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#this is the basis of my theory that she is 'good' at letting people go
altf4d3lete · 2 days
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Episode One this is single-handedly bringing back my obsession even though it never left
- its 2022. Why is everyone freaked out bc a girl wears all black. Like people do that on a daily basis nowadays
- PUGSLEY POOR GUY :(
- “I want names” didn’t you JUST see them walking away from the locker
- Stop shoving him in a locker tied up is actually so mean wtf
- I see people use this piranha scene as justification that she’d be okay with murder, but really it’s justification that she wouldn’t be okay with people hurting her friends and those she cares about AT ALL. She’s trying to KILL these guys just for bullying their brother. Imagine what she’d do to Tyler for hurting Eugene and Enid.
- The intro is SO fucking cool
- Emma was so far down on the list of actors and now my girl is #3 behind Jenna and buscemi. She’s a main character now B)
- If I were Wednesday I’d be pissed too. I CANT with the parents. Like I love you but RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER 😭
- It’s five minutes in and I have so many notes
- Have to say again with the “terrible, they’d know I didn’t get the job done” that Wednesday is MORBID, not okay with murder unless she deems the person deserves it
- Ergh there is clearly so much discrimination against outcasts
- Weems and morticia r lowkey giving homoerotic rivalry…
- I FORGOT HOW FUNNY WEDNESDAY IS
- I genuinely can’t even like… I CANT WHY DID WEEMS PAIR HER WITH ENID 😭
- Guys Enid is SO cute holy fuck. She is UNPHASED bro, she’s just so excited to have a roommate she’s so cute I’m sobbing. She just wanted to accept Wednesday.
- YALL WHEN THEYRE WALKING DOWN THE STEPS WEDNESDAY LITERALLY GRAVITATES TOWARDS ENID. LITERALLY RUNS INTO HER
- Wednesday just lies about killing two kids to Enid and Enid just moved on like nothing happened.
- Also HELLO? THEIR BANTER? Enid takes NO shit 😭
- Hmm part of me wonders if those wolves howling were making fun of Enid.
- They’re literally leaning into each other wha
- “You better watch your back” and Wednesday is behind her that’s so funny
- How do you go from “cute but clueless” to “obsessed” enjax was lowkey forced whereas wenclair had chemistry from the beginning
- AW PUGSLEY HES SO CUTE
- Wednesday being a housewife will NEVER make sense
- I know people hate the relationship between Wednesday and morticia but it’s very realistic. You can easily tell they still love each other despite the harsh words.
- YEESH THE HYDE TORE HIM APART (I think this works with my theory that the more Tyler is aware of the Hyde, the more controlled his attacks get. Which also means that he knew what he was doing when he killed Kinbott, leaving her alive to taste her fear. And he knew what he was doing in the forest when he tried to kill Wednesday and nearly attacked his father)
- WENCLAIR FIGHT THEYRE SO FUNNY TOGETHER THEY ARGUE LIKE AN OLD COUPLE
- when did Wednesday check out enid’s blog. How and why.
- THE LITTLE SCOFF BEFORE “you mean emojis?”
- Enid huffing is crazy girly is ANGRY
- The way they just stare each other down is crazy wenclair is SO full of banter I forgot how hilarious they are
- ENID SIDE EYES WEDNESDAY SO MUCH
- Bianca lowkey eating everyone up…
- Bianca is so aggressive in her fighting style, whereas Wednesday is precise. It’s really cool
- THE GASPING IN THE BACKGROUND AFTER “let’s see if you bleed in black and white.”
- Xavier scoffs so much in this show and every time he does it lowkey makes me hate him more
- “No good deed goes unpunished” okay elphaba
- Girly was smiling when she was about to die.
- DUDE WHY WAS XAVIER LEANING OVER HER? WHO DOES THAT? JUST SIT DOWN NEXT TO HER.
- “Call it instinct” shut up actually
- Bro she had NO clue who Xavier was 😭
- It bothers me that ppl think she cared Xavier was in the coffin. She just wanted to see the godmother come back to life fr
- THING HAHA MY FAV
- I would be flabbergasted if my therapist read the equivalent of my journal before our sessions. She never should have been sent that.
- Ergh Tyler…
- The deep voice lowkey sounds really forced, idk what it is about Tyler’s voice but it bugs me. I think it’s the way his lines always kinda have the same delivery.
- Twenty bucks when he probably makes that in like half a day of work 😭
- The pilgrims look like such dorks bro who are they tryna scare 💀
- Why are they asking her if she’s “been with a normie” that’s so weird
- “THIS LITTLE THING TOOK DOWN THREE BOYS???” HELP
- Her playing with the necklace means everything to me
- Damn the hiker was the third victim
- The sheet music doesn’t match what she was playing but that doesn’t rly matter
- Love that enid went from disgusted to things bff
- Their roof scene is so meaningful to me. They work so well together. Enid doesn’t need anyone but Wednesday and Wednesday doesn’t need anyone but Enid. Enid teaches her how to relate to others and feel empathy and Wednesday teaches Enid to unapologetically be herself.
- Nero :(
- Them bonding is so cute 😭 this is rekindling my obsession
- Notice the immediate disrespect from Tyler but Enid gets close with thing so quickly
- Damn Enid is suspicious. Bro has some killer instincts
- “Hint taken” and Xavier proceeds to KEEP talking to her
- So Wednesday gives Tyler a time and place and you’re telling me it’s just a coincidence that those three pilgrims show up at that exact time at place? Literally there WAITING? No way. Tyler had to have told them, sorry about it.
- I lowkey feel bad for Weems. She’s a little controversial but she was just trying to do her best for nevermore
- Nah man that was an absolute ploy. There’s no way they just happened to know where to be. Tyler was trying to keep her from leaving. He already knew who she was by then and that they needed her.
- Rowan was so conflicted he didn’t deserve to die. He was just trying to protect people
- The way she scrambled over to him even after he tried to kill her :(
- YALL I LOVE THIS SHOW WTF 😭
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wonderhoy-dump · 1 year
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The Emu Peter Pan / WxS Darling Children parallels have been thoroughly and devastatingly explored at this point, but then someone on Twitter said Emu’s first Darling children were her own siblings and OMFG I AM NOT OK
Specifically her side story 2 on her mermaid event card (The Smiles I Want to Protect), Emu reflects on her last family trip to the beach. Keisuke was a nerd about sea creatures, Hinata found sea creatures, and Emu terrorized Shosuke with those sea creatures. Classic family vacation. And as opposed to Tsukasa, Emu seems to have amazing retention of her childhood memories because even if her brothers were about to graduate college, she would've been eight years old at most when this trip happened. Sadly for Emu, this was her last family vacation.
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We all know how the sibling relationship went downhill after that. Not only did her significantly older brothers quickly grow up and cast aside their childlike wonder, they started outright disrespecting hers. Basically only Hinata retained a close relationship with their baby sister and even then, the five-year age gap means she couldn't really be part of Emu's dreams.
The side story continues though, with Emu's current seaside trip with WxS. The other members of her troupe never really went to the beach, so their first major beach memory is now, with Emu, because of Emu. Even before this whole potential disbanding arc, it was obvious the parallel this side story showed between Emu and her biological family vs. the memories she is forming with her new found family.
And now--and now--her found family may be departing her neverland the same way her last set of loved ones outgrew her?? Who is cutting onions in here?!
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Now I'm not saying WxS would ever "Shosuke" her but that's the thing. Her brothers left her behind mentally but have at least stayed with PXL physically (though nearly tearing it down) allowing them to partially recover their wonderment; whereas Tsukasa/Nene and maybe Rui are currently projected on paths that will take them away from her physically, even if they stay with her mentally, and it's hard to say how she's going to cope with that.
Between her own siblings "growing out of her" and her grandfather simultaneously passing during middle school, Emu’s experience with loss likely cuts the deepest and most complex in WxS. I'm not going to go into her grief related to her grandfather (which I really need an event focus or fes card on like yesterday because she still has way too much going on there that the writers have not fully delivered on), but Emu is simply no stranger to people she loves leaving her behind.
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despondentnuzzy · 6 months
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Alright fuck it I want to ramble analyze characters more. I've been stuck on who so I opened to a random page. Saw Marasi first and now I am going to see what things my brain will inform me about her as I write this post.
Spoils for Era 1 and 2 of Mistborn
I've seen Marasi compared to Vin, both in the text and in some posts online, but let's take another angle.
In Mistborn if I asked you which character
Is the socially inconvenient child to an upper class house
Has a half-sibling that gets romantically involved with the main protagonist
First bonds with our earring wearing protagonist at a high society function
Has an education that leads them to believe they can fix the whole world if you just let them do it
Oh my gosh it's Elend Venture in a wig!
But now that I think about it, there is a lot of similarities between Elend and Marasi beyond surface level plot.
Marasi and Elend of course share the traits mentioned above but also share a similar problem. Theory works in theory, practice doesn't always work in practice.
Both of these characters would achieve far greater success if they just didn't play by the rules they said everyone should agree to on the basis they know better.
However while Elend relents at the end of his era, becoming a mostly benevolent tyrant.
Marasi gives up her opportunity to circumnavigate her rules. She rejects the offer to join the Ghostbloods. An organization she could likely do far more with than any regular position within The Basins policing system would ever afford her.
Now in Wax's epilogue we find out she's running for Governor, which would give her greater ability to enact her reforms but she is still working within the system, which realistically will greatly limit her ability to solve problems. (Although I'm sure come Era 3 we'll find out she did plenty of good for the people of Scadriel.)
I mentioned previously that Wayne is toxic preservation while Wax is literally stated to be a force of ruin.
In this view I would see Marasi as Harmony. Unlike Sazed, who is Harmony due to his duplicitous (but not decietful) nature, Marasi is a true balance.
Rusts I feel like I said very little with too much in this post? OH FUCK HER ALLOMANCY!
Umm fuck, Marasi probably has symbolic traits tied to her Allomancy let's see.
You could argue that it plays into how slowly she feels like she grows, that everything can happen so fast around her and that if she was only given the right tools (allomantic grenades) her skills would become invaluable?? Idk I probably should make another post about her sometime. Feels like I didn't do her justice here haha
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softspaceboibrian · 2 years
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Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy || Eddie Munson || Chapter 1
Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Y/N Henderson || I used she/her pronouns, but there is no actual physical description, so the pronouns can be switched with whatever anyone wants or prefers!
Summary: Eddie needs help with an English assignment, and who better to ask help from than the best student in his class, Y/N Henderson?
Warnings: "fuck" is used a lot. fluff, a lot of pining and crushing. steve being a bit of a dick at one point, and Dustin not being able to keep things to himself. just bad writing, really.
Wc: 5397 (it's kinda long, I know... but I didn't know where to stop! sorry!)
A/N: this is my first ST fic ever. and actually the first time I wrote after some very long months of writer's block. hopefully, it's not too bad. I have a chapter 2 in mind already, if you guys liked this! please let me know (I would have to work on it next week, since I have an exam on Monday, ugh..). Also, the title will probably make more sense in the following chapter(s).
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Eddie hated going to class. He didn’t completely hate high school because there he had some friends and the Hellfire Club. But attending classes was a whole other thing. And he hated it. Sitting still at a small desk, on a hard chair that made his back hurt, which always made him feel older than he was – and he was already older than any other kid there. Listening to teachers talk and ask stupid questions was hell incarnated to him. For example, when would he ever need to use trigonometry in his life? It wasn’t like he was going to become a space engineer or an architect. Given that that’s what you would use trig for. He definitely didn’t know and didn’t want to find out. Or, like, Shakespeare. That morning he found himself having to listen to his English teacher reading once again lines from Romeo and Juliet, as if they would need to know that “the window is the East, and Juliet’s the Sun” to get somewhere in life. If it were for him, they would spend every single English lesson reading Tolkien or King, and not that boring stuff that everyone calls classics. Shining. That’s a classic.
The only reason he ever really enjoyed English was Y/N Henderson. She sat in front of him in English and History, and they had PE together. Eddie hated every single one of those subjects, but her presence made them less terrible. Not that they were friends or anything. She’s Dustin Henderson’s older sister; she’s the smartest person in the entire school, hell, possibly in all of Hawkins. And he was just Eddie “the Freak” Munson. She wouldn’t want to be friends with him. Of course, she was the kindest person in school, and she always smiled at him whenever they crossed paths. But still, he was the school’s freak. And she deserved better than him. Yet, he couldn’t help himself but smile back, or get a little bit excited when he remembered they had class together. He would never, for the love of God, admit the feelings he felt for her. He was completely sure that, if he just ignored them, they would simply disappear. It wasn’t like a tested theory, but he was sure it worked like that. It had to work like that.
“Bullshit.” Eddie was pulled from his thoughts by a soft voice. He quickly looked round the classroom, only to notice Y/N shaking her head. “Pardon me, miss, but it’s all bullshit.” Eddie was not sure what he had missed, but was now all ears.
A blonde girl from the first row snapped around to look at Y/N. And if looks could kill, Eddie was sure Y/N would be well on her way to the hospital now. “Do you have something to say, nerd?” He never really understood on what basis people used nerd as a mean name. As if being a nerd was a bad thing. Also, being good at school doesn’t make you a nerd.
“Actually,” Y/N sat up straight. “Yes, I do have something to say.” Eddie always found Y/N’s will to speak her mind fascinating. She always said what she believed in. And she always tried not to hurt anyone’s feelings in the process. “I think it’s bullshit that you think- actually, that everyone thinks that Romeo and Juliet is the epitome of love. I mean, let’s be real, that story is unrealistic. I know that Shakespeare had to stick to time a certain time frame and everything, but who falls in love on sight, immediately decides to marry each other, and not even three days later kill themselves because of the stupid decisions they took? Because, in this regard, we have to remember that Friar Lawrence plays a major role in their dooming end, since he is the one that suggests the whole poison gimmick.” Eddie could not help but smile. He found amusing the hurt look on the blonde in the front row as Y/N dismantled her beliefs, or at least he thought, he wasn’t really paying attention before. “I mean, I get how appealing the trope of the star-crossed lovers is. Really, I do. But are you really telling me that Romeo and Juliet’s is a better love story than Beatrice and Benedick’s, or even Rosalind and Orlando’s? I would so love for someone to carve love poems for me into trees so that our growing love could forever live in nature.” Did they read about that in class? Eddie had no idea who those people were and was more than confused at that point, but still extremely intrigued.
