#+ war idealism. that's also a pretty big part of it

[good--merits-accumulated]

back on that fair folk au and i've got to say that these daddy issues are becoming steadily more apparent by the day

(some context for this scene: Todd has a run-in with Neil's dad, and it goes... not as badly as it could have been. but he still walks out with a busted face and a leetle bit of murderous intent. inspiration for this doubtless came from that one niccolò rising scene because dorothy dunnett's prose is so so marvellous... i haven't stopped thinking abt ribérac's hand "bursting" its way down claes' cheek since i read it)

[tame-the-lion-writes]

favorite CoD headcanons/prompts

konig

I love pathetic König drabble. I love when people write him as a massive pathetic wet cat of a man. He’s a loser and a simp, but he’s sweet, but he’s socially incompetent and what a moood. Yes, he’s frighteningly competent on the field, but he practically lives in war and doesn’t know how to connect with people outside of that life. So enter this pretty little thing and he’s all stumbling over himself—a massive creature who just wants to hold someone so tiny

And speaking of tiny!— the headcanon that he’s a cat/bunny person! That he’s supposed to be this battering ram brute but he’s also learned to be gentle when it really counts, and he scoops up adorable animals whenever they’re in sight

Also the idea that König is particularly weak to bakers. Baking means home, and so does the smell of whatever you’ve put in the oven. It’s the ✨domesticity✨ and he’s practically floating in midair like a character in an old cartoon. In short, big man following after smol baker. Perfection.

Price

Bear!Price! Literally and figuratively! He’s so round and warm and he’s got the kindest eyes, and he will wrestle his cubs soldiers into place! I don’t want him to have a six pack. He’s got strong arms, hair all over, and a belly. That’s all he needs

Dark(er)!Price, too. And I don’t mean that in like a possessive, obsessive smut sort of way. I think a lot of fluffier fanfic surrounding Price has him characterized as super soft (which I still love—don’t get me wrong). Still, while he’s very much the dad of the group and openly loving/caring towards certain people, he’s still a morally gray character because (even in his own words) he HAS to be. This man is a captain and he gets 👏 things 👏 done 👏 AKA making tough choices and justification over idealism

Ghost

Fics where Ghost gets married before Price. Cause everyone thinks Price would find a wife first, but I think Price would like the slow roll whereas Ghost would finally, finally find someone and latch on. Because yeah, he’s definitely afraid of losing you—he’s lost a lot of things in this world, and the 141 and war seem to be the only continuity, BUT!— once that wall is broken down and he allows himself to have something, he’s making sure he won’t ever let go. Because that love is his, his, his. In the purest, most selfless way possible

Ghost being characterized not as pretty, but someone who was pretty. I forget who wrote the blurb about it, but I just love the idea that he used to be conventionally attractive, and now his face is carved in, scarred, etc. He’s got burn marks littered up and down his skin, and it’s angry and red, and all the parts that weren’t burn were somehow torn apart anyway. He’s a man with too many stories to tell, and it shows but we love him anyway

[mllemaenad]

It always strikes me as weird that there’s no point at which the Brotherhood and Minutemen automatically come into conflict that I can find. One would think that the Brotherhood’s methods of gathering supplies (basically racketeering) would automatically lead to issues with the Minutemen, whose job is to defend against such raiders. I know the game mechanics reason for this, but can you think of anything in-universe to explain it?

I think there are a few things going on here – some gameplay related, some thematically related. But to be honest I don't think it's always easy to separate those two things.

Point one - who's in charge?

If you follow Fallout 4's opening quests then you are the General of the Minutemen. That means that your Sole Survivor gets to make big important decisions like "do we go to war with this new group?" You do not lead the Brotherhood, Railroad or Institute (you may, of course, inherit control of the Institute at the end of the game, but that's after all these decisions take place) and consequently decisions about who your enemies are take place over your head. You can pick a side if two factions you belong to come into conflict ... but you can't ultimately change their politics.

There is no point in the story where you are forced to go to war with the Brotherhood as the General of the Minutemen ... but you absolutely can go to war with the Brotherhood as the General of the Minutemen.

So this is both a gameplay and narrative point: what does your Sole Survivor think of the Brotherhood of Steel? Maybe they are also a dedicated member of the Brotherhood, and have no problem with them "commandeering" supplies. Maybe you work with the Railroad, and their attitudes frighten you. Maybe you're a pure Minuteman character and just resent another group of raiders causing problems for your settlements.

Every other faction makes the decision of when to invoke "War never changes" for you. This one's on you.

Point two – who shot first?

Obviously, the Brotherhood of Steel does end up in forced conflict with the Railroad as part of the main quest. There's no way to make peace between them, no matter how many quests you've done for either faction.

But. Well. I mean – there's an obvious aggressor in this one. It's not like Desdemona wakes up one morning, finishes her Sugar Bombs and coffee and says "Hey, guys, given that we've just barely clawed our way back from extinction, doesn't picking a fight with a group of heavily armed thugs sound like a great idea?"

There are no Railroad quests that require you to directly attack the Brotherhood until after the Brotherhood tries to murder them. While Brotherhood and Railroad ideals are pretty clearly in conflict, the Railroad absolutely does not want to start another war. They're up to their eyeballs dealing with the Institute. The Brotherhood impose that conflict on them.

Why? Well, they tell you. The first reason is that the Brotherhood are intent on committing genocide, and they are aware that the Railroad's mission would require them to rescue and protect synths.

Even with their relatively small numbers, the Railroad is a constant threat to our operations. They've already proven to be resilient against superior forces, with a knack for disappearing when cornered. Worse still, they possess the capability to help synths flee the Institute. If we intend to end the synth menace, we need to plug the leaks. – Lancer Captain Kells Dialogue, Fallout 4

The other reason is because the Railroad has PAM, and the Brotherhood wants to steal her.

Our sources tell us that the Railroad has some sort of experimental or prototype robot in their headquarters. They're calling the "Predictive Analytic Machine," or "P.A.M." for short. Cute, huh? They use the robot for complex strategic calculations that are much more efficient than anything we can generate here. If you could use this holotape to decrypt the security on P.A.M.'s terminal, it will force the unit to return to the Prydwen. I'm certain we could put P.A.M.'s computing power to good use. Otherwise, destroy it. We wouldn't want it to fall into the Institute's hands. – Proctor Ingram Dialogue, Fallout 4

The conflict between the Brotherhood and Railroad occurs purely at the Brotherhood's instigation. While the Railroad doesn't like the Brotherhood they don't want to fight them unless they have to.

Which brings me back to the Minutemen. As an organisation, the Minutemen are pretty well indifferent to synths. Oh, they're one hundred percent opposed to the Institute sacking settlements with Gen 2s, or people being replaced by synths, or any other scenario where the people they've pledged to protect get hurt ... but there's no official policy on synths themselves.

Preston is broadly pro-freeing the synths because he's a good guy:

I never really thought about synths that way before, but it's hard to argue that they don't deserve freedom like everyone else. – Preston Garvey Dialogue, Fallout 4

But nothing about being involved with the Minutemen actually forces you to help a synth. So they are not on the Brotherhood's radar the way the Railroad are.

The Minutemen is also a pretty low tech organisation. Their signature weapon is the laser musket. Their big rebuilding quest, Old Guns, is about setting up some very old-school artillery. Nothing about that is going to make the Brotherhood start salivating and plotting to steal their stuff. Now, obviously that artillery can turn out to be very effective at dealing with the Prydwen if it comes to that, but that's a very Brotherhood mistake: they think shiny tech will protect them from superior numbers and rational tactics. They made the same error at HELIOS ONE.

So unlike the Railroad, the Minutemen are unlikely targets for Brotherhood aggression at this stage. They aren't forcing a conflict. But like the Railroad, the Minutemen start the game a hair's breadth from annihilation. Most of the game is spent rebuilding both their forces and their credibility. They clear raider strongholds and nests of feral ghouls. They're not much more likely to be actively pushing for an all-out-war than the Railroad.

Point Three - who the hell are these guys, anyway?

After all of that, I recognise there's still a problem, though. Because Feeding the Troops is still a pretty obnoxious quest and it does feel like a thing that would cause issues.

Fallout 4 does a lot with misinformation; appearance versus reality; what someone says and then what they do. I know I've brought it up before, but a big one is the difference between Diamond City and Goodneighbor. And one of the key points about that is that things change: Diamond City wasn't always run by the Institute; Goodneighbor wasn't always setting itself up as a haven for the lost. Things change. Bad things can improve, and good things can slip into evil.

Earlier games had a karma system associated with them: this is good, this is bad. Fallout 4 replaces this with companion opinions, which fits pretty well with its themes and ideas. It's not going to tell you which one is the good karma option. You've got to play the game and figure it out. And yes, sometimes the answer is "there's no good answer".

Two things about the Brotherhood: they arrive relatively late in the game, at the start of Act 2 ... and they were the good guys in Fallout 3. They were very explicitly the good karma option in Fallout 3. While, obviously, each game is going to pick up a bunch of new players who haven't played the older ones, it's also important to recognise that Fallout is a series, and the narrative continues from one game to the next.

By the time Fallout 4 starts all the various factions in the Commonwealth have been locked in conflict with the Institute for decades. Asking them to pivot and immediately start fighting these guys who turned up last Tuesday is a lot. While the Sole Survivor could never have heard of the Brotherhood of Steel, there's a really solid chance that you, the player, have heard of them. And you might make some assumptions, based on that.

They were the good guys, right? Okay, yes, kind of arseholes and a bit of a problem if you were from Underworld but ... they fought the Enclave! They defended Project Purity! They protected people from super mutants! It's a whole thing!

But. Well, there's clearly been a change in leadership since then. And they've specifically reintegrated the Outcasts, i.e. the anti-helping people Brotherhood faction.

