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rallentando1011 · 3 months

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hey so can I get a scenario with rottmnt Donnie where he keeps stealing his lovers purple stuff, he notices them not having purple stuff around anymore and one day they are like “yea so I don’t buy purple anymore. Too much stuff is disappearing. Hmmm I wonder where it keeps vanishing too? “ and they give him a knowing smirk?

Purple Habits Die Hard (rise Donnie x gn Reader)

(Hello! Thank you very much for the requests-I am really enjoying them and promise I’m working through them-

I am open to more requests, guidelines are HERE, and I’m not saying that I specifically would like writing some Donatello angst but yes I absolutely would-

Either way, I hope y’all enjoy!)

Word Count: 1082

You didn’t love him anymore.

That was the only logical conclusion Donnie could reach.

Was he grasping at straws with that hypothesis? Likely. But the fact that there were even straws to grasp in the first place was enough to raise his suspicion.

Data point 1: You hadn’t worn purple in weeks. Not really a commitment, definitely not a symbol of possession, wearing his color was just a symbol that he was in your thoughts. The lack of that implied that he wasn’t plaguing your mind like you did his. At least, that’s what he picked up from it.

Data point 2: You barely invited him to hang out anymore. The last few times you two had seen each other had all been initiated by him, three to be exact, and all of those instances had occurred at the lair. Not your residence, not some fun locale, the lair.

Data point 3: …

Well, to be completely honest, he only had the two. However, how unscientific or illogical his hypothesis was mattered not.

Something was awry.

And he was going to get to the bottom of it.

A text message drew Donnie out of his downward spiral line of reasoning.It was from you, alleging that you were almost to the lair.

Right. He had been so busy plotting and scheming that he nearly forgot the subject of such endeavors, and that he had invited you over for investigation and/or confrontation.

He needed to get ready.

He tugged off the lavender sweatshirt he’d taken from your place a couple of months ago, the chain of your stolen lilac bracelet jangling as he did so.

Oh yeah. He should probably take that off, too.

He didn’t want to seem like a kleptomaniac.

He barely had time to chuck the articles into the deep recesses of his lab and act like he was busy working on some project before you knocked and entered the room.

“Heya, D.” You plopped down on the desk chair adjacent to his seat and spun around once.

His answer was a disinterested hum.

You summed it up as him being busy and started scrolling on your phone before he spoke up.

“My, what an opulent blue shirt you have on.”

That was an odd comment, and were those hints of disdain in his voice? You continued on anyway. “Uhhh, thanks? It’s just a graphic tee, though..?”

“Oh, don’t undersell it. It’s rather nice.”

“...Okay then.”

You weren’t following. He grew frustrated.

“Yes, it is grand, but would it not look in another, similarly shaded cool color?” He prompted.

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

His eye twitched. You grinned.

You tilted your chair in his direction, tone lightly teasing. You two indulged in some lighthearted banter here and there, and that’s what you thought that was. “What, are you saying it’d look better in purple? Your color?”

“I’m not saying that I interpret the colors of your clothing symbolically, but yes, I do. You haven’t been wearing any of your purple articles recently, you barely invite me over anymore. You can just admit you don’t enjoy my company.” When his gaze fled to the ground, you realized that he was serious about this.

“Donatello…” you started, dipping your neck down so you could make eye contact. “That is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said. The reason I haven’t been wearing purple is because I don’t have any purple to wear. Something or someone keeps taking all of it. And, coincidentally, more goes missing every time you come over. That’s why I’ve been hanging out here instead.”

Donnie’s mouth was agape. The thought that he was the one causing his own problems hadn’t crossed his mind. Genuinely, thinking about it, it made a lot of sense. The worst enemy you can meet will always be yourself was really ringing true. But he couldn’t let his scientific validity and his dignity die in the same endeavor, so he took the next logical step. Lie.

The softshell swallowed before uncertainly droning, “I haven’t the slightest clue as to what you are implying.”

“I think you’re definitely smart enough to ascertain my implications. And you’re way past smart enough to know that I still love spending time with you even though I’m not wearing a specific color anymore.”

Donnie blinked. Oh. So, you two were cool, and he was actually just being melodramatic. He was still trying to figure out if that was worse than you being sick of him. It probably was. Probably…

However, he couldn’t dwell on that long. Something you said piqued his interest. The thing about the color of your clothing not holding any symbolic weight.

Expression growing subtly smug with the quirk of an eyebrow, he called your bluff. “If you are taking into account my intelligence, then should you not also observe that I am smart enough to discern the correlation between the formation of our partnership and you coming into possession of more purple attire?”

You blinked before countering with a smirk. “How would you know that I bought more purple clothes if I haven’t been able to wear them?”

Oh, Schrödinger. The only way that he would know, and the reason he did know, was because he had taken them

Regrettably, he mumbled. “... I plead the fifth.”

“Oh no you don’t. Public interest takes precedence over your individual rights, sir. Get subpoenaed, sucker!” You perked up in your seat and pointed an accusatory index finger at the man. “Where are my things?”

He crossed his arms.“You have no definitive proof that it was me. Your argument is circumstantial, at best. Good luck defending that in a court of law.”

Your excitement deflated. “Fine, fine. I suppose I must continue on without wearing purple, our color, forever.”

You batted your eyelashes sadly. It was a cheap tactic, but you weren’t afraid to stoop if it meant you could get your regular Donnie- you meant, wardrobe back. Yeah, you missed your clothes, but you missed having him over more. Probably.

It only took a couple more seconds for him to crack. “Sigh… Hey, completely unrelated segue, but could I come over tomorrow?”

“Suspicious timing, but I’ll allow it.”

“Great.”

“This meeting is adjourned.”

Somehow, by some otherworldly force/the magic of guilt tripping, your violet sweatshirts, t-shirts, accessories, gradually began showing up as the weeks went on.

By the same mysterious impetus, their return coincidentally synchronized with Donnie coming over.

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val-cansalute · 3 months

Text

PICKING UP THE ———- PIECES -———

ch. 5

ch. 1

ch. 2

ch. 3

ch. 4

ch. 6

a/n: 😪 banners by cafekitsune and saradika-graphics

Snow still lays thick upon the soil once you’re gone. Along its boundless surface, specks of silver glisten, basking in the gentle glow of the moon, smothering the town’s bustle.

“You sure?”

The wind is cruel, lashing auburn locks erratically about Ellie’s face, numbed by the frigidity. In spite of the burning cold overtaking her limbs, her grip on the straps of the saddle tightens and her eye contact with Tommy turns ever so slightly hostile,

"Tommy, it’s been less than a day. She can’t be far. You comin’ or not? ‘Cause I’m doing this with or without you.”

He looks back at her wordlessly with a furrow in his brow, piercing through the tense silence laced with the distant bustle of Jackson,

“Alright… Let’s set off quick then.”

“Okay.”

Something compels her to silence, an impulse to keep her lips sealed over restless secrets. Maybe she knows that going after you is illogical, that it was a choice you made on your own. But she can’t bring herself to indulge in those realisations – all she knows is that she has to find you; there is no hesitation. Thankfully, the urgency in her tone was explanation enough for Tommy.

With a rushed onset, they split up to cover more ground, venturing onwards into the overrun territory encompassing Jackson with eyes vigilant, searching for signs of you, but seconds turn to minutes, and minutes turn to hours of vacillating between trot and gallop, losing sense of direction and fragments of determination to the exhaustion that mutinies her mind.

Thank god the hoofprints come into view when they do - as if by magic or a blessing, the impressed snow shows itself clear as day, juxtaposing the sea of white bordering it, darkened by dirt and grime. Ellie perks up with desperate intrigue so she pulls the reins and crouches down beside them, muttering to herself,

“Huh, what do we have here?”

And then her heartbeat quickens in anticipation of relief,

“She's close.”

Verily, she follows, the tracks guiding her further into the dense vegetation with senses working overtime to accommodate the fact that it is winter and hordes are rampant. She fucking prays you didn’t run into one, but the forest is deafeningly silent, seeming to hold its breath tonight.

She’s fast on your track; in this moment, the path is hope, a lifeline steering her along. Every now and then, a rustle of leaves, or the distant echoes of infected throw her mind into disarray, but she scans the area rapidly, shaky grip tightening on her firearm, before pushing on.

Just under an hour, the prints become faded and scattered, and the apprehension makes her stomach twist before she lifts her head to greet the destination - a desolate clearing.

“Fuck me.”

Dim moonlight hangs over Ellie and Tommy’s exhausted figures. The night has been relentless. The trail resulted in nothing more than wasted time and the discovery of a empty clearing, devoid of any sign of you.

Frustration and fatigue etched on her face and lingering in the air around her, Ellie kicks at a loose stone on the ground like a little kid, the full regret of having set off hurriedly with no real plan or navigation overcoming her. They’ve gotten nowhere.

In a see-through attempt at remaining pragmatic, Tommy pats her shoulder and states with a tone of reassurance, though it’s betrayed by the wearied rasp in his voice,

"We'll figure it out, Ellie. We just need to rest for a bit and rethink our strategy. She couldn't have gotten far."

But Ellie's resolve is fixed and her jaw is set in determination. It’s too late to turn back now, she knows that.

"I can't rest, Tommy. Every minute wasted is another minute she's further."

He sighs heavily with complete sincerity, running a hand through his unkempt hair.

"Ellie, she’s probably asleep right now, or some shit. And pushing yourself like this won't help anyone."

Their intermingling voices rise, threaded with increasing aggression until the tension has thickened beyond salvaging, and the rift between their convictions seems insurmountable in the darkness of the night.

Finally, unable to find common ground, Ellie announces,

"I'm not waiting. I'm going to keep searching. You wanna go back? Fine."

And, without waiting for a response, she takes off, leaving her horse and Tommy, who mutters quiet cusses into the heavy stillness of the night. She moves with purpose, the flashlight attached to her backpack tearing through the darkness.

She refuses to let the ache in her feet claim her; every step she takes echoes the silent plea for you to be found. Even as the hours wear on, Ellie's determination refuses to wane in spite of the fatigue gnawing at her bones. She can’t let herself think, she can’t let herself dwell, she has to keep searching, even if she can’t tell herself why.

However, the moon, as always, gives surrender to the encroaching dawn. Ellie's flickering hope of finding you dims as her steps grow heavier and her eyes wearier, and the first light of sunrise bleeds into the sky from the horizon.

Eventually, shattered and running on sheer god-like willpower, Ellie stumbles upon a vantage point, and stands over the landscape, large enough to swallow her whole millions of times over, like she’s the last person on Earth, staring into the face of impending destruction.

But it’s just dawn, and the overcast warm glow showers upon her as the realization that she has been searching through the night hits her. The screeching thought of you inevitably having gotten hurt plagues her mind. Deep breath, in and out, she lets the weight of it all settle upon her weakened shoulders, yet there’s still no time for rest.

The search is far from over.

You strain your neck to squint up at the skeletal structure that has born the brutality of the post-apocalyptic world, barely making out the details past the overgrown foliage seeping out of its broken windows and destroyed walls.

You enter with caution and heightened senses, searching for any signs of danger. The creaking floorboards beneath your feet shatter the palpable silence in the damp air.

Shifting through the shadows, your senses remain sharp and attuned to the slightest noise, scanning the objects illuminated by the dim light of dawn filtering through the cracks in the abandoned building. Shadows loom outstretched along the corridors.

In a shadowy corner, a man is crouched over a bag, and you watch him with a racing heart before you emerge, your silhouette a silent spectre against the dilapidated walls.

Your eyes meet for a fleeting moment before you both jump into action instinctively, but you swiftly disarm him. The struggle is brief but intense, and he is overpowered, because, if there’s one thing fear has taught you, it’s that each movement has to be calculated and purposeful.

And when he’s on his knees, trying to plead for mercy, when he’s scraping pathetically at the scruples of humanity left in your soul, you remain resolute - just don’t think. Your grip is firm as you subdue him.

A few blows leave him incapacitated, and you leave it at that because you have never been able to succumb to gratuitous violence. He lets out a muffled groan with his cheek pressed against the cold stone floor.

Swiftly, you bind is wrists and ankles taut, ensuring he can’t pose a threat before confiscating his meagre supplies and rifling through them. Food, water, anything that could sustain you on the journey ahead, you take, and then you drop his bag my his side and arise.

You turn to leave, but you glance back at the man over your shoulder, meeting his eyes with a solemn expression. You haven’t done this in a while, not since you arrived at Jackson, and your penchant for showing no mercy has been buffed down.

There’s so much you have to beg your mind to steer itself away from, beg it to not to linger on the helplessness in his eyes as he looks back at you, or how you would’ve slit his throat without a doubt when it was just you and Soren.

With the stolen supplies secured, you walk through the entrance. You have to convince yourself of one last thing.

Mercy takes on different forms.

Out into the muted light of dawn, the air is brisk, and the horizon enlightening drags the worry of not making it out of the treacherous night you endured off your shoulders. A new day. A momentary respite washes over you; you’re only a little scathed.

With the first light of dawn illuminating your path,

“Only an hour or two away …”

It is a small victory in the grand scheme of things, but it’s enough for someone with your past.

Mounting her horse, the familiar weight of the saddle grounds you as you set off once more into the unknown. The rhythmic, muffled thump of hooves against the snow-blanketed floor, and the shadow of the horse and rider stretched long over the ruins, a lone traveller navigating the remnants of a world.

You ride on, your mind numb to the thought of returning to Soren. Back to the old house, to the doorstep where your heart lies dormant.

Crestfallen, the fruitless landscape stands before Ellie, as if to mock her hunched over figure, bathed in the warm hues of the noontime sun. She has been traversing since the wee hours of the morning after stopping momentarily to map out a journey in her relentless pursuit of you, trying to stay determined, but the urgency that keeps her moving forward is dulled by the incessant pangs of hunger and the desperate struggle to keep her eyes open. Doubt creeps in as the vast emptiness erodes her resolution.

Just as thoughts of turning back infiltrate her sleep-deprived mind, a faint sound carries along a whistling gust of wind, drawing her fading attention. Pained noises, barely audible, leave her instantly alert, and Ellie follows the source of the sound with a subtle limp in her step. Though her senses are sharpened by the urgency of the situation, everything still seems blurrier and muffled.

Guided by the haunting echoes, she carefully weaves her way through the silent surroundings, every step weighted with anticipation, into a derelict building.

