#(And her sister having ruining his life and made him her slave)

[fun-twisted-tales]

Can I just talk about how Boq “Glad he’s heartless so he’ll be heartless killing her” Woodman, when he actually sees Elphaba die, looks like this?

Because it is not talked about enough.

[pruneunfair]

Rating all of Rashtas sins *very long*

I saw the Matty bites livestream of this with a tier list and I wanted to do my own spin on it. I'll be rating like this

(Really?) 1-10 (whats wrong with you!?) Also fair warning, I might be missing a few sins too.

Smirking at Naviers divorce trial: 0.5/10 okay? I guess that's something but she's not doing anything but revealing to the audience she's not an angel.

Becoming Sovieshus mistress in the first place: 0/10, when you are a slave with no other hope for a good life, you take that golden ticket dammit, and don't even try to say you wouldn't do the same thing. ITS THE EMPEROR!

Calling out to Navier: 0/10, again how is that a bad thing other then being a tad weird? 😭 "she needs to learn her place! How dare she call our queen by her name!" Hope yall know Navier would likely just smile at you and move on with her life, you aren't gonna get picked by the imperial family just for cussing out someone the empress dislikes

tearing Naviers dress: 1/10, it was an accident on Rashtas part and to say that she tore it on purpose cause she knew it would get Laura in trouble later is just reaching, who do yall think she is? Hannibal? Cause that's not someone who fought in the punic wars, that's an uneducated girl with age regression. Either Rashta is stronger then we think or Navier really needs to get a better tailor if that dress tore with a single tug.

Smirking when Laura got imprisoned: 1/10 still weird sure but Laura was being a bitch, and Rashta was just happy for once someone couldn't treat her like dirt. If you still can't see how that's not so bad, try to imagine watching your sibling get in trouble for hitting you or your bully getting sent to the principals office, yes they're not comparable to a woman being imprisoned but it was around that same feeling.

Saying that Navier takes expensive gifts for granted: 0/10, Rashta was just speaking facts and I'll stand by that. You could say she's just saying that to put Navier down but either way, she's right! Of course a former slave who had nothing is gonna think that way about the nobility.

Calling Navier her sister: 3/10, yeah that's pretty damn weird, I have no clue where Rashta heard that from so I'm gonna guess that Sovieshu mislead her or something, It's very understandable as to why Navier would be uncomfortable but again, Rashta didn't do that on purpose, she's just misunderstood since it was common for nobles to have mistresses.

Sitting in Naviers chair and later crying to Sovieshu about it: 0/10, first of all, Rashta was mislead into thinking it was fine because a maid or noblelady told her "nah it's cool, the empress doesn't come here at this time of the day." Only for Navier to show up and deliver a sick ass burn to Rashta. 2nd of all we don't see much of what Rashta told Sovieshu (it was probably exaggerated ngl) but that doesn't make it her fault when he yells at Navier and brings Rashta her own chair. Like.. I doubt she demanded he go scream at Navier.

Wanting to join Navier and Heinrey: 1/10, a little intrusive sure but I'm sure she just wanted the chance to get to know more people, not terrible just Rashtas desire to be the biggest extrovert known to man.

Taking Sovieshus attention at the new years ball: 0/10 once again, how is that her fault when its Sovieshu who made the decision to abandon Navier!? 🤦‍♀️ he's the Emperor and a grown ass man. If he wants to ruin his marriage that's on him, not Rashta. Yes, she does cry to him when Heinrey rejected her but at the same time, who else would want to talk to the concubine who's the bane of existence for almost everyone?

wearing blue silks that were rejected and "stealing" viscountless Verdi: 0/10, I'm pretty sure Sovieshu just gave Rashta those silks and ngl, she looks amazing.

and abour the whole Viscountess Verdi thing, apparently she was Naviers lady in waiting who quit and flocked to Rashta, again, it's not Rashtas fault Verdi decided to switch teams! She even tells Verdi she can go back to Navier if she wants.

Copying Naviers mannerisms- 3.5/10, alright finally something that's more than a 3, this is pretty weird but not what I would call evil, just uncomfortable and even annoying. But in Rashtas defense, everyone tells her that Navier is the epitome of perfection that all women strive to be more like. She goes about it wrong but it is for the intention of improving herself for the royal court.

Sending her friend to pretend to be Heinreys pen pal and later doing it herself: 7/10, yeah that's pretty bad and straight up mean girl behavior but like.. why? What does Rashta get from this? She has Sovieshu so money and protection is not a worry, it was literally here to move the plot along and make the idea of a slave as the villain less uncomfortable.

begging and crying to be allowed to join the special banquet and then lying that she never wanted to go at all: 4/10, that's overstepping a little bit, it'd also be a big danger for Rashta since she'd be surrounded by nobles who would mostly likely despise her for her lack of etiquette and the fact that she's a mere concubine, although it is kind of trashy to change the story, that's a move any of us would pull to save us the embarrassment.

Fainting at the banquet after seeing Lotteshu, causing Sovieshu to take it out on Navier: 0/10, another case of "blame Rashta for Sovieshu being a shitty husband!"

Working with Lotteshu: 2/10 as dumb of a decision as it becomes. Rashta is being blackmailed by her former slave owner and he's keeping her son who she thought was dead, I'm pretty sure her mind was not in the right place at that time since she was just out of a panic attack and dealing with nasty rumors.

Wanting to go to the villa with Sovieshu for Naviers birthday: 4.5/10, that's a weird thing to want to do for the woman who by now dislikes you a lot but she doesn't even go so whatever, although calling Sovieshu "her man" was out of pocket.

"All his majesty will be thinking about while he's ill is me..": 2/10, damn Rashta, that's a pretty underhanded remark but again, it's just an underhanded remark with no one but Duke Ergi around anyway. And from what she's seen, Sovieshu doesn't care about Navier at all so it makes a little sense she'd think that.

Asking Navier for her allowance early: 0.5/10, that money is going to be used for Lotteshu so she can keep him mouth shut so the desperate need for that cash now is reasonable, (how tf is this even considered a sin in the commenter's eyes?)

Implying that Nian has multiple lovers: 4/10, I mean... does she not? But in all seriousness, this was likely an accidental micro aggression since Rashta was just told that it's normal for nobles to have multiple partners.

Following Navier around: 5/10, that's just encroaching on stalker territory now so I can't really blame Navier for telling her to cut it out along with the very truthful "he doesn't like me, so why would he like you if you acted like me?" I can kind of get why Rashta decided to follow her since she knows Navier wouldn't want to teach her, which is considerate I guess in her weird little way.

Copying Naviers dress and claiming it was the former who copied: 8/10. Straight up classic mean girl right there. This scene still confuses me to some level but whatever, it's still a nasty move on Rashtas part.

Resurfacing rumors about Nians infidelity: 7.5/10, while she does have her reason by wanting to divert the rumors from herself that's still fucked up to intentionally fan the flames of an already messy marriage like that, HOWEVER! It is still the Dukes fault he divorced Nian without rechecking the facts. Rashta was at fault for resurfacing rumors yes but the Duke is old enough to be able to conduct actual research instead of listening to a stranger he met at a party. Plus, Nian is basically this worlds Leonardo DiCaprio (she gets with a man young enough to be her son and she's in her 40s+ she welcomes another man into her haram afterwords) not using this as justification for Rashta but the possibility of Nian cheating is not low.

Getting Landre put on deathrow: 0/10, (another "sin" that was the fault of someone else) so after she spread the rumors, one of Nians little lap dogs stabs her with a knife, putting her and her unborn child at risk, and while Landre didn't know yet that Rashta was pregnant, he still stabbed a woman for another woman!! Sorry Landre but you don't get be shocked when the Emperor is pissed that you would try to murder his concubine to avenge your celebrity crushes honor.

not making an effort to see Ian: 3/10, dear God this one is really complicated.. alright, Rashta had Ian with Alan when she was a slave. She was then told the baby died after childbirth and handed her a dead baby so the child wouldn't have to be raised by a slave.. so when she's told that he's alive, she rejects the idea of visiting him. There are a lot of factors to this and why I think it was probably the best decision to make. First of all, she had no chance to bond with her son already making it uncomfortable for her, second of all, if she were too visit him it would the both of them in danger (which could easily be solved if Sovieshu just communicated and told Rashta he knew about Ian) third of all, she does feel really guilty for making such a decision because she starts crying while apologizing and later takes some of his hair from Alan when the coast is clear. To say she never loved her son is wrong and it's clear she still has love for Ian.

Asking Navier to bless her unborn child: 3.5/10, really weird but Navier did get Rashta a sword for the babyshower (a sword that was a backhanded compliment by the way but Rashta didn't know) so I guess Rashta assumed Navier was on good terms now. When Navier refuses, it's Sovieshu who makes her bless the child so once again.. not Rashtas doing, it was Sovieshu.

Crying when she realizes her baby will be illegitimate: 6/10, Rashta honey I love you but come on now. I'm sure by now you have to know how monarchies like this typically work.

Confronting Navier about the sword gift: 1/10, can't blame Rashta for being upset that Navier humiliated her at her own babyshower, she had a right to confront her, what she does next though...

Insulting Navier and then pretending that Kosair pushes her after he yelled at her for it, 9/10, that whole jab at Naviers infertility was a low blow and by pretending to fall over, it put the baby at risk. Not cool Rashta, not cool.

Kosair gets banished as a result: 5/10 yeah I'll admit, Rashta played a hand in that and it's a time I won't entirely blame Sovieshu for that since he believed Kosair tried to injure his pregnant lover but he still got the final say regardless.

Telling Alan to fuck off: 0/10 that was girlboss of Rashta to tell Alan how it is. They can try to portray Alan as a soft boy who made a mistake all they want, Rashta had every right to snub her abuser and walk out like the bad bitch she is.

Slapping Lebetti: 0/10 more girlboss moments of Rashta there. Lebetti was basically talking shit and spewing crap like "You never got anywhere as my brothers plaything, I'm better than you cause Navier is willing to speak to me." Nah Rashta you don't let her talk like that you pop her in the mouth! Commenter's got real mad when their self insert got a taste of her own medicine.

Getting fake parents: 4.5/10 eh, it's not as if there's no reason, she does need evidence of a noble background so she doesn't get put out as the center of rumors and the parents in question weren't tricked, they were fully aware Rashta wasn't their bio daughter.

Giving Lebetti the same dress as her so she could make it seem like Lebetti copied her: 3/10. What? You expect me to feel bad for Lebetti just because she's a sweet baby when she's around Navier? Fuck that, that was just a dose of revenge.