Also, the Commonwealth is not the Capital Wasteland. The conflict there was Brotherhood-versus-Enclave and the Enclave was so very bad that virtually anyone could look heroic opposing them. The super mutants never coalesced into a coherent faction who wanted anything; they operated more like a plague. Simpler times. In the Commonwealth there are more factions, more differing ideals. The water needs purifying, sure, but if we could solve the political problems farming wouldn't be a major issue.

You see all this difficulty and ambivalence in the game's characters, too:

The Brotherhood. In Capital Wasteland, they really weren't bad. But now. – Deacon Dialogue, Fallout 4 Those Super Mutants are a threat to everyone in the whole Commonwealth. I'm glad to have the Brotherhood's help to take them out. – Preston Garvey Dialogue, Fallout 4 Long as the Brotherhood of Steel keeps the heavy artillery out of the city limits, they're welcome here. – Diamond City Security Dialogue, Fallout 4 Flying that ship into the heart of the Commonwealth. Mark my words, the Brotherhood's here to start a war. – Nick Valentine Dialogue, Fallout 4

Characters are aware that the Brotherhood did good in the past. They're concerned about the giant airship in their space. They're grateful when the Brotherhood does something that happens to be helpful, even if their reasons were selfish. The decision about what do about them is floating in the air, from the day they turn up.

So now I'm back to my first point. You're the General of the Minutemen. Odds are, defending the Commonwealth as a Minuteman was one of the very first pledges you made at the start of the game. And sure, you're visiting all the factions and doing their quests, because that's how these games work.

Cool. So – I mean, they've asked you to bully and steal from the farmers you swore to protect. If you take your non-human companions to the Prydwen they will say the most horrible things about them. They've sent you to murder your friend Danse, even though he hasn't done anything and it's not like he can choose to not be a synth. They're powering up this really scary robot they can use to terrorise people. They're sending you to slaughter the Railroad, unprovoked, because they want their robot. At what point have you had enough? At what point do you go "Ohhhhh. This is the bad karma faction"?

There's a warning, right at the beginning of their quest line, from Haylen:

Field Scribe Haylen, personal log entry 324A. I'm starting to wonder if joining the Brotherhood of Steel was a good choice. I originally signed up seeking protection and comradeship but I'm worried that I've traded away a bit of my humanity in the process. The Brotherhood's message of hope for the future is idealistic and noble but their methods leave a lot to be desired. The leadership seems especially misguided. Instead of diplomacy, they wield violent confrontation to exert control. Despite all that, I've been successfully avoiding the fighting by following the career path of a field scribe. I suppose only time will tell how long I can stand the sight of spilled blood over my own moral fiber. – Scribe Haylen's Personal Log, Fallout 4

If you can recognise some foreshadowing, you can see where this is going.

I think the game doesn't force you to fight the Brotherhood with the Minutemen because you are the General of the Minutemen. It doesn't have karma options, it asks you to review the situation and make a decision what to do. You can fight the Brotherhood, if you choose to. In fact, you kind of swore that you would.

Yeah, they're running a protection racket. What are you going to do about it?

And I think that's very in line with the sort of story Fallout 4 wants to tell.

[alethianightsong]

Atlantis: the Lost Empire subverts the "White Savior" trope so well and here's my Ted talk tangent

Atlantis: the Lost Empire is just Avatar but with a smarter story. Both films feature a young white man discovering a foreign culture, falling for the culture's princess, and saving the natives' way of life. Both films commentate on the exploitation of indigenous people for their resources. The biggest fundamental difference between Avatar and Atlantis is how the white male leads approach their scenarios. Milo Thatch is a wide-eyed scholar who just wants to learn; Jake Sullivan is a soldier infiltrating the culture so he can exploit them. Milo never had any intention of hurting/exploiting the natives but the people around him did; Jake knew the end goal was exploitation and only changed his alliance when he fell in love. Kida comes to Milo for help and he approaches her with respect not condescension; Jake has to learn the planet and its people are worthy of respect. Milo is attracted to Kida but he doesn't save her so he can get the girl; he saves her to save her people (getting the girl was a luxury and even then, it's obvious they'll take things slow cuz there's more important things than romance like reconnecting the Atlanteans with the lost parts of their culture). The Atlanteans are also not harmless, primitive natives. They had super-advanced technology ie the Leviathan that took out a modern submarine in like 2 minutes while the Navi are overtly primitive, their simplicity treated as a virtue. The Atlanteans were so advanced that they sent themselves back to the Stone Age with their war tech. This little detail keeps the Atlanteans from being hippie-dippie natives who need rescuing and make them a cautionary tale; they used to be greedy, hyper-advanced warmongers and that hubris leaves their race and culture on the verge of extinction. Both the Navi and Atlanteans have spiritual, mystical aspects to them, but the Navi are anti-tech while it's only the rediscovery of their tech that allows the Atlanteans to save themselves. The primitive life we see the Atlanteans lead is not presented as ideal; it is the death throes of a culture, a fatal stagnation at the bottom of the world. When Kida and Milo meet, it's not the typical "more advanced culture taking from the weaker culture" that has come to define first contact between societies. It's quid pro quo: we both answer, we both listen, we both come away with more not one party coming away with less. No one is humbled or talked down to. As for the antagonists of both films (Avatar and Atlantis) the antagonists of Avatar are just cardboard cutouts. The antagonists of Atlantis are just disinherited individuals coming together for a treasure hunt. There's a gag where Milo asks what each character seeks and they all say "Money" but that's not it. They each want to pursue goals unique to them and they need money to do it. When the chips are down and it's either money or NOT dooming an entire lost tribe to death, they choose saving the tribe. The main big bads, Rourke and Helga, have just spent a day walking through a ruined city where people live in the remains of their greatness and think, "Yeah, we are so stealing their technology so we can reenact the fall of their civilization on our OWN civilization. Why? Cuz capitalism." Why am I talking so much about Atlantis but not Avatar? Because Avatar lacks depth. I've watched Atlantis a thousand times on my cheap 2000s-era TV and get pulled in each time but Avatar's just a pretty screensaver playing in the background.

[ratcandy]

Big Huge Irritated Rant About The Latest COTL Update's Story Choices and the Implications

So the lore drop in the new Cult of the Lamb update, Unholy Alliance, pisses me off. The writer's confirmation of what that lore drop means pisses me off more.

Why? Because it's unnecessary recontextualization that was made pretty obviously in favor in one character in particular, and somehow in that process makes that very same character way less interesting. I think it's incredibly detrimental to the story and I will Explain Why in a second.

But before I do, I just want to put this out there: Prior to this update, my opinions on the Bishops and Narinder and that entire plotline were pretty neutral. I'm an NPC enjoyer, I spend my time thinking about that moth with two lines of dialogue. I did not previously have strong opinions on Narinder or Shamura outside of mild dislike for fandom treatment. So I'm not coming from a place of bias here (or at the very least I'm not trying to be). I genuinely, wholeheartedly, 100% believe this writing decision was unnecessary and the Wrong one to make, and I think it severely undercuts the original plotline because this was a retcon and one that sucks pretty bad.

Ok we're on the same page here? Ok awesome. Long rant ahead, and obvs spoilers for the Unholy Alliance update

So first, what the hell am I talking about? What part of the update do I not like? Let's clarify that first.

It's Shamura's dialogue. Like, all of it. For ease of understanding, here is all the dialogue I will be talking about:

"Ah... we gathered here, the four of us, a council of war and I the general. I have not forgot. I did not tell them that chains to bind a God must be forged of Godly matters. What matter of Gods? What matters of Gods? I have not forgot. The betrayal of kin, the breaking of spirits, blood spilled, his and ours. ...the sacrifice of what we had sacrificed so much for... ...shaped into shackles for our own brother. And our wounds always to weep. Such sharp claws..."

--

"He sought to break nature's own laws. Death was his, yet he placed his sacred duty in peril. His experiments... Experiments I encouraged. I am not... blameless. My soul, stained... yet I do not... Ah, The story. Yes the story... He wanted to open the doors between Life and Death, to... to allow their return. Those mere... mortals. Even though he knew their sacrifices, their faith, their fears sustain us. Death must be the end. Otherwise, what use would they have for Gods? They began to flock to him. What he promised, we could not match. He swelled with devotion... while we waned. Would he have let us perish? I could not take... the risk... the hunger... You are lucky there are none left to force such a choice on you. Hail, Lamb. Last God... lonely God... Ah... I feel... unburdened..."

And for fun, before anyone tells me I'm misinterpreting any of this or that it's left up to interpretation or is intentionally vague, Word of God (the writer of CoTL):

And it's this being Word of God that's spurred me into making this post to begin with. Because prior to this, I just seethed about this dialogue's implications in my server and hoped I was wrong. But now it's been confirmed what this means, and I'm . Disgruntled, to say the least!

And since I've started writing this post, there's been another addition made to further clarify parts of this. But I'm going to go over that addition more towards the end, because it also irritates me for separate reasons.

So, let's get this straight.

Prior to this update, the specifics of what happens between Narinder and the Bishops were pretty vague. We were told Narinder was "gluttonous in his ambition," per Shamura's previous dialogue, and that they "introduced him to ideas of change" but "Death cannot flow backward." Heket somewhat elaborates on this by saying he preached "heresy" and "noxious ideals" that would not be tolerated. Heket also notably refers to Narinder as a flat-out "monster." Narinder attacked his siblings and left them each with a big, symbolic wound. Then he was chained by the four of them, with Shamura the one to lead it (in their own words).

There's a lot of talk of betrayal, but before this update, it was unclear if the betrayal was meant to just be Narinder's experimenting with death (which even then was pretty heavily suggested to be resurrections) or the wounds inflicted upon his siblings. There's also a lot of talk of sacrifice, i.e. from Leshy if you kill Heket before him: "After everything we did. After everything we sacrificed. He will not be satiated."

Regardless, the picture this painted was of Narinder being this ambitious, evil, violent God that even his fellow Gods (Kallamar) feared and felt needed controlling. The idea that the wounds could have been in the nail in the coffin to this entire ordeal made sense; as they were obviously planned by Narinder to some extent (otherwise why be so intentional about who got what wound?) and a fair reaction to Being Mutilated would of course be to chain him.