She approaches cautiously, entering a room where the sound is amplified and she comes face to face with the source: a man, bound and gagged, his eyes shut as he lies, weakened by his restraints. Without hesitation, Ellie kneels beside him, pistol pressed to his pained temple, her gaze unwavering,

“Who did this to you?" she demands, her voice edged with a fierce determination. His eyes fly open, looking up at her fearfully.

“Shit! Some fuckin’ girl – I don’t know!”

“… When did she leave?”

“Like ten minutes ago! I haven’t got shit, she took everything! I’m begging you, please untie me!”

She stands, contemplating it for a moment, before she kicks him over so that he can contort his body into a sitting position, eliciting a sharp groan. He wasn’t tied up beyond hope of managing to undo the knots, you made sure of it,

“You can figure that out on your own, I got shit to do.”

With a sense of exhilaration, Ellie jogs out and circles to the back of the building, her eyes scanning the snow-covered ground for any sign of movement where she notices a fresh set of foot and hoofprints, meeting at a point along the line where they become one trail of hoofprints, a delicate dance littering the frozen canvas.

Hope surges within Ellie as, once again, she follows the tracks. She has to move fast; you have a horse and she has only her feet. The air is tense with anticipation, but she somehow manages to power through the all-consuming exhaustion and hunger with the promise of getting closer to the elusive figure she seeks.

The sun dips lower on the horizon; the bitter cold forgotten in the warmth of purpose.

Nothing is left of your house but the gnarled bones of the home it once was. The memories of all you left behind seep through the cracked walls – the good and the bad, a silent witness to the passage of time. You hold your breath captive in your tightened chest and push open the door, its rusty hinges protesting your return with a shrill creak.

The air is thick with dust dancing in the slivers of dim light that manage to pierce through boarded windows. Everything surrounding you, once thriving and familiar, is now reduced to mere echoes, whispers. Your fingers gently trace the life left in the fray, your gaze sweeping over the remnants of all you lost to the destruction. There’s nothing but blood left to salvage, to hold onto.

You lay in the centre of what used to be your bedroom, save for the actual bed, beside the shadow of the place where Soren used to lie, but there is no reprieve. You can’t look at it, your gaze pointed to the damp-stained ceiling, rust-coloured organic forms scattered across it.

If there’s one thing you can trust to remain a constant in your life, it’s that memories flood your mind no matter when or where you are, unbidden and unwelcome. Here, you can let them play out wholly, succumb to the deserved guilt that you cannot let yourself escape.

Trace the mustard outline of the leakages in the wallpapered walls with the movement of your weary pupils, stop trying to battle the thoughts as they influx from the depths. Turn your head to look at the ruined wall – no matter how hard you scrubbed, droplets of what once was his blood, and his blood only, taken over by that cruel evil, seeped through and infected it just as the clicker infected him. They still burn as hot and bright as they did that night, staring back at you.

You had been splayed out on the floor, over tattered blankets, similar to now, waiting for Soren, who had heard a noise beyond the gate. The worry was becoming an annoyance, so you got up and ran out into the night to find him, further out than you usually would on your own.

You should’ve stayed. Never should’ve wandered. It was your fault he had to fight off that clicker, the scar etched into his back for all eternity, evidence of your fatal error. Even though you made it home with adrenaline pumping through your veins, the nagging sting eventually became an undeniable ache, and from that point, Soren was already dead.

He begged and begged, eyes glassed over for the first time since your mother died, but your pathetic selfishness left him shrinking beside the new force overcoming his body, till he became what he prayed he would never become.

Then, and only then, did you do it. Coward that you are, bashing his obliterated skull over and over in the haze, blood and brains sent adrift, consuming all the surfaces they landed on, your mind, body, and soul, for the rest of your life, and anything that lies beyond.

There’s a violent shift and you jolt back to the surface, gasping for air like you were drowning with sharp, shallow, greedy breaths.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Ellie's urgent voice cuts through the remnants of the memory.

"I got you," she whispers, a breathless relief in her voice. You, disoriented and still caught in an intersection between past and present, struggle to hold back the already fallen tears and even in spite of the glaring truth that you came here wilfully, the sight of her brings sweet relief.

“Ellie-”

“Shimmer.”

“Huh?”

“The horse’s name is Shimmer.”

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onemustalwaysbecarefulofbooks · 10 months

Text

Why I Dislike Rhysand, Part 1: Not a Martyr Like You Think

So. . this rant has been a long time coming. I finally came to the conclusion that it would be too much to include all in one post. There are so many different things I feel the need to touch on and include that I decided I’m going to be breaking it up. Enjoy Part 1.

I also feel the need to start off by saying that I’ve been an SJM reader for nearly ten years now. I remember when ACOTAR first came out. I remember reading ACOMAF upon its release and nearly being blown over by my intense disgust and dislike for how a story was handled. ACOMAF was released in 2016, so I’ve been holding on to a lot of this for the better part of seven years. I don’t know how many of you were a part of the ACOTAR or SJM community here on Tumblr back in those days but let me tell you. . .it was something else. The fevered Rhysand obsession and worship was WILD. The fans were CUT THROAT and had no mercy. If you even HINTED at the fact that you felt like Rhys was not All That, they came for you and they came hard. I have never been one to engage in ridiculous arguments with strangers on the internet so I kept most of my feelings to myself. It’s giving me immense satisfaction and validation to see so many people begin to express things that are so like minded with how I feel. Keep fighting the good fight!

SO! We’re going to dive deep with this and go back to before the series chronologically even started.

A huge part of why I so strongly dislike Rhysand is that I find it very hard to sympathize with him regarding his time UTM.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Now, I realize that that sentence alone is enough to cause a lot of people to click away from this in disgust immediately. I challenge those people to keep reading and to hear me out. I try and make it a point to back everything I have to say with canon facts and logical sense. One of the fatal (or perhaps not so fatal) flaws I have as a reader is that 99% of the time, I am not able to just let things go and absorb them at face value for the sake of an entertaining story. You can sell me just about anything and I’ll be able to find some enjoyment in it. . .if it makes sense. If something exists in a scenario that is contradictory or just plain illogical, I tend to fixate on it and not be able to let it go (I call this the Ravenclaw in me). Sometimes I almost resent that I’m like this because I feel like it prevents me from just having a good time with literature, but for better or worse, this is the kind of reader I am.

Unfortunately, the ACOTAR series, specifically many things that have to do with Rhys and the Inner Circle, are riddled with things like this. Now, it’s no secret to any SJM reader that Sarah J Maas is OBSESSED with Rhys and the Inner Circle. Like. . .OBSESSED. I’ve truly never seen anything like it from an author. She so plainly and clearly holds these characters on pedestals and believes them to be the best of the best. She also so plainly and clearly works very hard to try and get the readers to feel the same way. This is why I say that SJM is one of the most confusing and frustrating authors I’ve ever read about. She clearly feels this way and wants US to feel this way. So you’d think, if that was her end goal, that she would simply just write characters who really ARE the best of the best and deserve to be on pedestals. Easy, right? She has total control over the actions, thoughts, and words of these characters, every other character, the plot, the narrative, the direction of the entire story. So just. . .write them as being perfect saintly beings, as you so clearly view them as?? You have the power to do this?

But here’s where the confusing and frustrating part comes in: She doesn’t.

Instead of giving us these characters who truly ARE as virtuous and amazing and wonderful as she thinks they are, she instead gives us characters who do horrific, selfish, and highly questionable things across the span of the series and then gaslights her readers by continuing to hold these characters on pedestals and laud them as being The Best In Every Way. . .while their atrocious deeds are sitting RIGHT THERE on the page being completely ignored in every way. It’s one of the most unaware and bizarre things I’ve ever witnessed from an author and honestly, from a group of readers. The amount of people who just blindly accept anything SJM says as Gospel is wild to me. I really don’t understand how people just swallow this stuff and can’t see it for what it is. Open your mind to just an ounce of critical thinking and I really do believe you’ll begin to see things in a new way.

So. . .my point in all that being: SJM clearly wanted us to have a ton of sympathy for Rhys from his ordeal with Amarantha and his time UTM. The scene is set perfectly! Valiant and selfless Rhysand volunteers himself to play Amarantha’s whore in order to keep her attention from the city and the people Rhys loves so much. He lives for 50 years having to “service” a psychotic evil woman who actively tries to bring destruction to his entire country. Horrible, right??? Unthinkable. What he went through!!! What he had to do!!! No one has a selfless heart like he does!!!!

The only problem is. . .this entire scenario has a million holes in it. Let’s explore some of them.

So, when Amarantha returns to Prythian, Rhys heads to her little party without any backup from the IC. He plans to kill Amarantha himself but of course, she tricks all the High Lords and captures their power before this can happen.

Sidenote: This is another thing I can’t stand about Rhysand’s power: We are told over and over and over that he is THE MOST powerful High Lord not just of the seven current High Lords, but in all of Prythian’s HISTORY. In the High Lord’s meeting during ACOWAR (top contender for my least favorite scene of the entire series), Feyre says:

The others, who had been watching with disdain and amusement and boredom, now turned to my mate. Now possessed a shadow of fear in their eyes as they realized who and what, exactly, sat amongst them.

Brethren, and yet not. Tamlin was a High Lord, as powerful as any of them.

Except for the ones at my side. Rhys was as different from them as humans were to Fae.

Okay, first of all:

Second of all. . .once again, we are faced with SJM’s convenient Whatever-I-Need-To-Happen-Will-Happen story telling. She claims that Rhys is as different from all the other High Lords as humans are to fae. And despite this, he still gets tricked and overtaken by Amarantha, the exact same as all the rest of them. His powers were ripped away by that spell just the same as all the others. Being the so-called “Most Powerful High Lord in Prythian’s History” didn’t mean anything in that situation. He’s the mOSt POwerfUL HiGH LOrd iN HiSTORy, but was able to be totally overtaken by Amarantha just like everyone else. Looks like that title really should have gone to HER!

Anyway. . .as Rhys feels his powers being ripped away, we are told that in desperation, he “threw the shield around Velaris”, binding it to my friends so that they had to remain or risk that protection collapsing and used the last dregs to tell them mind to mind what was happening and to stay away”.

What a noble sacrifice right??

INCONSISTENCY ALERT: There were ALREADY spells and protections hiding Velaris and there had been for years!!!!!!

The first time I read Rhys’s explanation of this, I was super confused. SJM tells it like he was the one who created Velaris’s shield and protection right there in this moment. That this act was the only thing that kept it hidden and safe from Amarantha. But like. . .this is not the case!!!!

Don’t believe me??

“Did you even think for one moment,” I said, my voice like gravel, “to extend that luck to anywhere else? Anyone else?”

“Other cities,” he said calmly, “are known to the world. Velaris has remained secret beyond the borders of these lands for millenia. Amarantha did not touch it because she did not know it existed. None of her beasts did. No one in the other courts knows of its existence, either.”

“How?”

“Spells and wards and my ruthless, ruthless ancestors, who were willing to do anything to preserve a piece of goodness in our wretched world.”

(ACOMAF, page 144)

The Velaris Wiki page states:

To preserve it, an ancient High Lord kept Velaris a secret, and so did his descendants. There are many spells on the city itself—laid by him, and his heirs, that make those who trade here unable to say anything about the city and possess the skill to convincingly lie in order to keep the origin of their goods and ships, hidden from the rest of the world. Rumor has it that an ancient High Lord doused his blood upon the stones and river to keep that spell eternal.

And then in ACOMAF, we get:

“I used the remainder of my power to shield them all from sight and sound. I had only enough for one city--one place. I chose the one that had been hidden from history already. I chose, and now must live with the consequences of knowing there were more left outside who suffered. But for those here. . .anyone flying or traveling near Velaris would see nothing but barren rock, and if they tried to walk through it, they’d find themselves suddenly deciding otherwise. And because my powers were focused on shielding them all, Feyre, I had very little to use against Amarantha.”

So, which is it?? Did your ancestors shield and protect Velaris or did you??

Do you see the contradictory writing here?

Again, in ACOMAF:

“You are safe here, and safe anywhere in this city, for that matter. Velaris’s walls are well protected and have not been breached in 5,000 years.”

According to what Sarah J Maas herself has written, the city of Velaris already had extensive wards and protection on it for millennia. The city had been a safe haven from the rest of the world and a complete secret for 5,000 years. So I was very confused as to why it was being made out to be that Rhys made this Grand Ultimate Sacrifice to shield the city and its inhabitants from Amarantha, when this was already the case before this. She wouldn't have touched it because she didn’t know about it. . .words from Rhys’s own mouth!!!!

I’m sure in Sarah’s mind, she just needed to make a way for the IC to not come after Rhys and try and help him, so this is what she came up with. Regardless. . .Velaris already had protection on it that did not rely on Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren. You’re saying that with the last shreds of his power, Rhysand undid centuries old ancient blood protection of his ancestors, created an entirely NEW foolproof protection plan, and bound it to the Inner Circle??

I’d also like to point out that Kallias, High Lord of Winter, did essentially the same thing with Viviane and the Winter Court.

And in those last moments, when his power was ripped from him by that spell. . .Kallias had flung out the remnants to warn her. To tell Viviane he loved her. And then he begged her to protect their people.

So she had.

As Mor and my friends had protected Velaris, Viviane had veiled and guarded the small city under her watch, offering safe harbor to those who made it.

(ACOWAR, pages 410-411)

These situations are exact parallels of each other. Kallias and Rhysand couldn’t protect their entire courts, but they were able to throw shields and protections around the one city where their loved ones were. The Winter Court was ravaged by Amarantha’s troops, we know this from the story. But evidently, this one city where Viviane was remained protected. And in this situation, I have infinitely more respect for Kallias than I do for Rhysand.

Rhysand claimed he became Amarantha’s whore in order to keep enemies from looking too closely at who he really was and who he loved. He serviced her in bed and committed atrocious deeds in her name for 50 years. All this, he claimed, to protect Velaris and his loved ones.

So please explain to me how Kallias was able to do the same thing. . .WITHOUT doing Amarantha’s dirty work.

As I said, I know fully well that the Winter Court in general was not spared by Amarantha. We all read about the children who had their minds wiped (conveniently by some OTHER daemati who we never learn about or hear about ever again). It sounds like Amarantha tried her hardest to destroy the Court in general. But remember. . .the Night Court is not exclusively Velaris. If you look at the map of Prythian, the Night Court is huge! It’s the largest of all the Courts. We have no idea what happened to the rest of the Night Court that was outside of Velaris’s protection. Since it’s such a big deal that Velaris is such a whole, untouched city, I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that it probably wasn’t spared any more than the rest of Prythian was. So it stands to reason that both the Night Court and the Winter Court had one city that remained protected while the rest of their Court was destroyed.

