doesn't usually have long hair in 616, that's typically an AoA thing. Also RESPLENDENT I love it. Perkins gets right to it with “Why are we here?” and Magneto appreciates that she has little patience for small talk, but invites them to sit all the same, though he remains standing. He says they're here because they're the highest-ranking officials still remaining in the city and “You all need to know how I wish this city to be run, now that I am its sole authority.” So, a moment ago Amelia was surprised at how “amiable” Magneto is being to these people, how “benevolent” he looks, and I think I can say why---because he's won. He's the one giving orders. He can be nice because he's the top dog now. Admittedly, he was never nice to his underlings while running the Brotherhood, and not exactly friendly to the Acolytes either, but that's when, even though he had control of small group of people, he was still fighting against the larger world. Now that he has what he wants, he's willing to be nicer to those below him. Which isn't a compliment, btw; people who are only decent to others when everything is going their way are NOT good people. I think there's also the aspect of responsibility bringing out the best in him too. As cruel as he was to his followers, he was wonderful to the New Mutants when he was their teacher. Partly I think that's because they were children, but also because they were HIS children, tasked to HIM by Xavier. They were his responsibility in a way that the Brotherhood and Acolytes are not. His job wasn't to lead them, but to take care of them. Likewise, he's going to be taking care of this city, even if he'll also be taking some of its members for his own personal army. So I can see him being more benevolent here, even if only in the sense of a benevolent dictator (which he's very clear is the case, he says so himself he's the “sole authority” from now on) I guess I'm reading a lot into it, it's only two seconds of him being friendly and polite, but once my brain started going on it I couldn't stop.

Anyway, he restates that Haven/Manhattan is now “a class system, with all mutants as the nobility, or ruling class” and basically dictates Perkins as in charge of managing the remaining human population “answerable, of course, to me” and that she can appoint the others to any positions she sees fit to help her. He wants no more drugs, no more violent crime, no more corruption, that he wants all of the problems Manhattan had before his rule to be cleaned up. Perkins argues that corruption is inevitable in any system (I would say ESPECIALLY in this system, if the Acolytes are apparently gonna be “nobility”) Magneto counters that the corrupt are cowardly, thus they have already fled Haven, so logic dictates that there's no more corruption and he won't tolerate any. ...Magneto, your logic is not our Earth logic. Alas, this is pretty typical Magneto, he doesn't always, erm, make sense. Th police commissioner, Ramos, says he's not going to be Magneto's lapdog, that he's only going to enforce ACTUAL laws and that the police are NOT going to become Magneto's personal army. Mags smiles, tells him that he already has a private army, that he doesn't need the police “and I most certainly don't need you.” He then raises one hand in a gesture of “amusement and dismissal” and says, “Amelia, would you mind?” Amelia, for those who forgot or are just joining us, is a teleporter. She sends Ramos outside the building. She then thinks about how she could have teleported him high in the air outside and let him fall to his death, how she is “not a hardened killer, but she knew the value of an example. Still, Magneto would have been specific if he'd wanted the man dead. Her lord rarely sanctioned homicide. Much to the other Acolytes disappointment. A few things: 1) For those wondering about the “her lord” bit, that's not unique to her, all the Acolytes consider him to be their Lord. The big difference between the Acolytes and the Brotherhood is that the Acolytes revere Magneto in a RELIGIOUS sense (which I've built on especially with Anne Marie, while giving Chrome and Delgado different motives, I wanted some diversity of motivation in my crew) They even have a Book of Magnus (which I am pretty sure Fabian wrote, not Magneto) I shit you not 2) “Much to the other Acolytes disappointment” As I've said again and again, the Acolytes members that came after the first team are largely terrible people who just wanna kill all the “flatscans” they can. I wonder if they miss the days when Fabian let them go after hospices and school buses? Yes, really. Fabian did not keep a leash on those guys, he ENCOURAGED them to be bloodthirsty anti-human fucks. You could interpret that as anti-human bigotry on his part, I interpret it on using their rage and sadism to keep them happy and make them easier for him to control 3) Amelia, the hell do you mean you're not a hardened killer? You “made an example” EXACTLY like that in the previous books! Granted, said example was done because humans were threatening/attacking her, so it wasn't in cold blood like it would be here, but still, this is something she has JUST RECENTLY DONE

Magneto continues to those remaining that the Acolytes will enforce the law on the mutant population, the human police on the human. He wants Haven to be an example to the rest of the world---no drugs, full employment, a fair wage, no crime, no homelessness, no hunger. Oh Magneto, you're making Anne Marie's dreams come true. Or trying, anyway, but what's that quote about the road to hell? This is interesting though, because we're getting a glimpse of something we didn't with Genosha (at least in what I've read)---how Magneto would run things (or at least, his ideals/goals) when he's in charge. Oh, and the reason he wants Haven to be an example? “So society knows what to expect when we begin our expansion.” So, here's my question to that...Magneto is happy to let humans leave if they don't like his rules...but if he plans to expand...what happens if (as is probably his goal) he takes over the world? Where do they go then?

Magneto's last word to this lot are that “Bigotry will not be tolerated. Bigots are to be deal with most---harshly.” Amelia, like most people in the comics, knows Magneto's personal history as a Holocaust survivor (it's been presented on trial before) so she knows where this is coming from. But she wonders what would happen if she pointed out how a lot of the Acolytes are “rabid bigots” themselves, and she doubts he'll have them dealt with as harshly “but a woman could dream” (Amelia doesn't like Carmella or the Kleinstock brothers, the specific bigots she was thinking of) Now, I realize the kneejerk response here is to point out that hating the people who oppress you is not the same as bigotry, but trust me guys, she's RIGHT in this case. She is really, really right, like I cannot stress to you what a bunch of genocidal eugenicist assholes these people are. As in, they wanted to kill CHILDREN for being human. Carmella even wanted to kill a MUTANT child because he had Down Syndrome! Unlike real-life minorities, mutants not only have the power to be “reverse bigots” they actually even have a leg to stand on to “justify it” it in terms of “genetic superiority” and believe me, THE SECOND-GEN ACOLYTES USE THAT LEG. A LOT. ...also frankly, I don't think much of Amelia for being one of the “good Acolytes” because that means she's still fucking hanging out with these assholes even though she KNOWS better. You don't get points with me for being more moral than your teammates if that “morality” only amounts to “not joining in the worse stuff they do” rather than any actual opposition and/or leaving the team. And the same to Magneto for employing them, even if he tries to keep a tighter leash than Fabian did. So, the prologue ends there. The first chapter follows, and it doesn't feature Magneto at all, but it has some bits that are very, very relevant to current issues (sadly) so I thought I'd include it too since said bits are brief. CHAPTER ONE The X-Men are meeting with government liaisons Val Cooper (pro-mutant, ally, knows Xavier is their leader) and Henry Gyrich (anti-mutant, doesn't know Xavier secretly leads the X-Men but is the first villain I've seen with the sense to suspect it) discussing what to do about the Haven situation. We are told, as in last chapter, that mutants are pouring into Manhattan/Haven. We learn that the army is trying to keep them out, and that any mutants who enter are considered terrorists. So, we've got an oppressed population, many of which are likely refugees with no place better to go, coming to a place that has opened its doors to them...but the government has decided they're terrorists and is trying to keep them out. That sounds a little familiar. I understand the logic, that any mutant in Haven could potentially join Magneto's army, but “potentially” and “actually” are different things. After all, any refugee could “potentially” be a terrorist too, right? Anyway, blah blah blah, Gyrich is a bad guy, then he tells Gambit “You're in America, speak English” and COME ON I doubt I need to spell out the significance of that. And given that it's coming from Gyrich, there's no way it's not MEANT to be significant.