Then of course there's the idea that the wounds were given while he was being chained and in self-defense, which only seems possible if you think Narinder could take on all four of his siblings at once like that and only manage to lose his claws in the ordeal (which was only revealed in this update to be something he's implied to have lost thru the relic). I thought this at first too, but realized it seems pretty impractical for that to have been the case if the wounds were also purposeful in who got what. I mean, sure, they could all be coincidentally symbolically appropriate for each Bishop, but I have doouuubts?

but now we're here, with this update, and all has been revealed.

And what's been revealed exactly?

Narinder's thing he was doing was indeed resurrections (we knew that)

Shamura encouraged him to do it (we also already knew this)

It seems like he did literally nothing else outside of that

His siblings got pissy about this because it made their domains purposeless and got all their followers to flock to him

"Would he let us perish? I could not take the risk" - Implies they literally did not even ask him

Shamura knew that in order to forge chains that could keep Narinder down, it would require a sacrifice of their bonds AND their flesh

They DID NOT tell the other Bishops this

Their wounds were requirements to chain him. They had to get the wounds they bear now in order to chain him. ONLY Shamura knew this. That means they allowed their siblings (and themself) to get attacked knowing full well what would happen. They may have even encouraged it, perhaps provoked Narinder into it, seeing as they knew the wounds were necessary to have him chained. (Or they just knew he would retaliate. Which, like. Yeah. They're condemning him after he went down a path they encouraged and, as far as we can tell, nothing else.)

And for... what?

In this version of the story, Narinder was experimenting with resurrections, and Shamura told him to keep doing that. Then he was successful, mortals turned to him, and his siblings (including Shamura, the one who told him to do it) got mad. That's it. That's their reasoning for chaining him. There's nothing else given. "Would they perish?" We have no idea. Is that how it works? Seems like Shamura doesn't know either. Or at the very least doesn't know if Narinder intended for that at all. Gives the vibe that literally no effort was made to talk to him and figure this out. They don't even really go down the "it puts nature out of balance!" path, which would at least have some merit, maybe. It's literally just "we are no longer sustained. What's the point of Gods in this world?" <- idk babe you had all the other ones slaughtered. So you tell me

And then Shamura just took it into their own hands, leading their siblings to their shared wounds (WITHOUT consulting them) and their inevitable destruction because of........... reasons, I guess. (I mean, if you think about it really hard, they probably also already knew what would happen following all this. With the lamb genocide and Narinder's resurfacing and etc. And they had their siblings wounded anyway. For no god damn reason)

And now why does this make me mad?

Because, honestly, in and of itself, there's not anything necessarily wrong with this added context. It's not contradicting anything in the main game. Shamura knowing what was needed makes sense, after all.

But it's... unnecessary. It screws up the motives and makes them more shallow, less nuanced, more... petty. Making gods petty is cool and all, I love doing that honestly, but in this case it just feels like a waste of potential.

But beyond all that. But most importantly.

This entire recontextualization of events REEKS of being made specifically to absolve Narinder.

I mean, come on. He's made out to be the victim, here. Shamura knew what he would do, knew what he would become, and knew exactly what would happen to their siblings if they sought to chain him (without doing so much as talking to him beforehand), and yet they encouraged it.

All blame is being shifted on Shamura. All Narinder did specifically against his siblings was inflict the wounds, which at this point seems to be hinted as self defense or a retaliation against threat or insult (assuming he was provoked into attacking, somehow). Because the wounds were part of the process.

And almost equally irritating, this seeks to arbitrarily absolve Leshy, Kallamar, and Heket as well, as they had no idea what the plan was and were just strung along. Which is just kinda worse, right? As far as they are aware, Narinder did just randomly attack them for no reason, and this wasn't foreseen, and surely couldn't have been stopped. All because Shamura didn't tell them any of it.

Shamura is being made into the big bad. Shamura is at fault for everything, for all of it. Narinder is a victim of Shamura encouraging him down a path they later condemn him for, their siblings are victims of Shamura and Narinder both (the latter of which could have been resolved at any point prior), and now any possible intrigue about Narinder being this big bad guy who tore apart his siblings due to his own ambition getting the best of him is ERASED.

It's GONE. All in favor of making him more sympathetic.

And sure, about a million different excuses could be made for Shamura, or could be used to headcanon whatever you want about exactly what happened. But with what we're given right now, just from the source, no attempt as made to stop Narinder before it got to this point. It is literally suggested they didn't even talk to him.

"Maybe they were too scared" - For the other three, maybe. Shamura is the eldest and clearly the most respected one, by Narinder as well (he holds some amount of respect for them even STILL. After EVERYTHING). They at any point could have stopped this.

"Narinder could still have been a bad guy outside of the attacks" - Sure, but we're given little to nothing on that front. In the old dialogue, literally all that's mentioned is the resurrection stuff and the wounds. Shamura is the one who said his ambition made a glutton of him, by the way. And hell, this isn't even touching the very real possibility that all of the Bishops (Narinder included!) are unreliable as hell.

"But Kallamar feared him even before his chaining, that suggests he was still a bad guy beforehand" - Sure, it could! But that's about all we get! And hell, in this new update, Kallamar's fears are fucked with, too. He states:

"Once, long ago, Followers would worship at my altar just to glimpse the beauty of my temple… of course, it could not last forever. Perhaps my siblings did not understand this, but I have always known. It did not make me less afraid. Cowardly Kallamar, ha…"

Here, it seems Kallamar's fears have been changed to be more about the decline of his temple and the loss of his followers, which was happening because of Narinder. He refers to Narinder's plans as "foolish" as opposed to... idk, horrifying, or threatening, or whatever. He also fully takes on the 'cowardly' title, giving the impression that his fears were somehow unfounded, which wouldn't make a lick of sense if Narinder indeed sucked ass outside of the wounds.

Not to mention he "didn't want to hear it" when Shamura "revealed the plan," but we know because of Shamura that they didn't mention anything about the wounds, so Kallamar didn't want to hear that they... had to chain Narinder? That's literally all he could've been told about the plan. Why wouldn't he want to chain Narinder if he was scared of him up until that point?? Doesn't make any sense!!! EDIT AFTER I POSTED: On reconsideration this might just be referring the lamb genocide plan, but that's hardly better, because now this update absolves Narinder, Leshy, AND Kallamar by making them blameless in everything (both Leshy and Kallamar expressed not fully understanding the plan for the slaughter or, in this case, not wanting part in it). What's up with THAT. Why is Shamura getting the blame for LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

Anyway, my point is

This was a story decision made to make Narinder sympathetic. It's so blatant. And it's so, so irritating. It gets rid of so many potential cool flaws of Narinder and replaces it with "Actually, Shamura was the bad guy the whole time! Huzzah!"

And honestly, had the entire game come out like this to begin with, released at the start how it is right now, I don't think I'd care this much. But being added now, as an afterthought, after the fandom and devs alike have grown to favor Narinder above all others, it just...

It reeks of favoritism. It smells of revising the story to make Narinder more likeable. It's just erasure.

And for what. Like, I don't want to be That Guy, but I cannot help but notice that one of two nonbinary characters (outside of the Lamb/Goat themselves) is being this heavily demonized in favor of absolving a Man of his crimes. What's, uh. What's up with that.

Oh, and that addition by the writer I mentioned was made while I was writing this.

This was made after Jojo was questioned whether this was a retcon as to who caused the wounds, as this whole thing could also certainly be read as Shamura being the one to directly wound their siblings (which I didn't think was the case, but still).

"I don't know if they thought it would be so severe" - How do I put this in a nice way. This feels like a weaseling out answer. This feels like giving Shamura an out only after being questioned on this writing choice. How could they possibly not know how severe it would be. This spider is Knowledge. This spider has Foresight of some kind. And how do you not know what they thought. You are the Writer. If you want to clarify something like this you gotta say it with your full chest.

Not to mention a good portion of the fandom probably won't even see these tweets, so this context is all missing from the story presented in the game. This is Tacked On Context on top of already Tacked On Context. It's unnecessary retconning all the way down.

Anyway. I realize the fandom at large will not care about this, because (and I mean this in the nicest way I can manage) the Narinder favoritism in this fandom is already impenetrable, but for me personally? This retconning that was so clearly done out of that favoritism?

It ruined Narinder's character for me. More than the fandom possibly could have. I mean, if it's fanon, it can be ignored. But this was canonized. Because Narinder is the dev team's favorite guy.

And I can't stand it.

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

fat robots. say everything you think

Well, this is going to be barely coherent, but here we go.

I am not particularly shy about saying I think fat people and fat characters are often really fuckin hot. Idk if it's anything that deep, I just like em sturdy about as often as I like twinks or hunks or anything in between, and I think it's a damn shame you don't see more fat characters treated as complex or desirable or really anything more than the comic relief.

I've mentioned before that TFA has my ideal mix of partial softbody and hard metal. It's also got a really nice range of body types, and it gave us my beautiful beloved boy Bulkhead, very big, very cute, very sweet. I like that he's fat, I like that he has depth as a character, I like the idea of his belly and his thighs actually being at least a little soft. Also with Jazz and Shockwave, although both of them are pretty thin (unless you count Longarm), they both have that very clearly soft midriff (and in Jazz's case, those incredibly biteable thighs) and when people draw them even softer and chubbier than they are in canon, I simply black out. No thoughts, head empty, only robot tummy.

Even in continuities where that soft protoform look might be a bit more of a reach (like tfp, they lean a lot heavier into the mechanical for about everything except the face) I don't really see anything wrong with people simplifying some of the moving mechanical parts in the name of dialing up the softbody a little. Like don't get me wrong, I love the predominantly hard metal side of the spectrum too, I'm as fascinated with tfp Optimus's intricate mechanical hands Drift's solid steel thighs as the next robotfucker, I just also like applying The Somft���️ to characters that may not have it by default.