Even further than that. . .it is specifically stated that Viviane offered shelter and protection to anyone who made it to that protected city where she was. Kallias begged her to protect their people and she did. It was a city of safe haven for any refugees who could make it there. (Viviane was Prythian’s first High Lady and that’s the tea).

Rhysand KNEW what was happening all throughout Prythian during this time. . .he helped partake in it!!! Did he think to offer the same protection for innocent refugees in Velaris during this time??

We all know the answer.

I’m not saying that Rhys was obligated to do this. In a horrible situation like that, I’m sure many people would enter survival mode and adapt an “every man for himself” mindset. It’s an extremely Slytherin move to make, and I don’t really mean that in a bad way. But at the end of the day, Rhysand prioritized his friend group over every innocent citizen of Prythian.

Kallias and Viviane didn’t do that.

Again, I don’t entirely blame Rhysand for this!! I think a lot of people would have made the same decision!! But just. . .don’t ask me to act like Rhys’s decision was some grand ultimate sacrifice that was more than any other High Lord made. It’s not. SJM, if you want Rhys to be my fave, why are you putting characters in here like K and V who do the more noble and honorable thing??

Kallias didn’t have mind powers where he was able to erase the knowledge of Viviane from every one UTM who knew about her as Rhys did with the Inner Circle. There weren’t already extensive, centuries-old shields and protection guarding the city that she was in. And despite this, he STILL asked her to protect their people, and she kept the city open for refugees who could make it there. AND he remained true to his cause and didn’t do Amarantha’s dirty work for her to “keep people from looking too closely”.

And yet Feyre and everyone else tell us constantly that “no one sacrificed as much” as Rhys. Yeah, no. My respect for Kallias and Viviane is 10000000x greater than Rhysand. Sorry, not sorry.

And this leads me to my next point.

One of the biggest issues I have with Rhys’s time UTM in general, is that his actions are treated by the narrative and the other characters as the MOST sacrificial out of all the High Lords.

As I’ve expressed above, I do not buy this for one second. And I actually find it pretty insulting on behalf of all the other High Lords!!

Rhysand’s choices and actions were entirely self-serving. He did nothing to fight against Amarantha or protect citizens of Prythian in general. It was entirely about his city and his friends. Again, I’m not saying I condemn him for this! It was a horrible situation and this was what he chose to do. People do crazy things for the people they love. But that’s my point. . .it was a CHOICE. He CHOSE to “service” Amarantha. He CHOSE to do her dirty work and commit atrocious deeds in her name. And every choice he made protected no one but the people who were important to HIM. So I’m just not really sure how/why I’m expected to feel the greatest amount of sympathy for HIM, over the other High Lords, many of whom stayed in open rebellion and never aided Amarantha. How easy would it have been for any of the other High Lords to attempt the same thing he did, and pretend to sympathize with Amarantha? Maybe not “servicing” her as Rhys did, but pretending to deflect to her side, doing dirty work for her, in order to attempt to spare their Courts and THEIR loved ones??? Did anyone else do this??? NO.

Rhys says he bows for no one but that isn’t true. He bowed for Amarantha. The other High Lords did not.

The High Lords of Summer, Day, and Winter lost their lives by refusing to submit to Amarantha. (ACOTAR, page 284).

And I’m supposed to have the greatest amount of sympathy for Rhysand??

People talk about how horrible it was for Rhys during those 50 years Under the Mountain. I’m not here to say his life was pleasant. But what I AM here to say is that in comparison to what the other High Lords’ lives were like. . .I find it hard to have MORE sympathy for him than the others.

“If that was what she wanted, then that was what she would get. I made her beg, and scream, and used my lingering powers to make it so good for her that she wanted more. Craved more.”

“For fifty years--whenever I was inside her, I’d think about killing her. She had no idea. None. Because I was so good at my job that she thought I enjoyed it too. So she began to trust me--more than the others. Especially when I proved what I could do to her enemies.”

Rhys is “so good at his job” of killing Amarantha’s enemies (and one assumes that Amarantha’s enemies are, you know, PEOPLE FIGHTING FOR PRYTHIAN AND AGAINST HER OPPRESSION) and so thorough in their sexual acts, that Amarantha begins to trust him. He is allowed certain freedoms that no one else has. He is not trapped for 50 straight years Under the Mountain. In ACOTAR alone, we see him visit the Spring Court three different times. Do you think any of those other High Lords saw daylight even once during those 50 years??

He is clearly allowed to move about as he wants to Under the Mountain. He visits Feyre in her cell several times, seemingly without Amarantha knowing. She is a prisoner of Amarantha, but he’s allowed to do whatever he wants to and with her.

Essentially. . .Rhys lived as a member of Amarantha’s court UTM. He served as her fuck buddy and one of her main attack dogs. To our knowledge he wasn’t tortured, starved, or forced to watch, powerless, as someone or something he loved was dangled over him. High Lords were losing their lives living in open rebellion against Amarantha, while Rhys lived with a level of security that no one else had. I am NOT saying that servicing Amarantha was pleasant for him, obviously it wasn’t. But at the end of the day. . .this was a choice he made. Everyone makes choices and has consequences of those choices. Rhys chose to serve Amarantha in bed and was given a position of power and security that no one else had. The other High Lords chose to openly oppose and resist her and subsequently had to suffer and live in terror with none of the freedom or choices Rhys was given. I honestly fail to see how Rhys’s decision was more valiant than all the rest.

Again, this is NOT me trying to say that Rhys did not suffer at all UTM. I completely acknowledge that he suffered his own type of torment. I just get very sick and tired of him being treated as if he is the Greatest, Most Suffering, and Only Martyr in all of Prythian.

I often say that Sarah writes all of these characters and this entire story in a way that elevates and favors Rhysand, even if in doing so she has people saying and doing things that make absolutely no logical sense. Everything that happens after UTM is a prime example of this.

The fact that the other Courts and High Lords are so quick to trust Rhysand and work so closely with him after the events of UTM is downright ridiculous and makes absolutely no sense. All of them have EVERY reason to be extremely mistrustful, if not openly hostile to him, after what they witnessed for 50 years. I myself do not understand most of his actions during ACOTAR. Let’s dive into all of THAT.

I made a post separately on this, but I’ll still comment on it here. Rhys claims that he “thought” about killing Amarantha the entire time he worked for her. However, he claims:

“I couldn’t use my powers to harm her, and she had shielded herself against physical attacks”.

There’s nothing I hate more than contrived convenient story-telling. To me, this is on the same level as Feyre not being able to have a C-section in ACOSF. We need it to be true, so we’re just going to say it’s true. . .no matter how little sense it makes in this context.

Rhys says that he, the most powerful High Lord ever born, had his power ripped away by Amarantha. On page 520 of ACOMAF he says, “Within a few seconds, my power belonged wholly to Amarantha”.

But does it??? Let’s take a look at all the things Rhys is able to do with his power during his time under Amarantha, without her knowledge or consent:

Uses it to enhance the sexual experience between him and Amarantha, making her beg and scream, and crave him (ACOMAF, page 520)

Broke into the minds of the three fae who cornered Feyre on Calanmai, reshaped their lives, their histories, and then made them confess to Amarantha that they were rebels (ACOMAF, page 523)

“Against my violation, my body straightened, every muscle going taut, my bones straining. Magic, but deeper than that. Power that seized everything inside me and took control: even my blood flowed where he willed it.” (ACOTAR, page 239)

“I couldn’t move. An invisible, talon-tipped hand scraped against my mind. And I knew--one push, one swipe of those mental claws, and who I was would cease to exist.” (ACOTAR, page 239)

Broke into Clare Beddor’s mind when she was captured and took away her pain, told her to scream when she was expected to, then finally slipped into her mind and ended her life (ACOMAF, page 524)

Visits Feyre in her cell UTM and heals her shattered arm completely (where was this power to save her from a C-Section???)

Mentally controls and commands the guards to stay out of Feyre’s cell and not touch her. “If you do, you’re to take your own daggers and gut yourselves. Understood?” Dazed, numb nods, then they blinked and straightened. I hid my trembling. Glamour, mind control--whatever it was he had done, it worked. They beckoned--but didn’t dare touch me. (ACOTAR, page 344)

Enters Feyre’s mind to influence and help her during her second task

Convenient storytelling at its finest. He may not have total control over the full extent of his power, but it is abundantly clear that he definitely has control of some of it! And yet we’re told that Rhys is completely unable to do anything to harm or kill Amarantha, because she holds all his power!! It belonged “wholly to her” as he said! But he’s able to do all of this stuff without her knowledge???

Forget killing her with his power!!! Lysandra killed Arobynn Hamel by slitting his throat in the middle of the night! I’m sorry, I do not find it believable that the Most Powerful High Lord in Prythian’s HISTORY was completely unable to find a way to end this bitch’s life in 50 years, ESPECIALLY when it’s explicitly stated that she allows him certain freedoms and he does things without her knowledge. I just don’t!!!!

So if I’M thinking that. . .what do you think the rest of the people UTM were thinking??? Can you see how they might be very suspicious of him??

In addition to this. . .his actions regarding Tamlin, and eventually Feyre, make zero logical sense in the context of their situation. Let’s take a look at THAT mess.

So Rhysand is suffering in this horrible awful torment, having to play Amarantha’s whore and do evil things for her. He hates every minute of it, he grows to hate himself, he claims.

And in this giant mess, there is only ONE road to freedom for not just him, but for everyone. And that’s Tamlin.

“Then she cursed Tamlin. And my other great enemy became the one loophole that might free us all.”

Rhys knows about the curse. He knows the stipulations and what Tamlin must accomplish. He knows that doing so will free them all.

Wouldn't you then think that he would do everything in his power to attempt to aid and assist Tamlin during the course of those 50 years?????

I know he hates Tamlin by that point anyway, due to the rivalry between their families. But, my God. . .would that really matter at this point?? If me and my entire country were stuck in the position Prythian was in, I don’t really think I’d give a shit who our freedom depended on. It could be my greatest mortal enemy and I’m pretty sure I’d still be like Okay Buddy, let’s do this. I wouldn't say I’d LIKE it. But I’d use whoever I could to get me and everyone else out of that situation.

If Rhysand, the Inner Circle, Velaris, and every other High Fae in Prythian’s lives and futures depended on Tamlin getting a human girl to fall in love with him, I would think Rhysand would be doing whatever he possibly could to further this along and make it happen. Don’t try and say that he couldn’t do it because Amarantha would find out. Rhys WAS able to keep secrets from her and do things she didn’t know about (see my big list up there! ^^) Don’t try and say that he wouldn't risk dropping his Bad Guy Mask because it would make people look “too closely” at him and possibly target Velaris and the IC (I would have a million comebacks to that. As I’ve already said, there were ALREADY extensive shields and protections guarding Velaris and had been for years. Rhys had wiped the knowledge of the IC from the minds of everyone who knew about them. And wouldn't the safer, better option for the IC be that the curse was broken??? So if he really wanted to protect them, this was the #1 thing he should be doing!!!!)

When it became clear to us all in ACOMAF that Rhys was not in fact, really a bad guy, the very first thing I immediately wondered was, “If this were the case, why was he not trying to HELP Tamlin all those years???” If that was their one loophole and their one shot at freedom and ending the nightmare they were in, why on EARTH did Rhys spend 50 years bullying, manipulating, and tormenting the ONE PERSON who had a shot at freeing them??!?!?!?

Rhys tells Feyre in Chapter 54 of ACOMAF:

“I didn’t know. That you were with Tamlin. That you were staying at the Spring Court. Amarantha sent me that day after the Summer Solstice because I’d been so successful on Calanmai. I was prepared to mock him, maybe pick a fight.”

Again, do not tell me that Rhys was a slave to Amarantha so there wasn’t anything he could do. That is NONSENSE. After Calanmai he crafts an entire fabricated story to tell her and brings people he’s mind manipulated into validating what he’s saying.

Instead of offering Tamlin support, or at the very least, leaving him alone, he chooses to terrorize him and his people. He leaves severed heads on the manor house grounds, taunts Tamlin about the curse, and taunts Lucien about his mother and his dead lover. Listen to what he says to Tamlin and Lucien, before he knows Feyre is there:

“What a pity that you must endure the brunt of it, Tamlin--and an even greater pity that you’re so resigned to your fate. You might be stubborn, but this is pathetic.”

“Little Lucien. You certainly gave them something to talk about when you switched to Spring. Such a sad thing, to see your lovely mother in perpetual mourning over losing you.”

“She’s already preparing for you. Given your current state, I think I can safely report that you’ve already been broken and will reconsider her offer.”

This is flat out disgusting behavior. This is the man you want me to have sympathy for, to view as the “better man”. Tamlin and Lucien were even greater victims at this point than Rhys was himself. They were running out of time after desperately fighting a losing battle, with the entire weight of Prythian on their shoulders. Rhys’s actions do not make sense. He is digging his own grave by behaving this way. If he wanted himself and everyone to be free so badly, I’m really not sure why he’s going out of his way to mock Tamlin, make his life difficult, and taunt him about not breaking the curse.

But things don’t stop there! They get even MORE illogical when Feyre enters the picture!!

So once Rhys discovers Feyre’s presence, he immediately picks up on the emotional connection between her and Tamlin. In this situation, I would expect his first reaction to be glee. He didn’t know who Feyre was at that point, other than a girl he’d been dreaming about (and he later reveals that he first believed these dreams meant that she would be the one to save them all). Did anyone really expect Tamlin to break that curse?? Did anyone really expect him to find a human girl with hate in her heart for the Fae and have her fall in love with him?? I don’t think for a minute Amarantha actually believed there was even the slightest chance of this happening, just like she didn’t really believe Feyre had any chance of winning all three of her trials. It’s a mind game, nothing more. But here Tamlin is, on the very brink of meeting the very specific standards set by Amarantha.

But what does Rhys do? Amp up the dramatics to scare Tamlin into sending Feyre back across the wall, therefore ensuring that the curse will never be broken.

His reasoning, he tells us in ACOMAF, is:

“I made Tamlin beg--as Amarantha had made me beg, to show him how powerless he was to save you. And I prayed my performance was enough to get him to send you away. Back to the human realm, away from Amarantha. Because she was going to find you. If you broke that curse, she was going to find you and kill you.”

