#(who knows he isn't the original Shadow but still considers himself a Shadow)

[sonysakura]

Angsty Sonadow Drabble #12

*le gasp* But wait! This isn't angsty?? A friend mentioned how a bunch of these are not strictly angsty because the hurt is in the past, and it made me think...

So this is an alternate continuation to Angsty Sonadow Drabble #5 but now the good ending!

▪▫▪

fluff, hurt/comfort + Soulmate AU

“Have you noticed,” Shadow calls out from the bathroom, “how much my stripes faded?”

Sonic pokes his head in, watching Shadow slide his hand through orange-tinged spines, and skips over to him, looking into the mirror as well.

“A while ago! What about it?”

“Should I dye them? Will a regular dye even work with synthetics...?” the hedgehog frowns, and Sonic leans on him, humming.

“It isn’t unnatural for hedgehogs to go copper with age,” he says, pauses and snickers. “Old-timer.”

In reply Shadow simply steps back before catching and dipping Sonic, who has lost balance, with a flirtatious smirk.

“You sure?”

And Sonic can’t help but laugh, raising his hands to mess up Shadow’s meticulously styled spines. In the back of his mind, he wonders if his dead soulmate would have sprouted copper spines in his old age, and the phantom pain where his numbers were feels almost comforting.

▪▫▪

Read the whole collection on Ao3.

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

The original meaning of the term "Final Girl," from 1987's "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film" by Carol J. Clover, was "a woman who is a sole survivor of a group who are chased by the villain, and who gets the final confrontation with said villain [whether she wins or not is not considered] because of some implied moral superiority." As an example, Jamie Lee Curtis's character of Laurie Strode in 1978's Halloween is the sole survivor of the teenagers that Michael Myers hunts, and gets the climactic scene with him, though she's not the one who defeats him. Her character is the only one of her friend group who does not (onscreen at least) partake in drugs, alcohol or sexual activity.

The term "final girl" has expanded over the years, often losing the moral superiority clause (see: Sidney Prescott in Scream, Maxine in X) or having other survivor(s) so long as the girl gets the final confrontation (the sisters in the recent Scream movies, Dana Polk in Cabin in the Woods). The most common deviation is losing the moral superiority clause, with the characters either being just as moral as their group or even being morally in the wrong but still surviving as a subversion or deconstruction of the trope. A common addition is a prior connection to the villain, though this is not necessary.

With all that being said,

As always, Girl is a gender-neutral term when it comes to having fun. I decided not to count Knuckles because we don't know his full backstory in-game and the word-of-god answer is that his species died of disease, and also because he'd be the funny answer everyone would pick immediately so that doesn't count guys.

Important Notes to Consider:

Tikal:

Last Survivor: Somewhat. Other echidnas seem to have survived Chaos's attack, but Tikal was the last character alive shown onscreen, and the only other named characters in her time period did not survive.

Final Confrontation: Applies. She is the one to seal Chaos into the Master Emerald.

Moral Superiority: Applies. She's the only one in her tribe willing to stand up to her warmongering dad.

Shadow:

Last Survivor: Applies. While some people seem to have escaped the ARK massacre (like the Commander), all other named characters are either killed or captured and killed afterwards.

Final Confrontation: Debatable. There isn't actually a singular monster attacking the ARK, instead it's the entire military. Shadow however does get a confrontation with the Biolizard and later with Black Doom. Do they count for this though? You decide.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Shadow isn't inherently morally above or below the other people on the ARK who died.

Cosmo:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. She is the last survivor specifically of her species. Everyone else in the Sonic Crew survives to the final confrontation, but her species is toast.

Final Confrontation: Applies. Cosmo is the last to interact with Dark Oak in the initial genocide, and the one to eventually defeat him (along with Tails, but really it was Cosmo's sacrifice that actually killed him).

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. The rest of her species are portrayed as innocent and undeserving of their fate, and her survival was purely due to her fear making her accept a deal with Dark Oak and the implication that he's her father.

Silver:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. He and Blaze are the only seen survivors of Iblis's assault. Blaze absorbs Iblis and dips, but Silver does have a fight with Solaris in the final ending.

Final Confrontation: Somewhat. Blaze and Silver both boss fight Iblis, and Blaze gets the final confrontation and defeat. However, Silver partakes in the defeat of Solaris, who technically is Iblis.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Silver isn't given moral superiority towards anyone who dies.

Sonic Forces Avatar:

Last Survivor: Somewhat. Avatar is the last survivor of their village due to them fleeing from Infinite. They join up with a group following this and assist Sonic in defeating Infinite.

Final Confrontation: Somewhat. Sonic is also there.

Moral Superiority: Debatable. Like Cosmo, the other civilians are portrayed as innocent and Avatar only escapes due to their perceived cowardice. They are shown to be Extra Special Besties with Sonic which helps them defeat Infinite through the power of Love, so that may count?

Whisper:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. Whisper is the last Diamond Cutter after Mimic kills her entire squad and betrays them. She goes solo until eventually confronting Mimic and then helping found a reformed Diamond Cutters.

Final Confrontation: Debatable. Mimic is still an active threat in the comics, but Whisper did get a climactic confrontation with him in Tangle & Whisper.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Whisper only survived because Claire requested she stay behind due to her intuition.

Sonic in '06 specifically:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. Sonic is the only character who remembers that the '06 timeline occurred, making him the technical only survivor of its events. Ignore the fact he died at one point, he got better.

Final Confrontation: Mostly Applies. Sonic leads the attack against Solaris in the Final Boss fight, but Elise is the one to blow out the candle and reset the timeline.

Moral Superiority: Debatable. All the other characters are "heroes" but Sonic is the Biggest Best Hero Of Them All That The Chaos Emeralds Love Soooo Much, and he also is the one to selflessly insist on the timeline reset so that the whole Solaris Destruction Thing never happens.

[maple-the-awesome]

The Chain Meets You, His Partner || 2/3

Part 1 || Part 3

Pairing: Hyrule, Sky, Wind x GN! Reader

Requested by @temporarilyablog: i see requests are open still so im coming to you with a thought i had recently:how about a Link from the Chain interacting with the reader, another Link's s/o from their original adventures, when *their* Link isn't around. i can see some teasing another Link with the reader that they've only known through little stories here and here, or others grilling the reader relentlessly because another Link was so shy about their relationship and partner, and wants to know how that Link is like around someone he allows himself to relax.its kinda like when the Chain met Malon for the first time and interacted with her for stories about old man Timeand as always stay awesome, i love your writing!

