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nerdpoe · 7 months

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Coffee, Honey, and sometimes Hazelnuts.

I wrote the beginnings of Omega verse while drunk and finished it fucking don't look at me.

Ao3

Tim may have let something slip when he was losing blood and about to go into surgery. Ra's may have taken him completely seriously and done what was requested. Tim...finds that he perhaps did not have a normal relationship with his body, and that he may have actually been Trans the entire time and just. Didn't think about it. Or, Tim demands a Secondary Gender Transition from Ra's. Ra's takes him seriously and does it while Tim's under for spleen removal (Nothing violating, just HRT and induced coma for the physical Transition). Tim wakes up an Omega instead of an Alpha and...actually is pretty okay with it.

Tim was…floaty. Woozy, even. The kind of feeling that usually meant a fantastic sleep was just around the corner.

But some inconsiderate fuck was jostling his arm.

Tim groaned and swatted at them.

“…Ah. You’re awake.”

“Oh, he’s awake? Come, Detective, open your eyes.”

Gross.

That sounded like Ra’s Al Ghul.

Time forced his eyes open just so he could glare at the man.

The asshole just looked amused.

“Fascinating. You’ve lost almost enough blood to kill you and yet, here you are. Awake.” Ra’s even sounded mildly impressed.

Tim did not want to impress Ra’s.

“Gooo f’ck yersef.”

Yes. There. That got the point across beautifully.

Ra’s, the jackass, just looked even more amused.

“I see. Well, we have to put you under to save your life, dear Detective, unless you would rather have a dip in the Pits. I would consider such an offer a…gift, if you would.”

Tim snorted, flapping his hand at Ra’s and inadvertently slapping a ninja nurse in the face.

Whoops.

“On’y gift I neeeeed is. Is. Heats.”

Ra’s raised an eyebrow.

“I denand the. The. I wanna bee uh ‘Mega.”

Ra’s raised his other eyebrow.

“…I see. Very well, Detective. I hope you enjoy this…little gesture of goodwill.”

“Fuhuuck yew very moch.”

“Indeed.”

~~~~~~

Tim woke up.

That was something he hadn’t really been expecting, but he was thrilled to do it nonetheless.

Less thrilling was where he was.

A bedroom draped in silks and finery, with the security risk of wide windows, an open door that led to an uncomfortably extravagant bathroom, and a weird smell. It was a good scent, to be sure, but when Tim sat up there was no one present but himself.

So…huh.

Tim sniffed the air.

The scent was definitely a person’s. Coffee and Honey, and a lingering afterscent of roasted hazelnuts.

It was pleasant.

It was also an Omega scent.

Which made Tim even more confused; Ra’s was an Alpha, and this definitely wasn’t Talia’s scent. Nor was it Pru’s. So who’s room was he in? And why did he feel so rested? He almost never felt like that.

Tim swung his legs over the edge of the bed, noting the lack of chains, and stood up to stretch.

He…felt good? He felt comfortable in his skin? He never felt comfortable in his skin. He braced himself for his own scent as he stretched, but instead was met with more of that strange Omega’s scent.

Wait.

Tim reached up and rubbed one of his own scent glands, giving himself a sniff.

Coffee. Honey. Lingering Roasted Hazelnuts.

Omega.

Which was a huge change, because the last time Tim had checked he was absolutely an Alpha with a, for some reason, repugnant scent. (Everyone swore to him it was all in his head, but he knew he reeked.)

Then he remembered the last thing he said to Ra’s.

Tim tensed, waiting to feel…something. Revulsion. Betrayal.

But there was nothing.

He just…felt like Tim; for the first time since he was an unpresented Pup.

Tim sat back down and wrinkled his nose, lifting the League shirt he was wearing to check on the stab wound he knew he’d had coming in.

It was healing nicely, and given the length of time for a transition, he’d been under for about a month.

He didn’t feel any abnormal aches or pains, so not only was it done correctly and in a controlled environment, but he hadn’t been raped. He knew the signs to look for and none were present.

He was absolutely going to go to a Crisis Center as soon as he could just to be sure, and Turkey was home to some of the best of the best, so he was confident that if he had been violated he would find everything he’d need resource wise no problem. But he felt like he had a bead on how Ra’s worked; that if Ra’s wanted to use him like that, he’d want Tim awake to…struggle. As disgusting as that was.

But he hadn’t.

Ra’s really had just…given Tim a free Transition to a different Secondary Gender.

Tim tried, he really did, to dredge up any resentment for the Transition.

He was angry that he was clearly being held by Ra’s. He was pissed that Ra’s would even consider that Tim would be so stupid as to think those windows weren’t lined with assassins just out of sight. He was annoyed at the lack of obvious trackers, as that meant there was probably a subdermal one. He was scared for Pru. He was worried about Tam.

But regarding changing Secondary Gender?

He only felt…relief.

“Wait, was I trans the entire time?”

Hated his own scent? Check; Bruce and Dick were always getting onto him about abusing scent blockers. Always felt like crawling out of his skin? Check; it usually manifested in burying himself in work. Avoided mirrors? Check; he just couldn’t, even though he knew that Secondary Genders didn’t really effect outward appearance like Primary Genders. Aversion to Rut sex? Check; Rut hadn’t given him any sex drive at all, it’d just increased his anxiety to the point where he was prescribed suppressants and anti-anxiety medication.

Tim rerouted his thinking, considering the same situations with his current Secondary Characteristics.

Scent? He actually rather enjoyed it; he definitely wouldn’t be wearing scent blockers unless he had to. Actually settled in his own skin? Yup, and he even felt…languid? Was that the word? It felt like the word.

He stood up and walked into the adjoined bathroom, took a deep breath, and looked into the mirror.

That…that certainly was a Tim. From toe to tip, that was a Tim.

And he didn’t feel any particular way about the reflection, aside from the thought that he should brush his hair and teeth. There was no uncomfortable part of his brain that had him squirming, he didn’t feel the instinctive need to find any excuse not to look in the mirror.

It was just Tim.

He felt his shoulders relax.

He couldn’t know how different his Heats would be from how is Ruts had been, but given that during a Transition a Heat or Rut was inevitable while the Transitionee was under, and the fact that he actually felt well rested?

He was going to assume that his Heats were far better and easier on his body than his Ruts had been, but he couldn’t know for sure until he’d experienced a Heat.

…He wasn’t dreading it, though. Not the way the thought of future Ruts would fill him with a slow, stacking anxiety.

So.

Tim was trans.

Tim…Tim was a detective, though? How had he not noticed that sooner? Looking back on it it was super obvious but like. He hadn’t noticed?

Did everyone feel this settled in their own skin?!

Was this how people normally felt?! No wonder everyone gave him strange looks! He’d thought all of that was normal!

The door opened, distracting Tim from his thoughts. Which was good, because he’d been about to go off on a mental tangent about being an idiot.

The assassin that had come in only spared him a glance as the guy set down a tray of food.

“So…is Pru okay?” Tim ventured, slowly stepping out of the bathroom.

The assassin snorted.

“She is well enough to undergo further training, to ensure mistakes like that do not happen again. Orientation will begin after you’ve eaten, then the Demon Head would speak with you.”

Tim blinked.

“Wait, you’d actually let me have Orientation?”

The assassin sniffed, clearly offended even as he straightened up and turned towards the door.

“We are not savages. Honestly, Americans.” The man muttered as he left.