Um. . .if Feyre breaks the curse, that means that Tamlin gets his powers back. If Tamlin gets his powers back, Amarantha is dead. If Tamlin didn’t do it, certainly one of the other High Lords would have. If you’ll recall, Feyre DOES break the curse and when that happens, Amarantha is dead in literally seconds. Her power isn’t brute strength, it’s trickery. She is no match for Tamlin whatsoever. She literally backs away in fear and pleads for her life. It’s not even a close competition!!! She doesn’t get a single scratch on him!

Now, I will fully admit. . .this was also something I always found kind of dumb on Tamlin’s part as well. It’s seen as this grand act of love that he sends her away and puts her safety before all of Prythian’s but I’ve always been like. . .dude. You were literally A DAY away from getting out of this thing. Tamlin, as a High Lord with his full power returned, really couldn’t shield and protect Feyre in the time it would take him to kill Amarantha? Yes, he wouldn't be able to properly protect her under their current circumstances without any of his real power, but that was the whole point of the curse. . .if Feyre told Tamlin she loved him and meant it, his power would be returned. The way in which he would be able to protect her would not be the same. You’d think at the point they were at, both Tamlin AND Rhysand would be bouncing around like the singing candlestick and clock from Beauty and the Beast trying to woo a confession out of Feyre. Kallias was able to shield Viviane for 50 years while his Court was under direct attack, I have to believe Tamlin could shield Feyre for the very short time it would take him, or any other High Lord, to end Amarantha.

Rhys later says:

“If there was a shot of freeing us from Amarantha, you were it. I thought. . .I thought the Cauldron had been sending me these dreams to tell me that you would be the one to save us. Save my people.”

So. . .if this were the case, wouldn't it make more sense to just get a happy little “I love you” out of her before the 50 years were up? Tamlin and the High Lord’s powers would return and Amarantha would be “bloody ribbons”, as SJM likes to say, in seconds. Which is exactly what happened. All the struggle and strife of her trials UTM totally avoided!!

What I’m essentially trying to say here is that most of Rhys’s actions during this time were in direct contradiction to what he claimed he really wanted. If Tamlin was Prythian’s only shot at freedom for all those years, you’d think he would be trying to secretly aid him in some way, or at the very least, not go out of his way to torment him. If Feyre was in Tamlin’s house, clearly in love with him, and the Curse was expiring in one day, you’d think he’d go back to Amarantha and be like “Nope, sorry, nothing to report” and pray the two of them would get it together for the sake of Prythian.

Essentially, what I’m trying to say here is that I struggle to have a ton of sympathy for Rhys during this time because I feel as if the explanations that are given for his behavior and actions are flimsy and don’t hold up against most arguments. He felt as if he HAD to become Amarantha’s lover and lapdog in order to keep her from figuring things out about his friends and trying to hurt them. . .who were concealed in a city that hadn’t been breached for 5,000 years and the knowledge of them had been wiped from every person who knew them UTM. He “couldn’t” kill or hurt Amarantha because his power belonged “wholly” to her. . .but he was able to use his powers in ways that worked against her without her knowledge or consent about tons of other things. He was so tormented and miserable in his time UTM that he. . .mocked and tormented the one person who had a shot at freeing them all. When he saw that Tamlin was right on the brink of actually breaking the curse he. . .manipulated him into ensuring that it would never be broken. All the while being surrounded by other leaders who did not have the luxury of shielding their loved ones in an anciently protected city, who worked to help all innocent citizens of Prythian, and who were losing their lives over their refusal to submit to an evil tyrant. I have a vastly larger degree of sympathy and respect for these other High Lords than I do with Rhysand. I find Rhys to be either very self-serving, or doing things that seem to directly contradict what he claims he wants. I do not blame any of the High Lords for being wary and mistrustful of him after UTM--it makes perfect sense that they would (but that’s a topic for another section of this rant!). This is a prime example of SJM self-sacrificing through her writing. I can guarantee you I wouldn't feel as strongly about this as I do after hearing it beaten into my head over and over what a noble, selfless, honorable hero Rhys was during this time. I’m sorry, it doesn’t add up to me. Too many holes, too many contradictions. Which, unfortunately, is pretty standard fare when it comes to Rhys.

Remember, this was only Part 1!! Part 2--Why Rhys is actually a terrible High Lord--coming soon!

#acotar critical #sjm critical #anti rhysand #tamlin #kallias #viviane #amarantha

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fourthwingfan · 2 months

Text

Madness - Chapter 9

I will not die today.

—Violet Sorrengail’s personal addendum

to the Book of Brennan

I’m so completely screwed.

Xaden steps forward—all six-foot-everything of him—dressed in midnight fighting leathers and a tight-fitted short-sleeve shirt that only seems to make the shimmering, dark rebellion relics on his skin seem like an even bigger warning, which I know is ridiculous but somehow true.

My heartbeat kicks up to a full gallop, as if my body knows the truth my mind hasn’t quite accepted yet. I’m about to have my ass kicked…

“You are all in for a treat,” Professor Emetterio says, clapping his hands. “Xaden’s one of the best fighters we have. And Aelin is one of the best among first-years. Watch and learn.”

“Of course you are,” I mutter and roll my eyes.

A corner of Xaden’s mouth rises in a smirk, and the gold flecks in his eyes seem to dance. The sadistic ass is enjoying this.

„A little out of her league, don’t you think?” Dain argues from the side of the mat.

What the hell? I stare at him in desbelief. He doesn’t even like me.

Ahh, I see. Violet is beside her. Probably that’s why he’s being „nice”.

“Relax, Aetos.” Xaden looks over my shoulder, his gaze hardening toward where I know Dain is standing, near Violet. The look Xaden gives him makes me realize he’s been taking it easy on me in the glaring department. “She’ll be in one piece when I’m finished teaching her.”

“I hardly think it’s fair—” Dain’s voice rises.

“No one asked you to think, squad leader,” Xaden fires back as he moves to the side.

“Shut the hell up, Dain.” I snap at him. “Don’t pretend you care about me.”

Xaden starts discarding every weapon on his body—and there’s a lot of them—and handing them to Imogen.

The bitter, illogical taste of jealousy fills my mouth, but there’s no time to examine that particular oddity, not when there are only seconds before he’s in front of me again.

“You don’t think you’ll need those?” I ask, palming my own blades. His chest is massive, with wide shoulders and heavily muscled arms alongside. He will be a though opponent.

“Nope. Not when you brought enough for the both of us.” A wicked smile curves his mouth as he looks at me.

“Oh, no. In this case I won’t use them either.” I argue and hand my daggers to Liam for safekeeping. He’s lethal without a dagger, I can see it clearly. And I don’t want to give him the opportunity to use my daggers against me.

“Do as you wish.” He stretches out his hand and curls his fingers in a come-hither motion. “Let’s go.”

My heart beats faster than the wings of a hummingbird as I take a fighting stance and wait for him to strike. This mat is only twenty feet in either direction, and yet my entire world narrows to its confines and the danger within.

He’s not in my squad. He can kill me without punishment.

We start circling each other and I try to find his weakness. Everybody has, I just need to find it. And I figure it out almost every time.

“Are you not going to attack?” He clucks his tongue.

“I thought you’re an initiative type.” I mock him.

In the blink of an eye he moves toward me and I awkwardly stumble backwards to avoid his leg. He wanted to sweep off my legs.

Holy shit he is fast.

I have to be faster. That’s my only thought as I move forward in a swipe-and-kick combo. He artfully dodges my every attempt to reach him and then captures my leg. The earth spins and I slam onto my back, the sudden impact driving the air from my lungs.

But he doesn’t go for the kill. He just stand there and looks at me with raised eyebrows and a second later, when air squeaks into my lungs, I lunge up going for another hit targeting his head.

He blocks my strike with his forearm, then grips my wrist with his opposite hand, leaning down so his face is only inches from mine. “Going for blood today, are we, Sunshine?” he whispers. It seems as he doesn’t want to hurt me, he’s just playing with me.

My blood boils.

“My name is Aelin,” I seethe.

“I think my version fits you better.” He releases my wrist and stands, offering me a hand. “We’re not done yet.”

My chest heaves, still recovering from the way he’s knocked the wind out of me, but I’m not a fool.

I reach for his hand, pretending that I allow him to pull me up, then I yank him toward me hard, my weight supports my strength.

His eyes widen in surprise and he losts his balance, but instead of faceplanting on the mat, he turns in the air and his back hits the mat. I use his movement to straddle him and I bring my forearm to his throat.

“Hm. Not too bad, Sunshine.” He smirks at me. “But not enough.”

He suddenly moves his legs in a movement I can’t see, and he’s easily pushes me off.

I land on my side and when I turn to look at him, he already stands on the other side of the mat and gives me an indecipherable look.

What the hell? How is it so easy for him? He makes it seem as if I’m the weakest fighter in the quadrant.

I feel my anger rising. And then I attack. I try to kick his legs out from under him, but he easily sidestapps and grabs my hand which was aimed at his side, then twists my arm behind my back and yanks me against his hard chest, pinning our joined hands before I have a chance to get my balance.

“Damn it!” I snap.

He brings his forarm to my throat as his chest rests against the back of my head. His forearm is locked across my ribs, and he might as well be a statue for all the give there is in his frame. There’s no use slamming my head back—he’s so tall that I’d only annoy him.

“Don’t trust a single person who faces you on this mat,” he warns in a hiss, his breath warm against the shell of my ear, and even though we’re surrounded by people, I realize he’s quiet for a reason. This lesson is just for me.

“Even someone who owes me a favor?” I counter, my voice just as low. My shoulder starts to protest the unnatural angle, but I don’t move. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

“I’m the one who decides when to grant that favor. Not you.” Xaden releases my hand and steps back.

I whirl, punching for his throat, and he knocks my hand aside.

“Good,” he says with a smile, deflecting my next blow without so much as a hitch to his breath. “Going for the throat is your best option, as long as it’s exposed.”

Fury makes me kick out again in the same pattern, muscle memory taking over, and he captures that leg again, showing that he can easily do it before he lets me go, cocking a disappointed eyebrow at me. “I expect you to learn from your mistakes.”

Putting my hands up defensively, I begin to circle him, and to my absolute annoyance, he doesn’t even bother facing me. He just stands there in the center of the mat, his boots planted and his arms loose as I move around him.

“You going to prance or are you going to strike?”

Fuck him.

I punch forward, but he dips and my stomach drops as he grips my arm, yanking me forward and flipping me around the side of his body. I’m airborne for a heartbeat before I smack into the mat, my ribs taking the impact.

He cranks my arm into a submission hold and white-hot pain shoots down the limb and I push away the feeling. I can’t afford to lose focus.

But he’s not done. No, his knee is in my ribs and, he leans closer. “Taking out Violet’s enemy before the battle is really smart; I’ll give that to both of you,” he whispers, his warm breath brushing the shell of my ear.

Oh gods. He knows what we’ve been doing. The pain in my arm is nothing compared to the fear at the thought of what he might do with that knowledge.

„Problem is, if she isn’t testing herself in here”—he puts more pressure on my back—“then you’re not going to get any better.”

“You’d rather we die, no doubt,” I fire back, the side of my face pressed into the mat. This isn’t just painful, it’s humiliating.

“And be denied the pleasure of your company?” he mocks.

“I fucking hate you.” The words are past my lips before I can shut my mouth.

“That doesn’t make you special.”

The pressure releases from my chest and arm as he leans back a little and I use it to my advantage.

‘Either it will hurt like hell and break or he will release me.’ With that thought I swiftly begin pushing myself back with my one free arm. The other is still in his grip and it makes so much more painful for my shoulder. But I just won’t lie here and listen his insults. I can’t bear it.

“What..” I hear him mutter as he finally losens his grip and I buck my hips and he tilts to the side.

I quickly turn around and with my arm he had in his grip I punch him in the face.

Unfortonately he jerkes his head away so I only able to split his lips. But that’s not so bad either.

I gain my feet and his lips curve into an approving smile as he too stands up. “You have a few tricks I admit it.”

“Then come closer, I want to hit you properly this time” I retort.

“That remains to be seen.” He backs up two steps, putting a little space between us before crooking his fingers at me again.

“What do you want from me?,” I snap loud enough that I hear Imogen gasp. “Why do you do this? I understand, you’ve made your point.”

“Trust me, I’ve barely gotten started.” He folds his arms and leans back on his heels, clearly waiting for me to move.

I don’t think. I just act, going low and kicking out the backs of his knees.

He goes down like a tree, the sound more than satisfying, and I pounce, trying for a headlock. Doesn’t matter how big someone is—they still need air. Catching his throat in the crook of my elbow, I squeeze.

Instead of going for my arms, he twists, grabbing ahold of the backs of my thighs so I lose my leverage and our bodies careen into a roll. He comes out on top.

Of course he does.

His forearm rests against my throat, not cutting off air but definitely capable of it, and his hips have mine pinned, my legs useless on either side of his as he lies heavily between my thighs. He’s unmovable.

Shit. We were here once.

Everything around us fades as my world narrows to the arrogant glint in his gaze. He’s all I can see, all I can feel.

And I can’t let him win.

I try to go for his face again but he seizes my wrist and pins it above my head.

Shit. Shit. SHIT.

Heat rushes up my neck and flames lick my cheeks as he lowers his face so his lips are only inches away from mine. I can make out every speck of gold in his onyx eyes, every bump and ridge of his scar.

Beautiful. Fucking. Asshole.

My breath catches and my body warms, the traitorous bitch. You are not attracted to toxic men, I remind myself, and yet, here I am, getting all attracted. I have been since the first second I saw him, if I feel like being honest.

My still clenched fist is trembling in his hold as I try to break free from his grip. His fingers curl over mine and fire races along my skin at the feel of his fingers lacing with mine. My hands uncionsciously opening.

Toxic. Dangerous. Wants to kill you. Nope, doesn’t matter. My pulse still skitters like a teenager.

“You’re trained I admit it, but you easy to rile up.” He says it like an insult. „You need to control your emotions.”

“Well aware.” My eyes narrow.

„You have good instincts, use them.” He looks deeply in my eyes. „When you lost control over your emotions, you stop thinking and that’s when you lose. You’re average height if not smaller so stop going for bigger moves that expose you.” He drags my hand down his side. “A rib shot would have worked just fine.” Then he guides our hands around his back, making himself vulnerable. “Kidneys are a good fit from this angle, too.”

I swallow, refusing to think of other things that are a good fit at this angle.

He leads our hands to his waist, his gaze never leaving mine. “Chances are, if your opponent is in armor, it’s weak here. Those are three easy places you could have struck before your opponent would have had time to stop you.”

“Do you hear me?”

I nod.