Zelda Masterlist 💙Fandom Masterlist

Concerningly delighted or eerily eager - the Chain can’t quite agree on which descriptor best described their teammate the best once he realized they had all landed in his Hyrule. Bubbling with excitement ever since while maintaining a pace some of the other boys have to jog after, Link doesn’t waste breath saying where he’s leading them, although that giddy smile upon his face - as much as he tries to hide it - is plenty for the wiser heroes to get the hint…

Hyrule's time is 'rough around the edges', to put it easily, not that it can't be expected considering all the stories he's rather casually told the others about regarding both his world and adventures. Even the Kingdom's Castle - usually a centerpiece to the land - is beaten down and, in most aspects, less...impressive compared to what most of the heroes are accustomed to seeing, although for a simple traveler like Hyrule, it still holds quite a bit of significance.

"I just want to speak to the Sovereign before we move on - to let them know why I've been away," He rambles his explanation to the Chain, his outward emotions suddenly undergoing yet another change. His once untroubled smile becomes wary, his hands unstill as he fidgets with his sleeves. That prior excitement he had held when first suggesting they even go to the Castle has now turned into what the other heroes misjudge to be poorly hidden nerves, "I don't want them to be left assuming I'm dead in a ditch somewhere."

"Makes sense," Warrior nods, keeping a careful eye on Hyrule's behavior. Being a captain in charge of so many, he can spot a shift in confidence from a mile away, "You have been gone for a while."

"We're not going to be - I don't know - arrested on the spot or anything, right?" Legend asks, his focus more on the guards who maintain obvious glaring suspicions towards the group despite allowing them inside once confirming their famed hero's identity. 

"Why would we be arrested?"

"You mentioned how much of a hardass your Sovereign can be," The Vet clarifies with a casual shrug, "And a paranoid one, too, if these guards leave anything to the imagination. Leaders like that don't usually need much reason to throw someone in a dungeon. Nine random heroes showing up while claiming to be from different timelines, all chasing some shadow lizard through magic portals? We'll sound insane."

Hyrule frowns and maybe even takes some offense to Legend's observations which is why his rebuttal is so swift, "They -...They aren't like that! The previous King died suddenly. They were forced to take on the throne without much notice and at a young age, too! After everything Ganon put this kingdom through - Of course they're going to be paranoid, but they're reasonable and fair. There's nothing to worry about. Besides, we don't have to mention the exact reasoning for our meeting. I just...I would just like to see them while I can…"

The red on Hyrule's cheeks would've no doubt been noticed if not for the Chain's collective attention being stolen elsewhere, focused upon a pair of large doors that open into the Castle's throne room. Inside, a series of guards line the walls and at the opposite end sits the very subject of their conversation.

Your expression is stern and cold as you sit upon your claim dressed in expensive, colorful garments fitting for a proper monarch of your time. The golden crown upon your head shimmers in torch light, yet its glow is quickly outshined by your eyes which go wide with delight once you recognize your hero amongst this crowd of ragtag travelers. 

"Link…!" In an instant, you rise, your smile as grand as your divine beauty. Whether you gracefully walk or float down the stairs, there would be no visual difference. What is true is that you meet Hyrule at the bottom of those four measly steps, welcoming him with a strong embrace he's eager to return.

"...Your Majesty..." He doesn't realize just how quiet his voice is, whispered beside your ear as he forgets about the world while in your arms again. Oh, how he's missed this feeling!

The Chain is left in awe - No, it would be more accurate to say they're completely dumbfounded. Hyrule has always spoken favorably about the Royal Family of his time, tying especially pleasant compliments to the kingdom’s head. As stern as he admits you can appear, only good things have been attached to your name from your wise leadership to the love you hold towards your people, however not once - not a single murmur or breath - had ever dared mention your very apparent fondness for each other which certainly goes beyond the ordinary relationship of a monarch and their realm’s savior.

Even after your embrace, it's obvious that you hold nothing except the greatest of affections towards your hero. You look at him as if he's the sun that gives your kingdom life; the courage that keeps you going despite such challenging times. Hyrule's, of course, no better when it comes to you. It's not until now that his friend's realize they're previous mistake in assuming he was afraid to see you. No, that wasn't fear before, it was shyness. The thought of you had him feeling both delighted and sheepish. Now that he's here, though, his grin is uncontrollable. 

"Your Majesty, I'd like to meet the friends I've been traveling with -"

"- A Sovereign?! You're dating the freaking Sovereign and you didn't think to mention that small detail earlier?!" Legend suddenly shouts, demolishing the silence that had befallen the Chain.

He can’t help it! He feels utterly scammed! Hyrule had told everyone a great deal about his kingdom’s Sovereign, yet had only confessed to his predecessor during a late night heart-to-heart that he holds deep feelings towards a mysterious someone back home; someone he fears telling of his secret endearment. Not once - Not a single damn time - had he so much as let on that they’re the same person!

Legend isn’t sure what strikes his nerves more: the fact that Hyrule would be dumb enough not to add the important context that it’s royalty he’s in love with or that he’s dense enough to somehow believe you don’t love him back despite it being clear you’re totally whipped for him! Is he blind? Completely and utterly dull in the brain?!

Poor Hyrule's whole face explodes in red after Legend's outburst, and his condition is made no better when the others add in their own comments to this already awkward situation.

"Now it makes sense why you wanted to come here so badly," Wild nods in understanding, having previously been confused as to why Hyrule would care to go out of his way to let the royal family know of his whereabouts if he had no ties to them.

"To think our humble traveler could land a monarch. I mean, good for you and all," Warrior crosses his arms with a smirk, hoping to mask his slight jealousy.

The Traveler is left stammering for a response, finding himself suddenly overwhelmed.

"‘Dating’? Well, this is certainly news to me," You frown with a hand placed delicately above your heart. Turning to your hero, you can only look betrayed, "Link, I would've hoped you'd tell me. I could've cleared more of my schedule to be with you in that case."

"E-EH?!"

"And all those suitors the advisors have been arranging - I’ll have to tell them to abandon their efforts! Excellent, seeing as I didn’t truly care for their match-making attempts,” You huff, not giving Hyrule anytime to explain himself as you get right to business, waving your maid over to make a note, “But that should free up a considerable amount of my time…Will you and your friends be staying long? I can have the kitchen staff whip up a nice feast for later if you do.”

