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#wow this really got long
severevoiddragon · 4 months
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I haven't seen anyone talk about how Joel and Bdubs genuinely helped Pearl. Like, they knew what her task was. But they valued their alliance more than the reward they may have gotten for guessing correctly. And pearl was. So scared they'd guess seriously, like she was literally running away as Joel spoke his 'guess', and then turned around like 'oh'. She'd put so much into that alliance, but didn't expect them to reciprocate it. But they did. And I think that shocked her in a positive way.
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thankstothe · 3 months
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Some notes on Wilson's marriages/divorces, and how he met House:
• House didn't just meet a freshly divorced Wilson. He met barely married Wilson, who just got notified about his #1 divorce by a lawyer, not his wife
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• Wilson walked around with papers on hand, long enough to give House a chance to sneak a peek. The same day he received the news. (there's a chance it was some sort of middle step in the divorce procedure, but "just served", checkmate your honor)
• House 100% knew that when he bailed him out. No, I don't have any concrete evidence besides "it's fucking House"
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• House had Wilson observed the entire time to know he didn't open the papers. The divorce lawyer prob gave him an idea of what it is, and he was just marinating in the suffering juice
• House had to be nosy and stealthy when he checked the package Wilson clung to, he saw what's written on it
• They didn't actually talk at the conference itself, so House did it silently too
• There was a law firm address on the papers, and you couldn't just google shit then. House's had to remember it to investigate it further, or he already knew of the firm (or it said "BLAH LAW FIRM BLAH HERE'S YOUR DIVORCE PAPERS, LOSER", which is possible)
• Wilson likely opened them in a hotel room (or he looked at the package sadly/angrily there too), needed a drink, and House was at the bar
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• House was watching Wilson at that conference, then at the bar, then meltdown over the song, then the whole fight and the mess, then the detention, and was like yeah I'll bail that
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• "First words you ever said to me." This is when they first talked, Wilson was in jail and the one in need
• Ok alright, hear me out, if House didn't know what the papers were at the time of bailing. There are 2 paths for him to find out
• Wilson STILL had them on hand in jail
• Or Housey saw them at Wilson's hotel room. Yeah
• It's been over the decade since they've met and they both vividly remember the details of that drunk night (I get why for storytelling purposes. Still... Much to think about)
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• That conference is either the last one, or one of the lasts, House attended. And that one was already boring to House without Wilson. 15 years prior to s06e06 "Known Unknowns", can't do the timeline magic I just eyeball it
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• House also introduced Wilson to Cuddy pretty soon, since she was a witness to the levels of despair he was apparently in
• House might've pestered Cuddy to hire him, or she chose to do so herself (whenever she was dean). Maybe House chased away some poor oncologist to make an opening. Even if House isn't as obsessed with Wilson at the start of season 1, he's always plotting
• There's the brother thing too. Wilson still fresh out of med school, still divorcing, still guilty af and looking for the brother in Princeton, so he was happy to work there
• Prior to that, Wilson was working 2 jobs to support himself and Sam and was ready to follow her to Baltimore
• The divorce and meeting House happened in 1991, the same year USSR completely fell apart. Just thought I'll throw that in #educational
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• Wilson was married, non-fraudulently, for 12 years total
• Marriage #1 has only lasted 1 year
• That means every marriage House was present for has lasted longer #math
• Wilson found a way to get fulfilled while in the marriage
• Now he's got a needy bitch with infinite problems and who will slurp any poison he has to siphon
• I'd argue House is what made Wilson bearable at home
• At the same time, House is what kept Wilson away from home, ultimately contributing to the divorce
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• Wilson himself describes his marriages as crappy - he doesn't really need help destroying them. House still helps~✨
• Timeline gets wonky, but there couldn't have been much of a downtime between marriages, a couple of years max
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• "Fell in love at the wedding" - whatever the fuck that means for Wilson
• Either Wilson met Sam through that wedding, and she also aimed to work in medicine - how they've connected. Or they went there as a couple, both being med students? Got high on emotions and jumped into marriage
• Wilson speedruns relationships once he's in them, so it could've gone "hey that was a nice wedding, how about we have our own?"
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• He fucking sucks at proposals, his looks and general air of niceness carried him all 3 times, I will not be hearing any objections on the matter
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• When Wilson talks to Cameron about cheating. He says, "I have (cheated). I always told them"
• "Them"
• It's could've been every marriage (#1, #2 and #3). If boy managed to sneak in cheating in his 1-year lightning marriage #1, while he was studying + 2 jobs (now I don't doubt his time management skills, but it's still a hassle. On the other hand, all that stress couldn't have been helping)
• Or it could be #1 and #2, or #1 and #3. But #3 is pretty much a certainty (he flirts with nurses on screen, House is also there), and it's "them", so why would he randomly stop in the middle? Don't think so
• What's most likely is - #2 and #3. When arguing with Sam (#1) again she didn't mention or allude to the cheating, her problem was that Wilson didn't communicate ANY emotions to her, she even admitted to House she made the most mistakes in that marriage, let's say there's some truth in that
• Wilson either didn't tell Sam about cheating, she didn't have a problem with it, or he lied to Cameron
• OR he didn't cheat on Sam
• He started to cheat after the first divorce AND his marriages started to last longer, which is funnier too
• He could've started cheating prior to House entering the picture, but much more likely - after. Divorce and/or House are the cause
• Speaking of. Meeting House is very tightly linked to the #1 divorce. Every time Wilson would think back on it, he would have to think about all the turmoil and getting bailed by House. And vice versa - every time he'd think back on meeting House...
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• "I met someone who made me feel funny. And I didn't want to let that feeling go." Another Cameron talk. Ur honor, there's something on that wall
• btw, he is STILL married while meeting House, so if you hilson 1st-night-fuck truther, that meeting is his cheater origin story in a more practical sense. He then could've really meant all the marriages, but then he lied about telling Sam/Cameron, he might not count it since he's divorcing to tell Sam
• Ultimately, he's a huge liar, and I'm wasting my time. What I'm saying - nothing is really off the table with this guy in terms of hcs
• Aftermaths of #2 and #3 aren't really talked about like #1. It must've been really nuclear
• House says neither of them recovered from (#1) divorce to Wilson's face, Wilson doesn't contest that in any way. Even tho House didn't know Wilson before the divorce he usually right on the money with these things
• After the divorce #2 Wilson got 3 legged cat
• After failing to secure marriage #4 (#1 part 2) he got a diabetic cat
• Just like the thing he has with missing phone calls, after every divorce, consciously or not, he might expect a savior to bail him out
• After and during #3 he crashed at House's, then surfed hotels, then moved in with a dying patient, then Amber's, then House moved in with him (still Amber's)
• Maybe his wives kept taking properties in the divorce, and he just stopped getting them
• Man frankly didn't have a home for a while (HOMELESS BUT NOT HOUSELESS)
• Then Wilson finally commits and gets the place for himself and House, from Bonnie (#2)
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• Wilson adamantly remains on good terms with his ex-wives (but not random exes. One helps House with a prank, House kept tabs bc of course)
• But Wilson thinks they hate him. Did he ever pay attention to them?