“Good. Because you can’t let Violet poison every enemy she come across, you need to teach her how to protect herself, or find someone who can” he whispers, and I blanche. „And you need more practice too. You’re good but not the best.”

“How did you know?” I finally ask referring to Violet. My muscles lock, including my thighs, which just happen to still be bracketing his hips.

His eyes darken. “Oh, Sunshine, you’re good, but I’ve known better poison masters then Violet. The trick is to not make it quite so obvious.”

My lips part, and I bite back a retort.

“I think she’s been taught enough for the day,” Dain barks, reminding me that we’re far from alone. No, we’re a damned spectacle.

“He always that overprotective?” Xaden grumbles, pressing up from the mat a few inches.

“I don’t know, actually we don’t like each other.” I stare at him.

“Good. And don’t worry your little poisoning secret is safe with me.” Xaden arches a brow as if to remind me that I’m the keeper of one of his secrets, too.

“You’re not going to make me yield?” I challenge as he releases his grip and pushes up more, removing his weight from my body. My ribs expand as I take my first full breath.

“Nope. Defenseless women have never been my type. We’re done for today.” He stands, then walks away without another word, taking his weapons from Imogen as I roll to my knees.

“You all right?” Liam asks as I reach his side. I nod, my fingers slightly trembling as I rearm myself. He had every chance, and every reason, to kill me, and now he let me walk away twice. What kind of game is he playing?

***

“So how do we start?” Liam asks as he pushes open the door to the library.

“Start what?” I glance up at him from my desk where I’ve been sitting since dinner was over.

“The studying, what else?” He raises his eyebrows “Or you want me to teach you how to fight properly against Xaden?”

“Why? You can?” I ask with a surprise evident in my tone.

“Who do you think was the one who teached me how to fight?” He smirks.

“What? But…how?” I blink at him.

“We were fostered together. I think a mentioned that.” He sits beside me and pulls out his books from the bag.

“You said you have someone who is like your brother but you never named him.” I glare at him.

“Hm. Maybe I forgot.” He laughs.

“Of course, because it’s something you forgot.” I say grumpily and stare at the book in front of me. I need to learn a lot tonight. We have a history exam tomorrow. And I’m totally hopeless.

„Do you want to talk about what happened at the mat with Xaden?” He looks at me curiosly.

„Not a chance.” I quickly reply.

„Then I drop the topic.” He says. „For now.”

I shot him a glare but he doesn’t seem fazed. He knew me too well to know I didn’t mean it.

“Now how can I help you?” He looks at me expectantly.

“You…You’re really going to help me?” I ask hesitantly, observing the book in front of me.

“Aelin.” He starts and pulls away the history book. “I told you. We’re friends.”

“Then… thank you.” I finally look at him with a smile. “And if there’s ever a time when you need something, then you can come to me and I will help you.”

“I knew you were a kind person.” He grins at me.

“No, I’m not.” I deny it. “Only with the few people I care about.”

“Yeah, I know.” He nods. “It’s like you’re fighting for your precious people and trying to hold them together at the same time.”

“Such a compliment. If you continue I might think that you really think so highly of me.” I try to dodge the topic.

“Now where do we start?” He flips through the book.

“Well maybe you could read it out loud?” I ask hesitantly. I’m still not believing it totally. “But only if it’s not a bother. I don’t want to hinder you. Your grades are fantastic.”

“You will not hinder me.” He looks sternly at me. “I need to read it anyway so it’s okay to do what you suggested. We can learn together.”

And with that said we started our first study session. When we finished for the night I felt that we’re closer friends than ever. He really is the most selfless person I know.

#fanfiction #fourth wing #fourth wing fanfic #liam mairi #the fourth wing #violet sorrengail #xaden riorson #oc #the empyrean #xaden riorson x oc #xaden x oc

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centrally-unplanned · 7 days

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Alright watching the new Spice & Wolf. This is probably going to be an emotionally muddled one for me - when I first saw the original as a college boy, I really loved it. Its conceptually checks off a lot of boxes for me; focus on economics, "realistic" low magic fantasy setting, adult characters with plots built around the struggles of everyday living, and also a hot foxgirl. In particular, it had a "there wasn't anything else like it" factor - you really can't find another mainstream anime with the focus that it has.

Alas in hindsight I was giving the show a lot of credit it didn't deserve because of said premises. It doesn't really delivers on them - its trade/economics plots tend to be either weak, using simple or illogical tricks, or on the flip side convoluted, with all of these like betrayals and counter-deceptions that actual merchant life would never really have. More importantly, its pretty bad at conveying these stories - a lot of time is spent with like two people sitting in chairs discussing exchange rates or w/e via dialogue which is not a great way to do that. This is visual information in a visual medium, make charts or little graphics, make it fun! Take notes from Dr Stone on this one. And since none of this is fun the show tended to throw in like church kidnappers and other "actiony" plots to supplement it, which is a bit of a cop-out

And alongside that Holo & Lawrence's dynamic is very will-they-won't-they, not a ton of progression, the visuals are a bit flat, and has more than its fair share of unneeded fanservice. Its a very "of the era" anime in its style and directing. None of this is to say I hate it or anything, I still like it, but now its more of a "sure why not" show over a favourite, except for the fact that due to history there is a sense of attachment that lingers.

From what I can tell, the current remake is going to repeat every single one of these problems and improve on nothing! Lets find out I guess.

#spice and wolf

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meatyarms · 10 months

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Canon Sevika genuinely trying to impress you without coming off as a wanker would be the bullet to my heart; she'd be uncharacteristically pitiable.

No no, you flourished her with the dash of highlight on your cheekbones and induced a diversion not even her impeccable retentiveness could fill in for— she lost her focus to you and the game to Ran.

not really a loss in her books, and so will winning your amusement be. She's got a hankering for your eyes, so she'll get them and she is- you're turning around to look at he...

Ran caught them first.

You know her blood steams and gurgles when someone else's gesture gets the reaction she seeks out of you, the one dragging her way off the beaten track that seems to extend since she cackled out a joke some hours ago. Players around the table laughed in unison, so did the few drunkards nearby, but not.. you?? The punchline instantly lost its value, she crammed, completely eschewed to look up until your full turning around yanked her eyes back to level a -defeated- game round later.

The bob-haired just whistled, a rhythmic solicitous tune which your ears deemed worthwhile, but what they did next was the kick off. It was at this mite proximity where she heard you laugh, so close, though when your eyes seemed unswerving from her colleague's it pushed her out of the damn room.

And what did they do to elicit a sweet chortle from you? Winked at you.

'Wha-why??'

'Isn't this how these things work?'

'The fuck am I doing wrong??'

Call it illogical, to compare a distant joke to direct flattery, but Sev is new to this, ok? If it meant dipping her pen into a dozen inkwells, Ran along with the rest of the bunch couldn't dream of competing against her. But it's not, and weirdly enough, she doesn't find it in her to quit.

It was a distinct thrill rushing through her center from the usual day to day she can't help but chase after, to endeavour and stride towards grace for once, a ticking clock urging her to compete from the moment the door to the bar chimes you in, And, in every bizarre way, her thing. Then fine, today may go down as a miserable fail.

But there's always tomorrow.

˗ˏˋʀᴀᴍʙʟᴇ´ˎ˗

#this is how I run away from writing something bigger & deeper #sevika #arcane sevika #sevika arcane #sevika imagine #sevika x you #sevika x reader #wlw #sevika fanfic #sevika x y/n #meatyrambles

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randomnameless · 9 months

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It's still wild to me that people will go to bat for the nothing characters that are Randolph and Fleche as proof of Dimitri being bad; we know next to nothing about them, they have miniscule screentime, what little we do know of Randolph paints him as human scum who'd do horrific things if it meant a chance at a promotion, and Fleche illogically only ever holds a grudge against someone for killing her brother if that someone is AM!Dimitri, with her completely vanishing from the game in every other route.

Eh,

I'd say they play the same purpose than this random child in TS in Roland's story - at this point, both lords want vengeance, and they have to face someone who also wants (misdirected!) vengeance at them, smth smthg like war sucks because people die.

But it's completely wasted in FE16, because, as you said, Randy isn't a random or a civilian or a war orphan, he is a general leading an attack on refugees/civilians/randoms to gain more fame, and dies in the process.

Now, can we say Flèche's anger and death are ultimately directed at Randolph, who died for nothing and took his sister down with him in his quest for "muhrit" ? Or are we supposed to think that this scene is important because Dimitri, the Blue Lord, isn't supposed to fall as low as the Imperial Army - something he comes close to (apparently?) ?

And yet again, it completely fails.

Because for one Randolph - who also had a family and loved ones - we have 50 Waldos and Baldis, whose lives aren't given any fuck about.

We don't see a war prisoner, or an Adrestian civilian accusing Supreme Leader of having sent her/his wife/husband/daughter/son to death with a conquest they never asked and trying to off her.

Only Dimitri receives this backlash from - invaders who wanted to invade and suddenly remember they have loved ones so are very sad when their loved ones dies - Flèche, but not Claude nor Billy, as you rightfully pointed out.

And Supreme Leader never receives any backlash - or wake up call - from a real third party/civilian/casualty who could have done the exact same thing.

Emile mentions how, during her attack, the Holy Grounds near Garreg Mach were turned in a slaughterhouse, why don't we have any civilian who survived from that try to take a jab at Supreme Leader? Waldi's best friend? Baldo's mother? A war captive from Leicester/Faerghus or a conscripted Adrestian?

I laughed about it with friends earlier, and again with the teatime paralogue, but it truly feels as if only 1/3rd (since the church doesn't count) of the cast will face consequences for the war and suffers backlash from the constant fighting (they didn't even start!).

Whenever you have to deal with serious stuff in Fodlan, it'll be for the BL members.

The rest? Will sip tea, talk nonsense, try to solve "mysteries" and live as if nothing is happening in the background.

Just imagine how both deer routes could have been much more impactful and interesting - instead of being a recycled Billy route with a different infodump at the end - if Raphael's sister popped up to a War Council, asking Claude to stop coddling the Empire because their lands were invaded, her grandfather put to Aymr and her inn destroyed by the Imperial Army, or how Ignatz's older brother discovers how Adrestia is burning pieces of art and history and every material related to Leicester and Faerghus history because they want to push an "Adrestia Eternal" narrative. Heck, Claude could even discover more "lore" by picking a Leif route, sort of rescuing the people "handpicked" to become new Baldos and Waldis, discovering the secret of the artificial crest stones and maybe having an infiltration map where, lo, instead of receiving an info dump, they maybe witness Rhea being turned in a relic or used to "produce" artificial crest stones.

War BaD, but only when we can make the BL suffer for it, for the rest, it's just a bgm.

And even then, it can't be too critical of Supreme Leader, because she was made to sell alts in FE heroes or dubious Cipher Cards.

"Supreme Leader", "cute girls" and "I want to see how Faerghus and its knights will deal with the aftermath of the Tragedy while defending against the invading forces".

Tl; dr : Flèche and Randolph are named, which is a cheap way to make people care for them despite their role in the plot, but the demonic beasts and the civilians dying aren't mentionned nor talked about.

Hell, why do you think I gave names to the artificial demonic beasts? The game doesn't want you to think too much about them, but if I talk about Baldo and Waldi, maybe the fandom will?

#anon #replies #cheap drama and cheap devices to make people feel something #and it's so painfully one sided again #this is how those damn games try to make people feel #'look dimitri bad he killed someone'#but no one will talk about the people dying to Supreme Leader?#they dont' have names so they're just concepts?#the death of one named person is more impactful than the death of hundreds of peons?#FE16 #I prefered how TS dealt with it to be honest

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tsarisfanfiction · 16 days

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Overgrowth

Fandom: Trials of Apollo Rating: Gen Genre: Friendship Characters: Will, Miranda, Billie, Douglas, Steve Clearly the newest Demeter kids haven't yet got the hang of growing plants with their powers. TOApril day 14 - Every Rose Has Its Thorns. I went literal today. Also, despite Meg being the clearly obvious candidate for this prompt, I managed to go with every other TOA Demeter kid except for her, whoops. All kids in here are canon names, I promise.

“Hey, Will!”

He turned to see Billie jogging towards him – as fast as she ever moved unless she was fighting or running from something actively trying to kill her – and sighed, because the daughter of Demeter didn’t usually seek out his presence, which only meant one thing.

“Miranda wants you,” she said, then confirmed it with, “bring your medical stuff.”

“Medical stuff?” he parroted at her, bemused. She shrugged dismissively, turning her back on him and starting to head back the way she’d come. Will hadn’t paid attention to it, but it was the direction of the cabins so he had a pretty good idea where she was leading him.

He’d long since got into the habit of keeping an emergency pack of medical supplies on him at all times, so he didn’t bother to make a detour to pick anything else up. Not until he knew exactly what he was dealing with; Billie hadn’t been running, even if she’d been jogging, so Will was confident that his emergency pack would at least suffice for initial treatment of whatever cabin four had done to themselves.

Sure enough, Billie ploughed straight through the door of her cabin without stopping, and Will hurried to get across the threshold before the door slammed in his face.

Cabin four was, in Will’s opinion, the strangest of the cabins. Sure, the Hecate cabin had magic permeating every inch of it rather disconcertingly, and the Nike cabin was an active puzzle for reasons he’d never quite worked out, but there was something about a floor that was actually grass, and a central support that was actually a living, thriving tree that had never quite managed to click in Will’s head.

He was pretty sure those things were all supposed to grow outdoors, but if there was one place where they had an argument for growing indoors, Demeter’s cabin would be it.

The central tree was swarmed with other plants, which certainly hadn’t been the case that morning when Will had done cabin inspection and given cabin four a seven for scattered seeds but tidy hammocks.

For some reason, Demeter wasn’t counted alongside her brothers as superior amongst even the Olympians. Everyone knew the Big Three was the three male godly children of Kronos, while their sisters went mostly unacknowledged. It was difficult to understand why so many people dismissed her or her children, though. Will had seen cabin four members consistently pull off illogical feats – always plant-related – ever since he first arrived at camp, and having seen the sheer destruction they could bring about when they wanted to, he had no intention of ever underestimating them.

Unlike most demigods, who got ADHD and dyslexia and no special powers to show for it, Demeter’s kids consistently got green thumbs and plants that would do anything they asked. Will had never seen one that couldn’t manipulate plants to some degree, and that certainly held true for the current occupants of the cabin.

In the middle, tangled around the central tree, was a massive rose briar, complete with wicked sharp thorns and fully blooming roses the colour of blood. Billie had made her way to join Miranda where the head counsellor was standing by the cabin’s new plant addition and trying to get the plants to move.

