#arc : trespasser / it was about people doing what was necessary.

[muppetbyers]

will being “good at hiding”, the ud being a mirror of hawkins so he was Right There but also not. how he likely only survived so long because he was good at running and hiding from the demogorgon, and of course everyone was looking for him but if he didn’t try to reach out and communicate with joyce then he maybe wouldn’t have made it out at all. how at first he tried to defend himself but it was futile, maybe he couldn't have even done it anyways. the clone of his body that joyce immediately knew wasn't will.

will coming back wrong and feeling like a freak and being targeted at school, the scene of him walking down the hallway while everyone looks at him. he only opens up to mike at first and singles him out as not making him feel like "even more of a freak". he hides things from joyce until he cant because it all goes so wrong. how he tries to run and hide from it but its when he tries to fight back and stand his ground that it gets him. literally being possessed, his entire self being taken over, "what happens when he cant remember anything? when there's nothing else there? what happens when my boy is gone", and how joyce, jonathan and mike can bring him back just enough for him to help save them, even if saving them could kill him. and how none of them let that happen and they force the mf out to get will back.

in s3 when he's there but basically invisible, like a twisted parallel of s1. he's right there but having to still try to be noticed, and this time it ends with him destroying castle byers. the same castle byers that he hid in in the ud before the demogorgon found him, and which the memory of building with jonathan helped bring him back. castle byers with its 'all friends welcome' sign but joyce needed a password to be let in. how he has a 'no trespassing' sign on his bedroom door.

and just everything about dnd and "you shouldn't like things just because people tell you to" and how he doesn't conform to mike and lucas's 'normal teenage boy' shtick and how he tries to be his normal, but its just different to what they're doing. he destroys castle byers in part because he feels too seen, "what did you think that we were gonna sit around in the basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives" and yet he says yes, to mikes face. he gives away his dnd set but promises its not possible to join another party, and he doesn't.

he dances with a girl at the snowball bc he doesn't know what to do and mike is there pushing him to. in lenora he does a presentation on alan turing in front of, presumably, his whole class.

in s4 how his outfits just make him merge into the settings, almost camouflaged. how he doesn't reach out to mike despite wanting to stay in contact with him because he cant risk being too seen, because he doesn't want to lose their friendship. "sometimes its hard to say how you really feel", and then giving mike the painting under the guise of it being from el, masking feelings that are only his with el's name, trying so hard to express his own feelings but at the same time divorcing himself from them. jonathan immediately clocking it and for probably the first time ever, someone is truly seeing him and telling him directly that they love him no matter what. because they know, they know and its okay. how "hakwins isn't the same without him" and "god we need will" and his friends have his drawings on their walls and and and.

just. how hiding is the most integral part of wills arc and how everything is linked back to him hiding. and how sometimes its necessary to survive but that doesn't make it hurt less. and how he has so much courage and he's so true to himself but tries so hard to be both seen and not seen, because fuck man its complicated being who he is. and just. how other people's love for him keeps bringing him back, can bring him out of hiding. yeah. idk.

#me when themes and repeated motifs and and #just. WILL AND HIDING!!!! MY GOD!!! #also they are more contained arcs in s1 and 2 bc of How the show was back then and in s3 it wasn't resolved the same way bc s4 and 5 were #already greenlit probably but Also how that just ties in w his coming of age and how things are just more complex for him than they were #when he was a little smaller. even in the face of the supernatural. idk. i love it #dont actually know what this is i just think his arc is my favourite thing ever and i WILL just talk about it bimonthly for no reason at al #i loveeeee will byers can u tell #long ass post my god im sorry #if there are mistakes in this post no there aren't and if im wrong no im not. if u read this no u didnt #this was done by memory in a very frenzied moment please ignore it i just need to talk about will rn. causal wednesday for me atp. #mine

[galadhremmin]

We have derived Caranthir liking the Dwarves (and vice versa) because apparently, Finrod succeeds in every field Caranthir fails, and at this point it's clear this derives from the in-universe writer of the Silm and his own biases. Think about it: "Dark Finwë" , a grumpy, prejudiced lordling, and "Hair Champion", most handsome, noble king, have met with the same people!! Yet the king of the first secret kingdom is everyone's friend, but the prince that trades with them regularly is not... seems sus.

Hence, Caranthir is friends with the Dwarves. (But that is just an interpretation, so you're free to think what you wish, I just have several opinions on in-universe prejudice and the almighty narrative.)

I think that 'we' might actually have been Dawn Felagund years ago. Maybe this reading existed even before that, but I doubt that-- she's been very influential in silm fandom and was long before tumblr was much of a thing. https://dawnfelagund.com/caranthir-the-slandered

I wouldn't say it's 'clear' that what amounts to Caranthir's entire documented personality derives from the bias of the in-universe narrator, though as you can see from Dawn's writing it's a reading you can argue for. There are a number of different approaches you can take to the Silm and its biases anyway. One of the few times when it's absolutely clear the text isn't telling the entire story is when it talks about the Easterlings. I've posted about this before but the recorded names are, uhh.... the ones to betray the elves are unlikely to actually have been named things like 'ugly lord' and 'ugly beard.' 'Dark Finwe' on the other hand is a documented reference to his haircolour being dark like Finwe's own; hardly a negative judgement!

I personally think Caranthir can be exactly as ill-tempered and prejudiced as the Silm paints him without becoming an unsympathetic character. If a writer cannot make a moody, deeply prejudiced man an interesting character that is a failure as a writer; there are after all enough books who manage exactly that. That is not to say choosing not to write him that way is a failure (obviously not), but it's not necessary in order to make a reader feel for him at all.

Just going by the text, I think it actually might make for a more interesting narrative to explore in fic to me. Because he does change his mind about something, and at a very specific moment; when he meets the Haladin. That is much less dramatic if he secretly been as nice and popular as Finrod, and got along with everyone all the time already. He's been raised by Fëanor, who said things like 'No other race shall oust us!' and rallied the Noldor not motivated enough by vengeance for Finwë alone by playing on their deep-seated fear of being replaced by the Secondborn. Very unlikely that had no impact. At best it has made him uninterested in humans in his area (while they're not much of a threat to ruling instead of the elves anyway). The text says they paid them no heed.

And yet! Caranthir sees how brave Haleth and her people are. He 'does her great honour.' He changes his mind and offers them lands. His tragedy to me is not that of a slandered figure, but of this deeply, deeply prejudiced person raised to distrust the motivations of human beings -- who overcomes those beliefs, offers friendship, is rejected! then extends that same trust to the Easterlings anyway... and it's those specific Easterlings, not the ones who ally with his brothers-- who betray them all. And cause the disastrous ending of the Nirnaeth. It's the 'to evil end shall all things turn that they begin well' part of the curse hitting him in the least fair way possible. Someone finally changes for the better, and the outcome is treason and destruction.

That is a very good character arc to me, actually. His aesthetics-based scorn for the Dwarves is reprehensible but strikes me as deeply Elvish, and part of his prejudices. Naugrim is too unflattering a name for them for it not to be common. His temper-- well why can't he have one? Sure there's only one recorded instance -- but that's imo because there are hardly any conversations in the Silm! Anyway I like some people with tempers well enough. Personally I think people are missing out on opiniated grouches.

Obviously the biased anti-Feanorian Pengolodh reading is a nice one, and I have enjoyed a lot of stories written based it. But it's not at all a reading that is necessary for me to read Caranthir as a flawed but sympathetic character. He can have serious faults and still, ultimately, be someone I feel for.

What I was asking though was if I overlooked any canon evidence of Caranthir being particularly, personally fond of the Dwarves; and it seems I did not. Also; there is room for Caranthir growing to like the Dwarves over centuries without an anti-Feanorian bias reading this strong, there is simply no evidence for friendship in the rather barebones narrative (I'm not interested atm because it's wildly overdone to me & I like variety).

That said, in my opinion making Caranthir the hidden, slandered Feanorian Finrod equivalent with a dash of Curufin's Dwarf affection is not as enjoyable as simply working with what little canon character is actually there. Because there is one (and it's not the greedy tax collector of some fanon depictions either imo)

1. To start with, wrt Caranthir as the anti-Finrod, I don't think it works that well. Sure sure dark/light, open/prejudiced, repressed/shouty, but different motivations, different locations, plus they meet very different peoples even if both are Edain-- besides, Caranthir's own older brothers do successfully ally with the Easterlings without betrayal, while Curufin (much more so than Finrod! no Khuzdul for Finrod!) is the Dwarves' Friend(tm). Also, a flawed Finrod already exists. That's just the regular edition. He has his own faults and (very different) tragic arc.

If Finrod never seems to have strong prejudices to overcome, and if he's not confrontational (which... look he's a diplomat. Make of that what you will. Pretty awkward there in Doriath, buddy!) he does have trouble facing his own complicity (he wanted to sail those ships despite the murders) until Sauron beats him to death with it. He leaves Valinor with the idea of ruling but he has to give up the crown. He's ambitious, he seems emotionally repressed, he's.. possibly paying the greater Dwarves to drive the Petty Dwarves out of their ancestral home to build a city? Oops. Depending on the version you go with in that case, of course; there's also ones where he's free of the blame of that one. Not of wanting to sail those ships and being uneasy with the guilt wrt wanting to do so despite their being stolen and murdered for though. No he doesn't kill; but he wants to use the result of it anyway, and to make it worse he is actually half Telerin.

There's also (to be fair, only for sure after the disaster of the Sudden Flame because that's the recorded instance) his guards killing random innocent trespassers to keep his kingdom hidden -- yes, that's right there in Silm, yes he's still King at the time. Beren has to wave that ring. People just seem to miss that he'd be killed without it somehow.

I think it's just too easy to reduce him to the golden perfect opposite of Caranthir. Yes he's described more positively; he's also just mentioned more because unlike Caranthir he rules an actual kingdom, the greatest and richest in Beleriand in fact; and does things that have a lot of very longterm effects, like helping B&L steal a Silmaril. They don't 'meet the same people' anyway -- the Haladin have a different culture from the Beorians which contributes to their reaction to Caranthir (and iirc their later fate).

Sidenote: Dawn's essay attributes the Green Elves helping the Feanorians at Amon Ereb to Caranthir's diplomatic skills; but why not to those of Amras or Amrod? This is the quote; 'Caranthir fled and joined the remnant of his people to the scattered folk of the hunters, Amrod and Amras, and they retreated and passed Ramdal in the south. Upon Amon Ereb they maintained a watch and some strength of war, and they had aid of the Green-elves' -- nothing here indicates it was Caranthir who got them that aid. In fact A&A are the hunters, i.e. more likely to have roamed in various forests where they would have encountered Green Elves, imo.

There's also the very desperate times to consider in which this aid takes place. This is just post Sudden Flame, and even if the Green Elves didn't like Caranthir they probably liked him better than Morgoth. Also, speaking of cosmopolitans, Maedhros allies with, yes, Dwarves (Azaghal), Grey elves, Easterlings (and you might say: Fingolfinians); even part of the remaining people of Dorthonion rally to Himring post sudden flame (that means Edain and Arafinwean followers in Himring, at least for a time), and he manages to be friendly with Felagund despite calling him a badger. ;)

Finrod is not the only other leader to forge diverse alliances, and though B&L ends happily his people mostly do not. Caranthir's not much like Finrod in any way. Not in motivations, temperament, tragic arc. That's fine. No hidden kingdom for a dragon to eat either. Finrod could probably do with being a little less like Finrod sometimes, though he's well-intentioned and likable. Caranthir loves to shout and isn't sneaky. Good for him.

2. Curufin also already exists. His love for Dwarves is one of his defining and redeeming characteristics and boy does he need them. He's daddy's favourite, a sneaky overambitious bitchy bastard who is also a talented smith and linguist, and truly considered a Dwarf friend, which is apparently exceptional. He's quite flawed; tries to help Celegorm force a political marriage, laughs with a bruised mouth, seeming to lose his mind while attempting and failing murder after first losing his own stronghold and then the city he tried to take from his cousin. He's just... a personality. Mostly a bad one! You can feel for him though, because he seems like an utter mess. Many 'i would love to study you' feelings on my part. Would hate for him to be real but also I'd pay to be his therapist.

3. And then finally there's Canon Caranthir. A difficult, prejudiced person who despite that (which doesn't at all have to mean there is no despite, the despite is what makes it juicy)

- seems to be responsible for re-establishing (large scale?) trade with the Dwarves, whatever he might think of them (and they of him) to their mutual benefit. I don't think he's greedy either. It seems like a mutually profitable situation. Access to Dwarvish goods seems pretty vital to Beleriand, and facilitating trade is a real service.

As someone pointed out in the replies, the Silm does mention Dwarvish companies travelling east to Nan Elmoth and menegroth various times, but quote wrt Caranthir says 'Caranthir’s people came upon the Dwarves, who after the onslaught of Morgoth and the coming of the Noldor had ceased their traffic into Beleriand' and 'when the Dwarves began again to journey into Beleriand.'

They stopped at some point and Caranthir's people made it happen again.

- which means he's practical. He seems like he's good at organising, and setting his own feelings aside if necessary despite his prejudice and temper (which is an achievement it wouldn't be without his, hm, everything). Also he and his people as well as the Dwarves work together well because ''either people loved skill and were eager to learn,' despite their (initial?) mutual dislike. Those aren't bad characteristics; seems like it was an exchange of skill as well as goods and possibly providing safe travel opportunities.

I don't like the 'greedy Caranthir' fanon and don't think it is even that easy support entirely with canon. 'They had of it great profit,' the text says-- both Caranthir and the Dwarves. They exchanged skills and knowledge and Caranthir seems to have helped them start trading in Beleriand again. That's hardly Scrooge Mcduck.

- Another thing we can say about canonthir (lol) is that he apparently attaches a lot of value to aesthetics (was he a visual artist? is a he a sculptor like Nerdanel? WORSE: AN ART CRITIC?! Feanorian art critic is truly nightmare fuel) and that's why he dislikes Dwarves (of all things...). Either way points to 'aesthetics' as something apparently important to Caranthir. Which makes sense given who his parents are. What is interesting to me is that this apparently DOESN'T matter to Curufin, who is a lot like Feanor in most things. That's interesting!

I've never, never seen this but I think it would be very funny to attribute his aesthetic prejudices to Nerdanel. I love her; but why should her opinions be perfect? I know she wasn't considered beautiful herself, but she's an artist. She's got to have had some strong opinions on aesthetics anyway. I doubt it's the beards; Mahtan had one as well. And 'stunted'...at least some of this comes down to the Elvish obsession with height yet again. Hm.