This was written in 1997, you guys.

Okay, so chapter ends, basically the X-Men have seven hours to go into Manhattan and fix this or else Gyrich is going to have the island nuked and the press will claim that it wasn't the President that did it but the result of Magneto's own terrorist plot backfiring on him with catastrophic results. Because Gyrich is a bastard despite having gotten some neat character insight in the previous books . The X-Men are fucking horrified and Rogue even says “Maybe Magneto has the right idea” but since it's now six hours and forty nine minutes everyone decides they'd better bet going instead of chewing him out, and the chapter ends there. I've got to hand it to Golden, he's doing a really good job with this. Not just with Magneto characterization, but this whole set-up in general. There's a lot wrong with what Magneto is doing, and yet the good aspects are such that it's hard not to just forget the bad and root for him, at least for me. Especially since the human government is, well, Gyrich. But also good folks like Val Cooper. And as linked, we get some depth even to Gyrich. In short, Golden is really, really good at making a multi-sided conflict with multi-sided characters and challenging the reader on who to root for. At least that's my opinion. Stay tuned, folks! ALSO ONE MORE THING! I have a big question---where is Exodus? We know he's here, the first book began with him and Magneto (and Magneto thinking about him as a big purple butterfly, which I loved) But he really hasn't been seen since then, and with no explanation given as to why. This is actually pretty common, Exodus just not being in the picture for whatever reason, because he's so stupid OP that when combined with Magneto, it's pretty much game over for anyone in their way. So writers are always having to find a way to either separate them or put on of them out of commission (it's usually a coma) But here, there's no REASON thus far given for Exy's absence, he's just...not there. Even though he was earlier. So I'm thinking/hoping that maybe in this book we get a good in-universe reason for that, rather than him just poofing because Golden realized that he'd just fucking wipe everybody out in the first book if he was around.

#xmen #x men #x-men #mutant empire #magneto #X men novels

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silver-soliloquy · 7 years

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Rules: put your music on shuffle, list the first 9 songs and your favourite lyrics from those songs, then tag 9 more people.

I was tagged by the lovely @abibliophilehobbit, who takes entirely too much enjoyment in calling out my Les Mis Problem and I can’t even argue with her because:

Stars - Les Miserables 10th Anniversary cast

and if they fall, as Lucifer fell, the flame, the sword, stars, in your multitudes, scarce to be counted, filling the darkness with order and light, you are the sentinels, silent and sure, keeping watch in the night, keeping watch in the night

Disdain - Paul McGann (I FORGOT I HAD THIS ON HERE OH MY GOSH)

If I should be disdainful, who should blame me, when disdain has such a feast as you before it, for it’s so easy to disdain you, courtesy itself could not ignore it! all you say and do invite it, so why fight it, it would be unkind to spite it, I just give you what you ask for, you invite disdain. There’s no one I can point to who respects you, anyone with any sense of taste rejects you, you’re just not nice, each vice infects you, no one here of any note accepts you!

(ROAST HIM BEATRICE)

Fuyu no Hanabi (Winter Fireworks) - No Clouds in the Blue Heavens

(translated) (sounds better/makes more sense in Japanese)

Rising, shining, sparkling, though fated to break apart, this light will continue on in my soul, this radiance will continue on eternally. Everyone under this sky right now, I want to believe they’re all feeling the same thing. Stronger, stronger than anyone else, shooting up like a firework, lighting up the serene night sky, more proud than anyone, shooting up like a firework, show your way of life. I hope we will shine forever.

(the dramatic irony, it’s hitting you in the face Hitsugaya. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. the best part is that this is the meta version where HE KNOWS IT.)

Red and Black - Les Miserables movie cast

The colors of the world are changing day by day-- red, the blood of angry men, black, the dark of ages past, red, a world about to dawn, black, the night that ends at last!

(the whole thing. the whole thing is my favorite.)

Un Monstre a Paris - A Monster in Paris

(this is the French version but I’m using the English version lyrics because I don’t have a direct translation)

I hide my pain inside a melody, as if the notes I sing will set me free, I keep all my dreams under a lock and key, I’m so afraid that they will fly away from me, a monster in Paris

A Little Fall of Rain - Les Miserables original London cast

The rain can’t hurt me now. This rain will wash away what’s past, and you will keep me safe, and you will keep me close, I’ll sleep in your embrace at last. The rain that brings you here is heaven-blessed, the skies begin to clear and I’m at rest, a breath away from where you are, I’ve come home, from so far...

the Dark of the Bleeding Moon: Sorezore Tatakai (Each Battle) - Dark of the Bleeding moon

(translated)

- Only this sword knows the result of this endless battle - With the strength of this feeling, without hesitating, right now, bring the sword down! - You were always disappearing without telling me where you were going, it’s your bad habit, looks like you’re still not cured of that, huh? Gin, where exactly are you trying to go?

(*distant sobbing*)

When I Grow Up/Naughty Reprise - Matilda original Broadway cast

When I grow up I will be tall enough to reach the branches that I need to reach to climb the trees you get to climb when you’re grown up

Slipping - Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog

maybe the fee’s too pricy for them to realize your disguise is slipping, I think you’re slipping

~*~MUSICALS~*~

#memes #abibliophilehobbit #skipping a ton of Big Finish and instrumental tracks #and the second time A Little Fall of Rain came up because COME ON #this took forever because I had to go check the Bleach musicals for those translations #and then just...had a hard time turning them off #THEY'RE SO GOOD #WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THESE WONDERFUL CHARACTERS AND THIS TERRIBLE TERRIBLE WEB OF RELATIONSHIPS #RANGIKUUUU HE'S LOOKING FOR A PLACE WHERE YOU WON'T HAVE TO CRY ANYMORE #HE'S JUST DOING A REALLY TERRIBLE JOB OF IT #oh I forgot to tag people--if you want to do the thing consider yourself tagged!!