I'm also just kind of a sucker for characters that are Constantly Going Through It and Tired All The Time eventually gaining weight when they get to settle down and enjoy themselves a little, and with The War being a constant in every continuity, that gives me quite a few options to apply that trope post-war (cough cough tfp ratchet cough cough I NEED THAT MAN TO STOP STARVING HIMSELF DAMMIT)

In conclusion, your honor, I think I just like seeing my faves fat n' happy.

[deconstructivesurgery]

Been thinking a lot about Borderlands 3 and Rhys lately and since I've seen people posting a lot about the things they dislike about the way Borderlands 3 handled... literally everything, from previous games' characters to their strange and sudden insistent belief that "some of the megacorporations that make weapons to profit off of the galaxy being unsafe and constantly engage in inter-corporate war to steal things from each other are good actually" I thought I'd add a few of my own thoughts into the ring, this time specifically about Rhys- one of the characters who I found to be both dumbed down in 3 (although to a lesser extent than characters like Vaughn, who was pretty much just reduced to a bit character.) Cut because this is gonna be a long one, folks.

I think something interesting is the fact that Borderlands 3 really took away some of the snide, prideful behaviour Rhys had in the original Tales, kinda stripping him of some of his less "cutesy" personality flaws while giving him new ones he didn't necessarily have before- like accidentally making him seem incredibly shallow in quests like Space Laser Tag- where he's mainly concerned about trivial things like his favourite spots being destroyed while the company he fought to rebuild for the past SEVEN years is also being crushed. This is largely because instead of portraying him as the flawed but OVERALL currently well-intentioned (to some degree) character he is, they wanted him to be little more than an "adorkable" goofy type of character- and acknowledging his past of scheming ambition and potential to be incredibly dismissive of others doesn't fit that.

The thing *I* personally like the most about my perception of Rhys as a character is the dissonance between his character arc and his actions beyond the original Tales. I think it's important to spearhead this conversation with the fact that I don't like buying into the idea of Rhys being possessed by Handsome Jack post-TFTBL, trying to bring him back, or even still being in possession of his infected ECHOeye. Whether he sided with him for the majority of the original Tales or not, I prefer believing that the canon ending to the game inevitably resulted in Rhys finally discarding his idolization of Jack and resolving to veer his own life away from following in Jack's footsteps and towards creating his own ideal future with Atlas.

Does that immediately make him a morally perfect wonderful guy who's not still questionable by sheer virtue of INSISTING on making a return to the very corporate hellscape that pushed him to do everything from get unnecessary body modifications (still forever thinking about the fact that he did NOT lose that arm, my man had it purposefully removed for the sake of career success). No. The FUN part of it all is that Rhys is simultaneously right- he isn't like Jack, and I really don't like that the new Tales really switched up his behaviour to resemble his more- and wrong. Because at the end of the day, he's now still the CEO of a large-scale weapons manufacturer taking advantage of the unrest between planets and corporations just like every other big corp.

I think more than anything, I like Rhys best when he's a well-intentioned person (with glaring character flaws like a persistent love for the corporate life and lingering ambitions) who genuinely cares about Atlas and believes that it's the key to bettering the world he lives in- while simultaneously only REALLY managing to be, at most, a lesser evil. Someone snarky and occasionally snide, who's lightened up into the more affable, comfortable, almost silly persona we see in 3- but not missing the flaws that were definitive of his character in the past, either.

I wish we'd seen him have a stronger reaction to Katagawa Jr. and the possibility of losing Atlas, instead of the played-up-for-laughs kind of upset he displayed over things like a donut shop vs. the literal potential destruction of the company he scavenged out of a bad situation and brought back from the grave. I wanted to see him take it more PERSONALLY. To me, Atlas is in part Rhys trying to prove to HIMSELF that he doesn't need to be like Jack. It's proof and reassurance that when he tries to tell himself he's better, he's right. It's freedom from the corporate rat race he used to live in, because *he*'s in charge of it now, and he's running it with a lighter hand. To me, it's his own (flawed, yes, but I should've made that clear already) attempt to spit on everything Hyperion represented as a corporate environment.

If I'd had my way with it, honestly, I would've played a bit of a more emotional angle with the ideas Borderlands 3 lays out for you. I really love Katagawa Jr. for a lot of reasons, but one of them is the fact that he's a character that really echoes a lot of Rhys' own (past and present) character traits right back at him, and I think that should've been emphasized more. I wanted it to hurt more! Let Rhys look dead in the eyes someone who is, in many ways, eerily similar to himself- opportunistic power-grabbing and all- and realize that he's going to have to have him killed to protect what he's built for himself. I wanted him to realize that this was the only way things were ever going to turn out- because there's no happy ending when you go corporate in the Borderlands universe. It's going to be backstabbing, conflict with other manufacturers, and destruction all the way down.

Anyways I have a *lot* more to say than this (autism does that to a motherfucker)- but I see a lot of discourse? Discussion? Who knows- anyways. I see it a lot regarding Rhys, and I think my take is essentially, TLDR:

He doesn't need to be the pinnacle of evil, a new clone of Handsome Jack or someone stepping into his footsteps, just another heartless corporate fuck who underwent no character development whatsoever and is just as bad as Maliwan, or Tediore, or anyone else. He also shouldn't be reduced to "the good one". I know that Borderlands 3 itself is for the most part completely allergic to nuance, especially in character writing, but I think it's fascinating to play with the idea of a character who is trying to do their best to BE "the good one" and succeeding to some degree- while still failing to break the status quo in a way that matters. He also doesn't need to be entirely a goofy piece of shit that's obsessed with action figures, OR a conniving, snide asshole who's way too overconfident sometimes. He could've and should've been a bit of both, y'know?

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. If you read all this, you have my commendation.

[earlofbats]

Okay so because this post about Harry being a bottom I'm going to give a genuine dissertation on the thematic relevance of sub Harry and maybe a little bit about dom Kim.

First I wanna establish the "Harry is definitely a subby little bottom boy" and is also definitely Bi and probably has some sorta fucking complex about it.

Evidence A. Contact Mike, Guillaume Le Million, Measurehead (when fascist).

Harry tends to idolize and gravitate towards extremely masculine figures.

This is probably due to a reflexive need to feel masculine and have masculine role models in the face of elements of identity that are seen as unmasculine by society and have become exacerbated by the breakup which had to be pretty emasculating for Harry.

Also :

Imma start a Harry's Kink counter here +1 light bondage.

+1 auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Uhm +1 uhh,Spanking? Additional +1 for being what I think is most possibly the horniest thought you have in the game also:

+1 Kim is a Dom.

I think Harry has kept his attraction to men or his desires about men fairly low key for his entire life. The way he conceptualizes Homosexuality in general as an "underground" society filled with whispering rooms and forbidden secrets is likely more of a reflection of how Harry views his own sexuality than how Queer culture is manifest in Revachol. (In reference to the way both Kim and The Smoker kinda laugh Harry about it)

The organizational element of the idea being likely reflective of the way internalization is akin to paranoia.

Harry is also extremely intimacy starved and I think part of that is due to an unmet need for affection and the desire to be taken care of. That masculinity and status as both a survivor and an oppressor was sorta thrust onto Harry, he was born the last year of the war on a hospital floor, given a name associated with war time and survival, grew up probably in a little street urchin gang, got into *Disco* (man I'm sure Harry brushed elbows with the underground then.) Was a gym teacher a good balance between masculinity and caretaker and guardian something that harry clearly excels at and enjoys. Then Dora encouraged him to be a cop for unknown reasons perhaps prestige, money, because Harry has a bleeding heart.

Engage Heterosexual Cop hell for 12 years then an additional 6 single Cop hell years.

And now you're like :

Another element is Harry's tendency to worship and diefy his partners which like man that's gotta be the subbiest fucking thing you can do. I honestly can't articulate all of the reasons why that's just extreme bottom behavior.

Harry is an empathic jelly creature who is forced to handle a job with dead people in it all day and has created this reflexive hyper masculine obsession to compensate for his perceived inadequacy in not living up to the patriarchal capitalist ideal of what's supposed to be his birthright as a well off, able bodied, 'straight', occidental, man.

Except the actual issue is that Harry is mostly perceived or perceiving himself as that, when in reality he's in clear conflict with his actual identity as a Poor, mentally Ill, bisexual, occidental, man.

And it's those last two that end up kind of making this smoke screen to Harrys deficiency in privilege. He can mask or hide behind being an Occidental Man.

Can buddy buddy with patriarchy and take up the idea of a Big Strong Manly Cop.

Something that Kim also seems to be doing by seeking out positions of authority he can compensate for the disrespect he gets as a Poor, blind, gay, seolite, man.

Last of which probably won't get him far because of how "juvenile" his body type is.

Kim can't really coast on patriarchy much the way Harry can. He has to work twice as hard cuz there's not a lot he can hide behind.

Pursuit for control in the face of denial

Vs

Shielding ones self behind control as a means of denial.

Dom/Sub dichotomy.

[verifiefangirl]

Words Left Unsaid

A fic based on this post by @gshadowsinger. For context about the first part.

Azriel was distracted and a distracted warrior left for a sloppy one. He knew that. How many times had Cassian and him drilled those words to the girls while they were training. 

He saw a flash of her burnished hair before she disappeared out of sight again. The lump in his throat hadn’t eased since they’d had the conversation with Rhys in his office. 

“It’s a good plan, Az. You know it.” He had to tamp down the snarl that was bubbling up his throat. His fist clenching and unclenching. 

“It’s a big fucking gamble and there is so many unaccounted variables that could go wrong.” His tone icy cold as he pushed back 

“She’s more than aware of the risks and is prepared to do it.” 

Just standing in front of him, staring him down as he spoke made him want to punch his brother in the face. 

“Eris gave me his word that he’d get her in and out pretty much undetected. We’ve-” 

This time he couldn’t contain the growl that curled in his chest. 

“Eris is a two faced snake.” 

Rhys continued, unfettered. His face softening slightly. 