“Um -”

“- Can we?! My feet are aching!” Wind whines, practically deflating on the spot. The only thing holding him up is Warrior who scowls at his poor manners and forces him to stand upright.

Time is quick to step in front of the group and bow, hoping you dismiss their lack of grace, “If you don’t mind, Your Majesty. We wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

“Not at all. It isn't often that we receive guests. I’ll have word sent to the kitchen right away. In the meantime, Lady Impa here can show you to a room where you may rest,” You finish writing on the paper she holds, allowing her to take both the paper and quill before once again giving your full attention to the travelers, “I have a meeting with the Zora Queen in precisely ten minutes, but following that the rest of my afternoon should be clear.”

You then face Hyrule, smirking at his flustered state, “Once that meeting is over, my time is yours, Link, if you wish to fill me in on your recent endeavors. I must say, I’m particularly interested in learning just how long we’ve supposedly been dating for.”

“...R - Right…Of course…” The poor boy squeaks, unable to process many thoughts beyond the feeling of his face overheating when you press a quick kiss to his cheek before leaving the room with your guards. Even the weight of Legend’s arm over his shoulder is barely enough to break him from his trance when the past hero leans in with a smug whisper:

“You’re welcome, buddy.”

From the moment he first stepped through that last portal, Sky has been radiating with pure glee. Anyone could understand why. He’s finally returned to Skyloft, a place he’s been missing so dearly ever since the start of this adventure months ago. Of course, home isn’t the only thing he’s been dying to be apart from.

Most of the other Links have long taken notice to Sky’s heartache which has been poorly hidden behind dreary melodies played on his harp and heaps of carved projects to distract from lonesome silence; somebody’s been on his mind, their absences from his life slowly driving him insane despite his efforts to remain focused.

That said, it’s no wonder that Sky is excited to be home again, moving at a hasty pace some assumed he’d be incapable of. Even the jolly greetings and curious questions from locals don’t slow him down much, his steps swift in bringing him to the doorstep of a brightly colored home no different from the many others that surround it, but it’s still special for what it holds inside.

There’s a short internal debate to be seen on Sky’s face - one where he hesitates to open the door because wouldn’t that be rude to simply invite himself into someone else’s house unannounced? Then again, it’s not like proper manners have ever stopped him before, and they won’t start today. He decides to impatiently let himself in. Forgiveness can be sought after later.

Every ache of his travel-worn body and each gloomy thought surrounding his collective adventures melt away like magic by the mere sight of you. You must’ve just been about to leave - that or you recently arrived home, because you’re still in your knight’s uniform, caught mid-adjusting your belt when you look up at the man standing in your doorway.

Surprised for sure, yet it’s also a welcomed feeling when you rush to meet your lover half-way. There’s no words for the amount of joy you feel in holding him tight, possibly even shedding a few tears as he decorates your face in dozens of butterfly kisses, one for each second he’s thought of you while apart.

It takes some time and a loud clearing of someone’s throat for the Hero of Sky to remember his companions who all wait awkwardly around the doorway. Even when snapped out of his trance, he’s still grinning ear-to-ear like a lovestruck fool, his arm unmoving from where it remains wrapped around your waist as he introduces you.

Needless to say, it’s nice to finally be able to put a face to the name sighed so often. You’re sociable and polite, yet if that sword upon your back is any indication, you must be a strong fighter to have secured yourself a position amongst the knights of Skyloft.

To the Chain’s luck, it turns out you had just arrived home which grants them plenty of time to bend your ear. They have lots of questions, their curiosity only being natural since your place on the timeline is so different from their own. They ask about your life in the clouds, job as a knight, and most importantly, your relationship with Sky who’s thrilled to expand upon such a wonderful topic himself by sharing his own honored memories.

“‘seems our Skylofian here is truly whipped,” Twilight chuckles at the end of Sky’s latest story, although truthfully he’s starting to have trouble hiding his boredom. 

At this point, Sky’s been rambling about his affections towards you for well over an hour, sparing no detail from your first meeting as children to practically each and every date you’ve shared since becoming more than friends. As happy as the boys are for him - truly, they are - they do have their limits for how much lovey-dovey they can take in one day. Legend in particular looks like he’s seconds away from banging his head against the table.

“I am~” Sky exhales lovingly while staring at you with hearts in his eyes. You find his attention endearing and give his hand a squeeze as it sits intertwined with yours on your lap.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Time queries, half-teasing and half-genuine.

“Oh, I don’t know…” You scratch the back of your head bashfully, but when your attention falls back to Sky, you find him still staring at you, this time with a pout no different from a baby remlit’s. Rolling your eyes, you lean into him with a dramatized sigh, “He’d have to ask me first, but I’m hoping being around you eight will give him the courage to do so soon. We’re only getting older, after all.”

“Why drag your feet? You’re clearly in love.”

“You’ve got a willin’ partner right here. No need to hesitate.”

“You know, we’ve passed a few merchants who sell rings during our journey.”

“Yeah, cheaply made ones. If you want something fancy, Castle Town is the place to go.”

“Not too fancy. A simple yet well-thought out gesture can go a long way.”

“A strong protection spell wouldn’t hurt, though.”

“I know a Gerudo who handcrafts the most beautiful jewelry. If we end up in my Hyrule, I could introduce you.”

“Oh, or Tetra’s crew has a TON of jewelry! Maybe you can find a nice ring in their stash?”

Sky laughs awkwardly as the other heroes suddenly bombard him with their ‘helpful’ suggestions, chattering away as they begin putting together the pieces for a proper proposal. When he glances your way, you’re not-so-subtly hiding your amused smile behind your hand, clearly looking forward to whatever plan they end up holding him to later. Hopefully, you won’t have to wait long to find out.

Wind’s destination isn���t too far from the last portal opened which is good because the others have a hard time keeping up with the younger boy who effortlessly dashes across the deep sand-covered beach, heading directly to one of the few huts on this small island they’ve found themselves on.

He doesn’t wait for his companions to catch up. He might not have even noticed they fell behind. His focus is primarily on reaching home, practically overboiling with excitement at the prospect of seeing his family again. It’s always a relief for his dear grandmother to see him safe, shedding many tears as she hugs her grandson with a grip unthought of for a little old woman. 

