#i saw discourse on my dash and uh

[scturnsays]

i don't know about you guys, but if i was ever forced to become an employee of a violent genocidal organisation that murders innocent people and prunes entire timelines on a daily basis, i definitely wouldn't enjoy the killings or straight up perceive them as a normal part of a boring day at work like all the tva employees did. people bend over backwards trying to justify their actions by saying they were brainwashed, but god, were they? were they? if they were, they must have been previously subjected to some sort of horrible mental or physical torture (cough, cough) thats purpose was to make them stop viewing the people-murdering thing as wrong and just carry out tva's orders, and, surely enough, none of that was never shown to us on screen.

what we saw in the show was people killing other people without a second thought just because they saw them as those that need to be exterminated for the good of the universe. nazi ideology, ring any bells? we don't know how (or if, for that matter) the tva employees were mind-controlled. what we do know from the show is that they have been killing innocents for a long, long time without any remorse. just how am i supposed to feel bad for a person that murders literal children for a living and never once thinks: hey, that's a fucked up thing they're making me do, but has a huge epiphany when they find out they're as much a variant as the people they kill are, and only then they decide to rebel? if finding out what they actually are is the big breakthrough, then the mind control (if it even happened) was not as powerful and overwhelming as you all claim.

moreover, the tva employees still seem to have a sense of good and evil, even if they're massive hypocrites about it. mobius yells at loki about whether or not he enjoys hurting people, but before meeting sylvie, he never stops to think about how the work he's doing has destroyed many, many lives (and no, no, you're not going to absolve him of any of that, he's no less guilty than any other tva variant). if mobius can decide that loki's actions were always ill-intentioned, that he's always been a power-hungry narcissist, that he killed his own mother, that he attacked new york out of his own volition and in his right mind, why didn't he use his brilliant brain and rebelled against the tva earlier, given that he must have realised just how horrid they were? do you know why? because working there suited him.

#i saw discourse on my dash and uh #this happened #rant over! #loki show negativity #loki series negativity #loki series critical #anti mcu #anti disney

[lukesunbornn]

lmao i feel like there is a pretty wide gap between “this person is a perfect angel who has never done anything bad ever and everybody criticizing them needs to focus on Real Issues instead” and “this person is an evil irredeemable slimebag and they deserve harassment and doxxing”

like. guys it’s possible to criticize someone and want an apology without detracting from other issues or murdering their whole family. ur minecraft youtuber should Probably apologize and people Have A Right to be upset about what he’s done. it’s not fair to say people who are rightfully upset are taking away from “real issues” because this Is a real issue. HOWEVER it doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, it doesn’t mean you’re vile for watching him, it doesn’t mean ppl can be sending him death threats or anything like that. it just means he should be held accountable for his actions and move on. it’s really not that hard

#tell me how i have every single mcyt tag filtered yet i Still see all the discourse :\ #so yeah uh. there’s my take on the drama i’m not involved with #sorry i saw some posts on my dash that made me So mad i had to rant lol #mcyt #ok2rb #discourse tw #death threat tw #ask to tag #zohar thoughts

[serialreblogger]

it’s illegal??? in 5 states??? to insult or damage the Confederate flag???????

#saw some uh. fun discourse on my dash #did not want to reblog bc there was some viscerally upsetting racist content in it but #learned something new #and i hate that #america #confederate flag #racism #this is a very upsetting fact to learn. america what are you doing #linden's originals

[dysfunctionalnerd]

I feel like a lot of people dont understand the weight of the word nazi

like, as a Jewish person, I simply dont understand how you can look at a person who executed or was in favor of committing mass atrocities and murders to an entire race of people and say "aw but they like puppies and drawing too" like,, no one clearly outweighs the other, stop trying to defend people who even hint at idolizing nazi figures or behavior

#i just learned that the creator of aot is a nazi so i decided to look it up #and i got whiplash at the amount of people who still support him/ the manga bc theyre like oh he didnt know any better #i saw one post claim the anime is still ok bc even tho it shows how the nazis were good it also shows their flaws and i was so disgusted #if ur a nazi u have no redeeming qualities you want to kill people for a living and that cannot be excused at all #and like people who are like u just dont understand until u watch the whole show..... uh.... #i will not be reading / watching a show that even toys with the idea that it was ok to kill my people. fuck off #discourse #one day im gonna get discourse on my dash and its gonna suck but like its better to be vocal about this shit than be silent

[hordecatra]

#UH BITCH WHAT TEH FU CKJ IHUYFUDI #WHAT THE FUCK? #I SAW THIS TAGGED IN MY DASH? #WHAT THE FUCK #HYST7SUYIAWUEH????? #discourse #jay jabbers.txt

[knivesrey]

hey so why are antis Like That sometimes....

#im just so????? #like??? #sometimes i just????????? die????? #this is lowkey about bunn/yri/bbit btw #like???????? #i just??????? #shes an adult and a literal war hero #also and other ship with d/va tbh #i just???? #it makes me angry when people get fuckin irrational about shit #this although i dont ship it this also applies to mcr/eyes #bc fuck that like damn they're fucking adults man #like if they were like 13 it'd be different because then it gets p fucking iffy but just like #idk #i have so many thoughts about this #and im not about to turn this into a discourse blog #uh if u wanna know tho feel free to pm me #or like if u think im problematic now feel free to block me and then add me to your blocklist lmao #this all happened bc i saw an anti on my dash and i went on their blog and fucking died #i also hate how they lowkey overreact towards everything #dont...tell people.. to kill themselves... over a fucking ship #over a pair of fictional characters #i also hate how they just hate morally grey characters #like we get it ur a pure uwu bean but shut the fuck up about them being totally evil and how u shouldn't have ships with them #i dont mean like obviously evil and bad characters #i mean like... lo/tor #and like vris/ka #like u can hate the character but like dont hate people who like the character #thats.. stupid #its just a fucking fictional character u dumb fucks

[miggydiaz]

For the salty ask 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 26 for cobra kai pretty please

My answers are so long, so I am putting this under the cut @wonderwolfballoon! Also I just noticed your Daniel icon I SWEAR I’M NOT DRAGGING HIM TO BE MEAN!!!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* My biggest IDGI ships for CK are probably Elimetri or Kiaz. I’m not here to yuck other people’s yums or anything, but I do think there is something to the idea that Migueli isn’t popular because it’s a ship predicated on mutual respect for one another. Kiaz has the obvious enemies to lovers vibe and I just generally don’t sail those ships. Elimetri has... its problems, IMO, most especially around the idea that Demetri has to like... save Hawk from himself? Idk. I just like romances that I feel are based on love and mutual respect and not ...tropes.

 I am also not a Lawrusso shipper although I have a lot of those on my dash and you all are great! Again, not yucking yums! Daniel just makes me want to head butt him too much to pair him romantically with anyone 😂 I don’t even want his wife with him. He needs to self reflect~ 

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* 

I once saw someone ship Amanda and Anoush and I noped out of that so fucking fast I almost tripped over myself. I’m not sure if they’re popular. I just think some people feel the need to get Amanda out of the way to sail their ship and stuck her with Anoush which... no. Just no. Let Amanda be a messy single queen with a martini hobby, thanks! 