“That’s not what I was saying!” The blonde replied, obviously offended that someone had told her that she was wrong.
“Then what were you saying? I’m open to clarifications.” Y/N smiled kindly, but it was obvious that the other one didn’t take it as so. Eddie looked at the girl, waiting to hear her answer. But then the bell rang and everyone started gathering their stuff. Lucky girl, saved by the bell, he thought. He would have loved a bit more drama, it always made classes more interesting.
As everyone was rushing out into the corridor, Eddie included, the teacher tried to get everyone’s attention one last time. “Please, remember that next week we are moving all the way to the gothic novel and that you have to prepare a 3-page essay on any book you want from that genre.” He stopped in his tracks, right in the middle of the entryway, and was pushed aside by two guys who wanted to get out. What? And essay? When did she say that? If it had been any other time of the school year, he would have not cared, but Eddie knew that, with spring break coming up, he had to start working seriously if he wanted to graduate that year. Fuck, he thought. I’m fucked. He quickly looked around the room, as if a miracle could just fall into his lap.
Y/N was still at her desk, struggling to close her ever so full pencil case. “Miss Henderson” the teacher walked over to Y/N’s desk. “I know you’re passionate about literature, but you cannot answer like that to your classmates.”
“I know, ma’am… it’s just, they don’t understand it. They don’t understand literature and why it is important.” Y/N sighed, fidgeting with her hands. “You know I try my best to stay calm, but sometimes I just… I just can’t.”
The teacher smiled kindly at her. “I understand. Don’t worry.” She walked back to the front of the class and started cleaning the blackboard, before turning once again towards the girl. “Just, try to avoid using bad words next time.”
Eddie was standing right outside of the classroom, still panicking over the assignment, when Y/N eventually walked into the corridor. And that’s when an idea came to his mind: if Y/N was actually so passionate about people knowing more about literature, then maybe she would be so kind to help him. Yes, that made perfect sense. She would do what she loved, and he would become one step closer toward graduation. Also, on an even brighter note, he would have to spend time with her, which never hurt. He shook his head, trying to shove that thought in the far back of his head.
He looked around, his eyes scanning the corridor until he found Y/N’s figure walking alone towards the cafeteria. He started walking, almost running, trying to catch up with her. “Y/N! Wait up!” He found himself calling out for her, something he never really thought he would do. But he did. When Y/N eventually realised she was being called, she stopped and turned around. However, at that point Eddie was walking so fast that he didn’t stop in time and completely ran into her. “Oh, Jesus, I’m so sorry!” He started apologising immediately.
“It’s okay! You didn’t hurt me” Y/N laughed, looking up at him. He had never realised how tall he was compared to her. “Did you have something to ask me?” He couldn’t believe how kind she was with him. Any other person wouldn’t even have stopped for him, they would have just flipped him the bird or exclaimed something along the lines of fuck off, freak, and went on their way. But, yet again, she wasn’t any other person.
“I, ehm… yes, actually. I…” Then and there, Eddie thought about turning around and running away. But that would have been too embarrassing. So, he just went for it. “I was wondering if you could, maybe, help me with the English assignment. You see, I’m not really the best at English, but I cannot flunk this class, so-”
“Of course!” Y/N cut him off, still smiling. “Just know that you are the one that is going to do all the work, I’m just going to help. I may be kind, and you may be cute, but I won’t let anyone take advantage of me, alright?”
Cute? Did she just call him cute? Was she for real? Did she really think that? And why did he feel like he was a middle-school boy talking for the first time with his crush? What was that feeling in his chest? Also, why did he feel warm on the face and ears? Was he blushing? Fuck, how embarrassing! But still, cute? Did she find him cute?
“Hey-oh!” Y/N waved her hand in front of Eddie’s face. “Earth to Munson. Are you still there? Are you having a stroke?” She said playfully, pinching his arm as in a further attempt to gain back his attention.
Eddie shook his head, and then nodded. “Yes, sorry. I just… I really expected you to say no, so…”
“Okay, so it has nothing to do with me calling you cute, right? Because I wouldn’t want it to be a problem.” She chuckled, and Eddie was completely taken aback.
Come one, dude. Concentrate. You cannot get lost in your head whenever she smiles at you, or she’s going to think you’re a creep. “It’s not going to be a problem, I promise.” He laughed, raising a hand to the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed. Definitely not a good first impression, Munson.
“Okay, so, I know you have Hellfire Club tonight, right?” She asked, and Eddie simply nodded in response. “You could come over to our house for dinner, which would mean I don’t have to drive back here to pick up my brother and I can get ahead with my assignment, because you would take him home. And then, after dinner, we can start talking a bit about what you’re going to work on.”
“Are you sure for dinner? Like, I don’t want to be a bother.”
Y/N put a hand on his arm and shook her head. “Not a bother, trust me. Plus, Dustin will be more than happy to have you over for dinner. He talks about you constantly, about your campaign and how cool you are. Like, really, if I didn’t know he was in a relationship with that Mormon girl, I would have sworn he was in love with you.” She laughed, and so did Eddie. “But really, if you want and can, come over for dinner.”
“I mean, it’s not like I have plans…” Eddie said under his breath. Or that many friends, for that matter.
“Then it’s decided!” Y/N smiled. “So, let’s recap: after school you have your D&D meeting, then you drive Dustin home, we have dinner, and after that we’re going to start working on your assignment. Sounds right?”
“Perfect!”
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“You have actually invited Eddie “the Freak” Munson over to your house? You’re not joking!?” Like every other day, Steve had picked Y/N and Robin up after school to drive them home. But today he was complaining about what Y/N had just told them. “I’m telling you, he’s not good news!”
“Oh, come on, Steve! He’s nice!” She replied, throwing her hands in the air.
“How do you know that, uh?! His reputation precedes him! Everyone at Hawkins High knows about him and his dealing!” Steve kept moving his eyes between the road in front of him and the rear-view mirror to look at Y/N sitting in the back.
“Steve, calm down. Y/N is a grown-up woman. She can defend herself.” Robin tried to help her friend. “Plus, she’s a pretty good judge of character. I mean, she decided to be your friend when everyone else though you were a douchebag.”
“I still think he is a douchebag.” Y/N whispered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Listen, it’s my life, and I make friends with whomever I want, okay? So, whether you like it or not, he’s going to come over to my place, he’s going to have dinner with my family, and then we’re going to work on our English assignment together.”
“Yeah, and it’s not like they’re going to fall in love!” Robin added and Steve raised his hands from the wheel for a couple of seconds, as in a sign of surrender. However, Y/N did not answer to that. Obviously, that wasn’t her plan, to fall in love with Eddie Munson. But she could not deny to herself the fact that she found him charming in his own way. Yes, fine, he wasn’t the conventional pretty boy her mom would want her to end up with, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t find him cute. Hell, cute was probably an understatement. She thought he was hot. Maybe it was the hair, or the leather jacket, but she couldn’t help herself, and whenever he walked by, she would just find herself smiling at him, deep down wishing he would stop and talk with her. Yes, her brother being part of his D&D party had its perks, because she then had to see him every time she went to pick up her brother from school. Also, having a few classes together was something. Not that he paid much attention, but that also meant he wouldn’t notice whenever she turned around to steal a glance. Fuck, she thought, I have to keep my feelings under control. She shook her head in an attempt to push away the thought of Eddie, and tried to make small talk with her two best friends, but her mind wasn’t of any help, and the image of Eddie looking down at her with his big, chocolate eyes in the corridor a few hours prior kept popping up, distracting her from whatever the other two were saying. I’m screwed.
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When Y/N’s mom called her into the kitchen, it was about 7:30 in the evening. “Darling, please, help me set the table. Dusty and his friend are on their way home.” Said the woman, handing her the plates. Y/N fought very hard the urge to tell her mother that Eddie was also her friend and that he was going to be there for her and not Dustin. But instead, she simply took the plates from her and started placing them on the clothed, round table. She hummed to herself as she moved back and forth between the cabinets and the table, stealing, every once in a while, a piece of bread.
A few more minutes went by, when she finally heard the front door open and Dustin’s voice announce their arrival. Their mother quickly left the kitchen to go greet them, whereas Y/N stood frozen for a moment. She looked at her reflection in the small mirror hanging on the wall, and tried to fix her hair and her clothes – a simple t-shirt and a pair of loose jeans. Yes, she could have definitely changed into something a bit nicer, but there was no time now. So, she sighed and stepped into the front hallway, hiding a little behind her mother’s figure, as if hoping they would not pay that much attention to her. However, that didn’t last for long. “Y/N!” Eddie smiled, taking a step towards her, but then stopping. They both looked at each other for a few moments, unsure of what to do. Should she hug him like she does whenever Robin comes over? Or nod like she does with Dustin’s friends? A similar thought process was going on inside of Eddie’s mind too. When he first had taken the step towards her, his intent was to give her a kiss on the cheek, but he had immediately changed his mind, thinking that might have been too much. Afterall, it was the first time they were actually hanging out.
Luckily, Dustin stepped in and shouted. “Y/N/N! You would never believe how cool today was! Remember the villain I told you about, right? Vecna. The one we thought had died. Well, yes, I said we though because, plot twist, he was still alive!” She looked at her brother and smiled, wrapping her arms around him for a moment, before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Dusty, go wash your hands! It’s ready in here! You can tell her more about it as we eat.” Mrs. Henderson shouted from the kitchen, and Eddie could not believe how close the two siblings actually were. Like, yes, Dustin would always talk about her in the cafeteria, but he would have never thought they actually were that close. So close that she knew everything about his campaign, the one that himself, Eddie, had spent days preparing.
Dinner went on smoothly: the food was delicious and Dustin spent most of the time talking about Hellfire Club and the assignments he had to prepare for the following week. Eddie and Y/N would, every now and then, exchange a look or a smile, without saying a word. But both of them were fine with that. However, things changed a bit when Dustin turned to Eddie and exclaimed. “Dude, you should ask my sister to help you write some of the one shots for Hellfire! She’s a great writer!” Eddie turned to look Y/N, wanting to ask her more about that, but instead he found her with her head hanging low.
“Oh, yes! I never read anything of hers, but Dustin has read everything and loved every single bit, so I suppose that means she’s good.” Her mother added, obviously wanting to contribute to the conversation. However, Eddie couldn’t help but notice Y/N’s discomfort.
“Can we please talk about something else?” Y/N’s voice was soft, and her eyes never left the almost empty glass of water in front of her.
Dustin tried to gain back Eddie’s attention by exclaiming. “She writes a lot of fantasy, stuff with vampires and faes and all of that. I think you could use that in a stand-alone quest.”
“Dustin!” Her voice was now louder, and the girl was visibly upset, but the younger boy would not stop talking about that. “Dustin, stop! You know I don’t want you to talk about it!” Y/N got up from her seat, still not looking anyone in the eyes. She had her hands closed into tight fists as she walked towards the corridor.
“Come on, Y/N! Don’t be mad! I was just trying to-”
“I know, what you were trying to do, Dustin. And you know I don’t want you to do it. That is personal stuff and I don’t want you going around telling people about it.” Her voice was cold, but Eddie could ear it tremble slightly. “Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to my room.”
And with that, Y/N left the kitchen, leaving her tablemates speechless, with their eyes glued to where the girl was standing a few moments before. Mrs. Henderson sighed and tried to explain to Eddie that Y/N had always been very proud of her things, especially of the ones she made herself. She explained that ever since she was young, she had always been a very reserved girl, not sharing much with others, and that was the reason she found so surprising the friendship between her and her two best friends, Robin and Steve. She told Eddie about how hard on herself she was, how much she studied everyday wanting to get the best marks possible. She explained that she had no idea why she acted like that, since no one ever asked her to get straight As or to get into the best colleges. But as Y/N’s mother talked, Eddie couldn’t stay still. He wanted to make sure, he needed to make sure she was okay. So, as soon as they were excused from the table, he asked Dustin which room was hers and went straight to her. He walked down the corridor, the carpet softening his steps, and stopped in front of the last door. He knocked gently on the door, waiting for an answer. “Y/N…” He called, turning an ear to the door, trying to understand if she had moved at all. “Y/N, it’s me, Eddie. Ehm… can I- can I come in?” He stayed quiet for a moment, but still no answer. “I promise we will only talk of the English assignment or whatever you prefer. Promise.”
“Okay” A voice came from behind Eddie, making him jump.
He turned around and found Y/N laughing at him, a hand on her stomach, one in front of her face. “Damn, Henderson, I thought you were in your room!” He exclaimed, laughing a little himself.
“I was, but then I had to go to the bathroom.” She moved past him and opened the door to her room. “Come in” She smiled, standing aside to let him in.
The room that Eddie walked into was far from what he had imagined Y/N Henderson’s bedroom would have looked right. Not that he had spent that much time thinking about it, but he definitely did not expect the giant posters on the wall of David Bowie, Labyrinth, Queen, or the beautiful drawing of The Lord of the Rings. What he did expect to see, on the other hand, was the floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall library. “Wow, Henderson. I must say, you’re not what I thought you were.”
Y/N sat on the edge of her bed; her arms crossed. “What did you think I was?” She asked, more curious than anything.
“I don’t know, actually. I thought you were going to have pictures of, I don’t know, Johnny Depp, John Cusack or some other heartthrob girls love. Definitely not them.” He walked over to the side of the bed and pointed to the Queen poster.
She got up from her seat and walked next to him. “Well, I do like Johnny Depp.” She smiled. “But he is my kind of guy, actually.” She tapped her finger on Brian May’s figure.