~~~~~~

“-And so, in conclusion, while a Heat does make you more inclined to intercourse and does heighten the experience, it does not strip you of your autonomy. Should you feel that such is happening, it is advised to seek medical attention immediately; that is abnormal, and you have either been drugged or need medical intervention due to an extreme hormonal imbalance.”

Tim nodded along politely. He’d already known, but Orientation was important when Transitioning.

“For now, we shall practice performing a Rebuke. Do as you would with a Command, and your new physiology should handle the rest. Like so; Copy me.”

Tim twitched against the command, and fought against his innate need to fight it.

“..Copy me?”

“Very good.” The Omega Consultant in front of him nodded and wrote something in his tablet. Tim tried his best not to fidget. “Next is what to expect during a pregnancy, should you choose to pursue that.”

‘I wanted this, I wanted this, I wanted this-‘ Tim chanted to himself as he got Sex Ed version 2.0.

~~~~~~

Dick was definitely not barely staving off a mental breakdown on his couch.

He totally hadn’t waited until Damian was asleep to bury himself in blankets and stare blankly at a dead TV.

Dick was fine. Dick was okay. Dick had to be okay, because if he wasn’t then he couldn’t be there for Damian and he couldn’t be ready for when Tim got back.

He’d told his little brother he trusted him, and he meant it, but that trust didn’t stop Dick from missing his pack’s shortest Alpha.

On the coffee table, his phone lit up and started vibrating.

A bright, cheery tone reserved for Tim, derived from the song he hated the most, rang out into the living room.

Dick almost faceplanted into the coffee table for how quickly he lunged for the tiny glowing screen, but he managed to save himself and fumble the phone to his ear.

“Tim! Hey! How’s it going? Are you okay? Do you need reinforcement?”

But instead of Tim’s voice, a deep, hoarse chuckle made it through the speaker.

Dick knew that voice.

Ra’s.

“Where’s Tim?” Dick breathed, tense and still.

“The young Detective isn’t really meant to be an Alpha, I feel,” the old assassin said instead of answering Dick, “I merely wanted to inform you of a delay in his return, should he choose to return at all. He needs time to…adjust. To his new body.”

Dick couldn’t feel his toes, and only barely managed to keep a grasp on the phone.

He opened his mouth to threaten Ra’s, probably demand to know where Tim was again, but all that came out was one of the loudest, most feral Growls he’d ever let loose.

“How is it? Being the only Alpha of your Pack now, with your Leader gone? You are watching after my grandson, after all; I simply need to ensure he will be raised in a stable environment.” Ra’s voice was full of false pity, and Dick could no longer see anything in front of him clearly.

“Do not fucking touch him!” Dick finally Commanded, guttural and loud and definitely waking Damian up.

“Oh, it’s a bit too late for that, I fear; who else would I trust to handle his Transition? Do tell my grandson I wish him well.” With that, the line went dead.

Dick was left standing in the living room, on the verge of hyperventilating, tense and shaking and furious.

“…Richard?” Damian’s voice asked, and Dick heard the Beta Pup quietly approaching him from his left.

Dick dropped the phone and dragged Damian to him, burying his nose in the Pup’s hair. He was distantly aware of the Beta letting out a hesitant, quiet purr in an effort to calm him, but he couldn’t vocalize his gratitude for the action.

They stayed like that, Dick caging Damian in with his arms and Damian letting him, for about fifteen minutes.

Then Dick shakily raised his head and reached for his phone.

He couldn’t leave Gotham; Tim would never forgive him if Batman left Gotham undefended in such a tumultuous time.

But he knew an Omega who could, would, and would take great pleasure in putting Ra’s down.

~~~~~~

Jason rolled over and answered the phone.

He hadn’t been sleeping anyways, so fuck it.

He held the phone to his ear.

He listened.

Green flooded the room, the source being his eyes, as he sat up.