- eventually Caranthir overcomes what have to be some very deeply held beliefs about human beings and their place in the world, and offers what for all intents and purposes looks like real friendship, not the ruling over Men Feanor seems to have had in mind at best. He's capable of real change!

Anyway his character works just fine to me from canon, and what he achieves and the ways in which he fails are more interesting that way rather-- neither slandered Feanorian Finrod 2.0 nor Curufin 'Dwarf Fan' Feanorion without the sneakiness and murder attempts pack the same punch as a stupidly prejudiced grouchy man doing his best anyway for centuries in this stupid ugly cursed land, eventually changing for the better, opening up-- and being brutally punished for it by the Doom.

Dammit. I hope there's therapy in the Everlasting Darkness.

hm a bit long but that's what I get for trying to gather my thoughts wrt why after considering it a bit transferring Curufin's love for Dwarves to Caranthir is a bit boring to me personally. Though there are still stories that still do it very well.

#no one asked including me but there you go anyway #that's what you get when i wake up at nearly 3 in the morning and thnk. FUCK i can't sleep #caranthir

[retrocontinuity]

Eat, for this is Her Body: Chainsaw Man and the Doxology of Cannibalism

"One day," Anthony Oliveira writes in "The Year in Apocalypses," [Jesus'] disciples approached their master while he was silent in prayer and made a request: 'Lord, teach us how to pray.'" From here, Jesus teaches them the Lord's Prayer, what the Catholic Church once called "the summary of the whole gospel":

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Denji is no one's disciple. When we first meet him, he is closer to how Oliveira describes Jesus himself, "homeless, gleaning for food in the field like a sparrow and relying on the kindness of strangers to put him up, . . . a man cheerfully resigned to powerlessness." And so, Denji doesn't need to be taught how to pray. He has always known. Every bone in his body at the opening of Chainsaw Man sings out the Lord's Prayer: "forgive me my debts", "deliver me from evil." And, of course, Denji is intimately familiar with the prayer's most pitiable, most powerful line. It's this line that he cries out to Makima when he rests, Pieta-like, in her arms at the end of the first chapter. It can only be this line, one that Denji might have written himself:

Give me, from this day forward, and for all the rest of my days, daily bread.

Bread runs throughout CSM like a mocking scent that you only fully identify in the last two chapters. It should have been a sign to all of us when the first meal Makima buys for Denji is not bread (but rather a hot dog and udon noodles). It isn't until Denji meets and enters Aki's home that he is seen making a hideously overladen slice of toast for himself, luxuriating in having all the toppings he was denied. The morning after she forces Denji to open the door to Power's death, Makima makes the very breakfast she once promised to serve Denji: eggs, coffee, salad, and sliced bread. But this is a meal that Denji never eats—maybe the only meal in the entire series that he, a survivor of the meanest starvation and poverty, ignores. There is only one other time we see this meal in CSM, and it is subtle, almost off camera, though no less meaningful: in Chapter 53, after Reze's death, as Denji sits down to breakfast once more with Power and Aki.

To revisit CSM's public safety arc is to see all the ways the plot connects itself to food and the act of eating, both appetizing and revolting, both profound and profane. Denji, eating gyoza at a bar for the first time. Denji being forced to swallow barf as he is kissed for the first time. The Fox Devil, who eats indiscriminately and on command, who refuses to return to Aki after being fed something disgusting. A fox that is hunted and transformed into stew. Denji eating sandwiches at Reze's cafe. Aki and Angel eating noodles. A woman sitting down to eat a hamburger for the first time, before she commits mass murder. She is worried she has lost her taste buds, yet she exclaims, "So delicious!" We know, later, that this woman is a liar, that no part of her is what she presents herself to be. Should we take this moment at its face value then? Was Santa Claus simply lucky enough to have preserved her sense of taste? Or was it her one last act of humanity, to recognize that it is not enough just to eat, that man does not live on bread alone, that there must be at least food that is also delicious, that inspires people to get up and dance—even if it means she has to lie about what she can experience?

Food is necessary for survival, and CSM is a story about survival. But CSM is also a story about glimpsing the after. After you know you can keep living, what next? After you are no longer starving, after you have been forced to kill a friend, after you have touched your first boob, after you have been betrayed, what next? After you are tired of eating toast with jam for breakfast, what do you eat next?

The version of the Lord's Prayer we tend to recite asks for "our daily bread." But this, most modern scholars believe, is a mistranslation. The Greek adjective as it appears in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke is "epiousios," which doesn't mean "daily" at all, but rather something too complicated etymologically for me to even begin to parse. The point is that what we ask for in the Lord's Prayer is not just bread for today, but bread for tomorrow. Both the physical bread and the spiritual bread. Bread on this kingdom of earth, and bread that is the kingdom of heaven. Bread to feed our bodies, and bread to feed our souls. The realm of the divine is full of these moments, isn't it? Of two things existing at once, in one.

Denji starts the series asking for daily bread, and ends the public safety arc with Nayuta, Makima's reincarnation, asking him for daily bread. Trash heap Denji, living with his not!dog Pochita, really was just asking for daily bread. A slice to eat for breakfast, maybe even with butter and jam. But he too learns that bread, physical bread, is not enough. Merely to subsist, to eat good food, is an empty life. And what he must give Nayuta is not just bread, as was given to him. Otherwise, he will be trapped in a cycle of creating more Makimas. Instead, he must give her a relationship, a family, a world that Makima was unable to create. He must give her, in Pochita's words, lots of hugs. He must give her, in the words of the Lord's Prayer, epiousios.

To be clear, I am not arguing that CSM is meant to be read through a Catholic lens, and I doubt Fujimoto had all of this in mind when he wrote it (though he must have thought something, given that he drew a very large print of Gustave Dore's "Satan descends upon Earth" in Makima's entranceway!). But there is something primal (primordial?) about the Lord's Prayer. If every reader can understand the horror that the Darkness Devil represents, so too we can understand the intimacy and comfort of the Lord's Prayer. It is, as Oliveira writes, "a simple peasant's mantra for detoxing anxiety." Jesus opens by addressing God as father—not king, not an all-mighty spiritual being, but rather "abba, which is rather closer to 'dad,' and not in the intercultural Greek of his adulthood, but the Aramaic of home and childhood." The Lord's Prayer asks for what we always want, the only thing any of us have ever wanted since leaving the womb as infants: for no bad things to happen, for there to be enough to eat.

Even if what we have to eat is another person.

At the center of the Christian liturgy is the Last Supper, and at the center of the Last Supper is a meal that functions as ritual, abomination, accusation, transubstantiation, paranoia, and an early example of cracking open a cold one with the bros. Here, Jesus shares bread and wine with his disciples and then, as if trying to invent r/creepypasta years before its time, informs them they are actually eating his flesh and blood. This image is so powerful and heretical that the Romans accused early Christians of being cannibals. And why shouldn't they? It's there in the text. "Take, eat. This is my body. This is my blood." Stripped of the grandeur of tradition and ritual, this is downright vampiric. And yet it goes on to become the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

Oliveira begs us to see the Last Supper as a family meal, one shared by Jesus and his found family. "All he is really saying is, 'I hope when you eat together, you remember me.'" It's a good reading, one that moves me to tears, and is the framework through which I see the events of chapter 80. Because Makima is not the first time that Denji "consumes" a friend, and I don't just mean him sucking Power's blood or taking Pochita into himself. When Aki died, he left half his fortune to Denji, who uses it to support himself and Power. They "pigged out on good food," he tells us. This is Aki's symbolic body, through which he provides Denji his daily bread. Eat ice cream and onigiri in remembrance of me.

But it is not how I see the events of chapter 96. Denji does not eat Makima in the context of a feast. He does not partake of her in a communal meal, as Jesus did, among his found family. He eats every bite of Makima alone. Jesus said before his death, "this is my blood, which is shed for many." Yet Denji says to Makima, I alone will absolve you alone of your sins. I alone will bear you alone.

Denji's Last Supper is a lonely remembrance. He is hoping that no one but him will remember her. He is hoping to wholly consume her, because he loves her. "We love as cannibals," French philosopher and activist Simone Weil wrote. "Beloved beings . . . provide us with comfort, energy, a simulant. They have the same effect on us as a good meal. . . . We love them, then, as food." In fact, Weil believed we cannot love any other way. As humans, we are forever doomed to want to eat the ones we love. In order to escape, we must both be devoured by God and then become food for our fellow human beings. As Alec Irwin writes of Weil's philosophy, "the devouring violence of God must be positively harnessed in order to dismantle the machinery of human cruelty."

If Weil is right and being devoured is transformation, a crucial part of salvation, then in eating Makima, Denji redeems her. He turns her into food to break the cycle of her cruelty. For Makima's power itself is consuming, cannibalistic. She "eats" humans in order to use her power, which remains mysterious like God moving across the face of the earth, leaving only broken corpses as a sign of its presence. So it must be Denji, not Chainsaw Man, who does the consuming. If Pochita had consumed her, as she had always prayed for, then it would simply be another act of violence being enacted. Instead, Denji gives her salvation by turning her into human food—his food.

To Denji, Aki was human, his family, his brother, his friend.  It is Makima he loves as a God and a woman. To him, she is Satan and God, his betrayer and his creator, his salvation and his friends' damnation. So he must take her, consume her, digest her, excrete her, reduce her to nothing, as she once consumed and excreted and reduced him. "I ate her to become one with her." He ate her to become her. There is no truer form of his love than for Denji to take Makima into himself. I use those words purposefully, because this is the rejection of classic cishet PIV penetration, that old hoary chestnut of men inside women. As Don Delillo famously outlines in White Noise, we talk about sex as if women are containers, rooms, elevator lobbies: "He entered me," "I want him inside me," "I took him into myself." Denji and Makima never have physical sex, but this is a consummation, a reversal of roles. We are given the only sex that Shounen Jump will allow us, with Denji taking Makima into himself. She enters him. She is inside him. He is—physically, emotionally, willingly—penetrated by her flesh. She is released inside of him, becoming part of him.

Because the divine is full of moments like this, isn't it? Of two things existing at once, in one. That is the kingdom and the power and the glory. For Makima now lives in that country inhabited by God, where loving and eating are one and the same. For that country is none other than Denji's body.

In conclusion:

Substitute Makima for "God", and the preceding statements are still rigorously accurate.

Further Reading:

Anthony Oliveira's ongoing podcast reading the Gospel of Mark (Patreon exclusive, but I highly recommend, even/especially if you are a heathen like me)

Hannibal (NBC)

Daniel Birnbaum and Anders Olsson, An Interview with Jacques Derrida on the Limits of Digestion

David Farrell Krell, "All You Can't Eat: Derrida's Course, "Rhetorique du Cannibalisme (1990-1991)." Research in Phenomenology, vol. 36, 2006, pp. 130–180. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24660636. 

Alec Irwin, “Devoured by God: Cannibalism, Mysticism, and Ethics in Simone Weil.” CrossCurrents, vol. 51, no. 2, 2001, pp. 257–272. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24460795.

#chainsaw man #cannibalism as love #love as cannibalism

[howemancing]

The Iron Bull, the Chargers, and Trespasser

Ok. So. I posted this once on twitter, but, I'm beginning to come around on the idea that twitter isn't a great place for more drawn out, analytical thoughts, and those better belong on tumblr. Which, yes, does mean I'll post my "why Nathaniel is awesome" thread, updated and enhanced, at some point.  But for now, The Iron Bull, and why, even though I'll never do it, I love his character arc in Trespasser when you decide against the Chargers. Trespasser spoilers ahead! 

I've read some theories on it that are pretty good. I know one I liked was that Bull is pissed you make him sacrifice the Chargers, and was just biding his time throughout Inquisition and Trespasser, waiting for the right moment to take his shot.  Super understandable. I don't agree, but I liked it. For me though, what reads the most true to The Iron Bull, is not that it's an anger thing, nor that "he's a brainwashed Qun soldier" thing.  It's a "you literally reminded him to think like this" thing.

In making the decision to sacrifice the Chargers, you set aside personal loyalties. In a way, you're saying that no one person is ever more important than the whole, and personal connections can't come above big picture decision. After all, people very much died either way, and arguably a lot more died on a dreadnought. (And again, will never do it - I could make arguments about how trustworthy such an alliance is, or whether the situation is as straightforward as it seems, but I can't help meta this one. I love Krem, I love Bull, I need to keep them both, end of story). Your Inquisitor made the choice to sacrifice people they had a personal connection with for the sake of the "greater good" of the inquisition, as brutally hard as that is.

Trespasser The Iron Bull is doing exactly that, and why the "anger" theory doesn't work as well for me. Sure, either way, he wouldn't take a shot at you during the events of Inquisition - you are very necessary to sealing the rifts and stopping the insane wanna be god Coryphytits. The two years after, though, until the events of Trespasser...? Harder to argue a truly livid The Iron Bull would stay his hand.

But consider a loyal, careful The Iron Bull. He is, very likely, soon aware of exactly what's going on. That there's this "crazy elven god" running around. He knows the Inquisition is fully infiltrated. This god, they may be aware, wants to "destroy the world", and if nothing else, let mages and Serabaas run totally amok. Terrifying, endgame territory.  Bull is likely working with the Qunari to stop this threat. The Inquisition is hopelessly penetrated and corrupt, and can no longer be trusted.  No matter how good of a friend you are to The Iron Bull, he's learned -reminded, from you - that personal relationships don't matter. Not with these sakes. He'll sacrifice the Chargers to stop the lyrium smuggle and secure a Qunari alliance, He'll stop the Inquisitor to make sure the Qunari can keep the world together. Obviously, I don't personally think the Qunari is the right force to actually hold the world together. But it makes so much sense that a loyal Bull does. 

So when he says "Nothing personal, Bas"? I believe him. I think he could genuinely mean it. You are in the way of them saving the world.

I love when characters have their own goals and motives, even if they conflict with yours. The Iron Bull without the Chargers is a Qunari who's been reminded of how important it is to make the tough calls. No one person is more important than the whole.

Even the Inquisitor. 

#the iron bull #trespasser #dragon age inquisition #theorizing #character analysis #chargers #loyal bull

[emerald-amidst-gold]

∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ hello!