“Not Roger Taylor?” Eddie brought a hand to his mouth, as if to fake shock.
“He’s alright.” She raises her shoulder. “But you see, Brian is tall, has dark, long, curly hair, plays guitar. There’s nothing sexier than that to me.” She replied, eventually turning around and leaning against the wall. It wasn’t until she finally met his eyes that she realised what she had just said. She bit the inside of her cheek, quickly moving her eyes everywhere but on him. Fuck, fuck, fuck. So much for “try keeping your feelings under control”.
Eddie, on the other hand, couldn’t help the smile that lingered on his lips. He nodded, biting slightly his lower lips, trying to conceal the pleased look on his face, but it was too hard. I mean, I am tall, I have Brian May’s hair, and I do play guitar. Does this mean that I am sexy to her? He was very close to asking her, but decided not to, wanting to avoid making her feel frustrated or embarrassed. Afterall, it was very much possible that, even though he perfectly fit her description, she still did not like him like that. Hell, it could even be that she did not like him at all.
So, after a few moments of silence, he turned to the Lord of the Rings poster, studying it. “This is very beautiful.” He said, changing the topic to make her feel more comfortable.
She looked at the poster herself and smiled. “Oh, ehm… Dustin and his friends got it for me for my birthday last year. You see, I used to read it to Dustin before going to bed when we were younger. Actually, I read him The Hobbit, but still. After that, he started telling his friends about it and they all wanted to know more about it. So, when they were old enough, I got everyone a copy and put up a small book club for them. It only lasted a few months, until everyone was done reading the book, but I think it contributed to their passion for D&D.” She finally looked at him with the softest look anyone ever gave him, and he swore he could have melted right then and there.
“I wished someone read me Tolkien when I was younger.” Eddie murmured, going over to the bed and sitting there. “My parents, they… – he sighed – and my uncle… he was always out. So, I spent most of my evenings and nights alone. I still do. Unless I’m out for a deal…” Y/N sat next to him, so close that their legs were brushing, and if she leaned a little to the side, their shoulders would touch. But this time neither of them said or did anything. Eddie enjoyed the closeness, the warmth that came from her body, and a part of him wanted to reach for her hand, to hold it, to play with her fingers. Whereas Y/N realised only then that she actually knew nothing about him, about his parents, his family, if he had any siblings or cousins. “But I read Tolkien.” Eddie broke the silence. “I have a very old copy of The Hobbit back at my place. I think I found it at a yard sale a few years back. I could show it to you, if you want to.”
“I would actually love that” She smiled.
“But my favourite author is King. Man, I love his stuff. Shining was great, but I also liked Carrie and Pet Sematary.”
She never thought she would, on day, spend an evening with Eddie Munson, let alone talking about books. Still, she wished that evening would never end. “Well, if you’re into horror stuff, I think I have idea about what you should do your English assignment on.” Eddie had completely forgotten why he was there in the first place, and that sentence brought him back to reality. He looked her figure get off the bed and followed her to the bookshelf. She browsed it for a few moments, her fingers gently caressing the spines as she looked for the book she wanted. “Here it is.” She exclaimed, picking out a very thick book, with the spine completely cracked. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to read all of this.” She chuckled when she saw the fear in his eyes. “It’s called Night Pieces and it’s a collection of stories by Hoffmann. There is one in particular I love which is The Sandman.” Eddie carefully took the book in his hands and observe it. He obviously wasn’t thrilled at the idea of having to read something he knew nothing about, but he trusted Y/N, so he nodded. “I promise it’s good. If it’s not, then you can… I don’t know, force me to watch a horror movie.”
“I like the sound of that.” He laughed, laying on the bed, his back against the soft duvet that smelled of fresh laundry. “Do you think I could start reading it here? Or do you want me to go?” He looked at her, propping himself up on one elbow for a moment, wanting to look at her better.
She found herself thinking, please, stay for the whole night if you want. But instead, she simply nodded, grabbing her own book before lying next to him, this time leaving a bit more space between them. And they spent almost an entire hour like that, each reading their own book. Y/N could swear that she caught him staring at her a couple of times, but so could he. Eddie went on reading, eventually turning on his stomach, and in doing so he got closer to her. Y/N, however, kept staring at the words on the page in front of her, unable to concentrate enough to actually understand what she was supposed to read because of that closeness. A little voice inside of her kept telling her “Reach for him. Lean on his shoulder.” But she was too shy to even just move a little closer to him, let alone do any of that. And if they were characters in a story, to any omniscient reader, a situation such as this one would be extremely frustrating: the two of them, lying together, their arms or legs brushing against each other’s every now and then, both of them pining for the other, but neither of them realising their feelings were reciprocated.
Eventually, Dustin walked in on them, wanting to bid goodnight to his sister, but remained dumbfounded when he realised Eddie was still there. “I thought you had already left. It’s 10:30. On a school night.”
“Dustin, we’re old enough to stay up late if we want to, you know that?” She replied, getting up from her spot, immediately missing the warmth irradiated from his body.
Dustin looked at his sister, then the man laying her bed, and left without saying anything. “Yeah, maybe he’s right. It is kind of late, and you probably want to go to sleep.” Eddie didn’t really want to leave. On the contrary, he wanted to stay with her for as long as she let him.
And the same went for Y/N. But she nodded at him and put her book on the desk. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school, though, right?”
“Of course! Plus, I only have like 10 pages left to read, and I am completely enthralled. I really thought I wasn’t going to like this, but hell, was I wrong!” He smiled, putting the book in his backpack as slowly as possible, almost wanting to take everything out only to have to spend more time there putting everything back in. but he resisted the urge and put the backpack on his shoulder.
“So, no horror movie then?” She smiled, leading him out of her bedroom and down the corridor.
“Well, I mean… we could still watch a movie together some time… if you want, that is.” Eddie scratched the back of his neck, trying hard to play it cool. “It doesn’t even need to be a horror movie, really.”
Y/N stopped in front of the front entrance and turned towards him, smiling. “I would love that.” She opened the door for him and stood aside to let him through. She watched him walk down the driveway to his car, hoping he would turn around and come back to her. But he didn’t. He just got inside his car and started the engine. Fuck it, she thought, as she started running down the driveway too. “Eddie, wait!” She called for him. She jogged to his car and stopped for a few moments, before pushing herself on her tiptoe to reach his cheek and leave him a kiss there. Eddie was visibly caught by surprise, s much so that his cheeks started turning a soft shade of reddish pink, like they did that morning in the hallway at school. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”
He smiled, gently placing a hand on her cheek, the cold metal of his rings sending shivers down her spine. “I won’t, princess.” He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
After that, he waited for her to go back inside her house to do anything. But as soon as the door closed, he started basically dancing inside the car, humming the “Oh, love… oh, lover boy!” verse from Good Old Fashion Lover Boy by Queen as that was the song that had been stuck in his head for the entire night. Hell, what a day!
A/N: if you read this, thank you very much! Please, feel free to like and comment! I'd love to get some feedback! <3
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ride-thedragon · 2 months
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Nettles Discourse.
I'm a big Nettles fan. I accept that the bias I have towards her can affect my judgement when it comes to negative discussions, no one likes their favourite characters to be undersold or talked about in a negative regard. That being said we've lost the plot yet again when it comes to her.
I know I can be out there with my claims about her (George literally wrote asoiaf to support her narrative), but I do think she's often disregarded about the way she impacts the narrative. Because she does, she leaves some of the biggest questions that carry over into the main series in fire and blood.
. Was she a witch that seduced a prince
. Did her and Daemon spend the rest of their days in the Vale.
. Did she create the burned men
. Is she actually Valyrian
. Can non Valyrians ride and claim dragons.
. What happened to her and Sheepstealer (the dragonskull found in the main series...)
For who she is as a character, she's so misrepresented in the fandom, while I know I'm annoying about her, it's within good reason.
That's without the paedophilia discourse surrounding her character, the race and racism discourse surrounding her character at all times. Someone conflating her popularity and race isn't entirely incorrect.
The way people undermine her written story because they don't like her. The way they will make race and class the forefront of that undermining is quite insane when you see it.
There is also this air of mystery intended by her character that allows for theories and tie-ins to the main plot.
I've said that she mirrors Dany in some regards, which is true. They have a lot of parallels, like Rhaena and Sansa or Baela and Arya.
All this is to say that even though she isn't a main character in Fire and Blood, she's still important, and race does affect the perception of her a lot, which is an issue. We see the same thing with the popularity of Baela and Rhaena in the show, especially. She isn't a pov character or a main focus by any means, but her mystery alone would've had her 10 times more popular if she was a white alternative to that familial ship.
AND WHILE WE ARE HERE, DETTLES DISCOURSE.
Let's be serious.
Nettles is a child, Nettles is a victim, Nettles was groomed has no basis in the actual story.
If it's a reservation, you hold in the discourse fine, that's great but it's not an in universe thing.
She's legally an adult. She's an impoverished black girl in the narrative who's saved by a prince and a house protecting her against their world's Monarch and escapes on a dragon she claimed and she again escapes and her escape is framed as Daemon's redemption in the narrative.
When people say she was abused by Daemon, they never contextualise it in her character. She's just a poor, 16 year old at the mercy of a prince. That's unfair.
I'll be the first person to scream from the rooftops that Daemon should be held accountable for his every breath in the narrative as well as not being redeemed for all his crimes because he let my favourite character go.
But let's be clear, if someone views their story as romantic, it doesn't mean that they want paedophilia in the narrative. Nettles is closer to Book Brienne's age and perception than she is to Sansa's, two character with prominent ships with men older than them. Nettles is an adult by Westeros standards. (Daemon will burn in hell for messing with teens), but she is an adult.
It's not a question of a person's morality if they ship Daemon and Nettles. They are within the bounds of the world to do so. That's just how they choose to engage with the material instead of being critical and applying our standards to a ship.
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acourtofthought · 4 months
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Hello, good night!!
What do you think about this?
A brazilian girl (E|riel stan) made
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Hi there!
SJM did say that it's possible for there to be two mating bonds however she said that before we found out that Rowans bond with Lyria was fake.
I really think the point of her saying that was to keep the theories that Rowan and Aelin were mates alive until she revealed the truth.
If two mates were truly going to be a thing in her world, why have we never seen it after 10+ new mating bonds? Why do we have confirmation of a character losing his mate in the CC series and continuing to speak on how he's lost half his soul?
Bloodbane does inhibit someones magic and the ability to reach out to their mate.....but Bloodbane does not have the ability to erase a bond. Just like wearing noise cancelling headphones doesn't take away my ability to hear on a permanent basis. So yes, it's possible someone may not have felt their bond if Bloodbane was in their system but the second the poison was out of their bloodstream, the bond would be restored. And the Mother / Fate cannot be "tricked" into who is supposed to have a bond because of poison. She / It is the one who decides on bonds in the first place. Besides, Az didn't seem to have any trouble at all snarling at the king for speaking to Mor and we know he doesn't have a bond with her, it's clear that SJM wanted to be sure that we all remembered Lucien as the one who tried to get to Elain's side as she was being forced into the Cauldron before he knew they were mates. Bond or no bond, that's good stuff.
There is a carranam bond but that's not what Amren was talking about. In that scene they were all clearly talking about Feysands mating bond. As we know Elucien does have a mating bond then it's safe to say their bond also cannot be undone.
The Cauldron was corrupted by the Asteri so they could use it to create evil monsters and dangerous weapons. They also tied the Cauldron to the land so it could not be destroyed without destroying the land. There is absolutely nothing to suggest they had any interest in messing with mating bonds and I'm not sure why they would. The Asteri created beings that they felt they could control. Thinking they wanted to "mate" them to other beings in order to create strong offspring would mean something could be born that could possibly become a threat to them. Also, we found out that one character who was originally from Prythian ended up mated to someone from Hel. Mating bonds exist across dimensions and that is not something the Asteri had anything to do with.
Rhys was definitely the product of an unhappy bond because his father was cold and vicious and his mother was soft and fiery. His father also snatched her away the very day the bond snapped.
As the only comparable piece of information from this is the fact that Elain is also soft and fiery, I think it's clear we don't have to worry about Lucien being anything like Rhys's father.
Truth Tellers special power is what it can do when used with the Starsword. And only when used by a descendent of Theia. Yes, Elain was the first person Az let use it but as far as we know, it's also the first time Az had to sit out of a battle and someone was in need of a dagger. And the reason Az sat out of battle is because Mor begged him "with tears in her eyes" to sit out. Az did not fight because the female he loved asked him not to.
I also have a theory about Truth Teller and that Az is going to end up giving it to Emorie so there's a chance Az lending it to Elain is no different than Amren giving Feyre a piece of her jewelry and convincing her it's what got her out of the prison.
Elain likes balls and parties, Az likes his space. Elain craves sunshine, Az prefers shadows. Elain is good at talking to people. Az barely talks. Elain loves nature. Az likes........snowball fights, I guess? But that's in the winter and Elain can't do what she loves in winter. Cruelty bothers Elain and Az tortures people in a symphony of pain.
Feyre and Nesta both had their bonds described as a thread. Feyre even send she felt something pulling at her gut. Elain feeling a tug on her rib is a lot more romantic than someones stomach.
We actually don't know if Elain wants Lucien. It seems she doesn't, she says she doesn't, but looking at Feyre in book 1, would we have ever known she wanted Rhys even UTM? Looking at Nesta at the start of SF, did it seem like she wanted Cassian? Considering Aelin said something extremely derogatory towards Rowan, was it easy to guess they were going to end up together? When Yrene told Chaol she only got close to him because opiates made people do stupid things, would that have clued us in to them falling in love?
(Hopefully I'm making my point here, lol).
Az's mother does live in Rosehall......and that's the most ridiculous reason for anyone to think Elain should end up with him when we know absolutely nothing about it or his mother. Feyre looked at the Night Sky and ended up in the Night Court. Elain says she needs Sunshine, not roses.