Getting drugged with Abortion drugs...:0/10, how the FUCK was that Rashtas fault!? "She lied about Kosair the first time though!" And Kosair is also a grown ass man! He only made the situation for himself worse when he tried to make Rashta miscarry, and it's the one time I wouldn't blame Rashta for suspecting Navier had something to do with it since you know, he's her brother and Navier has disliked her since the beginning.

Ripping the feathers out of a bird and framing Navier for it: 10/10, yep, that's fucked up on all levels. Yeah she felt remorse for it but animal abuse is still animal abuse, all to pin the blame on Navier.

Wearing a flashy dress to the divorce ceremony: 2/10, she was going wear something more toned down and even questioned if wearing a pink dress with diamonds was a good call, and Ergi, a Duke who from Rashtas perspective would know the ins and out of regal life, told her "nah it's fine to wear this, show them what a boss bitch you are now."

Being excited to the empress: 0/10, apparently this is considered bad since Navier was the original empress, girl stfu and don't act like you wouldn't jump for joy if you were told you'd get to me the empress consort.

Getting peeved that her fake mom would cry about her lost daughters: 8.5/10 this isn't even just a messed up thought thats straight up inconsistent behavior. Rashta lost her own child, she of all people should know the pain of losing a baby! She didn't say it out loud but dear God the inconsistencies are killing me slowly.

Wanting a glamorous wedding dress: 1.5/10, simpler designs do suit Rashta best but at the same time it's her damn wedding and she barely has any autonomy as it is. Can't blame her for being upset when she's told she has to wear a simpler gown.

Lying to a journalist: 5/10, to be fair, Rashta had no plan for this and relied on Ergi, who told her to say she wanted the best for commoners so it would lower her reputation with the nobles.

Being irresponsible with the money Navier left for her: 8/10. On one hand it's not unreasonable that Rashta would assume that Navier was doing this to mock her (after all the money wasn't even to help Rashta, it was for the empire) but still, Rashta fucked up by donating it all in her name, that's on her, not Navier.

Being worried about Sovieshus love for her and getting upset when Delice defends him: 6/10. I wouldn't call this true evil, just Rashta taking it out on the wrong person, she was right on some level that Delice doesn't know it all since she does have a crush on him but the way she handled it could've been better.

Wearing an extravagant gown on her wedding day: 0/10, this ones just hilarious 😂, your telling me, that a royal bride from an era that's most likely in the late 1700s to 1800s, would be made fun of BY NOBLES mind you, for wearing an expensive dress. Yeah, uh, that's not a sin, that's just what most royal brides would do including ones like Queen Victoria and Catherine the great. In the words of Matty Bites she may be a broke bitch but she wants to be the prettiest bitch at the party.

faking another illness/fainting spell on her reception to claim Navier is out for her: 7/10, just more stupid shit that doesn't have long lasting consequences. It's bad for sure but Sovieshu doesn't even buy it anyway now that he's obsessed with Navier.

Being upset that Sovieshu is pining after his ex: 1/10. It's gotta sting for sure if the man who upended everything including his marriage to his first wife to be with you ends up ignoring you while crying and bitching about the ex he left for you.

Trying to appeal to nobles by throwing a party and dressing and acting like Navier: 5/10, again, that's weird as hell but not straight up evil, it does go against her whole thing about being for the commoners but she kind of hates both sides anyway.

The Delice incident: 10/10, framing a loyal maid for placing feathers in your pillow to deface you and later having her tongue torn out? Yeah sorry Rashta that wasn't very bad bitch of you this time.

smirking at Naviers wedding when she thinks something went wrong: 1/10 just saying she could've done so much worse, like wearing full white.

Once again calling Navier her sister now that they are both empresses: 6/10, it's not like the first time since now Rashta is just doing it to one-up Navier but I can't see it is as anything threatening since Navier just roasts her like usual, causing Rashta is retreat.

Being interested in Kaufman: 4/10, she didn't really do anything to him since he was already under the love potions effects and Rashta happened to be the person he first saw, she misunderstood the whole situation, and it's not like Sovieshu is really known for being loyal so if she did want to cheat, I wouldn't blame her.

being suspicious and upset when she thinks Evalie is here to be Sovieshus new mistress: 6.5/10, it's pretty hypocritical but still reasonable to be worried since she's gotta assert her position as empress so she won't get divorced and separated from her child. And Evalie rubbing salt in the wound wasn't helping (and frankly stupid considering she only did that because she was displeased that Navier was gone)

once again lying to the journalist about where Delice went, 9/10 "Oh your sister who was my maid went missing? That's horrible! she's totally not in my dungeon with one her senses permentally removed!".. what the hell.

Hiring maids and pitting them against eachother to see which are most loyal to her: 8.5/10, now she's just playing God at this point, the maids who are loyal to her get special treatment and their parents are prisoners and their lives are basically put at stake and those who mess up even a little... yeah uh, going on to out next sin.

Executing a maids dad after said maid accidently spread a minor rumor: 10/10, that poor man probably had no clue why he was sent to the gallows after being such a model prisoner. The maid (I think her name was Barta) snaps and hits Rashta with a chair, giving her a permanent scar, after Barta is likely imprisoned for attacking the empress she frees the mother of the maid who snitched. Can't defend Rashta on this one.

Having Phix killed to leave behind no evidence she hired an assasin: 10/10 okay yeah that is definitely awful and it's straight up murder but now it's just pulling characters out of the stories ass to fulfill a role to assert the message that Rashta is evil.

Giving a port to Duke Ergi: 7/10, this is when Rashta is really starting to lose it. She's desperate for her only friend to stay by her side and accept her feelings, Ergi then asks for a port to which Rashta accepts with a smile that can only read "dear God, someone just end my misery",

Relishing in Evalies parents slapping Evalie: 5/10, yeah, considering those people are slapping their daughter without knowing it, it's pretty harsh but Rashta didn't order them to do that, the parents did so that's on them. Rashtas only crime was her lack of remorse

Entrusting Nikki to steal Evalies necklace: 7/10, pretty damn mean but compared to the metal shit she did already it's baby stuff. Very creepy though.

Putting out a hit on Naviers parents: 10/10, this is just getting ridiculous now since what the hell was the purpose other then more obligatory "Rashta bad" moments, but it's still awful and messed up to try and kill someone's parents so a 10/10 it shall receive

Selling Lebetti into slavery: 9/10, okay while I don't really care about Lebetti being a slave now since she's been nothing but a brown nosing bitch everytime she's on screen, but selling someone into a marginalized group you were in is still messed up.

Keeping Evalies origins hidden from her parents: 8/10, now this makes all the times the parents looked down on Evalie even worse.

Being disappointed when her babies a girl: 1/10, this was extremely common in eras like that because daughters weren't seen as important and if a woman couldn't give birth to a son and the husband was getting impatient, he could divorce her and keep the daughters as property. So I can't blame Rashta too much when she realizes this, plus she does come to realize she could never blame Glorym for being a girl.

throwing her baby: 5/10. This one is also really complicated. Rashta already loved Glorym with all her heart and wanted the second chance to be a mom. But the traumas of her past combined with the guilt in the back her head for her past transgressions causes a PTSD attack causing her to toss what she believes is a dead baby in her arms. Rashta does later feel extremely guilty for this in the novel, since it wasn't her intention but it also put Gloryms life in danger, I gave it a half rating

Trying to kill her dad: 1/10, fuck that guy honestly he sold his own child into slavery, if anyone deserves to be the target of Rashtas Wrath it's that fucker. Unfortunately Sovieshu shut down what could've been great revenge

Wanting to use someone else's baby to practice so she can hold Glorym: 6/10, I fully understand that Rashta is desperate to be a mother and just wants to be trusted but I think she should stick to stuffed animals for the time being.

Telling Alan to get lost when he shows up with Ian, demanding she raise him like a prince: 2/10, even Rashta isn't that stupid, Ian is not the Emperors son, so he can't become a prince and it's just being greedy since that kid will still live a good life as a future Viscount. Alan, you already fucked up one time too many, you made your bed when you let Rashta think her child was dead (and it's implied he still assaulted her after that) now lay in it.

Bringing the sword to Naviers babyshower: 4/10, eh, can't blame her for the petty revenge there. Navier did humiliate her first.

Implying that the only reason Navier has Heinrey is because she rejected him: 6/10, basic mean girl comment that backfires, why am I even shocked anymore (honestly though the "are you interested in my husband's or are you interested in me?" Line goes hard.)

Killing a maid after she helped her escape and dooming herself just before her trial: 10/10 *sigh* why do we even bother anymore.

I think that's everything, let me know if I missed something.

Anyway, what did we conclude from this? Well Rashta was a compelling antagonist and when people weren't shitting on her enough. She became the ultimate evil with plots and schemes that made no damn sense and she became known as the most evil empress in history, everyone hated her from beginning to end, she was used and made into a tool as revenge for being mean to Navier, and she dies in a cell feeling guilty for everything she's ever done. You know what? At least she has that, she still had remorse and paid the price which is more than I could say for almost everyone else in this series who got nothing but consequences free rewards. Slavery is still a thing, Lebetti gets to raise Ian, Sovieshu stays in power, Ergi runs away with his mom and apparently marries Evalie (ew) and Heinrey gets away with murdering innocent people just because they worked for a guy who's son attempted a hit on her...

You know what? I'm starting to think Rashta wasn't punished for being evil and she was just punished for being evil without her supporting Navier license.

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 4A, MATCH 1 OUT OF 2!

*Includes the original 1950 animated film, the 2002 sequel Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, and the 2007 sequel Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Disney's Cinderella:

she is very iconic, she is super kind and has a beautiful dress

Submitting specifically because Cinderella III: A Twist in Time has lived rent-free in my head ever since I was a small child.

This Cinderella is most young (western) peoples introduction to this very story. Cinderella is so hopeful and by getting one small magical adventure, her whole life changes for the better. She is skilled and inspires such loyalty with her kindness that it’s hard to dislike her for any reason she gives. I’ve always been jealous of her ball hairdo too.