Wind’s grandmother has a list of questions she asks at the speed of light which must not be unusual seeing as he answers each just as skillfully, telling her where he’s been, who he’s been with, and confirming that yes, he’s well fed. Of course, it’s only natural that the same questions are also asked of each and every hero who steps through her front door, after all, curiosity is second only to her naturally nurturing spirit. Who cares how old some of them are? No matter the age, they’re no different than her grandson in her eyes!

A sudden shrill of jubilation scares the group half to death mere milliseconds before a small girl comes racing through the front door, leaping into her older brother’s arms with similar cries about how much she’s missed him. She’s followed by another adult who’s much calmer in their approach, yet nevertheless gleefully smiling as they eagerly accept their turn in hugging the teen while welcoming him home.

You attend to Wind tenderly, quickly pulling away from the hug to check over his face and account for any new scars. Your hand then lingers on his cheek as you sigh at his smiled reassurances, looking down upon him with an amount of love and care not too far off from how his own grandmother had.

It’s only after ensuring his well-being that you address his traveling companions. You’re barely fazed by the large group when you introduce yourself, having become accustomed to Wind’s strange ability to make friends with almost anyone during his adventures. They seem to be a bunch of respectable young men, anyway, judging on their politeness, and as you tell them, friends of Wind’s are always welcomed.

After introductions - which are short seeing as most in this room share the same name - Wind’s grandmother suggests a tour be given to your visitors. Being such a small community on a more lonesome edge of the map, newcomers are rare, so Wind and Aryall immediately leap at the chance to show their new friends around the island that they love. Who would you be to deny their adorable puppy-dog eyes?

Realistically, there isn’t that much to see aside from a few landmarks, interesting locals, and a population of chubby pigs, however if there’s any benefit to being surrounded by an ocean, it’s that there’s lots of good places to swim and seeing as most of the Links are long overdue for some quality time spent as normal teenagers, they’re happy for the break. 

Most of the boys partake in jumping from the rocks to see who can create the biggest splash, although Legend and Sky favor staying on land to help Aryall build a sandcastle for her seagull friends. You, meanwhile, relax in the sun, keeping a careful eye on all activities which has simply become second nature to you at this point. While Wind may be a fourteen-year-old who has sailed across the entire ocean, you don’t think you’ll ever stop worrying for his safety.

“Those kids seem rather fond of you.”

You glance up to the oldest Link of the group - you believe you heard the other’s refer to him as ‘Time’ - as he invites himself to sit next to you in the sand. Despite several pleas for the other boys, he had turned down their attempts at getting him in the water. Maybe for the best, since they’re now starting to toss each other off the rocks.

“I would hope so. I’ve known them both since before they could walk.”

“I take it you’re their guardian?”

Humming at his observation, you turn back to watch the younger kids and teens, “...People on our island have always kept an eye out for each other, but…Well, when Link and Aryall’s parents passed, I guess you could say I felt extra inclined to help. 

“I don’t have any family of my own here and there’s only so much their poor grandma can do at her age. Unfortunately, keeping up with two lively kids can be a struggle for her, so I’ve done what I can to remove some of that stress from her shoulders. With no kids of my own, I have the time and quite frankly, I enjoy the opportunity to feel…-”

“- To feel like a parent?”

“...Yeah…” You frown, pulling your knees to your chest with a sigh, “Of course, I don’t go around calling myself that. I wouldn’t want to overstep any boundaries, you know? Especially not for Link. Aryall - She was so young when they lost their parents, so I think it’s always been easier for her to see me as fitting the role, but Link…He was five. He still remembers them, so I doubt he’ll ever exactly see me as any kind of replacement.” 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Time objects kindly, following your gaze out to where Wind fights to wiggle himself out of Warrior’s grip. Seconds before he can be pushed off the rock, Wild and Twilight come up behind the two, shoving Warrior overboard just as Wind slips away, “I suppose I can’t speak directly for him, but I can say he refers to you as his parent quite frequently around us.”

“...Does he?” You blink in surprise. Wind’s never said anything in particular that would make you think he sees you in that light, but now that you think about it, when you first met Tetra, she referred to you as Wind’s parent, too. Did she say it out of mistaken observation like you assumed then or because Wind told her?

“From the sounds of it, you’ve made quite the impact on his life, one he admires greatly.”

You once again look back to the group, catching Wind’s eyes. He perks up, immediately waving as he shouts for you ‘Watch this!’ before running and leaping into the water with a giant cannonball and nearly on top of Warrior’s head much to the older boy’s annoyance. Once resurfacing, he searches for your attention and beams when he finds your proud smile reflecting back at him.

You’re thankful that he becomes distracted by the other boys jumping in, because as soon as he looks away, you can feel yourself becoming teary eyed. Perhaps you’ve been overthinking things this entire time. You were so focused on giving him space and not forcing a relationship that you failed to pick up on the little signs that he’s already accepted you. Wind has always been close to you, never shying away from hugs after his adventures while always seeking both your attention and approval; something he only does with his family.

[gwynrieldreams]

How Gwynriel and Elucien mirror Quinlar and Satharion

SJM creates characters that mirror each other in each world. They have similar appearance/vibe, similar powers, similar backstory/family origins or similar role.

Rhysand, Ruhn and Dorian. Lidia and Aelin. Amren and Fury. Jessiba and Merrill. Connor and Sam. Einar and Beron. Danika and Fenrys or Danika and Nehemia, depending on how you see it. Yrene and Hypaxia. Vassa and Ariadne.

Even the villains, Vesperus and Maeve, the Valg, the Death Gods and the Princes of Hel. Their gods: Deanna and Luna, Hel and Hellas, Urd and Wyrd. Their kings and queens: Theia and Mala-firebringer. Fionn and Brannon. Elena and Helena. Gavin and Pelias.

Acosf and CC were written pretty much next to each other. So, what if Gwyn is Bryce's mirror?

They're both redheads with freckles.

Mixed: high fae + sth else that is considered lesser.

They work in a library/artifact gallery under a strict librarian.

They wear an amulet that librarians wear, with protective powers.

They both have Autumn Court heritage.

They both grew up or spent some of their childhood years in a temple.

Jelly jubilee was used to foreshadow that Bryce was Starborn and the heir of Dusk Court, while the miniature pegasus was connected to Gwyn in the scene where she cuts the ribbon and Emerie mentions that the pegasus liked Gwyn the best.

Bryce has light powers and it's possible that Gwyn also has similar powers. I believe since Bryce isn't interested in ruling or moving in Prythian, then the land will choose someone else. I just think that all those similarities and the miniature pegasus foreshadowing are something that cannot be ignored, in addition to Gwydion and the possibility that she'll be the one to wield it.