“Ra’s did fucking what?”

~~~~~~

Tim walked into the meeting room just as Ra’s ended a call with someone.

Using Tim’s phone.

Goddammit, he’d done something to make Tim’s life harder.

The Alpha handed Tim’s phone to a random assassin with a bored-“Destroy this.”

Tim kept his face clear of any emotion. He had the stupid thing cloned anyways, he’d just go find the backup once he was done with whatever Ra’s wanted.

Turned out, Ra’s had gone ahead and grabbed Tam.

Tim could only get Tam back if he took out the Council of Spiders.

Tim did his posturing, as did Ra’s, and the dance was a relatively new one but felt like they’d done it time and time again.

As Tim was being escorted out, though, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Why help me with…with the other thing? If you think you can cash it in later, let me tell you-“

“Why would I deny you an operation I myself had to have to be better?” Ra’s interrupted, genuine curiosity on his face. “I expect you to handle the Council of Spiders, young Detective; you would not be fighting at your best if you did not fit into your own skin.”

Tim was verbally punched into silence.

Huh.

The assassins led him into a different section, into a room that had his Red Robin suit repaired and ready for him.

…Huh.

Tim still intended to cripple Ra’s organization, and it felt gross to have something in common with the Alpha, but the new Omega decided that he could handle the trade of having something in common if it meant finally feeling like himself.

He seriously was going to fuck Ra’s over, though.

He just had to call basically everyone on his phone’s contact list first to do damage control for…whatever the creep had done.

Fucking Ra’s.

@aeoliantectrix @lollilollipop99 @tanu-kai @lykoscor @theobliviousshipper @simplestoryteller

#tim drake #red robin #batman #fanfic #omegaverse #omega verse #jason todd #damian wayne #tam fox #prudence wood #dick grayson #ra's al ghul #implied/referenced rape #it didn't happen but tim thinks about it and dick and jason think it did #yes I'll make a separate post regarding the worldbuilding #omegaverse au #coffee honey and sometimes hazelnuts au

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hxhhasmysoul · 2 months

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sukuna is a character that I'm most curious to know his story because he is very cold and calculating, he doesn't get attached to anyone and he is very proud, he said something interesting that someone he knew looked like Yuji, did he have a brother who It has the resemblance of Yuji or a friend. Why does he hate love so much, did he like someone in the past or was he not loved? I'm looking forward to his story. What do you think, thanks for this interactions with us on tumblr.

Sorry for answering so late.

I'm desperate for a Heian flashback, too.

I talked a little about what I think about Sukuna's attitude towards relationships, love and what I think about the possibility of him and Yuuji being twin.

I don't find Sukuna to be fully cold and calculating, or incapable of attachment. The last one I explained in the link above.

My opinion is that Sukuna doesn't like emotional introspection because he compartmentalised his mind.

He quite casually mentions being and unwanted child but it's hard to believe he had always been this cool with that. The word he uses, 忌み子 (imiko), contains the character 忌 that holds meanings like: abhorrent, abominable, detestable, disgusting, horrid, repugnant, ominous, inauspicious, unlucky and shunned. These children were rejected by society due to the societal norms at the time. So not only was he rejected by his immediate family, but he wasn't welcome anywhere. For a child to experience that and survive, it must have formed a lot of his views on life.

Like for example he's very calculating when it comes to his long term plans and his fights but he's not always cold. During fights it's pretty clear that he usually enjoys himself. He's quite a dick about it too, very self-indulgent. To Uraume, though, he's always very kind.

And when it comes to Yuuji, he needs to always bully Yuuji. He can't help himself. For a long time it feels like an emotional reaction to something he doesn't want to deal with.

Yuuji is the one making him actually introspect. It starts with the fight right after Sukuna takes over Megumi, he starts to ask Yuuji genuine questions. And now in the current fight, Yuuji has become his full on focus, someone that makes Sukuna rethink his life philosophy.

But the current fight kind of puts a wrench in the theory that Sukuna knew Yuuji in the past. If he did, he really doesn't seem to remember. So that sentence about Harima might not refer to the past at all, just be a reference to Midori Harima and her art, because Sukuna and Uraume are little art enthusiasts. though maybe Gege will tie it to the past, we'll see.

But the fact that he doesn't present a consistent image is what I find interesting about him.

#answering asks #thank you for the ask #jjk #jjk spoilers #jjk manga #jujutsu kaisen #sukuna

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onesidedradiostatic · 2 months

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So you know how I said something about writing a fic inspired by your existence. I've started a little, but I don't know, I fear that the way I write might be confusing in some parts. So I'd very much like to hear your thoughts, if you want to share them

___

“Indeed, I quite enjoy our commonalities. I’ve always found more fun in spending time with my radio and friends than looking for someone I haven’t met.”

What if you’ve met them now? Vox thought, discreetly, not at all looking into Alastor’s lovely red eyes. Shoot! Vox downed another drink, hopping Al didn’t think him weird. Still, can’t leave a friend hanging, say something.

“I love you.” WHAT!!? NO! NOT THAT! “I- I- I mean, there is someone I love.?” Yeah, sure, he’s totally gonna buy that.

“I- Good for you?” Alastor started unfiltered, surprised, before going back to his normal, lovely radio voice. “And who might that be, my good fellow?” Wait, he bought it? No, don’t be an idiot! He’s totally psyching us out! Well, I’ll play your game and I’ll win!

“You know, just a cool dude with the pretties’ eyes and loveliest smile.”

“A dude?” Alastor questioned. Wait. Why does he sound so confused over that? Did- he had actually bought it?! Wait. We just told him we like guys, right? Is that, bad? What if he hates us now? What if he thinks we’re weird? Awful? Repugnant? There’s no way he doesn’t know we love him now! Practically said it to his face twice! Twice! No! I can’t handle that! Please! I- we have to save this.

“Hey Al, just forget I said anything.” Please. You’re the best thing in my life. So, whatever happens, please, stay. I need you. ___

I feel I need to rework some of the above parts, but unsure off how. Regardless, I hope my characterisation so far is good, I'd imagine that the love Vox has is more an obsession that genuine care and Al is just living his best life having fun and not really picking up anything Vox is putting down. I especially like this little exchange:

___

“Vox.”

“Yeah?” He could see that once genuine smile turn sinister. Oh. Hot.

“This is hell, everyone here is a repugnant wrench, so if anyone ever tells you you’re wrong. Just relay that me, I’m sure we can make some use of their meeker existence. Everyone has a voice, after all, and if they want to use it so much, who are we to say no to helping them? Right dear friend?”

“Yeah.” Vox couldn’t help but join in on the sinister smile. This is exactly what makes Alastor, just so Alastor. He genuinely cares and will make any opponent of his friends another key in his piano of the dammed. A horror feared by all, but a few, and Vox is one of those few. ___

I just- their dynamic is so fun Alastor being all "Yay! Murder!" while Vox just thinks "OMG! He's doing all this for me?! There is no way he doesn't love me!" I think one exchange that exemplifies that is:

___

“Oh! I wouldn’t say I’m the best at giving advice when it concerns matters of the heart. Me being heartless and all that. Hah!”

Alastor’s little chuckle is one which Vox can’t help but adore. He’s probably heartless because he’s already put his heart in a box and is just waiting for the moment he can give it to me. I’m reserved, special, he’s waiting for me. He can only be mine and I only his.

“I’m pretty heartless too.” Vox respond, joining in Alastor’s play. He doesn’t mind being a puppet on a string, as long as he can play the most important part.

“Oh, I’m quite aware dear friend."

___

He's just can't think, there is only Alastor in his head. Plus Alastor not understanding that there is a misunderstanding is just making Vox believe in the delusion more. Bet his screensaver was Alastor themed before they had their falling out Also, sorry for this being quite long Hope you have a lovely day at least!

(reference to this ask)

hi sorry for responding to this late, hard to say much without a full story but I appreciate the thought of it being inspired by me 🫡🫡, but yes I do love vox being down bad for alastor, exploring some of the period-typical homophobia definitely is interesting, alastor could easily have not had that normalised for him and vox... depends on how much he ventured through his bisexuality in life or whether he only accepted it in death. his screensaver being alastor themed skjdfkglhl. very true

#ask #osrs.txt #radiostatic #staticradio #I feel bad for delaying certain asks because I have to use my brain in them #sorry anon

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inbarfink · 7 months

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So, do you think all the universes we see come fr a wish, or some just happen to exist? Farmworld and Lichworld are wishes we've already seen, but it's hard to imagine who's wish could have caused Vampworld.