Inside the snarl of thorns and vines seemed to be something that Miranda was specifically trying to get to – or someone, because Will could count just fine and there were two kids unaccounted for, visually, at least.

Douglas’ thick accent was slurring out curse after curse as something struggled inside the branches. Will couldn’t make out the exact words, but that wasn’t particularly unusual when the Scottish boy slipped into Scots. He could get the gist, though.

He sighed, drawing Miranda’s attention to his arrival. “What happened?” he asked her.

She responded with a sigh of her own. “Plant growing gone wrong,” she said, gesturing broadly at the massive plant. Some of the branches rustled with her movement, just enough to reveal a glimpse of Steve fighting inside as well. That answered the question on where both the young Demeter boys were lurking, at least.

It wasn’t the first time it had happened. It wasn’t even the first time it had happened to those particular boys – Douglas was an enthusiastic plant grower, and Steve was far more of an enabler than he was clearly prepared to be when it came to the consequences. Neither of them had been in camp all that long, but Will was already well aware that they were going to be a potential headache source for him – especially once they found their own feet at camp.

Will knew the routine, so he waited while Miranda did her magic (not that she would ever call it as such when it was just her normal) and slowly got the branches to release their death grips on the two boys.

Steve was the first one to disentangle enough, rolling out of the mess with stray leaves and the odd broken off thorn stuck deeply into his hair. He also had several freshly-bleeding scratches across his skin, and Will didn’t wait to be invited over when his role was pretty obvious.

And also very much routine.

“Can you at least try not to bury yourselves in plant matter of the injury inducing kind?” he asked as he pulled out some antiseptic wipes and began dabbing at the myriad of scratches that stood out red against the younger boy’s dark skin.

“It was Douglas’ fault!” he protested.

There was an immediate “Oi!” in a thick Scottish accent emanating from the centre of the still-snarled tangle of thorny vines, followed by what Will was pretty sure was a protestation of innocence in Scots.

“You’re not blameless, either!” Miranda called over, and Steve’s shoulders hunched up to his ears.

“It was an accident,” he muttered. “They weren’t supposed to get so…”

“Big?” Billie supplied. “Wild?”

“Yeah, that,” Steve shrugged, thankfully letting his shoulders drop again after a warning poke from Will.

Another sharp gesture from Miranda and Billie had Douglas spilling out from the briar as well, his own curly hair sporting a fine collection of leaves and thorns, and even the occasional petal. He also had openly bleeding scratches on his bare skin, including one long one too close to his eye for comfort. It wasn’t close or deep enough to cause permanent damage, or even scar, but it was a reminder of what could have gone wrong.

Will wasn’t a fan of could have gone wrongs, although he did prefer those over the did go wrongs, for hopefully obvious reasons.

He sighed again and pulled out a fresh wipe to attack the other boy’s scratches with. Douglas winced away from the sting, but Billie grabbed him and held him still.

Neither boy was injured enough to need anything more than just the disinfecting wipe, thankfully, so Will’s medical duties didn’t take long to complete.

“At least try not to injure yourselves on your own plants,” he said as he balled up the used wipes for disposal in the infirmary. “I’m pretty sure that’s lesson one for plant summoning.”

“Something like that,” Miranda said. “Thanks for the assist, Will. I’ll take it from here.”

Will didn’t need to be told twice; he was already in charge of his own cabin and anyone that ended up a patient in the infirmary. He neither needed nor wanted to expand his responsibilities beyond that – Miranda could handle her own siblings.

“See you at dinner,” he said, and made his way out of the cabin, back to where the grass was outdoors and normal. As the cabin door shut behind him, he heard the Demeter kids discussing the best thing to do with the rose bush and whether or not it would damage the tree – or pose an ongoing risk to demigods – if they left it where it was.

That was certainly not Will’s problem, either. Miranda was welcome to that one.

#trials of apollo #trials of apollo fanfiction #riordanverse #riordanverse fanfiction #toapril #toapril 2024 #tsari writes fanfiction #will solace #billie ng #miranda gardiner #toa douglas #toa steve #cabin four #demeter cabin

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aroaceleovaldez · 11 months

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Mark confirmed on twt that Will has anxiety, and that he was intentionally written as ignorant/ clueless about all things regarding the Underworld and Tartarus. Which- as someone with multiple anxiety disorders- feels inherently contradictory to me? You're anxious about a new place, so you resolve to learn EVERYTHING about it. You're anxious about being underprepared, so you overprepare. In my experience, at least. You think of every possible scenario and try to plan for it. Will's anxiety shouldn't have made him know nothing at all, he should've done extensive research and had a ridiculously long list of detailed questions for Nico. It's not "Will didn't bring weapons because he trusts Nico and he's not a fighter so he didn't think about it", it's "Will hid a bunch of weapons all over his person and his bag just in case". Or maybe my anxiety's just weird?

This has been my experience as well as someone with anxiety, alongside everybody I know with anxiety. In all my experience, particularly with anxiety combined with other things (including ADHD & related, which as far as we know Will has), Will's portrayal of anxiety in TSATS did not feel anywhere close to any of that. I honestly didn't even pick up on anything reading as him having anxiety at all - besides maybe the overpacking? But in the context of the scene and Will's experience that didn't feel like an anxiety disorder thing, that just felt more like a comedy thing playing off of Will being nervous for his first quest. His nightmares also don't quite work for this because we're explicitly told from the beginning all their dreams are being warped by Nyx and Epiales, specifically trying to tear the two of them apart (particularly targeting Will), so that doesn't read like Will's personal anxieties either, just as Nyx trying to make him doubt Nico. There's basically nothing indicating that Will has an anxiety disorder other than Word Of God confirmation, which in basic literary analysis, with Death of the Author, means absolutely nothing.

Usually with my own anxiety, some of the common stuff includes things like me being possessive of objects (if I lose track of something or an unable to actively be the one carrying it, I may panic or break down), be very particular about how things are gone about (directing/managing things or being in charge of planning), excessively checking things repeatedly (and very frequently), etc etc. All of which could have been easily applied to Will and his position in the narrative to indicate he has an anxiety disorder and those are ways in which he is able to control his situation to feel safe - show him always holding his sun lamp and refusing to let others touch it (or being extremely nervous when others are holding on to it). Have Will going over their plan in detail with Nico beforehand and being very insistent on sticking to it, getting upset if they aren't on schedule. Show him constantly fiddling with his bag (which in TSATS honestly it feels like they forget and remember he's carrying a bag half the time), pausing every once in awhile to rummage through it and check that everything is still there.

And you're absolutely right - if the intention was to depict Will as having anxiety, I definitely don't think he would go onto his first quest unarmed, no matter how much he trusts Nico, because the entire thing of anxiety is that it's illogical. Logically, he trusts Nico, logically he knows Nico will keep him safe. That doesn't matter! Give him a weapon of some kind, or since we gave Will like 3 whole new powers anyways, show him being aware he has a reliable power of being able to summon or create a weapon of some kind. At the very least like, a shield! Back in the day the popular fandom was he could make a whip/lasso out of light! Yknow, whatever! Just give him something!

Also it doesn't make sense for Will to have specific anxiety about the Underworld in particular because a.) If he has anxiety related to Underworld stuff specifically, why would he date Nico of all people? He knew what he was getting into. And b.) Apollo has chthonic aspects! Particularly the Roman Apollo Soranus. Soranus as an individual god was identified with both Apollo and Dis Pater (Often equated to Pluto) - so Will should not only not have anxiety about the Underworld, he should actually be perfectly fine down there (Imagine how cool it would have been for Will to spend the entire book wondering why he's fine, only to finally learn about that and more of his similarities to Nico?). And it's not like we haven't seen Greek or Roman demigods have powers more associated with their Roman/Greek counterparts, so that can't even be used as an excuse. (This also doesn't get into how Nyx is literally the mother of light [Aether], day [Hemera - who is constantly leaving/entering the Underworld in cycle with Nyx, so further reasoning why Will should be fine], the nymphs of the sunset [the Hesperides], and LITERAL FRIENDSHIP [Philotes], so it doesn't make any sense for her to even be an antagonist/dislike Will but WHATEVER.) And again, because Will is dating Nico, there's no reason for him to be ignorant of the Underworld. You're telling me they've been dating for a whole year and Will hasn't learned anything about the Underworld from Nico? Even if he had fears that for some reason Nico would be lying to him, that again leads to like you said, him going even further into double-checking things and seeking out more sources of information. Nico's not the only chthonic demigod in camp, and Will seemed to be friends with Lou Ellen in HoO, so there's at least one option. Heck, Dionysus has plenty enough connections to Hades that Will could probably just go directly to him. Will not knowing anything just doesn't make sense?

#pjo #riordanverse #tsats #the sun and the star spoilers #the sun and the star #tsats spoilers #analysis #will solace #Anonymous #ask #anxiety #< ??? feels weird tagging this that but i suppose that is the topic at hand #if anybody wants i'd be totally willing to go into more depth about writing anxiety comorbidity with other things #cause i feel like it is something overlooked with writing pjo stuff #long post //#ask to tag #< in case i missed anything. i thought i heard there's some new tsats discussion tags but idk what they are

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trashquisitor-shirozora · 1 year

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I keep feeling like I’m taking the mandalorian s3 way too seriously when I get mad about what’s happening… but I just can’t help how upset it’s making me 😭 I stopped watching after episode 2 but have kept up for the most part. Going through the mando tag here on tumblr is so surreal because there are people actually thinking the direction makes sense and that DinxBo is a natural next step?? Anyway, I really appreciate reading your thoughts on how it’s all going. Makes me feel like I’m not alone in this!

(I hope you don't mind me lumping my response/thoughts re: your ask in here too, @just-prime, since uh there are a lot of spoilers in it and I'm not sure it's a good idea to make it public)

You have every right to be upset. This is a show you invested in, a show that sold you a story of a lonely Mandalorian bounty hunter and his Force-sensitive child in a post-war galaxy. It gave you story beats and the promises of adventure, trials and tribulations, and self-discovery in the micro and the macro. There was a road map in all the ways Din discovered and challenged himself as he gave up basically everything he ever knew about himself, his covert, and the galaxy to keep the child safe and get him to his kind. There was a story to be told here in Din taking his helmet off in front of other living beings to save Grogu and in Din winning the Darksaber from Gideon despite Bo-Katan's best efforts to get it back.

I wonder how much of this was corporate meddling to keep raking in the money (KKKennedy, is that you and your white girlbossing ways again?), how much of it was success getting into Filoni and Favreau's heads that they think they can turn bullshit to fucking gold, and how much of it was the game plan to MCUfy Disney Wars. This is fascinating the way that the Sequel Trilogy was fascinating, in that somehow, both times, Disney fucked the fuck up.

People will take what they want from whatever they're consuming. It is what it is. I quit after the season premiere because i hated the short runtime, the cramming of three different potential subplots into thirty fucking minutes, the ridiculousness of all three subplots, and, most of all, the desecration of IG-11. I read elsewhere that the season premiere was a hit! People liked it! They were excited by it! Good for them! I'm glad they got something out of it. People got paid and put hours, blood, sweat, and tears into producing this show and I would want for them to know that their efforts were worth something.

But it is so hard to ignore how increasingly inconsistent, aimless, illogical, and bewildering the the entire season has been. We have now seen 7 of 8 episodes and even the 7th episode, supposedly the "best of the series", got a ton of complaints on a storytelling level. I read elsewhere, both on tumblr and twitter, that this season is now very plot-driven rather than character-driven when previously the show was extremely character-driven. Season 1 happened because Din couldn't leave Grogu behind in Imperial hands and thus uprooted himself and his covert with his decision to go back for the child. Season 2 happened because Din was now searching for Grogu's kind while we the viewers knew that Gideon was alive and well and likely still hunting for the child. Season 3 - and I'm saying this as someone who'd been reading reaction posts, summaries, meta, discourse, etc, instead of watching it because I love myself enough to Not Do That - doesn't seem to have that. It really felt like the story beats, wherever the fuck they were, felt more like "now move from Point A to Point B in order to get closer to Point C". They needed to check things off on a list in order to prepare for the MCUfication of the Disneyficaiton of the OG Thrawn Trilogy, something that I know a lot of people want... but at what cost?

I really hate how likely it is that the show is going to push DinxBo on us and I really hate how much people are expecting it and dreading it. I hate the compulsive heternormativity and the expectations and dread that come with it. I hate how it ruins characters and stories. If you like this ship, good for you. Don't talk to me, I don't care.

This really feels like watching The Last Jedi all over again. I was sold on Finn and Rey as co-leads only to be told to my fucking face that white neo-fashy Kylo was now co-leading because for some reason Rey got it into her head to save him? Meanwhile Finn got tazed and shoved to the side in a tone-deaf subplot with Rose, and Poe turned into a bizarre caricature who needed to be taught lessons by older white women. Like, sorry but I can't unsee this shit. I can't undo the betrayal I felt at the bait and switch of the ST.

And now it happened all over again with The Mandalorian. I'll give it one thing: When Din and Greef first encountered the pirates on Space Renn Faire Nevarro, I got those space western vibes again. And for those few seconds, I felt hope that the previous however many minutes were just a rough start and we're back to space westerning our way to Mandalore. That hope died real fast, didn't it? Fuck me, I guess.

I've started using Tumblr's tag tracking feature to keep tabs on the more critical Mandalorian tags. I'll add them to this post so that you can use them yourself. There are also a lot of interesting coversations happening elsewhere by various blogs. You might have to get creative with your tag searching. Just know that just as many people are out there happy with this show, there are just as many who are dissatisfied with it. That's usually how it goes, but man I can't remember the last time I saw a bunch of the fandom community turn on a show/movie/book series the way we've done with The Mandalorian. It's a damn shame because deep down, a part of me is desperate for it to find its feet and get good again. But honestly, with all the announcements that came out of SWC 2023, I think that ship has sailed and the best thing to do is take all the good you can find from it and mold it into your own sand castles.