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* 

Not in CK. I’m lucky because I pretty much stick to my little Migueli bubble and I’m okay with that? Lmao lord knows the Squad on my dash is all about the DISCOURSE™️ so idk if I just don’t feel the need to get sucked into the wider ship wars because we have good healthy debates, but so far, so good. 

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* 

I never hated it... I just didn’t have many feelings on shipping with this show in general at first. Then I was in the CK tag one day and I saw Migueli fan art. Then I discovered @afurioushawk‘s falconry series and it was all over for me after that! So fandom DID make me love a ship, just not one I hated.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why? Oh boy. How much time do you have? In some instances, it’s a good thing season 3 happened because otherwise, this would be a multi-page essay on the problems with race and class privilege as it pertains to Sam LaRusso and just some... generally not nice comments about Demetri that I’m conflicted about because I’m not sure if the writers are intentionally trying to write him a specific way and it’s just not translating to me or what. But season 3 revamped both of their images with me a lot. I’m way more flexible in terms of Demetri, but lmao I was the number one Sam LaRusso hater for a minute there (or maybe number 2, I can think of at least 1 other person who was in that boat with me back in like... August/September, but I won’t call them out because I don’t want them to get hate...) However, I have grown a bit in my opinions of Sam, and even though I still think she’s responsible  for a lot of shit she NEVER gets held accountable for, I also think that’s a reflection of the adults around her too, and this includes my otherwise unproblematic queen, Amanda.

But honestly, my most hated character (other than the obvious villain that is Kreese) is Daniel. No matter how handsome Ralph Macchio looks in cable-knits, because Daniel has always been a sanctimonious, shit starting drama king and I say that about KK Daniel too. I’m not saying Daniel was the ~true villain~ or anything, or that Johnny was innocent -- I can only drink so much Red and Yellow Kool-Aid -- but Daniel’s always been annoying to me as a protagonist, and turning him into a smarmy wealthy car salesman who is also a class traitor did not do him any favors in my book. I will say, I also like Daniel more in season 3 than I have in previous season, but since he is the adult, I will be mad at him longer than I will be at the kids, ya feel?

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

 Johnny’s entire season 3 storyline. The sheer level of REGRESSION at every turn drives me bonkers. It’s like watching him go through all of the stumbling blocks of season 1 all over again, but without the “he’s learning! He’s going to make mistakes!” free pass that I was willing to give him the first time around. He regularly jeopardizes Miguel’s recovery and it’s played for laughs. He fucks up on every level with Robby. He spends most of his time running away when things get hard or too real. He drops the ball completely with Hawk, and like, not to put too fine a point on it, but a lot of Hawk’s issues are because Johnny put Hawk on this ‘flip the script and be a badass’ path and then offered him no guidance for how to walk that path and instead left him in the hands of Kreese. And then he has the nerve to go to Hawk and basically be like “I made you what you are!” lmao yeah Johnny, you sure did, that’s why he’s breaking peoples arms, hoss. And then all of the nonsense with Ali and Carmen, like... if you were planning on teasing KK fans with Ali and him getting back together, why write her as married in the first place? Why even tease the idea of Carmen and Johnny until after you were sure what you were going to do with Ali as a character? Instead, they do what they did in season 3 and it makes him look like a colossal jerk. So yeah. Literally every choice they made with Johnny this season, I hated.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom? People who hate Tory are not valid, sorry not sorry.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? I would have kept Miguel entirely out of Tory and Sam’s beef. Or at least not directly inserted him into it like he was with the kiss. I know the writers thought it was necessary to push Tory to the point of inciting a fight at school, but I am just so exhausted over girls being unable to fight about anything but boys. Also I would bring Aisha back.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom? 

I am probably biased, but I still maintain it’s Migueli. Look, Miguel stood up to Kyler for Eli and Demetri both. Hawk joined CK because he saw what it could do for some skinny nerd who was getting his ass kicked. And he took to CK, really took to it! Even flourished before he started getting mixed messages. And he and Miguel were pretty much inseparable after that. They coordinated their wardrobes ffs. Hawk dubbed him El Serpiente and no one else calls him that — it’s Hawk’s nickname for him. Miguel confides in Hawk only secondary to Johnny, who is like a father to him. The entire Coyote Creek exchange shows they can fight and disagree but... well, to use the cliche, they don’t go to bed angry, you know? They’re square the very next day. Hawk is the first person at Miguel’s side when he gets kicked over the balcony and the LOOK he gives the second floor where Robby is? That boy is out for blood immediately to avenge Miguel. So much of his s3 behavior is fueled by that need for vengeance because MD is wholly responsible for what happened to Miguel. And Miguel is so confused and betrayed by Hawk’s shift in behavior, and yet still holds out hope that Hawk will see through Kreese’s BS and come with him to The Dojo I Refuse to Name. And when Hawk does make that deflection finally, he shows up at MD with Miguel. There’s so much more that I know I’m missing but whether someone ships them or not, that is a tried and true love and respect for one another, a willingness to fight for and defend one another that you don’t often see in TV friendships... or even in most tv relationships. And I just think that’s the best ❤️

22. Popular character you hate?

 Daniel, hands down. I mean... I don’t even necessarily hate Daniel, you know? I just think it’s really, pardon the pun, rich that a guy of immense wealth and privilege can’t get a therapist or turn to his far too patient wife for help with his existential crisis over his high school bully opening up a karate dojo to make some money and help a kid who is getting the crap kicked out of him. I get that Daniel’s narrative is necessary for the rivalry, but it does nothing to make him sympathetic as a character.

23. Unpopular character you love?

 Tory, definitely! Everyone hates her and then there’s me and the Squad over here banging away on our Coors Banquet cans yelling TORY RIGHTS! Seriously she catches so much flack for a teenage girl who is... the sole income provider for her family? At 17? While caring for a sick mom and a little brother? And fending off a creepy landlord? Tory has it so rough and then she meets a cool girl at her dojo who asks her to hang out at some fancy ass country club which is probably the nicest place Tory has ever been in, and then she gets talked down to and accused of being a thief and has another girl lay hands on her, only to find out that same girl is her new boyfriend’s ex and... ugh. I HATE that Tory gets shit all over when Tory and Sam wouldn’t even have beef if Sam had apologized to Tory as she SHOULD have. Tory isn’t innocent, but damn, I’d be pressed too.

 My other unpopular character I love? Nathaniel. Seriously that kid is THE best. He’s a literal child but is out there like I WILL FUCK YOU UP, even though he’s MD. Honestly, his Cobra Kai energy is so ferocious I won’t be surprised if he moves back to CK eventually. Anyway, I love him.