For the boy and his dog:

21. How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?

*gasps!* A new friend has entered my humble abode! A friend who wishes to hear me rant and rave about two foolish fools! *cackles* Thank you for visiting! :D

Let's talk about Fane and Solas, shall we~? <3

21. How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?

So, there's a little bit of A and little bit of B for this question. There has indelibly been a positive influence on both Fane and Solas due to each other. Basically, it all stems from pre-Inquisition, aka Elvhenan/Arlathan.

Fane, as a dragon, was inherently tasked with observing elvenkind, watching the flow of which they progressed and if their machinations benefited the world in which they lived. Each dragon had this inherent task, albeit in different ways. Dragons that lived in arid regions were tasked with controlling the sandscape, preserving the ancient temples by covering them with said sand, making inaccessible areas accessible for wildlife, so on, so forth.

Fane, and the others of his specific kin, not only watched the Elvhen, they guided them, but only if it was deemed necessary. White dragons could not want for anything beyond what the world needed, and their powers of absorbing, reflecting, and understanding emotions was what made them highly sought after by the Evanuris. When the Evanuris began enslaving elves, they began enslaving dragons, too. And this is around the time Solas and Fane met; when Fane was the last of his white kin. Fane had gone into recluse, hiding; he turned his back on those who were suffering because he couldn't bear to see them be subjected to magic bending and breaking their minds, turning their eyes grey where they were otherwise a multitude of colors. Solas found him through a curious venture as we all know the dear wolf is prone to curiosity.

Their beginnings were rough. Fane tried multiple, multiple times to kill Solas. He saw him as no different than those who had thus far enslaved his kin. He held anger, rage, resentment, and pride, which warped his nature of calm observation and cool acceptance to preemptive prejudice and scornful indifference. Fane stopped caring; about everything. Solas reached out to him, wanted to help him, and for the sake of keeping things somewhat short, they grew close after constant revisits and...silence. Solas allowed Fane to watch him, learn about him, read his eyes, and in turn, Fane began to open up, rediscover his original nature, and learn about another side from a more personal view. Solas taught Fane that nothing can change or return to what they had been unless he tried, and he did, even though it ended poorly. And even though it takes him twenty-four years and a lot of hardship, Fane finally remembers that important lesson and he's forever grateful, even as they walk onto the same stage that burned before.

Now, Fane has helped Solas do something we all know the dear wolf is a bit hesitant to do, and that's show his emotions. I stated once upon a time that my interpretation of Solas a little more...personal. Basically, I'm exploring a side of Solas that we don't really get to see, and that's an emotional one. My stories encompass a lot of emotion, a lot of grey morality, so I try to do that while keeping Solas in character with how we know him. However, with this AU of mine, Solas is more in touch with his emotions when with Fane. Why? Because Fane did what he was tasked with from birth; he guided. Through silent looks and seemingly disgruntled huffs, Fane allowed Solas to open up, to feel safe when every corner held a knife.

He let him be him. Not the Dread Wolf. Not the Rebel God. Not anything more than what he was naturally, and that was a being who needed to let their emotions go as freely as the magic so intertwined with their nature. They were friends, companions, even though they were two completely different species, and for all intents and purposes, enemies. They loved each other, but couldn't say it. After Fane died, Solas locked up again, kept his emotions sealed away, but when Fane reappeared in his life, both unknowing of who the other was, it all came back so easily, so fluidly. And what you'll see in a lot of my stories of Solas and Fane's early acquaintanceship in Inquisition is that they flow, they let the other be weak even though they don't want to be weak.

As for how they change each other for the worse...well, that ties into a lot of what I have planned during Post-Trespasser arcs. My stories are 'fix-its', but again, grey morality. There's a happy ending, but not without opposition first and a lot of hard lessons. Solas and Fane will do shit that makes people go, "Why?!", but aren't we already saying that with what Solas canon-wise is doing? Why not add an Inquisitor into the mix and live the fantasy we weren't allowed to choose?

Thank you for the ask and I apologize with how freaking long it is! I get wordy when I talk about these two because I LOVE THEM. <3

#asks #oc asks #oc: fane lavellan #solavellan #dragon age #solas #reminder that this is all by own shit about the dragons XD #i just like to think of them as more sentient and important :3 #i'm not crying by the way *sniffles* #*whimpers* i love theeeeem #thank you again! <3

[virlath]

The Dread Wolf

Some speculation on Solas’ dread wolf form (Tevinter Nights spoilers below)

All around us was light and color, a dizzying array of the magic that makes up the world of spirits, and it swirled around the Tevinter mage and his ritual knife as though he were the eye of a hurricane. Something huge trembled around us—a spirit so great that it shook parts of the Fade I had always considered to be neutral, devoid of life—and high overhead, where the Black City shadowed the sky, I heard a great booming roar.

But before the Tevinter mage could complete his ritual, the Dread Wolf arrived.

It was no elf, no mortal mage. It was a beast unlike any I had ever seen. Lupine in appearance, but the size of a high dragon, with shaggy spiked hide and six burning eyes like a pride demon, and it came to us on wings of fire that resolved themselves into a horde of lesser demons as the Dread Wolf landed before us.

-Dragon Age Tevinter Nights 

So, I’ve been thinking about Solas’ dread wolf form, and what it it means /entails.

In Tevinter Nights, the Dread Wolf appears from the fade to stop the Mortalitasi’s blood magic ritual.

Based on the Mortalitasi’s story, I theorise the terrifying Dread Wolf form is Solas himself and not a separate entity like Nightmare serving Corypheus. 

===

First, the backstory

Personally, I think there is a lot of strong evidence Solas was originally some kind of spirit before manifesting as a physical, mortal elf. He doesn’t identify strongly with people and elves, saying to the Inquisitor he only thinks of himself as “me”. His only friends are spirits, and he has spent a lot of time justifying to himself why spirits should be considered people. He gets very passionate about this topic if you walk into his rhetoric on the matter.

Solas understands spirits because I think he was one to begin with. There have been hints that the ancient elves used spirits and bound them to their will. It would explain why Solas is so against using spirits and twisting them against their nature.

While we might visit the Fade, it is his natural home, and the spirits there serve him gladly.

After the events of Trespasser, and the events in Tevinter Nights, I think Solas has taken the form of the six-eyed wolf to reside in the fade physically. I presume this is advantageous for him so he can ensure his ritual to tear down the veil completes successfully. Using the dread wolf form allows him to build up his terrifying image  while also scaring away mages and spirits from disrupting his plans. 

We already know with the anchor he would have been able to walk the fade physically. With Mythal’s power now within him, there is nothing stopping him from living there permanently. Instead of shape shifting into a dragon like the evanuris however, Solas shapeshifts into a massive reptilian wolf. 

I don’t think the wolf form is a separate entity, nor do I think this wolf form is a spirit serving him like Nightmare was serving Corypheus.

Solas may have many parallels to Corypheus but using a spirit or even a person as one half of his persona is not his MO. Solas only relies on himself- he wants to be the one in control at all times. He may rely on spirits to help with whatever tasks he needs to carry out, but I don’t think he would ever rely on a spirit so much so it formed one half of his dread wolf image.

===

The Dread Wolf of the Fade

Now I think Solas’ origin/spirit self is important, because it will play a part in how we truly see him, and thus, form how we redeem or stop (”kill”) him.

Around the start of DA:I, he says:

The fade reflects the mind of the living. If you expect a spirit of wisdom to be a pride demon, it will adapt. And if your mind is free of corrupting influences? If you understand the nature of the spirit? They can be fast friends.

I don’t think his physical/fade form is like anything we have seen in any previous games or lore before. He says himself, the ancient elven gods weren’t truly gods but “mages”, or "something this age has not yet seen”. I don’t think he’s an abomination like Anders, but closer to a spirit that has manifested and evolved like Cole, over millenia. If so maybe the term demon is more appropriate to describe his form (and to be clear, I think Solas is definitely not a simple spirit but something much more - he says himself in dialogue with Cole “I am not a spirit, and sometimes it is hard to remember such simple truths). 

What Solas has is the understanding and kinship of spirits coupled with the physicality of a mortal body. He can walk the fade and affect the minds of others through dreams. If you remember Feynriel in DA2, it was said a dreamer abomination would be extraordinarily powerful and they would be able to affect the dreams of others. Perhaps Solas is a bit like Feynriel except he *is* the only entity- rather than possessing someone, he is the sole physical manifestation of his demon self. When he is in the fade, he can shapeshift into his wolf form by using the fear inspired by his Dread Wolf persona, much like Nightmare can.

Whatever you know of this mage, put it aside. Whether he is truly the Dread Wolf of elven myth, I cannot say—it is not uncommon for powerful spirits to be worshipped as gods, as the Avvar do. But whatever fear the name of the Dread Wolf carries, he has earned. While we might visit the Fade, it is his natural home, and the spirits there serve him gladly. They whisper in my dreams now, accusing me of crimes I never committed and promising vengeance if my wards fail. A weaker mage would be dead already, or mad.

And as clear as the Dread Wolf’s anger at what we had done—the Mortalitasi binding spirits he considered his own, the Tevinter mage using forbidden blood magic—was the feeling that we had disrupted his own work.

He intends something for the Fade, and if he wants the idol, then whatever he intends will be terrible.

This is why Solas positions himself as this big scary wolf demon to begin with. He wants people to be afraid of him because he can use their fear against them.

If our protagonist gets the chance to see him as a person or even a friend, they will see him in the fade for who he truly is- someone who at the end of the day, is a morally grey person with "good” intentions. And if they see him as a big bad wolf who wants worldwide destruction, he can use that fear to feed his wolf form as well.

This is where it’s important to note the distinction between humans and spirits. In Cole’s personal quest, spirits forgive by simply “forgetting”. Contrast this to physical beings, who forgive by working through pain and accepting it. I think DA4 will feature a pretty big existential crisis for Solas - where (hopefully) we can steer him towards the path of being a morally grey physical being, or the one track minded spirit intent on fulfilling his personal destiny at all costs.

Solas vs. himself

If you look at the murals and tarot cards in DA:I, he and the wolf are in sync with each other. Benevelont, looming, scary, confident, prideful, terrifying. In all the Inquisition artworks, he is in a position of control, actively using the Dread Wolf persona to carry out his actions.

Contrast this to the teaser mural, where the wolf has literally turned it’s back on Solas. Meanwhile, Solas stands his ground with his hand outstretched against the evanuris (the semicircles), the idol, and the wolf all at once.

In Trespasser, if Cole is made more a spirit he says this:

“When this is done, I will slip back safely, a spirit. Someone is hurting. He needs me to remember who he is.”

I think he is most definitely referring to Solas in this case.

Cole knows way more about Solas than he lets on throughout the game, and in a way, he has access to the bigger picture which we can only speculate on. This is why, when you say you want to kill Solas at the end of Trespasser, Cole greatly disapproves. It’s also why so many spirits willingly serve the dread wolf in the fade. Solas’ actions are clearly beneficial for the spirits of the fade, but whether or not he accounts for people in reality will be up to our own personal choices in game.

The more Solas takes on the form of the Dread Wolf and the more he resides in the fade physically, the more of his mortal self he will forget. It’s just the nature of being “part spirit”.  If spirits encounter information they don’t want to process or understand, they simply forget. His inner struggle is the part that wants to be a spirit vs. the part that has mortal ties and emotions based in reality. This is why when he says “I will never forget you” to a romanced Lavellan, it is so significant, and so tragic.

"Wisdom knows enduring is pain. He hurts for her, another of many he couldn't save. He carries necessary deaths." (this quote refers to his spirit of wisdom friend in his personal quest)  

If Solas wanted to, he probably could simply forget. He did after all, make Cole forget “They sleep, masked in a mirror, hiding, hurting, and to wake them... (Gasps.) Where did it go?”

Him choosing to remember the pain is what differentiates him from any conventional spirit.

This is ultimately how I think Solas’ arc will culminate in DA4.

Will Solas inevitably lose control of his Dread Wolf persona and take up the mantle of the uncontrollable, power mad villain he swore he never was? 

Or can we get him to realise the more human side to him, the side that accepts and deals with pain and mistakes and regret- the side that believes in the right of “all free willed beings to exist”?

#dragon age #da4 #theory crafting #tevinter nights #dread wolf rises #solas #da theories #drabble

[mageglory]

I have no idea if I have ever summed all my Dragon Age Canon Characters but in short. Oh and I treat Bioware Canon like my playground so be warned.

Galria Theirin nee Brosca: Brosca origins (obviously), two handed reaver berserker. She is the Warden and becomes Queen of Ferelden with Alistair, her romance. She is the first non human queen of an human kingdom in history and tecnically she converted to andrastianism for politics (and because she doesn't care anyway about religion) but the Chantry keeps annoying her until Leli becomes Divine Victoria.

Ignis Hawke: Fire magic, Force magic and Blood Magic. He follows Anders romance and is a ruthless supporter of Mage RightsTM. He keeps switching between Red Hawke or Blue Hawke answers depending on who he is talking to (Red Hawke with Meredith, Elthina, Orlesians. Blue Hawke with fereldeans refugees, mages, elves and similar). He is one of the leaders of the Mage Underground with Anders if not the leader (mainly because Anders keeps telling him he's the boss even if Ignis considers himself equal to him) and he helped enlarge the underground across all the Free Marches, a lot of the random apostate npc we fight on the wounded coast are gonna live as members of the underground. To protect his identity/keep his family safe from Templars and because Hawke is not Hawke without drama he wears a mask in his rebel persona and Meredith has been yelling to Cullen to bring her the apostates leader in chains for years. He doesn't want to hurt civilians, but he is ready to accept civilians casualties as necessary if it's to free his people. His mabari is called Templar and Varric keeps saying Ignis exausted all his life capacity for jokes in that one idea. He's the gayest revolutionary/terrorist (depends who you ask) in town.

Raphaël De Bougainville: The Marquis of Serault. He has an obviously smaller role and is kinda irrelevant to The Fate of ThedasTM but he is a good guy despite having a very orlesian centric view of the world out of ignorance/cultural upbringing. His main worries are to restore Serault glory, which he succeeded in (and he also annexxes Aloyns along the road since the neighboor Marquis tried to sabotage his relationship with Justinia and failed) and romance Krem while visiting Skyhold. He had the idea to pay some mages after the rebellion won to come work for him with the glassworkers and now there are a lot of Serault glassworks for nobles with sparkly enchantments, but nothing plot relevant, he's just rich because now every noble in Orlais wants Serault magical glass. His main quirk is that he's an enthusiast of scientific research (think the king guy in Eragon) and his dream is to teach at the University of Orlais.