SJM tends to sample from fable and mythology however in the books these things are almost unrecognizable. So anyone trying to convince themselves of an E/riel endgame based on things SJM has sampled or might sample from should probably check in with the people who thought Bryce would end up living in Prythian as the ruler of the Dusk Court with Az.
I hope you have a great night!!!
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agent-calivide · 10 months
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This post isn’t aimed at anyone in specific, rather, just a general overall post to the IEYTD fandom
If you don’t like my interpretation of Phoenix as she/her that’s fine, everyone has their preferences. But it really sucks to be told to your face that your interpretation is gross or wrong or straight up incorrect.
Of course when theory crafting or talking about the character I go with they/them, as that’s the pronouns used in game, but Phoenix is not a nonbinary character, they are a self insert character that you can project yourself on to because the point is the player is the Phoenix. The pronouns are neutral so anyone can fill their shoes.
And to be blunt, if I saw the same energy for he/him interpretations of Phoenix I probably wouldn’t care because it would be a fandom-wide thing where Phoenix just is they/them, but I don’t. In fact, I see a lot of love for he/him interpretations of them, I personally really love Jackson Winters in particular. But where those creators post and share and get generally positive response, I usually get some mixture of “I don’t like it, but good for you” or “why are you calling them/him she?”
And the more and more I get that response the less and less I want to share my works, because I can only handle being told my interpretation is lesser so much. I know that my personal interpretation should just be my business, but it’s hard to not take it personal when I don’t really see anyone else with that interpretation very often and these points are always made when I’m in the conversation.
Just earlier I saw someone voice relief that someone else’s fanfic didn’t give Phoenix she/her pronouns while we were complimenting their fic, literally saying “Thank god” before saying it rubbed them the wrong way. It’s hard to not take that personal, it feels like a deliberate dig, whether intentional or not.
And yeah, this was one specific instance, but I have dozens of similar stories, and it’s just… frustrating. I made Phoenix she/her because I personally have had issues with accepting my femininity in the past, and I take comfort in the fact that my Phoenix can absolutely kick ass, take names, get shit done, and not have some “she’s cool AND a woman!!!” narrative. She’s just cool.
Honestly, Unconventional is probably the one most guilty of “she’s cool and a girl” because I went into it apprehensive of what people would think of my interpretation, but over time I let go of that, and Seraphina “Phoenix” Ardeat is now one of my favorite characters.
So to be told point blank on a roughly bi-monthly basis that she’s weird, why are you calling Phoenix she, and generally being told I’m wrong for making this character into my own when that’s what everyone is doing, it’s tiring. And it just sucks.
I love creating for this fandom, but it’s hard to want to when there’s like a 20% chance someone’s gonna get in my face and make me feel shitty for the rest of the day because of a silly, nameless, faceless character.
Again, this isn’t a call out or an attack, I just ask that maybe in the future people think before saying “I don’t like this, but good for you” because that “good for you” is like putting a bandaid over a bullet hole.
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littlestarlost · 1 year
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Yellowjackets is a show about trauma. I don't know what else to tell you.
Alright, blood hive, here we go again.
We're about halfway through season 2 at this point, and I remain more convinced than ever that a large portion of the viewing public is not fundamentally listening to what the wilderness the showrunners are trying to say. If you're looking for a singular capital-R Reason for everything we see in the show, you're looking at the wrong stuff. So here are some more thoughts.
(Spoilers for all of Yellowjackets up to S2E5, "Two Truths and a Lie")
One: Yellowjackets is a show about trauma and its relationship to magical thinking.
I get another grey hair every time I see someone trying to puzzle out just what is in the woods.
There's nothing in the woods, y'all. Nothing. Until I'm proven wrong by the show itself, this is the hill I will stubbornly die on. But show has been EXTREMELY consistent this whole time in its ambiguity, and in my opinion anyone using the red string and thumbtacks approach to Yellowjackets is being played for a fool. It doesn’t matter if there’s actually an entity in the woods (there isn’t), or if Lottie actually has powers (she doesn’t); what matters is that the survivors are clinging to any answers they can grasp in a situation full of unknowns, and so are we. Part of what’s so devastating about their plight is that there’s no real reason for any of it. This is the basis for literally every religion humans have ever had; we’ve been grasping at ritual and magical thinking for millennia. We are observing the growth of that dependence and ritual right now, in the second season. We are also seeing the consequences of that situation in the future. We are seeing how the power of thought can provide both comfort and further trauma.
I suspect that we will never learn the meaning behind the mysterious symbol. I've seen theories that it's a witch's mark, or even that it's a miner's signal and that all the weird stuff happening to the Yellowjackets is the result of mercury poisoning because they're inadvertently on top of an old mine. That's a nice theory, but I don't think it's correct, and I also don't think it should be revealed anyway. It doesn't ultimately matter what the symbol meant to the dead guy or his cabin; what matters is what the symbol represents for the Yellowjackets themselves.
Two: Yellowjackets is a show about trauma and the way it twists the unknown.
I am fascinated but frustrated by the apparent age split with fans. It seems to me that there's a pretty good-sized gap between the older fans of the show, who would have been kids/teenagers in the 90s (including me), and the gen Z viewers, the latter of which seem unable to really really understand just how wild the wilderness is. The generational split here is with those who remember how VCRs work because we had them and those who have never needed to know. It's a split between we who went through our primary school years without access to Wikipedia and those who have had the wealth of human knowledge in their pockets since they were children.
I’ve watched people do all sorts of questioning and speculating, and it almost always traces back to whether or not you understand how the world worked before smartphones, AKA most of human history. Let me answer some of those questions right now off the top of my head:
How could the Yellowjackets not be found for 19 months?
People used to just fucking vanish, fam. We did not have GPS, we did not have trackers, we barely had battery-powered walkmen. People vanished all the time, and were never ever seen again. Sometimes they did it on purpose, and a lot of the time they disappeared by accident or malice, and a lot of times they died. 1996 doesn't seem that long ago in terms of technology, but it is. People still go missing to this day, even with all our tech tracking us everywhere. Canada is fucking huge and a lot of it is mostly wilderness. Here's a photo I found from Statistics Canada with the population density of Ontario; the black areas represent places where there's basically goddamn nothing but wilderness.
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2. How was there no road to the Cabin Guy's Cabin? How did he get there? How did he get supplies there?
He had a plane, and also, once again: people used to disappear all the time. In his case, he seems to have done it on purpose.
3. How could Shauna possibly deliver a child in those conditions? How could the baby be getting the nutrients it needs?
People did this successfully for tens of thousands of years, you guys. You're literally reading this post because our ancestors successfully birthed children in the middle of fucking nowhere with zero medical aid or support.
4. How could Lottie know about the bear or the starlings or or or...?
Easy: she doesn't. Not entirely, anyway. She's an empathetic person who's really good at dealing with the emotions of other people and has a sense of spirituality that appears brave and confident, and people in dire situations with a lot of chaos will depend on that with their lives.
And speaking of Lottie...
Three: Yellowjackets is a show about trauma and how it forces you to transform.
At the end of last season I believed that we were going to get a Lottie Villain Era, just like everyone else. I do not believe that now.
Everything we have seen of Lottie shows a girl who was subjected to medical abuse and/or neglect from a very very young age. Regardless of her actual powers or lack thereof, she was placed on medication by her parents and didn't come off of it until she was in a super traumatizing situation in the wilderness. During this most recent season, we have seen both Teenage and Adult Lottie struggle with her role as a spiritual leader and advisor; she's good at it, but it drains her. It isn't something she's doing out of a desire for power or control: it's something she's doing as a trauma response. That trauma response is helping others, so she keeps doing it, but it's still a trauma response. Trauma transforms you into somebody new, over and over again. The scars you bear become your armor, and then your mask, and then it's hard to know where you end and the trauma begins.
Taissa, too, is transformed by trauma. Her other self is a trauma response, similar to alters in a DID system. It comes to the front when Taissa can't deal, and it's both helpful and harmful. I'm willing to bet a lot of her college years were spent sleepwalking, as the Other One dealt with exams and soccer games and law school. Any one of us with dissociative trauma responses can speak to the way that dissociation can be a savior and an abuser in the same breath.
Four: Yellowjackets is a show about trauma and how it compounds on itself.
This most recent episode showed Natalie coming to a realization about the last time she saw Travis, and she says the words we've heard in the season trailers: there was something in the woods, something they brought back with them. Or maybe it was in them the whole time.
In my previous essay I talked about how each Yellowjacket arrived in the woods with her own traumas strapped to her back. In my mind, that's what Natalie is talking about. There is no entity in the woods to blame for all of this, no ghost or witch who can be credited with the trauma the girls experienced and inflicted. There is only the trauma itself, in all its many shapes and sizes, in all the ways it fills in the gaps and makes shadows dance by firelight and drives us to the very brink of madness, holding us back by a fraying tether.
Yellowjackets is a show about trauma. The show's theme song rings out every episode: No return, no return, no reason. There is no return to the way things were. There is no return that can erase what you've been through. There is no reason for all of this, except for the one that's been very explicitly outlined via themes and story and dialogue and flashbacks and framing.
Yellowjackets is a show about trauma. It's the only answer we have, and I suspect--and hope--that it's the only answer we're ever going to get.
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New CR Theory Time!
So, this has little basis in fact, and is almost all pretty reach-y extrapolations of what we know already, but I really like the theory, so I’m going to lay it all out for you:
Ashton is Ludinus Da’Leth’s grandson
Hear me out.  Here’s what we know for certain:
·         Ludinus spent a while in Issylra before coming to Molaysmyr
·         He arrived at Molaysmyr as a ‘young man’ (though if he was already deep into magical works, he might have been able to extend his life significantly, which has to be true if he really did survive the Calamity)
·         The Hishari village was located in Issylra (I think?  I can’t actually find the source for this one, but it’s been thrown around a lot, so I’m going with it)
·         It would make sense that Ludinus, still enraged that the mortals so devastatingly lost their war with the gods, would be seeking out other pre-Calamity peoples to work with.  We know the Ashari are an offshoot of a former druidic people, the Drashari.  It seems likely, given the similar etymology, that the Hishari were another offshoot
o   It would also just be a very Taliesin thing to do to make the evil mirror image version of one of the most idyllically good civilizations in Exandria
·         The Ashari would be unlikely to want to start shit with the gods again, but the Hishari might have been more open to it.  While the Ashari seem to be all about balance and living within nature, it seems like the Hishari wanted to control it and gain power from it.  That might have appealed to a young Ludinus.
·         Ashton’s mother was described as ‘saintly’ (and given comments in a 4SD episode, was almost certainly Aasimar) and his father was specifically described as elven. Those were literally the only attributes Matt saw fit to describe in Ashton’s flashback, so it’s very possible that those attributes are important beyond making Ashton originally half-elven with a dash of divinity.
So let’s get into the theory.  Ludinus seems too old to have been Ashton’s father, and was well out of Issylra by the time Ashton was born, unless there was some sort of time fuckery with the Hishari destruction as well as spatial fuckery.  But given the forces they were messing with, it seems less likely that time was also wacky.
So my guess is that Ludinus spent some time with the Hishari before coming to Molaysmyr.  He met another elf there, possibly a druid, and they ended up hooking up.  She got pregnant, and Ludinus likely left her and the baby.  Why?  Because he’s an asshole.
His son was then raised in the Hishari village as one of them, but also inherited his father’s drive for power and control, so he became the spearhead for developing a ritual that would give them incredible control and power over the elements (or maybe just the element of Earth?  Unclear.). He hooked up with an Aasimar woman, possibly arranged specifically for the ritual, and had a child designed from the ground up as the centerpiece of that ritual: a child with divinity in their blood, of pre-Calamity elven stock, and likely with a few attributes no one knows about yet.  They set the ritual into motion, and something went wrong.  Instead of achieving whatever power or control they were aiming for, they created a massive disruption in space and elemental forces, blowing the entire area to kingdom come and dumping one of the few, if only, survivors, said child, through a portal a continent away.  Whatever his old name was got lost, and the child eventually became Ashton Greymoore, punk orphan in Bassuras.  
The timing and the motivations seem to work.  Matt seems to really enjoy tying Taliesin’s backstory into his campaign-spanning narrative, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Taliesin gave him elven father, and Matt tied him back to Ludinus.  
And all of this means that Ashton, gutterpunk, is actually Taliesin’s second noble-in-hiding character. It would make his mocking of Dorian a bit poignant, and make their struggle against Ludinus a bit more personal (Ashton does love hitting parents, and I imagine grandparents work too).  It would also mean that Ludinus has yet to get a really good look at his grandson.  After all, Ashton has been busy both times Ludinus has directly interacted with the party, and he still doesn’t know that his grandson has somehow gotten dosed with the Cerberus Assembly’s own dunamis cocktail directly into his brain, creating a brand new branch of the magic that Ludinus has clearly played with already.  How fascinated would he be to find out about his last living relative, and how much more dangerous would that make him to the party?
Anyway, like I said, all of this is based on speculation, stringing together the very thin facts as I see them, and a lot of wishful thinking.  I think it would be cool, I think that after Caduceus really took a back seat plot-wise last campaign it would be fun to see Taliesin get his turn to be at the nexus of fate, and I would love to see some of the interactions, both interparty and with Ludinus, that would come about because of it.
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jiniwae · 7 months
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My theory, probably jack is going to ask for the traveler and siha nova's help, since well I asume they are like two strong characters of the lore + it would be cool so they add more coaches to the main lore
Imagine the coaches for LEVITATING, ROCK YOUR BODY, Jack Rose come through and save rhe day
My theory is that the entire map for Treasure is basically Night Swan gaslighting Jack Rose, she made him reflect and see a different version of himself where he is still working as her right side man (hence the cape and hair), and because he’s working for her, he can now see himself as a successful and famous person who’s accomplished his dreams. The other Jacks in the map are basically signifying that Jack is his own biggest fan and that he cares a lot for himself. But in the end, Jack has to think to himself about what he wants, and eventually he realizes that he has actual friends who actually support and want to see him successful (Wanderlust and the others), so he runs to help them defeat Night Swan when he gets the warning from Mihaly, but unfortunately he’s too late.Show less
I feel like 2025 Jack is def getting a redemption arc and I think he might recruit Siha Nova and The Traveler (wanderlusts's parents) for help and maybe a few others. or jack might do it all himself who knows!! ALSO!!! NEXT YEAR I WANT NIGHT SWAN BACK STORY!!!!