26. Most shippable character?

 Miguel, hands down. It’s because he’s so affable and sweet overall. And because his hair is so fluffy and pettable that no one can resist touching it. I like to imagine that one day he and Hawk are talking about their hair and Hawk makes a joke about how Miguel’s mane is getting so long that it’s going to be bigger than his own, and then he reaches out to ruffle it and internally has a bisexual meltdown because oh no IT’S SO SOFT AND NICE. But uh... anyway, yes. Definitely Miguel.

#ask game #cobra kai #sorry y’all I gotta tag #uh #anti Daniel larusso #anti lawrusso #anti Kiaz #anti Elimetri #it’s not *really* anti those ships but uh... tagging for the culture??? #plz don’t flame ship who you ship!!! #Migueli #i hope this is tagged appropriately if you need something else tagged lmk

[toastandnoodles]

I saw this one person who reblogged a post from my gay yearning account shitting on nonbinary lesbians so I just like. Did the reasonable thing and blocked them, bc I've been there done that, ya know? Like buddy I once was an exclus myself I don't want that kind of energy on my dash or in my notes.

I scrolled through their account for a bit and fuckin uh??? One of their posts was like "You shouldn't block me just because I disagree with you, I like seeing the perspectives of people I disagree with, and blocking me keeps me from seeing your response" blah blah blah and like. That's cool, I understand not wanting your social spaces to be a complete echo chamber.

But also I don't owe you a debate on my existence. I don't owe you the time of day for you to call me invalid and argue on my own identity. My identity is not up for debate just because you're relatively anonymous online and it's really ignorant to think you have any sort of right to peoples' spaces like that.

I engage in discourses all the time in real life, with my friends, family, and college classes. Even my girlfriend and I have playful debates. I go online as a source of comfort and as a way to connect to other people like me. If I don't want you in my space, I'm just gonna block you. I don't owe you anything, especially not access to the space I use to wind down from the day. Fuck off with that presumptuous shit.

#also they kept shitting on nonbinary people that dont present androgynously so #they call nbs homophobic for being lesbians but then imply we dont exist #pick one or the other buddy #we cant be homophobic if we arent real

[sybil-writes]

Hey I've been sorta out of tumblr for a couple months and I was wondering if you knew what happened to Mina (mvcreates) I saw she deactivated. It's sad not to see her on my dash anymore. Did she move blogs? Quit tumblr? Do you know anything? It seemed like you guys were close.

Hey, uh. What happened with mvcreates was a whole can of worms, honestly. I have deeply mixed feelings about Mina and her presence on writeblr, and ended up taking a break for several months because of it. 

It’s not really in my nature to drag up old discourse (or any discourse really), but the tag #vv drama on tumblr describes a lot of what happened if you care to know. I honestly wouldn’t bother though. The tl;dr version is “talented and charismatic person indulges in some pretty weird power games, some people get hurt.”

#I don't really want to demonize mvcreates but also when I think about it too hard I genuinely am gobsmacked #vv drama #discourse #sorry to be the bearer of bad news #writeblr #writing-with-melon

[weareallkenough]

Y, O, I!!!

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them) 

Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Supernatural, Ace Attorney

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of 

I put my liked songs in Spotify on shuffle and got “She’s So Hard’ by the Jezabels. I’m gonna say it makes me think of Catra???? maybe?????

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why 

uh yeah lots lol. I’m not gonna list them all out but it’s usually untagged spoilers and Discourse that turns me off. I’m just here to have a good time man.

I also don’t touch that one podcast with the dude’s name that sounds like Taco because without ever listening to it, I saw some Discourse about race from the fandom that was like a big Yikes from me so I won’t touch that shit with a ten foot pole

fandom meme: come at me friend.

#madseason #do these letters mean you've started watching yuuri on ice pls say yes lol #i'm ready to inflict my insanity on you

[thepersephonecabin]

16, 20-23, 36 ? For Riordanverse asks!

16. Where would you live in the riordanverse world (CHB, CJ, The Waystation, Valhalla, the Kane Manor, etc.)?

Camp Half-Blood! I know it’s kind of basic but I have the kind of nostalgia for CHB that most potterheads have for hogwarts. I even have a home-made CHB shirt (though i don’t know if it still fits me because I made it uhhh several weight fluctuation cycles ago)

20. Favorite ship?

It’s a suuuper small ship but i really love NicoxPercyxAnnabeth. I’m a sucker for some good healthy polyamory, and though our little group of shippers are small there are some just incredible fics. Honorable mentions: I would die for fierrochase, and when I, a non-binary, found out Riordan was doing a main character romance with a genderfluid character I uh, big cried. Also a big fan of Thalia and Reyna.

21. Least favorite ship?

So please don’t get mad, this is a personal opinion and not a judgement on anyone in the fandom who does ship this but my least favorite is actually solangelo, but hear me out. I think it’s really great that Rick gave Nico a happy ending with someone who is as kind and caring as Will! I think that’s a great message for younger queer kids reading the books who could benefit from seeing that they deserve happy endings too! So I’ll never begrudge anyone for shipping solangelo, but I have, a weird relationship with the ship personally.

For me, it’s less that I dislike the solangelo ship itself, it’s more that some solangelo shippers especially in the time right after Blood of Olympus came out got kind of nasty to people who weren’t immediately on the bandwagon. For example, I remember some people saying, “hmm I’m not sure I’m warmed up to will and nico as a couple yet” and solangelo shippers coming down and saying that they were being homophobic for it. (additionally, I made a post about this a loooooong time ago but I feel a little uncomfortable about how quickly solangelo grew in popularity with the fandom before it was confirmed canon because it felt crappy that no one had put that sort of energy behind any f/f shit in the riordan-verse. and then, almost simultaneously, people started shitting on riordan for not having any wlw in his books, but when the waystation girls were introduced it was like. radio silence in the fandom.)

so yeah. this is no shade to you if you ship solangelo, it’s more that i got burnt out on seeing the ship. I still think will and solace are cute in TOA, and i still see and reblog good art/fic of solangelo when I see it, it’s just not my cup of tea.

22. Favorite platonic ship (Brotp)?

Do Percy and Tyson count if they’re actually brothers? I love their dynamic and how in school Percy would defend Tyson even though he new it’d isolate him from others even more. Also I know I talked above about liking the nicoxpercyxannabeth ship but I also just like Nico and Annabeth bonding platonically after the books, the idea that they have to be jealous and nasty to each other just because nico had a crush on percy is so tired.

23. If you could save ONE of the people who died, who would it be (pick one, no cheating!!)?

SELENA! Her sacrifice was so poetic and I loved the parallels between her death and Patroclus’ from the Iliad but also! She and Clarisse should be married!!

36. The most controversial opinion that you have about the books (be honest, and friends/mutuals don’t kill the person who answers!!)

Oh gods I feel like I already outed myself on this one with my solangelo answer, but for the sake of fairness I will give another different controversial opinion.