“Az-” 

“Don’t. Just don’t.” His voice coming out hoarse and loaded with emotions he wasn’t ready to face. He knew Rhys understood everything, saw more than he was letting on. 

“It’s not your choice anymore and she is more than capable.” His tone was final. 

“I know that.” He never questioned how strong she was.

Sending her straight into enemy terrority for her first mission was not ideal but as conflicted as he was. He was also so damn proud at how far she’d come from her first dagger training lesson and he knew it spoke to her skill at how damn talented she was that it was honour to be asked to carry out such a vital task for their court. 

A good chunk of his work was being patient, watching, listening to things others didn’t pick up on and waiting for the right moment to strike. That’s what made him such an effective Spymaster but right now there was a restlessness that not even his breathing techniques could soothe. 

Putting his trust in someone who always made his resolve fray and left him aching for a fight was not easy feat for him. Someone they considered an enemy less than a year ago and now he was putting his faith in Eris keeping Gwyn safe, the person he loved most in life. It was all kinds of wrong. He hated waiting at the edge of Winter Courts borders, knowing the implications of an outright war should he step a foot out of line. No, they had to do this by the books. 

Azriel should be the one in there, blending into the shadows, retrieving damn ancient text that was vital but Rhys had barked at him and threatened to pull rank if he so much stepped a foot in Autumn Court terriority. The new breed of dogs that Eris’ father had sired could sniff him out shadows and all, magic included and would not hesitate to alert the breach in their borders and shredded him to pieces as Eris had put it so vividly. 

Gwyn was neutral. They had never met her before and she was posed as the picterseque priestess in her robes, coming to give her blessings before the Autumn equinox. They wouldn’t even give her a second glance. 

Gwyn was armed with more steel than she’d ever had during training, all concealed underneath her blue robes. Her eyes drank in the surroundings and the male escorting her. Eris Vanserra was unusually quiet considering less than an hour ago he was all but goading Azriel for a fist fight. He was perceptive and no doubt now understood the feelings that lay between her and the Shadowsinger, if his satisfied smirk was anything to go off of. 

He led her down a long corridor. The afternoon sun streaming in through the rows of large windows, burnishing the place in oranges and golds tones. It made the autumn court heir look all the more rakish and up to no good she frowned. 

He stopped before an circled alcove and indicated that this was the room, the Autumn High Lord’s office. She should be bleating with fear at the thought of rifling through a High Lord such as Beron’s personal artifacts but all she felt was a cooling calm. She had 10 minutes to get the the artifcact undetected. Elain had shown her the through her vision what it looked like. 

She barely took in the oak panelling in the office with its colour of warm russets and forest greens. It would been a nice room if the High Lord who owned it wasn’t such a raging tyrant hell bent on gaining more power and land in Prythian.

She took a deep breath in and focused all her faeness into her senses. If anyone she excelled and sorting through hundreds of texts in the span of less than a minute, working with Merill had at least come with its perks of being efficient. She let the slight of hum of her invoking stone guide her to find the magicked text. 

Eris was outside, standing guard. Two raps against the heavy door let her know that she had 3 more minutes left before his father would make his way back. Her eyes kept scanning and flicking through anything that her magic buzzed towards. There had to be thousands of books along the floor to ceiling shelves. She knew they were cutting it close as sweat started beading down her forwarding and back underneath her robes. 

“Hurry.” Eris hissed through the door but she didn’t let him ruffle her.

Her stone glowed brightly as she spotted the familiar red binded book with the gilded gold embossing. The thing was unremarkable and small. Her fingers had just touched its spine when Eris came barrelling in. 

“You’re out of time. I’m sorry.” He said, sounding out of breath. She was about to ask what for; without warning he pressed her against the shelves and bent his head at the crook of her neck. There was deafening roar in her head as her vision turned red and hazy. She was going to stab him right here. 

Another set of footsteps entered the room. 

Beron blinked in surprise at the sight before him. His lips rising in a snarl. 

“A fucking Priestess, Eris.” He barked. The sound making every hair on her body stand up. The sheer dominance might have had her quaking if he was her master. She felt every muscle in Eris’s body coil tightly but forced himself to give his father a lazy, yet cunning smile.

“I’ve always had a taste for the forbidden, father.” He shrugged, leaning away from Gywn at last but standing in a way that still blocked her from view. 

“You are to be an example for your brothers. Rutting a damn Priestess is beneath the Vanserras! In my office no less.” He bellowed 

He watched the slight tremor of anger run across Eris spine.

“You will be punished later, now GET OUT! I have an important meeting.” 

Gwyn quickly shoved the book under her robes while he was in a fit of rage before letting her pious and meek demeanour fall over her. She let the hood fall further to cover her face as she walked around Beron, following Eris out the door before she could reach the handle the High Lords hand gripped her arm tight enough that she had to clench her teeth from letting out a wince. 

“Don’t even get any silly fantasies in your head about my son.” He spat with disgust. “And keep your whoring mouth shut.” He threatened, crowding her space. 

“Yes, My Lord.” 

She couldn’t stop the pained cry leaving her throat this time. A burning singed the bareskin of her arm. The High Lord putting enough heat to his threat, leaving a permanent reminder no doubt to drive his point home. 

Fear crossed Eris’ eyes but in the same blink it dissipated. Finally he slackened his hold and she all but rushed out the forsaken room. Once they were out of earshot. He turned to her. 

“Are you-” She stopped him from finishing that sentence. 

“Later, lets get out of here first.” She didn’t dare survey the damage that had been done to her arm. 

“Fuck.” She heard him mutter under his breath but they kept their heads down as they briskly walk back down the corridors out into the courtyard before heading towards the rolling lands. Her arm was searing with pain at every bite of wind that brushed across it. 

The winter court border was in sight, less than 6 kilometres away and she’d be out of this hellish place but of course it couldn’t be that easy. 

The sound of thundering hooves filled the air and she heard one word and a gentle touch on the small of her back. 

“Run.” Eris whispered without looking back. They set off from their brisk walk to an all out sprint, the long fields of grass flowers tangling across her robes and legs. She felt an arrow whiz past her face and nick the side of her, drawing blood. 

Panic and fear overtook her body as the males laughed and surrounded them. Her body flashed between that fateful night with Hybern’s soldiers and now. 

Flames ensconed around her body rooting her in place. 

“We heard about a pretty little Prietess but we didn’t think it was true.” One of them called out. She heard Eris snarl a low warning. 

“Shut your rutting mouth, Orlon.” 

“Don’t want to share?” The one at the end goaded. Eris let a bored look fall across his face. 

“Didn’t know you were panting so hard to have something my cocks already been in.” 

Fight back some small part of her whispered but it was drowned out but the dark place she had befallen in her mind. The helpless part of her. 

A sob got caught in her throat as one brushed a finger down the bleeding ear to her slim neck. She was so helpless, so utterly powerless. 

The sound of steel being unsheated filled her ears and she barely registered Eris tipping that point of his sword at the neck of his brother that dared touch her. 

“Go on with your day and I won’t have to teach you a lesson.” 

“I don’t think I will, brother. This is so much more interesting.” The one, Orlon, moved towards her next and gripped her waist, pulling her towards him. 

That was enough. I am the rock against which the surf crashes. 

She exploded all steel and fury as she slashed the hand that so dared to touch her without consent and then it was a tangle of swords, fist and flames rushing past her. 

A blow caught her on the cheek and she whirled, practicing the move that Azriel had taught her a thousand times over. Her foot struck out and while the male fell her, her dagger met and claimed him, stabbing through his rib and withdrawing out just as quickly as she met her next opponent behind her. She whirled, light as the wind that sung to her and magic echoed her move as she slammed her palm so hard in his solar plexus that he went flying back. 

A stray blade caught her around her thigh and a cry of pain sung through the air. She had to keep moving if she was to survive. She sent a blast of blue towards his head, knocking him unconscious. 

One of the brothers notched another arrow lose and she barely dodged that with her bad leg. She gripped the dagger that was at her side and sent it flying in the air, towards him missing him but just a fraction. 

“Run!” Eris screamed this time. She saw a wall of blue flame erupt in front of her, creating a barrier between her and Eris’ brothers. 

“It won’t hold them for long.” But it wasn’t meant to, she realised. It was supposed to be a headstart towards the borders that was so close but so out of reach. She binded all her willpower to ignore the blood dribbling down her leg and the searing pain in her arm as she dashed towards that edge of green. 100 metres to go 90 then 80. She was so close as she kept hobbling. She spied those towering mountains, sprinkled with ice. 

Another arrow came soaring through and this time it caught her on the leg that was already bleeding and injured. She screamed in earnest as she could hear footsteps heading nearer. She was crawling. The last few inches separating her from salvation. She had barely crossed over before a hand grabbed her leg, made to pull her back. 

She was all out sobbing now as she heard those boots land in front of her and those shadows skittering the earth. His face cold with icy rage.

“Get your fucking hands off her.” His voice was like death personified. He sneered at Azriel. 

“Keep your nose out of our business, Shadowsinger. This is our brothers property.” 

Azriel looked stunned for a second before he struck out. His shadows suffocating the redheaded male from within, making him fall to his knees. She watched with satisfaction as he clawed at his neck, at his face. That was the male who first laid hands on her. 

“Get up.” Az hazel eyes bored into hers as he watch those tears stream out. 

“I c-can’t.” She was hopeless and powerless and all those things she believed to be true about herself. Worthless. He should just leave her here. As if hearing the directions her thoughts went. His nostrils flared. 

“Get up, Gwyn. Get up and fight.” He said, his voice hard with quiet encouragement as she caught more of Eris’s brothers join from behind her. 

“I…” 

“Nothing can break you. Nothing.” He said with such fierceness. Rage started bubbling up inside her soul, crashing inside of her like a tidal wave. His eyes held so much love and care.

“Go.” He held out his hand for her, those scarred beautiful fingers and she gripped them and let him haul her up. She didn’t waste a second as she pulled out her sword and met Orlon stroke for stroke. Her teeth bared. She’d would never be weak again. No ones plaything. 