And what if Azriel and Hunt are also mirrors?

Hunt is called umbra mortis, which means shadow of death, while Azriel's name comes from Azrael the angel of death and he has shadow powers.

Dark and broody with wings.

Hunt worked as an assassin for the Archangels and hated himself, while Azriel is the torturer of the NC and hates himself. Also, this:

Just like Azriel, who was tortured and wasn't allowed to fly or see the sunlight for years.

Considering, also, the mating language parallels between the two couples, I believe all this just seals the deal for gwynriel endgame and opens the possibility that Gwyn could also be the one to wield Gwydion and/or rule Dusk Court.

Let's not forget their bonus chapters ended the same way.

Same goes for Sathia and Elain:

light brown hair and pretty

associated with flowers

in love with sb who broke up with her but still they went after him (Elain with Graysen, Sathia with Colin)

mated/married with a redhead who has done nothing but respect them and still wants to be with them after everything

Elain is soft and kind, loves to hold court. Her mother saw her as a "doll to dress up" and that she'd only marry for "love and beauty." Sathia is similar.

Lucien and Tharion also share similarities:

redhead, charming and sarcastic

no place to call home. Lucien is from the Autumn Court but his biological father is Helion, HL of the Day Court, he was emissary for Spring and now he's working as an emissary for Night, while staying in the human lands and in Spring Court/Tharion is mer but loves all things Above, he was hunted by the River Queen, he was staying with Ruhn, Flynn and Declan, until he was forced to make a deal with the Viper Queen

emissary work, Tharion is Captain of Intelligence but as we see he was sent as a representative to the Summit

Lucien wants to get to know Elain but her love for Graysen and her trauma makes it difficult, Lucien respects her decisions/Tharion married Sathia to get her out of a difficult situation but Sathia still went after Collin, Tharion respected her decision but still went after her in order to save her from the Viper Queen.

I think it's possible that Tharion and Sathia are also mates like Elucien, especially when we consider how protective she was of him against the Viper Queen -even though Colin was the one actually in danger.

[deadhands69]

A New End: Villain Origin

MDNI

this one is sfw but the series contains eventual smut

Tomura Shigaraki x gn/afab reader

Warnings/Content/etc: swearing, light mentions of violence, eventual spoilers, and eventual smut.

this is the intro - next [series masterlist]

|\/\/\| villain origin |/\/\/|

You were promised a future. 

Somehow your future vision quirk got you through the entry exams and into UA high. Congratulations, here's a new home, new classmates, and a great big glowing ball of hope. You'd do well in school, study under Nighteye, and go on to become a pro hero. 

Don't fuck it up. 

Your quirk isn't without its limitations though: you only see the future of decisions that emotionally impact you. Sometimes you don't consciously see visions at all, feeling a strong pull most would call “extreme intuition” but you always knew it was your quirk guiding you. 

When you arrive at school, being placed in a room full of people who've spent their lives being praised for their flashy abilities, you don't fit in. They make sure you know that. Most of them, that is. Some just don't say anything to stick up for you at all. Some heroes they’ll be. It would be impossible to care enough about any of your classmates to have useful premonitions so you might as well have been quirkless. 

In a class of what were supposed to be your peers, you felt alone. Isolated. That's why, when your quirk kicked in during a mock battle showing you the way to win, you didn't just take the victory. You annihilated the other team, putting four of them in the hospital. Every asshole treating you like an outcast being victimized and praised while you were the bad guy. 

That's how you got kicked out of UA. Left sitting on the sidelines while they all became pro heroes. 

From that day on, it felt like you were drifting through life. Searching for something but never quite finding out what it is. 

Walking into this dingy bar, you should feel something like fear. But you don't. The intuitive side of your quirk brought you to this place, nearly forcing your footsteps as you shadow Giran. 

“Who do we have this time,” a raspy voice calls out.

“You’ll like this one, more polite than the others. And, they have a future vision quirk,” answers Giran. You can feel the annoyance in his voice as if he’s had this conversation a few too many times and is sick of explaining himself.

“Got it. What’s your name?” the blue haired man at the bar asks.

“[L/N][Y/N],” you reply. Getting a better look at him, he looked more intimidating on TV. Here, he’s just a regular guy with a really weird hand mask. 

“Okay then, do your thing, [L/N].” 

“I-,” you stutter. It feels like UA all over again. But would your quirk lead you back to that situation again? You don’t think so. “It doesn’t work that way.”

For the first time, his blood red eyes look in your direction. He doesn’t even bother to hide the cringe beneath the hand covering his face.

Well, it was worth trying. Time to go. 

As you turn to leave, the raspy voice rings out again.

“Wait, where are you going? We aren’t done talking. So much for manners…” he trails off muttering to himself.

“What else is there to talk about? I thought I could be useful to you but I’m not being treated like an outcast again.”

“HA!” you flinch, his laughter catching you off guard. “You think you’d be the outcast here?”

Admittedly, you hadn’t really thought about it. You knew they were putting together some sort of anti-hero villains league, but having never been a “villain” you still thought you’d feel left out somehow. You never considered, maybe that’s what makes people come here in the first place. 

“We’ll use your quirk. Probably have to keep you around like some sort of oracle so we don’t miss anything. You’ll stay here,” he nods to the smokey man looming behind the bar.

“Right this way,” the cloudy figure gestures to you, “I’ll show you to your quarters.”

Moving from your apartment took all of three trips with one of Kurogiri’s warp gates. Once your bed and dresser were set up, it was just a few boxes of clothes, books, and bits of decor left to move. In spite of looking wispy, you were surprised to find the smokey man is incredibly strong and could carry most of your belongings at once.

Adjusting to your new surroundings has been easier than expected too. While you hadn’t seen your new boss much more than in passing, a few others have come around and some seem nice. You’re excited at the prospect of being able to work with people.

Giran noted you were the first Shigaraki has accepted on the spot, which is encouraging. You’ve never been picked first for any team before. 