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no1geekfun · 5 years

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Anthem Game Review

During the years when the role-playing games began to lose their sparkles, Baldur’s Gate signed its name in history and engraved its name with the golden letters. The legendary heroes look like the Legion of the Dawn.

Just like Legion of Dawn began to interfere with legends like history in recent years at BioWare. In particular, with Mass Effect Andromeda, they will be stuck in the bottom after being stuck to the bottom, or they will come back to the surface with the momentum they are getting from the bottom, and we are looking at the new brands Anthem, who will decide on it a lot. And unfortunately, the result seems to determine how much Bioware can hold his breath under water.

The Divine BioWare!

In Anthem, we are witnessing mankind, who are barely fighting for survival in a dangerous and mysterious world. It is hundreds of years since the legendary heroes called Legion of Dawn save the human race from slavery under the Urgoth race. After the death of the leader of the Legion, Helena Tarsis, the organization could not stay together and these heroes were divided into three groups: Freelancers, Sentinels and Dominion. We represent the Freelancer part of these three factions. Dominion is a kind of mercenary group of mercenaries, who once stood together in the Legion of Dawn. In addition to non-human external threats, Dominion is a kind of police force that protects our main enemies and the Sentinels, mainly Antium. The common denominator of the three groups is that they use exo-armor called ion Javelin baş which is being produced in the time of Legion of Dawn against the threats of the outside world. When it comes to Dominion, some da weird in tools come into play, but it’s a fact that it tells the story.

These three groups and each of their struggles is trying to tell you a lot of big and small stories. But to understand the world of the game, there is one more important thing you should know, the “Anthem” that gave the name to the game, or “Anthem of Creation”, that is to say “The Deity of Creation”. You know that those who are familiar with Middle Earth, or rather Silmarillion, come from Ainur’s Music, the myth of the creation of Tolkien. Anthem’s creation mythology rests his back on a similar music. The divine beings, known as Shapers, which are believed to have shaped the world, have created lives using this Creation of Creation, forming the earth as if they were playing with the play dough. But the legends in the game say that the Shaper disappeared for an unclear reason before completing this formatting process.

These various remnants and mechanisms, which were used to shape the world, but were left behind, caused the world of Anthem to be unstable and chaotic. Often freelancer groups bir silenced lenmiş the remains of the disasters by preventing ”silencing”, but sometimes there is no way to prevent these disasters. This brings us to The Heart of Rage, the opening scene of Anthem. In the first moments of the game, the story that left us in the lap of disaster, reveals how we stumbled as a freshman Freelancer and we were doing a great job. A two-year leapfold after that, he throws us at a time when Freelancers’ reputation is razed to the forefront of even the simplest contracts. Throughout the game there are many movements and choices that will bring Freelancers to the golden days.

Fortnite Waterfalls (Fortnite Overtime challenge)

If you look on paper, all the ingredients are actually in place to create a marvelous recipe, right? A mysterious and engaging world pattern is okay, the Javelin concept is exquisite. Even the organization that we have the chance to become one of the last and last members of the organization is like the signature of Bioware. But even though the main components are beautifully set up, when you start to experience the rest, you see that the situation is similar to that of Anthem’s fiction: half-and-missing by the stylers. Well, in this case, it is very ironic that the metaphor of The Heart of Rage coincides with the players who are finished and waiting to buy in full.

I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy the game during the time I played. Maybe Mass Effect: Andromeda Bioware after the standards about my very low falls in the bottom of the company brings to the mind of the game, the game world, dialogue and character is very nice. Especially in Destiny, which is one of the nearest competitors of Anthem, I kept Freelancer being an overly talkative and entertaining character, considering that one of the most loved characters of the series should be spent in order to break a single sentence from the main character’s mouth for the last two years; it has added both depth and personality to the character. Although they are one of Andromeda’s most humiliated deficiencies, it is very enjoyable to watch the cinematic moments when it comes to the successful character animations made from a lot of buckets to compensate.

Anthem’s gameplay is mostly divided into two parts: the first one in which we enter into dialogue with the nation in Fort Tarsis, where we collect the Codex entries and paint our Javelin armor and set our weapons. Fortunately, the speed of walking at the speed of the animal in the demo, which is a bit faster in the full version of the speed of the full version of the speed of the chore. We meet and mingle with most of the characters in this section, and as I said, there are really interesting ones among them and they are able to connect you to them after some place. They have managed to make Fort Tarsis feel alive for some time. But when you see that you have no contact with anyone except for a handful of predetermined characters, and of course Zoe is trying to get into your Javelin for the fiftieth time. If he really brings korox to the city, he goes to history books! Olursa You’ll understand the characters, although the stories are beautifully written, not too deep and layered. It’s really a pity that we have even reduced the speech options to two, this time when we call Bioware’s dialogue wheel even shallow. Now that you’re talking, you choose one of the two options, and I don’t recall any choice that would affect the story and progress. I think there was only one choice ”you could go to X or Y to do that piece of armor” in the story z although I had done both of them to gain maximum experience points, something changed.

youtube

I said the game is split in two, but there’s actually one more secret between the two: Javelin’s personalization. When I was creating my character, it was oddly enough to choose only one of the ready-made smileys, but when I saw the personalization part of Javelin, I saw that they showed the real care here and I was satisfied. At least first. Because I’m telling you, the whole of Anthem is full of areas that affect you at first glance but when you start digging you find it much more shallow than you expect. That’s one of them. You set up all the equipment of your Javelin, its weapons, its modes or something called J Forge J. The most standard parts are up to two weapons that you can carry with you. Apart from that, there are modes that improve your various features – if you want to get full efficiency, I recommend you to choose the special modes for your Javelin type. Each Javelin has a support ability, and also has heavy balls that you want to use at every turn, corresponding to Q and E on the keypad. Take extra care when selecting these capabilities, as it is very important to set up Primer and Detonator support. Even if you’ve played the game, you can say, yen What is a primer, is it a Detonator? Oyun As a matter of fact, the game makes little effort to explain these features. Again, there are players in what; Redditimten FireDragon04 has created a very useful table, share it here, let’s assume the task Bioware has done spontaneously. (We can even say that in general, Bioware has a serious problem in giving information to the players)

Primer in summary combo preparation movements; First you use them and prepare the enemy in combo, then use your Detonator skills to inflict damage like crazy. Especially in GM1 and above difficulties, it is imperative to use these skills very effectively, so I would like to learn through the general course of the game and learn to practice your hand.