They were back to back, Az meeting his own opponent, slaying him down. He knew they couldn’t kill the brothers of Autumn, not without starting a civil war. They had to do just enough to put them down before winnowing out here. 

She could see Eris’s red flames joining the fray and soon the three of them had them outnumbered and outskilled. 

They were all panting hard. 

“You must leave.” Eris warned. Gwyn frowned, worried about the repercussion he might face. 

“What about-”

“Now, you must go before others come sniffing around. I’ll debrief with you after it is safe for me to meet again.” He directed that towards the Shadowsinger who nodded in return. 

Azriel had her in his arms within seconds and they were soaring for the skies overhead before winnowing to the Velaris. 

The adrenaline was crashing out of her and soon she was feeling very tired and faint. As soon as they touched out at the House of Winds. He heard Azriel cry out for the Madja as he cradled her to his body. She noted others had entered the room too. That was the last thing she remembered before her eyes fluttered shut. 

Azriel wanted to murder those Autumn court pricks the next time he saw them. He watched despondently from her bedside as Gwyn’s chest rose and fell. His silence was sullen and cruel. He wanted to tear the world apart when he saw the extent of her injuries. Eris had just given Rhys access to his mind 30 minutes ago and that had been directed back to him, watching all the awful things Beron had said and done to her. How Eris’s brothers had touched her with ownership and branding without her permission. 

He raged on the inside. His lethal fury held by a bare thread. The burn on her arm would not scar, Madja had reported which was a small blessing considering how bad it appeared to be. The wound on her leg would need longer to heal though and plenty of rest. It probably would scar.

His fingers glided through those bronzed locks. His heart swelling to double its size. He lay his forehead down near he hand, loosing a deep breath from deep within his core. 

He heard her groan before she eyed him sleepily. 

“That was a big huff for an Illyrian warrior.” Her voice croaked out with amusement. Every emotion came crashing into his body and his throat felt tight with pain and sorrow.

“Gywn!” He sat up straight, his eyes roving all over her again wildly

“Hello Az,” Her teal eyes sparkled. He couldn’t help the choked whimper that escaped him. She was okay and here and playing with him. Her fingers reached out to intertwine with his and he kissed the back of them, pulling them to his chest. His heart was pounding loudly, an unsteady beat. That only made her grin wider. 

“Feyre was right. You three are Illyrian babies.” 

He barked a laugh at that and found some part of relaxing, knowing they hadn’t broken her. They could not break her. Her will, her spirit, her beautiful glow. 

“No more talking to Feyre. Did she also happen to tell you that I have the largest wingspan?” He could play back, if for only a moment but that haunted look in his eyes would take a long time to disappear.

Gwyn sniffed at that but the way her bottom lip was clamped between her teeth and the slight flush that had started staining her cheeks let him know that they had discussed him in detail. He couldn’t help the male satisfaction that coursed through him.

“How are you feeling?” He implored with a soft look on his face only reserved for her. 

“Like a woman who just went through her first mission.” He let out a soft chuckle at that and stroked her hair again. Her eyes closed at the sensation, enjoying having him so close. 

“Glad to see you are in good spirits.” 

“Mmm, the drugs they are giving me is amazing.” He shook his head but couldn’t stop replaying the scene of her crawling to the last few inches of the border. The tears streaming down her face. 

“I’m okay, Az. Really.” She said in a gentle tone. Her fingers now stroking down his face in comfort. He leaned into the touch, heart stuttering. Gods he was so enamoured. So in love. It was probably written all over his damned face. He didn’t care. 

“You forgot….” His voice hoarse, barely holding it together. “Forgot how powerful and deadly you are for a second.” 

“I know.” She sighed as if she was pained too. “They deserve worse than what I gave them.” 

“Next time we won’t be as so merciful to leave them alive.” 

Something in her fluttered at the threat he posed to them about the bigger threat he made her out to be. 

“I love you.” Her voice a quiet lilt and her eyes bright as the sun warmed sea. His knees would have given out from underneath him if hadn’t been sitting on this damned chair. 

“Say it again.” He groaned in disbelief.

“I love you Azriel.” She didn’t even hesitate. His chest ached. This woman. His soul and very being.

His voice was low and raspy. His eyes dark with desire. 

“I wanted to be the first one to tell you that I love you.” 

The beam that Gwyn had on her lips could be bright enough to rival the sun. Their vicious competitive streak coming out.

“You snooze you lose, Shadowsinger.” She taunted but he could see how much this news pleased her. The way she was restraining herself from doing more or saying more because she could no doubt hear the footsteps that had gathered outside their room just waiting for the go ahead to be let in to see her. 

“Later, Shadowsinger.” She almost moaned. 

“You’ll be the death of me, Berdara.” He groaned out and that seemed only please her more as she flashed him a sultry look before shuffling back down into bed getting comfy. 

“Come in.” She said and the door all but flew off it’s hinges as Cassian swooped in, followed but Nesta and the others. He watched his brother pull her into a warm hug and he snarled at him to be careful of his big paws on her healing body.

[comfymoth]

well now i'm curious about your non-rings-of-power tolkien opinions, whichever subset of them you would find most fun to talk about

OMG okay well i’m just going to use this as an excuse to talk about the paper i wrote last year then!! there was actually this big exhibition of tolkien’s manuscripts in my city in the fall, so i had to write an essay on, like, two big themes in his work and it was the most fun i’ve ever had in a history class. Love when i get to write essays about shit i’m obsessed with anyways.

so like. the lord of the rings is all about going home, right? that’s all the characters want, sam and frodo especially talk about it A Lot, and i think it’s pretty obvious where that comes from, from tolkien’s experience as a soldier. but i also think, in a way, it’s kind of about returning to your childhood. or to your home when it was ideal. it’s just all about innocence, you know? tolkien grew up in the countryside, but it didn’t stay the countryside for long, birmingham kept expanding and eventually all that farmland was replaced by factories. and he witnessed the role that industrialization played in wwi, the first war to take advantage of mass-production, and he saw first hand how fucking brutal that was.

so the orcs, his stand-ins for literal demons, created by morgoth the embodiment of all evil, what’s one of the first things he notes about them in the silmarillion? that they’re inventors. they build machines to hurt people. they have literal factories, and by the time of lotr, the uruk hai themselves are practically being churned out of factories, it’s All about industrialization and mass production. mordor is named after birmingham. and the orcs destroy the countryside, they attack the ents, that’s part of what makes them such fundamental baddies to tolkien. because nature and innocence go hand in hand for him, and they just stomp it all out.

meanwhile the hobbits are essentially a distillation of the country life tolkien grew up around. they live quiet, pastoral lives, and they live in pretty much blissful ignorance of the larger world around them. everything is sort of simple and happy and nostalgic. like the way you would remember your childhood. like the way tolkien remembered his before the first world war. so every time frodo and sam talk about the shire and going back, and wether or not there will even be a shire to go back to, it’s not just about being able to physically go home. it’s about being able to go back to a different time, when they were safe and un-traumatized. and in the end, frodo kind of can’t. he physically can’t live there because he can’t mentally go back.

i got to see the original hand-written page of the scene when the hobbits return home, and there are tear stains on it. the ink is smudged in multiple spots. because it just means so, so much to be able to go home

[hyatoro]

Hi hi! Sorry for not being specific enough about my rq for August's NSFW hcs! I read the rules again and can you please do nsfw hcs of august with a service dom!reader? Very heavy on praising and worshipping August's body,always reminding him he's beautiful and commenting on his pretty expressions when they're having sex <33

Hop this is specific enough :))

Also,can I go by AM Anon? Im always forgetting what emojis I use for anon and i think letters can work better for me 😭

All good. Glad you came back! And of course you can be AM Anon. 

I’m going to focus on Post-story August for this since he’s that much more fun with his battle scars and all. 

Augustine Carver

He was always built, but you could tell that he put on even more muscle during his time at war. The first time he strips for you he’s hesitant, knowing that such scars aren’t ideal for noble men like him. 

He trusts you with his whole heart but that little voice nagging in the back of his head lingers y’know?

His obedience for you is up there however and it overpowers his hesitance when you tell him to undress for you. 

His bedroom was familiar, having grown up his whole life there, but when you stand over him with your hungry eyes it’s like you took over his space entirely. Which he would absolutely arrange should you desire it. 

August sits bare on the edge of his plush bed, eyes flickering towards the ground while he straightens his back. 

Your precious boy is so nervous. 

Whatever maddening voices that echo in his head, telling him to hurry and cover back up and hide his marred figure were instantly silenced when you cradled his face. 

His wide and vulnerable eyes stare at you for further cues. 

You simply kiss his forehead tenderly and then his lips. Okay. This was familiar territory. He could do this part. So he kisses you back just as softly, refusing to escalate this himself. 

He swallows when you pull back and you tell him to scoot back onto the bed completely. He listens. 

You then strip to the same level as him, not leaving him alone in this. And you crawl up to him, legs wrapped around his waist as you take one of his hands and kiss every finger, every knuckle, every callous his hands have. 

His breathing gets heavy with emotion. 

If you have your own scars from your own endeavors (training to delete the royal couple, etc, etc), he looks at them in mild wonder. You don’t stop him from tracing his hands on them either. It’s only fair. His touches are so soft you take his hand and rest it fully against your skin, reassuring him that you’re very much flesh and not glass. 

And then you get to praising him for his efforts during the war, recounting all the stories you’ve gathered of him while he was away. You kiss and caress every single one of them with the same love and adoration as the last. 

He’s not outright sobbing, but the steady flow of tears can’t be stopped as he basks in the warmth of your love. 

When you tell him all the things you love about him and ask if he agrees he doesn’t say anything. That’s when you start to bully him. Nicely. 

You’re loving on him so hard and he’s overwhelmed by your entire being as you ride him. 