Melkior Lavellan: This damn boi is a pacifist. IN THEDAS. He is not the First of his clan, but only because he left the position to travel around the clans and bring messages/organize things. I'm not sure if canon mentions something similar but he's basically a travelling Keeper, so he has a bit more knowledge of the world, especially thanks to his high emotional intelligence. Kind of guy who smiles even when he doesn't like you and the "if he yells shit is going down" character archetype. Clan Lavellan Keeper is his grandma because his parents were murdered by Gaspard De Chalons during a dalish hunt, in front of him. Gaspard would have killed him too but decided that a knife eared kid wasn't worthy of a chevalier steel. Years later, Gaspard will fail to recognize Melkior at the Winter Palace (because elves are all the same amiright? I doubt Gaspard remembers his victims faces) and that's how the Granduke died and also one of the two occasions in which Melkior got really angry. Also, Melkior is the host to a spirit of Hope, which made the entire Inquisition scream in fear of abominations when they heard about that. Melkior romances Cassandra (altought I made her supposed character arc/change matter uh Bioware?) and tries to spare/redeem/imprison if necessary as much people as possible when sitting in Judgment because he doesn't like to kill and he does that enough on the field. At the end of Trespasser he disbands the Inquisition but he also creates a constitution that blocks the power of the Chantry so that in 100 years no Divine will be able to recreate Circles or Templars and a council to oversee the constitution with elected officials with a mandate of 5 years max.

Alidda Tabris: Someone could ask why I put the Tabris after the Lavellan, well that's because Alidda Tabris, my non warden dual wielder rougue, is more linked to Briala than Origins. She was prisoner of Arle Howe dungeons with others during Origins, forgotten there after having murdered the Arle son. She was freed by the Warden before the Landsmeet and despite the long imprisonment she suffered she fought in the Battle of Denerim, defending the alienage. After the death of the Archdemon, she helped King Alistair and Queen Galria in dealing with the many issues the elves had and was later sended to Orlais to investigate the risk of a new invasion of Ferelden. She joined Briala during the events of The Masked Empire, helping Celene in beating Gaspard but hating the Empress for her genocide of elves, she was helping only because forced to choose between her and Gaspard. She joined Briala at the end of the book and the two got together shortly after. In Inquisition, Alidda breaks in Celene vault during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearths to get her beloved medallion back and the two keep plotting the liberation of the Dales after the ball.

Livia Amladaris: Magister of Tevinter, new leader of House Amladaris, descendeant of Corypheus and the worst person ever and I love her for that. Livia is literally my favourite classic villain tropes throwed together, because if you don't do that in Tevinter what's the point. While Livia wasn't a Venatori during Inquisition, she took control of the movement later. She is considered the most beautiful woman in the Imperium by many (the Amladaris pratic eugenics unironically) and she is a political genious and probably the greatest demonologist and necromancer (the Quentin kind, not the Dorian kind) Tevinter will ever see. Sadly, all this perfection on paper was given to a woman who respects only one thing: power and hates the other Magisters because they are limited in their ambitions. Livia intends to not simply enter in the Fade like her ancestor, but to open thousands of minor rifts controlled only by her, causing an army of binded demons to invade every nation of Thedas at once. The Imperium will rise again with her as the first Imperatrix of all Thedas. Someone could call her mad, but if she is mad then she is of the lucid and most dangerous kind. She has invented numerous evil spells (the "blood sacrifices and demons" kind) and has the power to turn others in abominations against their will. She is at last defeated at the end of DA4, but not before she blood sacrificed all of her supporters inside the Imperial Senate to start her ritual and shapeshifted into a giant monster before being slain. She is the Maleficent of Thedas and I love a good old fashioned evil witch ok?

#dragon age #dragon age: origins #dragon age: inquisition #dragon age 2

[fantastic-rambles]

I totally agree with you about Tadashi. I honestly think I’ll enjoy however the final showdowns happen since the other characters seem to be at a good spot in their character arcs, so my main hope is that Tadashi sees his own worth and is able to move beyond Adam’s hurt and their past issues. Ideally for me, Adam moves on too but I won’t hold my breath for it lol.

And I get what you mean about Reki. While his worries and insecurities are understandable, I was definitely on Langa’s side in that he should have control over who he skates with. The only thing I think Langa did wrong is break his word and act as if it was fine. If he thought he would deliberately break the (unfair) promise he made more than once, he shouldn’t have agreed. Overall though, I don’t fault him for skating against Adam.

Also, you are the first person I’ve seen being up the best question in the entire show. There is no reason why Adam shouldn’t be able to buy S. He’s bribing politicians but he can’t buy a road that’s barely used because of rocks and debris plus a factory that’s been abandoned for years?? Thank you, I am forever gonna think about this every time I look at something Sk8 related lmao

Yeah, I think I’ll enjoy them however they turn out because I like all of the contestants who remain. Well, other than if Reki beats Adam because that’s absolutely unrealistic and would be absolute bs, but I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. But Adam, Tadashi, and Langa are all approximately equal at this point (Langa lags behind the other two slightly in technique, but makes up with that in improvisation), so I think they’ll be interesting either way. (I’m also absolutely delighted that Shadow was taken out because I despise him. So glad that Adam doesn’t need to waste his time on that clown. >.>)

I definitely want Tadashi and Adam to get over their traumas, and I feel like that’s something that’s all-or-nothing: either they both do, or neither does, because their lives are so deeply entwined together. I personally believe that Cherry and Joe never knew Ainosuke: they only saw the skater Adam, so the only person who knows everything about Adam is Tadashi, who has always been by his side. So they can only really talk to each other about the past to help each other gain understanding/acceptance/forgiveness and start the process of healing. But yeah, I’d love for that to happen... and even if it doesn’t, I’ll probably have headcanons and maybe write a short fanfic about Tadashi visiting Adam in prison and just talking and slowly rebuilding their friendship, lol. Probably with a prologue of his aunts visiting first and heaping abuse on him and telling him that he’s an idiot and they never loved him and absolutely destroying him and shattering his world, forcing him to reflect on everything he’s done. <3

The thing is... did Langa ever actually promise not to skate against Adam? Maybe it’s because I’m neurodivergent and sometimes have difficulty in understanding implied statements and such, but in the talk after they got away from the police, I didn’t get that impression. When Reki says “Langa, you should stay away from him,” and Langa says “Got it,” I didn’t think that Langa was promising to not skate with Adam, but rather accepting his friend’s concerns and suggestion to stay away (without necessarily making a commitment to follow through). Yeah, Reki didn’t want Langa to skate with Adam again--that was clear enough--but to me, there’s a world of difference between acknowledging a statement with “Got it” and agreeing to it with something like “Okay, I will [stay away from him].” So to me, the whole “you broke the promise” felt like gaslighting, which is also why I got so pissed at Reki. >.<

Like, if my friend told me, “You shouldn’t go skydiving because it’s dangerous,” and I told them, “Got it,” I don’t think I’ve promised them that I’m not going to go skydiving. To me, I’m saying, “I acknowledge your concerns and am grateful for your consideration,” but if I go skydiving afterwards, I don’t feel that they have any grounds for accusing me of breaking a promise. They can be worried and fuss over me and want to make sure that I’m okay, but if they decide to cut me off for it because I “broke my promise,” then fuck them. Again, though, maybe I just have a weird understanding of the situation due to the way I think, so let me know if I’m wrong about that by conventional thinking. ^^;

AND YES. Like, sure, people are drawn to it because it’s “illegal”/underground, but he doesn’t need to make it obvious that it belongs to him (in truth, if not in name) and he’s letting them skate there. Though... the way he acts and all his dramatics (setting up a huge projector, skydiving in, etc.) would make me highly suspicious that it did belong to him, if I were there. Who throws so much money and resources and practically turns the place into a fireworks show every night without the police showing up unless it belongs to them? Even before Adam showed up, they had all the lights on--which yeah, it’s necessary for safety reasons, but nobody non-police wondered why an abandoned mine was always lit up at night and tried to investigate?? If they’re trying not to draw attention because they’re “illegal,” they’re going the exact opposite way about it. (Yeah, meta we know it’s because he’s throwing around bribes, but holy shit are they suspicious af.) xD

But if he buys it through a proxy, he can go on pretending that he’s secretly co-opted an abandoned mine and factory, but then they don’t have to worry about the police at all since they’d be unable to hold a raid unless they were doing something illegal like drugs or whatever. The only reason it’s “illegal” (that I’m aware of, at least) is because they’re trespassing on abandoned/private property, so that would easily solve that problem.

#sk8 #sk8 the infinity #skate the infinity #sk8 adam #shindo ainosuke #ainosuke shindo #sk8 snake #tadashi kikuchi #kikuchi tadashi #sk8 langa #sk8 snow #hasegawa langa #langa hasegawa #sk8 reki #kyan reki #reki kyan #random thoughts #mine

[elenathehun]

Watching The Clone Wars, part 4

I’m back!  A little later than I expected, but again, the post-holiday doldrums has essentially ended at this point and I’m back to being busy.  This viewing party coveres the first season episodes “The Gungan General”, “Jedi Crash”, “Defenders of Peace”, “Trespass”, “Blue Shadow Virus”, and “Mystery of a Thousand Moons”.  My thanks to @spiraling​, @jaycrowind​ and @hiruma-musouka​ for watching this misbegotten show with me: I truly would not be able to do it without y’all’s company and support.

“The Gungan General” (1x12)

This is a silly continuation of the very silly episode viewed previously, but marred by the fact that Jar Jar Binks is a main character.  I honestly hope to god his presence peters down after this season, because I am just gritting my teeth at every episode that features him.  On the plus side, it does have clones from the Coruscant Guard (at least, I assume some from the armor paint), and seeing them choose to weaponize Jar-Jar’s presence was a rare delight.  

Other things to enjoy in this episode: Hondo.  He so over-the-top and ridiculous, but his character actually makes sense for once, which is another too-rare pleasure in this show.  He’s venal and greedy, and so are his men, but his motivations are clear, as are his methods.  Also, I just love smugglers in general, and PT-era Star Wars is tragically underpopulated by such characters.  

Finally, at this point I’m beginning to notice that the Jedi and Sith Force powers are very uneven in their application.  As far as I can see, they only work as well (or badly) as necessary for the plot, which I guess is fine.  The Force is basically a soft magic system, which is befitting since this is space fantasy. 

“Jedi Crash” (1x13)

#give aayla armor

I’m gonna pretend she was actually wearing something like that the whole time.  Like, I’m joking but not really.  Why doesn’t Aayla have armor like Obi-Wan?  And don’t tell me it’s because that’s what’s she wearing in RotS, Obi-Wan sure as hell ain’t wearing his RotS gear in this season...  

Ugh, I just have so many opinions about how female characters are written and presented on this show in particular, and the PT in general, but I’m gonna save it for a more coherent post in the future.  

Back to the episode proper: this ship-to-ship combat actually makes sense on a tactical level - I just love the droids/drones boarding the ship by force - but why are they in atmosphere?  I know that atmo-combat looks cool, but it makes absolutely no sense given what Star Destroyers are built for.  Yes, I’m aware that whining about this is petty, but I’m going to keep complaining about it until I feel better.

I feel like Anakin is unselfish expressly for the purpose of setting up a lesson for Ahsoka.  It’s not bad, but it’s not great.  I’m very meh on Anakin in general, though, so perhaps other people might see it differently.  

Finally, the lemur colonists’ story makes no sense, timeline-wise.  The war has only being going on for less than a year!  Did they colonize the planet before the war broke out, or after? Is their home planet an active participant in either side?  Are they already self-sufficient, or are they still receiving support from the next wave of colonists back home?  As you can see, I am deeply invested in the economics and logistics of this situation.

“Defenders of Peace” (1x14)

God, the CIS is cartoonishly evil.  It’s so evil I can’t take it seriously, and I’m a person who enjoyed the OT and thinks Tarkin was actually the best villain.  I also found the inevitable denouement of the lemur people plot really annoying.  I’m not fond of pacifistic storylines, but they can be done well if the writers want to give a fair shake to the ideology.  TCW’s writers don’t, therefor the lemurs are just another strawman group who only exist to show how good the heroes are.

“Trespass” (1x15)

I love how we see graphic clone death in the first 30 seconds of the episode.  At this point, I believe either Cartoon Network or Lucasfilm paid off the MPA, because there is no way this was rated PG legitimately.

Although I love Riyo Chuchi’s overall character design, I am offended by her youth.  Why are there so many “young lady politicians” in Star Wars?  Did everyone just look at Padme and say “yeah, this makes sense and is not absolutely stupid, let’s have more of the same?”

Anyway, I like to think Riyo is actually a soft-spoken, non-assertive middle-aged woman who is consistently underestimated in the Senate due to the fact the wealthy humans of the Core Worlds don’t know enough about her species to accurately gauge her age.

The actually plot of this story is executed reasonably well, although I honestly have no idea why two generals/battalions are necessary for this excursion.  Also, am I the only one who found the Pantoran assertion that the yeti aliens are a complete discovery a bit silly?  You guys have space flight, and presumably satellites, but you don’t know a primitive society is living on the planet you orbit?  Really?  Seems like a stretch.

“Blue Shadow Virus” (1x16)

Jar Jar’s actions in the initial interrogation that begin this episode can only be explained in the context of him being a secret Sith apprentice.  Anyway, another cartoonishly evil villain from the CIS side.  They’ve graduated from targeting hospitals to playing with bioweapons!

Anyway, the whole episode is yet another example of poor military strategy.  You know what the Naboo Queen should have done?  Nuked that black site from orbit, for the safety of her people and the galaxy at large.

“Mystery of a Thousand Moons” (1x17)

I just found this all very tedious.  Obi-Wan and Anakin banter can lift an episode sometimes, but this wasn’t one of them.  Anyway, the idea that one (1) root is going to produce a cure for a disease (that presumably already has a cure since it was originally eradicated decades ago) is just laughable.  Finally, still noticing the timeline described in the episodes doesn’t make any sense.  The idea that the CIS would invade Iego’s moons (for what reason?) and then leave (for what reason??), but leave a trap to keep everyone else from leaving (???) that then spurs the creation of an urban myth, all within the space of a year or less, is also stretching the bounds of my belief.  It’s like the writers want to pretend the war has been going on for years, instead of a few months....