Maybe you do belong here.

next chapter - a new end masterlist - bnha masterlist

[everythingblackblack]

Hakuba should propose to Kaito then the white imagery would fit his civilian identity too via giving him his surname. Plus Kaito keeping people in the dark and operating in the shadows (black) and Hakuba recognising the good in him and being determined to bring everything about Kid into the light (white), also the Kuroba or clover on the black hat accessory reference in Kaitou 1412's original costume as well as the black feathers (translation of Kaito's family name) being used by Corbeau while he traumatised Kaito with his father's appearance. It just has lots of satisfying symbolism of Kaito finally being able to part of with the weight of his family's tragedy and his father's legacy. Because Kuroba-kun and Kid are just means of getting to know Kaito, Hakuba has no investment in Kid or the Kurobas beyond Kaito himself. Kaito isn't a generic civilian identity that's just another fabrication to hide the criminal secrets or the punniest name for a Japanese phantom thief (because he was literally born and raised for this purpose even with his parents' absences they, including Jii, only enter Kaito's life to help him be Kid for his mother and father's mistakes or lie/escape into another life via Vegas or Poker Face) it's the name of the person Saguru loves and he's his and no matter what name he goes by or what he lies about and hides Saguru will love him, figure it out and find the truth. He'll always ask Kaito for his honest answers and give him Real options to be Himself in it's realest form.

A funny thing happened to me while I was reading your question, I happened to have my playlist on shuffle and "Good Luck, Babe!" started playing, so if you see me rambling a lot, attribute it to that funny coincidence.

You made me think of an arranged/convenient marriage. Not exactly though.

Kaito, who feels hurt and lost after finding out his father was alive and mom knew about it, doesn't want to talk to Jii at all because he can't stand the thought of him taking his father's side (he's not sure if he will or not, so he just chooses not to deal with it), can't ask Aoko or her father for help, doesn't feel worthy of their help.

So he desperately and insecurely chooses Hakuba. He wants something that feels close.

Hakuba is probably having a cup of tea while enjoying a book, hears knocking on the window in his room, and is surprised to meet Kaito.

"You still want to know my reason?" Kaito doesn't mention KID, he doesn't need to, Hakuba has a bad feeling, something very serious must have happened for someone like KID to even consider revealing his reasons for stealing, he rushes to let him in, offers him tea, but Kaito rejects it.

They both sit in silence.

"I don't know how to start, it's a mess, actually, my life is a mess."

After a couple of minutes, Kaito begins to tell Saguru about his love for magic and his father, the history of KID, and everything else.

The word that Saguru thinks fits well in this situation is “Sad,” and of course, he is so upset.

“Marry me.” The words are out of his mouth before he can process them, it’s not an unfounded request, but it was a proposal made by his emotions.

“What?”

“I’m sorry if I was so abrupt, still, I mean what I said, I definitely need to think it over better, but I can’t just leave you like this.”

"But how would getting married help?"

"First, because you could adopt a Western name if you wanted, and because it seems very cruel to me that they named you like that… as if your destiny was sealed from the day you were born and you couldn't change it."

"But we're not in love."

"I am."

"Oh."

"You can think about it, meditate on it if you want, I would never force you to do something you don't want, even if you don't accept me that way, I will watch over you, and I won't let you get hurt again. Take my name, my contacts, and whatever you need to get back on your feet."

Kaito thinks Hakuba is being kind, he doesn't want him to be a second choice or receive a half-hearted love. He has nothing to gain by accepting, instead, Kaito would be the only one to benefit.

[ghouldtime]

Fun fact, I’m terrified of mimics, like terrified. I watched a show called haunted on Netflix and the first episode of season two was about a mimic and I’ve been scared of them ever since. Ok now that that’s out of the way, please I need more of mimic!Gaz if that’s ok? I feel like he’d be the only one that doesn’t make me wanna run far far away

I can't blame you. Mimics can be anywhere, anything, at anytime. They can take the place of someone you know in the blink of an eye, they can take the spot of your favorite pillow you swore you lost two days ago - that's what makes them so scary. THAT is what's scary, you never know what you're truly going up against

Also please note that my idea of a mimic may vary from others! Usually, I see them as something that can mimic their surroundings. Whether that be voices, people, or things to blend in

Some more about mimic! Gaz

Just because he's a monster doesn't mean he's a monster

Though he may be a mimic and may, by definition, be a monster - he's still retaining his humanity. He still has a set of morals, he still has his own aspirations, hopes, and dreams

He is, however, still very much a monster. A monster who can and does eat people. But that's not indiscriminately

Truth be told, though his kind is known for the whole 'eating people' deal, he's not a huge fan of it. He'd rather not do it because then he'll be questioning himself and where he stands

Doesn't mean he can't or won't. Being a mimic means he's effective at it, it's a great way to get rid of evidence and to take out anyone against him. He'd just rather reserve it to those occasions

He's still very much the Gaz we love! Even if his default form doesn't look close, the appearance we know him as is what he prefers. It's how he sees himself in his mind's eye after observing humanity for so many years, so it's how he presents

He feels the traits he chose represent him best after seeing them displayed on many people throughout the years and it really is how he feels. He combined them into an appearance he liked. He usually maintains and keeps himself in that form, he'll only shift back to the default state if truly injured or extremely sick. Otherwise, he's mainly looking like his normal, handsome self

(Technically, he's an 'original' being in his human form since everything about him was taken and melded into who he is from those who already existed before him who he interacted with)

The main thing you'll notice on him that may set off some alarm bells would be his canines. Those things are SHARP. But other than that and a few weird slightly not-normal habits (like seemingly not needing nearly as much rest as a healthy human should and being able to easily eat bones), he seems to be a stand up guy

He mainly takes the form of a human because humanity has interested him ever since he came into this world. Though he doesn't understand the full range of emotions, comprehending them and the world as a whole from their point of view was so incredibly fascinating

Not to mention, the human world itself is incredible too! He wanted to be apart of that, and not just in the background or hiding in the shadows

He understands why his kind aren't exactly liked and are feared, but in this day and age, it's significantly less of an issue for him since humans have mostly moved on past their fear of monsters and are so easily distracted with technology

He can mainly use his form to his advantage now, allowing him to easily blend in and out of the background as he pleases. It allows him to get into many private places (such as lecture halls) and into areas he otherwise never would consider or be able to access

He's a curious guy, he likes to learn. He still has a lot to know, even after all these years, but he isn't there to just eat people or betray your trust. He's not simple minded

He's just another being with his own thoughts, emotions, feelings, and past! He tries not to let his nature define him, even if it can distinguish him from being a human alone

You'd probably never know he's a mimic but if you're one of the few who expressed you really didn't care, you just like him for him, he'll be happy to change around you

At least it can make for great photo ops and is incredibly convenient for nearly any scenario you can think of

Seriously, be his pal, he's still just a guy! Just in a different body with a little bit of a different mindset :D

[vitaeplaysda]

Finally a complete set with all my planned Rooks! It's just a first take, depending on the CC and the game and how I will feel in the next months they will change for sure. Also the clothing is all random. Purple because... it's Rook. Time to go back to Elgar'dad, commissions and other artworks. I will talk about them under the cut!