I don’t even know if this is something people are still arguing about because I have weeded the whole conversation out of my dash but back in the day a lot of people on tumblr had beef about the age difference between Hazel and Frank because in physical years Hazel is younger than him. 

I can understand people’s complaints about the age difference because I get that irl even a difference of a few years can mean a significant power indifference. I saw this with a lot of my own friends in the real world and I even experienced a lot of my older brother’s friends pursuing me romantically (the people in question would have been 3-5 years older) when I was in middle school and high school and as an adult I look back at that and I’m so thankful that I dodged those bullets by standing my ground and not getting involved with those people who were older than me.

However, I think it’s also kind of convenient that people will discourse over Hazel and Frank being together, but not for example, Percy and Nico or Nico and Jason who have a similar age differences. And if I’m being honest, if you ask me why I think Hazel and Frank get so much more discourse about the age gap, the only answer that makes sense to me is the fact that there are few ships in the Riordan-verse in which BOTH SIDES of the ship are POC, and HazelxFrank is one of them.

This is something I’ve avoided putting out on my blog, I just try to ignore the whole thing tbh? but Hazel and Frank both separately got weirdly mixed reactions from the fandom and neither are particularly popular compared to some of the other characters. But when you think about it, nico has an age difference with most of the characters he’s shipped with, but I rarely see people upset about it. (not to mention there are so many other ships with significant age differences like leo and calypso, sadie and anubis, and paolo and apollo, etc who i also have not seen age discourse about). so idk. I understand why some people are made uncomfortable by it and that’s totally their right but I do still wonder if some of the frazel hate is misdirected

Send me a number!

#rebloggable #please don't kill me #Anonymous

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 11 pt 1: Mokuba Gets Kidnapped (Again)

I miiiight have to split this one in two?

A lot happens this episode, and when I cap things it’s mostly to help summarize what’s going on so these posts won’t be so freakin long but visually--a LOT happens this episode. So...there’s a few caps.

Anyways, I’m still trying to not think too much about what it is that Tristan has turned into. Considering that apparently you can exist here without a body it makes you wonder if their own minds are here at all or if we’re just following some shadow selves but again, it’s--that’s way too deep for Yugioh.

Been joking about the team getting turned into Heartless for a whole season and it actually happened. Sort of. Being turned into a monkey isn’t exactly the same as being turned into Darkness but if Yugi, Bakura, and Marik are any indication, being turned into Darkness on this show just means your hair gets kinda big and sometimes you almost (and often do) kill people.

Tristan’s CGI body is now running around and I’m not sure how that works.

Like if Tristan’s ACTUAL body is being stored somewhere, then the CGI body should have vanished, right? Like, his CGI body got incinerated by lava? Anyway, apparently, his body is absolutely fine, and now it’s being controlled by Nezbitt.

I’m glad he found the Kaibas at their familiar territory. Yes, that’s right, they all met up again, reunited after 10 episodes at their favorite place in the whole world. Guess where? Guess where they are?

It’s like meeting at the Cinnabon at the mall. They just all know where to go.

(read more under the cut)

And then Kaiba just kind of acts like he’s been expecting this for years. I mean...there’s reasons to expect that.

TBH if Tristan nabbed Kaiba in the shoulder with that broomstick, Would Kaiba even be able to feel it with all that padding? He’s got like football gear for shoulder pads up there.

We get no explanation of how Blue Eyes Wife made it to the VR zone. Probably willed itself out of pure love or whatever. But, don’t worry, Seto will have to choose cards from a pool just like everyone else at the end of this episode so uh...that’s about all we’ll see from her. Unless she was also in the pool, but I kinda doubt Noah gave Seto a Blue Eyes.

Just so weird that in the same episode she’s clearly here, but in 10 minutes from now, she’s not.

Anyways, everyone else finally shows up and they don't seem to be confused as to how Tristan is just fine when they just saw him die like...just now. They just left the place Tristan was dead and incinerated by 600000 degrees of lava and they were like “Oh good! We found him immediately! Hallelujah!” as if this isn’t very weird.

And...in a past life, Kaiba was the head of the House of York or...something? Like he was in the War of Roses or something? I forget exactly what y’all were saying Kaiba was up to in a past life in some video game spinoff when he and Yugi were European 500 years ago. Their family bloodline really got around.

ALSO, thing I just realized now I’ve actually read the wikipedia, Kaiba is supposed to have been Christian Rosenkruez in this game, which is amazing. Because, if you thought the Kaiba timeline was effed up before, just you wait, because Christian Rosenkruez was a freakin nut. We’re talking Indiana Jones type of nut. I’m pretty sure the game never brings this up, but Christian Rosenkruez is famous because so many people thought that he was the reincarnation of Lazarus.

LAZARUS.

Sorry, I’m like...kinda cracking up as I’m typing this. For those who don’t know your Christian/Middle Ages art, Lazarus is this guy, seen on the right. He’s always wrapped up like a mummy and with this expression like “woah, Jo, I’m alive!? Nice!” as at least one guy in the foreground plugs their nose because he smells like so freakin bad.

Yeah. So now, canonically, a past self of Seto Kaiba swore that he was once Lazurus. Who is...a real freakin nice guy, actually. Which--and this is my favorite part--this means that Lazarus--a real guy from the Bible--was also soul married to a Blue Eyes White Dragon. Hot damn.

I mean, this is a mess, but aesthetically though--Lazarus was a dead guy right? Like a revived mystical dead guy? Wrapped up like a mummy? In a crypt? If you don’t know too much about Christianity, it kinda fits right in with our whole vibe.

And if art twitter is anything to go by, the original fanart was bible stuff anyway, so anime and Bible stuff are absolutely and always interchangeable.

(Sorry, I was about to derail on another art rant hoo boy, a rant within a rant. You know, I hide a LOT of art discourse in these posts. Spicy times. Thanks for bearing with me, I’ve been holding that one in for a WHILE.)

But this is mostly amazing because, completely unintentionally, that means Seto Kaiba’s bloodline met freakin Jesus, y’all.

In fact, lets go over it, so Kaiba’s bloodline was Egyptian wizards who killed Pharaoh Yami (who ends up being Yugi’s bloodline), kinda forgot they were royalty or magical, went up to Jerusalem for a spell, hung out with Jesus and got helllla Christian, then ended up in Germany, fought Yugi who was British royalty for a hot minute, buried Rosenkrueuz in a very weird and mystical spooky sarcophagus, and then both families forgot they were super special royalty and somehow ended up in Japan where Kaiba got orphaned with no knowledge of any of this and got adopted by a crazy Gozaboro Kaiba who is now trying to kill them all with a VR game.

Anyway, if a past version of himself was in the War of Roses, dueling with actual swords should come naturally to him. Or at least would have come naturally if Tristan wasn’t so good with brooms.

(Bro’s Spicy Headcanon: Tristans wooden stick was originally a sword but they edited it out in development. Sure Wtv.)