Walt Disney put all he had into this movie. And his favorite animation was the dress transformation scene. There’s a reason she is often front and center on the Princess group promotions.

she is the original. to me. probably the first exposure to cinderella for a solid chunk of people alive & on tumblr today. she is just a perfect encapsulation of everything that cinderella is, even if she's become warped in the public consciousness. also i'm pretty sure she's the reason why the glass slippers are so predominant in more recent retellings bc she is simply so iconic. 100/10 no notes 💜

She's maybe not the OG OG but she was one of the first animated Disney princesses and strangely enough it doesn't stop her from having an amazing personality. She's literally a slave but keeps being a nice person, forgiving and always doing her best. And the sequels absolutely didn't ruin her character. She's a sweet girl who tries to fit in but who's loyal to the person she is and who tries to change things always in a cute and sweet way to show people it's not that hard. She literally forgave Anastasia and tried to help her after all she did to her (the scene where the step-sisters destroy her dress still is terrifying to me)... she's awesome and deserves more recognition honestly...

(Mod's note: the following submitted specifically for Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, but I condensed the animated movies into one entry.) No she is not the same as the original Cinderella of 1950. This girl’s biggest chance was unfairly snatched away from her. When the Prince was brainwashed she was enough to get him to double take. She was so Right that their connection over powered magic. And she had to be rescued from a ship. And was almost crushed within a pumpkin! And finally had to expose another imposter, who turned out to be just another victim of Lady Trameine. This Cinderella fought harder for her love because she knew what True Love was like and she still was able to forgive those who asked for it.

(Mod's note: the following submitted specifically for Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, but I condensed the animated movies into one entry.) Listen yes it's the same Cinderella from 1950 but she has an arc in this one! It's Disney's greatest film!!

Listen I love them both but the animated Cinderella definitly shine in every single movie she has. And she has 3.

Vote for Cinderella because she deserves it and is still underrated in the Disney Princesses Franchise when she survived so much (ab*se... Lady Tremaine still terrifies me and she doesn't even have magical powers except when she steals the magic wand in Cinderella 3) Also one vote for Cinderella is one jump outside the window Henri is ready to do. Yes it's real.

Disney animated the original fairytale but definitely made it more magical and less creepy (like the birds making the step sisters blind? It gave me nightmares for ages). If I think: which one will I want to rediscover multiple times? Disney's Cinderella. Plus Cinderella 3 is a masterpiece.

Mofurun as "Mofurella"

listen. they do an episode where they're all sucked into Cinderella and they make the trans teddy bear Cinderella. Incredible story writing, 10/10, no notes.

Mofurdella is even plot relevant, that episode is how they get the Rainbow Carriage for their group attack anyway MOFURDELLA FIRST CINDERELLA PRECURE EPISODE TO GET ONE MOFURILLION VOTES

[girlactionfigure]

The Heroic Nanny: Erzsebet Fajo

She saved the entire family

Erzsebet Fajo was a brave young babysitter who saved the lives of her employers – a family of four – during the Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1944.

Erzsebet Fajo was a Slovakian girl from a poor family who emigrated to Hungary by herself at age 13 to work as a nanny. She found employment with the Abonyis, a Jewish family in the small town of Bekescsaba. Parents Laszlo and Margit treasured Erzsebet as a member of the family, and she became like a big sister to their two children, Zsuzsanna and Ivan.

In 1941, the family moved to Budapest because of anti-Jewish persecution in Bekescsaba, and of course Erzsebet went with them. Despite the violent turmoil engulfing Europe, life in Hungary was relatively normal for the Abonyi family. Hungarian President Miklos Horthy had an alliance with Hitler’s Germany, but was reluctant to enforce Nazi decrees against the Jews. That reluctance, plus Horthy’s secret attempts to strike a deal with the Allies, led Germany to invade Hungary in March 1944.

The country was now run by the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross party and the situation for Hungary’s Jews got very bad very quickly. All Jews from the moment of birth were required to wear a yellow star prominently displayed on their clothing. Erzsebet, who felt like a member of the Abonyi family, wanted to wear a star too even though she wasn’t Jewish. Instead, they sadly told her she’d have to leave their employment to save her own life – non-Jews weren’t allowed to work for Jews. The Abonyis knew their days were numbered. Ten year old Zsuzsanna tried to convince her parents to commit suicide rather than be separated and murdered. Of course they refused to consider such a drastic act and tried everything to get out of Hungary but they were trapped.

At that point, young Erzsebet stepped up to become the family’s savior. Zsuzsanna remembered, “How (could) she save (us)? She didn’t have any money. She didn’t have an independent life… It (was) very sweet, but it (had) no validity. But I was wrong to think that. When the siege of Budapest started (and) virtually every home was ruined and bombed down, she was in the streets trying to get false papers.”

Erzsebet visited the Abonyis every day, bringing them food as well as medicine and other essential goods. She took all their valuables and brought them to an aunt so they wouldn’t be plundered by the Nazis.

On October 15, 1944 Laszlo Abonyi was arrested at his home and taken to a deportation center, where he awaited transport to a brutal Nazi slave labor camp.

Determined to save him, Erzsebet boldly approached the Red Cross and somehow obtained a letter of protection that she used to get Laszlo released. She knew the Abonyis were not safe in their home, and not sure what to do she pleaded with a local priest for assistance and advice. He helped her get letters from the Vatican which made the family eligible to take shelter in a building in Budapest owned by the Apostolic Nuncio. The Abonyis sheltered there for a few weeks, until the facility was attacked by the Arrow Cross. Storm troopers forced all the Jews outside and prepared to shoot them on the banks of the Danube river. Somehow, in the chaos, Erzsebet helped all four Abonyis escape.

For the next two months, Erzsebet found hiding places for the Abonyis and obtained forged papers for them. She continued visiting each member of the family every day, even though they were all in different parts of Budapest. Finally Erzsebet found safe shelter for the family in a “White Cross Hospital” – an apartment building packed with bunk beds where families targeted by the Nazis were hiding out.

Hungary was liberated by the Soviet Union in January 1945 and the Abonyis were able to return to their apartment. After the war they legally adopted Erzsebet, making it official that she was a member of the Abonyi family. They sent her to school so she could get a good education, and left her a third of their estate. Zsuzsanna and her husband left Hungary following the failed revolution of 1956 and moved to the United States, where Zsuzsanna became a respected writer, professor and founder of the Holocaust Studies Program at the University of Texas. She maintained a close correspondence with her adopted sister until Erzsebet’s death in 1995.

Erzsebet Fajo was honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem in 1986. In her testimony, Zsuzsanna said, “Driven by the desire to save us, Erzsi defied the Germans. She saved us from death, saved my brother and me from becoming orphans and my parents from the worst anguish that can befall people – the loss of their children. It was her strength and heroism that gave us life, allowed us to grow up and eventually have children of our own.”

For her astonishing bravery in saving the life of an entire family, we honor Erzsebet Fajo as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[thedinanshiral]

Meet my Inquisitor(s)

While i wait for a release date, editions details, just anything really..i decided to talk about my beloved Lavellan(s).

I did this really fun thing where i just took what Thedas had to offer and played with it, so i made Lavellan twins and made them both the Inquisitor but in different timelines.

First there's Gallia Lavellan, First of her clan, sent to spy on the Conclave who becomes the Inquisitor, romances Solas, becomes best friends with Dorian, and decides to disband the Inquisition after the Exalted Council to save the love of her life.

But in a different timeline the Keeper of their clan decided not to endanger their First and only other mage and sent a hunter instead, and that hunter was the First's twin brother, Adrienn. The events unfold as they were meant to and Adrienn becomes Inquisitor, romances Dorian, becomes friends with almost everyone and also disbands the Inquisition to save his friend from himself.

Now, they both have a life outside of the events of the game when the other is Inquisitor.

When Gallia is Inquisitor her clan survives the attack in Wycome, but life in the dalish clan always felt too small to her brother Adrienn and soon after, inspired by their close encounter with annhilation, he decided to go out and see the world, to live his life to the fullest. His journey took him many places but he ended up settling in Rivain for a while where he decided to join the Lords of Fortune and try to make a name for himself.

When Adrienn is Inquisitor a few unfortunate choices at the war table end in the destruction of Clan Lavellan, with very few survivors eventually rescued and taken in by Adrienn. His sister was fortunately away at the time making deals with another clan in the region. With what little remained of their people under Adrienn's protection and having learned what he shared with her of certain revelations about their people she decided to go on a journey of her own, to find more of their true but lost history. This journey takes her north, to Arlathan Forest, where eventually she joins the Veil Jumpers to explore the ancient elvhen ruins and uncover all their secrets.

At some point along the way both twins in their respective timelines changed their names and identity to both protect their sibling and themselves; what the Inquisition's enemies could do with the knwoledge that the Inquisitor had a twin, or how their personal life choices could affect the other's reputation was something neither wanted to find out.

And so time passed until Solas was finally located, and a new group of brave people was formed to stop him, the Veilguard. While the Inquisition was no more, the connections and reputation the Inquisitor amassed throughout the Inquisition years and beyond was considerable, and so when Varric and Scout Harding went on to search for people Solas wouldn't know, the Inquisitor had at least one person to recommend for the task: their twin.

I designed them based on Abelas, i wanted them to be somewhat closer to what ancient elves looked like (as far as we knew back then) and he was the only reference. Both have the Mythal vallaslin mainly because it's my favourite but Adrienn has the full version while Gallia has a partial one. As Inquisitor however she gets it erased by Solas once she learns vallaslin are slave markings. Her commitment to knowledge, truth and their true heritage is one of the things that make her her, no matter what path she ends up taking.

If it's possible to romance Solas as Rook in a worldstate where Solavellan never happened, i intend to make use of the twins' alternate timelines so former Inquisitor Adrienn asks his sister "Rook" join the Veilguard ..where she'll meet Solas, and the inevitability of their fate manifests once again, as this would be another world.

They're both good and just, but Gallia is definitely the scholarly type and certainly more polite, but not so warm after certain events in her life. Meanwhile Adrienn is definitly more chatty, on occassions shameless, one could argue more fun to be around and more inclined toward earthly pleasures. Being twins and looking alike didn't mean they had the same upbringing; once Gallia's magic manifested they were led through very different paths, with Adrienn learning to hunt and track, being told his duty was to provide for the clan and protect it, as he spent most of his time amongst their people, while Gallia had to spend hers in lectures from their Keeper, reading scrolls and books, learning how to control her magic, oftentimes in solitude mastering her powers and discipline, and with the weight of their clan's leadership on her shoulders from too early an age, the voice of their Keeper always echoing in her mind, "you will become Keeper one day, you must be ready".

As is the case for many of us, i'm quite attached to my Inquisitor. Gallia is my canon Inquisitor, she's about 37 or 38 years old by now, and she let her hair grow longer than ever and often wears braided to the side. I hope the new CC in The Veilguard allows for something like that.

[damallarky]

Ok. So I got my Rook’s backstory planned out guys.