I would love to see Siha nova and the traveller fighting Night Swan in JD 2025, they started this story, they should end it
I hope when the story goes on they bring back the parents of wanderlust who help Jack Rose fighting Night Swan back but at then end they could stay in the much cooler clothes but be the good ones?
I just hope to god they bring in the Beggin’ Coach, Cygnus, seeing that he is connected to Night Swan somehow. Maybe Jack would not only get the help of Wanderlust’s parents, but Cygnus, too?
Maybe this means next year Captain Crimson will help Jack to follow them in a new ship
Miahlly is a master of the flow and channelling the panda when she becomes him in her map and in swan lake but as she is being pulled away to the dark side she can't channel him and turns back into herself and then sends that last signal to Jack using the flow while she still can before completely turning to dark side also your son Jack is at the swan lake looking in it and night swan projects this alternate reality in witch she is showing him her feelings of love towards him and the future she is trying to give him if he comes back to her so it's actually night swan portraying him and singing those lyrics to him as him in the dream and saying that he is her treasure and she can make all his dreams come true if he lets her treasure him and is hers alone again so she can pass her throne to him and make him king of the dance universe so now he has to make a choice in the mean time she set sail to give him time to choose witch path he wants to followShow less
Jack for sure get the Time Traveler, Si'Ha Nova & the Panda to help him, maybe even the Gimme More coach.
What if Jack then gets dancers from super songs like Telephone, Sail, Gimme more, and also the Traveler and Si’ha to help him save his friends?
I don't Siha Nova and thw traveller are going to be happy at what wanderlust did (turning evil) even if he tries to explain
I wonder if they will bring in The Traveler and Siha Nova in to the story and it becomes them teaming with Jack Rose to save the rest of the group and their son
Me nether. I think that jack rose will team up with other coaches to save his friends. 1st of course siha nova & the traveler can save discoball & wanderlust cause the made discoball + wanderlust is their son. Next agent d cause she's a spy and with her chameleon like ability could really coming in handy and I can see her saving breeziana since they both care for the people in their lives breeziana inspiring people to never give up with her heart and d being a agent who saves peoples lives on a daily basis with her missions 3rd and hear me out, I think mothagan will save mihaly since moth is a coach who helps other coaches rest in peace aka heal them in her cryptic cave can probably reach out to mihaly's spiritual side to help her break free and lastly jack rose saving sara. Sara made jack realized that dancing should be happy and fun not to worry about perfection or his mother(that "blond dog" nightswan is) and so it would be kinda returning the act of kindness back and help sara get over her anxiety about dancing. Or they can make new coaches to team up with jack rose. Or jack rose saving them all by himself. And of course ending with the just dancers happy and nightswan being locked away forever. Ps I kinda want nightswan dead but its a family friendly game so they can't do that. Bonus we need a story mode season. #prayforthejustdancers #endnightswan
Imo the story is better. Last year, it felt kinda cheesy for me with the heroes immediately succeeding in fighting off Night Swan. It served as a decent enough way to introduce the characters but lacks noticeable stakes, which this years has more of. We get stakes right off the bat with Night Swan taking disco ball, and then they increase with her attempting to possess Sara, and the final two raise them even more by possessing the rest of the coaches and leaving Jack Rose isolated. The cliffhanger gives the next game’s story a more dramatic opening. Overall, the story this year just feels more entertaining to me. That said, some of my favorite routines in the series are coming from story mode (Never Be Like You, Treasure, Witch, and Tainted Love are all up there), so I’m happy with what they’re doing, even if the story isn’t the best thing on the planet.
another Theory I have is that Captain Crimson is Jack Roses Father and Jack Rose and Captain Crimson Teams Up to Save Jack Roses Friends (also if that’s True I really hope it’s gonna be the song Burn The Ships by for KING & COUNTRY and that it uses the Music Video Audio with the Cutscene method they used with Swan Lake)
and maybe they might instead finally turn Night Swan to the Good Side by fixing what made her Evil in the first place (if so we might get a Leaked song that didn’t make it so don’t Scroll Down if you don’t wanna be Spoiled) Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These)Show less
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Star-Crossed | Basim x OC | Part 4
As strange things happen at the House of Wisdom, Nashira begins to wonder what Basim has been up to the last four years…and what he’s up to now.
Nashira was never one to hold her tongue.
Perhaps being raised by her father had something to do with that.
Khalid ibn Mohammed was many things: a respected astronomer, a loving father, and above all else, a spirited debater. She’d seen him confidently share his theories and findings to rooms filled with the world's most celebrated scholars from Baghdad to Greece to Timbuktu. She’d also seen the many lengthy instances where he was asked to defend such findings, which he always did, with ample evidence to boot.
Anytime Nashira wanted something, she and her father had a little game where she’d have to defend her reasons as to why she should have it, while Khalid would argue against it. In fact, such a game is how she got Halah.
“A cat will keep the mice away,” A young Nashira stated.
“They are a big responsibility azizati” he’d say.
“I’m very responsible,” She persisted, “I study very hard, and I complete my chores without being asked.”
Khalid raised a brow, pointing to her study area, “Then why is your desk still a mess?”
“Because if it was clean, Baba, I wouldn't have any way to show you how responsible I am.”
Khalid let out a roar of a laugh. He could not argue with that logic. The next day he presented his daughter with a fluffy white cat.
She never held back in any conversation, especially an intellectual one. She’d learned the art of having tact, but that tact could only do so much in the face of outright foolishness. It was no surprise then when she openly criticized the House of Wisdom’s head scholar, Fazil Fahim.
The man was a charlatan, at least Nashira thought so. He spoke of people who came before, how they would come again one day, how his so-called “great work” proved as much.
Nashira read his research, she attended his lectures, and saw absolutely no basis for this claim. Fazil Fahim had no place as first scholar of the House of Wisdom if intended to spout the musings of a fool. Worse yet, he was spending an unthinkable amount of money on a pointless dig sight out in the wilderness. That part angered Nashira the most.
“To make such claims without any solid evidence is moronic!” Nashira exclaimed after one of his symposiums, “I expect better from a man as intelligent as Fazil Fahim, especially when he is the head scholar of the House of Wisdom. With the money he spends on that dig site, we could fund stipends for more scholars and pay school fees for students who cannot afford it otherwise. A terrible waste!”
What Nashira had not considered was that unlike her father, who was understanding and encouraged her to speak freely around him, other men did not take such talk as well from a woman.
Lately, she swore someone was following her. Around the House of Wisdom, around the markets, outside her home. She couldn’t explain it but she felt a presence near her at all times, starting around the time she made the comment about Fazil.
Perhaps it was him following her around? To confront her on what she said? If that were the case he knew where her observatory was. Nothing stopped him from simply strolling right in and giving her a piece of his mind.
Nashira sighed, drumming her fingers on the open book in front of her. After some contemplation, she let her thoughts drift to where she tried so hard no to let them go.
Could it be Basim?
Her mind filled with the image of his round eyes, his dark brows, his full bottom lip he bit when he was nervous….
She let out a frustrated huff, “Stop it Nashira….” She made herself clear the last time they spoke. That was all in the past. She was married to Omar and he was a good husband to her. This was just her wishful thinking again. The residuals of reckless teenaged passion.
She glanced at the open window. Why did she even bother keeping it open anymore when the only person who ever used it was him?
Nashira walked over to it, taking hold of the window panes and froze. Keeping it open just a little bit wouldn’t hurt? Right? It was quite hot today and the draft would be nice.
She dropped her arms by her side with a heavy sigh, resigning to her desk as she gazed at the window she was too cowardly to close.
Halah jumped into her lap, meowing at her.
She let out a laugh, “You’re right Halah, I need to forget about Basim,” She petted the cat, “Especially before Omar comes back…he’ll notice something is wrong with me and I wouldn’t have the heart to be honest as to why…”
The cat purred into her hand.
Suddenly, Basim leaped through the window. It wasn't in his usual way, he barreled his way in like he was in a rush, or rather a panic.
She gasped, “Basim?”
She paused upon seeing his expression. Basim looked distraught, “You need to get out of here. Now.” He walked over and grabbed her by the arm.
She resisted, “Excuse me? You can’t just barge in here and demand I go anywhere with you, not without an explanation!” She barked at him, and he backed a little in response.
Suddenly the doors of the observator burst open, revealing a group of heavily armed guards. Many of them holding weapons that seemed too coarse for a building full of scholars.
Nashira let out a scream, “What in the world?” She muttered under her breath. The guards drew their swords, filling the entrance. Basim stepped in front of her and Halah, a deadly look in eyes. It didn’t seem to match the face of the sweet boy she used to know, but she considered herself lucky to not be on the receiving end of it.
The biggest guard pointed his sword directly at Nashira, “There she is. Get her!” He ordered.
Basim drew his scimitar from his hilt, a deadly focus growing on his face, “Nashira, Halah, stay behind me.”
_______________________________________________
Basim panted, returning his scimitar to its hilt on his side. Around them lay the dead bodies of the assailants. Taking them out was light work, though he hated making a mess of the observatory.
Nashira stood in place clutching Halah, whose fur stood on ends. They both trembled after witnessing such carnage.
He walked over to her, “Are you alright?” He asked. His voice sounded gently and sweet, a total contrast to the ferocity he displayed in the earlier fight.
Nashira nodded slowly, eyes still focusing on the bodies in front of her. She had never seen so much blood before. She shivered thinking how It would have been her blood had Basim not arrived in time.
He sighed with relief, “Now you see why I need you to come with me?” He asked.
Nashira let out a shaky breath, “Why on earth would these men try to kill me?” She asked, clutching Halah tightly against her.
Basim stepped towards her, “Many people in The House of Wisdom have been going missing, some of them have even been killed. I decided to look into this and spoke with a man who said someone by the name of Al Rabisu was targeting scholars getting involved with a mysterious dig site out in the wilderness. Your name came up and I rushed over here.”
He let out a sigh, “I am just glad I wasn’t too late.” He said just above a whisper.
Nashira swallowed hard, “Me too.” She thought for a moment, “Who is this Al Rabisu?”
“That is what I am trying to find out,” Basim said, “Think, is there anyone you could have angered in the last few days? Anyone at all?”
Nashira thought for a moment, “Well…I may have said some critical things about Fazil Fazim?” She bit her lip nervously. Looking back on it, maybe openly criticizing the most powerful man in the House of Wisdom was a bad idea.
Basim’s eyes widened, “The head scholar?”
She nodded.
He exhaled, “Well I can’t say I’m surprised you'd do something like that.” He said, placing his hands on his hips. This pointed to motive for Fazim in regards to Nashira’s criticism, and further connected him to the order. Still, he needed to be absolutely sure before acting.
She frowned, “I know I said some harsh things, but what would killing me do? I don’t understand.” Nashira asked.
“I have my suspicions as to what Al Rabisu is up to, but first I need to get you somewhere safe.” Basim explained.
Nashira furrowed her brows as Basim guided her towards the window, “Basim what are you-” She was cut off by Basim blindfolding her.
She yelped when he picked her up. She tightened her hold on Halah as Basim carried them both out of the window. To where, she had no idea.
______________________________________________
Nashira sat in a strange room holding Halah in her arms, listening to the muffled voices below. Basim had been speaking with a hooded gray haired woman for some time now. Most of it sounded like her reprimanding him.
“What do you think you’re doing bringing an outsider here?” An older woman with a raspy voice asked angrily.
“I know, Master Roshan, but she was in danger. This was the only place I knew that would be safe.” He pleaded.
Roshan huffed, “You know the rules. No compromising the brotherhood.”
“She won’t,” He added, “I trust her with my life. We’ll keep her here as soon as I can figure out who’s behind the mask in the House of Wisdom.”
Nashira felt a sense of relief hearing him vouch for her to stay. She definitely didn’t feel safe enough to go home, especially with her husband gone.
Downstairs, Roshan didn’t budge, instead crossing her arms and hardening her stare.
Basim pressed his hands together, “Please master,” He lowered his voice, leaning in a bit, “This is important for the success of my mission.”
His mentor raised a brow, “Is all this important for your mission, or is she important to you?” she asked at full volume.
Basim opened his mouth to negate that, but couldn’t.
Nashira listened intently to the conversation, feeling her face growing red at what Roshan insinuated. She quickly shook the feeling away.
“That’s in the past.” she insisted to herself. She kept listening.
Roshan let out a deep sigh, “Alright. But make haste on finding out the truth behind Al Rabisu and this dig site. We do not have time to waste.”
Nashira let out a sigh of relief and heard footsteps walking up the stairs. She quickly busied herself, making it seem like she hadn’t been listening to that conversation.
Basim entered the space looking indignant after the harsh talking-to he just received, but quickly fixed his face once he saw Nashira.
“You can stay here as long as you need.” He said, “It is safe here.”
She sighed in relief, “Thank you, Basim…I really appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
He gave her a soft smile, “Of course, ya sayidati.”
She let Halah jump down from her arms, smiling when she saw her snuggle up against Basim’s boot, “If I might ask, where exactly am I?”
Basim let out a deep sigh, “I’m afraid I cannot tell you.”
Nashira raised a brow at him, but continued with her questions, “Then, can I ask what you are going to do now?” She hesitated, “Do you intend to…fix this issue the way you did in my observatory?”
Basim crossed his arms, “I will do what needs to be done to ensure your safety.”
She made an irritable noise at that, and Basim tried not to laugh. She hated not knowing things.