And surprisingly, Joey got to do a hit in this version of Yugioh--like actually kicked a guy. On screen. And it was Tristan. Wow. Really thought that would get edited out, and I’m glad they left it in because lol this whole sequence is a mess.

Anyway, Tea gets hella mad at Joey because they don’t want him to kill Tristan although this body was in fact incinerated at the bottom of a lava pool not ten minutes ago, and so she decides to go after Tristan herself? Because she figures that Tristan’s body will not attack her? Maybe because Tristan’s body would be too afraid to attack Tea.

And this is Tea, so she is used to people going ghost, getting cray, and then passing out ten minutes later and being like “Oi, love! I seem to have made quite a fuss, again, innut!”

Please look at the bottom of this cap and admire that Joey kicked Tristan so hard, that his body bent a metal door completely the other way around.

That’s right, the motorcycle license is back, and now it gets to serve a purpose!

Guys, when they revealed that Tristan could drive a motorcycle I did not think that later this ability would be yet another insane way to abduct Mokuba.

Lol what?

Moki just...hanging off the side there. Like...he’s not even strapped in. What is it with the kidnappers in this show having just no idea how to properly hold Mokuba? At least this time he isn’t being suspended from a helicopter but it’s still kind of of a lot?

And there goes Kaiba.

They reunite again for like...2 minutes after like 10 episodes and then bam, Kaiba is signing out immediately.

Unfortunately, there goes the only two people here that know how to drive motorcycles, so the rest of our team is just kinda stuck back here with Tristan in a monkey suit.

Because of perspective issues, Serenity appears to be like 2 feet taller than Yugi Muto, dang.

So I think I mentioned before that one of the reasons I was like “Yeah lets watch this show” is because someone tweeted that Yugioh had motorcycle dueling, and so when this happened I was like OMG they’re actually going to do it somehow, right now on this Sonic Adventure Highway. Finally! A motorcycle duel! I thought that was only in the spinoff I’m not going to watch!

I mean look at him go.

JK no motorcycle dueling in this series. My poor hopes. Dashed.

And he runs right into Kaiba’s coat from last season who is wearing just the thickest old timey Southern accent. Ah, I miss when his coat color was nearly his font color and it all made sense.

Bro pointed out that the best part of this scene is how small the motorcycle was compared to how big this fire is now. Like...they should just be able to walk around the fire at this point, right? Like it’s a highway with multiple lanes? What was even in this motorcycle? Nitro?

Anyway, this post will be very long if I don’t chop it in half, so get ready for next time, when we find out what this guy and his accent’s whole deal is. How many references will he make to grits and warm summer evenings? A lot, right? Like a lot?

Anyways, if you just got here, this is a link to read the recaps from Ep 1 S1

#Yugioh #Yu gi oh #recap #photo recap #S3 Ep11 #Does Mokuba have a requirement to get kidnapped every 10 episodes? #Seto Kaiba #Mokuba #Yugi muto #joey wheeler #tea gardner #tristan taylor #robot monkey #Seto Kaiba's Timeline gets more and borked every episode of this arc

[drivingsideways]

thefeastandthefast replied to your post: Fandom meme: B and U, please!

f, g, k, l, n, y (any or all) ��

 lol, ok, gonna go for all :D because it’s 1 am here and I’m 100% here for unhealthy life choices. 

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Well, I’ve been lurking (mostly just reading fic!)  in the Harry Potter fandom for like 20 years now, I think, so technically that’s the longest :) 

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

George/Living Her Own Damn Life from The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton (though of course,i was too young to frame it as an OTP. But basically any female character/freedom has been my otp since I learnt to read lololol) 

Ok, more romance-y OTP was probably Mulder/Scully, even though I didn’t have access to the internets and had no idea that shipping was a thing then. :) 

K -Say something nice about someone in any of your fandoms

I’m gonna sorta cheat and say YOU’RE THE SWEETEST <3 <3 <3

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

Ah, hmm, Silver from Black Sails, I suppose? I enjoyed the canon version of him more than fanon/fandom discourse version (oops!). I like that he’s so smart and glib and also A Total Mess, emotionally (uh, is that a “genuinely nice thing” to say? :p) 

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

So current fandom being TRoP, first off I’m going to say, I wish it was bigger!!! More people should absolutely get emotionally invested in a 70 episode show that ends very very badly!! And then come and cry with me about it!!

But I wish there were more gen-ish fics/ episode coda/ character based stuff (though I’ve been guilty of writing mostly shippy stuff myself!) 

Uh, and as for shippy stuff, GOD PLEASE SOMEONE PUT ME OUT OF THE RAREPAIR HELL OF HAVING TO WRITE EVERY SINGLE FIC FOR MY OTP. 

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)

Well, currently, that seems to be Good Omens, since that’s pretty much been my dash 24/7 for a month now and it shows no sign of letting up? I don’t personally care much for the show or the book, but I’m enjoying how Wholesome/Adorkable the content for this fandom is, especially the fanart/ headcanons. 

#thefeastandthefast #meme stuff

[ciphers-fr]

Astralis: 1- Eltanin

The first part of my story for the Sornieth Zodiac Event! 

Even in the early morning, the Clan Tempestas Clamanti was a flurry of activity.

The just-risen sun had yet to scrape over the dizzying high walls of the Great Tempest mesa and the Clan’s territory was still cast in darkness; still, dragons flitted amongst the gardens or picked their ways through the desert-dried earth and air. Some were just arriving from traveling throughout the night night, ready for foretold comfort and rest. Others were trying to get a start on the day’s business before the high-noon heat set in: whether it be helping tend the Oasis, training for when they went before the Stormcatcher for exaltation, or just getting to the next point in their journeys. Chaotic to a level, but in a way, beautiful. Like the buzz of a beehive, knowing that sweet honey lay at the end.

From the little lip of rock above the mouth of the Lair, Eulalia watched it all. Only a small respite, really, before she would be facing another day of leafing through endless papers, reading whatever reports might come, and helping train whoever asks of her. All the duties and more of a clan heir.

The petite Mirror clutched the steaming mug in her claws all the closer. Time seemed to have been flying by lately. So much had been happening… And yet it also passed unbearably slow. Every crest bookended by the doldrums of her work. When was the last time that she had a real moment of rest to herself? Eulalia lifted the cup, the sweet scent of the strong herbal tea curling around her as she took a deep drink.

A clearing throat interrupted her reverie. A supercell— one of the passers-through of the Clan— from what she could spot over the rim of the mug. They were familiar, too, one of the handful of longer term visitors staying down deep in the Grotto. The dragon shuffled their feet on the ground below Eulalia before lifting their head to call out: “Uh, excuse me? Miss?”

“Yes, what might it be?” Eulalia answered, setting down her mug.

The dragon looked away for a second and ruffled their wings. They turned back, “Hate to bother you right now, but there’s something we think you should know about.”

A silent sigh. Eulalia cast a wanting glance at her tea, perfectly honey-sweet. It’d probably be lukewarm and have no less than two insects skittering across its surface by the time she was finished with this. But she wouldn’t dare disrespect the dragon with slurping her way through their words.