• While spending all the time with House, then cheating, telling his wives about it, Wilson gave them more attention and emotions to delay the divorce
• He also learned how not to get attached in marriage, to not get destroyed by the divorce (excellent gambit if you expect your marriage to fail)
• He has a better support system now too. Can't believe House is your support system, fucking lmao and ouch. Cuddy is his only other friend we see, maybe Stacy at some point (he kept in touch with after the incident)
• All his other friends and family we hear next to nothing about, at best they're surface level
• In season 5 he's only visited by the coworkers/House's team + Cuddy <- all that is pretty much House's tolerance circle
• House is pathetic, but Wilson is something else entirely
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calmbigdipper · 1 month
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What you mean to me
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dynjir · 10 months
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Memory Lane
Part 1 of 2
[Next]
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Initially this was just going to be a series of really rough sketches, but the more I stared at it, the more it kept growing..?
I have no concept of reasonable project scopes <:'D
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0hheytherebigbadwolf · 2 months
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Ok but about the knights NEVER QUESTIONING THAT MERLIN POISONED ARTHUR: after Merlin was released by Arthur, did Arthur ever say anything?? to the knights?? Did Merlin ever say anything? Especially to Gwaine, who Merlin is supposedly closest to?? Because I need Merlin to hold a grudge and for Arthur to be a little more over protective. Im just saying
That always bothered me so much, and it's why I feel like The Hollow Queen arc should've been longer and addressed better than how it was. Because aside from Leon, Gwen and Merlin have known Arthur the longest, knew him when he was still a snotty brat prince, helped influence the king he's become. They were friends before Arwen ever happened, they were servants together, they have been through The Shit together. They are arguably the two people who love Arthur the most. But no one questions when Gwen suddenly turns on Merlin? And sure, she's the Queen, you don't question the Queen, but we know they don't have that kind of relationship. Gwen, Merlin, Arthur, the Knights, they're all friends, and it's been shown that Arthur isn't always insulted when people question him or his decisions, not when they're his friends, because he knows they're on his side, they want to help him, they're concerned. Does anyone really think Gwen would be any different? That she'd refuse advice from her friends? I mean, I get she'd have learned to be a little tougher, when you're the Queen, it's necessary, but for her to change that much is like rewriting her entire goddamn character. Which is another reason I don't understand how no one else had a moment of "whoa, hold up, something isn't right." I don't expect them to flat out rebel or anything drastic, I just wanted at least one person to hesitate, to wonder if something was wrong with this situation. Look at it this way: if two of your friends suddenly accuse each other of attempted murder, you wouldn't wonder what the hell was going on?
And yeah, what about Gwaine? Gwaine is supposed to be close to Merlin, close enough to help Arthur multiple times, even when they weren't fully friends yet, who was willing to risk being stripped of knighthood or even exiled because he believed Merlin about Agravaine. But this is even more serious than exile. Regicide means an execution, full stop. And we get nothing.
Afterwards, Arthur makes his little joke about Merlin being too incompetent to be an assassin, but it falls so flat (for me) because this is not one of those things you joke off. It's not. This is his wife and his best friend. His best friend could have been executed on the word of his wife. And none of their friends did anything about it. That deserves more than some half-hearted attempt at humour.
I don't think Merlin would ever say anything about it, he's too used to keeping things to himself, to shouldering the weight, but how hard must this have hit him? To have none of his friends stand up for him? He knows this isn't Gwen, not really, so I doubt he'd blame her, but what about Gwaine? Or Leon? Merlin is already so lonely, and this would have to punch it home even harder. And it isn't really addressed, but as a servant, Merlin doesn't have any real recourse if things went any worse, other than flat out running for it. It was either heal Arthur or he's fucked. Take away the magic and look at it strictly society-wise, he has no power. Sure, there might be some talk since Merlin's been with Arthur so long, he's "Gaius's boy," but he isn't a noble or even a knight. If he's found guilty, there won't be political backlash from anyone. Hell, they could practically skip the trial and go straight to the gallows, and there wouldn't be much, if any, protest because these people are used to Uther, who used to drown children. Camelot's justice system is probably still skewed to shit, even under Arthur's rule. A single servant being executed isn't big news, aside from the regicide.
Would he hold a grudge? I doubt it. Merlin isn't really like that, even though he has every right to be. But I don't think he'd ever forget it, and whatever anger he feels about it gets folded up and buried down with all the rest, put away with everything else.
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love-leah · 1 year
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The first two or three days of a heat are usually the hottest. Just, like, pure horniness and want, knotting for the first time since the last heat or rut you went through and remembering how good it feels. With Max there's always lots of food, Max eating from Daniel's fingers, making him feel primal and big and good as they're sprawled in their comfy bed surrounded by takeout boxes.
It's day four by the time Max forces himself through quali and a race already in it, and then takes the flight from Japan to Monaco.
He messages Daniel in the air, Don't come to the plane or I will go crazy in the car. Max is good, now, about knowing what he needs in heat, and Daniel is bad at telling him no, so. He paces in front of the door, schedules food delivery from Max's favorite places in Monaco three times a day for the next four days.
He smells Max in the hall, deep and warm, fresh, and gets the door fumbled open to find Max just standing in front of it, hands at his sides and eyes closed, like he knew he didn't even have to try to get his keys.
Daniel touches his arm, the bare skin of his bicep fever hot, and pulls him gently inside. Max shudders the whole way.
With the door shut and locked, Daniel cups Max's jaw, hauls in his scent, gets a good look at him.
Daniel had been expecting, like, Max shaking with need, sweating, tangling himself around Daniel, kissing him right away, tongue deep in his mouth to taste him; to let Daniel bite it.
Instead, Max just stands right inside the doorway with his eyes closed, and sways, and looks fucking exhausted.
His cheeks are hollowed out, dehydrated like no one gave him water after the race. There are dark reddish smudges under his eyes, like he hasn't slept this whole time, and Daniel realizes maybe he really hasn't. Usually, it takes Daniel's knot in him, those first few days, to get him off the edge enough that he'll rest at all.
"Baby," Daniel says softly, stepping into his space and running a thumb under his right eye, watching it flick open, catlike.
"Sorry, I did not mean to just–stand here," Max says, and Daniel remembers him saying he'd go crazy in the car. "Of course hi."
"You feel like shit?" Daniel asks, and Max nods, shutting his eye again and tilting his face into Daniel's palm, rubbing the rough stubble there against the heel of his hand. "Did it start on the plane?"
"Yes, I. Was with my toy, the knot one, and I was after I finished so tired but it. Is not the same as you of course, so I couldn't."