Next week: I complete the majority of the first season by watching the three-episode Ryloth arc, and start the second season by watching the time Cad Bane tried jumpstart the Emperor’s Hand program early.

#watching the clone wars #star wars #star wars tcw #television is hypnotoad

[traditional-with-a-twist]

xxiii. Beauty and Her Beast

<<Previous || first arc || AO3 || Next>>

A man can save a sinking ship if he bails fast enough.

Lord Haruka had suspected cracks in the hull of the Clarines estate ever since the reigning prince had showed faulty judgment that morning after his brother’s funeral. 

Haruka had done his best since then to remain a bulwark for their young ruler: shouldering the burdens of his absence, duly performing any service as requested, maintaining some semblance of normalcy despite the tumult that rocked the people’s nerves and the wild rumors infesting the court.

A lesser man would have let some details slip in grappling with the crushing overload of guiding the country to post-war recovery while orchestrating a state ceremony on a scale usually reserved for centennial events, but Haruka knew his duty and executed it relentlessly.

Work, he had long since concluded, was the only remedy when fate denied you a more pleasing order of events. It was useless to struggle or complain when circumstances refused you alternatives.

...

In one matter alone he had been remiss, and for this Haruka reproached himself bitterly: He had neglected the supervision of the intended second princess.

Now she neglected her duties in turn.

It was enough that she had failed to report during the last week of Izana’s absence -- he had assigned her more than sufficient responsibilities to busy herself independently if she so chose -- but to miss their appointed rehearsal the day before the ceremony was unconscionable.

She had no respect for the customs of their country. She was not fit for office.

It was time that the first prince knew of her indiscretions.

...

Haruka was fully prepared to confess his own culpability in the matter. 

He had never approved of her presence in the castle, would have been glad to see her depart. Her steady rise in good graces and influence had done nothing to improve his opinion of her.

He had allowed this personal bias to cloud his professional judgement: permitting her absences to create distance between them when he should have insisted on her proximity.

Now the situation had gotten out of hand, and they both must answer for it.

Otherwise the trickle of indiscretions threatened to swell to a tide that would swamp everything they had labored for.

...

With this mission in mind, Haruka presented himself early to the prince’s office.

He met the royal tailor on his way out the door, trailed by a parade of seamstresses, fabrics, and jewels.

Many years had passed since the Wisterias had required a newly crafted costume for a formal occasion, but then there was nothing fitting available that featured only white.

...

Lord Haruka entered to find the prince in his undershirt.

Izana was easing into one of the creamy, long-sleeved blouses he wore under the heavier vests and coats befitting his station. He greeted the lord with a poise often absent in half-dressed men.

“Your highness,” Haruka forged ahead, determined to waste no time. “Forgive the intrusion; I would not have disturbed you, were it not for a matter of utmost--”

The next word stuck in his throat.

...

As Izana drew up his right sleeve, Haruka’s eye caught on an anomalous color: red.

An ugly red line bisected the field of white cloth and pale skin, marring the prince’s arm.

Haruka started forwards like a horse that felt a spur in its side. “Highness -- you bleed!”

Izana glanced carelessly, as if Haruka had expressed alarm over a dust mote. “Oh, yes. I passed too near the edge of a blade, you see...and the sword has left its mark.”

...

Had Haruka’s heart labored under the additional burden of another decade or two, it might have failed him.

A cut, a wound - evidence of hostile intent, engraved on their prince’s flesh: a blow struck at the head of Clarines, in the heart of its foremost fortress and safeguard.

Unable to articulate his feelings, Haruka warbled a protest.

...

The prince had paused to observe him; he seemed in no hurry to finish his toilette. At the lord’s vocalization, he arched an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”

Lowering his voice to a rasp, Haruka managed, “What--what is the meaning of this, your highness?”

A pointing finger dispelled Izana’s remaining confusion. Following its course to the cut still exposed on his arm, he broke into a smile.

“Ah. It was a parting gift from our friend - the rogue messenger.”

...

The red pulsed, expanding until it filled Haruka’s vision. This confirmed all his worst fears.

That low life was not fit for civilized society; he should never have allowed him near the castle.

Haruka forced air in through his nose, fighting for mastery of himself. He had not understood the prince’s policy regarding that undesirable presence, but he had allowed it to pass unquestioned.

Now it was clear that sentiment or something equally insidious had blinded Prince Izana.

It was his duty as a peer of the realm to intervene.

...

“I will have him arrested, your highness,” Haruka rapped out.

Lazy as a cat, Izana slipped his shirt into place at last, hiding the offense from view. He seemed bored as he fastened the buttons - or perhaps amused.

“That won’t be necessary, Lord Haruka,” he dismissed the idea with all the weight he would afford a suggestion about adding yellow flowers to the table settings. “It was only a small matter -- a quarrel, you might say.”

...

Lord Haruka contained himself with difficulty. His fingers flexed, but he was too well-bred, his deference to royal authority and awareness of public image too deeply ingrained, to allow them to form into fists.

Every thought of the failed princess had fled his mind. His consciousness roiled like boiling water, overheated by the abrupt imposition of an offense long simmering under the surface.

“A...a quarrel,” he choked, “with...your highness…”

The notion itself was absurd: an outlaw, pursuing a disagreement with a prince - at swordpoint!

Haruka’s imagination failed him; he could not fathom it.

...

Izana must have sympathized with his struggle, for he showed no reluctance in offering an explanation. 

Now fully robed, his back to the brilliant morning sun, the prince looked kindly on his subject.

“I provoked him, you see…” Izana held Haruka’s gaze, unblinking, “...by proposing marriage to the lady Shirayuki.”

...

If he had announced the extinction of the sun, Haruka could not have been more confounded.

Mounting rage had aided him thus far in withstanding repeated blows to his sense of order, propriety, and thwarted urgency, but in this extremity, it deserted him.

When Prince Zen had announced his engagement to the red-haired girl, Haruka had not greeted the news with anything like approbation. 

Although he acknowledged that he had overreached, overstepped the bounds of his authority in his efforts to drive her from the castle, he nonetheless felt that the connection could not do the young prince credit - unless it were to his beneficence and broad-mindedness.

He feared Zen would one day regret choosing a woman for her personal qualities rather than bowing to the time-honored qualifications of rank and breeding.

Sooner or later, she would disappoint him by reverting to the life she had left behind.

...

Since the first prince had approved the match, however, there was nothing Haruka could do but keep his sour reflections to himself and perform his duty as required.

Still, it was a waste, he had thought - a wasted opportunity for the advancement of the kingdom, and for the improvement of Prince Zen’s material condition.

For an elevated commoner to marry the second prince, it would have been unfortunate.

If she married the first prince, it would be catastrophic.

...

Buffeted by a hail of disastrous surprises, worn down by overwork, conscious of his own impotence despite all his efforts to the contrary, Haruka had no recourse left but to wish the bad luck away.

He looked back at his prince pleadingly, almost childlike in his distress.

His eyes, lately hardened by conviction and then glowing with wrath, now beseeched Izana to take pity and contravene this news, as unsettling to the lord’s existence as the death of a parent would be.

...

Izana evinced no surprise or disappointment that the revelation of his glad tidings had received no answering felicities.

Serene, almost thoughtful, he seated himself at his desk and took up a pen - the picture of readiness to begin the day’s labors.

Moments before his inattention would have constituted a dismissal, Izana looked up and added, as if by afterthought:

“He wished to marry her himself, it seems.”

...

The last piece of the puzzle fell into place for Haruka, revealing an awful picture.

Her inexplicable absences, his flagrant trespassing, the outlandish gossip - it all became clear.

This was no freak of whim on the first prince’s part, no accident of fate.

It was nothing less than the inevitable working out of baser natures--and the imposition of a cure worse than the disease.

The rogue and the girl would disgrace them all, as they had always threatened to.

He had failed Clarines.

#Akagami no Shirayukihime #obiyuki #PurePassion #Beauty and Her Beast #now for a brief interlude #before we return to your regularly scheduled obiyuki angst #took something like six weeks to finish this chapter #re-wrote it maybe three times #trying to pinpoint Haruka's state of mind #alternative title: Lord Haruka's No Good Very Bad Terrible Horrible Day #your reviews are so delightful #they really give me new eyes for the story #help me catch inconsistencies when I'm drafting #remind me not to drop plot threads #I am blessed!

[queensconquest]

INSIDE  CHROLLO’S  MIND

   So  I  want  to  talk  about  Chrollo’s  mentality  and  address  the  whole  idea  of  what  kind  of  man  Chrollo  is.  Clinically  he  is  NOT  a  psychopath.  ( Bless  my  mom  being  in  the  psychology  field  and  all  her  books.  )  He  DOES  possess  extreme  levels  of  primary  psychopathy,  but  excessively  lacks  in  secondary  psychopathy  which  ultimately  means  he  fails  to  technically  qualify  as  a  psychopath.  Using  the  PCL-R  model  of  psychopathy  and  explanation  on  primary  vs  secondary  psychopathy,  I’ll explain  why  below.

PRIMARY VS SECONDARY PSYCHOPATHY

The  easiest  place  to  start  is  with  primary  vs  secondary  psychopathy.  Psychopathy  is  considered  to  be  a  combination  of  personality  and  behavioral  traits.  Primary  psychopathy  is  heavily  personality  based.  Individuals  in  this  class  are  cunning,  manipulative,  remorseless,  and  have  a  lack  of  empathy  for  most  if  not  all  others.  They  are  calm  and  rarely  affected  by  anxiety  or  stress.  Secondary  psychopathy  is  more  behavioral.  These  individuals  are  more  prone  to  impulsive,  anxious,  reckless,  and  generally  see  themselves  as  being  unbeatable.

Now,  there’s  more  to  this  and  it  will  be  discussed  in  the  discussion  of  the  psychopathy  model.  Not  all  primary/secondary  psychopaths  display  every  single  one  of  these  traits, and  even  clinically  diagnosed  psychopath’s  don’t  have  them  all.  Likewise,  some  are  evenly  balanced  between  primary  and  secondary,  and  others  may  be  all  one  side  or  all  the  other,  or  mostly  one  type  with  a  few  traits  of  the  other.  Chrollo  himself  is  entirely  a  primary  psychopath,  which  are  often  the  minority  within  psychopathy,  and  the  traits  of  why  are  discussed  below 

PCL-R  MODEL

This  is  the   model  used  to  diagnose  psychopathy.  In  all,  there  is  20  areas  of  criteria,  and  each  area  can  receive  0,  1,  or  2  points.  0  means  there  is  none/very  little  and  2  being  a  lot.  0  is  someone  without  ANY  psychopathy,  and  40  is  a  perfect  score,  every  category  psychopath.  To  be  diagnosed  as  a  psychopath,  one  must  score  a  30.  Below  are  the  criteria  and  Chrollo’s  results

glib and superficial charm - 2

grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self - 1

need for stimulation - 2

pathological lying - 0

cunning and manipulativeness - 2

lack of remorse or guilt - 2

shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness) -2

callousness and lack of empathy - 2

parasitic lifestyle - 0

poor behavioral controls - 0

sexual promiscuity- 0

early behavior problems - 0

lack of realistic long-term goals - 0

impulsivity - 0

irresponsibility - 0

failure to accept responsibility for own actions - 0

many short-term marital relationships - 0

juvenile delinquency - 2

revocation of conditional release - 0

criminal versatility - 2

TOTAL: 17

As  his  score  is  less  than  30,  Chrollo  FAILS  to  qualify  as  a  psychopath  DESPITE  the  fact  he  has  a  near 100%  in  primary  psychopathy.

ANALYSIS  OF  POINTS  HE  SCORED  A  2  IN

glib and superficial charm - Chrollo  is  very  good  with  words  and  charming  people  in  both  speech  and  actions.  he’s  smooth  and  fluent  and  can  tell  people  what  they  want  to  hear,  but  almost  never  means  it.

need for stimulation -  He  is  someone  that  often  needs  to  be  kept  interested  by  something,  be  it  a  book  or  an  object  or  a  topic.  He  tends  to  need  something  to  keep  his  mind  busy  or  occupied.

cunning and manipulativeness - Chrollo  knows  how  to  get  what  he  wants  and  when  he  wants  it,  and  how  to  manipulate  and  use  people  without  them  truly  realizing  it  and  he  often  uses  it.

lack of remorse or guilt - He  harbors  no  remorse  or  guilt  for  the  things  he  has  done.  From  those  he’s  injured  or  killed  or  shattered  to  get  what  he  wants.  He  wants  it  so  he  takes  it  and  anyone  who  gets  in  his  way  will  be removed

shallow affect -  Chrollo  is  capable  of  faking  reactions  that  aren’t  genuine  and  unless  he’s  with  the  Phantom  Troupe,  he  often  WILL.  It’s  easier  to  blend  in  with  the  crowd  if  you  do  fake  emotional  responses  and  it  can  lure  people  into  a  false  sense  of  safety.  For  example,  freaking  out  over  Neon’s  fall  despite  the  fact  HE  caused  her  to.

callousness and lack of empathy - He does not empathize with the vast majority and disregards others.  Unless  you  are  close  to  him  or  have  use  to  him  or  someone  else  in  the  Troupe,  he  will  not  care  about  their  suffering

juvenile delinquency -  This  is  partially  due  to  the  environment  of  Meteor  City.  He  can  do  whatever  he  wants  and  so  long  as  he  is  not  caught,  or  is  able  to  overcome  opposition,  who’s  to  stop  him  ?  He  began  thieving  and  manipulatin  and  injuring  people  at  a  very  young  age  to  get  what  he  wanted.  It  was  necessary  to  survival  and  it  got  him  what  he  wanted  

criminal versatility - Chrollo  is  exceptionally  good  a t what  he  does,  from  thieving  to  murdering  to  trespassing,  evading  law.  Near  any  criminal  activity  he  excels  in  or  good  if  he  wished  to  learn  it.  Thus,  he’s  a  very  versatile  criminal.