#shirozora awkwardly responds to asks #the mandalorian #the mandalorian critical #mando critical #the mandalorian season 3 #mando spoilers #mandalorian season 3 spoilers #sorry this ask got a leeeeettle too rambly #but today was a helluva day between all the meta and discousre and being nearly triggered by gif sets from the last minutes #and honestly i just feel so disappointed and frustrated by the writing on the wall #to me it's also running into the same problem I had with Kenobi which was that there was a fixed point that neither show can deviate from #and I have no faith in Favloni being able to give us good storioes up until Filoni's movie comes out #I think a lot of other people have already said so much about various aspects of this show #and quite frankly I'd rather work on my fic now and try not to think that favs and I crossed brain wavelengths at some point in 2021

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visarcana · 2 months

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Kamakura pt. 3 - Hitomi's commute

I was doing some thinking/researching about where Hitomi lives, thanks to a question by @mirimiramiri. Aaand another portion of my useless ramblings came out of it... well, first of all, I still believe the place where Hitomi lives (Kanzaki family house) and the place where Hitomi's mom hosts Amano and Yukari (and shows them photos of Hitomi's grandma) could be two separate places. I already explained the theory in one of the previous posts.

I'm not exactly convinced but it can be also be argued, and Japanese wikipedia actually said at one point, that Hitomi lives in Fujisawa, which is the neighboring town of Kamakura. The wiki no longer says so btw. and I can't even find it in history so it's possible that edit was eventually marked as vandalism. One possible explanation of the Fujisawa thing is that when Hitomi goes back from school in ep 24, she wanders around town after dark (we see stairs and pedestrian crossing) but these stairs are actually near the station in Fujisawa, not Kamakura.

So that can make it look like only her school is in Kamakura and she goes home every day to Fujisawa (it's not far at all, actually, the green train that is featured in the anime goes only between Kamakura and Fujisawa as a short, local line). She's also alone, and now that I think of it, Yukari is not seen in the scenes with Hitomi waiting at the station in the anime. So it could mean they normally separate somewhere before that and Yukari may not even need to take the train to school like Hitomi does.

Meanwhile, going by the same logic of existing places again, the place where Hitomi's mom meets Hitomi's friends is certainly in Kamakura, because in that scene, we see another existing station that is in the town, the Kita-Kamakura station.

So yeah, if Hitomi actually lived in Fujisawa, this would furthermore support my two houses theory. But there's another catch: after we see Hitomi walking around Fujisawa after dark, we see her on the train (again? or for the first time that evening?), and the direction she's riding seems to be... back to Kamakura. I realize now that she would even pass the station she seems to be waiting at in ep 26, so if we went by the existing stations, it would seem a deliberate detour into the neighboring town, then back to Kamakura, where she lives (after all).

Still, there's something irrational for me there, but I feel when they set the atmosphere with stills before they show the Kanzaki house and the place where Amano and Yukari meet Hitomi's mom, it feels different. I get the impression the Kanzaki house is closer to the shore but the other place is definitely in the area near the station above, in more traditional part of the town and farther away from the sea. Of course, I could be entirely off and Hitomi in fact takes the train from the imaginary mix of Koukou Mae and Hase stations in the south of the city and exits at the station above, Kita-Kamakura or North Kamakura, which is also where mom meets her friends. BUT WAIT, the Kita-Kamakura station is no longer on the same line and she would actually have to transfer from the green train (Enoden) to the regular, Tokyo-bound train (like you see on the cap on the station), even if it's not such a long trip.

AND it wouldn't even make a lot of sense to do all that either, because Hitomi's school is canonically called Kamakura Kita, or Kamakura North. If she actually lived somewhere near the North Kamakura station, she would not walk all the way south to take a train from there, because the school already IS in the north of the town and should be walking distance from her home. Unless she goes south only to see Yukari off, it would be an illogical detour. But we see do her waiting on the station south on the shore, without Yukari. I think that confirms it's part of her regular commute. So yeah, TL; DR I'm sticking to the two houses theory and I actually will make further use of that later in the story.

Anyway, here's the whole recollection of Hitomi's way back from school, at least on the day she first faints on the track (which is one day before "the fateful" one), using what I know from visiting the place and listing the (real locations):

Hitomi and Yukari walk out of their school (Sasuke Inari Shrine)

The two pass the "hair salon" and the church (Kamakuraoncho Church)

The two go down the stairs (Gokurakujizaka Pass)

The two have their talk in the tunnel (Shiyakusho Doori/Ave.)

Hitomi, already alone, wanders around town (Fujisawa station)

Hitomi is on the train (somewhere between Fujisawa and Kamakura)

Hitomi reaches the Kanzaki residence.

In real Kamakura, this actually stops making sense already by the stairs, at least if we consider the scene order as chronologically linear. Because the tunnel is right after the church on the same street and the referenced stairs are in another place totally and don't even lead to anything relevant.

Not to mention, the station Hitomi is seen waiting at in other scenes is also elsewhere and it makes no sense to go to it by the road they're taking. So you cannot retrace a linear route, they are practically teleporting around the town map.

So, the conclusion is, you probably cannot reference Escaflowne's Kamakura to the real place, they just used the "sceneries" and connected them as they liked without much heed to the directional accuracy or logic. They just made their own, imaginary Kamakura, keeping the atmosphere and sights of the actual place, and using the whole Shonan region, not exclusively Kamakura, as a reference. I shouldn't even be surprised, as this is how they deal with real life inspirations all over the anime, why should this be an exception just because it's on Earth? It's intriguing but also great pain to come to any conclusions about this stuff, obscure and tangled as it is. Yet I greatly enjoy the process for some reason.

Anyway, we can at least sort of piece together the idea of Hitomi's route home from school from episodes 1, 24, and 26 (although it seems she may have even taken a little walk/detour in ep 24):

her school is in the suburbs, next to a Shinto shrine

she walks by foot to the town centre/station, together with Yukari, traversing the long, steep stairs and the tunnel

somewhere on the way or maybe in the town centre she separates from Yukari, who either lives walking distance from school or takes another train (possibly from another station?)

she waits alone at the train station in the wider town center

she takes the train home

The reply about Hitomi's house

Kamakura pt. 1

Kamakura pt. 2: Hitomi's home

Kamakura pt. 3: Hitomi's commute (this one)

The Surprising Discoveries

The First Visit

The Whole Pilgrimage

#background notes #ramblings #kamakura #what do we look at next? I'm thinking Cesario/Chezario #cause I found the draft in the drafts...#but sure there are countless other possible research topics

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tblsomedoodles · 1 year

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(Sorry for asking a lot of the Donnie Au, it’s living rent-free in my head 😓) In the series, Donnie has a lot of centric episodes which could work well (in my opinion) with this Au:

Donnie gifts: rewatching the episode, it could show how Dee is way better trained and has more battle iq than his brothers.

I could also give a reason off why he made those gifts. I personally see it as him making the gifts as his way to both help them be better fighters and to keep them safe. (also does he still get captured by MeatSweats?)

The Purple game: I don’t think this episode would really change a lot, maybe bringing a motive for why Dee got obsessed by the game. (Maybe brings memories of him and Uncle Mikey playing but the again he wants nothing to do with past memories so…)

The Lair games: I think the change is more directed to Leo than to Dee, cause just like Angie, it’s Dee first Lair games so imagine how pissed Leo would be when all of a sudden his lost twin comes back and destroys his 5 year champion record, first try.

Breaking purple: this is one is just me but I could see Dee thinking back and remembering his Pops while looking for SHELLDON ( the junk yard scene )

Turtle Degan Nights: Ok so this episode could explore Dee’s feelings/relationship with rise splinter. (Prepare yourself it’s long)

Something about Donnies character is the fact that he lacks parental support and validation which is plays a big part in this episode (with him looking for ways to bond with Splinter and getting exited every time when he’s about to say proud). But Raphie (and the 03 gang) fix those problems, meaning he no longer has those needs.

How would that affect this episode?: would he still go or not? And If he does go, would he back down when arriving (since he’s no longer blinded with the idea of bonding with splinter [unless he is]) and giving his bottle up emotions (and that he probably misses Raphie), would that affect the moment he confronts Splinter.

(I’m sorry, this got WAY longer that I expected 😓Donnie has a plenty of centric episodes)

No apologies needed! He's been stuck in my head all day too lol

But yeah, for the Donnie's gifts, Dee definitely made them mostly to help. He knows leaders are supposed to make plans before fighting so a helmet that helps Raph make plans? Brilliant. Mikey keeps getting hurt when he's trying stunts he can't quite land yet so bubble suit? Perfect. Leo? He wasn't quite sure about leo, but his 'it's 4am and i haven't slept in 36 hrs' brain thought getting him to stop joking mid fight would need a taser so he built one. (then realized after the fact, ok, maybe the jokes weren't bad enough to tase him like that. and does awkwardly apologize.)

The Purple Game, you're right, would probably stay the same. Context wise, he gets hyper-fixated on it b/c it reminds him of home, but not enough to have feelings over it.

Lair games, oh definitely! Leo's just like, yeah i'm going to win again this year, and then doesn't. (which was definitely not Leo's plan to start so he never wagered his room.)

Breaking Purple, yeah i could see that being the case. Like he's looking for Shelldon and has the brief thought of "is this how Papa felt when i left?" before he buries it again.

And Turtle-dega Nights, oh that one would be fun. His differences in being raised (i know there's a word but idk what it is right now) would certainly effect this episode.

Like, for one, he does not want to go. At all. He actually resents Splinter for his original disappearance (logically he knows it's not his fault, illogically, that was his dad. Why couldn't he chase the cat away like pops had?) and he very much hates how little attention this guy has been giving his brothers (and him since he came back), b.c his lack of attention is very apparent to him after having so much of it back in 03. So he doesn't want to do this man any favors.

It's Mikey that talks him into it (b/c he's trying to get Dee and Splinter on better terms.) (so essentially, their spots are switched, Dee's the one going "I don't want to be here, it looks off" and Mikey's like "no, it's great! We're bonding with dad.")

When it's revealed to be a demolition derby, Dee is pissed and refuses to participate, eventually pulling the parking break like in cannon and full on yelling at Splinter (swears and all. He gives no shits) about how he tricked them and he was never going to trust him again and how he just wanted to go home to his pops b/c at least he doesn't trick him into bringing his creations to demolition derbies.

They have a little heart to heart while Mikey is freaking out in the background (b/c this was not how his 'get Dee to bond with dad' plan was supposed to go!) and things are a little better between them 1) b/c Splinter apologizes and promises to do better, and 2) shows he's serious by (like cannon) being willing to give up the trophy to take his boys home.

(Dee then decides the best course of action was to take out every single competitor in the derby so they wouldn't be stopped when they went home, thus (completely unintentionally, he swears) winning the trophy anyways.)

Thank you!

#asks #tmnt #rottmnt #adopted donnie au

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spoiler-alert-andabunchofnumbers · 1 year

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It's That Time Friends LET'S TALK ABOUT SEPHIROTH!!!

Specifically, we're talking about OG Crisis Core Sephiroth because my hopes are high for this remake and though they made sure most of the OG lines are the same, why are the voice actors unable to raise their voices and shout into their mics like what?

Anyway, let's start with his friends because Genesis and Angeal deserve more attention for shaping Sephiroth into who he is.

We all know the fight scene, we all know how epic it was, but let's break it down because yes I've watched it practically frame by frame what do YOU do with your free time?

Did you notice Genesis does the sword prayer at the beginning of the fight, same as Angeal does with his Buster Sword? It could just be Genesis showing off his weapon for the audience, but he closes his eyes and specifically lowers his head a fraction. We have little of pre-Crisis Genesis to go off of and how friendly he truly was - I mean, his best friend's Prove-Your-Honor-to-Me Angeal and Sephiroth actually does seem to admire him for his genuine efforts to get stronger. Most people who face Sephiroth likely just give up knowing they'll never match him, but Genesis is insistent on becoming stronger even when he's beaten. He even makes headway against Sephiroth in this fight, something that no one else has probably EVER done, but we'll get to that later.

The music track my goodness it's so great! *Dramatic violins*

But to the actual fight, it makes you think about why Sephiroth's sword is so freakishly long and how anyone in Shinra possibly invented a metal strong enough to hold up to Sephiroth's strength. Angeal's Buster Sword is extremely thick, Genesis enhances his weapon through magic, but Sephiroth's just got an extremely long sword that can somehow hold its own no matter which way he's using it, which falls in line perfectly with his fighting style. With a blade that long, Sephi can basically block a hit from every angle just by twisting with little effort, which becomes relevant when he's fighting as a left-handed fighter against a predominantly right-handed society. In order to properly turn his blade at the right angle to parry, he would need to turn his blade at a sharper angle. Or he could just swing however he pleases and force his opponent to be the one turning their blade at an awkward angle.

Because he's basically the equivalent of hitting a brick wall, every time he parries an attack from Angeal or Genesis, he is never flinching or bouncing back from the blows no matter how terrible the angle should be. This is literally a scene showing how impossibly strong Sephiroth is, not just from a big-muscles standpoint, but from an illogical "how-are-you-not-moving?" standpoint, and it should be showing you how frustrating it is for Genesis to try and keep up.

We all know physics hopefully, and how length increases force the further down you go. That means that hitting further down the length of Sephiroth's blade should be increasing the force needed to block the hit, but because Sephiroth is so strong AND his weapon is good at holding up to that strength, even if you're hitting the tip of his blade and he's blocking at a very poor angle, he is STILL successful at being completely unmovable.

These two slam their blades into Sephiroth's, and then they press forward together and lean in, AND look at the downwards angel Sephi is holding his Masamune. It's cut off in the picture above, but Sephi's thumb is facing downwards towards the blade, meaning he's not using his palm to push as effectively as if his thumb were facing upwards. You can tell because right after this, he swings up to slice the pair's blades back in their respective directions.

And during this first clash, he NEVER uses his right hand as a leverage point to reinforce the other end of his sword. The only time he uses his right hand is when he and Angeal are bashing it out at the last clash, and it looks like he was doing that mostly for aesthetic purposes.

Motion blur is a bitch.

Anyway, when Genesis powers up his sword and smashes his blade down to put Sephiroth into a crater, you can tell that both of them are having so much fun. Like even Sephiroth smiles because now Gen is putting up a decent fight. But then Genesis's hits actually start driving Sephiroth back. He's hitting fast enough and hard enough that Sephiroth's parries are becoming detrimental to him. His blade is useful for long-distance hits, keeping his opponents outside of a bubble where he can parry from literally every angle, but Genesis is getting too close and he isn't letting up, meaning that every time Sephiroth parries, it's at an angle that prevents him from resetting for the next swing. It's become more of getting his sword in the way than it is actually meaning Gen blow-for-blow, and he has to actually jump back in order to put real distance between them.

Then, Sephiroth makes a small "tsk" noise. He's genuinely upset that Genesis is actually making headway. This is probably the first time he's been on the defensive for a single opponent in a sword fight, and while he's slightly upset, he's also excited. This is why the fight gets out of hand. Genesis is determined to come out the winner, even if it's just in the training room, but Sephiroth is eager to have a real fight that he can put his full strength into - or at least more strength than normal.