Maybe Winter King's nice about "manifesting your own reality" implies that world was born out of an Ice King's wish, who maybe just wanted to stop being so sad all the time.

Well, we know some universes aren't born from Wishes because Prismo explicitly said that about Flapjackworld!

But I also think, with the thematic focus being given to Wishes in this series, it's very likely that all of the universes we've seen were probably born from Wishes... or at least it's fun to speculate about lol

However, I personally find it unlikely that Winterworld was born from a Wish made by the Ice King/Simon, and it's actually for the same reason I don't think it's 'unlikely' that someone wished for Vampireworld - a Wish granted by Prismo always backfires on the wisher.

The only way Jake got around it is by changing the Lich's Wish, so "I wish for Finn and Jake to go back home to Ooo" would turn out badly for the Lich, which would mean it would go right for... basically everyone else.

We've seen it with Farmworld, which went very very badly for Finn, AND ALSO hit him with the pedantic ironic twist of the difference between asking that the Lich never existed and asking that he won't exist in the future

And like, the only reason Farmworld Lich was stopped was because he and Ice Finn/the Snowman were threatening every reality and that forced Prismo to initiate that Crossover. And the only reason why Finn was freed from the Magic Crown's curse was because Mainworld Finn begged for it. If the Farmworld Lich hadn't started poking around the Multiverse, Farmworld Finn's fate would've been to be the Lich's Mad and Sad right-hand goon... forever.

And even now, that world is a pretty lousy place in general, and not exactly super-great for Finn in specific

Extinctworld went badly for the Lich by just... giving him what he wants but showing him the futility and lack of satisfaction in his ultimate goal. Leaving him basically extremely depressed.

According to Word of God, Babyworld was a Wish made by BMO and it backfired by making them into an inanimate (...or at least seemingly inanimate) Baby Monitor.

So when I'm thinking who is likely to have Wished up a World, I'm thinking what sort of Wish could've lead to that timeline... but also who got fucked over the most by the changes. As such I have a hard time believing Ice King/Simon created Winterworld, since, like, the Winter King is basically the only actually happy person in that whole world?

I mean, I guess turning into a huge asshole that your former self would find morally repugnant would be a kind of Ironic Twists. Or the fact the Candy Queen might've killed him eventually, but I dunno... compared to the other Worlds we've seen, it doesn't feel Ironic enough to me.

Ever since that episode aired, my personal bet has always been that this world was Wished up by Marceline. She has all the Motivation to Wish, like, "I wish Simon could remember who he is". And look how terribly all of this went from her perspective! Simon is 'himself' again but is utterly unrecognizable as the loving surrogate father she remembers. The love of her life is now tormented by that same Curse she tried to free Simon from. And, well, while it's unclear what exactly happened when she and Simon had their falling out...

But doesn't look good for her.

For Vampireworld... I know some people would say that's the Marceline Wish Timeline since there's so much focus on her - but I kinda doubt it for the same reason I doubt the Ice King Winterworld thing. The Star is one of the only two people having an Actual Good Time in that universe and, even if things would've gotten bad eventually, with the dwindling food supply and all, that still feels like kind of a serious slow burn of an Ironic Twist compared to others we've seen.

I think it's most likely that Vampireworld is a Wish from one of the Vampire King's Court we saw back in 'Stakes'.

Between the Star being said to have 'outlived' the rest of the Court, her having seemingly the same powerset as Mainworld Marceline (which she gained by sucking the souls of these Vampires as she slayed them) and her clearly having no qualms about killing her fellow Vampires

I think the implication here is that the Star still killed the Fool, the Empress, the Hierophant, the Moon - but exclusively to become more powerful and gain more approval from her 'dad' in the process.

So I think the Ironic Twist narrative is, like, the Hierophant or someone Wishes for a world where Vampires rule... and that's exactly what they got, but their most hated enemy is still around. And now they get to watch her upstage them, take their rightful spot by the Vampire King's side and then kill and consume them alongside their closest brethren. Then their civilization collapses in on itself due to the lack of food, I think that's plenty Ironic to me.

I've also heard a suggestion that it could've been Peebles' Wish. Like, she tried to Wish Simon never put the Crown on just for Marceline's sake (and to try rid herself of her annoying stalker but still mostly for Marceline's sake)... and she ended up in a grim and dying world without her beloved kingdom, and also without the love that made her give her one Wish for Marcy's happiness instead.

I still think I prefer the Vampire Wish theory, but that one also has pretty solid foundation.

#adventure time #atimers #fionna and cake #fionna & cake #at #at fionna and cake #fac #f&c #adventure time fionna and cake

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dangermousie · 20 days

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"I will help you protect your family" thinks the ML.

SIR, YOU ARE THERE IN DISGUISE TO INVESTIGATE THEM FOR TREASON ON BEHALF OF PARANOID EMPEROR.

And nothing clicks in that empty skull of his.

But then, this is the man who thought it was an awesome idea to send his either traumatized or disabled (not clear) sister to live with a bunch of strangers who he is investigating for treason and whose family has already been exiled/impoverished BY THE FREAKING EMPEROR HIMSELF! There are so many bad scenarios there - from the emperor suspecting him and his sister of collusion, to his sister being implicated, to all sorts of violence and just NO BRAIN ALL EMPTY is the ML.

This said, perhaps I am unjust to him. I am pretty sure I'd not be able to handle a super powerful job like chief of secret police in such a fashion that it apparently leaves him all this other time to wander around with FL, be a martial arts teacher and what not. Any man who can do chief of secret police job in about .7 sec a day like he does without being fired certainly is skilled.

PS What is the point of him walking in that mask all over and nobody in the court except the emperor knowing he's the chief when literally every single one of his employees sees him without a mask. Are you telling me none of these dozens of people could be bribed? Forget "two can keep a secret if one of them is dead" - this is a literal crowd!

PPS Does the heroine have face blindness, lack of spacial awareness and is utterly deaf? He doesn't change his voice between personas and how many 6'2 dudes are wandering around town? But then his own family seems to have no curiosity about where he goes all day so perhaps he's just utterly forgettable.

PPPS This drama is written by Till the End of the Moon screenwriters. That drama had its flaws in terms of narrative and character understanding (and that ending was a MESS) but it was largely coherent. But this is more holey than a colander. How?! (This said, Moon always worked best when it stuck close to the novel; but this has a novel too so...)

PPPPS If you are dying to watch female empowerment through trade with a dreamy secret police torturer ML set up, you are much better off going to A Dream of Splendor. I found ADOS morally repugnant for reasons I've talked about at length when it aired, but it was well-acted and narratively coherent. I didn't have to like those characters and found a lot of its POV gross but it actually made sense - these felt like people in a consistent world, not whatever this mess is.

#cdrama #blossoms in adversity

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cannoli-reader · 3 months

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Hello Cannolli, your metas on the Wheel of Time books are always very well thought out and constructed, and you've clearly given a lot of thought to the series as a whole. I was wondering if you have any ideas on what RJ's plan for Egwene's AMoL arc and story would be? For all the other characters I can see the writing on the well, the clues and foreshadowing, and together with what can be inferred from BS's books about RJ's notes get what I think is a good aproximation for what would be their final arcs and ending. Except for Egwene! I've always had a hard time understamding her character and Sanderson favoured her so much that I have a hard time discerning what came from him or from the notes! I've found your analysis of her character very interesting and enlightening and so wanted to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks in advance! (No hard feelings if you're not up for answering this tho!)

With the caveat that I have a limited and spotty awareness of Jordan's notes, and so my answer is based largely on my projection of her arc and established characterization in the series, I would say her end was probably where Jordan intended, but Sanderson's path to get there, somewhat different.

"(No hard feelings if you're not up for answering this tho!)" - I found this amusing, because I am always down to go off at length about WoT, among other topics. "Up for answering this"? How could I not be? How hard could this be? The results of seven hours and two drafts later are under the cut.

First of all, when speaking of Jordan's intentions, I generally refer to all three of the final books together as aMoL since that was his plan, to finish the whole series with one book. So I would have to take Egwene's story from where it left off in KoD.