ANALYSIS  OF  POINTS  HE  SCORED  A  1  IN 

grandiose estimation of self -  Chrollo  does  not  see  himself  as  being  some  sort  of  higher  being  like  a  god  of  the  world  or  anything  of  the  sort.   In  fact,  we  see  him  say  that  his  death  basically  does  not  matter.  One  because  of  Neon’s  poem.  We  also  get  the  flashback  where  he  says  the  spider  must  live  on,  even  without  him.  Someone  with  grandiose  estimation  of  themselves  would  say  HE  is  the  most  essential  thing,  but  Chrollo  says  the  very  opposite.  He  says  the  TROUPE  is  the  more  important  thing.  But  he  DOES  display  an  unconscious  view  of  entitlement.  That  something  should  be  his  purely  because  he  wants  it.  In  the  sense  of  entitlement,  Chrollo  would  absolutely  score  a  2  (  to  round  the  total  to  a  18  ).  Everyone  in  the  troupe  essentially  has  this.  But  as  himself,  he  does  not  believe  he  should  be  treated  like  royalty  or  pampered,  thus  he  only  earns  a  1  since  he  only  fulfills  one  of  the  two  aspects

ANALYSIS  OF  POINTS  HE  SCORED  A  0  IN

pathological lying - He  is  not  a  pathological  liar  because  he  does  not  lie  compulsively.  He  lies  intentional  and  when  necessary,  but  is  otherwise  very  honest,  if  perhaps  vague

parasitic lifestyle - Chrollo  supports  himself  and  does  not  leech  off  of  anyone  else  so  he  does  not  have a  parasitic  lifestyle.

poor behavioral controls - This  man  is  EXTREMELY  capable  of  controlling  his  emotions  and  behavior.  No  matter  what,  he  is  almost  always  calm  and  collected.  He  does  not  lash  out  in  anger  or  have  meltdowns  or  anything  of  the  sort.

sexual promiscuity - He  has  no  real  focus  on  sexual  matters.  He  is  not  naive  on  the  subject,  but  simply  does  not  indulge  in  such  things.  He  is  not  opposed  nor  repulsed  by   it  by  any  regards  though  !  It  is  just  not  something  he  finds  necessary  in  his  life.  for  ship  partners  he  does  actually  have  a  sex  drive,  but  only  for  them.  It’s  like  a  switch,  and  Chrollo  almost  always  has  it  off  unless  he  has  a  partner.

early behavior problems  -  Contrary  to  what  might  be  expected,  Chrollo  did  not  have  early  behavior  problems  such  as  lashing  out  at  authority,  or  behavioral  issues.  While  he  might  get  very  focused  on  a  task  as  child,  he  was  also  capable  of  disregarding  it  or  going  about  it  another  way,  or  stopping  if  told  to.

lack of realistic long-term goals - While  for  OTHER  criminals  it  might  be  unrealistic,  Chrollo’s  goals  are  not  unrealistic  for  the  Phantom  Troupe.  We’ve  seen  how  powerful  they  are,  how  dangerous  they  are,  and  how  skilled  they  are.  Chrollo  is  very  realistic  about  their  abilities  and  what  can  and  cannot  be  done.  While  he  may  give  some  tough  jobs,  they  are  far  from  unrealistic.

impulsivity - Absolutely  not.  Chrollo  plans  everything  but  also  leaves  room  for  flexibility.  While  an  action  may  APPEAR  impulsive,  it  is  never  impulsive  with  Chrollo.  If  it  seems  like  it  is,  it’s  because  he  WANTS  people  to  think  it is.

irresponsibility - This  is  a  man  running  an  extremely  successful  group  full  of  volatile  personalities.  Chrollo  is  a  very  responsible  and  coordinated  leader.

failure to accept responsibility for own actions - If  Chrollo  messes  up,  he  will  own  up  to  it.  Even  in  the  Yorknew  city  arc  he  mentions  how  he  misanalyzed  something.  He  accepts  the  responsibility  and  facts  of  his  actions,  he  does  not  blame  it  on  others.

many short-term marital relationships - He’s  never  had  any,  nor  does  he  look  for  them.

revocation of conditional release - This  might  be  a  bit  of  a  shocker,  but  from  what  we’ve  seen  of  Chrollo  (  at  least  ot  the  point  im  at  )  Chrollo  does  not  violate  his  terms.  For  example,  Kurapika’s  chains.  He  shows  he  does  not  fear  his  own  death,  he  could  have  done  something  but  he  does  not.  Likewise,  he  makes  no  attempt  to  fight  or  escape,  but  accepts  what  is  happening.

#well this took forever #but here we go! #please feel free to ask questions if you have them! #either comment or im or discord #〉a history as blank as a journal〈 — ᛭ ⌜chrollo headcanon⌟

[potteresque-ire]

Theon Greyjoy ~ The Dead Who Didn’t Die

This is my second review post on Game of Thrones! Thank you so much for asking about Theon Greyjoy, @lordhellebore and @lsdandkizuki​, and I apologize for this taking so long (RL news has kept me emotionally occupied * sigh *). As I mentioned before, I watched GoT in one go while Season 8 was airing. This puts me in a relatively rare position of neither having time to build up expectations nor selectively remembering things that would support one fan theory versus another. The same disclaimers apply: YMMV, haven’t read the books so the meta is strictly based on the show, haven’t read the many opinion pieces out there and so my viewpoints may overlap etc etc. 😊

Due to its length, this post has also been cross-posted on AO3. 

===

I was thinking…what do I want to say about Theon? He had a beautiful character arc; he showed that characters can undergo significant transformations (Theon did twice) and still be plausible and sympathetic, as long as the writing supports the development.

Then I thought of his mottos of the family he was born into, and being held as a ward in. We do not sow. Winter is coming. And I thought, oh.

No wonder he had such a difficult journey finding out who he was. No wonder everyone, including and perhaps, especially himself, couldn’t fathom for so long that a person could be both a Greyjoy and a Stark. We do not sow was all about seizing the moment, abhorring foresight and preparation. Winter is coming was all about the reverse. No wonder Theon assumed that choosing his birth family equated with destroying his adopted one. Theon’s background was one of conflict—and I love details like this, when even the family mottos reinforcing the idea that Theon lived in the grey (huh) at the start of his journey, and this grey was volatile because the elements—the Greyjoys and the Starks—were never meant to mix.

The most difficult part to watch about Theon was, of course, the torture he suffered from Ramsey. While I found the physical torture to be about 50% necessary (too long for my taste), I really liked the ultimate treachery Ramsey pulled on Theon: the fake escape, the fake hope instilled that his sister was waiting, the fake horse ride that led straight back to the St Andrew’s Cross. Not that I endorsed Ramsey behaviour (this should go without saying, but…Tumblr), but I liked how drawn-out and psychological this torture was; how, whether by intention or accident, Ramsey had found the precise thing that’d break Theon. The strongest, most unbreakable prison is the one we build in our minds, and Ramsey successfully, convincingly constructed one with that fake escape. It was the opus of a grand if terrible scheme: Theon had done unspeakable damage to his adopted home; Ramsey started with physical torture that broke his resolve and pride, let regret—of betraying Rob and attacking Winterfell—take its hold; the escape then worked upon that regret, which was itself already a powerful form of mental torture, by convincing Theon that not only there was no way out, there was no one there for him, not even his birth family—which was the chronic wound in Theon’s psyche, from the moment he’d been sent to the Starks as a hostage and pretty much abandoned there. The black and white that’d made the grey, the grey that’d made Theon had separated, and Theon was left in a void that allowed Ramsey to sculpt him into whatever Ramsey pleased. Without the escape sequence, I don’t think I’d be as convinced with Theon becoming Reek; and if I’d been convinced then, I’d be less convinced with Theon’s second transformation, after his true baptism in the sea (after failing to overcome his PTSD to save Yara and jumping into the ocean).

I identified with Reek and sympathised with him, even if he’d destroyed Winterfell and killed two innocent boys and many others. I connected with him more than with the more heroic characters of the show. If I had to give a cause, I’d say this—I’m no Gryffindor. I’ve said this before on Tumblr. But I’d clarify here the guilt I feel when I say it:  I feel guilty because I could’ve done more for people who could use a voice, not because I was born with less courage than to my liking. I felt this was true for Theon as well; while his mistakes had led him to Ramsey, it was not his fault to break, especially not with the things he’d gone through. Not everyone was born with the iron spine told in the legends, and Balon Greyjoy, who turned his own humiliation into hatred for his youngest son, the rightful heir of the Salt Throne, was more a coward than Theon ever was. It was heartbreaking to watch Theon cowering, their every facial muscle twitching with fear; it was even more heartbreaking to see him unable to dig that razor into Ramsey’s neck and Ramsey knew it. To see anyone assumed so confidently that they shall not rise again, to be announced dead before they truly were.

What is dead may never die. I wondered then if Theon’s fate would be a reflection or irony of that.

I rooted for Theon to prove Ramsey wrong. I rooted for him to escape his psychological prison if just so he could pay his dues for his crimes. No one deserved this kind of death sentence. Our corporal beings die but our spirit is meant to live, through the memories of who we are; memories built from our own history, in the minds of those who’ve crossed our paths in our life’s journey. Ramsey experimented death in reverse for Theon; he tried to kill Theon’s spirit while keeping his body alive.

It made sense to me then, that Theon the Human would rise again with Sansa’s appearance. That she and their shared childhood memories would revive him, even if they hadn’t shared kind words with one another before Theon grabbed her arm and they jumped from the tower. It also made sense that Theon would be the one to guard Bran in the Battle of Winterfell. Theon was the personification of the Three-Eye Raven’s power over the Night King. He rose because Sansa kept his history; mankind could only live if the Night King couldn’t destroy its history stored in the Three-Eye Raven.

I also liked that Theon’s second transformation—from Reek back to Theon Greyjoy—wasn’t a simple path. I liked that he freaked out amidst the bloodshed on the ship and abandoned Yara with Euron. It felt realistic to me, that his healing—or perhaps, his scarring—was prone to setbacks, as is true for many in our world who have experienced trauma. I didn’t see the relapse as Theon’s weakness; I saw it as a testament to the depth of his wound. His recovery might have been more uplifting to watch, more fitting to the often (over?) positive portrayal of recovery and healing in our culture if the show hadn’t given him these hardships. But that would’ve been an insult to him, to his newly gained humility and iron will, which made him stand as both a Greyjoy and a Stark in the end.

Theon’s end. As I mentioned above, I found his guarding Bran in the Battle of Winterfell to be thematically significant and I liked that. GoT characters often died unexpectedly deaths, so the best to hope for was for their deaths to be meaningful and Theon’s was. Of all the GoT characters, I think of his journey as closest to what fandom calls a redemption arc; it was also a satisfying arc, in that I felt the show actually believed in it (unlike that of Daenerys). I often hesitate on using the term redemption, because I’m not sure if I believe that good deeds in the present can truly cancel out past trespasses when the trespasses were not against God but against fellow men. Redemption, to me, is real only when the wronged party chooses to forgive, which may be true for God but is certainly not a given among humans. Theon’s redemption arc was complete to me not when Sansa gave him the pin, but when she and the Starks trusted him with guarding Bran. That decision said a lot about Sansa’s heart and her capacity to forgive, but said as much about Theon who carried out the task honourably in the face of bloodshed. That night, he overcame his demons. He might not have lived defending a wolf — there’s never a guarantee in their world or ours that good people are rewarded with longevity — but his iron born spirit would be remembered. He fought as one who didn’t sow because he was meant to give his all, every moment, even when winter came.

Review 1: Daenerys Stormborn, First of Her Name

#theon greyjoy #got #game of thrones #got spoilers #pie reviews GoT #pie metas

[jeremiahwasajoker]

5x01 (Year Zero): A Review

Hey guys! As you know, Gotham’s first episode of season 5 debuted on Thursday, and I AM SHOOK BEYOND BELIEF! I felt it was necessary to document my thoughts and reactions for this episode, so here I am. I wanted to gather all my thoughts on the episode in one place, just to clear my head out a bit and to share some theories and thoughts!

WARNING: This includes spoilers. If you have not seen the episode yet and want to avoid seeing any information about it, I would advise you to not look at this until you have done so. Without further ado, let’s get started!

So, first thing’s first: I want to give a shout out to Danny Cannon and Jessica Lucas. This was Danny’s last episode as an executive producer on Gotham, and the show would not be the same without him. As we all know, this is Jessica’s last episode, too, as Tabitha died. She was a strong, outstanding character that added that much pizazz to the show, and she will be deeply missed by not only me, but so many other fans who enjoyed her development and presence. 

Also, I think it’s necessary to say thank you to all the departments of design, whether it be for the costumes, cinematography, etc.  The costumes were to die for this episode! The visuals were stunning and movie-like! I can’t wait to see what else they do for these next 11 episodes coming up.

Next, I would like to review what I thought about some of the arcs of major characters and scenes that were incredible throughout Year Zero. They are in no particular order! Here we go!

“If it’s the last thing I do...”

Wow. Just wow. Erin Richards really did give me the chills with this scene. Her shouting into the camera was absolutely perfect, as we can see that she really conveyed Barbara’s grief of Tabitha’s passing in these twelve seconds. I was blown away. Not only by this scene, but even in the big fight scene that I’ll get to later. I know Barbara is not on the top of everyone’s list as their favorite, but I can say that I am so excited to see the rest of her arc. This scene really took the cake for me.

“Hope”

I would first like to say that I am a huge fan of Jim’s inspirational speeches throughout the series. This one was really a unifying moment for the GCPD, as they decided that they were going to do the best job they could, no matter what, to save the citizens of Gotham from the wrath of the villains. I think this was a really strong way to end the episode, and it makes me really hyped to see Jimbo doing the best for the citizens of the city.

The Shootout

R.I.P. Tabitha Galavan. This whole scene, whether it be Bruce sneaking in, Jim and the GCPD fighting off Penguin and his men, the struggle between Oswald and Tabitha, or even Barbara’s rage was perfect. Jessica and Robin did a phenomenal job in this scene, as they showed that there wasn’t just a feeling of vengeance between the two, as their past has been pretty rocky. Barbara’s war cry gave me the chills, along with Oswald screaming in pain after being shot in the leg. (OW! That must’ve hurt a lot). This scene will definitely go down as one of Gotham’s most iconic. 

Selina’s Suicide Attempt

This HURT so much. After hearing that she would have a suicide attempt this season, I was saddened, and assumed she would try to kill herself a different way than the way she did. I love Jeremiah so much, but the pain that Selina was going through was not worth whatever he was looking to do. Also, if she’s going to try to get revenge on him...oof. It makes me feel so conflicted! I know Camren said that this scene was one of the hardest to shoot, and I would like to say that she did an outstanding job with her performance. It made me so sad. Also, that nurse is creepy! There’s no way she’s not a Jeremiah follower in some capacity. (Look at her eyebrows!)