Augustine hides his face when you mention how pretty he is. His face bursts into flames, as if it wasn’t already red before, and practically whimpers as he hides. Of course you fix that immediately by pulling his arms away. And if you so wish you can even use your shadow magic to restrain his hands from hiding his face. The flushed and teary face on this big buff scarred man makes heat course through you. Fuck he’s so perfect and pretty for you. 

You only release him when he promises not to hide, which is hard but he busies himself with touching you too. It’s grounding for him. 

He wants to cum. Needs to cum. But you keep bringing him to the brink and back, edging him because he can’t find it in himself to agree with all the wonderful things you’ve said about him. It’s a mix of not believing them and being too shy. Of course he’s not accusing you of lying. He’s just. Well. His self esteem isn’t as high as it was before everything had happened. Before he felt unlovable up until you came back into his life. 

He does eventually break, frantically crying out all the lovely things you’ve said about him as he begs to cum. 

“I’m a good boy! I’m handsome and strong and I deserve so many good things! Please let me cum! Please please please please you said I was good right?! Please let me cum!”

Of course he is, so you do. His body tightens like a bowstring and he convulses as he comes, thanking you for everything. 

His face is soaked with tears as he comes down from his high. When you dry his face for him he almost hides his face again, but he promised you so he keeps his hands by his side. You notice and chuckle, telling him that he doesn’t need to keep it up anymore, but also praising him for being so obedient. 

Since you gave him the okay he turns his face and hides in his pillow as he calms down from the whole ordeal. 

Your shadow magic flickers around the room and gathers things so you can clean the two of you up before snuggling under the covers. 

He makes this face where he wants to say something, but instead just goes for it, burying himself into your chest and wrapping his arms around your waist. You hold him back, squeezing him as tight as you can before snuffing the candles with the shadows. 

[ladystoneboobs]

so i think we in asoiaf fandom should all be agreed that barristan selmy is the westerosi obi-wan kenobi as an exiled knight troubled by past regrets and playing fast and loose with technical truths while sporting a white beard and using an alias barely any different from his actual name. but that's not the only grrm creation with a corresponding george lucas creation....

when maester aemon tells sam of the baby switch only after sam can't understand why gilly is still crying by saying jon's heart just hardened when sam made him lc, as if he had nothing to do with it, he gives me similar vibes to yoda's response when luke asked him if vader was truly his father, being all "rest i need now" trying to use his dying to escape the hard questions. then when yoda finally answers luke he quickly changes the subject to luke's fault in fighting vader before he was ready. i mean i understand why aemon didn't crush sam further by revealing his part in the baby swap plan and all the kill the boy shit, esp when they were all each other had by then. so i guess he can't really be blamed for that, but it is still misleading his protege and shifting blame in a pretty big way. also yoda and aemon are both the oldest naturally living characters in their stories and seen as the wisest too.

then ofc there's jaime lannister as a r-rated luke skywalker, a blond knight actually fucking his sister while knowing they're siblings, son of an evil lord, wearing white when we first meet him, seen as too impatient and hungry for adventure, and then losing his swordhand through a mistake of his father's and having to contend with a beast in a pit when trying to rescue a friend. there's also some of han solo in coming back just in the nick of time for the big rescue after first leaving his traveling companion behind for his own ends, with all that character growth to find something to believe in. but i think jaime would have serious disdain for han's stance that a lightsaber is no match for a good blaster. that's just the sw version of crossbows vs. swords, isn't it?

as for anakin/vader, there are plenty of woobies who could be finding their redemption, but when it comes to also being an effective and fearsome villain, i think only sandor "the hound" clegane really qualifies. (as opposed to jaime repeatedly failing to kill children or theon getting no respect as an ironman or as reek) plus, like anakin, sandor has terrible burn scars, a distinctive and singular helmet later stolen from his grave, wants revenge on the brother who burned him up, and he cries a lot.

darkstar is obviously the jar jar binks of westeros, the character whose appeal was greatly overestimated by the george who created him while most of the fandom simply finds him ridiculous and annoying.

then there's ned stark, a leader who always dresses their best to impress for the occasion, who knows how to govern his home in the outskirts but is out of his depth as a politician in the big city where his ideals are out of place in a corrupt court, trying to prevent a civil war which has already been planned behind everyone's backs for years, and is ever forgiving of a man all too willing to murder children. that's padme, baby.

[arielle-nova]

The Root of Michael’s Insecurity

•Michael hasn’t been revealed in game, and we don’t even know if every time we’ve met him, it’s actually been him.

•We learned a little bit about the Celestial Realm through one of the latest moments in game. Which deals with “Father”

I honestly doubt there is an antagonist in this game. This game isn’t surrounded by the “hero vs. villain” concept. It’s mainly about broken characters trying their best to improve themselves. I feel like it’s obvious that Michael is also a broken character. From when we’ve met him (the moments we believe we did, at least) he’s always hid himself. Even when we did meet him in person (not in his own skin) he didn’t give off much confidence to me. To me, Michael seems like a very insecure person.

•However, I believe that ties into “Father” who I assume is Obey Me’s version of God.

I believe Michael’s insecurities didn’t stem from Lucifer simply existing. It might be a far stretch with pretty much zero evidence, but it’s a belief.

I think Father has a role in Michael’s insecure behavior, a major role at that. Clearly Lucifer was the pride of the Celestial Realm, which makes me wonder if he was what Father took pride in. I know it’s far fetched, but hear me out:

Favoritism Between Siblings:

•Lucifer was given the Ring of Light and Michael was given the Ring of Wisdom. While the Ring of Light was made from gold/silver, the Ring of Wisdom was made of brass/iron. That’s a big difference. (Like, c‘mon, at least give Michael silver.) If these were given to each by Father, which I assume they are, that’s clear favoritism. The sheer difference in material alone shows who was the clear favorite.

If I’m being honest, that’s really all the evidence I have of clear favoritism as we don’t know a lot about the Celestial Realm and Father. Hell, we know almost nothing about Michael and other Angels. However, this small, vague amount of evidence still leads me to believe Father has some role to play in the way Michael turned out.

•Michael’s insecure, I feel like that should be a given. He hides himself every time we meet him. Whether it be from a ray of light or even someone else’s body, we never see Michael. This is a man who is hiding himself, it’s a part of his character. Again, insecurity doesn’t stem from someone simply existing. I say, Father’s favoritism is the root of the problem.

•I say Father has favorites between all his children, and Michael is not one of them. Michael being the one Father looks past could be the root of his insecure behavior. It could be why he doesn’t show his face: he is the opposite of Lucifer. Michael is the opposite of Father’s favorite, looks wise at least. It’s been said that Michael and Lucifer are opposites, and Lucifer seems to be Father’s favorite. Michael being very loyal to Father, yet not being his favorite had to take a toll of what he thought of himself. His own creator chose another over him, instead of being fair to each. To add, this might also be the root of Michael’s obsession with Lucifer.

An Obsession Caused By Insecurity:

•It’s been said that Michael was a bit of a creep and has an obsession with Lucifer. He would sneak into Lucifer’s room and even had a shrine with his things. This isn’t even an attachment, it’s a major obsession. I’d say, Michael is obsessed with Lucifer because he’s Father’s vision of perfection. Michael is not the favorite, probably not even after the war. Michael probably found flaw after flaw in himself because of the favoritism Father (shamelessly?) displayed. He doesn’t look like Lucifer, he doesn’t look like Father’s favorite. He probably thought that Lucifer must’ve been what everyone thought was perfection. He must have thought that he was completely flawed because he wasn’t Lucifer.

•If anything, the shrine could be to showcase to Michael what he wished he could be. The thing he desired most, his ideal way of showing himself. Sneaking into the room is creepy in itself. I can’t defend that in any way. But, I’d say Michael did it because he wished to be close to what he wanted for himself.

•Michael most likely found himself pointing out every little thing about his personality and visuals. That’s probably why he hides himself. He looks nothing like Lucifer and is so insecure about it he doesn’t want to be seen. The favoritism got to his head and he sees himself as imperfect.

The Final Statement:

•Michael’s insecure behavior didn’t come from nowhere. I haven’t seen anyone dive into why Michael would be insecure, and I see why: There’s little to zero evidence about the reason. We know nothing about him, and I think that’s the point.

——

Michael is very insecure, I’ve said that many times. His insecure attitude towards himself probably came from Father and his favoritism. The whole Ring of Light and Wisdom situation, Lucifer being the pride of the Celestial Realm, all of it must’ve come to a head. It most likely broke Michael knowing he would never be Father’s favorite. He is Lucifer’s polar opposite by looks, and most likely personality. They have different interests, styles of punishment, and completely different personalities from the way Michael has acted in the past.

•Not only has Michael hid himself behind someone else’s body, but when in his true body, his first instinct was to run. When Raphael confronted him about his actions, he ran. He physically ran away from his problem. That’s insecurity in its finest form. Again, coming from favoritism. He isn’t Lucifer. He isn’t confident and prideful like him. He doesn’t seem to exert confidence, not the way Lucifer does, at least.

This may or may not be true. It’s a speculation and I had to read far between the lines for this idea.

[very-straight-blog]

Hi, love your blog.

I know you probably talked about this, but due to the new trailer and all the theories about s2, I've recently rewatched s1 and my God, I can't stand Viserys. Like, the first time my reaction was mostly "the actor is pretty good", "poor man", "well, he is in the wrong here but he suffers so much so maybe we should go easy on him", etc. but on every rewatch you just can't fail to see how terrible this character actually is . The annoying thing is that it's obvious that the writers went for the "a good man but a bad King" interpretation of him and they succeeded with a big part of the fandom (mostly TB). The problem is, however, that I can't see where is "a good man" part. Maybe for the Westerosi standards which are quite low, but even then, the mistakes he consciously made and did nothing to fix outshadow everything good he might have had in his defense. He basically left his own children to tore each other apart and still was presented to us as a noble suffering king who just wanted everyone to get along. Like, seriously? The way he "handled" the Driftmark incident and how he was ready to leave his deathbed just act in favour of his "only child" (the scene was beautiful though) made me so angry. Idk, to be so willingly obtuse and cause directly and indirectly such a harm to your own family can only do a man who is stupid or simply not so good and kind. And I don't think Viserys was stupid at all.