His name is Renan. He’s a Mage and a traveling musician who busks in and around Minrathous. Rook is his stage name.

He is the brother of my canon Inquisitor, Aisling Lavellan. There are five siblings in total. Ren is the oldest, and Aisling is the middle child.

His surname isn’t Lavellan, though. Gotta see what the names are in DA:V.

More under the cut!

His father was a former circle mage and his mother was a Dalish hunter.

Morag, Ren’s father, was part of a team of four mages given special permission from their circle to study ancient elven ruins to “further enhance Chantry understanding of Thedas and its history.” Jokes on them because the four Templars that were assigned to babysit the group were all mage sympathizers (one was in a relationship with one of the mages in the group, one had a mage sister who he cared about deeply, the youngest Templar was a good friend of Morag's and the last one just didn't care lol) so they basically let him get married and have kids while he was still technically doing what he set out to do.

The family traveled a lot from ruin to ruin. At some point, the group is called back to return to the Circle, but everyone decides to lie and say Morag "died" so he can stay with his family.

The good times don't last, though. Eventually, word gets out that there is an apostate running around, and Templars are sent to bring Morag back. During the process, their parents are killed, and the kids get separated, with Ren being caught by slavers and sold to Tevinter and the rest of his siblings being adopted into Clan Lavellan.

(Consequently, the reason Aisling begged to go to the conclave was because she was hoping she’d find Ren there, not realizing he never made it to a circle.)

Ren spends four years as a slave. His master's wife notices that he has a lovely singing voice and a talent for music, so she teaches him how to play the lute, harp, harpsichord, flute, and anything else she wants him to. He enjoys it because he loves music, but he knows that he is basically being kept as a pet to show off when the mood strikes.

(This is also when he meets the spirit Hope, who ends up taking the form of a Rook. She is also the inspiration behind Ren's stage name.)

At seventeen, he had a clandestine affair with his master's daughter, who was the same age as him. I think they were friends, and they cared about each other, but their relationship was more about teenage lust and Ren's cockiness than anything else. There was also maybe a little bit of a power imbalance that Ren doesn't really consider until much, much later in life. When his master's wife finds out, she is furious and orders Ren whipped within an inch of his life. He probably would have died had the daughter not begged her father to intervene. Ren is sent off to work with the rest of the household slaves. The other slaves were delighted to learn that the golden boy wasn't so golden after all, and they made his life hell.

Nine months later, Ren is summoned by his master. He learns that he has gotten his master's daughter pregnant. On her request, Ren is given his freedom on the condition that he takes the child (a boy) and never speaks a word of it to anyone.

He accepts and leaves a free man. He names his son Morag, Mor for short, after his father.

Except now he's a kid with a kid, with no money and nowhere to go in a country that actively treats his people like chattel. He's scared, and as a result, he does many things he is not proud of, things that he ends up regretting later in life, like drinking heavily and not being as good of a father to Mor as he should have been.

To support himself and his son, Ren becomes a musician and plays at bars and brothels, wherever he can get work. While busking, he meets an elven woman named Leena. Their relationship is difficult at first, but eventually, Ren decides to get his shit together, and the two eventually fall in love.

They get married, and after a while, they have their daughter, Esana. At some point, they both join the Shadow Dragons. During a mission, Leena is badly wounded and later dies of an infection. This almost causes Ren to fall off the bandwagon and back into his addiction. He, through great effort, manages to stop himself for the sake of his children who need him. The withdrawals were horrible, and it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, but he did it because he loves his kids so much, and he wants to be a good father to them.

This is why he only drinks water, juice, or wine occasionally.

He still works for the Shadow Dragons, and now his son is beginning to work for them, too, despite the fact that Ren would rather he not put himself in danger.

More Facts

Ren is either 36 or 38, depending on how long it's been since Inquisition.

That would make Mor either 19 or 21.

Whatever the case, Esana is 13.

Mor is a mage like both of his parents. He fights more like a rogue, however. Veil ranger perhaps?

Esana's magic hasn't awakened (yet) but recently she has been having nightmares of monsters wanting her to "let them in".

Ren is a Dreamer like his father! He finds the Fade slightly annoying.

Mor was originally going to be revealed later in my Rook's story, which is why he didn't show up in my Rook's prologue fic.

Ren uses humor so he doesn't have to think about his emotions. It drives Hope nuts.

Hope is the GOAT of the bunch. Mor probably wouldn't have survived to young adulthood had it not been for Hope.

Hope is still relatively new to the whole "not being an actual spirit" thing. Like Cole, she still feels fairly compelled to provide hope to those who need it. Except now, she also eats mice and steals shiny things.

Esana unfortunately inherited her father's lack of self-preservation.

Esana and Mor are close despite their age difference. Mor is the best big brother.

Ren and Solas are going to drive each other insane. Especially once it's revealed just who the Inquisitor is. Ren and Solas will eventually find they have a lot in common and will both help each other heal in the end.

Idk where it will go in the actual game, but for now, I'm deciding that Ren and Solas will become very dear to one another. Bestie-in-Laws.

The family sitcom is called My Brother-in-Law the Dread Wolf.

Ren is very jealous of Solas's Dread Wolf form. Solas delights in this fact.

I also do not know who Ren is going to romance. I have never struggled so hard to make that choice.

[princess-glassred]

I already have a Reddie Cinderella au but a fuckin Benverly Cinderella au where instead of searching for the girl who fits the slipper, beverly is searching for the boy who wrote the January Embers poem would be sooooo cute.

Poor Bev's just this princess who's being auctioned off by her creepy dad to the highest bidder like she's a hunk of meat. Pretty much every man in her life has given their unfiltered opinion on her and it's made her against marrying anyone (she does want to get married, but the men in the royal court have soured it for her). Her betrothed Tom Rogan is a piece of shit who ""sees her poential"" to be a good queen IF she's got a good man by her side to keep her in check.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the kingdom, is a poor orphaned servant named Ben hanscom. His daddy died serving for the royal gaurd and his mom passed away from an illness a couple years after, leaving him in the care of his step father Mr. Keene, his (slightly) younger step sister Greta and his older step brother Henry. Mr. Keene has Ben slaving away in his apothecary since he's fat and probably wouldn't be useful in snatching up a spouse anytime soon. He's treated like a black sheep, Greta likes getting him into trouble and being a jerk for no reason, while Henry likes to attack him with physical abuse and make jokes about his weight. Ben happens to like cleaning and working for Mr. Keene though, because he's logically minded and good at figuring out how things tecnically work (although its kinda degrading with Henry around to make fun of him all the time). It's worth noting that if Ben wasn't around Henry would probably be in the same situation, considering he's not actually Mr. Keene's son and was just sold to him by his dad for booze money.

Bev and Ben meet when she's pretending to be a maid to sneak away from her father, the only hint that she's even a princess is the palace key she keeps around her neck. She tells Ben her name is "Bevvie" to hide her identity and he buys it. The two become really fast friends after that, routinely visiting each other whenever they can. Ben even introduces her to his one and only friend, Mike the farm boy, and now all of them are kind of buddies. When the ball comes Ben has no interest in meeting princess Beverly (even though he assumes she's a wonderfully nice gal) he just wants to see bevvie again. Mostly because he wrote her a poem and neglected to give it to her before, so he HAS to give it to her at the ball. His step family ruin it though, because Ben's considered an embarassment and they can't have ANYONE interfering with Henry's attemps at marriage and Greta's wannabe socialite career. They rip up the poem right in front of him and it's quite heart breaking.

Just when all is lost though, Ben finds not one, but TWO fairy god parents here to help him. They introduce themselves as Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak, married couple, business men, and expert fairy god parents. They dress in modern clothes, which Ben finds very confusing, especially since 40 year old man in hawaiin shirt is hardly what comes to mind when you think "fairy god parent" but whatever. They seem well meaning enough, although they can't stop bickering for like 2 seconds to actually help. They bring back the poem to prove they're legit and give him all the cinderella fixings. Eddie is a little paranoid about Ben getting home on time though, so he gives him a midnight curfew so he leaves on time. Also Richie calls Ben haystack cause he sleeps in a barn lol.

The ball comes around and the usual stuff happens, Henry and Greta embarrass themselves, Bev hates everything about it, and Ben makes a grand entrance that shocks everyone. Ben is pretty shocked himself, as he realizes he's been friends with the princess all along and freaks tf out. Beverly instantly runs to him to ask where on earth he got that wonderfully designed suit and he mumbles out some bullshit excuse that doesn't really make sense. They fall in love but just as midnight comes around Ben remembers he forgot to give her the poem again! He leaves it behind by accident on the ground when he's running away, and bev's dad picks it up.

He seems interested in knowing who sent it, and for a moment Beverly honestly tells him she doesn't know because she met a lot of suitors last night. He insists they go searching for the guy, comparing hand writing to the post card from house to house. All while Bev just wants to get it over with so she can see Ben again and tell her how she really feels..

Sorry that was so long, i got really into the idea. I know i never make benverly stuff, so i wanted to try it.

[haggishlyhagging]

“With the consolidation of private property and the father-family, not only the matriarchy but the fratriarchy fell in ruins. The mothers' brothers, abandoning their sisters, became the fathers of their own families and the owners of their own property. This left women with no male allies; they were completely at the mercy of the new social forces unleashed by property-based patriarchal society.

How women felt about this can be gleaned from a passage in the Arabian Kamil, cited by Robertson Smith. He calls it "a very instructive passage as to the position of married women."

"Never let sister praise brother of hers; never let daughter bewail a father's death;

For they have brought her where she is no longer a free woman, and they have banished her to the farthest ends of the earth."

(Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, p. 94, emphasis in the original)

In reality women were not banished to the ends of the earth; they were on the contrary cloistered in the private households of their husbands, to serve their needs and bear their legal sons. But to women who were once so free and independent this must indeed have seemed like the end of the world.

With the advent of slavery, which marks the first stage of civilized class society, the degradation of women was completed. Formerly exchanged for cattle, they were now reduced to the chatteldom of domestic servitude and procreative functions. The Roman jurists’ definition of the term "family" is a clear expression of this:

Famulus means a household slave and familia signifies the totality of slaves belonging to one individual. Even in the time of Gaius the familia, id est patrimonium (that is, the inheritance) was bequeathed by will. The expression was invented by the Romans to describe a new social organism, the head of which had under him wife and children and a number of slaves, under Roman paternal power, with power of life and death over them all. (Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, p. 68)

The downfall of women brought about a sharp reversal in their "value" as wives. In place of the bride price, the payment made by a husband to secure a wife, we now come upon the dowry. "The Athenians," says Briffault, "offered a dowry as an inducement for men to marry their daughters, and the whole transaction of Greek marriage centered around that dowry" (The Mothers, vol. II, p. 337).