There's always a point in day four of heat or rut where you wake up with half of your body telling you you need to knot or get knotted again, and all of the rest of you just feeling sore and worn down and like all you want to do is cuddle and scent and rest. Daniel makes a soft noises pulling Max in so he can press his face into Daniel neck, breathe in there against him.
Max had told him, strict and serious over the phone on Wednesday, not to come to Japan, that he was racing still no matter what, but he was about to go into heat. Daniel had let Max, and then Brad, and then Christian all talk him into staying in Monaco, getting hourly updates from Brad during the day and spending nights on the phone with Max. He should've fucking just gone, he thinks now, so Max didn't have to spend all the good parts of his heat alone and miserable, sobbing over the phone that he needed Daniel.
"Did you sleep at all?" Daniel asks, and Max shakes his head.
"Not since after quali."
Saturday night, Daniel and Max had spent three hours on the phone getting off, Daniel desperately listening to Max whine and moan and say his name, to the wet noises of Max with his toys. They'd started with video on, but Max's phone had gotten shoved under a pillow or something early on, and so Daniel had spent the whole time staring at his dark grey screen, cupping his dick when it was soft or jerking at it in time with Max's breathing when it was hard. When Max's nosies turned into just a constant, low whimper, Daniel had him slide a plug into himself and curl up on his side, had talked to him until Max was quiet, asleep, and then stayed on the phone worrying and tetchy out of his mind until Max woke up a few hours later, gasping Daniel's name.
"Okay, I'm here now, let's get you what you need, come on," Daniel says, hauling Max out of his neck so he can push him forward into the bedroom, hands on his soft hips.
He hadn't realized, when he was alone, how he'd gotten it smelling so much like alpha, like himself, but he smells it when they walk in, the scent so different to Max's it stands out, and his instincts sharper now that Max is here. And even if he didn't scent it, he'd know from the way it hits Max, like a drug working through him all at once.
Max's shoulders unlock, and his face flushes deep pink and healthy looking, and he breathes in like he's starving, and he fucking trips, feet heavy and stumbling against the carpet, letting Daniel's hands catch him.
Fuck, it's like. It's the hottest thing Daniel's ever seen.
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queer-reader-07 · 20 days
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op could you elaborate on the she/her muriel thing. because i totally get what you mean but i find it so hard to articulate why... its just like. mmmmm. canon they/them character. but you wont respect their prns. but then again i enjoy when people get genderwierd w the ineffable spouses. would you respect my prns if you cant even respect a fictional character. is that the same thing. idk.
hi anon! i'll try best to elaborate, but apologies in advance if it comes off a bit... intense?
to give some context to my words:
i am nonbinary
i am afab
my pronouns are they/them
most everyone with the exception of close friends and people on the internet misgender me with she/her pronouns because they perceive me as a woman.
i think the root of it for me is that muriel has no experience interacting with earth, let alone humans, before they're sent down to be Inspector Constable. and because they have no experience with humans, they most definitely have very little context for the human construct that is gender. muriel's pronouns are they/them because those are the default gender neutral pronouns in english. muriel (like the other angels and demons) is referred to with they/them pronouns because, for all intents and purposes, they don't have gender.
whereas aziraphale and crowley (and even gabriel to a certain extent) have interfaced with humanity enough to have developed some level of understanding regarding gender, and possibly even an understanding of what they want their gender to be/be perceived as.
additionally, crowley and aziraphale play with gender in a way that feels very intentional to me.
crowley has canonically, in the show, presented femme. meta writers far more skilled than me have examined how, during the crucifixion scene, crowley is very obviously dressed more like the women in the background than the men. and it's not just in the historical flashbacks that we see crowley's genderfuckery. his modern look is comprised of a combination of femme and masc pieces. he wears a woman's cut waistcoat and his "11 years ago" look features women's sunglasses. all while inhabiting a decidedly man-shaped body.
i'm also just going to remind the audience that crowley outright denies being "a lad" in season 2. he straight up told us he's not A Dude.
aziraphale's genderfuckery is definitely less obvious and some might say debatable. that being said, i would make the argument that aziraphale's tendency to dress and present in a way that results in him being almost universally perceived as not only A Gay Man, but an effeminate gay man at that, is a quintessential example of gender as performance. and i do believe that aziraphale is making a very conscious and deliberate choice to present as a gay man. for fuck's sake he calls himself THE Southern Pansy, he knows what he's doing.
also, i know it didn't actually happen, but we almost got both of them presenting femme in the 60s so like. there's that too.
so, to me, it's ok to fuck around with crowley and aziraphale's genders in fanfic and art and the like because they do so canonically. the book makes it very clear that they are "man-shaped" but not necessarily men, ie they have chosen bodies that are perceived as being A Gender but that doesn't mean they technically are.
whereas muriel does not. muriel doesn't have a concept of gender because they haven't been on earth or around humans long enough to develop one. they are only ever referred to with gender neutral language. so it just feels really gross to me when people choose to she/her them. because to me it feels like saying "well this body that appears woman-shaped to me must mean they are a woman" which is a sentiment i, unfortunately, know all too well.
muriel is a character that is canonically referred to with they/them pronouns, on a major TV show on a major streaming platform no less. so it really fucking sucks to see people disregard that because they "can't remember to they/them muriel" or because they "seem like they use she/her."
to put it bluntly, every single argument i've ever read in favor of she/her-ing muriel has boiled down to "i just can't be bothered to remember they use they/them" and if you can't use a fictional characters pronouns correctly then i have zero faith you can use a real person's pronouns correctly. all i hear when i read those arguments is "i can't be fucked to do the bare minimum of gendering trans people correctly."
and lastly, i know it's genderfuckery when people she/her aziraphale and crowley because they're "man shaped" in the book and played by male actors in the show. but i don't have much faith that it's genderfuckery when people she/her muriel because i can almost guarentee it happens for no other reason than the fact that Quelin Sepulveda is a woman.
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doodlerh · 8 months
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JING'ER AND ALEXIS REUNION!!
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celluzu · 4 months
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Bad's cubito is like a bug but specifically the sad little hollow knight ones with liquid coming out of them
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Oh Boy I've just come up with an exceptionally Cursed headcanon:
It's Gimli and Legolas who bring Maglor to Valinor
Maglor comes across Legolas and Gimli on a beach, desperately trying to make a boat based on their collective memories of Cirdan's ships. Gimli asks why can't they just ask the Men who, you know, definitely have boats, but Legolas is like No, It Has To Be Elven To Get There.
And Maglor has Boat-Related Trauma, but he's admittedly curious that Legolas is determined to take a dwarf with him. So he stays around to keep an eye on them, staying hidden of course. But like, Legolas is a tracker, he's from the Forest Known For Good Trackers, and definitely learnt stuff hanging around with Aragorn, so he definitely notices Someone is watching them. And Maglor, of course, notices that he notices, and then they're playing like a bizarre game of chicken as Legolas tries to spot Maglor, and Gimli is Fully Convinced Legolas is just going a bit nuts from their boat-building efforts.