Considering the fact that your Javelin represents you, it is also important to see what the equipment looks like. The cosmetic look you can fine-tune from Forge has a wide range to start. You will come across many different colors and types of Javelins. There is also an analogy of Javelin to Ironman, EVA-01 and Gundam. If you’re wondering who did what, I suggest you take a look at Reddit’s related area. My only disappointment was that the new armor types were not opened as the game progressed. Prospero sells some armor shapes with a stock that changes every week, but it was definitely much more than my expectation. One time is added to the fields where the game needs to improve itself m

Javelins On Us, Weapons In Our Belts J

Eve, we’re here to spend most of our time! No, I’m not talking about installation screens. Although he did not spend a little time during the Early Access period of the game, there is no lie. But the game was able to significantly reduce the patch load times that came before the official exit. So I would like to take a look at the part where we jump into our Javelins and open to the outside world.

First of all, let me take a look: It’s really fun to use Javelins. A total of four Javelin types each have its own, different gameplay. I’m not talking about minor differences in one ability and not in the other. each Javelin really requires a different style of play.

Javelin is a Ranger. She is a bit talented in every respect, and Javelin herself is a young Freelancer. Clearly, it is an ideal model that works in most situations because it can do almost everything that others do (not as good as they are). After the opening, the game gives you the choice of Javelin. The Interceptor is a sleek armor, based on a completely fast movement. If you want to attack the weak points behind the enemy or want to beat the enemy in close combat, this is ideal. Let me remind you that the armor is too weak, not too many enemy fire. Colossus, who is an expert in breastfeeding. It is heavy, slow, but appeals to those who love to put the big shield in the middle of the opponent’s face while sitting and running. representative of the tank class. The last remaining Javelin is Storm, originally Dominion technology. Let’s face it, it’s also one of the most enjoyable armor. Although it is very lightly armored, it stretches its opponents long in the air and strangles its opponents. Just like the magician, you’ll float on top of the battlefield, lightning, fires, and cut down your enemies. Whichever you choose, the more your pilot level is (2, 8, 16, and 26), the more you open them all, and without leaving Fort Tarsis, you can choose whichever you want.

Anthem Javelin Guide – Which One Should We Choose At First?

You have a few different options when you go out into the open world. Freeplay throws you at the heart of the open world and you can explore and explore as you like in this mode. Apart from that, you can perform the tasks and contracts that the story of the game offers you, or if you feel lucky, you can dive into Quickplay and join other players’ random missions and parties. However, because you may not coincide with the tasks that you have not done yet, beware of spoilers. For some reason they thought that it was a good idea to teleport even in important moments of tasks such as Destiny, or even when you stood in your boss for two minutes instead of teleporting your team; instead, it has been a feature that undermines the gaming pleasure. Let me go myself to my teammates I’ve already seen two steps away, right? Anyway, once you get to a certain point in the story, you’ll have a choice called Strongholds. This is Anthem’s dungeon concept. Four people get together and try to find out where the Scar’s got their acidic weapons. The answer is particularly sad for those who have arachnophobia, and I’ll also be stimulated for that. After finishing the main scenario, two more Strongholds are opened, one of which is actually the last one. Even though they are delightful, there are only two strongholds, again giving the impression that Bioware’s work is a bit rushed. At least they said they would add an extra stronghold in the Act 01 add-ons, which will come at least later in March. I hope that the number of Stronghold in the game continues to increase rapidly.

Water Cooled Jetpack

Anthemğs open world, even though its formation is unfinished, has an eye-catching beauty. The regions, which are designed as horizontally as vertical, attract and attract you to your sense of discovery at first. But as in the whole game, you realize that you are doing just three things in this big world after a while: You are killing something or trying to defend a circle until a radio signal bar is filled or you pick up an object in the direction that your radar tells you and bring it to a certain area. It is a pity that the entire mission structure of the Koskoca Anthem is based solely on these three.

There are many areas in the open world that you can explore outside these missions, but these are mostly Codex notes, Arcanist runes or treasure chests; they do not feel sufficiently. full m, they do not reward your discoveries. Fortunately, the map is not as small as I thought it was at first glance. But when you open the map screen to see it, you’ll regret it because you’re going to regret it because you’ve designed a disgraceful interface that is overwhelmed by the uselessness of the menus. The fact that the map screen has nothing to do with the vertical playground, as well as any marking, or the fact that Freeplay is the most inexpensive of some of the standard features of the market, even the cheapest and most foolish games such as showing where you die when you are playing alone, is a complete disaster. Fortunately, players have been voicing their opinions quite a bit about this since the demon, which, despite all the negativity, still leads me to the slightest crumb of Anthem.

Yeah, yeah, you didn’t read it wrong. Despite all these considerations, despite the cons, I still don’t close the door to the possibility that Anthem could be a good game, sitting one day in the future. Because the main components of the game have nice ideas, fun mechanics. When you enter the forums or Reddit, you can see that Bioware really wants Anthem to succeed when you look at the producers’ posts on Twitter. Then why don’t you know if you say the game is fully ready, ready before the end, I don’t know. Maybe the EA game pushed for early decals, perhaps they believed they could roll the caravan on the road, maybe they would give the players the game and then think about making changes according to the next comments.

What is certain is that Bioware has released Anthem on the market without taking lessons from their mistakes, although there are examples like The Division and Destiny before them. But at least they’re making a quick and enthusiastic return from these two rivals that I’ve counted about listening to their players and responding to their requests. So it is very unlikely that we will find a much more neat, well-established game in the coming months as it is in the competition. Oh, can I suggest you buy the game by then? That depends on how much you trust Bioware and how hungry you are in a new loot-shootera. Instead of spending a lot of money on a game that is still lacking in tone, it is better to take a Origin Access membership and test it in a 10-hour trial. But the fact that Bioware can keep her breath at that bottom where she collapsed while keeping a close line on the edge from The Division 2 k

Since this is a continuum game, we plan to update our review when BioWare makes the game better.

PROS:

It’s very enjoyable to check the javelins. Each has its own playing style. Fly! His world, his characters and his stories give hope for the future. He manages to think and use the game map as vertically as horizontally. Bioware is quick and effective in getting in touch with players and getting a return. No meaningless long micro-pay walls, the game is rewarding you generously to get what you want.

CONS:

Interface design disaster. The map is incredibly unusable, suffocating with the menus. Masterwork is very ordinary until you reach the level of Legendary There are only three types of tasks, and it quickly turns into a vicious circle. When Freeplay is entered with random players, they leave everyone unreliable and do not direct enough. There are no choices to influence the story. It is generally rushed and feels like it needs further development. He’s still so pathetic.