Tylor, one of the few anthropologists to notice this reversal, found it an "interesting problem in the history of law" to account for this curious transposition of bride price into dowry (Anthropology, p. 248). But the law was merely a reflection of the new social reality. Once women lost their place in productive, social, and cultural life, their worth sank along with their former esteem. Where formerly the man paid the price for a valuable wife, now the dependent wife paid the price to secure a husband and provider.

How women felt about this humiliation heaped upon degradation is recorded in Euripides' drama, where Medea mourns:

"Ay, of all living and of all reasoning things

Are women the most miserable race;

Who first must needs buy a husband at great price,

To take him then for owner of our lives."

Even this was not all. After reducing women to economic dependency and to merely procreative functions, the men of early civilized society declared that women were only incidental even in childbearing. No sooner was the paternal line of descent fixed by law than men began to claim that the father alone created the child. According to Briffault, Greek thinkers in the classical period viewed the mother's womb as "but a suitable receptacle"—a bag—for the child; the mother was subsequently its nurse, but "the father was, strictly speaking, the sole progenitor" (The Mothers, vol. I, p. 405). Lippert writes that, while "no historian has turned his attention" to this subject, the evidence shows that matrilineal descent gave way to "the opposite extreme," which he describes this way:

She who for untold thousands of years had been the pillar of the history of young mankind now became a weak vessel devoid of a will of her own. No longer did she manage her husband's household; these services were forgotten in a slave state. She was merely an apparatus, not as yet replaced by another invention, for the propagation of the race, a receptacle for the homunculus. (Evolution of Culture, pp. 355, 358)

This idea that men alone created children indicates that even at this late date, the beginning of civilization, men were still ignorant of the facts about reproduction. Whatever vague speculations they engaged in on the subject, genetic fatherhood had played no part in the victory of the father-family and patriarchal power. Men had won on the basis of their private ownership of property. It was not biology but the Roman law that laid down the dictum patria potestas—"all power to the father." And, as Briffault's description shows, property was the father of this patriarchal legality.

The patriarchal principle, the legal provision by which the man transmits his property to his son, was evidently an innovation of the "patricians," that is, of the partisans of the patriarchal order, the wealthy, the owners of property. They disintegrated the primitive mother-clan by forming patriarchal families, which they "led out of" the clan - "familiam ducere." The patricians set up the paternal rule of descent, and regarded the father, and not the mother, as the basis of kinship -"patres ciere possunt." (The Mothers, vol. I, p. 428)”

-Evelyn Reed, Woman’s Evolution: From Matriarchal Clan to Patriarchal Family

[beevean]

So I just had a realization about Lenore and her ring.

The common argument from the "Lenore did nothing wrong" crowd is that she just had to do what she did. She had to slip that ring on Hector's finger to ensure that he wouldn't hurt the sisters, and by doing so, she made sure that he'd live a comfy life, not stuck in a cell. So really, she was only looking out for his well being! She was being a diplomat and making everyone happy!

Right?

"These are slave rings. One of them found its way on to Hector’s hand while he was swearing his loyalty to me."

The ring, when you think about it, functions in a weird way. The bearer has to pledge loyalty to the owner: thus, the bearer has to consent to being enslaved. This already makes the ring redundant. But fine, let's say that the function is to make sure that the bearer doesn't change their mind later on.

Does the bearer has to mean those words? Or do they just need to pronounce them, no matter their state of mind? That I don't know. What I do know, is that Lenore spent the whole season buttering Hector up:

"So… what do you want?"

"Oh, I don't have to lie to you. I have no interest in faith. Faith makes for terrible diplomacy. This is simply commerce. In commerce, we don't have to have faith in each other, do we? We don't have to guess. It's simple. There are rules. I give you something, you give me something."

And this, from their scene in the balcony (Episode 6) that I can't find a clip of:

Lenore: Does it hurt? Hector: No. It just reminds me of the last time someone put a collar on me. Lenore: In Braila? Hector: When Carmilla almost killed me. Lenore: Well, she does have a temper. But she would never have meant to kill you. Hector: No. Because she needs me to be her forgemaster slave. Lenore: No, because if she'd meant to kill you, you would quite simply be dead. Hector: Hmph. Lenore: And if she'd meant to torture you, you would have arrived here carrying your guts in both hands with a spike up your arse. Hector: I suppose that's true. I mean, I can see her doing it. In nightmares and such. Lenore: She does have a temper, but she's logical. She never lets it run away with her to the point of, oh, I don't know, condemning the entire human race to death? Just a recent example of what being genuinely insane with murderous rage looks like. Hector: All right. Lenore: You may not have been treated like a boy king on your way here, but you did show up alive. Hector: Might have been nice, though. Lenore: Have you considered that you're only alive because you listened to Carmilla back in Dracula's castle? Hector: I hadn't. She tricked me. Lenore: I don't think she did. I think she made complete sense to you, and you felt guilty, understandably, about how it all played out. Hector: She made me betray Dracula. Lenore: No, she didn't. She showed you the old man was insane, and she saved you from the consequences. Nobody here wants to harm you. We just don't quite trust you yet. Hector: Trust me? Lenore: You did try to hurt me, Hector.

She made a whole show about listening to him, trying to cater to his needs like his desire for new shoes, actually asking him what he really wants; she tried her best to convince him that his situation wasn't so bad after all, and Carmilla was a better master than Dracula, a saner one.

By all means, it looked like Hector was well on route to agree to work for them on his own volition. By that point, Lenore had beaten over his head that Dracula was stupid and used him, but Carmilla, bad temper aside, would be a more just master. Had Lenore kept the ruse, I'm sure Hector would have, as fans love to joke, "simped" for her and given in.

Ironically, it's exactly what the sisters chewed Carmilla for: ruining a perfectly good manipulation game by hurting Hector at the end and breaking his trust for shit and giggles. Because we love creative writing.

But alright, Lenore wanted to be absolutely sure that Hector wouldn't turn on them, and perhaps show her sisters that he could be trusted. That ring was there mostly as an ensurance. It would have broken Hector's trust once more, but it would have made the sisters happy - you know, the compromise she talked about.

So… why didn't she slip her ring as they were talking? They ended up sitting side by side: Hector was comfortable enough to be close to her. By this point, she literally could have asked him to swear loyalty to her while talking, and he would have done it!

Instead, she lied by pretending she's no longer confident in the council plans, and switched mid-speech from "I'm loyal to my sisters, so I can't let you go" to "What we're doing is wrong, so we can flee together". which i still think it's one of the stupidest examples of writing.txt in the script, but that's besides the point

She wanted sex from the get-go. She came with the ring in her pocket, a comfortable blanket, and immediately changed tactics to say something she never would have said before. Not only she wanted sex, but she wanted to deliberately lower Hector's guard, so that he would "swear loyalty" while not in his right mind (because his judgment was clouded by arousal at best). She knew this. This was deliberate. She wanted this exact situation, to make sure that Hector would be not in his right mind, and also to get that nice hecock as a reward for her efforts.

At this point, I can safely say Lenore crossed the line from selfishness into cruelty, and no justification, nothing about her diplomacy, or how she secretly was fond of Hector and wanted to "keep him safe", can hold any water.

And by the way, this makes her act rape, since Hector was not in his right state of mind (you know, since he was effectively tortured and psychologically beaten down through lies, manipulation and humiliation) and had no idea about the ring's existence so he could not consent to it. Just so that we're clear, since some people seem to unironically believe in the "not if you enjoyed it" rationalization.

[artzychic27]

Can you do the same thing but for the dc hero kids? Like they just had their backstories?

Marc- Myzan'r

Marc came to Earth as Myzan'r, a Tamaranean prince being transported by Gordanians, in exile as a slave to the Citadel

Through the use of his immense Tamaranean superhuman strength and incredible agility, he broke free from the brig aboard a Gordanian ship and landed in Paris

There, he went on a rampage trying to remove his handcuffs, screaming in Tamaranean until Zoé helped get them off of him… Then he kissed her and started speaking French

He's been living on Earth with his adoptive mothers and younger brother ever since

Aurore- Whirlpool

Aurore was once a normal “human” girl who lived by the water with her family

One thing about Aurore is that she has the ability to breathe water, which made her quite popular at school. She was captain of water-based sports and always got invited to pool parties

However, one day at a beach bonfire party, Aurore suddenly swam further out into sea and dived down in the water, soon discovering that she could communicate with sea life and that she is from Atlantis

She soon decided to use her abilities to defend Earth's oceans

Mireille- Echo

Mireille was born with an inborn metahuman ability, granting her a super-sonic scream that could shatter the thickest of glass

After nearly deafening half of the school, her parents had her live in Gotham with some other metahumans for a year so she could have better control over her powers

When Mireille returned, it worked like a charm, and now they could control the frequency of their scream

Théo couldn’t be prouder of his sister

Cosette- Voltage

Cosette was just an average kid that no one understood... Then she somehow got roped by a school bully into joining some gang, and they got into a turf war at an old factory

A round went off, and then suddenly, there was an explosion. A strange gas spread throughout the area, and Cosette passed out from exposure

When it woke up, Cosette found that they now had electromagnetic powers!... And a bunch of other people in the city now had their own powers, and most of them were villains

They took up the mantle as a hero and used their new powers to fight crime

Zoé- Rouge ("I refuse to have the same hero name as Dick!")

Zoé was just your typical girl, born into a wealthy family in New York as the product of her terrible mother's affair. Her mother's negligence during one fashion show in New Jersey caused her to wander off and come across several villains

Because she's a rich kid, they decide to kidnap her for a ransom, only for Batman to swoop in and save her.