Sorry for the rant :)

Hi! Thank you! And - oh, I hate Viserys.

Like, I don't like Rhaenyra, I don't like Daemon - to be honest, I don't like anyone from TB, but Viserys is solely to blame for this whole nightmare - so he's also to blame for what happened to my favorite characters and that's where I start having problems with him.

Viserys was weak. He drowned in self-pity, guilt, and let what happened happen. He tried to be a good man - and ended up being a bad king who failed the Seven Kingdoms. He wanted to be a good father - but for some reason only for Rhaenyra, and "being a good father" for him meant not raising her properly, but indulging her.

Making Rhaenyra his heir, he married a second time and had three more sons, thus personally preparing the ideal situation for the future civil war. At the same time, he could have prevented it. He could have married Aegon and Rhaenyra, but he didn't do this - again, because he was weak and didn't want to put his daughter in an uncomfortable situation. All the time since Aegon was born, he simply ignored all problems and conflicts. His bias towards Rhaenyra, his political illiteracy and weak character led to the Dance of the Dragons and for this I deeply despise him.

[thecryofthegulls]

On Elwing's Bird Forms

In the educated opinion of me, a slightly wine-drunk semi-professional seabird specialist with a Tolkien hyperfixation, procrastinating from a work presentation I should be preparing let's gooooo.

Too many people think of Elwing in the form of a random bird thing, when there are so many interesting species!

First, the source text (emphasis by me):

"... they told that Elros and Elrond were taken captive, but Elwing with the Silmaril upon her breast had cast herself into the sea. Thus Maedhros and Maglor gained not the jewel; but it was not lost. For Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek Ëarendil her beloved. On a time of night Ëarendil at the helm of his ship saw her come towards him, as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star over the sea moving in strange course, a pale flame on wings of storm. And it is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of Vingilot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of her speed, and Ëarendil took her to his bosom; but in the morning with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her hair upon his face, and she slept."

"On those journeys Elwing did not go, for she might not endure the cold and the pathless voids, and she loved rather the earth and the sweet winds that blow on sea and hill. Therefore there was built for her a white tower northward upon the borders of the Sundering Seas; and thither at times all the sea-birds of the earth repaired. And it is said that Elwing learned the tongues of birds, who herself had once worn their shape; and they taught her the craft of flight, and her wings were of white and silver-grey. And at times, when Ëarendil returning drew near again to Arda, she would fly to meet him, even as she had flown long ago, when she was rescued from the sea. Then the far-sighted among the Elves that dwelt in the Lonely Isle would see her like a white bird, shining, rose-stained in the sunset, as she soared in joy to greet the coming of Vingilot to haven."

The Silmarillion CHAPTER 24 OF THE VOYAGE OF EARENDIL AND THE WAR OF WRATH

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Right out of the gate, a swan is a popular choice for Elwing. Makes sense, they are beautiful, regal birds with a graceful baring on the water. There is a strong association between mute swans and England, they are indeed an old world bird and as part of Tolkien's worldview as oak trees. They are also vicious and brave defenders of their young. A tough bird, symbol of the Teleri Elwing's elven clan. However, not the best for Elwing. They are not sea birds, and while powerful fliers, do not fly particularly high or far. Mute swans are heavy, needing a lengthy run on the water to take off with a clacking of their wings. Not the ideal shape to fly across the ocean undetected to find your mariner husband, or meet said husband in the morning sky when he comes back from being a star.

Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)

No, not a Great White Pelican, but a Dalmatian Pelican. More silvery than its pale African cousin, the Dalmatian Pelican has the advantage of being present in more Mediterranean climes, which might be representative of what Sirion was like (thank you @outofangband). Pretty much the largest freshwater bird, this choice for Elwing suffers the same problem as the mute swan. Not a sea bird, doesn't really do long-distance flights. Though I could imagine this large silvery-grey bird being mistaken for a cloud in the night, and you KNOW that the Silmaril is tucked nice and safe in that big pouch!

Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Now that's a sea bird! Another popular choice for Elwing, this graceful soaring beauty is essentially the biggest flying bird in the world by wingspan, with a sweeping 11 feet/3.5 meters. The older they are, the whiter they become, with only bit of dark plumage on the wing tips and tail. The wandering albatross is the textbook example of a great white bird. Albatross adore storms, and can use strong (storm) wings to carry them over vast distances very quickly. They nest on steep hills, because they need the sweet winds to give them lift to take off. All in all, like the others above, large enough to carry a Silmaril without affecting flight capabilities. Though I really can't imagine Ëarendil cradling an albatross to his bosom, long wings flopping down on both sides of him. (Elros and Elrond are definitely albatross chicks muppets, as per @swanmaids' point).

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

A gull! Yes, of course, but which gull? There are 54 gull species, and so many of them are herring gulls. But for Elwing? Ulmo would transform her into a Black-legged Kittiwake. A graceful, almost dove-like gull, Kittiwakes are bright white with wings topped in silver-grey. They fly like they are playing in the wind, and spend most of their lives at sea. Gorgeous sea bird. Ëarendil would hug. Am I biased because I love them? Maybe.

Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea)

You want a more white and daintier gull? I was going to write about the Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) but if we are going with a rare Arctic species, there are many good things about the Ross's Gull. I mean look at it! White and silver-grey with a rosy blush like it is continuously bathed in sunset, a black collar like Elwing is still wearing the memory of the Nauglamír. I also prefer to go with Ross's gull because every time I have seen an ivory gull in the wild it was slightly blood-stained (they feed off polar bear kills) which has very unfortunate implications in Elwing's case really...

But really, if you want a pure-white dove that actually goes sea for your Elwing imagery, go with ivory gull instead!

Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)

Terns are gorgeous sea birds with impressive flight capacity, and pack an absolutely ridiculous amount of fight and spite in 100 g. I have a scar on the top of my head from a tern chasing me off a beach where it was nesting. That beak sure pinches. Roseate Tern are particularly pretty, and if you subscribed to raven-haired Elwing, that cap is an excellent match. The adults also gain a pink sunset stain on their underparts, so you get that poetic match again. Terns would absolutely yell at Manwë, and probably have.

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)

Now if you think Elwing was pale-haired and blue-eyed, a Northern Gannet would be more for you. Northern Gannets are sea birds of great size, swift and fearless. They quite literally launch themselves into the sea. They are powerful enough fliers to evoke thoughts of storm-wings and clouds under moon. Gannets also follow boats, which works nicely with the imagery of bird-Elwing meeting Vingilot.

White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus)

Look at this beautiful thing, is she not fitting of a daughter of Dior, of Lúthien's line? I hope I see one for real one day. These long-tailed sea birds are excellent, graceful in flight, easy to see at a distance due to their tail. More active in the morning and in the evening, more to catch the morning and evening star. White-tailed Tropicbirds also come in a spectacular 'golden' variety. Absolutely fitting for someone named Star-Spray.

Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea)

When I first read the Silmarillion years ago, and I read "... as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star over the sea moving in strange course, a pale flame on wings of storm" I immediately imagined a glowing white creature that I eventually witness in real life: the gloriously beautiful snow petrel. And while Elwing might not endure the cold and pathless void like a snow petrel would around Antarctica, I think she would revel in the shining feathers, the swift, fleet wings, and, as a feature of being a petrel, the tube nose that would allow her to smell and find Ëarendil anywhere at sea or in the sky. They soar with such joy. Perfect hold-to-your-bosom sized. Snow petrels are one of my favourite sea birds, and you should know more about them!

Like how they have the most hilarious defence mechanism:

...

Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)

No absolutely not.

[star-trek-fandom-confessions]

Response to confession 660 (sort of? sort of also became its own confession by getting longer than I intended lol): I kind of have always been a bit...I guess frustrated? by the take that NuTrek doesn't really "feel like real Star Trek" or other things in that same vein, because I know when DS9 came out it got hit by the same accusations of being too dark to be real Trek/"it's not Trek because they're on a station and not a ship"/not really generally feeling like "real" Star Trek. And it is true- in a lot of ways its still different from many of the other Treks, but at its core it still very much is Star Trek and it has come around to being pretty beloved.

I feel kind of the same about a lot of the modern Trek shows. I don't even like some of them very much (namely Discovery and Picard- I actually love Lower Decks and SNW) but I don't think they're lacking in Trek qualities; they are both a bit darker in tone (but again, so is DS9) but where they falter and where they succeed I think they do so in ways that are honestly pretty common to the franchise, which I adore but think has always honestly been a bit messy and produced some pretty big duds as well as it has masterpieces.

I also kind of have never really understood the take (which I've seen several times, not just in this confession) of marking The Orville as the best "real" NuTrek (not because I don't enjoy it, I do), because if one of the things that's wrong with some of NuTrek is its tendency to be nostalgia-baity (and I think that's a fair critique, it is)- than The Orville, being at its core a riff on classic Trek- also is nostalgia bait-y. Personally I think all the positive traits listed for The Orville (which I do agree with! I think it's a good show) also apply to SNW. I think it does a great job balancing interesting moral dilemmas (Under the Cloak of War my beloved) with silliness and joy (I mean, there's a musical episode!) and also is capable of fusing both together (it was imperfect in its execution, but I think its fair to say Charades was trying to do this and was still overall a really enjoyable episode)

I guess basically the end point of my long ramble is that I agree NuTrek is flawed, but I also think all of Trek is flawed and that NuTrek isn't flawed in a markedly different way. And despite its flaws, its still also got great parts to it and I think at its best it is doing what it should- fusing the core essentials of Trek with things that move the franchise forward in tone and vision (though as much as I honestly love SNW, I do want another show that's set sometime post DS9/VOY so we can explore more of that part of the timeline. My ideal show would be one that fuses SNW's general tone and storytelling style with that later part of Trek's timeline).

.