Of course, in the end its Gimli who somehow provokes Maglor into revealing himself, maybe by speaking Sindarin with a semi-Feanorian accent, as he was taught by Arwen, who was taught by Elrond, who was brought up by Maglor himself? Legolas quickly captures Maglor - he's been waiting for this opportunity for WEEKS - and Maglor could probably escape if he tried, but his magic is fading, and he is so tired.
Legolas, of course, realises who Maglor is, but has to explain to Gimli, and his explanation is tangled in the two positions of "The Feanorians are scum and deserve everything they got" of his childhood, and "Yes they did bad things but, really the Doriathrim should reinforce their glass houses if they want to throw stones" of Elrond (and subsequently, Arwen, Aragorn, and most of "modern" First Age historians).
Gimli is confused, but he gets the gist that Thranduil's people hate Maglor, and that's a good enough recommendation for him (Gimli is never anything but unfailingly polite to Legolas' kin, much to their frustration).
Maglor becomes their 'prisoner' - mainly because Legolas is worried that if he turns up in Valinor and tells Elrond he saw Maglor and let him get away, he'll want to sail straight back again - and is tied up with a rope made by Galadriel that Legolas was saving for a special occasion. Maglor and Gimli communicate in a mixture of Sindarin and Westron (of course Maglor, the most linguistically inclined of Feanor's sons, would have at least picked up the new language in his millenia of wandering). Gimli is quite pleased to meet an elf who doesn't have any anti-dwarfism at all, and they get on quite well.
Despite previously mentioned trauma, Maglor is able to make some useful suggestions towards the boat-building effort - he has already made this journey the other way once, of course, and has been hanging around the coast for literal Ages. He makes all sorts of arguments as to why he shouldn't be taken with them - that he doesn't deserve it, that Valinor should not be cursed with his presence, that he will be a burden on them. When Legolas and Gimli have one of their many discussions about how, exactly, they are going to convince the Valar to let Gimli stay, Maglor argues that taking him with them would hinder their cause, as the Valar are still no doubt wroth with him.
At which Legolas looks at Maglor with a very sly smile and declares, why of course Lord Maglor, what an excellent idea! You shall serve as an excellent distraction so I can smuggle my dwarf in. Maglor doesn't have the heart to explain that that's not really how it works, in the face of Legolas' optimism (and it is so nice to meet an elf who is optimistic, who laughs and loves without fear). And, he justifies to himself, if his coming to Valinor can help these two in some way, then maybe his inevitable Casting Out by the Valar will be worth it.
So they set sail in the most peculiar-looking craft, which is part Cirdanian ship, part Mannish fishing boat, part Alqualonde swanship (Maglor is doing his best to ignore the irony). Maglor is mainly in charge of navigating, while Legolas does most of the actual sailing, and Gimli reminds the pair of them to eat and sleep, and tells Maglor stories of his people, of the reclaiming of Erebor (with interjections from Legolas who was actually there, thank you very much Gimli, and the Mirkwood elves had good reason to distrust Thorin in the end didn't they? (a very loud argument ensues, in which Maglor has to take over the helm, and is fully prepared for them to turn around to take Gimli back to Middle-earth, and is extremely surprised when, the next day, Gimli and Legolas tearfully apologise to each other and are back to being as sickeningly Married as before)), and of the War of the Ring.
Maglor has managed to stay relatively abreast of general goings-on, via eavesdropping - he tried to drown himself several times when he heard of Celebrimbor's fate, but Ulmo wouldn't let him - but it is different to hear first-hand accounts. He tries (and fails miserably) to seem impartial when ever Elrond is mentioned, and laughs, properly truly laughs, for the first time in Ages when Gimli tells him of Galadriel's gift to him.
They come in sight of Tol Eressea, and Legolas and Gimli are overjoyed that it worked, while Maglor is extremely anxious. But he senses Ulmo's presence in the water around him, and is calmed by it. He doesn't know if his understanding with Ulmo will extend to him being allowed in Valinor, but he appreciates it all the same. They aim for Avallone, not Alqualonde (for obvious reasons) but a wind blows them off course, and they end up landing (definitely not crashing) on the shores east of Taniquetil.
They are met by Manwe, who is not amused. Legolas is defiant, and Maglor is resigned, but it is Gimli who manages to talk Manwe round, speaking so eloquently and persuasively, in Sindarin, on not just his behalf, but Maglor's also, that Manwe, with some gently prodding from Ulmo in wave form, relents. He says Gimli can stay, though reminds him it is not indefinite, and when it is his time he must go to Mandos; and declares Maglor's fate shall be decided by the Noldor themselves, as the Valar have learnt not to meddle in Eldarin affairs when they are not wanted.
Manwe turns into the wind and leaves; and then a boat turns up, landing much more gracefully than Legolas', containing Elrond, Gandalf, and Finrod. The reunions are very emotional: Finrod surprises Maglor by wrapping him in a fierce hug, before letting Elrond take his turn. Maglor is ridiculously apologetic to Elrond, who declares him forgiven, and calls him atar, which makes Maglor break down in tears. Legolas and Gimli are saddened to hear the Hobbits made their way to Mandos a few decades ago, but are glad to see Gandalf and Elrond once more.
Then Finrod, very apologetically, says that he is technically here to arrest Maglor, but, on medical grounds (looking pointedly at Maglor's scarred hand and general state of dishabille) he can be released into Elrond's custody, immediately. They return on the ship (not Legolas', which is in bits) to Tol Eressea.
Later, when he's improved somewhat physically and mentally, Maglor is tried in the 'new' judicial system in Tirion (trial by jury has been used by Finarfin's justice department for good few millennia now, but its still considered 'new' for elves). He is, of course, found guilty of various war-crimes and acts of murder - though not of kidnapping, as Elrond convinces his blood-parents not to press charges, by threatening to never speak to them again.
However, the judge (carefully selected from the post-First Age elves, so as to be unbiased as possible) commutes his sentence, declaring Maglor's self-imposed penance enough, but that he must work to pay reparations to those he harmed. This is after Gimli gives evidence, in an impassioned and beautiful speech describing how Maglor was when they found him, how much physically and mentally he was suffering. The speech is so good it goes down in legend as a great piece of oration, made even more remarkable in that it was spoken by a dwarf, who could not call on an innate oratory power as elves do when public speaking.
Gimli goes on to have a fairly illustrious career as a diplomat and public speaker in Valinor, so much so that Manwe convinces Namo to delay bringing Gimli to Mandos three times, so as to not upset Valinorean politics. Gimli is celebrated as Carpalaure by the Noldor long after his passing.
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goldturnedgray · 6 months
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mentopolis was soooo good I'm like totally blown away by how GOOD the final episode was, so satisfying while also being so tense and fraught....what a good system with so many good mechanics and INCREDIBLE characters and beautiful story...woweeeee!!