She hopped from the ledge, flaring her wings to land daintily on the sand and rock below her. Two quick steps and she was standing in front of the supercell. A dip of the head to the larger dragon and she asked: “Is there a problem? A request?”

“A problem. One of your familiars kinda… attacked us? For no reason.”

“Oh dear,” Eulalia blanched.“Is everyone okay?”

This… wasn’t good. The potentially aggressive familiars should have been kept safely away from other dragons. Unless a wild one managed to get in unnoticed— which seemed far fetched, those types normally kept their distance— then there had to have been a breakout. But when?

“Luckily, no,” the dragon said sheepishly. “One of the others saw and pulled me out of its way.”

Eulalia nodded in relief. “Thank the deities. If you can, do you know if this particular familiar has been seen roaming before?”

The dragon turned their head back to the gardens. “We’ve been seeing them rustling around in there for a few weeks, but they always kept to themselves until now.”

“Weeks?”

“I think,” the dragon’s face screwed up. “I can’t remember exactly. Days have really gone by fast, huh?”

She took a step back, picking through the dragon’s words. “Did… did you say there were multiple of them?”

“Yes, miss. Dunno how many, exactly. Maybe a half dozen?”

Scratch that. This could be very bad. An unknown number of potentially dangerous beasts had been lurking in the heart of the territory for weeks. This was no escaped familiar by any means of thought. And while the Clan had no issue with sharing space among the native flora and fauna, incursions would be good for no one. For the beasts’ and dragons’ safety alike, they would have to be relocated. 

First, they would need to figure out exactly what they were dealing with.

“I appreciate you coming to me with this information,” Eulalia spoke softly. “But if you would come with me, there is someone else that you should tell, too.”

Her tail flicked stiffly towards the Lair and the dragon nodded. Together they padded in and descended into the labyrinthian tunnel system, the cooling tea forgotten.

When it came to the myriad of beasts that roamed Sornieth, Eulalia was, sure, knowledgeable. But in reality, she only scraped the surface: what they consumed, which of the common ones made good familiars, which to avoid. The practical information. For the true strange and expansive lexicon of every creature that crawled, swam, or flew (Or some peculiar combination thereof), there was one dragon in the Clan to turn to. Her (At least, in spirit) sister. 

She just had to find her.

It shouldn’t be too hard, though. Eulalia practically had the schedules of each Clanmember memorized. Those who kept one, at least. And to her fortune, Ciphers kept a rather regular one. Eulalia gestured the supercell into a long room just off the main passage. 

The first familiar roost was still quiet this early in the morning; only the sounds of stirring fur and feather and sleepy, sighing beasts drifted through the air. It was also where the small Imperial padded down the rows, sending quick looks over the familiars as she went to fetch breakfast for the rowdy Nochnyr prancing at her side.

It was the early riser in the pair, not her, and Eulalia counted on that. 

“Ci?!” she called carefully, trying not to disturb anything. “Could you come here?”

Ciphers bobbed her head without ever looking back. She tossed something unidentifiable to her jaw-snapping monster and, with a yawn, walked back up to the pair. 

“Yeah?” Ciphers was bleary eyed and still the better half of asleep. 

Eulalia looked to the supercell and found them a half-step behind her, looking like they were chewing at the inside of their cheek. “There may be a nest of… something in the Oasis that needs to be moved. I cannot be sure of what myself, but this one here has seen it.”

The dragon coughed and launched into an explanation. They weaved a tale of strange little beasts that they and others saw prowling through the Clan’s gardens. One with a too-large mouth. Another with a tangle of horns sat atop its head. A third with wiggling growths spurting out along its spine. Each one was a little bit more uncanny than the last, but all had a certain hazy quality to them, like they weren’t quite solid. And they had kept to themselves until that morning. Eulalia listen patiently but confused, it all went over her head. Ciphers, however, sat a little straighter and looked more awake with each description.

When the supercell had quieted, the Imperial was tight mawed. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll try to figure something out as soon as possible... But if that’s everything,” Ciphers briefly looked at Eulalia. “You can go.”

Eagerly, the dragon turned and dashed from the room.

“Well?” Eulalia asked.

For a second, Ciphers paused, wracking her brain. She then leaned down to whisper to her sister in a low voice, “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think those are supposed to be here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, without seeing them for myself, I can’t know exactly,” Ciphers looked out the corner of her eyes. “But those sound like conjurings of some sort.”

Eulalia thumped her tail against the ground. Why would something— someone— send scouts to watch over them? And more importantly, why choose such gastly forms for it? “Do you think it could be spies?” 

“Maybe,” Ciphers answered with a twitch of her wings. “Or someone trying to scare away all the supercells from here. Or both.”

The Clan heir ran a claw down her snout. “We need to investigate this. Quickly.”

“So we’re being spied on,” Ambigram concluded tersely.

“It is a possibility, yes,” Eulalia corrected the white Imperial. Ambigram, the medical apprentice in the Clan, was known for trying to cut to the chase, but more often than not creating an extreme jump to a conclusion. “But we do not know for sure.”

“Exactly,” Ciphers added. “It could just be some familiars. I—“ her voice petered out— “never actually saw them.”

Eulalia and Ciphers had gathered everyone that could be found and/or spared to the Vault. It was the only room that was both large enough for multiple dragons to gather and safe from wandering eyes and ears— supercells were barred from entering. The risk of word getting out and rumors spreading and growing out of control was not a risk they were willing to take.

From there, they had laid out what occurred.

“If you aren’t sure, then why are we here?” Khione snapped, creating a chorus of chatter.

“Because,” Eulalia’s voice cut through the din, “something has happened that could be a danger to this Clan, and we must find out what.”

Just as quickly as it began, the discourse stopped. The Clan heir shot a sharp glare at the Ice ambassador as she continued, “As I said, a supercell was nearly attacked. Who knows what may happen if we let this continue.

“We need to see if there are any clues to point towards exactly what this is,” her voice softened. “If you have the time to spare, we need help searching the territory and beyond.”

Artemis, the Clan’s huntress, was first to raise a claw. The Nocturne bounced on her heels instead of speaking, but the question was clear enough.

“Of course, Artemis, you are free to search the outerlands. Khione, if you could go with her? To make sure nothing is missed.”

The icy Wildclaw half-frowned, but acquiesced. She was always soft when it came to her friend.

Eulalia relayed the rest of the plan: “Stratos, you and Ambigram should speak with the harpies. Ask if they had seen anything, and if they will keep a watch. Offer use of the Rocs if you must. Everyone else… look where and when you can. Adjourned.”

As the majority of the dragons rose, Eulalia leaned towards her mate. “Have you… heard anything?”

“No,” Pandora whispered back. The Bogsneak’s fins flattened against her head as she turned to the jar curled in her tail, like her unseeing stare could force the cryptic riddles to again be chanted in her ear. “In fact, the Speakers have spoke nothing new for many days now. Only the same tales I have already head.”