He takes one look at her and says, "Screw it. She's mine now." He just shares custody with Morgan

Ever since that day, Zoé's grown up with several older brothers and a few sisters who take her out for ice cream, teach her how to street fight, and occasionally prank Audrey

Ismael- Krypto-Kid

Born on the planet of Krypton with the birthname, Mal-Sel, as a baby, Ismael's parents sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm

His ship soon landed in the backyard of Fazli and Alaya Prisk

Fazli immediately adored him, while Alaya loathed the fact that the ship ruined the backyard

Overtime, Ismael began to show signs of his powers

Reshma- Sapphire Beetle

While on a family trip to their private island, Reshma came into contact with a strange-looking scarab

When she touched it, it attached to her, grafting onto her spine, and gave her a powerful exoskeleton armor

Reshma had little to almost no control over her new powers, but slowly asserts herself. When she’s in danger, the suit activates, crawling out on to her back

When the danger passes, the scarab deactivates, and it hurts like hell

Simon- Speedster

Simon was once a normal but nerdy coffee-loving student who was occasionally chased by bullies

One night, as he was running home, trying to escape his usual tormentors, he was struck by a lightning bolt, temporarily knocking him out

When he wakes up the next morning, Simon later finds that he can run at super-human speeds and possesses equally enhanced reflexes, senses, and healing

Of course, he gets a little payback

Denise- Wonderer

On Paradise Island, Queen Hippolyta was sculpting a child from clay whom she named Denise

Denise often stood out as the only “non-female” of the tribe of Amazons, but they still respected them for their strength and power

After meeting a World War II pilot who crash lands on the island, Denise accompanies him back to his home and assists in fighting off Nazi forces

They ultimately decided to stay amongs humans, defending them from any threats, living with several families over the years, and eventually finding a boyfriend

Lacey- Wildmorph

When her brothers were three and she was eleven, their parents took them on a family trip to Brazil

It was all fun and stuff until they went into the jungle and Lacey was bitten by a monkey with mint green fur. Her parents were able to find a way to save her, but it turned her skin mint green, and she developed the ability to turn into any animal

Then while on a boating trip, there was an accident. Lacey and her brothers made it, but their parents didn’t

Their grandparents soon became their legal guardians

Jean- Spellbound

Jean Duparc is the daughter of famed magician/comedian Dejah Duparc

He started off as a young but successful stage illusionist himself before he discovered his true magical powers

After doing a dna test as part of a biology assignment for school, they soon discovered that they are of the Homo Magi race, a race of naturally magic-wielding humans

Ever since that, Jean’s been learning how to perform actual magic, and learns that he’s kinda OP

[n7punk]

found my old dragon age notes lmao

(i have actually played every da:o origin and romance, just didn't attach much to anyone but those three. i've actually played niera twice, once without and once with the marriage-unlock alistair mod LMAO)

she's my favorite child i've played her at least two maybe two and a half (unfinished) times

i love hawke so much but da2 is definitely the game ive replayed the least because the gameplay just needs so much more polish. hopefully da4 is solid since it's the furthest thing from rushed development

casc is actually my least favorite of the wardens ive latched onto because she's kind of boring lmao but she made a lot of great choices to set up the rest of the world with. i thiiiiiiink she was an arcane warrior because fuck yeah arcane warriors.

for my nobility playthrough, i love hollicity but it looks like my notes for her are mostly blank, probably because she was my newest/last warden playthrough. she's like 16 and just fighting for her life out here. she was raised for political power though and that gives her enough wits to outweigh her naïvety. she didn't romance anybody. ended up backed into a corner with not enough favor so she was forced to take up a political-ONLY (seriously she's like his baby sister but also would be a more competent ruler than him lmao) marriage with alistair in order to rule because the nobility's fucked like that 👍 no actual romance even as she ages. she says it's because she's not about to risk the stability of the crown for that if she's caught but she honestly finds she never has interest.

there comes a certain time where you spend enough time in canon you start throwing it out and my trevelyan twins were the start of that, bleeding into the elves playthrough (even though i played nyer first shhhhh). i think i played through inquisition once with both of them as the inquisitor, but the intent was that denal was the inquisitor and his sister was one of his companions/inner circle

niera is actually a fucking gremlin don't let this fool you. she's my "immoral" playthrough. i actually played her twice (one making horrid choices like using blood magic to sacrifice the slaves and one making less-bad choices), and the personality from the second playthrough ended up being the one sticking. she's a duel-wielding rogue so she can stab you in the front and back at once!

you can't play an elf in da2 which kind of ruins my "elves fuck shit" playthrough line, but i did my best with garret hawke. i dont have any notes on him but he's my red hawke because again, this is the immoral characters timeline (my canon hawke being purple). since this is my "fuck canon" playthrough i think the headcanon was that hawke was half elf here.

we don't need canon anymore 🥳 okay fun fact about Selain: the way i spelled her name changed dozens of times. other fun fact: i only romanced solas as her to get the vallaslin off cosmetically since she wouldn't have any with her lineage but then i liked the angst of the romance just for her. generally i think solas is an egghead.

and then some randoms:

I think Raya might have been my nightmare difficulty playthrough for the trophy? no actually i did that with Anerra Again. oh yeah she was actually exclusively to romance sera LMAO. I don't have notes on aeducan but yes he was named after That aeducan and he was my Challenges trophy playthrough with all the difficulty modifiers like getting x2 disapproval from companions but keeping them through the first act or whatever that achievement was. he only managed that because he's a pathological liar - otherwise he would have driven everyone away a lot quicker. i didn't finish him but i did play raya through to trespasser for the seramance.

[hahahax30]

Blood like Magic and why I’ll be considering myself a hater

@tea-and-a-clandestine-agenda

I’m going to start off by saying I’m 90% into the book, meaning I haven’t finished it yet but I know enough about it to criticise the fuck out of it. This is going to contain spoilers lol.

Firstly, that book cover is absolutely gorgeous. This book does have one (1) good thing and it is the very talented illustrator who created the cover —whoever they are, I applaud them because they made Voya look cool and not irritating and dumb.

The premise of the book is interesting. We’re in a near-future Toronto where witch communities exist. Now, these witches are unique in how their characteristic bit of magic is granted to them by their ancestors after they have their first Bleeding (aka period for whoever has a uterus and very gross eye-and-ear bleeding for whoever doesn’t). The process through which a witch acquires their unique magic goes as follows: after the Bleeding, one of their ancestors Call them, set a trial for them and if they pass, good for them! They have their magic now! If they don’t pass, they don’t get magic and are thus seen as pariahs by their fellow witches. Now, enter Voya Thomas. She’s part of Toronto’s Black witch community and has both African and Trinidadian ancestry —also, she likes to cook, a lot, food is her life and the very air she breathes. Voya has had her Bleeding and is Called by ‘Mama Jova’ —an ancestor who lived as a slave in Antebellum America and died being whipped to death by her enslavers after the love of her life was murdered. Mama Jova tells Voya she needs to ‘destroy her first love’; otherwise, her whole family will lose their magic and her little sister, whose life is tethered to that magic, will die. Therefore, Voya starts a journey trying to find her first love in Luc (a guy she meets in a conference at this mega-important company).

My first problem with the book is the very basis on which the plot stands. Never will I believe that a woman who saw her lover being murdered (and also who sacrificed herself in order to help other enslaved people escape their enslavers) entreated her descendant to ruin someone they hold close to their hearts. How? Just how? It’s stupid, it doesn’t make sense. She died saving other people and now she wants her descendant to suffer much like she did and she wants her descendant to orchestrate that? And she’s going as far as to promising to kill a child and ruin what she died to protect in order to get her way? I call bullshit. Utter, fucking bullshit. Mama Jova’s a joke, I tell you.

I tried to look pass that because this is the author’s debut novel and it has a high rating on Goodreads, though. I thought Mama Jova didn’t really mean what she asked Voya to do… but she did, and Voya handled it all in such a fucking stupid way. I can’t with her.

Okay, so in the process of trying to determine how she’s going to approach her task Voya:

Falls in love with Luc

Finds out that Luc’s ‘sponsor dad’ (aka the CEO of the mega-important company Luc works in, who is called, in-text, a neo-coloniser because he brought Luc to Canada from Mexico in order to brainwash him about the importance of his company) was responsible for the death of her forgotten aunt and the near-downfall of her whole community

Realises that Mama Jova wasn’t only referring to her first romantic love, but to her first platonic love, too, meaning that now Voya needs to choose whether to destroy Luc or her cousin Keis (aka her best friend)

Realises that Mama Jova’s ‘destroy’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘kil’: it can also mean ‘ruin their life’ which is so much better, right? Agh, Mama Jova is so charitable!

All throughout the book, Keis is Voya’s biggest support. She’s someone who wants to look beyond her witch identity and wants to get an education! She wants to work! Be independent! Be free from her family’s limitations! Towards the end of the book, Keis achieves just what she wants in the form of an internship in the mega-important company.

Now, if Voya were to choose to ruin Luc’s life, that would mean he wouldn’t be able to inherit his sponsor dad’s mega-important company (and spoiler: the sponsor dad is the bad guy of the story); if Voya were to choose to ruin Keis’s life, that would mean she would be trapped in her house forever, unable to forge herself a future, not even allowed to step foot out of her house. Luc is well-off, and having spent virtually all his formative years in the mega-important company, he can easily get a position elsewhere. Keis comes from a working-class family and having her life ruined = depending on her family for the rest of her life + not being allowed to leave her house.

So, Voya, as the paragon of common sense, chooses to *insert Semana Santa drums rolling* RUIN KEIS’S LIFE. I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH, SHE DAMNED HER BEST FRIEND AND COUSIN TO LIVING IN A PRISON ALL HER LIFE.

Her argument? ‘She’ll survive uwu’

Luc, obviously, won’t survive a life without his privileges.

Be fucking for real.

I hate this so much. So fucking much. And do you know what happens just after she ruins her cousins life? Luc’s sponsor dad kidnaps her whole family! Because you know he’s the villain! Voya could’ve killed him and she chose to imprison her cousin!

The last 10% of the book will tackle that, I suppose. Depending on how bad it’s handled I will choose whether to read the next book or not.