I think her rise in the Tower would have been a lot quicker. Maybe a montage chapter like in KoD, where she meets the other Ajah heads, with less dramatic results, but making a slightly better impression than she did with the two in KoD. Her serving Elaida, as set up in Tarna's chapter, might bring things to a head, but not with schoolyard putdowns. I don't believe she suddenly has the revelation, conveniently just in time to avoid behavior that would spur Elaida to put an end to her pretentions for good, that she should be trying to unite the Tower instead of driving the factions further apart. Rather, that realization should be more organic and maybe a result of seeing the fruits of her sowing coming to pass.

I don't believe the Seanchan attack would have gone as it did in tGS, where Sanderson seems completely oblivious to the fact that all Egwene did was kill a lot of people without changing much of the outcome. Even her shooting down the to'raken with captives was pretty appalling, since she and Alivia are living proof that being collared is not the end of your life, and the view of channelers as combat assets it is important to deny the enemy is morally repugnant. If anyone is going to be thinking in that manner on the eve of Tarmon Gaidon, there had better be some harsh & immediate blowback. I also don't think Sanderson realizes he had Egwene torture helpless women to death, or that there was any irony or sense of hyperbole in her self-congratulatory stream of consciousness. IF those things happened under Jordan, it should be the spur to Egwene coming to realize that fighting the Seanchan can't be the plan going forward, since it brings out the worst in her and others, and maybe the truce is the best thing for now. During the attack, Saerin actually showed the best leadership, and the kind more in keeping with Jordan's style in the prior books.

I don't know about her rescue, because so much of that is utterly wrong, especially everything with Bryne, from his going along at all, to suddenly brandishing a heron-mark sword, to his reaction to the Warder bond, to Egwene's pompous displeasure with Siuan in the aftermath. Again, I think Egwene was supposed to become disillusioned with Siuan in general during/following her captivity in the Tower, as she works for reconciliation, because Siuan is the worst advisor in the setting since Mordeth. She is the author of the conflict between the Aes Sedai, for her own personal vengeance. There are plenty of signs in the text suggesting that Elaida is not so different from Siuan or Egwene, and the latter in particular takes a lot of actions that mirror or duplicate Elaida's supposed worst crimes against the Tower. As part of her getting her focus on the right conflict, which should have been in parallel with Rand getting his personal issues straight, she should have rejected the whole course of action she pursued from LoC through KoD. She subtly does that in tGS, to a degree, but in a very contemptible way, wriggling out of responsibility for her part and blaming everyone else. Her condemnatory speech to the rebels after she is raised by the loyalist Hall is particularly risible, considering that collectively, the objects of her tirade balked and dragged their heels at doing most of the things she berates them for, and Egwene herself schemed, lied, tricked, maneuvered and ultimately commanded, them in taking those actions. It's the same thing with her histrionics with the Hall when she is raised, the spirit of her ideas in direct contradiction with what she tells the rebels, and her "defense" of Silviana being pure sophistry. The best thing you can say about all that blather is that it paints a picture of a sociopathicaly dishonest and manipulative woman, and might have been intended to show how far lost she has become in the pursuit of her political ascension. If Jordan had anything to do with the scripting of her plotline in tGS, that had to be his intention, to be her equivalent of Rand's behavior after Semirhage gets her hands on him (and his attack on Graendal's HQ & threats against the Borderland rulers are far more justifiable than Egwene's conduct in the Seanchan raid).

For the political side, once she was the consensus Amyrlin, she should have been in the position of a compromise candidate, not the universal hero with the moral high ground (because she has done nothing to earn it, even in the errant perspectives of in-story characters: she has waged war against the Tower, ruined the harbors and her efforts against the Seanchan are not impressive to sophisticated and experienced politicians, who scorn combat as the province of dumb thugs). This should have led to constant frustration in her efforts to make reforms and pursue policies, because after Elaida and after Siuan was deposed for her own high-handed and unilateral actions, the Hall is not going to take the new Amyrlin flexing lying down, especially when she was only chosen because they couldn't stand any of the other choices, or their rivals would never have allowed preferable candidates through. They are not going to agree to major changes to Tower procedures or policies, and they are not going to vote away their own power or toss out checks on the Amyrlin's authority on her say-so.

Jordan's writing is very big on partial victories, and compromises and hard work being necessary to achieve goals, he does not go for dramatic speeches that sway people to give the protagonist everything they want. I believe Jordan's intention in writing the original bargain Nynaeve & Elayne made with the Sea Folk to be a lesson in the costs of high-level political dealings and a warning that the hot streak the girls had been riding for a while was coming to an end, and they were not going to get their way by showing up and asking for it, or with a feat of creative channeling, and that not all goals could be met by driving off the Black sisters or defeating a Forsaken. I also utterly reject the idea that he would simply have the Sea Folk walk back the whole bargain in order to give Egwene a cheap win at no real cost.

To me, Egwene's straw-man debates with Gawyn and Nynaeve about her authority and the effect their recalcitrance can have, make no sense in ToM, because it's simply not an issue, because Warder bonds are firmly established as strictly private, and even one of the strictest sisters can have a Warder back-talk her in the Hall of the Tower without losing face in the Sitters' eyes. Siuan needed 10 years of Moiraine running amok before she started to have political problems, and it was arguably a sign of her own being captured by the system that she put it on Moiraine. There is certainly no real sign that the narrative endorses Siuan's view of the relationship & political issues, since Moiraine feels not the slightest remorse and promptly bails on the meeting to avoid telling Siuan things she is keeping from her. In the story we got, Egwene is getting everything she could wish, there are no problems with her campaign against Mesaana, and the Sitters vote for her proposals for the most painfully stupid reasons I can imagine an educated adult putting to paper. What possible reason could she have for demanding Nynaeve, Elayne and Gawyn jump through hoops to maintain her reputation? That sort of demand makes much more sense in a story where she is experiencing constant political frustration and administrative headaches (Sanderson promptly tossed all the issues with a massive and on-going influx of novices of all ages down the memory hole).

Egwene calling on Nynaeve and Elayne to attend her in the Tower would also create conflict with Elayne. Jordan has seeded too many conflicts between Andor and the White Tower, and between Elayne's two sets of duty, in the series for that not to come to a head in the finale. Egwene's is not the only plotline or character arc where lots of potential conflicts were handwaved away. Elayne is trying to rule one country and claim another, behind two very dubious and fraught coalitions, that are largely loyal to other parties. As awesome & loyal as Dyelin seems to be, she is wrong in every disagreement with Elayne from WH to KoD. Even her support of Elayne at the end is ultimately expressed as an aspect of her conservatism and resistance to change. In Cairhien, she's going to be working with a Red sister who is sworn to Rand, and will see that as two strikes against Elayne, given her anti-Rand policies and positions in Andor. And where she had to suppress and conceal their relationship in Andor, that's going to cost her in dealing with Sashelle and and of Rand's partisans in Cairhien (and there are hints here and there that the commoners and servants and soldiers hold him in rather higher regard than their lords and ladies do). In Cairhien, Elayne herself is a compromise candidate, with the Damodreds and their allies ready to accept her for the father she doesn't remember, their rivals willing to accept her because her name isn't Damodred, whatever remains of Colavaere's allies resenting their own downfall under Dobraine in Rand's name, for Elayne's sake, and some of Dobraine's allies expecting some sort of reward or primacy of place for their efforts in the interregnum. Also, famine. And in the middle of trying to juggle all this political stuff, with the Black Tower conflict heating up in her backyard, and the methods needed to win over Andorans inspiring contempt in Cairhienin, and Cairhienin methods triggering fear of tyranny and intrigue in Andorans, she gets a call in the middle of all this to put everything on hold and dance attendance on the Amyrlin because she can't handle her end, that's going to be when Elayne decides now is the time to draw that line between personal and political authority and responsibility. And Elayne can get away with it as no other ruler in the last thousand years could, because when it comes to Elayne versus the White Tower, the Dragon Reborn, King of Illian and Car'a'carn of the Aiel, and the Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light are not going to think twice before taking a side. Right, of course, at the least politically convenient time for Egwene.