“What is with all these secrets? He’s never been this secretive…” she thought to herself, no doubt her face showing how irritated she was.
Basim gently patted her shoulder, “Try to relax while I’m gone.”
She rolled her eyes, “Easier said than done. You’re not the one with a target on their back.”
“True.” He shrugged, “At least not today.”
Basim turned around before he could see the look of wide eyed shock on Nashira’s face. Just what on earth does he do for a living?!
The steely look in his face returned as he glanced behind him, “I must go now. If you need anything, Master Roshan and Tabid will help you. I’ll be back soon.” He turned to leave the room, headed for the House of Wisdom to continue his investigation.
Just as Basim was about to turn the corner, he heard her voice behind him.
“Be careful.”
She said it softly, nearly a whisper. He smiled to himself, then turned just enough to nod at her, and left.
When he disappeared from her sight, Nashira let out a long breath, trying to shake off the feeling in her chest. She thought back to the fight that broke out in her observatory. As scary as the situation was, Basim skillfully subdued her attackers with ease.
If she hadn’t already known him, she’d swear he was a hero from an epic tale that leaped off the page and into real life. He could protect anyone from anything, no longer the defenseless boy from the streets she once knew. This Basim was a different beast entirely.
She shook her head when she realized she was thinking about him for too long, “Stop it Nashira!” she said to herself.
Her eyes drifted to Halah, who sat on the floor and looked up at her, tilting her head.
Nashira shrugged, “What?”
Halah simply meowed, walking toward one of the cushions on the floor to take a nap.
______________________________________________
Nashira knew she was supposed to stay in the room and out of the way of everyone else in the bureau, but her curiosity couldn’t stay away. It had been at least a day since Basim brought her here, and the only fresh air she got in that time was from the small enclosed courtyard just outside the bureau. She crept out of the room Basim left her in and made her way down the hall.
There weren’t many people at all in the bureau. The few people there were too occupied with their own studies to notice her. Or rather, she suspected, they did notice her and decided she was such a non threat they didn’t have to acknowledge her presence. She figured that was for the best all things considered.
She made her way down the stairs, taking note of her surroundings: there was a desk, a bookshelf filled with reference books and maps of the city hanging on the walls. Near the door was a board with several papers pinned to it.
Nashira got close to the desk in an attempt to read the papers on it, having to strain her eyes just to make out a few letters at a time.
“What are you doing?”
She whipped her head around at the sound of the raspy voice from earlier. There stood the woman in similar robes to Basim, only she had a red sash instead of the blue one he wore. Her hood was up, unlike the other hidden ones in the bureau, and Nashira could only make out the bottom half of her face. She must have been the woman Basim was speaking with earlier, Master Roshan.
“Nothing,” she sputtered, “I was just-“
“You were just looking at confidential documents?” Roshon finished for her as she stalked up to Nashira, towering over the younger woman.
“My apologies, I didn’t know they were confidential, they were out in the open,” Nashira clarified, “I don’t even have my magnifying glass on me so I could hardly read any of it.”
“A likely story,” said Roshan, “Or a clever lie.”
Nashira frowned, “I am no liar. And unlike you and Basim I do not keep secrets either.” She crossed her arms.
Roshan hummed, “Then perhaps you’re not so clever after all.”
Nahsira scoffed in response.
Roshan examined the woman in front of her. She didn’t peg this woman as a member of the order, but she could never be too careful. By the looks of her, she had zero fighting prowess about her. She was young, about twenty if she had to guess, olive skinned, shaped like a pear with a soft tummy, and lacking in muscle. Nashira didn’t possess any weapons on her person and definitely dressed like a woman could afford to hire people to fight for her judging by her elegant robes and jewlery.
It was clear she wasn’t a threat, at least not physically.
No doubt she was beautiful enough to compel the hearts of men and women around her. Men like Basim, who despite having grown from the scared boy he was when Roshan first met him, was still a man. A young one at that, making him an easy target for seduction.
She decided she wouldn’t let up until she had a better understanding of who this young woman was and what she was doing with her student.
Roshon narrowed her eyes, “Who are you?”
“Nashira bint Khalid ibn Mohammed.” She answered quickly, “I’m an astronomer at the House of Wisdom.”
“A woman astronomer,” Roshan thought, not hiding her intrigue in her face, “Being a woman in your position must make you quite vulnerable. Especially to men with fragile egos in the House of Wisdom I imagine.” She said aloud.
Nashira sighed, “Perhaps…I’ve been made quite aware of that recently…”
Roshan tilted her head. Clearly she was intelligent considering she was a scholar. Though intelligence does little to help naïveté it seems. Any woman in a lower class knew a man’s ego was a threat, as Roshan herself was well aware. However women of higher class lived in a world sheltered by the men around them. Those women had the protection of their well to do male relatives and whoever served them. Perhaps the events leading to Nashira staying here were a rude awakening on that fact.
Roshan continued, “How do you know Basim?”
Nashira rubbed her hand up and down her arm, “We were…friends.” She said, trying to keep her gaze locked on Roshan but couldn’t help but to shift her eyes to the ground.
“Friends?” Roshan raised a brow, sensing she was withholding information. Still, her hesitation to answer her questions regarding Basim did not seem to come from a place of deception, at least not with the goal of deceiving Roshan in this very moment.
Nashira shifted her eyes from the floor to Roshan’s, “Perhaps more than that.”
Now it was coming together for Roshan. Like his friend Nehal, she was just another piece of the past Basim had to reckon with, “I see…And are you still more than that?”
“No.” Nashira answered quickly.
“Why not?”
The young woman shrugged her shoulders, “He disappeared,” she looked Roshon up and down, “I suspect you know the rest.”
“The rest?”
Nashira rolled her eyes, “The parts I don’t know…or aren’t allowed to know it seems.”
Roshan clasped her hands behind her back, “Basim took an oath, to leave his past behind him and walk our path. To walk the shadows and serve the light.” She held Nashia’s gaze, “He has no room for anything else. I’m sure you understand Nashira.”
Nashira nodded. So then this was the reason he stayed away so long. This oath of his to leave his past behind, her included. After all the time they spent together, had he really intended to forget about her just like that? It took her years to make peace with his sudden disappearance. Was it really so easy for him? If he wasn’t required to come back to Baghdad, would he have even bothered seeking her out at all?
She swallowed hard. Why did the thought of that upset her so much?
Her somber expression didn’t go unnoticed by Roshan, “I do not say this to be cruel. I just do not want you to get you to get your hopes up.”
She met Roshan’s gaze with her own, “That will not be a problem. What we had is in the past.”
“Is it?” The hidden one tilted her head.
“It is.” Nashira answered sternly, “And once this is all over and I can go back to my observatory and we can forget all about this.”
Roshon paused for a moment, then let out a sigh. This woman was smart, but a terrible liar.
“Very well.” She said, turning on her heel toward the door, “I enjoyed our chat, Nashira bint Khalid.” She put her hand on the doorknob, “there are some books on the shelf behind you. I suggest you read those to keep your boredom at bay.”
Without another word she walked out the bureau, leaving a stunned Nashira behind.
Nashira held her gaze on the door, letting her feelings sink into her. Despite the presence of others in the office, she suddenly felt more confused and alone than ever.
What path did Basim walk that led him so far from her?
_______________________________________________
Hours later, Basim walked into the upstairs room, startling both Nashira and Halah out of their sleep.
Sleeping on the floor was not her preferred method, but at least the Hidden One’s hideout was mostly quiet, save for the sound of footsteps. She stretched her sore muscles and Halah followed suit.
Nashira noticed Basim seemed…off? Like he had grown weary since she last saw him hours ago. She wondered what made him so.
Given what happened at the observatory, perhaps it was best if she didn’t know any details.
“It’s done,” He said, “Come morning you’ll be able to return to the House of Wisdom with no danger.”
She let out a sigh of relief, “That is good to hear,” She relaxed her shoulders, “So, was it Fazil Fahim then?”
Basim figured she’d find out he was dead anyway once she returned to the House of Wisdom. so he nodded.
She raised a brow, “Are you going to tell me what was going on with all those disappearances?” She asked.
He sighed, “I cannot reveal-”
“Right, more secrets.” She rolled her eyes, getting a bit fed up with all this secrecy.
“Trust me Nashira,” Basim put a hand over his heart, “If I could tell you, you’d be the first to know.”
Her eyes soften, remembering her conversation with Roshan earlier about Basim’s oath, “It’s fine. Thank you ya sadiqi.” She smiled warmly at him, showing her sincere thanks.
Basim felt a warmth spread in his chest seeing her smile at him, “I can escort you home if you’d like? So you do not have to stay in…here.” He gestured around the room, beautiful but quite small and simple compared to the observatory.
She grinned, “I’d love that.”
_______________________________________________
Basim marveled at the estate in front of him.
Nashira’s home was beautifully decorated with sun, moon and star designs etching the walls and arches. The private courtyard he stepped into was filled with a lush garden and a fountain where the moon’s reflection shone in the water.
“This house is beautiful.” Basim touched the etchings in the archways. His own father would be speechless if he saw this place.
Nashira smiled, “Thank you.” She took a seat on the edge of the fountain, “Omar is always away with the merchant caravans so he figured he’d have the house built to suit my tastes.”
Basim clasped his hands behind his back, “That is good. You deserve a gorgeous home.” His eyes softened at her.
She smiled back, and then looked up at the sky. A skwak rang out, catching her attention. Moments later an eagle flew down onto Basim’s outstretched arm.
“You’ve been flying all day,” he fed the bird a snack, “Do you ever tire?”
Nashira tilted her head as Basim brought the creature closer to her, “This is Enkidu, my animal companion.”
The bird was beautiful, and quite alert, seeming to take notice of the woman in front of him. She carefully reached out a hand to pet the top of Enkidu’s head.
The bird clicked with delight at the action.
“It’s very nice to meet you Enkidu.” Nashira smiled at the creature.
Basim let out a chuckle, “I can tell he likes you.”
Nashira blew the bird a few kisses, not noticing her cat stalking up the winged creature. With one swipe of the paw, Halah hissed at the bird, causing it to fly back in the sky with a loud screech.
“Bad Halah!” Nashira picked up the cat, placing it in her lap, “you mustn’t hiss at our friend Enkidu.” She sent an apologetic glance at Basim.
He chuckled again, “Enkidu is a lot tougher than he seems.”
Nashira let Halah jump out of her lap. She patted a spot next to her on the fountain, “Please, sit with me.”
Without hesitation, Basim did as she asked. Stars filled the night above them, twinkling up above Nashira’s courtyard garden.
He sighed, “This reminds me of those times we’d sit on the roofs in Anbar.” He said, gazing above them.
Nashira smiled fondly, “Yeah, it does.”
A silence hung over them for some time.
She looked at Basim, taking in his new choice of dress. He wore a hood now, though it was down at the moment. His clothing was simple and plain, like a peasant or monk’s clothing. The only thing that stood out was the bright sash, and if you looked closely, you could see an array of thinly veiled weapons all over his person.
She gave him a long look, raising an eyebrow at him. Slowly the corner her mouth raised up in a smirk.
He noticed her gaze, “What?”
Nashira let out a small laugh, “I couldn’t help but notice how you choose the dress lately : hoods, concealed weapons…or should I say hidden? Much like those elusive hooded liberators you used to talk about all the time. What were they called?” She tapped her cheek with her finger as she circled around him, “The Hidden-”
Basim covered her mouth to stop her from talking.
His face turned serious, “Do not mention them, ever, understood?” He said in a hushed tone.
She nodded.
He took his hand away and she smacked him hard on the shoulder, “And stop shushing me!”
Basim grunted out a laugh at the smack and rubbed his shoulder, feigning pain. Nashira nearly hit him again but he caught her hand before she could.
“Nice try.” He smirked. He and Nashira laughed for a moment before realizing how close to each other they were, and that Basim currently held her hand in his. They both thought back to the times they used to play these kinds of games together in the observatory.
They were so close to each other. Close enough to feel each other's breaths on their noses.
He let go, clearing his throat and she tucked some hair back into her head scarf.
Nashira let out a little laugh, “To be honest I wouldn’t have figured it out had I not spoken to Master Roshan.” She mentioned.
Basim’s eyes widened, “You spoke with Roshan?”
She nodded, “She may have caught me looking at some confidential documents while you were away.”
Basim blinked, “I am surprised you lived to tell the tale.”
“As am I.” Nashira thought for a moment and then laughed, “I am surprised you took out those mercenaries so easily. I wouldn’t have expected that from you.”
Basim raised a brow, “What do you mean?”
“Well thieves aren’t exactly known for fighting.” She shrugged, “You were more so the ‘avoid a fight and run away as fast as you can’ type.”
“Hey now, I used to put up a good fight back then!” He protested.
She chuckled, “You certainly gave them what for…from the ground.” She winked.
Basim huffed in annoyance and rolled his eyes as she laughed thinking about all the times she saw Basim scrambling from the guards in the House of Wisdom.
She fidgeted with her hands in her lap, “I know I was a bit…harsh the night you returned to Baghdad,” She almost whispered, “I still stand by what I said, but, It is good to have you back. I missed having a friend to talk to.”
Basim smiled softly at the word friend. They had started out as friends, and he cherished that friendship just as much, if not more, than their romance for he would have never known he loved her without it. The love he had for Nashira never left, but perhaps it could change.
“I am glad to be back too. Even more so knowing we can still be friends.”
After a moment, she cleared her throat, “Roshan mentioned the reason you hadn’t come back to Baghdad was because of your Hidden One’s training.”
Basim nodded, “That is true. I needed to train hard and remain focused to reach my goal,” he explained, “and in order to do that I needed to take an oath to leave my old life behind.”
It grew quiet between them. He realized what he implied when he saw Nashira frown. Her face remained still, thought he swore he could see the slightest bend in her eye brow like something bothered her.
“Hold on, I didn’t mean- “
“No, do not apologize, I understand.” She assured him, “I’m happy for you. Becoming a Hidden One has always been your dream. Don’t apologize for following that path.” She gave him a small smile.