Now, ✨a list of the things I’m petty about✨

The family dynamic -> Voya’s family is comprised of: her cousin Keis, Kei’s twin sister Keisha (fun fact! Keis’s full name is also Keisha), her other cousin Alex, her mother, her father, her father’s current wife (this is a huge side-eye ngl), her half-sister (aka the one who could’ve died), Keis’s mother and father (who are divorced) and her grandmother (the matriarch of the family). The family has a lot of members, is somewhat messy, and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Also, you wouldn’t caught me dead living under the same roof with my divorced husband; I’m sorry but wtf

The technology -> just no. In this near-future Canada people can rate each other, find each other’s location with a click and more things out of that one Black Mirror episode, and no one bats an eyelash at this. If this is were the future I’m supposed to be an adult in, I promise I would commit a very rash decision and fling myself out my window, sorry not sorry. Morally, I’m against every technological advancement that this books stands for and it’s making me sick that the hyper-digitalisation is never discussed in anything but a bad light

People go around with a pronoun tags and they introduce themselves with a ‘hello my name is xyz and my pronouns are something/other’ and yet you have to show whether you have XX or XY chromosomes in your ID card? I’m sorry but we don’t showcase someone’s genetic makeup today, why would a more progressive society do it? What I’m going to say is going to sound horrible, but it just feels like a way to thrust in unnecessary transphobia for sake’s sake (I should add that the author’s cis)

Food -> Voya loves food, so much so that she makes her internal dialogue all about food. She could be describing a scene where Mama Jova or another person are being whipped to almost death and she would be comparing their blood to a crème brûlée or something. In fact, there are whipping scenes in the book and I believe she does compare them to food. It’s exhausting. She makes her whole personality about food and it’s exhausting

So-called impure witches -> the witch community is divided into impure witches (who kill and torture in order to gain heightened magic) and pure witches (who don’t) and I hate the very existence of impure witches. Apparently they pick their victims at random and that’s supposed to be fine by us? Voya’s family is one of pure witches, but still it makes me queasy how her internal dialogue somewhat implies that impure witches are uwu not that bad

There’s a line about a gay witch having used in-vitro fertilisation and surrogacy to have like six children. It made me uncomfortable because I’m very hesitant about surrogacy + apparently his children don’t want to know about their mothers, which seems like a very out-of-touch conception of surrogacy and other types of unconventional ways of starting a family. Idk, I’m on adoptee TikTok and it’s made me think about these things

I don’t like any of the characters aside from Keis and maybe Luc

[clairelsonao3]

Happy Storyteller Saturday!

Today I'll send two questions (which are connected):

Question 1 - Imagine that your characters enter a magic labyrinth that shows them their biggest dream (s) come true. What do they see? Is their dream something they can achieve in real life?

Question 2 - In the same labyrinth, your characters enter a room that puts them face to face with (an illusion of) the person they hate the most or their worst fear. How do they react? Are they able to put up a fight against the illusion or do they need to be rescued? How do they feel in the aftermath of the confrontation?

Happy last week's STS! I love the questions that make me think more deeply about my characters, and this is definitely one of them, so thank you! It took so long because I wanted to do a thorough job and find snippets to illustrate my points (because people seem to like those, I guess!)

Both my characters from Good Slaves Never Break the Rules, despite coming from wildly different backgrounds, dream of surprisingly similar things, and they both have to do with putting their fractured families back together.

Below the cut for snippets and mild spoilers for Ch. 6 onward.

Sadly, [Name redacted] can't go back in time to save his mother from dying or his sister from being sold, or to know and have a relationship with his father (which is something he's never admitted to dreaming of, but deep down he does), or for that matter, to have been born into a different life altogether where he'd actually have any chance of being able to do any of those things, so I would say, no, his dream is not really achievable. Within the course of the story, he finds other things to dream of that may be achievable, but they're not his BIGGEST dream.

From Ch. 5

There was a storm cloud forming in his amber-gold eyes. “You’re going to argue with me about this? I couldn’t even—” He turned away suddenly.

Louisa's goal at the beginning of the story was just to make it through university and her o-chem course in particular, but we soon find out that that's really just a byproduct of her attempts to cope with her dysfunctional family and make it on her own so she doesn't have to be dependent on them, or worse, some awful guy (Corey) she's only with because of his money. Thankfully for her, that is achievable, but if she had to choose, she'd rather heal them and bring them all back to the way they were. And thankfully, they're all still alive, so I suppose that's also achievable theoretically, but it's definitely not something she can do all on her own (which she comes to learn).

From Ch. 19

"...And I thought if I had just tried harder, just said something different, I could have made things okay, but I tried and tried and — “

Fears?

For [redacted], his loved ones dying/being tortured right in front of him and not being able to do anything about it. If that were to manifest as a person, I'm almost sure it would be in the form of the evil, sociopathic son of his first owner who basically ruined his entire life in the course of a month. And yes, it would be difficult, but of course he would fight back!

From Ch. 20

It was the fear behind her eyes, much as she tried to hide it; the fear that he once again had failed to prevent. Fearful, sullied, violated, terrorized, discarded, just like everything that had ever been precious to him. Maybe the streak could never be broken.

For Louisa, I had to think about it. My first thought was being trapped -- not physically, although that might be part of it, but just that feeling of a lack of choice and/or options. But then, her conscience also haunts her, especially because she feels she has blood on her hands from living in an evil, corrupt system for so long and doing nothing about it. So maybe "inertia" would be the best way of describing it. Not being able to grow -- to be forever condemned by the past and forced to repeat it or never being able to atone for it. Idk, maybe her fear would manifest in the form of Corey, because when she looks at him, she sees the person she's afraid of being or could have become. 😂 Fight back? She's already started.

From Ch. 25

She made a promise, then and there. If she ever got out of this room, she would do nothing but good, for the rest of her life. Wherever she found to do it, whether she owed it or not. And if she didn't get out? Well, that was just doing penance in a different way.

[nauticadreams]

Fermin Antonio Mundaca y Marecheaga. Who was he? Why does he have a gravestone in Isla Mujeres? What is the story of the island’s Hacienda Mundaca, and what was his involvement? A story that has been passed down through generations, unfortunately hard to separate fact from fiction. Join us as we step back in time and delve into the life, love, heartbreak, insanity, and death … the legend of one of Mexico’s most famous pirates. And let's see what the plans are for the gorgeous space that is Hacienda Mundaca on Isla Mujeres, as the team, thanks to the willingness and work of President Atenea Gomez Ricalde, begin the project to restore and rescue the space, highlighting the wonderful history of the island. 

Life and Legend of Mundaca

The story of Fermin Antonio Mundaca y Marecheaga begins in Santa Maria, Spain, where he was born, in October of 1825, he finished school and left Spain for the New World. It is said that he was an architect and a great sailor, however, this was a front for his crimes, and he made his fortune by trafficking slaves to Cuban plantations, pirating and smuggling merchandise from foreign ships. He arrived on the shores of Isla Mujeres in 1854 at the age of 29 and set out building his hacienda, “Vista Alegre” (Happy View), a farm that covered 40% of the island with gardens full of exotic flowers and plants, areas with animals, and fruit and vegetable plantations. This was his pride and jewel until he fell in love! 

La Trigueña (the brunette) -  Martiniana (Prisca) Gomez Pantoja was born in 1862, one of five sisters, she was 37 years younger than Mundaca, and it is said she grew into a beautiful young woman with green eyes, golden bronzed skin, and long dark hair. Despite the age difference, Mundaca fell deeply in love with her, showering her with gifts, even building and dedicating the arches above the gates to the entrance of his farm to her, “La Entrada de La Trigueña (The entrance of La Trigueña), all in the hopes that his efforts and the portrayal of his wealth would win him her heart. However, La Trigueña never accepted Mundaca’s love and instead married a humble local man closer to her age, the story continues that Mundaca was lovesick, heartbroken, and slowly went insane. With his own hands, it is said that he carved his gravestone, which can be found on his tomb in Isla Mujeres’ downtown cemetery.

A Pirate's Grave

Today in the island’s downtown cemetery, you can find the hand-carved gravestone and tomb of the notorious pirate Mundaca, carved with a skull and crossbones to remember his days of piracy, as well as the epitaph and words for his love La Trigueña - “As you are, I was. As I am, you will be.” The gravestone has been kept on the island and is an important nod to the island’s history. However, the remains of Mundaca are not located in his tomb and never made it back to the island. As he lost his sanity, he left the island and the story concluded that he was last seen in Merida, where he died alone. It is said that he died of love!

Hacienda Mundaca

As mentioned, Hacienda Mundaca was a large hacienda first built by the 19th-century slave trader and pirate, Mundaca, once called Vista Alegre, the property would have covered 40% of the island, with areas of plants, flowers, fruit, and vegetable plantations, and livestock. Structures, walls, archways, and other parts of the hacienda still exist on the island today.

The Future of Hacienda Mundaca

In 2015 the place was rescued and for years the partially reconstructed/restored historic location of Hacienda Mundaca was open to the public where visitors could go to view the beautiful botanical gardens, the museum, and the historic ruins of the farm. However, the work done was considered by some as not enough, and the site was closed once again to have more work and restoration done on it, and today it has not yet been reopened. 

For years there have been works being done on the archaeological rescue of the place, and this year plans and proposals have been made and announced, and construction has been started to rescue the space. The proposals include the restoration of the open-air theater, a Mayan house, a pirate walk, and even a train that runs through the entire 19 hectares of the Hacienda. The island famous palapa has been removed, and the shops and businesses underneath have been closed as work has begun. The final aim is to highlight and increase the historical and cultural value of the island, creating a space for visitors and islanders to learn about the story and history of the area, the island, Isla’s pirates, and the island’s fishermen. 

There are also plans for a new circuit for people to enjoy, with a hiking path and a cycling path, which will begin and end at the entrance of Hacienda Mundaca. This circuit will take visitors along the west coast of the island, to Punta Sur and the temple of Ixchel, and back along the east coast with views of the sea, and lookout points. 

https://www.tasteofisla.com/post/the-real-pirate-of-the-caribbean

[glittery-ishfish]

Needlessly Long and Dramatic APH Belarus Slander

A/N: Just to clarify, I am NOT at all referring to the REAL COUNTRY of Belarus. The citizens of Belarus are already trying so hard to fight, literally risking their lives, for freedom and national identity. I am not about to ignorantly hold an entire country accountable for what their government and dictator do and have done, especially since people are dying trying to fight for basic human rights.

This is about HETALIA’S Belarus. SPECIFICALLY Hetalia’s Belarus as a PERSON, not as a nation. As I said in one of my first posts, there’s not nearly enough slander of this depiction of Belarus. And when there was, it was for the wrong reasons (“she gets in between me and my ships”). This has been festering inside me and I need to let it all out.

And do keep in mind that this is APH Belarus slander. This is my opinion. It's in the title. Don't like it? Then move on. I don't care, I don't wanna hear it.

And if you stayed, I hope you're ready because I'm about to spill my angry guts out😃👍

Hetalia’s Belarus is a terrible person and a poor, insulting personification of the country.

How?

Let's see, uh…

She bullies, deliberately ignores, and is overall a complete cow to her older sister because she falsely assumes that Russia wants to marry her instead.

Is needlessly hostile and rude to everyone, regardless if they mean well.

Threatens and curses people who disagree with, or even question, Russia because "how dare they have an opinion".

Gets angry when Russia talks to anyone who isn't her, regardless if it’s for professional reasons.

One of the (many, many, many) reasons why Russia doesn’t have any friends is because she scares people off just to have him all to herself.