With Gawyn, he has been taught, since day one, that in addition to physical protection and military advice, his job is also to tell his principal when she is in the wrong, and that is so not going to fly with Egwene in the middle of all the other problems going on. Sanderson seems to have run with the fandom meme that Gawyn is an idiot, on top of inventing a character issue where he resents Rand over class issues and a sense of heretofore never seen royal entitlement. The funny thing is "I should be the leader and hero, not that up-jumped sheepherder!" is basically Egwene's normal state of mind. So I could see Gawyn going to Elayne at Egwene's behest, or stepping in an volunteering, in an effort to patch things over, and butting heads with his sister, while trying to loyally stick to the party line, because Egwene is pissed that he keeps suggesting her leadership methods aren't the best. Because Gawyn has been taught to be a military commander in what is basically a feudal military structure, which means herding cats on a bunch of nobles to get them to carry out the crown's strategies and campaign plans, whereas up until aMoL, Egwene's political training has been about intrigue and subterfuge, and no so much on coalition-building, and appeasing competing interests.

With Nynaeve, she's generally willing to play along, but that's not always helpful, as Nynaeve is all about the moral with little use for the political. We see what her version of helping with political negotiations is like in KoD where Cadsuane has to rein her in from threatening the nobles with Rand's wrath. Her PoV chapters became much more rare after she broke her block, because she's largely centered and has found her right head-space, that Egwene & Rand are still striving for in KoD & aMoL. And that means she is going to be a lot more confident in calling out the sisters on their bullshit, and have Opinions, however respectfully she might make them known to Egwene, on Egwene's methods. She's been butting heads with Cadsuane for three books. No one in the Tower is going to impress her all that much, and to Egwene, it's going to be like having a loose cannon in the Tower.

I think in Jordan's version, Egwene, around the time Rand is on Dragonmount, and Mat is struggling in the Tower of Ghenji and Perrin is trying to save the Children of the Light while relations with Elayne are at their nadir and Caemlyn is falling to the Trollocs, is going to complete her mini-arc of coming to understand what it means to unify the Tower, to move away from the partisanship that divided it under Siuan and her predecessors, reconcile with the fence-sitting sisters, and after all these problems are worked through, she starts repairing her relationships with Elayne and Gawyn, at the least. Maybe she helps resolve things between Elayne and Perrin as well. I don't think her penultimate climax is going to be simply beating Mesaana and the Black Ajah in direct combat for the Tower, at most that would be a part of the whole unity arc, only tangentially related, in the way that the fight with the Black Ajah was to Elayne's claiming the Lion Throne.

I also think the conflict, if any, between Rand & Egwene at Merrilor is going to be over an arbitrary and nonsensical issue like the Seals, but more the cumulative result of all the baggage they've built up over the course of the series. Egwene is going to be fearing the worst, because I think it more likely that Dark Rand called the meeting intending to lay down the law and crush any resistance to his leadership, but then Dragonmount, whereas he has been observing from the outset her resistance to him and his role in things, and her White Tower partisanship. Their working past that, and coming to accept the changes each has made should be organic as well, the payoff of years of friendship and history, with all their friends in common, from the Two Rivers and Rand's love interests helping to bring them together. It would absolutely NOT be resolved by Moiraine wafting in on a cloud of angel farts quoting Scripture the Prophecies of the Dragon to convince the assembled leaders of the nations to fall into line.

I think the effect of Moiraine's return should have been private and personal, for Rand at least, and maybe Egwene too. And it should have some apologies for how she treated them and used them, because let's face it, she did not go out as a hero, she manufactured a scenario to emotionally abuse and gaslight Rand into believing his weaknesses and shortcomings caused her death, and wrote a letter tacitly blaming him, while also writing one to passive-aggressively guilt Mat into risking mutilation and death to extract her from the situation she contrived to put herself in. In any case, it's nonsense that Rand & Egwene would drop their contentions at her word. Egwene was losing her devotion to Moiraine as a mentor before the end, not least because of disagreements over her handling of Rand, and as Amyrlin, would emphatically make a point that their relationship has changed now, as she does with absolutely every other person she knew beforehand. Part of Rand's epiphany is getting some perspective, and while he'd be thrilled to see Moiraine return, the List should be gone, and only relevance her return should have to that construct is the role she played in turning Rand that way. Her return doesn't solve problems, it's the reward for working past the problems. For Moiraine herself, I think she's learned her lesson as a result of her captivity, and goes into the Pit of Doom with him because she means it now, she accepts that this is Rand's mission and it's his call and she will back him 100%.

A lot of the decisions for Tarmon Gaidon, will, I believe, be made on the basis of the connections and trust built up over the course of the series, and part of Egwene's role would be to legitimize it all for public consumption, by telling people who don't get it, that everything is cool, trust the Amyrlin. For the Battle itself, I could not say, because what Sanderson wrote is the complete opposite of WoT warfare. Instead of heavy emphasis on the fog of war, brilliant plans crashing and burning at the outset, the brutality, and the cost, and especially the chaos, and the lack of control, we got a handful of protagonists playing a strategy game, where every piece moved exactly according to the rules, Mat was in complete control the whole time, and half of the decisive moments were settled in duels. On the issue of Egwene, I do think she would die, trying to do something beyond her grasp. I think Gawyn might die specifically because of an order Egwene gave or a choice she made, which is the strong implication of Egwene's dream of him choosing between two paths that lead to different fates, because of her. As it was, picking a fight with the enemy Forsaken general because he didn't have anything better to do, A. does not fit that foreshadowing, and B. indicates a failure to grow from the again, out-of-nowhere envy of Rand and his role. Telling Galad not to succumb to his own fatal flaw, because it got Gawyn himself mortally wounded, is hardly growth (and why would Galad hate or envy Rand, anyway? At best, his expression of this too-late realization makes Gawyn a shitty sibling for thinking the worst of his big brother). In Jordan's aMoL, Gawyn dying because of Egwene's choice or action (not necessarily error, mind you) fulfils his loyalty arc and forces Egwene to confront a real and personal price, and one that she has not reckoned with before this book. She's considered in the abstract prices for her tactics and people dying from her decisions, but its never come home, especially because she was spared the necessity of assaulting the Tower. Egwene pushed for decisive action, but hesitated over actually pulling the trigger on any such significant acts, and lucked out when the Seanchan swooped in and relieved her of the need to fish or cut bait on the Tower siege.

That's what I think Egwene's arc would come to in the end - a realization that she's only ever paid lip service to meeting toh or the "pay for it" part of taking "what you want", and that the price for her quest for the Amyrlin Seat, and all the dirt she did along the way, using slander against her enemies and false propaganda on her subordinates and allies, declaring war against people she should have been working with against the Shadow, and being a party to perhaps the worst case of "men fighting their own petty battles" with the Shadow looming over the world, it all comes down to what is she going to do with that power and that position. Her rationalization from the get-go, and perhaps even her true motive, though that would denote an incredible degree of arrogance, has basically been to ensure that the necessary steps are taken and the right woman for the job has it. And now, at the critical moment, she has the choice to try to do the impossible to save the world, regardless of the cost to herself, and she can't do anything else. Whether because that is how she operates, to always push, always reach for more, or because she has come to the realization that if she backs down, she was full of shit when she did all the suspect stuff she did along the way, and that all her striving since becoming Nynaeve's apprentice has only been about self-aggrandizement, that she has been taking what she wants all her adult life, but now is being called on to pay for it.