◆ Nadir "Lil'Rook" Lavellan

Elf ◆ Transmasc nonbinary ◆ he/they Antivan Crows ◆ Orb/Knife Mage (Spellblade)

My little baby, my firstborn, the first Rook I designed. Used to work as a lil kid in Skyhold's kitchen, until he met the demon Enfenim in that abandoned library hidden there, befriending him (it's another OCs of mines, check my pinned!)

Long story short he gets adopted by my Lavellan after his magic manifested, in the kitchens. Near boiling oil. The left side of his face and shoulder is covered in burn scars. Still he grows up to be a great but VERY unlucky mage, to the point he considers himself bad news and slowly starts to embrace this side of him in a selfdeprecating way. After yet another incident, he leaves her mother and their community, deciding he wants to make just one single good thing for her: finding Solas. Hiding his identity he ends up joining the crows, finding out he's quite good as an assassin. Relationship wise I brutally ship him with Elgar'nan, but more specifically he's in a weird... double triangle romboid (?) relationship with also Sulenan and Bellara??? (aka Sulenan also has a relationship with all of them but Bellara and Elgar'nan don't deal with each other.... unless the game will state otherwise >:D) He's hella young, in his early twenties, but usually fakes his age and tries to pass as someone older. He's also the shortest elf you'll ever meet.

◆ Saara(?) "Rook"

Qunari ◆ female ◆ she/her Veil Jumpers ◆ Bow Rogue (Arcane Archer)

She's meant to be the real Rook, you know, the one who Varric recruits. Qunari who was taken in by a (very open minded) Dalish clan. I'm still unsure if she was born in the Qun or not, in any case she embraced the elven culture as her own. She can be considered diplomatic and understanding, a good bean. The idea behind her is linked to the Qunari having metallic like skin... I wanted to make a golden one since they're usually grey in games. I'm not sure about the name Saara just because I remembered now Sera has a very similar sound. We shall see if I'm going to change it.

◆ Sulenan

Elf ◆ Male ◆ he/him Shadow dragons ◆ Two handed Warrior (Slayer)

I idealized him as a... mortal form Elgar'nan would use to mingle and learn the hell has happened while he was gone but he became a whole unique character. A Liberati of dalish origin, he's one of the angriest characters I have, hating humans for what they've done to his people and their rotten society, hating the chantry for its comforting lies, hating the elvhen gods because... well apparently they're evil now. In the end he's just very lost and heartbroken, desiring only for things to get better. Alas he's also practical and knows you gotta make your hands dirty if you wanna achieve anything. Headcanon wants Elgar'nan can control him through Vallaslin, I also fantasized about Sulenan sharing the same blood of his god. He feels comforted by Bellara's presence tho, his "Official" relationship it's going to be with her. For the headcanon chaotic one check LilRook above 👀

◆ Anarca

Qunari ◆ Agender nonbinary ◆ they/them in game but any pronoun works Mourn Watch ◆ Staff Mage (Deathcaller)

It's just... chaotic. Take the Dnd core rules and turn them into a person. They're unpredictable, at times taking a kind choice, while another time they will act in scary ways. It isn't like they don't like rules and push against them, for Anarca rules simply aren't part of their world. Beside their peculiar behavior, Anarca loves to experiment but mostly they want to have *fun*. You want to see the skeletons dance? You'll have that. Look wise people are always scared as they're extremely tall, most of their face half covered by hair with just their horns poking out.

◆ Veronica

Elf-blooded Human ◆ Female ◆ she/her Grey Wardens ◆ Shield Warrior (Champion)

Melancholic gal whom had to join the wardens in order to survive not so different from the Hero of Ferelden and also the token human (?) of this group. While she has a rooted sense of duty which made her a good warden, she still misses and fantasizes about the kind of life she would have gone through if she stayed among nobles, instead she had and still has to fight monsters and to come into terms with her Calling being closer than not. The idea was to have her romance Emmrich, letting her coming to term with the concept of death through him.

◆ Raibeart

Dwarf ◆ Male ◆ he/they Lords of Fortune ◆ Daggers Rogue (Sabouter)

The cheerful and funny guy of the group but also the most clueless one. Honestly he doesn't know why he joined the Veilguard... he probably doesn't even know he's part of the Veilguard. Still, he isn't one to ask complex questions to himself or others, somehow he's able to work with whatever is at hand, navigating through every situation, hopefully bringing a smile on people's face in the meanwhile. He's goofy but still charismatic and enthusiastic, a disney princess in the body of a burly pirate drawf.

[toxicnick]

Rhys (pronounced: rise) was originally made to be a Bad Sans, part of Nightmare's gang, but I winded up changing things around when I remade his newest design.

Rhys' au is erased, it was attacked and destroyed by a group of skeletons. He doesn't know who, he couldn't make out their faces in time of the chaos. He managed to be the only one in his au to make it out alive, but due to now being au-less, he wanders in the void.

He has never met any of the other Sanses, but if he were to meet one, it would most likely be Error or Ink first, due to being in the void.

- - Rhys, lowkey is hoping someone would find him, recreate his au, or give him a new one that's already existent. A place to call home. He misses his friends, he's alone now.

Back in Rhys' au, before it got destroyed, before it was erased... something was lurking in his au, it was draining everyone's energy. Rhys found out the hard way what it was.

It's the reason Rhys' skull is cracked.

A strange smell filled the au, and no one knew where it was coming from, so people of course went out to look. Rhys was one of those people, and unfortunately for him, he found what it was.

A parasite was roaming freely, hiding in the shadows. It brought around a nasty smell wherever it went and was feeding off the peoples energy.

When Rhys found the parasite, he was attacked by it, and the parasite cracked a hole into Rhys' skull. It crawled into his skull, in his head, and rested there. It's eating slowly away at the inside of his skull, and the crack is slowly getting bigger.

Rhys refuses to eat, or claims he isn't hungry, because it'll just power the parasite even more. But, by doing this, he is weakening himself. If the parasite isn't removed and killed, he will die. Rhys cannot do it himself, he needs help from someone, and it requires magic to do which he lacks.