Anthem Game Info:

Anthem (video game) initial release date:

The game was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 22, 2019.

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Anthem Game Review

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hodldrgn-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://www.cryptomoonity.com/devcon-iv-a-welcome-dose-of-humanity/

Devcon IV: A Welcome Dose of Humanity

Food with a view: Devcon IV, Prague Congress Centre, 2018

It’s only been a few short months since dipping my toes into crypto full time, but man, does it feel longer. The handful of conferences I’ve been to have spanned the chasm of blockchain, from shillfests to hackathons galore. And sadly, each and every one has left me feel wanting; from dry lectures covering not-so-subtle infrastructure pitches to here’s-our-new-whiz-bang-library-that-utilizes-our-system workshops. I’ve walked away from each event drained from the pitches vying for my attention, technical conversations knee-deep in newly-learned jargon and non-stop transactional interactions with other attendees.

I was starting to lose hope I’d ever find an event with any real substance — one where I’d walk away fulfilled. So I was pleasantly surprised to find something a little different in Prague last week at the annual Ethereum developer conference, Devcon. What I found was something I’d almost given up expecting to see in this space, some humanity.

Quite frankly, I’ve never been to a venue quite like it, and instead of emerging bleary-eyed and run-down each day, I’d walk out invigorated.

The first thing that struck me was the space itself. The Prague Congress Centre is a gorgeous venue with lush view over the city, and tons of natural light. Each day had a wide selection of local and healthy food choices, with reusable plates and utensils to reduce waste. Quite frankly, I’ve never been to a venue quite like it, and instead of emerging bleary-eyed and run-down each day, I’d walk out invigorated.

The next thing I noticed was the tone of the interactions. It’s hard to find people in the blockchain space — including Ethereum — who aren’t constantly pitching themselves, their project and their ideas at you. Yet I noted time and again, that the anxious, sometimes arrogant behavior so common in the industry was much less present at Devcon than at other conferences. Sure, conversations in the hallways were still very transactional, but the tone was more curious than questioning. Perhaps the MC Jonathan Mann and his endearing songs helped set the mood as we laughed along with each other about Ethereum’s woes (Vitalik’s refrain “that didn’t work” for the number of Ethereum 2.0 false starts really hit the mark).

They challenged us all to stand up for the freedoms we espouse.

Another contributing factor to the humanism I felt was the content. As expected, there were deep dives on a number of upcoming Ethereum v2 (ahem Serenity) technologies, yet there were also a number of talks touching on social responsibility. This included Lane Rettig’s presentation on Wednesday (Towards a Socially Scalable Etherean future), Cory Doctorow’s lecture on Thursday (Decentralize, Democratize or Die) and the fireside chat with Stewart Brand — hacker and author at age 79 — at closing on Friday. While the crypto froth of 2017 may have brought a large number of undesirables into blockchain, there is still a strong libertarian undercurrent that these speakers paid homage to. They challenged us all to stand up for the freedoms we espouse. I found their passion for humanity refreshing and inspiring.

The agenda also focused heavily on user experience (UX). There was the implicit acknowledgement of the need for better usability in blockchain — something many of us agree is sorely lacking. UX after all is the intersection between human and machine, and the creation of that interface layer requires both strong technical skills as well as empathy. There were a number of designers in attendance, some of whom volunteered their time each day with UX insight on fledging projects. They not only brought their diversity of experience, but also their refreshing perspectives.

Speaking of refreshing, I also found the Artifaqts artworks to be a fun addition to the week — those computer terminals decked out as sacrificial alters from Dante’s Inferno — they added a welcome creative flair to the conference. Hats off as well to the Hellhound team, who hosted the very fun — and challenging — Escape the Room. We didn’t pass level 3, though I blame myself for that (not to mention those similar-looking shapes!).

The effect was… stunning. I found myself sneaking off there a number of times to meditate and unwind.

Finally, I have to mention the Neptune room. It was put together as a sensory reprieve from the intensity outside. I’m a sucker for acoustic instruments, world music and soundscapes, so needless to say Neptune was my heaven. The artist Laura Inserra performed on instruments from around the world into microphones arranged in an inner circle, with corresponding speakers placed in a circle outside. The audience was encouraged to bask in the space between, lounging on beanbags and ottomans, as she mixed acoustic sounds with prerecorded soundscapes underneath the flow of responsive LED lights. The effect was… stunning. I found myself sneaking off there a number of times to meditate and unwind. Kudos to whomever in the conference organizing committee pushed for it. I felt truly privileged to have experienced those performances each day.

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I never thought I’d find a tasteful decompression within a conference. Inspiring and nourishing. Chambers of AWE at #DevCon, performed by @laurainserra https://t.co/R3nCGzdCiI

— @justinjmoses

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So all that said — how can the event improve?

As an engineer in web technologies, I’ve been to a number of JavaScript (JS) events in recent years. The JS space — and umbrella organization JSConf — works hard to be inclusive, with strict Codes of Conducts (Devcon has one as well), open budgets, a commitment to more diverse speakers and safe spaces for those from underrepresented groups. Diversity of backgrounds, ideas, opinions and perspectives is one of those things that people don’t even realize are missing until they’ve experienced the difference. I think Ethereum and the Devcon team still have a ways to go to make the conference more open and inviting for all. As a small example, I felt uncomfortable with one of the jokes in the keynote, but had no forum to raise concerns (other than this open Ethereum one Lane just announced). When I spoke of this to other attendees, most rebuffed any concerns I had, rather than trying to imagine scenarios where someone might be uncomfortable, or even unsafe, in a space they find “harmless”.

Another process the JSConf events practice is opening up the Call For Presenters (CFP) selection so anyone can see all the submitted talks that the chosen were taken from. This gives attendees a peek behind the curtain at what kind of content the community is submitting, and what the organizers have prioritized. There is also a tendency at JSConf events to include surveys after talks to ensure speakers’ receive feedback, hopefully improving their craft. I would have dearly loved to see improvements there, as a number of speakers have a ways to go to make more approachable and engaging sessions.

In terms of engagement — I think there was room for more interactivity. One of the more enjoyable sessions during the week was a workshop on Building Bounties Based Products to Change the Gig Economy. It was designed as an unconference — topics were suggested and voted on initially, then we were encouraged to split up into fresh pairs to discuss, before bringing ideas back to the whole group. What I appreciated the most about the session was how inclusive it was — everyone had thoughts and ideas on online reputation, ethics and quality assessment, and all disciplines were welcome — developers, designers and product managers (among others) were all able to add their thoughts and opinions.