And a flip side to that, is that Egwene, as depicted in the story, who is all about concentration of power on herself, and cares only for accruing more and more power, status or authority, can't survive or have a happily ever after, without a radical change of personality and mindset, without changing into someone no longer recognizable as the woman whom readers love or hate for her irrepressible ambition and determination. To put it another way, Egwene's attitude and mindset are only justifiable in a protagonist of a fantasy story where the fate of the world hangs in the balance, where her drive and appetite for advancement can only be justified as a means to resolve stakes of that magnitude. She is the parallel to Rand, who, as the Chosen One, the prophesied savior, is given a great deal of latitude and approbation for actions that would be unconscionably ambitions or tyrannical in anyone but a man on whom the fate of the world depends (though, ironically, Egwene herself is the least tolerant toward Rand in this regard). It's understood that after the Last Battle, Rand, if he survives, will no longer have the claim to most of his power or authority. Many people swear fealty or promise to follow him, to the Last Battle, as a limiting condition on their service. But such conditions are not applied to Egwene or to her position as Amyrlin Seat. The Aes Sedai who swear fealty to Rand after grossly abusing their power and social position and violating his trust, still only do so until the Last Battle. The Aes Sedai Egwene blackmails with the knowledge of actions taken to help her friend and to further her cause, do not have any such condition that will end their servitude. And Egwene is outraged by Rand's receipt of sisters' fealty. With that kind of mindset and usurpation of power, she had to go. Egwene is the epitome of the Dark Knight aphorism that you die young or live long enough to become the villain.

#egwene al'vere #wheel of time #a memory of light #runaway speculation

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emeritus-fuckers · 8 months

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Mary Goore headcanons

The biggest freak in Repugnant. And that says a lot.

Mary's non-binary, uses they/them pronouns.

Mary's got a wide gallery of kinks that most would consider taboo.

Starting with piss kink and ending with cannibalism type of kinky.

They're willing to try pretty much everything once and while they might not fully respect someone's private space at first, they're actually pretty chill once someone gets to know them.

They're still obviously gonna be their fucked-up self, though.

Befriending Mary requires becoming comfortable with their touchy-feely nature.

They're the type of person to make out with their mates.

Repugnant members are all very touchy with each other. Kissing, slapping each other's asses, making out, grabbing each other's crotches... hell, they fuck each other all the time.

And Mary is usually the one getting the most attention because they're the scrawniest.

They also use slurs and insults but in a playful, affectionate way. So to get close to Mary, one must get used to all that.

Back to the kinks, though, Mary's big three kinks are piss, cannibalism and (theoretically, since they're undead and essentially a walking corpse) consentual necrophilia.

Mary is dead. They have taken part in a ritual a few years after Repugnant became a thing, which essnentially turned them into a fully aware undead corpse.

They don't even rot really. They're just cold to the touch and have to breath manually. They do have a heartbeat and a pulse, though. For some reason. They can also still blush, but their blood is incredibly dark, so it looks their cheeks are literally turning black.

They get turned on by the weirdest shit. Threaten to beat them up? Into that. Call them a perv? Into that as well.

If you befriend Mary, you'll most definitely end up hooking up with them or joining in on their shenaningans.

And you'll probably end up getting close to the other bandmates.

Doesn't mind if you hook up with any of them, by the way. They hook up with their bandmates too, after all.

Hell, these folks have orgies together. They'll probably invite you to join them.

Mary's not legally allowed in graveyards. Which doesn't really matter to them because it's their favorite place.

They've been a part of multiple orgies in a mausoleum.

The also have a life-time ban from Hot Topic after masturbating in th changing room simply because they said "eh, why not?"

Pissed their pants on the tour bus once because they got fucking wasted. DD, equally wasted, sucked their dick in consolation. No clean-up. Mary came way quicker than they normally do. DD refuses to let that story go.

Mary is sort of oblivious to boundaries. They are okay with pretty much everything and just... assumes their partner is too. The partner has to be the one to bring it up. After being told the boundaries, Mary absolutely respects them. They maybe fucked up, but not that fucked up.

They're also pretty perceptive, but they also never push. If you wanna talk about your emotions, you gotta tell them.

Mary has an OnlyFans. It's the source of half of Repugnant's budget. The other half is DD's financial scams and pyramids.

Their upper right fang is broken. A result of a fist-fight.

They're insecure about their teeth because many people in their childhood told them their smile was making everyone uncomfortable.

They have pretty poor personal hygiene in general. They literally have to be forced to bathe or shower. Usually by DD who is just completely done with their bullshit.

Their favorite movie is the Human Centipede. Once made a comment about how this is what rimming parties would look like if people weren't cowards.

Unhinged switch.

Pretty aggressive while topping. Bites a lot. Might bite a bit of their partner off if they're allowed to. A sadist.

Complete masochist when bottoming. Their partner could literally torture them and they'd love every second of it.

You could piss in their mouth and they'd be delighted. Much prefers to drink piss instead of pissing into other people's mouths, but they'll do that, too, if asked.

Has a fantasy of people riding them while they pretend to be dead.

Absolutely no shame when you tell them the most degenerate shit ever. Gets all flustred when called cute. It's hilarious.

I love Mary and I could talk about them for hours, so I'll stop here before it becomes too much.

Written by Jez.

Taglist: @thermodynamic-comedian @copias-fluffy-asscheeks @lunarsromantichomicide @randodummy @tuttifuckinfruttifriday

#repugnant #mary goore #headcanons #repugnant band #repugnant event

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heich0e · 5 days

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The ONLY genuine whore in hq????!!!! When Atsumu Miya actually existsssss???!!!!!!!

just because he's pretty doesn't mean he's a whore. don't forget about his repugnant personality

#liv got mail

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gootarts · 5 months

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if you're reading canto v and wondered 'huh, ishmael and queequeg have pretty strong thing going on between them. i wonder if they played up gay subtext present in the original novel', you'd actually be wrong! limbus actually dumbs down the intimacy of their relationship a lot.

and by a lot, i mean a lot. these quotes are direct from moby dick.

Chapter 4, The Counterpane:

Upon waking next morning about daylight, I found Queequeg's arm thrown over me in the most loving and affectionate manner. You had almost thought I had been his wife. [...] At length, by dint of much wriggling, and loud and incessant expostulations upon the unbecomingness of his hugging a fellow male in that matrimonial sort of style,

Chapter 10, A Bosom Friend:

He seemed to take to me quite as naturally and unbiddenly as I to him; and when our smoke was over, he pressed his forehead against mine, clasped me round the waist, and said that henceforth we were married; meaning, in his country's phrase, that we were bosom friends; he would gladly die for me, if need should be. [...] How it is I know not; but there is no place like a bed for confidential disclosures between friends. Man and wife, they say, there open the very bottom of their souls to each other; and some old couples often lie and chat over old times till nearly morning. Thus, then, in our hearts' honeymoon, lay I and Queequeg—a cosy, loving pair.

Chapter 11, Nightgown:

Be it said, that though I had felt such a strong repugnance to his [Queequeg's] smoking in the bed the night before, yet see how elastic our stiff prejudices grow when love once comes to bend them.

there's some really interesting analysis of their relationship by richard norton here:

In the opening pages of Melville's greatest novel, Moby Dick (1851), the narrator Ishmael and the cannibal Queequeg go to bed together, and symbolically marry and even give birth. The bed in which they sleep at the Spouter Inn is the landlord's marriage bed; Ishmael plays the role of the terrified coy maiden, waiting in bed while the bridegroom gets undressed: "This accomplished, however, he turned round – when, good heaven, what a sight!" Queequeg springs under the covers with his tomahawk (!) and Ishmael "shrieks." There is some "kicking about" and Queequeg begins "feeling" Ishmael. Next morning Ishmael awakes with "Queequeg's arm thrown over me in the most loving and affectionate manner. You had almost thought I had been his wife." Melville emphasizes the point by referring again to "his bridegroom clasp" and "hugging a fellow male in that matrimonial sort of style." And they even bear offspring, rather more quickly than heterosexuals: "Throwing aside the quilt, there lay the tomahawk sleeping by the savage's side, as if it were a hatchet-faced baby."

sadly, queequeg (and his relationship with ishmael) gets sidelined in the novel once ahab makes his appearance, but he still serves an important symbolic role.

#renaming the kjh misogyny dungeon to the kjh misogyny and homophobia dungeon #limbus company #seriously though a game published in 2023 has significantly less gay stuff than its original novel written 170 years ago. boggles the mind.#if you want some queer lit analysis: hero captain and stranger by robert martin has a chapter devoted to moby dick #anways that's why if i find kjh i'm challenging him to a fistfight. winner gets his company