“You were my dream too.” He wanted to tell her, but remembered how she shut him down when they first reconnected.
Nashira couldn’t help but notice how tired Basim’s eyes looked. The dark circles pooled under them, growing darker since the last time.
“You are happy right? You look so weary,” She said.
Basim didn’t look at her, “I’m fine,” he lied. After killing Fazil Fahim, he saw another vision of the jinni. What used to only haunt him in his sleep now tormented him in his wake as well. He lacked the answers as to why, but it always happened when he slayed one of his targets.
Nashira placed a hand on his shoulder, “Are you sure?” Her eyes grew more concerned as she tried to get him to look at her but he wouldn't. He couldn’t.
Instead he asked her, “Are you happy Nashira?”
Nashira removed her hand from his shoulder. She looked far ahead of her, gazing at the beautiful archway of her home, built for her by a devoted husband who loved her.
“I should be…” She muttered out loud.
Basim looked her way, seeing the forlorn look in her eyes as she stared ahead of her. What did she mean? She had to be happy, right? She had her observatory, this house, a kind and wealthy husband, everything she’d need to live a secure and comfortable life. What was missing from it?
He brought his gaze back up towards the stars. If this was how things were meant to be, how could she be unhappy? How could he be expected to let what they had go if he knew she was unhappy with this life?
He shook his head. No, no, he couldn’t think like that. He was harping on feelings from the past, not focusing on the reality of the present.
He stood up, “I have to go. Master Roshan is expecting me.”
He needed to go. He couldn’t stay a moment longer or he’d say something he’d regret and ruin any chance of them being friends.
Nashira opened her mouth to say something, to tell him to come back, tell him to stay with her, even for just a moment longer.
Instead, all she said was “Goodnight, Basim.”
Basim swallowed hard, “Goodnight, Nashira.” He disappeared into the night.
_____________________________________________
The sun was shining high over Baghdad as Basim leaped across the rooftops to get to the House of Wisdom. Weeks had passed since he assassinated Fazil Fahim and by the looks of things, the House of Wisdom was bouncing back from corruption.
No signs of burning books, people freely walking about, freely discussing their findings and philosophies amongst themselves and their students.
He smiled to himself. It was nice to see the results of his work for once.
He made it to the ledge just above the window into Nashira’s observatory. He grabbed a hold of it and swung himself into the building, landing effortlessly on the floor.
As he stood, he dusted himself off, “Nashira, I have some work for you from Master Rosha-“
He stopped talking when he saw not only Nashira’s wide eyes staring back at him, but about 10 other pairs of eyes as well. All them were young girls, anywhere from thirteen to sixteen years old. They sat together at their desks as Nashira stood in the front with a board showing complicated math equations.
She cleared her throat, “Basim, this is my class.” She turned to her class, “Class, this is my old friend Basim. What do we say to our guests?”
“Assalamu alaikum.” They said in unison.
Basim put a hand to his heart, bowing his head, “Walaikum Assalam. My apologies for interrupting your class, children.” He said, “Perhaps I should come back later.”
One of the younger girls perked up, “Ustadah, why does he dress like a peasant?” She asked
“Fatima!” Nashira used a warning tone in her voice, the kind Basim recognized as the one her father used to let her know she was crossing a boundary.
Basim shook his head, “It is fine ya sayidati,” Basim looked at Fatima, “That is a fine question, young lady. When I was not much older than you, I grew up in Anbar, one of the poorer districts in Baghdad. Because of this, I saw many people and children like yourself go without the things they need and treated poorly by others, myself included,” he explained, clasping his hands behind his back as he spoke, “My clothes are a reminder of the oath I made to help those less fortunate.”
Most of that was true, though the simple answer was that the clothes concealed his identity. These girls didn’t need to know for what reason though.
He continued, “Like all of you, I spent a lot of time in this very room learning as much as I could, thanks to your teacher.” He said, looking over at Nashira.
Nashira smiled softly at him and he returned the gesture. This action did not go unnoticed by her students, who unfortunately for her were growing more and more observant everyday.
One of the girls raised her hand and Nashira called on her, “Yes, Reem?”
Reem smirked, “Is he the reason you tell us not to talk to boys from Anbar?” She teased.
Nashira clapped her hands, “Class dismissed!” She said, completely side tracking that question.
Immediately the girls scurried from their desks and out the doors to the rest of the House of Wisdom, carrying their books with them, breaking off into smaller groups to chat and giggle amongst themselves, stealing glances at their teacher and this mysterious bearded man from Anbar.
When all the students were out of the room, Nashira slowly turned around to face Basim, cringing when she saw his hands on his hips and a cheeky expression on his face.
“And what’s wrong with boys from Anbar?” He asked with a playful tone.
“Nothing! Nothing,” Nashira giggled, “I just wanted to make sure my girls know to look out for their-”
“Sticky fingers?” Basim answered, holding up both hands and wiggling his fingers.
“No,” Nashira pointed to her mouth, “Their slick tongues.” She said before they both burst out into a laugh.
Basim chuckled, “Do your students know what a bad influence you were on me?” He asked.
In their youth, Nashira often dragged him along to parts of the library they weren’t allowed in, or would convince him to use his “sticky fingers” to swipe books about topics her father wouldn’t allow her to read. If they ever got caught, Nashira would distract the guards and stewards so Basim could sneak away with their bounty.
Nashira smirked, “You were a worst one.”
At some point in the middle of their banter they had migrated very close to each other, leaving only a few inches of space between them. They cleared their throats and put more space between them.
“So, what did you come by for?” Nashira asked.
He grinned, “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve come to see my good friend.”
Nashira cracked a smile, only to scoff when he crouched down to pick up the fluffy white cat.
“Halah!” He said in a joyous tone, holding up the chubby cat who purred from the attention.
Nashira thumped his forehead with her finger, “You interrupted my class for that?”
Basim shook his head with a laugh, letting Halah jump out of his arms, “Master Roshan needs to know which stars to follow to get to these locations.” He handed her a parchment with Roshan’s request on it.
Nashira read the parchment. Many of the locations extended out of Baghdad, into areas like Greece, Constantinople, even the Norse lands, “Why does she need to go here?” She asked.
Basim shrugged his shoulders, “I can not tell you what I don't know.”
Nashira tilted her head, “You mean you didn’t ask?” That was so unlike the Basim she knew, who like her, was always nosy to fault. Though it seemed this Basim didn’t question his master on anything.
Basim shook his head.
She rolled her eyes, “More secrets.” She placed the parchment on the table, “Very well, I’ll figure it out in a few hours. Right now I need to go.”
Basim looked confused, “Go where?”
“To Anbar,” She explained, filling a bag with books, “One of my students, Maha, hasn’t been coming to class lately because her mother is sick and she has to watch her younger siblings. So I’m going over there to teach her in her home.”
“Really,” Basim hummed thoughtfully, “I never thought someone from Anbar could afford such a class.”
“Of course she can’t afford it. That’s why I don’t charge her, or any of my students for that matter.” Nashira clarified as she continued packing, “Maha is too bright for me to let her fall through the cracks.”
Basim wasn’t sure what he felt just then, but he found himself smiling at her while she wasn’t looking. He suddenly remembered how she said teaching was how she wanted to better the world around her. It was nice to see her following that call to purpose.
“It is a good thing you are doing, ya sayidati,” he said, “Though I wish we had more time to share a snack of dates and tea.”
Nashira smirked, “Consider yourself lucky. Since you are so eager to spend time with Halah, you can cat sit while I’m gone.” She winked at him, before heading out of the observatory.
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Two-Face ought to be a top Batman sexyman!
Of the candidates left in @batman-heritageposts' Batman Sexyman tournament, in my mind Two-Face is the best suited to be considered the best Batman sexyman, even though unlike Scarecrow, he does not even have an actual entry on Sexypedia! To prove my point, I have gone onto Sexypedia's trope list and taken the liberty of actually compiling a list of all the sexyman tropes that I believe can definitively apply to him. So for your viewing pleasure, the list:
Angst Tragic backstory. Lamenting the life he's lost as well as his own present existence. Two-Face is FULL of all kinds of angst! And given that he used to be besties with Bruce, he even makes Batman angst too!
Chaoslord Comes with the territory of his gimmicks. He is often noted as being Batman's most unpredictable villain because he lets a coin make all of the decisions for him! Even he can't predict what he's going to do next! Chaos vs order is a persistent theme with him.
Criminal Obviously.
Dealmaker More in a gambling way than in a supernatural 'deal with the devil' way. But he often makes promises and deals and will keep to them so long as the coin flips the right way. Also he used to be a lawyer. Kinda comes with the territory.
DILF He may not be a canonical parent right now, but boy does he have the vibes for it!
Distinctive Voice (Two-Face) While Harvey tends to talk in a pretty normal voice, Two-Face often talks in a growl. Depends on the iteration though.
Divorced We know for a fact that Harvey was married... And while in current canon his wife is supposed to be dead, in many canons it's often unclear whether she's dead, they split up for whatever reason through whatever methods, or whether they're still together. Because you know. Continuity! In any case, him being divorced from Gilda isn't an unpopular theory. A valid one, certainly given how he's caught up in a cycle of being at Arkham and on the streets as a criminal.
Dominating (Two-Face) Usually Two-Face, not Harvey so much, and through sheer force of personality. Big step on me vibes here!
Duality The basis of his entire character and gimmick!
Egotistical (Two-Face) Harvey tends to be a pretty humble guy. He certainly has a lot to brag about, being a legitimate legal genius and all, but he tends to keep it on the down-low. Two-Face on the other hand? He ABSOLUTELY thinks that he's hot shit and will brag about it, and will shoot at anyone who doesn't want to listen or disagrees with him!
Eye Imagery His whole asymmetrical deal leads to him having very... Interesting eyes... In many iterations he doesn't have an eyelid on the scarred side, making that eye look bulbous in comparison. Also the whole getting half of his face melted off thing led to his eye color changing in many iterations. So as a minimum, he's usually portrayed as having some form of heterochromia.
Gay/Questionable LGBT Rep The fact that this man who is Bi everything NOT being confirmed as interested in men should be considered a CRIME! Let Harvey make out with Bruce already!
Hot-headed (Two-Face) Harvey can usually keep his cool, but Two-Face is noted for being very hot-headed. When Harvey loses his temper, that's usually when Two-Face ends up fronting.
Intelligence (mostly Harvey) While Two-Face is certainly no idiot, Harvey is likely the smarter one by sheer virtue of he's an actual genius when it comes to matters involving the law. Law genius also translates pretty well to criminal genius, turns out. There was a reason that Harvey was District Attorney. He was just the best damn lawyer in all of Gotham and for good reason!
Knifemurderer Yep! Two-Face sure has murdered a whole lot of people! Two-Face is probably most well-known for deciding whether to kill people or not based off of a coin flip.
Magnificent Bastard In many iterations, fits this trope to a T.
Power of Love In his third ever appearance, he decided to stop being a criminal because Gilda still loved him despite his appearance. Since then, this is a theme that continues to pop up now and again with his character- that so long as people love Harvey, he can be saved.
Questionable Neurodivergent Rep Is explicitly shown to be plural and having OCD. The representation is often... Not so great... Though it does seem to be a thing that many writers are trying to improve on.
Scars Literally half of his entire face, and oftenhis body will be scarred up too! It's where he gets his moniker of "Two-Face" and is therefore deeply tied to his character and gimmicks.
Tall Usually.
Twisted Freaking Cycle Path Yep! Usually with DID.
Unkempt (Two-Face) Harvey usually keeps pretty tidy, but sometimes Two-Face will be unkempt on his side of the body.
Villain Obviously.
Morally Grey Obviously, again. Also this is like his entire deal!
Well-Dressed/Suitguy He's practically THE suitguy of the Batman rogues gallery! With snazzy two-tones suits that are split down the middle too! Definitely among the best dressed of the rogues.
White Hair Often his disfigured side will have messy white hair, if he has hair on that side at all.
Meanwhile, how many sexyman tropes apply to Dick Grayson? I'll be honest, I know nothing about the Talon iteration of Dick Grayson and therefore more of the sexyman tropes likely apply to him than your bog standard Dick Grayson... BUT IS IT 27 TROPES!!!??? Even Scarecrow doesn't have 27 tropes attributed to him on his sexyman page! And I didn't even include the more subjective tropes the require a fair bit of popularity like Johnlocked, Controversial, or Fanon Splintering!
Do the right thing and prove that Two-Face is the best Batman sexyman!
Vote Harvey "Two-Face" Dent for Batman sexyman!
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astriar · 5 months
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Would you like to ramble about your DCA headcanons to us, the audience ?
!! My first ask! Thank you so much! And DUHHH OF COURSE I love talking about the sillies!!!
okay so I have a lot of headcanons that stem from me either willfully ignoring canon or misunderstanding it, but hey fnaf lore is my kinetic sand and I am a child of the early 2000s so let’s go:
—Sun and Moon were good at their job before the virus infected them! I know this is now somewhat backed up by Ruin, with Cassie saying that she always had a good time in the daycare, but I feel like it’s nice to mention!
—Sun was as overwhelming as he was in SB because he was infected with the Virus along with Moon! Normally, he acts a lot more like you would expect a childcare animatronic to act like (again, somewhat backed up by HW2 as Sun speaks a lot more calmly! My little asshole <33)
—On the train of thought as above, here is my own personal interpretation of events that led up to SB: Moon was the first in the Pizzaplex to be infected, and after he realized as such, he blocked himself entirely out of the system and put firewalls up to hell and back, cutting off his communication with Sun!
—Sun started going a little crazy with the stress of keeping up the daycare entirely by himself, and didn’t notice the virus had infected him too until too late! (Basically right before the events of security breach)
—Moon would listen to and enjoy old Panic at the Disco if he had access to non fazbear-approved music
—…night shift employees also happen to find their devices go missing on occasion, only to be returned with some interesting Spotify history
—a lot of people I feel like think Sun would listen to soft indie stuff but I think he would either listen to hard rock or the most deplorable, insufferable hyper-pop on the damn market
—Moon and the DJ are besties!