We are a rich community, and we can do so much more than just drink and talk.

While that workshop was a good step, I feel there’s even more audience participation we can foster at events such as these. We are a rich community, and we can do so much more than just drink and talk. We all have knowledge and experience to bring to bear, so I’d love to see more discussions around topics such as personal freedoms, human connection, empathy to our fellow beings and social responsibility.

Devcon IV really impressed me. It showed me that while the blockchain space is awash with wealth, ego and arrogance, there are some trying to do and be more. I commend the Ethereum Foundation for their efforts and hope to help do my part to give back to the community to help strengthen it.

A huge thank you to the organizing committee of Devcon. I know from experience how much work goes on to organize a developer conference, and for 3000-odd people to walk away smiling, an army of people have to be thanked.

Disclaimer: While I was at Devcon on behalf of Havven, these opinions are my own.

Prague, Czech Republic

The Neptune Room

Cory Doctorow’s “Decentralize, Democratize or Die”

The case for Proof of Stake

A conversation with Stewart Brand, hacker and author at 79.

Devcon IV: A Welcome Dose of Humanity was originally published in Havven Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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#Blockchain #conference #devcon #Ethereum #Prague

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crxssart · 7 years

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New Post has been published on CrxssArt

New Post has been published on http://crxssart.com/2017-orlando-florida-trip/

2017 Orlando Florida Trip

My trip to Orlando this year was a little under amazing, like an amazing minus. It was kind of a mix between a little crazy and relaxation, which is cool. Usually it’s all crazy because you are focused on the parks and everything else you want to do. I actually had the opportunity to even eat good food instead of burgers and fries all week. I did Walt Disney Magic Kingdom, which I also did last year but this time it felt a little more enjoyable. It was still a little crazy but this time I cared less on doing the whole park. I did not have to spend my time running to the next line and tracking every single minute while I was in the park. I spent no time seeing the Disney characters. Those are one of the things that usually consume most of your time in Disney because the wait time can run anywhere from 2-3 hours just for a 5 sec picture. My most exciting thing in Disney his time was getting in the park and I will elaborate.

I am always in for a deal where ever I go and would spend hours trying to get a deal to cut cost. I am not cheap in no way shape of form and wouldn’t mind paying full price for the entrance but the enthusiasm of getting the ticket cost reduce and succeeding is what I live for. So we were referred to a ticket half of deal and had to meet the sellers in the a.m which we did. We waited at the location and watched all the sellers and people involved exchange cars and do whatever shady business they had to do. It was a little uncomfortable watching them point fingers and yelling at each other. I wasn’t sure if this was their first time doing this but it was very unprofessional as I shook my head. I wanted to see how it would be done and the trick so I know what to do next time. I knew they all had some kind of pass that I couldn’t get my hands on because it must have been for residents or something like that. While watching every thing unfold you also have to be aware because many of these people are scammers and will take your money. I figured if I were to get scammed I could just get a legitimate ticket at the gate but the learning experience is un-replaceable.

Please Click on the plus sign below in the box for more…

Please Click on the plus sign on the right for more...

Until now I was completely un-successful getting a ticket or even close to getting in to Disney. My first encounter to obtaining a tick was a referred to two guys who lived in a disgusting looking trailer park infested with bugs and a dog. The seller could hardly make it to my car because he was so high. I quickly jumped out the car and walked to him because I wanted to hear what he had to say. He brought some papers to me that looked like its been scanned in a bad copy machine and said he got the ticket as a gift. I figured it could have been true but to make sure I insisted we go together and he watch me go in then I will pay him right there. I was mainly worried about the fingerprinting process Disney had in place and I felt his ticket were used before. He wanted me to pay him there and find out at the gate alone that I had been scammed. All he kept talking about was the ticket was real and if I can give him half of the money now and half later after I get in via western union. I quickly snatched that off my list and was also contacted by another dude from the list of numbers I have been calling for tickets. This dude said I am not in Florida but if you send me your I.D I will create tickets for you, which you can pick up at the Disney booth. He said you don’t have to pay me until you are in the park and its 100% legitimate. It sounded to good to be true especially for the price, which was like 60% off the regular ticketed price. The only thing is I did not want to send him a pic of my I.D and he mentioned to me that if he didn’t have my I.D how would he confirm I would pay him when I am in the park. He stated that if I didn’t pay him he would use my I.D to report me to the cops and if I paid him he would just delete the pic. I knew I had to send him my I.D in order for Disney to confirm who I am and if I had just send him a fake I.D with an alternate name when I get to Disney I wouldn’t be able to get my tickets. Even though I knew this was a no, no but most importantly I wanted to know how he was making money and the trick to his scam. I reached out to a few friends in NYC who informed me that I should absolutely don’t get the ticket from him because he was purchasing the tickets with fraudulent credit cards. They said the moment I go into Disney with my fingerprint my print is now attached to the ticket which could come back to bite me. I wanted absolutely no part of that.

Back to the original story, the lady told us to follow her and when we got to the park we would be split in two groups. I said cool and followed them to the Disney parking lot and had to pay absolutely nothing. At that point I figured that she must have been an employee or have some kind of contact or something because they did not even acknowledge us as we drove into the parking lot. Once we parked she said to me once you get to the gate another woman would find you and take you in. We all said ok, thinking in the back of our mind how would this lady find us. She then walked away with the first group and we approached the train to the main entrance. When we got to the gate we just waited there looking stupid and a lady came along and handed us tickets and said go in. We stood on line and the tickets worked, hurray. The other weird thing is she stood with us for like an hour and did everything we did. It was strange because we didn’t know this woman and she was following us everywhere. Once she left we were all happy and went ahead and enjoyed the day.

The Next day we went ahead and enjoyed the Pirate Dinner, which was cool. I was a little worried about the food looking so small at first but it wasn’t terrible. The play to me I thought could have been better but whatever. Info, Pirate’s Dinner Adventure is an interactive Pirate stunt show that puts you right in the middle of all the action. Over 100 people from the audience is used during the show every night. Voted by Orlando Sentinel readers as Orlando’s BEST DINNER THEATER 2011, and runner up Best Themed Restaurant 2012.

The following day we went to Universal, which to me is always amazing. I feel Disney is for the kids and Universal Studios is totally for the adults. You know I had to get discounted tickets as well. This time I was a little confident about the seller due to his presentation. I wouldn’t get into much detail about the scheme but its practically getting into Universal for free. The Seller is an employee and you can tell he does it everyday because everything was done professionally.

I would say that the overall trip was dope. Please review the pictures below and update me on your experience if you have any.