Blames other people (especially her sister) for Russia's constant avoidance of her rather than reflecting on her own behavior.

Is weirdly contradictory. She’s been shown actively stalking seeking out recruits to ‘become one’ with Russia but gets all ornery and pissy when said recruits are close to him (like, what did you expect??).

Makes Russia’s life more of a living Hell and even curses him when he outright tells her “no”.

Throws violent temper tantrums when things don’t go her way and destroys things.

Has deluded herself into thinking that Russia does want to marry her and dismisses his fearful reactions as stubbornness/“Tsundere behavior”.

Is completely on board with Russia’s desire to take over the world (which she misinterprets as "turn everyone into big brother’s slaves" rather than Russia’s real intentions [as fucked up and naive as they are], "being friends with everyone").

Has been bullying Lithuania since childhood even though he loves her and has repeatedly broken his fingers and legs.

Has been implied to have done questionable things to the Baltics ("Today, I played around with___. It’s interesting to see what expressions he makes when I do such things to him").

Isn’t above hurting animals. Got into a fight with a cat simply because it was “in big brother’s way”.

Has done an impression of the stereotypical "Imōto-chan trope" in an attempt to "persuade" her brother into marriage (I know it's minuscule compared to what I've already mentioned, but the fact that she just blatantly assumes that Russia is the kind of person who would be into that is just...ew).

Held Liechtenstein in a chokehold when asked to interact with her.

Actually likes her authoritarian jackass of a boss and has made a fansite of him (the only other person she’s done this for is Russia, which is saying a lot).

Silent calls people out of spite.

Has stolen, smelled, and worn her brother's underwear on her head as a nightcap.

Takes invasive photos of Russia without his knowledge or consent.

Constantly ruins and/or breaks down Russia's doors.

Leaves scratch marks on Russia's property as a hobby.

Has indecent, sexual fantasies about her brother.

Has used physical force on Russia (ie. crushing his arm) to get him to marry her and showed zero remorse over hurting him.

Has an entire Hetastagram (Instagram) account called ‘Daily Big Brother’, where she praises, stalks, and publicly posts photos of Russia online without his consent (and I’m willing to bet that some of them were the suggestive ones I mentioned earlier).

Overall, not a good person. A brat, even.

Belarus is one of those characters that I adore aesthetically. I love her design (have you seen her in a ponytail?), I occasionally do voice impressions of her for fun and I’m always ecstatic when I discover canon information about her. Hell, I have an entire document dedicated to canon descriptions of her physical appearance just to cosplay her (I’ve been wanting to cosplay Bela for a very long time).

But at the same time I know for a fact that, if I knew her in real life, I would absolutely hate her guts.

I already don't like her as a person, and I know I said this is about her personality specifically, but I especially don't like her as a personification of a country that's already been going through hell just to keep its independence (and it's even more gross and insulting in real life knowing that it's Russia that's out to take away Belarus' national autonomy).

Belarus' obsession with Russia does influence most of her bad traits. He's not, by any means, a good influence.

However, she fails to recognize his many fatal faults and misinterprets what he wants as malicious world domination and enslavement, which she's concerningly more than happy to indulge.

She sees Russia as this idealized, flanderized version of himself. She sees him as something to praise and revere, as this brooding, merciless god-on-earth who's righteous in every way. To put it into perspective, the way she sees Russia is very similar to how the fandom saw him during the 2010s and sometimes still sees him today.

She doesn't really know her brother or even see him as his own person. Sure, she can name every location he's ever been to, is obnoxiously protective of him, and knows his pinky toe turns red when he's embarrassed, but she doesn't know who he is as a person. His likes, dislikes, what he wants, and especially, what he doesn't want. She likes the idea of him and just makes assumptions from there without any input or consent.

Belarus won't acknowledge it, but to her, Russia is essentially a doll. Just a target. An object to keep, project, and force her affection onto.

And this isn't the same as Russia doing harmful things out of a lack of understanding of how the world works. This isn't the same as Russia being cognitively unaware of everyone's fear of him.

No. Bela knows exactly what she’s doing. She knows better than to be doing what she’s doing. But she indulges anyway simply because she lacks impulse control. And from the looks of it, it's deliberate.

And the worst part about all this? She’s never been held accountable for her actions. Not once does someone reprimand her or call her out for her shitty behavior and, if anything, it’s enabled.

Russia can't bring himself to tell her off or get rid of her (out of both familial love and fear), which only makes matters worse since Bela's fanatical dumbass will only assume that his lack of action means that he approves of her behavior.

But it's not like what Russia does matters anyway because if he even tries to put her down (gently or otherwise) and behaves outside of her idealized version of him, she'll just throw a shit fit and make him more miserable. He's forever stuck in this vicious cycle until he's drained from her antics and finally gives in to what she wants.

And the reason(s) why other people let her get away with the shit she pulls is because:

They're also scared of her.

She’s a female nation, and no one tells female nations what to do.

"She’s just so cute!” (PrettyPrivilege™️).

The closest thing she’s ever gotten to a ‘reality check’ was in that 2011 Halloween comic. When Denmark casually brushes off her usual attempts at intimidation.

And laughs to her face for even trying in the first place.

(Denmark, you’re wonderful, don’t ever change)

Belarus is implied to be lonely and has had a rough upbringing like her siblings, leaving her with a pessimistic view of life and relationships. She's tried to break away from Russia once (I imagine her bosses at the time forced her to) and lived with America, who also got tired of her antics and tried to get rid of her as well. This would explain a lot of her obsessive, co-dependent behavior and, by all accounts, is enough to garner some form of sympathy.

However, the reason why Bela is lonely is that she's actively choosing to cling to one person. She pushes all of her projections and issues onto Russia, further isolating him while not giving a single flying fuck over how her actions affect him and those around her.

And even when there are other people who love and care about her unconditionally (for some reason), she’s dismissive and a complete bitch to them. She takes those relationships for granted and only ever indulges them if it serves some sort of benefit to her (usually as a means of getting closer to Russia).

As if the fact that she's indulging in incestuous fantasies isn't bad enough, she's making active attempts to make them a reality and giving no regard over how her target feels. She takes time out of her day to intentionally hurt others who dare to disagree. The fact that there are other people who care about her and want her to be happy means nothing to her. It's painfully frustrating to watch.

Even traits that should be positive (strength and passion) are manifested in negative ways. She's been noted to be talented and has so much potential. But instead, she chooses to waste said potential in favor of being...this.

So long story short, Belarus is the kind of person who will never be happy. Regardless if she magically gets what she wants in the end.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I absolutely love it when the fandom goes the extra mile to expand on her character. She's shrouded in mystery and could have at least one positive trait for all we know (unfortunately, that reveal's not gonna happen anytime soon).

I typically don't care for headcanons and this is one of the few exceptions. It's a breath of fresh air to see different interpretations of her character.

Man, Belarus. You bring out the worst in people.

And you're not putting in any effort to change that. To be a better version of yourself. Have you any self-respect?

So you must be happy with where you are. And if that's the case, then why should I, or anyone, feel bad?

I guess I see why I should be sorry for you, but I also see no point in wasting sympathy on someone who's content with being a shitty person.

Don't go out of your way to be a petty asshole and this wouldn't happen🤗

So yeah, Hetalia’s Belarus is not just a terrible person, but a poor, insulting personification of the country.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

[venuswillendorf]

The worst thing is, he didn't fell in love: he became the slave of a baby. By a writing stand point, they are both helpless victims of a hell awful situation. Her, by having a grown man adapting to become whatever she needs the most from the moment she's born, so perfectly designed for her no options are even worth exploring, and perpetually ruining her development. Also, why on earth have the baby to grow up and develop so fucking fast? Why make it so obvious it is meant for the second love interest to have someone, someone who is necessarily a part of the protagonist herself, as fast as possible?

Renesmee was a clearly loved baby in a family of people who fucking longed for a baby for centuries. She never had a crib, because there was always someone willing to hold her at all times. Her development becoming slower wouldn't just make sense biologically, due to the vampire genes retarding her development, but would be a great heal and bond point for her family. Would give her time to explore the unique condition she was born in, having both vampire and human sensibilities, and the vampire time, to explore the nature and culture she was surrounded in. She won't ever develop full emotional intelligence, because she won't ever need to, really. There's someone hanging on her very existence, pleased to be on her call, who won't ever have boundaries if it means being around her.

And Jacob was done so fucking dirty. His main characteristic was being altruist and kind. He took care of his dad, of his friends, of his things, with devotion. He shouldered being orphaned and assuming the main care taker role of an disabled parent very soon in life, and he did it with love, while showing how much it affected him. He had to take care of Bella, at that point, barely more than an aquantaince, childhood summer friends with sisters that don't even live with him anymore, and did it lovingly, even when she attempted suicide and then run away, suddenly cold towards him, with someone he knew was dangerous, without as much as explanation. Never, in his characterization, it made sense for him to be an harassing asshole. It didn't make sense for him to play off Bella being fucking pissed at him for being a asshole, too. Tying him to her beyond a boy crush on a best friend was unfair writing, when it meant changing him at his core to favour Edward, the one who didn't communicate and took decisions alone, even if it was for something he believed to be better all around. The one who fucking stalked a girl's bedroom for weeks, knowing full well how much of a active danger he was for her. Jacob was only an asshole when it meant redeeming Edward's sins and making him look like the right choice. Making Jacob suffer a bit for unrequited love was great, he's a teenage boy whose heart was broken for the first time, but essentially taking from him all choice, all passions, all he ever loved, to tie him to a baby, who will never develop emotional intelligence enough to know how to be fair and respect him, because she won't ever need to do it as his boundaries burned down the moment she was born, is eternal hell.

Fuck, even the tribe becoming shape shifters was caused by vampires, and it is a painful, not ever feeling in full control of yourself again thing. By eclipse, we get to know there's 13 year old boys dragged into this because of the Cullen's return. Literal children, still going through puberty. Jacob and his people hated vampires and everything they meant and were. Tying him to eternal servitude to something he believed at his core was an aberration was beyond cruel in all aspects, and he never had any consent on it. Jacob never wanted eternal life, and that's what he will have to settle, as Renesmee won't grow up past a certain stage.

Jacob was way too young to even express solid plans for his own adulthood, but showed his disgust towards everything vampire. Jake was mouthy and witty, and liked so much making his own choices he decided to go on his own. There's even a moment where he just wishes he could fall in love with a the nice gas station girl, who shared his interests and just be normal.

Jake was robbed, and so was Renesmee, all in order to achieve Bella getting both guys through an proxy.