Eulalia pulled back with a sullen look. She watched as her Clanmates— her family and friends— dispersed, murmuring to each other over where they should look. They are good dragons, she tried to comfort herself with the thought. Whatever it was that was stirring, they could handle it. Worse things have happened, right?

But her self-placations lingered bitter in her mind. All her normal assurances were failing. Someone more knowledgeable than her being unsure; no odd whispers to suggest the future; nothing. When had she become so reliant on others? Eulalia was the heir; others should be relying on her to know exactly what will happen.

The fear of the unknown festered in her chest.

#flight rising #fr #fr lore #fr writing #ciphertext #Astralis Arc #in other news me brain is fried from writing ;-;

[rahirah]

One of these things is not like the others.  In fact, none of them are like the others.

I saw a post cross my dash recently comparing Reylo to Spuffy. And the thing is...

OK, first of all, I don't ship Reylo myself, I seriously doubt that it's intended to be a canon ship, and I think that the people who are expecting it to become canon are in for as big a disappointment as the Harry/Hermione shippers were, back in the day. But if you squint real hard, it sort of falls into a relationship pattern which has been played as romantic to one degree or another in a lot of past media, and humans are pattern-seeing animals – if something doesn't quite fit a pattern, we'll pound it with a hammer till we think it does. So it doesn't surprise me that people ship it, and I don't think that people shipping it heralds the downfall of Western civilization. (What it heralds is scads of tiresome discourse, which is worse.)

That said, I am sooooooooooooooo tired of people comparing assorted Bad Boy/Good Girl ships to Spuffy. I've seen people do it with ships as disparate as Logan/Veronica in Veronica Mars, Sawyer/Kate on Lost, and Captain John/Captain Jack on Torchwood. (Who the hell they thought was the Good Girl in that equation is a mystery to me.) There's probably half a dozen others I've forgotten. None of these comparisons have convinced me.

The biggest reason is that the supernatural elements of BtVS just don't translate into a magic free canon. Spike isn't just a bad boy with a heart of gold, who only needs to have it polished up a bit by the love of a good woman. He's not even "just" a mass murderer. He's an inhuman monster. By the metaphysical laws of the universe he exists in, he's evil. He's literally incapable of "being a good person." (He can choose to do good things, but he'll always be battling his essential nature to do so, and consequently, often fails.) He has to go to impossible lengths to change his entire metaphysical nature before Buffy will give him the time of day.

That's the second big difference: From the moment that he accepts that he's in love with Buffy, Spike is trying to be good. He often fails – sometimes catastrophically. He often gives up and backslides, because he doesn't have a soul, and it's really fuckin' hard even to do good, much less be good, without one. His motives may not always be the purest – without a soul, they can't be. But he does try. And keeps trying, again and again and again, until he finally manages to accomplish that fundamental change of state. And it's still debatable whether Buffy gives him the time of day. Spike certainly doesn't think her "I love you" in Chosen is anything more than a verbal pity fuck. He doesn't accept those words from her as genuine for another four seasons, in the comics.

And that's the third big difference, and possibly the biggest: Spike doesn't change because Buffy loves him. Spike changes because he loves Buffy. Yes, sure, he'd be ecstatic if she'd love him back. But what he wants first and foremost is for her to see him as someone worth loving; to treat him like a man, not a monster. In a world full of powerful, evil women, who would have been happy to help him get his chip out and go back to his murdersome ways, why the heck do you think he fell in love with Buffy, of all people, in the first place? For her to treat him like a man, he has to become one.

Trying to compare Reylo to S5/6 Spuffy, much less anything later? Yeah, no. At best, they're at S2 levels: Kylo is still as evil as fuck, and while he may feel some kind of fleeting attraction to Rey, and be willing to ally with her for momentary gain, he loves something else (in his case, power) far more than whatever it is he feels for her. (And that's another thing: Spike's character as love's bitch, the guy who'd do anything for the woman he loves, was established in his very first episode. Kylo? Not so much.) Rey may feel a desire to redeem Kylo, but I suspect it's far more due to her respect for Han and Leia, her compassion for their pain at seeing what kind of monster their son's become, and because she's a genuinely good person, than to any squishy feelings for Kylo himself.

Are the writers gonna try to redeem him somehow? Who knows? They redeemed Anakin merely for caring more for his son than for the Emperor, which is an exceedingly low bar, so it's entirely possible. Instaforgiveness is a thing in the Star Wars universe. Are they going to make instalove between him and Rey the instrument of that redemption? God, I hope not. Because it would be utterly unconvincing, given their interaction so far. The reason Spuffy works is that it took five years (ten or more if you count the comics) to take Spike from villain to hero, and only then to serious love interest. And even now, half the fandom still hates him and thinks Spuffy is an abomination. It might not have taken quite that long if the BtVS writers hadn't repeatedly shot themselves in the foot, but that's another thing: Spuffy was never intended by the writers to be a major ship – or at least, not the enormous juggernaut that fandom made it. Joss has never truly committed to it; even after all the painful years of buildup, he was perfectly willing to wipe it all out offstage for no good reason. (For those of you not following the comics, literally. He pulled an "Oh, they broke up between seasons, for, uh...reasons," on us.)

So if there's any lesson at all in Spuffy which the Star Wars writers can take, it's "If you're planning on redeeming a villain, don't fucking have him try to rape your heroine at the midway point, even metaphorically" and if there's anything the fans can take, it's "Don't count on your ship becoming canon to solve all your problems, because they'll always find some way to screw it up."

#btvs #meta #grumble

[etaeternum]

The War Room

Mother of Griffons 

Ch. 6 War Room. (find it on AO3!)

King Alistair meets the Inquisitor to discuss the use of his army. 

If you want to start from the beginning, you can find all the chapters on tumblr here. 

Her pink, luscious lips opened and closed, attempting to form words, but no sound came out. Her cheeks reddened as she stared at him. The ability for Caoilainn to form a complete sentence, let alone a thought, had been completely compromised by her state of shock. Her eyes were wide, like a deer caught in a snare.

The moment dragged on awkwardly and Alistair let it, at least until he was satisfied with his level of amusement. "Well, we'll just have to sort that all out later, won't we?" He dismounted his horse and handed it to an Inquisition scout. The scout bowed and walked the horse to the stables. "You should introduce me to this Inquisitor Alanna… Lavellan, is it? That's elven, yeah?"

Caoilainn nodded. "Uh huh," she stammered dumbly before attempting a smile that did not remotely hide the shame written across her face. "This way… darling." Damn it! Caoilainn cursed herself internally. She never called him darling; it was so rigid and proper.

Muscles stiff, she mechanically turned to walk toward Skyhold's great hall. But before she could take her first step, she heard a familiar male voice call from the gate. "Do you have any orders for me to give the Wardens, Commander?"