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jameshboyd · 7 years

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Humor in the Bible

"Are Christians allowed to laugh, have fun and enjoy life?"

When discussing my faith with others, this issue comes up frequently from Christians and non-Christians alike. When I was first introduced to the Gospel as a teenager, I asked it myself, and with good reason. To be sure, the call to follow Jesus is a very serious and sober one, commanding us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, even if it means laying down our very lives (Matthew 10:39; John 12:25). But the next question deals with how we apply this commitment to our lives on a day-to-day basis. Does Jesus' call to self-denial and holiness mean that we cannot enjoy even the legitimate pleasures of life? I don't think so. Laughter is one of the most primal responses human beings are capable of experiencing. Philosophers and psychologists have long sought to understand its complexities on emotional and physical levels. Journalist Norman Cousins credited the healing power of laughter to his recovery from a fatal illness. Jane Wollman points out that "(Laughter) excercises the diaphram and stomach muscles, in addition to massaging the internal organs. Moreover, by stirring up the endocrine system, it triggers the release of hormones that boost metabolism...Sigmund Freud thought laughter originated from the smile of an infant falling asleep at the breast-the emotional expression of pleasurable satiety (2)." Of course, for those who love the Bible, these healthy effects of laughter should come as no surprise. Thousands of years earlier, Proverbs 17:22 told us how "...a merry heart does good like a medicine." We read in Psalm 24:1 that "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof (King James Translation)." 1 Timothy 6:17 further tells us that God gives it all to us for our enjoyment. and that "the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)." It even states that God Himself sits in Heaven and laughs at human foolishness (Psalm 2:4). The Bible uses words such as “laugh,” “laughter,“ or other variations of those words over 200 times. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery tells us that “The Bible is predominantly a serious rather than a funny book. Yet it would distort the Bible to suppress the humor that is present (3).” As with all of life, the key is balance. As Ecclesiastes tells us, there is both a time to weep and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Mark Pinski, former religion writer for the Orlando Sentinel, rightly observes that:

(T)he ability to laugh at one’s faith is a sign of growth and theological maturity... humor is a way of explaining religion — to its adherents and to others. Increasingly, believing members of orthodox faith traditions are able to joke about their foibles and shortcomings before an audience of their community (4).

With these facts established, we will now look at a few specific examples of humor in the Bible. First let’s look at the Book of Exodus, chapter 32. Moses has been on Mount Sinai communing with God and receiving the Ten Commandments. While he was gone, he leaves his brother Aaron in charge. Unfortunately, though, we know what happens. The people’s commitment to God and to Moses turns out to be very fickle, and they have Aaron melt down their gold and make a golden calf idol for them to worship. Obviously, when Moses returns, he is not happy! He burns the idol, grinds it to powder, mixes it with water, and makes the people drink it. Is this funny? No, except for one place. When Moses confronts Aaron in verse 21, look at Aaron’s response in verses 22-24: "Don’t get so upset, my lord, … You yourself know how evil these people are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!” We may laugh at that, but in reality, haven’t we all given God those kind of excuses at some point? Next let’s look at 1 Kings chapter 18. This is the familiar story of Elijah and his showdown with the prophets of Baal. As most of you will recall, they had both built their altars and were engaged in a contest to determine who was serving the true God. The challenge was that both would call down fire from Heaven to consume their respective sacrifices and the one who answered was the one to be worshipped. The prophets of Baal went first, but they had a problem: Their god, Baal was only a statue. He could not hear them, let alone answer them. So when they called on him to send down the fire, obviously, they got nothing. Now the funny part: We see Elijah respond with a little sanctified “trash talking” in verse 27. The King James words it "And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked." In that day, "on a journey" was a Hebrew euphamism for going to the bathroom! This is reflected in many modern translations. In other words, “Where is you god, sitting on the toilet?” So ladies, cut your husbands some slack: "Potty humor" is biblical! Next, let’s look at that venerable guide for practical wisdom, the Book of Proverbs. Millions of believers, myself included, look to it regularly for important life lessons. But what we often miss is that they are often cloaked in very funny terms. Here are some examples:

Proverbs 11:22 A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

Proverbs 19:24 Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

Proverbs 21:9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

Proverbs 22:13 The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!”

Next we will look at the life of Jesus. Did He have a sense of humor? Now it is true that Isaiah 53:3 describes Him as a “man of sorrows,” but does that describe the whole of His human experience? I don't believe it does. Always keep in mind that Jesus was both fully God and fully human, and a part of being fully human is experiencing the full range of human emotion, both the joys and the sorrows. Jesus was not the dour, gloomy person that popular religious tradition has often painted Him as being. He "rejoiced (Luke 10:21)," which is the Greek word agalliaô which means "to exult, rejoice exceedingly, be exceeding glad." He was not a far-off ascetic who simply sat on a mountain at spouted platitudes. He met people where they were. He attended weddings and other social functions (John 2:1-11), even to the extent that He was (falsely) accused of being a glutton and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19). People from all walks of life actively sought out His company. Did you ever wonder why this was? While the spiritual aspects of His presence are obvious, could it have also been that He was (gasp) a fun guy to be around? Unfortunately, though, this side of Jesus is a much-neglected course of study in the theological world. However, a notable exception is the popular book called “The Humor of Christ” by a Quaker author named Elton Trueblood. Mr. Trueblood tells us of his inspiration for writing the book:

We were reading to our eldest son from the seventh chapter of Matthew' Gospel, feeling very serious, when suddenly the little boy began to laugh. He laughed because he saw how preposterous it would be for a man to be so deeply concerned about a speck in another person's eye, that he was unconscious of the fact that his own eye had a beam in it...His laughter was a rebuke to his parents for their failure to respond to humor in an unexpected place. (5)