Ecco

A queen? She literally had the shortest scene in the episode, but shook me to my core. I was not expecting her outfit/hairstyle! I’m so used to seeing her with her hair in a bun, and I really like the look of the high ponytail for her. Also, the simplified version of the mummer costume was cool, it looks like just a leather jacket. She was so sneaky, and she doesn’t seem unhinged yet. It makes me wonder what will cause her to switch. Maybe it’s just a façade. Also, I love the jingle bells! I’m also glad she was doing work for her man, and I will say that her drawing was pretty good. Why the Jerome logo, though? I guess we’ll find out.

Since there were too many scenes for me to have the time to cover, I’ll have some honorable mentions! Edward the dog, Bruce vs. Scarecrow’s men, Scarecrow in general (he scared me), the flashforward to day 391, Bruce and Selina, Bruce and Jim, and the Riddler waking up everywhere. 

Now is the time for a few comments and questions I have for the latest episode!

Who shot down the chopper? (I’m aware that literally everyone is asking this). Okay, so we only know three people who have access to an RPG: Penguin (who it wasn’t), Zsaz, and Jeremiah. Zsaz is actually a pretty good guess, I’d say, but something tells me it might have something to do with Jeremiah. I’d doubt it would be he himself, as he is a bogeyman this season, hiding within the shadows of Gotham’s discontent. (See what I did there?) I think it was Ecco. Maybe she needs to stock up on ammo, or needs to get food for her and Mr. J. She had access to the GCPD, so maybe she heard about it there? It’s a great distraction to steal stuff from Penguin or Babs, so I think it most likely was her. Also, she is doing Jeremiah’s dirty work, so it’s not out of possibility.

Who’s the Witch? I think the witch is Ivy. I mean, she’s been confirmed for 5x02, and she would have a motive for helping Selina. How that weird nurse would know? I have no clue. I used to think that when I read the synopsis for the next episode that Ecco would be the witch, as she kinda had those vibes with the mask and cloak on, but after seeing the stills and cast for “Trespassers”,  I think it's Ivy.

Shoutout to my boy Jeremiah! I love the imagery of the map with the laughing face on it, as it kinda signifies that he’s literally ruling the city from underneath. I also love that his presence was felt throughout the episode, despite not being there for any of it in person. He’s going to be such an amazing villain this season, I just know it.

Who was the lady calling Jim? I heard things about a Theresa Walker this season, and apparently she has a big impact on the plot. Jamie Murray (who apparently plays her) was listed as one of the guest stars, but we didn’t see anything that had to do with her. Maybe it was her calling Jim? I don’t know. 

If I had to sum up the episode with one Jeremiah Valeska mood, it would be:

I’m very happy with how this episode turned out! 

What a strong way to start out the season. I know that I’ve seen most of the footage in Year Zero in trailers, stills, etc., but it still blew me away. My parents were also very impressed, and really amazed with how the episode turned out. (Which also made me happy!) I really can’t wait for next week. 

Thank you for reading this! I hope you all had a wonderful time watching, too! I think I’m going to do one of these for each one that comes out. I’m so excited for the rest of the season! I hope you enjoyed!

#Gotham #jeremiah valeska #season 5 #5x01 #Year Zero #reaction post #gotham season five #Cameron Monaghan #the joker #Barbara Kean #jim gordon #gcpd #erin richards #ben mckenzie #ecco #gotham ecco #francesca root dodson #penguin #oswald copplepot #tabitha galavan #tigress #Selina kyle #Camren Bicondova #bruce wayne #david mazouz #gotham spoilers

[octerminal]

max trevelyan A7, A14, D1, J6, L2, L9,

Questions from here. Max is one of my unexpected favorites, actually. I never thought I’d like him as much as I do, but he’s…honestly more fleshed out than some of my Wardens and Hawkes. I don’t get to talk about him as much as I’d like.

(Apologies to mobile users if the cut doesn’t work)

Maxwell Trevelyan

A7. Is your OC confident in their reactions to life in general, or do they get embarrassed or easily shamed for it?

He is not confident at all. This is why he tends toward stoicism and the stoic dialogue options; it’s better to not show his feelings at all, than to risk feeling the “wrong” thing. This means the inner circle has to become pretty adept in reading him, because he’s certainly not going to speak up himself.

By Trespasser, he’s gotten moderately better. It’s an ongoing process.

A14. Is your character empathetic?

Yes, very - it’s a big part of why he never enjoyed his time in the Templars, and why he remained a recruit as long as he did. I imagine he managed to get on the bad side of one too many superiors who didn’t want him in their ranks but couldn’t kick him out because of the Trevelyan name.

D1. How religious is your OC? What do they practice, if anything? If they don’t associate with any religion, what do they think of religion in general?

He’s similar to a lot of the characters in the series who hint at being faithful, but don’t seem particularly amenable to the Chantry itself. My interpretation of the Trevelyan family is one that is very devout, one with several of their own within the Chantry’s ranks. Uncles, cousins, etc. who are brothers, sisters, Templars, or other miscellaneous available occupations. This is all to say: he is very much not a stranger to the Chantry and would have been raised in its history, politics, and teachings. His opinion is an informed one. He believes, but because of what he’s been exposed to - through his education, through his Templar training, and through having a mage sister - he can’t be a traditionalist without ignoring his morals.

…Which is basically what he ended up doing pre-Inquisition anyway, because of the abuse he’s endured and because he’s the type to always put duty (however misplaced) before his own feelings.

But by the end of the game, Leliana is his Divine, so hey.

J6. How do they react to people whose political viewpoints are very opposite of theirs?

Depends on where he’s at in his arc. Early on, you’d be hard-pressed to find him expressing a definitive opinion at all, so it’s not like anyone would even know their opinion is actually the opposite of his. He contorts himself to be what people want him to be and he has no clear idea of his own identity because of this. If someone expresses an opinion contrary to his own, he’s likely to just go along with them and tell them what they want to hear, or keep his actual opinion private. Not very healthy, nor very honest. (This is part of why he’s drawn to Dorian, because Dorian makes no apologies for who he is and what he believes in even though it’s led to his consistent ostracization.)

The “Inquisitor” mantle forces him out of this. He has to make his viewpoints public now, because his position demands action. He is still shaping himself around others’ expectations (a “leader” - not something that comes naturally to him nor something that he’d want himself, given the choice), which is a problem addressed at a later date, but he’s given…courtesy, at the very least, when speaking on Inquisition matters due to his title. His words hold weight; he’s not immediately ridiculed. Whatever else, this does help him build confidence in expressing his political opinions. By the time of Trespasser, he’ll add in his two cents and then lean toward diplomacy when necessary.

L2. What do you consider the biggest themes in your character, if any?

Learning to stand up for himself and to be his own person instead of being what everyone else wants and/or expects him to be.

L9. How did you come up with your OC?

I was watching videos of the companions’ reactions to the specializations, and I really liked what Dorian says about a Templar-specced Inquisitor smelling nice. Two problems, though: 1) I don’t think a pro-Templar Inquisitor would work well with Dorian in the long run and more importantly, 2) I have no desire to play a pro-Templar Inquisitor, at least not as my canon. 

So, then, why would my Inquisitor be specced as a Templar if he wasn’t pro-Templar? What circumstances would have lead to that? That’s what got me started, and then it snowballed from there. I also generally take into account the kind of character their intended LI is, and play off that so I have a dynamic that interests me.

#* #thank you kira!!! 💖💖💖 #side note i know i keep the default name a lot but maxwell is so hilariously pretentious i couldn't change it #it was the perfect name for a noble #ch: max trevelyan

[distant-rose]

1, 10, 16, 22 FOR SALTY ASKS, BITCH! xo

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

I’m going to say it and people are going to possibly fight me but Rumbelle. As someone who specializes in family and human rights law, it’s hard for me to watch because I feel like I’m watching one of my cases, particularly cases regarding Battered Women’s Syndrome where women are put through a cycle of abuse and affection that eventually leads to them snapping and killing their partners due to the constant fear that they feel. Granted, that didn’t happen on the show and I don’t think Adam & Eddy even have a clue what BWS is but it was the cycle that got me - the manipulation, the gaslighting and sometimes even trespass against the person via false imprisonment. (And yes, false imprisonment is categorized as trespass against the person in tort.) I constantly cringed while watching them mainly because it became clear many times that Rumple just doesn’t respect Belle’s autonomy and views her more as a coveted object than a partner.

Another is honestly…Kataang. I don’t find it abusive for the record or anything. And just a PSA out there for you, you CAN dislike a ship and not find it abusive, just saying. It’s more that I felt there wasn’t much chemistry for Aang and Katara. There was a serious maturity gap between them. I felt to me that Aang was always trying to hold on to his childhood and really not face issues unless they were pressing and he felt compelled too while Katara honestly acted more like an adult, which isn’t surprising considering the fact her mother died when she was young and she and Sokka were often left on their own because of the war. Katara really faced things head on and I feel like her actions towards Aang were more maternal than anything. @justanotherwannabeclassic and I have discussed this before but it feels like Katara was just a prize for Aang for saving the world and kinda lost her autonomy as person. She just became his girlfriend when she was a master fucking waterbender and I don’t think she would have been satisfied with just being a wife and mother, not that there is anything wrong with that but she’s very much into helping people and being a revolutionary - she was the fucking Painted Lady, c’mon now.

I could write an entire essay on these two and other ships but honestly this answer is long enough as is.

I’m gonna put my other answers under the cut because I have a lot of salt

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Alana. Seriously. If I could, I would rewrite the entire Once Upon a Time show post-season three. There’s so many things I have an issue with in regard to OUAT but if I had to chose one and this is hard, but the entire Killian killed David’s Dad/Killian’s Realm Tour 2017. That story arc was bullshit, in fact most of season six was bullshit. Season five was also bullshit but I digress. Anyway, I think the whole issue of Killian killing Robert was fucking dumb and was just drama for drama’s sake because Adam and Eddy got lazy and apparently wrote the majority of their plots high, and not the good kind of high. Like the kinda high you get when you buy cheap ass marijuana from a sketchy street vender in Switzerland kinda high. That’s the minor beef I have with this arc, the main bit is the Emma moping and thinking Killian abandoned her nonsense. Girl, we just went through THREE SEASONS of crazy ass insanity where it was confirmed MANY times that Killian wasn’t ever going to leave her, loved her and would die like five hundred times for her. The fact that she immediately thought that he left instead of, maybe I don’t know, being kidnapped or hurt is just absurd to me. It’s fucking absurd. 

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Oh god, where to do I fucking begin. Number one, I would have had a fucking real overarching plot for OUAT and I would have totally reworked seasons four through seven with more original spins. One of the things that attracted me to the show in the first place was how they took characters like Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood and they turned them on their heads and made them bad ass and unique. That didn’t seem to happen much post-season three. I would have changed Elsa and Anna up a bit instead of making them carbon copies of their movie selves. It would be something making Elsa morally grey and a boss ass political bitch who gives Regina a run for her money and make Anna an absolute tomboy who have no interest in being a princess but would rather be a flower child and walk around in the woods all day bare foot and incredibly strong because all she does is climb trees. I love the idea of playing Elsa off as winter and Anna as a spring. Work with that. That would have been an interesting thing. 

Also, I actually did not enjoy the author arc at all. I get the idea of playing around with the characters as inverse/opposites of their true natures but I just rolled my eyes a lot. I would have done an entirely different arc, maybe looked more at realm traveling or you know actually address whether people want to return to the Enchanted Forrest. Hell, I would have maybe even done something about the town line and whether the citizens of Storybrooke wanted to explore the outside world. 

Dark Swan was a wasted opportunity in my opinion and they really missed a chance to make Emma actually do some really crazy shit and you know confront some of the issues that had been buried under the rug in the past few seasons but that’s not biggest issue actually. I had more issues with the Underworld as a Greek mythology buff than I did with Dark Swan but how they did the Dark Ones thing could have been so much better. But Underworld deserves more of my beef. *sigh* That, personally to me, was a wasted arc creatively. Don’t get me wrong, I cried like a bit at the elevator scene but I feel like they should have gone more Greek myth than Disney Hades. I think I’ve said before to @katie-dub that it would have been more interesting if Hades wasn’t so much of an antagonist but more of someone who misleads them into thinking that Killian is in the worst part of the Underworld while he really isn’t, he’s either on the Asphodel Meadows and doesn’t remember her or in Elysium where he’s completely at peace and taking him back would pose more of a moral question for Emma on whether or not she should. 

We can all agree that seasons six is a train wreck right? I was a little annoyed at the timelines and the issues brought up in regard to Captain Swan. It seemed like they were issues that had been addressed or should have been addressed in previous seasons. I found the whole wedding thing super rushed. I would have been content if Captain Swan had more of background role drama-wise and maybe they actually used the wedding to really build on Emma and Snow’s relationship more because it had been strongly ignored. The Black Fairy was a wasted villain and Gideon wasn’t really necessary. Let’s be real, that final battle was a massive letdown and the last time I checked a TLK doesn’t save you from normal mortal wounding. I kinda wished they played around with the Untold Stories Thing a bit more in S6. I would have totally nixed the Wish Realm and the Musical Episode even though I liked the music. I just found a lot of their plots confusing, unnecessary and tired.

Okay, I didn’t watch a lot of season seven but I do have an issue with the recycling of plots and characters. I don’t mind Jacinda or Tilly/Alice but I found the whole recycle of Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella a sign that the creative well had run dry. I wish they had work with new material and stories such as the Labyrinth, Black Cauldron, Treasure Island, Atlantis or even fucking Enchanted. They could have also worked in on some of the legends from 1,001 Arabian Nights, worked more with Greek mythology particularly the Odyssey or the Argonauts. There’s a lot of creative things they could have done and just didn’t do. You’re welcome to like season seven and the characters it introduced but it just felt more like a money grab with incredibly lazy writing.