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kedsandtubesocks · 11 months
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this is for @acerathia who caught my plans for the next installment in our little universe, for @procrastination-artist who made my entire world yesterday and as always for @ofmermaidstories to help bring some good deku vibes
here’s our introduction to Jedi!Deku x reader 💚
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(also here’s a lovely and fancy Naboo hallway for reference)
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧
Naboo is something out of a dream. It is all the stories and mythical children’s tales he used to read as a boy come to life. It truly is the beautiful elegant planet sitting among the wild edge of space.
Now as a man, as a Jedi, Izuku of course can appreciate how splendid and awe striking the planet is. But a deep grim reality peeks out from the back of his mind. The investigation into the attack on the Jedi temple has brought him here.
“There are unfortunate rumors now coming out about one of the Naboo senators has been very vocal against us.” Older and gauntly in appearance yet still incredibly legendary, Jedi council member Toshinori told Izuku of his assignment.
“We are not sure about how serious the allegations are but at this point we need to investigate any rumor. And…funny enough this actually works out perfectly. Naboo has been requesting us for some time to possibly send a knight as an extra guard to help with the political unrest going on in the system.”
Izuku nodded at his mentor’s request but he still needed to ask. “Why send me?”
Toshinori smiled kindly and patted Izuku’s shoulder. “You still seem to forget you are now the hero of this generation my boy, a true honor to the title of jedi knight. They will trust you.”
So Izuku took on this assignment with honor.
“Ah! Oh my goodness there he is, a Jedi knight!” His resolve of course is already getting.
Izuku has only been on Naboo since this morning and he has awkwardly had to laugh and greet so many civilians rushing up to him with eager awestruck eyes. Now finally away from the main city and safe within the palace’s grand hallways, Izuku finds a bit of peace before he has to face his assignment.
The Monarch of the planet has requested his presence. He thanks the force for already setting this into motion. As if to bless him even more a breeze flutters into the open walkways and provides a beautiful sense of peace.
He turns the corner. There, at the edge of the steps to a bottom corridor, he finds someone sitting. Izuku’s curiosity peaks up so fast.
The robes and mostly covered face…
“You’re a royal handmaiden.” He breathes out in awe.
He’s never seen one in person and he’s surprised seeing you alone. Shouldn’t you be with the Crown?Now he flat out stares and it’s like two terrified lothcats waiting for the other to move first.
That’s when Izuku spots it. A pack of various breads and sweet baked treats sitting right beside you, one of them is already half eaten.
“Don’t tell anyone you saw this!” Your voice, so fast and panicky, suddenly blurts out like you’ve been caught red handed and Izuku can’t help it.
He laughs as his stomach growls at the sight of the beautifully baked goods.
“I won’t…Just as long as maybe I can get a bite of one of those?” Izuku asks shyly.
Your shoulders drop surprised. He’s even surprised. But what surprises him more is that even with the robe’s hood hiding most of your face, your welcoming grin shines out from under the covering.
“Sure, I’ve never eaten with a Jedi knight before.”
Izuku gladly takes a seat besides you and warmly thanks you as you hand him a piece of your stash. He takes a bite and his evergreen eyes go wide.
“This is amazing!” He gushes.
“Right? A lot of people don’t know this but Naboo actually has a knack for baked goods.” You tell him friendly.
“I would’ve never known! Now I’m really glad I got to try some and on my first day here.” Izuku means his words. He’s grateful to experience Naboo this way before he has to dig deep into its dirt.
“We heard there was going to be a new guard around. I just didn’t expect to see a famous Jedi knight.” You comment.
Izuku coughs embarrassed as he tries to still enjoy the next piece of the bread you’ve given him.
“Well, I’m just a knight. Nothing too special.”
You hum a teasing type noise at him and your lips twitch amused. A wave of heated embarrassment crawls up his skin. But he also thinks it might just be the mid afternoon heat of the planet itself. Izuku never expected Naboo weather to be like this.
“Is it always this hot?” He can’t help but ask.
“Not normally. This spring is just turning into summer faster.”
“I bet. In all those robes I’m impressed you’re handling this better than I am.” He replies to you a bit sympathetic. He couldn’t imagine being in so many long and layered robes along with having most of his face covered.
“Oh I’m used to it.” You snort. “And besides, this always helps.”
Suddenly you reach to draw the robe’s hood back and he sees you for the first time.
Your face is a bit sweaty from being under the hood for so long. A sigh of relief escapes you and your eyes mirror that. Turning to him you smile a weak almost bashful thing.
You’re stunning. Izuku justifies his blatant staring as simply appreciating the new beauty this planet has greeted him with and you so far are his favorite.
“I thought royal maidens couldn’t reveal their identity?” He asks so curious and even a bit stunned.
“Eh.” You tell him so casually with a shrug he almost snorts. “The Queen is the only one who’s identity is hidden. We’re just the entourage, nobody really cares or notices us.”
A small pang now hits inside of Izuku.
“Wait that’s not true!” He suddenly tells you. “I’ve read so much about the Naboo and of course I came across the role of a royal shadow! I remember reading that they have to know so much! The issues of Naboo, anything else going on with the Galaxy, they need to be aware of it all just in case they have to refresh the Crown’s knowledge. It’s all so impressive!”
Izuku watches your eyes go wide and oh no he’s rambled on too much like he always does.
“I’m sorry!” He’s quickly stammers out now so very embarrassed. “I just…I’ve never been here before funny enough, so this is all kind of exciting for me.”
You laugh, but it’s warm and friendly making his heart do an interesting spin. Izuku watches you break off another piece from the dwindling snack stash and hand it to him. He flings it into his mouth quickly to shut himself up from rambling any more.
“Our queen is going to love you.” You tell him with a gentle nod as you munch on the sweet bread. “There’s a lot going on and hearing someone like you speak so excited about this place…it’s wonderful.”
A bright electricity spreads from his chest down to his finger tips as if the force had just ran through his veins. “O-oh! Well, t-thank you!”
He feels like he is back to being a a nervous boy in training when Uraraka used to hand him an extra training saber. Izuku knows those feelings however, this rush of being flustered, needs to be fluttered away.
So he turns the tables. “I am excited for the meeting too. I’m sure the royal court is going to interested to hear how I found a handmaiden hiding away and snacking.”
You gasp horrified. He laughs and finds he enjoys seeing how fast your face scowls hard at him.
“I thought Jedi knights were suppose to be peace keepers, not little shits like you!”
He laughs even harder. “I’m definitely telling the Crown how vulgar and rude you are too.”
“I’m going to be the one talking to everyone first and I’m warning them about how awful you are!” You childishly fire back but it’s without malice because your voice cracks. Suddenly you’re laughing too. You and him simple simple and enjoy this fresh feeling of meeting someone new.