Here Mr. Trueblood brings up a vitally important point: Many of Jesus' parables and illustrations had humorous overtones in the vernacular of that day. A common form of communication for Jews in that day was called hyperbole, or exaggeration to emphasize a point. A modern example would be “I haven’t seen you in a million years!” Here, Jesus uses it in a very funny way. Being a carpenter, He used the tools of His trade to make a stinging point about religious hypocrisy. “Why are you worried about a speck in your brother’s eye when you have a two-by-four in your own eye?” Another example: Matthew 15, starting with verse 21. A gentile woman comes to Jesus asking Him to heal her demon possessed daughter. But Jesus reply is shocking: “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel…It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” I have to admit that Jesus' response here always bothered me a little. At first glance, it seems that Jesus is being very cruel and insulting to this woman. That is, until you consider the humor element. Look at her response in verse 27: “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” Basically, she had just “one-upped” the Lord, and He commends her great faith and sets her daughter free. Elton Trueblood also reminds us that “Often a smile comes because Jesus reveals to us some of the absurdity of our own lives, where we need help to recognize it (6).” I can certainly say "amen" to that, can't you? Now I would like to address a topic that will no doubt prove to be a bit controversial: Exactly what kind of humor is appropriate for Christians? More specifically, I want to spend a little time talking about profanity, crude language and "off-color" humor. Our movies are rated primarily in three areas: Sexual content, violence and language. While we certainly do need to use discernment in how we address and evaluate these topics, many well-meaning believers say that we need to avoid any and all references to them. Of course, if we take this to its logical conclusion, then the first book we will have to throw away is the Bible itself! Lets face it: The Bible is, in places, a very violent book! Yes, it is God's Word, and as such, it does not ignore the darker aspects of life. The Bible describes a man getting a tent peg hammered through his skull (Judges 5:23-27). It tells us how King David paid his wife's dowry with 100 Philistine Foreskins (2 Samuel 3:14). It even describes, in very graphic detail, an overweight king named Eglon who was assassinated with a sword, soiling himself in the process (Judges 3:21-22)! And as for sexuality, have you read the Song of Solomon lately? Of course, the context is always the key. By including these stories, the Bible is not encouraging gratuitous violence. It is simply acknowledging that it does exist in the fallen world we live in. Furthermore, the Song of Solomon is not condoning perverse or promiscuous sexual conduct. Rather, it is a liberating celebration of sexuality between a man and his wife. I personally am glad that many Christian leaders are more willing to discuss these topics in an honest and frank manner (7). Locking away any topic as being "taboo" will ultimately do more harm than good. This is why much of what is offered as "wholesome" entertainment is often a shallow, unrealistic characature of life. I enjoy "Leave it to Beaver" reruns as much as anyone, but that is definitely not the world I live in! But the question still remains: When, if ever, is it appropriate for Christians to use "off-color" language? A certain well-known minister once shocked his audience by stating that "...millions of people are starving to death, and most of you don't give a ----!" He went on to rebuke them by saying that "The sad thing is, most of you are more upset at my using that word than you are about people starving!" Was this the best way to make his point? That is open to debate, but it does call challenge us in how we are going to define "bad words." Often, the word "profanity" is used to describe any and all forms of off-color language, but that goes beyond its actual meaning. The word "profanity" means "outside the Temple" and refers specifically to blasphemous or sacriligious terms. Of course, this should not be part of any Christians vocabulary (Exodus 20:7). Nor should immoral sexual talk (Ephesians 5:4) or racist or otherwise degrading language (Matthew 5:22). These principles are summed up in the following Biblical guidelines:

"No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear.”- Ephesians 5:4

"But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."-Colossians 3:8, NIV

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."-Colossians 4:6, NIV

Yet outside of these common-sense perimeters, the Bible simply does not give us an explicit list of "forbidden" words that we are never allowed to utter under any circumstances. More often than not, the definition of "bad words" is culturally determined rather than biblically mandated, and is therefore subject to change over time. For example, the word "gay" is now almost universally recognized as referring to homosexuality. Yet originally, it meant to be happy or light hearted. Similarly, to "have an affair" once meant to throw a dinner party or other social gathering. Now it means to commit adultery. "Grass" used to be something people mowed, now it is something people smoke! This is noteworthy because the Bible itself even uses rather crude language on occasion. Although it is sometimes obscured by our flowery King James English, there is an inherant "earthiness" to the Scriptures that is often overlooked.

Isaiah 64:6 states that man's righteousness is as "filthy rags." Literally translated, this is referring to a bloody menstruel cloth.

Matthew 15:17- Jesus illustrates a point by referring to a bowel movement.

Matthew 23:33- Jesus calls the religious leaders a "generation of vipers," or "sons of snakes." Referring to someone as the offspring of an animal remains a common and forceful means of denunciation. The modern equivilent would be "son of a (not-nice word for a female dog)."

Galatians 5:11-12- Paul wishes that the false teachers in the church would castrate themselves.

Phillipians 3:8- Paul compares his pre-Christian life to fesces.

So am I trying to justify bad language? Not at all. I am simply saying that we should define our terminology by the Bible itself, not simply letting cultural norms dictate to us what does and does not constitute improper language. God is not as prudish as we may have been led to believe! God gave us life to be enjoyed. Jesus said "I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)" (John 10:10, Amplified Bible). This is why Christians should be having more fun than anyone on earth! It only makes sense that people who are going to Heaven would be happier than people who are going to Hell! Not only that, this joy gives us a very powerful tool with which we can communicate both our faith and our humanity. In the words of Joel Hunter, Pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, Florida:

"The more seriously we take God, the less seriously we need to take ourselves. Self-deprecating humor not only reduces the intimidation factor, it personifies the possibility of success of people with flaws. Pastors who can joke about their own shortcomings are paradoxically making the ideals of religion seem more possible by putting them in a common human experience (8)."

It is sometimes said that "The medium is the message." While that may be true to some degree, we must also make sure that the medium does not obscure or compromise the message. As we have seen, there is certainly a place for humor in communicating spiritual truth, we must never let that distract from the seriousness of our message. The minister's chief role is to be a messenger of God, not simply an entertainer. The Bible says that walking with God is a life of pleasure (Psalm 16:11), delight (Psalm 37:4), sweetness (Psalm 119:103), joy (John 15:11) and freedom (John 8:32). Yet this relationship is built on very somber realities. In short, God is holy, man is sinful, but God loves us in spite of that. In His death on the cross, Jesus paid our sin debt so that we could receive God's forgiveness and experience this joy both here and forever! If you have never entered into this relationship, why not open you heart to Him now? © 2011 JHB NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture referances are from the New Living Translation.

1-Quoted in Allen, Steve. How To Be Funny: Discovering the Comic You. 1987. Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY. p 7. 2-Dictionary of Biblical Imagery: An Encyclopedia Exploration of the Images, Symbols, Motifs, Metaphors, Figures of Speech, Literary Patterns and Universal Master Images of the Bible By Leland Ryken, Jim Wilhoit, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, Daniel G. Reid Published by InterVarsity Press, 1998 p. 407 3-Pinski, Mark I. "On Religion" column." Putting the 'Fun' in Fundamentalism." USA Today. December 08, 2008. 4-Trueblood, Elton. The Humor of Christ. 1964. Harper & Row Publishers. New York, Evanston and London. P 9 5-Ibid. p 50 5-Altough he is a controversial figure,. I gratefully acknowledge various teachings from Pastor Mark Driscoll as a source and inspiration for portions of this message. 8-Quoted in Pinski,"Putting the 'fun' in fundamentalism" cited above.

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