22. Popular character you hate?

I have a feeling a lot of people might unfollow me for this one but David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. Like I’m sure not a lot of people have noticed this but I do not reblog anything with Ten in it. I know he’s everyone’s favorite and people love him and think he’s attractive but I actually hate his treatment of Rose, Martha and Donna as well as his weird space casanova act. I actually don’t really like Ten/Rose that much mainly because Ten doesn’t seem to have the same love and denotation for her that Nine did and was totally cool with leaving her and Mickey alone in a murder robot infested space in the 51st century to chase after Madame Pompadour. I don’t think the Ninth “I could save the world but lose you” Doctor would have done the whole “does it need saying?” and would have left Rose in Pete’s World with his clone without giving her a say. I was really irked by that. He whined about how much he missed Rose for TWO. WHOLE. FUCKING. SEASONS and when she came back, he’s like “here, have my clone and fuck off.” It bothered me so much and I think a lot of Rose hate is honestly based off Ten’s melodramatic ass and how he whined about missing Rose and made Martha feel inferior. Martha Jones was a fucking boss and didn’t deserve the shit he gave her. And then, we have Donna, poor Donna who didn’t get a choice at all in her fate. He chose it for her and that will never not bother me. Rose, Martha and Donna deserved more. End of story.

#asks #answered #starlessness #ro speaks #meme bullshit #salty asks #I AM A VERY SALTY PERSON #I'M NOT SORRY #personal

[emerald-amidst-gold]

17, 21, and 24 for the OTP ask? 😁

Well, hello, friend! I shall answer for that is DUTY! >:D

17. What senses (sights, smells, feelings, etc). remind them of each other?

I did answer this one in another ask, but I can think of a few more to share! (I got so much for these two, don't worry~)

So, another thing that reminds Fane of Solas is any kind of painting, namely frescos. Surprise, surprise! But the reasoning is mainly because Fane used to dream of frescos painted in a temple, one he always finds himself traversing in his dreams in the earlier years of his life. The style was nostalgic, impeccable, as if the hand that had held the brush was fixated on getting every line, every detail, every color, and every proportion just right. The paintings were like little anecdotes, way points trying to guide him in a direction with paint and plaster, but the story was always left unfinished, and it isn't until all the memories flood back that Fane realizes who was the artist of his dreams. *winks*

Now, I'm not usually one for 'smell' references, but oddly enough, Solas is reminded of Fane through one. Namely, chamomile. This was something I thought of one day when I was fighting with a headache and I was just watching a Twitch stream, and I was like, "Chamomile is a natural stress reliever. Fane doesn't like tea, but there are bath oils and incenses infused with chamomile, right? He would definitely be given that by someone or maybe even takes initiative to get it himself." Thus, the headcanon was established! Fane smells like chamomile, and Solas can't help but smile when he smells it from another source, knowing that his dragon is trying to help himself in some way.

21. How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?

So, there's a little bit of A and little bit of B for this question. There has indelibly been a positive influence on both Fane and Solas due to each other. Basically, it all stems from pre-Inquisition, aka Elvhenan/Arlathan.

Fane, as a dragon, was inherently tasked with observing elvenkind, watching the flow of which they progressed and if their machinations benefited the world in which they lived. Each dragon had this inherent task, albeit in different ways. Dragons that lived in arid regions were tasked with controlling the sandscape, preserving the ancient temples by covering them with said sand, making inaccessible areas accessible for wildlife, so on, so forth.

Fane, and the others of his specific kin, not only watched the Elvhen, they guided them, but only if it was deemed necessary. White dragons could not want for anything beyond what the world needed, and their powers of absorbing, reflecting, and understanding emotions was what made them highly sought after by the Evanuris. When the Evanuris began enslaving elves, they began enslaving dragons, too. And this is around the time Solas and Fane met; when Fane was the last of his white kin. Fane had gone into recluse, hiding; he turned his back on those who were suffering because he couldn't bear to see them be subjected to magic bending and breaking their minds, turning their eyes grey where they were otherwise a multitude of colors. Solas found him through a curious venture as we all know the dear wolf is prone to curiosity.

Their beginnings were rough. Fane tried multiple, multiple times to kill Solas. He saw him as no different than those who had thus far enslaved his kin. He held anger, rage, resentment, and pride, which warped his nature of calm observation and cool acceptance to preemptive prejudice and scornful indifference. Fane stopped caring; about everything. Solas reached out to him, wanted to help him, and for the sake of keeping things somewhat short, they grew close after constant revisits and...silence. Solas allowed Fane to watch him, learn about him, read his eyes, and in turn, Fane began to open up, rediscover his original nature, and learn about another side from a more personal view. Solas taught Fane that nothing can change or return to what they had been unless he tried, and he did, even though it ended poorly. And even though it takes him twenty-four years and a lot of hardship, Fane finally remembers that important lesson and he's forever grateful, even as they walk onto the same stage that burned before.

Now, Fane has helped Solas do something we all know the dear wolf is a bit hesitant to do, and that's show his emotions. I stated once upon a time that my interpretation of Solas a little more...personal. Basically, I'm exploring a side of Solas that we don't really get to see, and that's an emotional one. My stories encompass a lot of emotion, a lot of grey morality, so I try to do that while keeping Solas in character with how we know him. However, with this AU of mine, Solas is more in touch with his emotions when with Fane. Why? Because Fane did what he was tasked with from birth; he guided. Through silent looks and seemingly disgruntled huffs, Fane allowed Solas to open up, to feel safe when every corner held a knife.

He let him be him. Not the Dread Wolf. Not the Rebel God. Not anything more than what he was naturally, and that was a being who needed to let their emotions go as freely as the magic so intertwined with their nature. They were friends, companions, even though they were two completely different species, and for all intents and purposes, enemies. They loved each other, but couldn't say it. After Fane died, Solas locked up again, kept his emotions sealed away, but when Fane reappeared in his life, both unknowing of who the other was, it all came back so easily, so fluidly. And what you'll see in a lot of my stories of Solas and Fane's early acquaintanceship in Inquisition is that they flow, they let the other be weak even though they don't want to be weak.

As for how they change each other for the worse...well, that ties into a lot of what I have planned during Post-Trespasser arcs. My stories are 'fix-its', but again, grey morality. There's a happy ending, but not without opposition first and a lot of hard lessons. Solas and Fane will do shit that makes people go, "Why?!", but aren't we already saying that with what Solas canon-wise is doing? Why not add an Inquisitor into the mix and live the fantasy we weren't allowed to choose?

24. What is something they have each had to forgive the other for?

Okay, so Fane's isn't what you'd think it is. You all know me, I like to go, 'You thought not! AHA! >:D'. Most people who've read my stories might think, "Oh, Fane has to forgive Solas for erecting the Veil because it's driving his kin insane." That makes sense, but it's not what Fane has had to forgive Solas for. Fane has had to forgive Solas for doubting him.

What I mean by this is that Solas tries to steer Fane away from helping him (Look! It's canon after all! XD). And mainly it's because Solas sees Fane thriving in this new life, connecting with people, seeing the world from a different perspective, and so he starts to think that Fane wouldn't want to help him. Which is complete bullshit because Fane, even when Solas tries to gently steer him away, is like, "I'm here. I'm not going to abandon you again." But typical Solas is typical Solas and is weighed down with grief and his doubts, but eventually he relents after a dragon fight. I won't say when this will occur, but...yeah. It's a bad time, and it shows Solas that Fane wasn't thriving as well as he'd thought. It takes a bit, but Fane comes to understand why Solas was trying to guide him away, and it helps when you're a stubborn dragon in love with a stubborn wolf! :D

Now for Solas, I have a little excerpt from a short story (the one I've been sharing a lot in tag games!). It kind of gives a basis of what Fane can sometimes do when he's not thinking or if he doesn't talk to Solas.

***

“F..Fane..!”, Solas growled out, a surge of heat invading his head as he felt his dragon’s dormant fury within his soul. It was thrashing, knocking, pounding against the confines of their link, wishing to be set free through him and his actions.

“This is..ugh..important, dammit!”, Fane grunted out as Solas was finally starting to push back, as well as his own minor discomfort with the magic that was slowly building around them.

“Then..ngh..speak of it!”, Solas snapped, feeling something like a pinch against his mind before that sensation ricoheted outwards, a lesser burst of magic managing to separate their bodies, but not their tethered souls. “Hiding in your mind only inflicts more harm!”, he almost yelled, his mind clouding with unusual rage. He was never ruffled this easily, but this wasn’t him, was it?

No, this was Fane, or more accurately, Fane’s mind. And it was red hot with fury.

He watched with slightly haggard breathing as Fane slid back a few feet, a grimace on his face from the smell of ozone, but shook it off easily. Now fully golden eyes glared with steamy ferocity upon him, a broad chest heaving with Veil born ire and excitement at finally having a challenge. Solas straightened himself a bit, clearing his throat as the distance between their bodies allowed him to think a bit more clearly, but he could still feel the thread that connected them intensely.

“Ma’isenatha, please--”, Solas attempted to reach the unhinged being before him, even as he could feel his own mind beginning to cloud again as Fane stalked towards him. They needed to cease this dance before one of them got hurt or insanely ill!

“Quit…”, the fuming dragon began before whipping the staff in his hand around in a near perfect arc towards him. “..talking!”, he snarled furiously, deftly hitting the other end of the staff with his wrist to cut off its intended path for a shorter route.

Solas was a bit curious by the adept usage, but shuffled that thought away quickly to block the blow that was inevitably aimed for his jaw. Now wasn’t the time to ruminate! As much as he loathed to admit it, and encourage it, there was only one way out of this foolish scenario!

“Enough!”, a cry harboring necessary command releasing from his lips, making the link between them snap like a bowstring. “Ngh..!” The heady, harsh sensation had the air leaving his lungs before he swept one end of his staff upwards without volition, missing his mark by a hair. He blinked when the sensation eased off, grimacing as he stared at the staff poised just next to Fane’s face, precisely at the point where his scar was. How ironic, but he knew what was happening now with that.

The involuntary reaction had been too planned, too memory bound. It was like when they had viciously fought as Haven burned with fire and corruption, and he had had no choice but to wound the otherwise perfect face before him - a deep scar left on his left cheek from his staff blade. His arms had been wrapped, then strung up in invisible bonds that radiated desperate heat and furious rage, guiding them to repeat the action due to a desire for something unsaid.

In simple terms, he was being controlled by emotions alone - emotions that were not his own.

“Interesting.”, Solas said, but narrowed his eyes upon the fierce man. “Emotions are your strings.”, he pointed out, more realization dawning on him as to where all these minor outbursts, sudden movements, and disorienting sensations were coming from. Fane..

...was manipulating emotions, guiding them to the destination he desired.

Fane’s eyes narrowed, emerald reappearing to deepen with rage as tufts of his hair fluttered from the air behind his swipe. “I’m intervening.”, the draconic side of his love coming out in full bloom now.

“Why?” He issued it as more a command than a true question. He was mildly miffed by this usage of abilities, but he needed context to decipher why Fane had thought this was necessary. It was unusual and worrying for him to use them like this.

“It’s necessary.”, Fane said with a flat tone, but there was fire crackling beneath its supposed embers, as well as the deep emerald gaze bearing down upon him before he twisted his staff upwards to once again aim under his chin. Solas dodged the movement by an inch, feeling the amount of force behind it with air alone.

His dragon was steadily losing his control, and it wouldn’t be long until he was truly unhinged.

“Fane!”, Solas met the glare with one that felt just as furious as he called out, but finally began to retaliate, no longer wishing to play on the defensive and draw this out longer. “Very well..”, he said lowly, gripping the staff tightly as he pressed in harder, matching Fane’s footwork step for step as their blows connected with near splintering cracks. “...if you are so..”, a harsh crack of their staves reverberating through the air. “...intent on not speaking of what troubles you, then I will make it so you have no choice but to!”

A long, muscled leg nearly knocked into one of his knees as it swept under him, its pace incredibly fast for something intended to withstand punishment. It was like a dragon’s tail as it swept aside massive boulders, and uprooted century old trees.

Fane let out a gasping laugh. “You’re still..ngh..t..talking?!”, he roared, snowy brows furrowed in growing pain as sweat began to form along a lightly flushed temple, hand trembling where it nearly snapped his staff in half.

“I am doing what you refuse to do!” A jab with his staff nearly connected with a muscled arm, but it went through the gap between itself and the toned body it was attached to. “Gh..!”, he winced as he felt a sharp yank on his mind, as well as the staff in his hands as Fane grabbed a hold of it to pull him forward harshly.

The world halted suddenly, its furious, heated pace slightly cooled as their gazes connected, all sound flushing out to where the only sound was their combined, harsh breathing. Emerald and gold swam, ebbed around each other like a phylactery did with its magical blood as the face that bore them was lax in stunned silence, sweat trickling down flush cheeks before it would disappear along a strong neck. Solas felt his face was no better, feeling how droplets of sweat rolled down the sides of his face and how his mouth was slightly agape as he fought for a shred of breath.

What was...going on? This feeling, like their desires were coalescing, taking shape before them like spirits shaped the Fade around them...it was intoxicating, comforting, and serene amid the furious battle they had been engaged in moments before. Their link was still there, but it was soft, velvet against his mind as the gentle essence wrapped around it in an embrace.

It was no longer painted...red.

“Hnn..”, Solas let out a quiet sigh, breath hitching after as the blanket around him became warmer, silken. When had it shifted? He hadn’t been aware because of rage painting the world before him in crimson..

“Too...much..”, he heard Fane whisper out between pants, but it was more to himself than to Solas. “...You shouldn’t feel that like I do.. Shit..”

Solas blinked a bit to reorient himself, the softness of his mind making it hard to think before he saw Fane’s face near inches from his, the hand that had grabbed his staff now making itself known upon the back of his neck, steadying him. When had that gotten there?

“What..”, Solas started, closing his eyes for a moment as the world spun for a second before reopening to try again. “What..was that?”

“My mind.”, Fane muttered, eyes flitting across his face worriedly. “I didn’t think..”, he trailed off with a light growl as brilliant eyes turned downcast. “I fucked up… I’m sorry...”

***

So, yeah. It doesn't take Solas long to forgive Fane, but when he first demonstrates just how dangerous his abilities can be and actively uses them to manipulate our wolf gets a little miffed. Solas wants Fane to use his voice more, and these are moments in which Fane doesn't and taps into that warped perception of himself; the one that got him killed.

#oc asks #asks #oc: fane lavellan #solas #solavellan #dragon age #sorry for how insanely long this is! #i just have so much nuanced crap for these two that I get carried away XD #and forgive if the excerpt is a bit...sloppy. it's still a wip! :3 #there's also a lot of stuff that i'm just playing with in regards to Fane and Solas but i know the basis of how they operate X3 #thank you again! <3