—Sun can’t leave the daycare, but Chica will come and visit him every once in awhile! Sun gives her his latest knitting project, and Chica usually delivers gossip from across the Pizzaplex Moon happened to miss.
—The rest of the band members steer clear of the daycare, except for Freddy every one in awhile. And Bonnie, of course— Moon was friends with Bonnie.
—Also, non-virus infected Moon is a menace who is generally rude and disrespectful to Pizzaplex employees (smh moon) UNLESS you give him a reason to not be rude and disrespectful
—he operates on an guilty until proven innocent basis and Sun is absolutely the same way with Pizzaplex employees
—Moon is the more public menace, but everyone really should be afraid of Sun, who 100% has less morals
—I don’t even know what to make of canon Eclipse but I love them!! And I genuinely wonder if Sun and Moon were ever rebooted into safe mode before Ruin? If so, what kind of role did Eclipse play?
-I also don’t know what to make of Moon’s apparent lore relevance in HW2, and this may be denial speaking, but I feel like maybe Moon wasn’t infected during HW2? Maybe he’s just being his normal, menace-y self? That’s what I think at least but that’s just a theory (a GAME THEORY)
-Jack-O-Moon :D <3
….kay this feels like way too many words BUT I appreciate the chance to ramble!! I definitely try and keep their personalities based in canon (especially in my writing) but I also love everyone who hc’s them heavily!! The fandom is what makes liking these two so enjoyable, so I love seeing any and all takes :D
I sincerely apologize if the formatting is weird (mobile baybee) but! Thank you very much for asking :D
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a-witch-in-endor · 2 years
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I know tumblr isn’t really the place for nuance, but... considering the misinformation about Queen Elizabeth floating around, I think it’s worth keeping in mind that something can be ethically wrong (the concept of the monarchy) without everything about it being black-and-white. 
And as Brit, a republican, a religious minority, and a POC, I don’t think we do anyone any favours with misinformation. All we do is allow ourselves to be criticised on that information instead of the much more important ethical issue underlying all of this.
So here are, I think, poor arguments levelled against the royal family:
1. “They cost the taxpayer money.” This is false, unless you’re ignoring that money comes the other way, too. To make the argument that we lose out here, one needs to ignore the crown estate revenue. In short, the family owns a bunch of land from which they surrender the income to the British government. This all came into play around the time of George III; he made a deal with the government which benefitted him in the short term, and parliament agreed because it benefitted them in the long term. To put that benefit into numbers, in 2021/2, it came to £312.7 million. In comparison, the royal family cost £86.3 million in that same period of time. We don’t get that money without a royal family, because it’s still legally their land. The royal family make us money, and that’s still not a good argument to keep them. 
2. “The Queen is responsible for x, y, z politically.” This is almost certainly not true. The role of the monarch in British society is symbolic. Do I think the queen must have had political opinions? Yeah, of course. Do I know what any of those opinions are? No, I can only speculate. The woman is the head of the Church of England, and yet she didn’t weigh in one iota on same-sex marriage in this country, because... her job is predicated on not weighing in. She is to pass on power to the government, keep shtum, and not cause any issues. She didn’t support pretty much any stance publicly. That’s why we still have a royal family. 
And as for whether she was secretly pulling strings behind the scenes: it’s technically possible, but it’s also how you piss off parliament and end up losing a kingdom, so I’m not sure conspiracy theories hold much weight here.
(As a note, I don’t think Charles is going to manage to handle that nearly so elegantly. His reign might actually spell the end of the royal family due to that fact.)
3. “She never acknowledged x, y, z.” This is true, but misleading. Like the above: her job was to not have opinions. If she acknowledged whatever it is you’re looking for, she would be having opinions. 
3. “She was a coloniser.” This one isn’t accurate, but based on the fact that she was a living symbol, I think it’s understandable. I think we can probably assume she had pro-colonisation opinions, based on her upbringing, but... once again, her job has been not to influence things or let anyone know her opinions. Many countries gained independence through her reign (including my father’s homeland). Her job was to do symbolic things she was told to do, honour people she was told to honour, and say nothing about it. She did that pretty well. But while I think it’s silly to call her a “coloniser” on a personal basis, she was a symbol of the country, and the country is a complete nightmare, so I think this is understandable. 
And things that are good reasons to criticise the late queen and/or the royal family:
1. She was likely personally racist. Buckingham Palace was exempted from laws about the hiring process and race. I think we all know that this must be the case for a reason, especially since it was not exempted from similar laws about gender.
2. She enforced customs that seriously affected the mental health of her family. The customs that enforced unwanted marriages (and blocked chosen marriages), which caused so much difficulty to members of her family and their wellbeing, have now been changed. But if they had been changed earlier, that would have saved a lot of heartache. And the queen was the one with that power. And as we saw with Meghan Markle, it seems there is a general air of “stiff upper lip, suck it up and deal with it” around mental health issues in general in that family. 
3. She protected her family through scandals that should have ended in imprisonment. I don’t need to say more about that, because I think you know what I’m talking about. 
4. And here’s the most important point. Even if points 1-3 weren’t true, it wouldn’t make a difference to the ethics of royalism. All that matters here is this: We should not have an untouchable class.
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What's your opinion on the theory I've seen a ton that Azz's bloodline ability is for whatever reason going to be related to "transforming into a woman" or "swapping genders"?
I personally can't stand the theory myself but I'm curious on your thoughts about it :0
Hi! thanks for your question.
In short I can't stand this theory either, every time I read it I roll my eyes.
I think this theory is closely tied to another one where they say Azz is female and this is going to be revealed later, both really bother me.
I feel like a certain part of the fandom really wants Azz to be a woman for reasons that sound slightly homophobic.... The amount of comments I saw saying things like "Azz should have been a woman" "If Azz was a girl she'd be part of Iruma's harem" "it would be better if Azz was a girl" etc.
Now does this theory have any basis? Let's see...
One of the reasons I see used in these theories is that Azz's name is Alice which is a feminine name, personally I didn't think much of it because I can see Amaryllis giving her child the name she likes regardless of the child's gender or that even in the Underworld they don't give much importance to whether it is a feminine or masculine name.
However, for many people this detail is important and I fully understand why.
Azz is the only male character to have a female name (or the only character to have a name that does not match their gender).
Now this is not really true because
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Pamela is also a feminine name curiously his last name is Incu which sounds very similar to incubus so looking at Pame's personality (stereotypes sorry) and this it would not be crazy to assume that Pamela is an incubus.
But what if in Japanese his last name is totally different from incubus and this is just a coincidence?
Incubus in Japanese is インキュバス and Pamela's last name is インキュ so I don't think it's a coincidence.
I'm going to digress and talk a little bit about Pame, sorry!!!
I find it interesting how Pamela is the only one of the first year demons that Nishi-sensei didn't show us his bloodline magic but specialty magic.
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Just like Azz and fire, entice is not Incu's bloodline magic it's a magic he's good at.
And in the episode before this one Nishi-sensei reminds us that they are not the same in this scene (using screenshots of the spanish version because it fits more to what I'm trying to say lol)
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Oolo: I'm glad to be on the Agares team! Your special skills are the best!
Agares: it's not my special skills, it's my bloodline magic skills.
Funny how the two male characters who have female names are Azz, son of a succubus (would that make him an incubus?) and Pame who could also be an incubus and his magic specialty is entice.
(I once read a Japanese fan with the theory that maybe this was a sort of a succubus tradition something like "for good luck give your son a female name!" or maybe they just don't care about the gender of the names)
Anyway, this brings me to another of the arguments used by those who have the theory that Azz can swapping genders/become a woman.
So far all the Asmodeus family members we have seen are female except Azz and we have only seen succubus and no incubus (maybe incubus don't exist in Mairuma?).
Incubus exist in Mairuma because in the spin off there is a character who is one, although we can take it with a grain of salt because this spin off is canon but not written by Nishi-sensei.
But Nishi-sensei already confirmed that succubi are a race of demons in Mairuma and that incubus also exist.
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Last of the reasons and my favorite although not many do not talk about it.
Asmodeus and Solomon changing places (legend in the Talmud).
One of the most famous stories of Solomon and Asmodeus is where Asmodeus tricks him into giving up his throne.
'Solomon continued to keep Ashmedai imprisoned, but one day, Ashmedai in turn tricked Solomon into taking off his magic ring. Thereupon Solomon lost his power over the demon-king, and Ashmedai cast Solomon off his throne. Ashmedai assumed Solomon’s appearance and ruled in his place, while the real Solomon became a wandering beggar. Eventually, Solomon returned to Jerusalem and warned the sages about the counterfeit.
When King Solomon returned, Asmodai fled from his wrath.Similar legends can be found in Islamic folklore. There Asmodeus is called Sakhr (Arabic: صخر the Rock or the Stony One), because in Islamic lore, Solomon banished him into a rock, after he takes his kingdom back from him. There he counts as the king of the jinn'
If Azz's bloodline magic is inspired by this legend, it would make sense that he could shape-shift (or at least swapping genders).
But according to what Ifrit-sensei said Azz's bloodline magic is something he could use to defeat him in battle and I don't see how swapping genders would be useful in that situation.
Again I made an unnecessarily long post where I ramble a lot to end up saying almost nothing in one question, sorry!
Resumen, I like this theory? No
Can I stand it? Not at all
I think it is likely to be true? Honestly no
If it is true how would I react? Very disappointed
+ plus that it does not have much relation but I take this opportunity to add it since I talked about entice and Pamela.
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Again, using the Spanish translation as an example because blah blah blah
I want to point out that it seems important to me that the manga tells us that magic like "entice, charm, aphrodisiac" is not a bloodline magic but a magic that basically everyone can learn it, some may have special talent for it like Pamela.
For example both Kerori and Azz (probably Ix as well) have charm among their special abilities on the sheet measuring skills in chapter 219.
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"Special shows your special abilities".
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So obviously the bloodline magic of the Asmodeus family is not going to be similar to a magic that in theory a lot of demons can use, if it is related to seduction it's going to be in an unconventional way, me thinks.
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feverinfeveroutfic · 6 months
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kinktober all year, 2024
i’m so sorry, but-
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it had to be done.
after the fiasco of kinktober 2023, and i had to regroup with blood and wine, i am continuing to lick my wounds from the humiliation. i mean, a genuinely kinky person was all around ignored during a kink-fest, like nothing about that makes any sense whatsoever. worse, i don’t even know why i was ignored; i mean, i have my theories but they’re all hard to confirm. i really don't understand why i was given such a cold shoulder this year when i dropped the first one shot.
it’s supposed to be a community and yet, i saw right away that it isn’t. “don’t ‘yuck’ someone’s ‘yum’” feels like a naïve joke at this point because all i could think leading up to the 18th when i pulled the plug was “gee, sorry i’m not good and sexy enough for you guys. i’m terribly sorry that this is torturous for you, there's literally nothing i can do about it so i'll see myself out before this is done so you don't have to be exposed to my bullshit for a while.”
god, my sexuality is just… it’s too much. it’s way too much and i feel trapped inside of it. i'm helpless to rid of it even as i genuinely hate it so much. i genuinely wish i didn't have a sexuality because it's useless. no one likes it or wants to know about it. i’m way too much. i'm too kinky and yet i'm not sexual enough. all dressed up with nowhere to go.
and yet, i can’t let them win. these totally unsexy, borderline gross, borderline sexist, pregnancy-loving scoundrels who inexplicably dominated this year couldn’t write a compelling story if it saved the world; they cannot continue to act like they're the only ones who can do it. there has to be a place for me; there just has to be. i may hate my sexuality more than anything and find it ugly and disgusting and i'm pretty sure it's the last thing you'll ever see before you die, but it’s like the inevitability of death: you can’t escape it. plus, after the last couple of months, i don’t really need some hundreds of people to kiss my ass to feel like the queen of kinktober: i don’t need fandom, and i don’t think i ever have needed it, either.
so, i give you kinktober all year.
now, just to make it easier on myself—mainly because i honestly have no clue how 2024 will play out (it could be the worst year of my life for all i know, especially if this year was anything to go by), but also because i have wips to write—these will be sent out on a weekly basis starting new year's day, giving us a grand total of 52 one shots. aside from the first one, i’ll keep the prompts a surprise just to keep my very personal preferences to myself, but i will give away titles, though. i'll also keep the participants under wraps until i post them for the same reason (you know alex will be in like... one or two, though).
yes, this is going on ao3 because i’ve been getting really, really tired of tumblr and really all social media lately. no, i don’t care if you join me or not because it’s a holistic thing that’s really just meant for myself; you can if you want, though. “i’m not like them, but i can pretend.”
“the wandering jew” (this one, i've already shared; it's my water kink)
“django tango”
“heroin”
“five minutes”
“corduroy”
“poison ivy”
“chillblains”
“he’s gotta have it”
“bats in the attic”
“midnight rambler”
“pebble beach”
“chiaroscuro”
“this kiss”
“disco volante”
“seashells”
“deer in the headlights”
“scarlet”
“walk with me”
“have a cigar”
“poison whiskey”
“i think i lost my headache”
“touch too much”
“pearly dew drops”
“still crazy after all these years”
“enjoy every sandwich”
“let’s talk about cars”
“twin flames”
“as serious as a heart attack”
“trial by fire”
“he didn’t”
“flannel”
“side street”
“be with me”
“heart and lungs”
“dodge the bambula”/“jackin’ it in san diego"
“the razor’s edge”
“she likes surprises”
“black coral”
“black nightshade”
“seduce and destroy”
“pick a number”
“all that glitters”
“…like clockwork”
“sabra cadabra”
“world of brass”
“every night i burn”
“one of these nights”
“aquamarine”
“the beast”
“dream with me”
“dionysus”
“time has come today”
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