Caoilainn froze. Well, shit, she thought, before turning to face the source. Nathaniel stood at the gate with a mixed expression of concern and amusement. She deducted that his question was a last minute attempt at aiding her in her current predicament.

Caoilainn nodded blankly again, this time to Nathaniel, before walking over to the gate. Alistair's eyes followed but he did not interrupt. Patiently, expectantly, he waited with raised eyebrows.

Her voice professional and authoritative, Caoilainn gave orders to Nathaniel. "Yes, Lieutenant. Give the directions for training: I want the mages strengthened and I want extra attention on the new recruits." Then she lowered her voice and hissed, " …and leave me alone." Her hand formed a fist, then it rose to her chest to salute.

Nathaniel's lips twisted into a tight smile. "Yes ma'am," he forced out as he mirrored her motion. Then he coughed and hissed back lowly. "You two should decide who outranks who on your way in. Best to avoid awkward introductions."

Eyes large and face red with rage, Caoilainn took a deep breath to stay her anger. Nathaniel snorted, turned, and walked back to the Grey Warden camp to give her orders. Stunned by the insolence of her Warden, especially in these unique circumstances, she took another deep breath.

Chin up. Tits out. That's what Morrigan had taught her. Caoilainn shook her head to clear the jumble of incomplete thoughts that had collected and returned to Alistair to escort him to the War Room to meet Inquisitor Alanna.

Armor clinking with each step, King Alistair strode through Skyhold's great hall. It took effort to retain his grin as he watched the inhabitants scurry out of the way of their processional. Some people seemed to recognize him and bowed in awe as he passed, others just stared in confusion. Finding entertainment from these situations was all Alistair could do to make them bearable because in actuality, he was tired. Tired from traveling, tired from ruling- especially from doing so alone- but most of all, from all the attention. Celebrity was incredibly draining. The least he could do to save from loathing it was to find humor.

Caoilainn walked just ahead of him. She was distant, literally and figuratively, as she avoided his gaze. Alistair debated as they walked whether to throw her to the wolves or not. Ratting out her abuse of power to gain influence within Skyhold would certainly be a harsh slap of reality for Caoilainn, and it would do nothing to strengthen their relationship, nor would it represent the unity of the Ferelden crown in front of the other political figures.

The duo, followed by a collection of Ferelden guards and advisors, entered the War Room of Skyhold. Buzzing with activity, the Inquisitor was surrounded by her War Council, Inquisition members, and some ambassadors of allies aiding the movement. The room fell silent, and the small crowd parted, as Caoilainn and Alistair stepped toward the War Table.

The Inquisitor greeted them with a nod. "King Alistair?" Alanna asked with a hint of confusion. The petite elven woman looked strong and willful; magical energy vibrated off of her but she looked tired, he recognized, relating to the exhaustion within himself. Yet, Alanna appeared determined and as though she had an inner force to be reckoned with. "We were led to believe you would not be able to join us." Alanna's eyes darted to Caoilainn who stared back guiltily.

"Yes, well, that…" Alistair smiled charmingly and intervened the accusing eye contact. "I did not think I would have the opportunity to join this cause, but when my lovely Queen requested our troops, I just knew I had to uphold my duty to the Wardens and Ferelden." His subtle use of sarcasm with the words 'lovely queen' was barely noticeable. "I cancelled all of my meetings at once."

Alistair left out the fact that he was already on his way to Kirkwall for the summit meeting. That was until a concerned advisor, whom he had ordered give him notice immediately upon any word of his wife, sent a messenger to his convoy. Alistair turned the entire fleet around right away.

His eyes moved to Caoilainn as he spoke. He saw two things:

First, Caoilainn had moved from his side to stand along the ambassadors, finding a spot at the head of some other Grey Warden representatives.Predictable. He noticed that the lieutenant from the yard had stealthily found his way into the War Room and was standing behind her, looking smug and self-satisfied.

The second, in the back of the room, was someone he was not prepared to see. In fact, someone he had been told from the source he would never see again.

Morrigan.

She looked as annoyed as ever, an unamused eyebrow raised, clearly waiting for him to stop talking. Alistair's stomach twisted and he had to catch his breath before looking back to the Inquisitor. "So…," he added, regaining his center. "When shall we go kill the bad guys?"

Eyes narrowed while attempting to stifle a smile, Alanna wondered: Is this man joking in my War Room? Alanna had quickly deducted who he must be. The dashing, slightly cocky man, stood tall, emblazoned with royal regalia. He was quite kingly and had a horribly timed sense of humor. That in itself was amusing to Alanna. Insightful to a fault, and adept at reading the energy of others, Alanna could feel the tension between the King and Queen the moment they walked in the room. The flustered look on the Warden Commander's face, with a trace of anger and embarrassment contrasted Alistair's ruthless gaiety and wit. Alanna wondered what was going on between Caoilainn- who had written her, offering the largest donation of armed soldiers of any ally thus far- and the King, whom she had ensured would not be joining. It was ultimately irrelevant to the needs of the Inquisition, Alanna thought, shrugging off the couple's discourse. Though, she noted, the lack of communication could be problematic in the future. A humble smile found its way to her lips.

"Pleased to meet you, King Alistair. I am Alanna Lavellan." Her eyes shifted back to the War Table. "We were just looking at the map of Orlais to coordinate a mission in the Arbor Wilds." She glanced at Alistair to check his reaction.

Alistair had written to the Inquisition when they were little more than a ragtag band of survivors from Haven, offering condolences to their purpose and asking for a favor regarding communications with Orlais. The rigid neutrality of the Inquisition could easily conflict with the history between the two countries.

Now, the King's offer to help would require him to step foot in the mask-wearing rival's land. It would be a test of allegiance and commitment.

Lovely, Alistair thought to himself sarcastically… Orlais.

Apolitical and allied with no crown, the Inquisition had freedom to move through the borders of both Ferelden and Orlais without limitations. A large band of Ferelden soldiers, on the other hand, may receive some pushback. The Grey Wardens had more leeway as they had no political affiliation, though the different chapters of Wardens were mostly autonomous. They all served the First Warden in Weisshaupt; their only purpose to destroy darkspawn and other demony-type things. Alistair missed his days as a Warden and it hurt when he recalled how this whole mess started. If he could have guessed when he met Caoilainn, he would have predicted himself as the future Warden Commander, not her. A tinge of jealousy burned within him.

"Alright then," he said in reluctant agreement. "Though I doubt the Orlesians will be thrilled by a fleet of Fereldens marching right through their empire, if we are under the Inquisition banner, I suppose we will manage." His statement was made with a shrug and air of defeat but he bounced back quickly with a smile. "I can assure that myself and my men will be on our best behavior while in service to yourself and the Inquisition," Alistair winked.

Caoilainn stared hard at him while he communicated with Alanna, praying to the Maker and Her Beloved Andraste that he did not say something stupid in the process. Having held her breath through his response, she exhaled when he finished talking, relieved by Alistair's tamed playfulness and nearly adequate tact. Such a flirt, she thought with annoyance.

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