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orionsangel86 · 11 months

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Subtext Glorious Subtext! A Dreamling on Netflix analysis in The Sandman - Part 5

1789

How romantic it is to be defended by ones love!

My favourite century! This is where the show starts deviating more heavily from the comic and upping the heat on the subtext (probably why it remains a popular century in fandom especially for gifsets).

Firstly, the show makes some good choices by changing certain elements in order to increase character likeability, which I think were necessary tbh. In the show, Hob mentions getting into a “new trade” regarding shipping and slavery. He describes the process to Dream and is immediately scorned for it via the “poor thing” line. In the show, it is implied that Hob’s involvement in the Slave Trade is something new for him. Dream is immediately dismissive and judgemental of this (as we would expect any decent person to be). Hob initially defends himself “It’s just how its done.” but agrees to consider Dream’s advice.

This is not how either the comic or the Audible audiobook go and honestly, I was surprised.

In both comic and audiobook, Hob brags about the slave trade. He talks gleefully about actually having a hand in starting it 200 years back. He’s proud of this. He’s completely repugnant in both comic and audiobook and it makes you want to punch him hard. Dream only makes the following comment: “You take pride in treating your fellow humans as less than animals?” but he is otherwise not dismissive or disgusted by these things. He is not judgemental, just curious and surprised. When Hob dismisses this question as it being “business”, Dream drops the topic. It isn’t until the very end of the scene after Johanna’s interuption that Dream tells Hob its “a poor thing...” and that is where both comic and audiobook leave it without giving Hob’s reaction to this line.

You can see why the show made the wise decision to change these things. I think it is another example of where the show is taking the story and characters in a softer, kinder, and more likeable direction. We have to remember that the show versions of Dream and Hob are NOT their comic counterparts. Both comic characters are unlikeable at times and Hob in particular is just generally a pretty shitty person. It is difficult to marry the two versions of Hob sometimes because Ferdie gives SUCH a likeable, warm, engaging performance. Yes, Show!Hob is still a slaver for a short while, and yes, that is absolutely not forgiveable and fandom would be wise to ensure that this is never downplayed or ignored, but I think it is worth mentioning that the show has made the decision to lessen his involvement in the slave trade compared to his comic counterpart. But we shall see where they decide to go with this particularly nasty part of show!Hob's history in future episodes.

I think the show in many ways is taking a more classical view of the Sandman characters - here are your good guys and here are your bad guys, here are the people we want you to love and root for, and here are the ones you should love to hate. The comic tends to keep the majority of characters in the middle ground of morally grey. They have a rather cynical viewpoint imo that works for a gritty graphic novel about a depressed eldritch entity. But that viewpoint wouldn't work so well in a high budget fantasy drama series with a desire to draw in as big an audience as possible.

Anyway, back to 1789. Aside from Tom and Ferdie acting like they want to climb each other all the way through this scene (the sexual tension is through the roof throughout), all of fandoms favourite elements here are new.

Whilst Hob does ask for Dream’s name again here in the comics, there is no response or reaction from Dream given before Lady Johanna interrupts them. In the show, it is clear that Dream is about to give an answer - Hob almost gets his name. This is - tropey. The interruption may be comic canon but the almost response to the answer you’ve been craving for 400 years isn’t. A brilliant little addition. The audience is on the edge of their seats wishing Dream would just tell Hob who he is dammit! It adds to the expectation that eventually Hob will get his name. Dream's identity reveal at this point is basically a Chekov's gun. Hob will get it, even if we don't see it happen.

Then we get the fight. There is no rambling from Hob about some Jack Constantine he knew, instead he is calmly making flirtatious jokes at Dream right in front of Lady Johanna’s salad. “I look terrible, you look worse.” The terrible drawing from 1689 is new for the show, as in the comic it is simply a description of the 1689 meeting that Johanna found. Making it a portrait instead gives the characters something to react to, and I do love how bad the caricatures are in the drawing. Though sorry Hob, but anyone can see that Dream absolutely does not look worse than you, and your teasing flirtations are kinda obvious.

The two characters share catty side eye glances in silent communication as Lady Johanna talks which indicates how close and comfortable with each other they have become by this century.

When Hob jumps up to attack the thugs, he goes for the one with the knife at Dream’s throat first. Hob gets to be an action movie star for a short moment whilst Dream looks up at him in subtle delight. It’s glorious.

AND THEN Dream ONLY makes a move once he sees Lady Johanna has her blade at Hob’s throat.

In the comic, the minute the thugs get their blades out and Lady Johanna threatens them, Dream is like nope! Magic sand! Poof!

But the show, oh the glorious, brilliant, creators on the show, decided this was going to be a “partners defending each others lives” scene. They want to protect and defend each other! They care about each other.

And then we get this:

GIF by ghorestes

Dream. Darling. Sweetheart. He may not have needed to, but you enjoyed it nevertheless.

“Clearly. Still, I didn’t want to be drinking here alone in 100 years time.”

GIF by mrskillingjoke

(Thank you to all gifmakers by the way I am kissing you on the mouth for the gifts you give us)

LOOK AT HIM. We all obsess over these little moments I know, but this is CLEAR flirtation.

If there is a better example of *eye fucking* anywhere outside of a season 4 Destiel scene I have yet to come across it.

It doesn’t even stop there. Because right after the best example of *eye fucking* I have seen since season 4 Destiel is an honest to god proposition.

Hob: "So do you want to find another pub tonight?"

Dream: "She may have told others about our meeting. It wont be safe for you."

Hob: "Im perfectly safe. I can't die remember?"

Dream: "Aye, but you can be hurt or captured. We must be careful"

Hob: “Always.”

NONE OF THIS IS IN THE COMIC.

So what new info has the show given us with this scene?

On a surface level, Hob wants more time with Dream. He wants to find another pub to continue their date.

On a subtextual level, Hob is full of adrenaline from the fight and the mystery man he’s been obsessing over for 400 years is looking at him like he wants to jump his bones. He wants to find another place so they can continue their date, and possibly fuck until the adrenaline has worn off.

On a surface level, Dream cares about Hob’s safety. He doesn’t want them being seen together together outside of the tavern to draw attention to anymore of Lady Johanna’s goons.

On a subtextual level. This is 1789 Hob and they hang men for doing what you very clearly want to do, and it’s not safe with the additional attention Lady Johanna and her goons have put onto you. If I go with you now, they could follow and find us in more compromising positions. Don’t risk it.

In the comic at this point, I would argue that Hob is still nothing more than a curiosity to Dream. He does not show him any real affection or care, and certainly doesn’t comment on his safety at any point. Whilst comic!Hob at this point is clearly itching for more info on Dream, he doesn’t ever push for it, and he is never as focused on Dream as he is talking about other people he’s met and interacted with. They are barely friends.

But by 1789 in the show, we have genuine care for each other, camaraderie, a growing friendship, and arguably sexual attraction.

The other point to note is something I only realised after answering this ask the other day. Comic!Dream has never had anyone else truly care about him enough to rescue him or come to his defence since Alianora (and he basically married her). When Hob defends Dream in the show, its so impactful to Dream because this is a version of Hob who truly cares about him enough to endanger himself (a trait comic!Hob never shows). No wonder Dream looked so pleased and acted so coy about it. He really was ready to pounce!

Basically 1789 is the turning point century. The point at which the show starts to lean heavily into homoerotic tropes and increases the tension. In this century we get:

An almost name reveal followed by an unwanted interuption

Amused side eye glances at each other sharing unspoken communication

Flirtatious jabbing over a bad drawing

Defending each other from harm

Putting themselves at risk in defence of the other

A thinly veiled proposition

Genuine concern and care from a character that never appeared to care previously

Ridiculously over the top eye fucking

All of which adds up to further the audiences investment in the continued development of this relationship whether romantically or platonically and which therefore makes the break up in 1889 even more impactful.

The analysis continues for 1889 in part 6!

#Dreamling #dreamling meta #the sandman #sandman meta #dreamling week #dreamling week 2023 #dream of the endless #hob gadling #sandman comic spoilers

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