When he blocks, this time, he uses his right hand for leverage. It's gotten serious. He uses both of his hands to shove Genesis back, and it is epic. Also do y'all think that's why he wears those bracelets? Are they for this exact purpose, to act as a bracer for when you gotta use your other hand to hold your sword?

Anyway, you can tell that Sephi is turning the tide because he's completely reversed the situation. Genesis is barely managing to keep up with the speed of his strikes, and because this is Sephiroth, getting your blade in the way of his is actually less effective than just dodging. When Sephi is doing the striking rather than the parrying, it means you're at risk of your own sword bouncing back in your face from the force of his hit.

Genesis jumping up is a reasonable response, putting distance between them, but in the air he also has no footholds, making blocking strikes even harder for him. Ignoring the lack of gravity because fall-damage doesn't exist in Final Fantasy (except for 15 but 15 isn't real I'm sure of it), Genesis using magic to try and turn the tide is precisely what his strengths are. He manages to match Sephiroth when he infuses his blade with magic, and let's be honest I don't think anyone else is capable of using Fire Materia like he has. He's basically using a SHG technique from FF Type-0, firing little blasts from every finger, and THEN controlling them remotely to converge on Sephiroth to create a creaking mini-sun worthy of Ifrit. I don't think his final blast would have stopped Sephiroth if Angeal hadn't stopped him, but I think Sephi was enjoying being overwhelmed even for a second.

No one can beat Sephiroth in terms of his raw strength, and his long blade is suited for his casual style of blocking and poking (it's embarrassing how easy it is for him to take Cloud down in Advent Children when he stops smacking his Fusion sword and just bypasses it by using a thrusting motion), but then Sephiroth starts using magic just like Genesis and all bets are off the table. The energy blasts that come from his sword just casually slice through the Mako Canon, and the way he just casually falls out of sight only to tear his way straight towards Genesis as his theme starts is Sephiroth having so much fun.

You know he did that to be dramatic. You know he did that because Genesis is a dramatic theater nerd and he's respecting Genesis by matching him in using magic to enhance his blade. He knows the fight's basically won now because he's actually trying. He's being nice. And he's having a blast.

The fact that Sephiroth is no longer being careful of his surroundings is also telling of how much effort he's putting in. Sure, he's slicing up the Mako Canon probably just to show off, but he's also just swinging his sword like you naturally would in a fight. He's just ignoring its length and letting it cut through whatever gets in its way even when he misses; it's a casual warning to Genesis that he's going to slice through him without pausing if Genesis gets in the way of Masamune. The situation is completely reversed from earlier as Genesis grunts in frustration before powering up to match Sephiroth's hit.

I love how when Angeal gets between the pair, he uses his Buster Sword to block Sephiroth from behind knowing that he'll need the foothold if he's going to stop Sephi mid-attack, but he's actually pushed towards Genesis because Sephi is pushing down so hard even after he's been stopped.

Genesis breaking Angeal's small sword is actually really interestingly set up and executed. This is the wound that begins Genesis's degradation, setting off the plot of Crisis Core's story. Genesis is really good, don't get me wrong, but it's unlikely that he didn't get his fair share of cuts and scrapes while he was learning to fight; I don't think Genesis would have begun degrading if he'd taken a hit like that normally.

I think this scene is setting up that Genesis's wound was really an anomaly of anomalies and the worst of bad luck. He infused his sword to maximum strength while he was determined to hold his own against Sephiroth when he was actually trying, he was so determined to keep the fight going and get Angeal out of the way that he used two types of magic at once - the red fire as well as what I think is ice magic to potentially immobilize Angeal (or he could have been using the same blue magic that Sephi was using when he first created those giant energy waves to make that first cut against the Canon). Because his blast hit Angeal's sword, which was blocking his own enhanced one, the two magics mixed in an explosion so strong that not only did it break the sword, but it created a Mako magic nightmare that was then injected straight into Genesis's shoulder.

I mean after everything that Sephiroth and Genesis did while they were going at it, it was Genesis's blast that actually broke the simulator. Sephi isn't even celebrating his victory. Though he doesn't say anything, he's concerned about Genesis and guilty that he'd let the fight get out of hand. When Angeal got between the pair, Sephiroth actually seemed to come to his senses - the original has Sephi seemingly like he was warning Angeal to stay out of the fight, but the remake seems to imply that Sephiroth was realizing how serious it was when Angeal intervened to stop them. I got this from the way Sephi says the line "Angeal..." That's how subtle the difference in voice acting a line can be!

His narration after confirms that he was concerned that Genesis wasn't healing and quietly blaming himself for letting this happen.

He finds Angeal's lectures amusing, he's memorized LOVELESS from being around Genesis for so long. He cares deeply about his friends, he's heartbroken when he has to accept that they're turning against Shinra, that they're working with Hollander. Zack has a full-on breakdown when Angeal dies because he was the one that had to watch his downward spiral, his transformation into a monster, and kill him, but imagine what Sephiroth is going through. He's not an emotional person, but he's enraged when he learns that Angeal left in Wutai, he does his best to appease Genesis when they meet in the Mako Reactor and tries his best not to fight them. He goes so far as to go rogue and tell Zack that they're going to fail to eliminate the wanted fugitives - probably the first time Sephiroth has ever actively rebelled after being raised in Shinra under Hojo.

Crisis Core is the story about Zack but it's also a story about Sephiroth. He was a person born and raised in Shinra to be nothing but a soldier, and the first time he actually gets friends (from a small humble town rather than a big city) and gets a new perspective on life, finding out they were experiments and monsters absolutely breaks them. He watches his friends fall apart, drift away from the kind and fun people that had been his first and only friends and taught him what friendship was truly LIKE.

Zack is probably the only reason Sephi doesn't break from Shinra then and there; he has the power to leave, even if he doesn't know what he'd do with his life, but Zack becomes a cheerful 1st, as passionate in his beliefs as Genesis and as kind as Angeal after being mentored by him. Another friend who doesn't let Sephiroth's cold attitude hamper his ability to see the good in life, one who believed in Angeal enough to even try believing in Genesis for a moment too. Sephiroth still has hope.

That's why it takes Nibelheim to absolutely break him. Not only is he close to Jenova, but he has the knowledge that his friends were failed science experiments, the informtaion causing them to absolutely fall apart - he's seen it happen and has been forced to accept that his friends are gone. Learning about his own past as an experiment sends him down the exact same rabbit hole that his friends fell into, but he's a "perfect" monster, and even Genesis showing up at the reactor confirms it. He says to Genesis "you will rot" when he comes asking for help, which seems like a great moment where Sephi refuses to let Genesis's harsh words get to him. In actuality, it just proves that he's aggressively distanced himself from the pain of losing those he trusted, reminding him and reinforcing the idea that Sephi can't trust his fellow 1st class friends. How easy would it have been to convince him that Zack was going to turn on him too?

This is serious manipulation from Jenova, taking advantage of Sephiroth's upbringing being isolated in Shinra with Hojo, taking advantage of his trauma from finally finding friends who went mad and turned on him, and then taking advantage of the fact that their history was revealed to them to drive them mad to do the same to him. Quite honestly, why WOULDN'T Sephiroth hate a world that did this to him? He's been a loyal soldier all his life, he's angry at Shinra who made him, tired of the whole world being too weak to pose a challenge against him, and he learns he's a monster who can help Jenova if she helps him

Honestly, I'm on board with that fan theory that Remake is Sephiroth trying to break free of Jenova's control over him as well and break the chains of fate or whatever. Not so he can be a free good guy or anything (that theory is reserved for the fanfiction), but so that he can take all her world-ending power for himself. You go, dude. Be the greatest villain ever and force the world to get its shit together in order to stop you.

Anyway, Reunion just finished downloading so I'ma go play now. Byeeeee

#Crisis Core #crisis core reunion #sephiroth #angeal #genesis #zack #listen I love that they stayed so true to the original with some upgrades #but why did those upgrades have to suck #just because your character models look more realistic doesn't mean they're actually expressing emotion #crisis core spoilers #this got really long #long post

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beardedmrbean · 1 month

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China, China, China. Scarcely a day passes without some new scare story about China. The Middle Kingdom was struggling with its image overseas long before Covid, but the pandemic cemented attitudes in the West. Ever since, and with plenty of justification, its every move has been regarded with growing “reds under the bed” paranoia. The feeling is mutual.

The mood has darkened further in the past week. British democracy is under threat from Chinese cyber attacks, the Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, told MPs this week in imposing sanctions on a number of Chinese officials. If that’s what standing up to China means these days then the central committee doesn’t have a lot to worry about.

Rather more seriously, the US and Japan are meanwhile planning the biggest upgrade to their security alliance since the mutual defence treaty of 1960.

Not to be outdone by the US ban on exports of hi-tech chips to China, Beijing responded this week by saying it will be phasing out even the low-tech variety on all government computers and servers, replacing foreign chips with its own home-grown ones.

And then of course, there is China’s de facto alliance with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, forming a new axis of authoritarian powers with an overtly anti-Western agenda. The rupture with the West seems virtually complete.

Years of integration into the global economy, in the hope that it might make China more like us, have backfired and are now going powerfully into reverse.

But does the nature of the threat fully justify all the noise which is made about it? In military terms, possibly, even if China plainly poses no direct threat to Europe, and unlike Putin, has no plans to lay claim to any part of it.

It does, however, pose a clear and present danger to Taiwan, where President Xi Jinping would plainly like to crush the life out of this vibrant, free enterprise economy in the same way as he has in Hong Kong. His rhetoric is bellicose and hostile, and we must therefore assume he means what he says.

In economic terms, however, the China threat is receding fast. After decades of stellar growth, China’s medium to long-term economic prospects are at best mediocre and at worst grimly dispiriting.

Now gone almost entirely is the idea of China as an unstoppable economic leviathan that will inevitably eclipse the US and Europe. Already it is obvious that this is not going to be the Chinese century once so widely forecast. Instead, Western commerce is looking increasingly to India as the economic superpower of the future.

Nor is this just because of the immediate causes of China’s economic slowdown – a woefully unbalanced economy which in recent years has relied for its growth substantially on debt-fuelled property development.

For China is indeed, to use the old cliche, getting old before it gets rich. Demographic factors alone are highly likely to floor President Xi’s grandiose ambitions for economic hegemony before they can be realised.

The fundamentals of China’s predicament, in other words, do not support the narrative of democracy under threat from an insurgent totalitarian rival.

There’s been a lot in the papers about demographics over the last week following a new study, published in the Lancet, on declining fertility rates. At some stage in the next 60 years, the global population will peak, and then fast start contracting.

The birth rate is projected to fall below population replacement levels in around three-quarters of countries by 2050, with only a handful of mainly Sub-Saharan nations still producing enough babies to ensure expanding populations by 2100.

In China, however, it has already started, with the population falling in 2022 for the first time since the Great Famine of 1959-61. This wasn’t just a one-off blip: last year deaths continued to significantly outnumber births.

There may be a slight pause in the decline this year. Some couples may have delayed their plans for children in anticipation of the Year of the Dragon, synonymous in Chinese mythology with good fortune.

Any relief will be only temporary. According to projections by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, which correctly forecast the onset of Chinese population decline, it’ll essentially be all downhill from here on in, with the population more than halving between now and the turn of the century.

This is a huge fall, with far-reaching implications for economic development and China’s superpower ambitions. What’s more, there is almost nothing the Chinese leadership can do about it, beyond imprisoning China’s fast-declining cohort of women of child-bearing age and forcing them to breed.

Across much of the developed world and beyond, the birth rate has long since declined below the 2.1 offspring per woman generally thought to be the level required to maintain the population. But thanks to its dictatorial one-child policy introduced in 1980 to curb China’s then almost ruinous birth rate, China has a particularly acute version of it.

China abandoned the one-child policy – limiting urban dwellers to one child per family and most rural inhabitants to two – in favour of a “three-child” policy in 2016, but too late.

Even if women of child-bearing age could be persuaded to have more babies, there are simply not enough of them any longer even to maintain today’s population, let alone increase it.

The one-child policy may have perversely further accentuated this deficiency because of the Chinese preference for male offspring over female, though most studies on this are inconclusive.

In any case, China finds itself classically caught in a “low-fertility trap”, the point of no return, where precipitous population decline becomes inevitable.

The implications are as startling as the statistics themselves. The Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences forecasts that the working-age population will fall to 210 million by 2100, having peaked in 2014, and the ratio of working-age citizens to notionally non-working from 100 to 21 today, to 100 to 137 at the turn of the century.

One thing we know about ageing populations is they like life to be as comfortable and settled as possible. They also don’t like fighting wars, which have historically required a surplus of testosterone-fuelled young men desperate to prove themselves on the battlefield.

The turn of the century is of course still a long way off; there is easily enough time for several wars in between. The nature of warfare has also changed. It no longer requires the bravery of the young.

Even so, totalitarian dictatorships may well struggle with selling the multiple other hardships of war to an elderly population. Putin may seem to disprove this observation, but in doing so he is also demonstrating anew the futility of expansionist warfare. They make a desert, and call it peace.

A couple of other points seem worth making about our propensity to exaggerate the Chinese threat. Anyone would think that China is already a dominant force in the UK economy. It is not; in fact it is still only our fifth-largest trading partner after the US, Germany, the Netherlands and France. Even on imports alone it’s not as big as the US and Germany.

Whether because of the growing diplomatic standoff or other factors, moreover, this position is eroding. The size of trade with China fell last year. The same is true of direct investment by China in the UK economy, which was just 0.3pc of total foreign direct investment in 2021.

We worry about China’s imagined ability to close down our critical infrastructure, but should that really be allowed to influence decisions on whether the Chinese battery company EVE should be building a new gigawatt factory at Coventry Airport, or for that matter whether super-tariffs should be charged on Chinese EVs?

Should they exist at all, these risks can surely be managed. In any case, no nation that hopes to trade with others would deliberately turn the lights off, even if it could. In over-reacting to the Chinese threat, we only shoot ourselves in the foot.

China has lied, copied, stolen and cheated its way up the economic league tables, but ultimately it is a closed economy which increasingly repudiates foreign influence and thereby severely limits its own powers of innovation.

The danger is that now at the peak of its powers, it hubristically lashes out. But in the medium to long term, the demographic die is cast, and it spells a future of waning influence and economic heft.

#nunyas news #my only fear is that they start a war #in order to reduce their population #it's china so not something historically I'd put past them

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