You sigh settling yourself down and look out to the stretch of the empty palace hallway.
“Everyone, even our beloved ruler, would understand if you told them you found me like this though…we all know sometimes we just need a moment to ourselves.”
Your voice grows wistful and even a bit vacant.
A sudden wave of understanding leaks in him. He has mediated alone often because this life, this path he’s taken, sometimes needs to be sorted through. Just sitting here now he already feels as if he is teetering between that duality of being both Jedi knight and a man simply enjoying the company of someone lovely.
“Well. We ate all my snacks.” You suddenly snort. As you stand to leave, Izuku finds he’s already missing you. “Guess my break is over, plus I’m sure you have places to be Sir Jedi.”
The title…it is indeed who he is, but right he just wants to be-
“Izuku.” He clarifies. “My name’s Izuku.”
You repeat his name and his body goes light. You freely give him your name and he holds onto it so precious.
“I guess I’ll see you later then, Izuku.”
And he does see you later.
In the grander of the Crowned One’s thrown room, the entire royal court including senators sits in a circle around the sovereign. He however looks past that. A small circle of royal handmaidens surround the monarch from the back like silent all matching shadows. Izuku can’t help it. His eyes scan the matching robes hoping to find your familiar face or even just a small knowing grin being sent his way.
“Jedi Knight Izuku. Welcome to the planet of Naboo.” Then the monarch’s voice, so commanding and hauntingly even toned, greets him. His eyes go wide for a moment.
How did they know it was him coming?
Then a soft fondness fills his chest. Of course, you really did tell everyone about him first didn’t you.
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snowthornes · 11 months
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A warning: ahead is a very very long essay-slash-ramble about Salyra, a character from Crown of Exile by @ramonag-if . I have a lot of thoughts about her complexities as a character as well as the tragedies of her relationship with the MC, so I figured I should just put them all into words before I explode. If you haven't read CoE yet, please do — you won't regret it!! Especially if you're a huge fan of complicated, "okay wow this hurts" family angst and heart melting romance. 🥹✨✨
Salyra is someone who possesses the self-created tragedy of a hero. When Salyra believes in something, she believes in it with her whole heart, and she'll stop at nothing to fight for it. She's... the hero that many adore, but hurts those closest to her, directly or indirectly. Like her family, who've heard nary a word from her for all those years, not knowing if she was alive or dead. Like the MC.
Salyra's sacrificed countless things for her cause, and those sacrifices sometimes involved the hearts of those who loved her.
She's willful. Willful and determined. Great qualities for a rebellion's leader/figure of inspiration; not so much for when you're trying to patch up a relationship with your child who had long thought you dead, and had suffered for it.
It's like she thinks that if she pushes enough, if she shows MC the depths of her sincerity, it'll make MC accept her after all those years. It doesn't. For certain MCs, anyway. It only serves to push them further away.
Right, this is going to swerve into more specific territory. I'll be going into a little more detail on my MC's relationship with Salyra. The relationship between Salyra and my MC just... fascinates me.
Salyra is the high priestess, adored by the people of Ishari. MC... is MC. They were discriminated, mistreated, and followed with gazes of spite and distrust in Cyre because of their Ishari blood. Once MC returned to Ishari, they were greeted with — surprise, surprise — even more gazes of distrust and suspicion! Partly because of their blood guard parentage, partly because of their loyalty to the exiled prince, etc etc.
You stare at Rana, suddenly conflicted with anger and betrayal. You never wanted a sister, you only wanted a mother. Rana stares at you, suddenly gripping onto Mama's arm and twisting behind her, as if afraid to look up at you. A look of disappointment flashes through Mama's eyes, but it is directed at you, not Rana. It is a look you remembered Mama using when anyone would upset you as a child and now, you find yourself bearing the full force of her frown. You would laugh were it not so painful to think about the life you were robbed while Mama evidently moved on.
"Avriel," Mama murmurs. "You are my son and I know that I have not always been there for you, but I would like to remedy that. We cannot gain back what we have lost, but we have time now to find each other again."
"I need to go," Mama murmurs. "Rana needs me, Avriel. So does Danzor."
For a moment, you catch sight of your mother, but she does not see you. After returning to the temple, she has washed and changed, the priestesses who had been chanting earlier, now crowding around her. Anu called Mama the High Priestess and you cannot help but wonder just how long she has been in Ishari.
It's these. These scenes. Salyra has built a life in Ishari, a life without the MC. A loving family, a figure loved by the people... this is all that MC knows of who Salyra is now. The Salyra presented to him is a hero. A golden existence, a light in the dark, fearless leader of the rebellion.
(They need you? What about me, Mama? Do I not need you as well?)
(Those who had looked at you with suspicion now look at her with respectful, even admiring eyes. Salyra has a life here. But you — you are just the same. You are an outsider still, whether in Cyre or Ishari.)
Avriel is genuine and soft hearted, but he has a spine of unbending steel. He is proud. All those years mourning Salyra, grieving for her, only to find her alive and well in Ishari and with a family that she so clearly (and here we have a peek into Avriel's pain induced bitter thoughts, because honestly, that sad and angry child from so long ago never truly left him) prioritizes over him.
It's like his life has been rendered into a bitter joke.
What does Salyra want from him? Does she expect him to come and go as she pleases, there when she wants him and gone when she doesn't? Is he expected to wait in the wings as Salyra tends to her new family, only playing the part of a loving son when her eyes turn to him once more? Salyra, his mama. Salyra, now the head priestess, looked upon with respect by the very people who had looked at him with such suspicion.
(^ Above is Avriel's current thought process. Yes, he's a real mess. Irus is having a hell of a time soothing him, as the usual gentle-eyed man is currently very much like a wounded cat with its claws out and teeth bared, eyes set in a glacial glint.)
And honestly, those words might be quite unfair to Salyra. We do not know what she's experienced. Not yet. But are the words left spoken and unspoken between mother and child always fair? I think not. Salyra's expectations of MC could be called unfair as well, depending on the MC you're playing.
I just. I just find this so tragic. Salyra is a deeply complex character. Her greatest strengths are also her deepest flaws. Ironic, how the qualities that made her a hero could be the very thing that chills the heart of her child. I remember you said that Salyra will wise up on how to treat the MC in a future chapter, but wow. The tragedy of Salyra being her own undoing and the detoriation of the relationship between lauded mother and outcast child is just. Wow.
Also. leaving this here because Irus + Nearly Feral with Rage MC is everything:
You nearly laugh, the bitter rage that has been festering beneath your skin like a swarm of wasps, threatens to erupt from your skin. Prince Irus settles a hand on your shoulder and instantly, you are looking at him, noting the concern in his gaze. All at once, the rage leaves you, until you can finally breathe once more.
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averlym · 6 months
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whshdfhfjf.,,,
#close up!! because i firstly Did Not render them with such insanity in order for tumblr's lack of general resolution to make it blur#look at all the lines!!! teehee i still really really like this style of digital painting it's super super fun to do!!! and also secondly#because i went back and added a tag ramble and as i seem to often be doing??? lately?? reached the 30 tag limit and went 'hm ok how else..'#anyway the tag essay on that one is now up and talks about the artwork generally and miscellaneous thoughts!! that said. i need a space to#ramble about beatrix at Length because look you don't draw and paint etc a character for like ten hours without having a lot of thoughts#anyways ! i digress terrifically. tag rambles are more like trains of thoughts masquerading as subways and you get on and it's unfortunately#a rollercoaster track. but this is My Blog and i can do Whatever I Want as long as i don't hurt anyone <- affirmations!! also Harm Principle#lately it's been like *kicks up feet* *opens tumblr tags* *treats it as own personal journal* and tbh Good for me!! anyways back to beatrix#fun fact ! the thing that pushed me over the edge to go watch the musical after looking through the tumblr tag was a very specific poll.#and the fact that the winning option was blue hair and pronouns made me double over laughing so hard i had to go see the source material#mm i feel like lately the academic Context has been tossing me essentially into a blender HAHA ;-; so everyone in adamandi is to some extent#a Mood. but bea-specific (haha be specific)(sorry!)(wow this is the same reaction mechanism of my friend who points out innuendos)(...)#i think it's the wanting to prove herself. like from the whole abuela etc thing there's proof here she's got a Stable Support System of sort#and instead what beatrix continues to do is push themselves. 'i guess u could say i'm married to my work? god that's depressing' // no one#here to enforce that // abuela tells me to rest says i'm constantly stressed and i'll just get depressed like before but i still have to try#like. that shred of desperation that pushes you to the brink to neglect yourself (well i guess physically but also your morals..) and like!!#the whole 'lose half your soul thing' proves she's self aware!! like they know what they're doing is super dubious yknow! but they're still#they're still doing it even if it goes into conflict with their morality system in a way and then they justify it to themselves (see pt 1#of ghostwriter) and the whole wanting to achieve at all costs Despite the self awareness. (i think? this aspect also applied to quincy. but#thoughts on him will come later). more beatrix specific also is the fact that they genuinely adore their work.. 'i just love it here where#you know they'll be printing forever and you are just part of it' because that does kind of resonate with me. also the being behind in the#competition is real!!! i'm maybe talking about Art as a subject because that same drive for it exists on my good days i think. even#even when nothing seems to be going right and you've ended up at the back the intent passion inherent in what you do is still there!!!#the genuine. care she has for reporting. is so !!!!! to me... other beatrix thoughts include 'why reveal yourself at the end' aka vincent's#'u should have stayed silent u had a smart plan' like rip to them but i would not // it feels with bea's complex character i can't imagine h#her Not doing that. like the guilt is real i guess. and i am running out of tags but! smth also about her fervent hope or smth that she'll#eventually get to where she wants. and the resilient determination.. 'i won't let their deaths be pointless there's more good i'm gonna do'#they're so so real for that. i'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing; seeing myself reflected in aspects of characters like this.. but it's#it's there regardless. smth smth just make your peace with the person you are ig!! tldr beatrix campbell my beloved. hehe#adamandi
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hsr: references to jingliu, jing yuan, and yanqing's backstories. interpretations + hcs roughly based on anything up to 1.4
(hi i don't make proper theories or analyses. i just scream my feelings into a void in a chaotic barrage of words.)
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thinking about sword family again.
how jingliu’s readiness to teach anyone swordsmanship regardless of fame, talent, or circumstances transformed jing yuan’s life. i think about little jing yuan, whose passion for swordplay went against his parents' wishes, whose talent leaned far more into cunning than the blade. and yet jingliu acknowledged his desire to learn and acknowledged him as he was. even now, he still speaks of her with respect and fondness.
i then think about how jing yuan now, many years later, is mentoring a student of his own, yanqing. a boy with no known background but had a fiery passion for swordplay. how he went against public opinion to give him opportunities on the battlefield at a young age. the dubious ethics of this aside, i can see little yanqing felt his passion and abilities acknowledged.
i think of them being acknowledged by their masters, for not only their strengths and weaknesses, but their dreams. i can imagine a great sense of hope dawning on them. they will never forget it.
(extra headcanony territory) and then i picture, the student of her student, standing before her, hungry for another contest, hungry to learn more techniques from her. he knows she's deemed a criminal by the xianzhou, he knows her past is full of painful complications beyond his comprehension, but through all that, jingliu is still a brilliant swordmaster, and that's what matters to him. he will acknowledge her as she is. he will cut through her punishing memories with his sharp tongue. "what's the holdup? it's time for swordplay!" and she will smile the sweetest and most sincere smile she had for years, for there's fun to be had.
and so the cycle of hope has come full circle.
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>> disclaimer: i might be too paranoid about this, but i feel the need to note that the positive way i wrote this (and other posts) doesn't mean i think what these characters do for each other is necessarily the best or healthiest (even by in-universe standards, let alone my own). i acknowledge the flaws and greyness of this world, but i prefer to read them in the context of its own setting and focus on the positives for a lot of these posts because it gives me the most joy.
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shivasdarknight · 8 months
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Time for your regularly scheduled, "Killjoy Hour with Enya" because we're being a killjoy about Dawntrail (:
So first and foremost: fuck Square and the XIV team for taking this angle. We could've gone any direction and we're going with Colonizer The Adventure. They looked at what we did on the Steppe with Hien and went "let's do it again! :D"
Mandatory CW for racism as it pertains to the indigenous peoples of North America, Mesoamerica and South America, and discussion of the genocide enacted by Spain against Mesoamerica and South America.
(Sections and the first letter of each sentence have been bolded for ease of reading)
But to explain further: Square has a really awful track record with their take on Tural, the "New World", especially in their handling of the Mamoolj'aa that are in Eorzea. This has been an issue since ARR and has been frequently criticized due to their extremely anti-indigenous writing. The way they handle the Eorzean tribes (which have been known as "beast tribes" and "beastmen" for a good part of the past decade that XIV has been around, I Should Not have to explain to you why that's deeply problematic) is an issue in its own right, but I'll only touch on what we've seen of Tural in the game itself and why this doesn't bode well for Dawntrail.
Let's get the obvious one out of the way first, this fucking shit:
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For those unaware, this is the New World set. It's a craftable gear set from Heavensward that players can wear as a goddamned costume. I shouldn't have to be saying this in 2023, but this set has caused a great deal of controversy because it's a bastardization of plains tribe regalia. Square never should have added it to the game, but here it is and players constantly wear it in further offensive glams.
The only instance of this set being used with NPCs is in the Blue Mage quests and what we see of the Whalaqee. Again, to those unaware: the ARR Blue Mage quests are an extremely racist storyline that plays into white savior narratives and more offensive caricatures. The only representatives that we get to interact with of the Whalaqee are a little boy in this outfit (who's also extremely pale), and two Mamoolj'aa who are the lackeys of Martyn, the job trainer for Blue Mage - a white man! Further, the magic is notably not from Eorzea and is instead a cultural practice of the Whalaqee that Martyn took and turned into profit, and he's who you're supposed to work for. You are - yet again - considered a master of the practice, and this is written in mind with a default white man in mind considering Meteor being the stand in for everything. There is in-game appropriation of cultural practices, clothing, and tools but it gets worse the further you go into them.
The main plot of the ARR quests is that the Whalaqee are dying from a plague brought toTural by Martyn and other researchers with the Arcanist's guild 🙃 There were two trips: one to study Blue Magic, and one where people from the first trip went back because they found ceruleum in the sacred lands of the Whalaqee and began drilling for it. But remember: you only get to meet the Whalaqee through the two Mamoolj'aa and the Whalaqee child. The fate of the tribe rests in an Eorzean's hands because they put the medicine behind a bet for the further profit of Ul'dah. Win the carnival and make the owner a bunch of money and you get the medicine; lose, and they go raid the place for ceruleum and wipe out the tribe. It's a deeply offensive storyline that turns past and ongoing horrors that indigenous peoples - especially those of North America and Mesoamerica - have faced and are still facing into some trivial goal for a questline for a joke job that's solved through the white savior trope.
Then, of course, there's how the Mamoolj'aa are generally treated. Like the other ARR tribes and anyone the game doesn't consider civilized, their dialogue is written in broken speech patterns to reflect "lower intelligence." They're one of the only ARR tribes (next to the Qiqirn, who only got that somewhat through the SHB Qitari quests) that haven't gotten any kind of humanizing that the others have seen over the years (and even then, that's only been recently). Throughout ARR-HVW storylines, they're portrayed as extremely aggressive, are often throwaway mercs for hire around La Noscea, and they have them use this "cultural dance" of theirs that's described as extremely suggestive and is frequently used to sexually harass the white women of Eorzea. They're also seen in the Wanderer's Palace (Hard) as "aggressive barbarian" types who enslaved the Tonberries, which were originally the Spoken of Nym (so y'know, predominantly white society that became malformed and gangrenous tonberries). And your job as the Warrior of Light is, naturally, to exterminate them. There's other stuff like the naming of abilities they use (frequent use of barbarian/barbaric, which in it of itself is problematic), the totems and standards that you're actively encouraged to destroy, the shaman stuff + the fact that again: they're the only ARR tribe that never got the same kind of humanizing lens that tribes like the Sylphs got early on, or like the Amalj'aa got only recently.
Dawntrail looks to be as if it might be that humanizing effort that began in Stormblood and was most prominent in 5.X (ARR-SHB tribe side quests don't count as it's side content, not MSQ), but of course there comes the problem: beyond them never treating the Mamoolj'aa with any respect in the content we already have, they've already framed 7.0 as you meddling in the rite of succession for this new area. An area that is ruled by a two-headed Mamoolj'aa that we have to help overthrow (which is not new, as a two-headed Mamoolj'aa was already shown in The Wanderer's Palace (Hard) - but that one was portrayed as brutish, unintelligent, and played into inbred stuff as...the final boss of the dungeon who gets a special end dungeon cutscene to showcase the Tonberries brutalizing his corpse). And again, this plot thread isn't new! We already helped Hien do that to the Steppe back in Stormblood! This is yet another instance of the game treating imperialism and colonization as a fun thing for you to get in on, especially since they're using the setting and the getting to the setting as a summer vacation.
The fact that they are framing Dawntrail as summer vacation-like is insidious. You are a party of fantasy Europeans sailing to fantasy Mesoamerica/South America to meddle in their governing process.
And let's quickly go over that: the fact Tural is the "New World" as you search for "a city of gold."
These names are rooted heavily in European colonization. The idea that Europe is the "civilized Old World" and that the Americas were the "uncivilized, waiting-to-be-conquered New World" is what drove the colonization of the region, especially in Mesoamerica and South America. The term "New World" is inseparable from white supremacist narratives about the colonizers that engaged with the peoples of the Americas. It's bad enough that XIV introduced Tural as "the New World" to begin with and populated it with a fantasy race that's characterized by violence, a lack of intelligence, and sexual harassment + a gross caricature of North American plains nations, but they have now made it into the destination for the Scions' "summer vacation adventure"? So that you can go do an imperialism there, too? They even framed it as some tropical paradise as if that's not an extension of how colonization of these regions is perpetuated today through the tourism industry.
The other term - city of gold - was a myth that was used as the excuse to ransack Mesoamerica and South America. You've definitely seen it, as that was the entire plot of Road to El Dorado. It was under this pretense that Spanish colonizers decimated indigenous populations in the search of glory and gold. The search for the "city of gold" in the "New World" was a mass genocide - enabled through widespread massacre, and a vicious plague that wiped out 80% of just the population in Mexico alone.
In Mexico, the pestilence reached the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, before its fall in 1521. Pathogens also reached Peru, inciting a civil war among the Incas. Both of these situations were extremely favorable for Spain. The plague—cocoliztli—was the most devastating post-conquest epidemic in large parts of Mexico, wiping out somewhere around 80 percent of the native population.
(from "How Aztecs Reacted to Colonial Epidemics" by Richard Herzog on JSTOR)
This is not a subject to touch upon lightly in any respect. And for XIV to use it for their "fun adventure in a foreign land" is deeply inappropriate and frankly disgusting. But is anyone surprised? This is the same company that ignored the demands of the Saami council to remove the offensive Far Northern attire from the store.
What I'm disappointed the most about, however, is the number of fans chomping at the bit with angles about a tropical tourist destination, taking the summer vacation angle the devs are actively encouraging, and even stuff with pirates (do not get me started on how white pirates contributed to colonization of the Americas). As a friend put it very aptly: how do you see "new world," "city of gold," and a fleet of European ships sailing towards fantasy Mesoamerica and not get skeeved out at the prospect? This isn't something you should be excited about because they're having us role play imperialism Yet Again. But this time, it's all to the tune of "tropical summer vacation in a foreign land". And y'all are excited to join in?
I don't want the expansion to turn out this way. We barely have any information on this, I understand. But what I've laid out here is what the game has already done with regards to Tural's pre-7.0 depictions and what they've shown they want to continue perpetuating. If Dawntrail turns out to be somewhat decent (and it better be better handled than Thavnair and feature fewer white people populating the countries that are inspired by black and brown cultures), then fine. But as it stands, Square has not given us any reason to trust them in how they've handled their indigenous stories leading up to 7.0. This entire concept is rife with the potential to be extremely offensive and extremely racist, and the main takeaway most fans seem to have from this isn't that this is a gross depiction of indigenous cultures, but instead a fun summer vacation with the Scions?
Really?
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