When it comes to magical power, the only thing Rhys can do is summon bones and move things with telekinesis. He isn't considered over powered in any sense, in fact he's really weak. He would be easy to take down if it wasn't for the fact that he was smart, and can dodge insanely well. When it comes to battle, Rhys just has to pray the other will eventually get tired.

Over time, Rhys began getting red marks over his body, probably from the parasite as he never had the spots before. If the parasite gets stronger, eventually Rhys' body will turn fully red.

Once the parasite is in control, Rhys will be considered "corrupt." With a red skeletal frame, and a thirst to destroy anything in sight. He is hoping he will be saved before this happens, as in the end, it'll be too late to save his soul. He'd have to be killed.

Rhys would do ANYTHING to remove the parasite. He would hurt someone if it meant he could be free of it. Even if he had to pass the parasite on to another, he would. It's hurting him too much, and he can't bare the pain. Rhys tries to ignore it, but whenever the parasite isn't sleeping and it's moving or feeding, it's nothing but pain.

- he would feel bad for the other if he ever passed it on to someone else, but if he could, he would.

Some basic information ;

- Rhys goes by he/him, he is bisexual with a strong male preference.

(NSFW:) In any sort of "sexual" take, he is a switch and is more than likely to lean to the opposite of what his partner prefers. (As in if his partner is a top, he will bottom, and vice versa).

Rhys' favorite color is red, while his magic is orange and yellow. -- when his power is activated, it could have slight pink and purple highlights.

Rhys' ribcage has red marks on it, too, just like his face and hands. Where a humans heart would be is a red mark shaped as a heart, a little deformed but still a heart.

- - - - - - -

I'm fine if anyones oc wants to save him!, I'll wind up adding it to the lore though, meaning if it happens-- you're my friend. That's it. You cannot ignore me I will STAB YOU EIWOEKW RAHHHH, /j

Anyway,, mwa mwa!

[hutahuta]

I SAW PAVIA AND STARTED SPRINTING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

Maybe some headcannons about a protective Pavia? I mean, being a mercenary probably has gotten him some (read as a lot) of enemies, especially considering he’s good at his job! So it wouldn’t be a surprise if his partner got targeted as a way of getting to him. Obviously, Pavia’s not gonna let that happen, not by a long shot. Maybe hurt/comfort in a way? And gender neutral if it’s okay!

P.AGE OO.2 — 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌 & NOBILITY : 交 ✦ ⏱

thank you for requesting, i hope you like this <333 ( •̀∀•́ )ﾗ✧ !

Unfortunately for him, Pavia bore the scars of a life that was etched by loss and fleeting connections. No human ever got as close as you did with him, so it was important to protect such things. Yes?

His heart encased in solid steel and armour, found solace in the comfort of your arms. Yes, this man was laid back most of the time, but under that thick smile of purity and hearty laughs, he wanted to keep you forever as his own.

Embellished in jewels and tied and restrained for himself. Guarded by his sole bonds of his canine family, he couldn't possibly think of letting you be exposed to the outside danger out there.

Every beat of his heart echoed with the lingering memories of his past separations. His bond broken with his family and his scarred nature of a relationship broken down with his aunt. He doesn't know how to handle such things, he wasn't taught proper coping mechanisms.

You, vulnerable to attacks, not necessarily naive but still innocent as a feather; are more susceptible to violence catered by Pavia's enemies surrounding him on a day-to-day basis..

And—,, the thought maliciously stabs him every single time. To see you lying in your own warm, pool of blood. He hated the sight, and vowed to always keep you with him, safe and sound even if it meant his own skin will be torn apart. Pavia, originally, had nothing left to lose. He had nothing to go down with. His legacy was scarred with the torment of his past. His family had no connections with him whatsoever, and he planned to keep it that way.

This fear, an indelible mark left by the merciless hands of fate, propelled Pavia to assume the role of a vigilant guardian. He shielded his beloved with unwavering determination, an impassable fortress erected to defy the encroaching shadows of abandonment.

Skeletal hands trace the outline of your jawline towards the base of your neck, leaving lingering touches that'll never fade away for months to come. You'll always remember how he told you.

` Non allontanarti troppo dal mio cammino.. Amore. `

Which meant, ' Don't stray too far from my path, love. ' His hands firmly gripped your waist, leaving soft kisses that marked the vow of his undying love for you.

He shudders to think of your figure being manhandled by someone who would bruise such tender skin of yours, to discard your love and treat you like nothing but a used rug. You're nothing of the sort, to him.

Precious diamonds and jewels like you need to be treasured, kept under someone's eyes like Pavia's. Right?

It's conflicting, to say the least. You'd wonder why he's so protective when it's mixed with such a lazed stare. A laid-back figure who offers you juice and drinks at parties and festivals. But he isn't stupid enough to let you wander too far. Just think what could happen-

Someone kidnaps you, holds you for ransom? Knowing Pavia, he's smart enough to go along with such plans then storm into the area himself and take you back. Leaving only the echoes of men screaming, bodies thudding against the floor as they get a bullet launched into their skulls.

That won't happen though, right? He's not stupid enough to let you go like that..

Pavia struggles to keep himself from being too overprotective to the point you feel suffocated, to being too laid-back that it makes him seem uncaring and unloving. He wants to let you go do your own thing, after all.. that's why he loves you, right? That's why he fell in love with you.

But it pains him to think that now you've officially established something deep with him, he could be at fault for your uneasy, incoming death. You're at heavy risk if you step too close to the edge of his outside perimeter.. That's why-

You stay with him. Right beside him.

Excuse him when he pulls you closer by his waist when near enormous crowds and traffic during festivities.

Don't mind his behaviour as he trails a hand down your thigh to subtly mark to others that you have not one, not two, not even three, but a whole family of dogs watching over your guard.

You have eyes on you 24/7. Don't forget that. Now you're with him, it's important you try to manage your way through this skilfully with the intent to have the best possible outcome with your protective little man.

Safe to say, he won't let anything bad happen as I stated previously. Just as long as you follow the rules he gave. It's his way of trying to tell you that he has boundaries and he wants you to stick with him almost every time both of you are out.

His protective stance wasn’t fueled by dominance but rather by a desperation to defy the cruel whims of destiny, to safeguard the one person who illuminated the shadows of his tumultuous existence. In their presence, Pavia found a fragile haven, one he fiercely guarded against the specter of loss that loomed ominously over his turbulent life.

As you know, despite Pavia’s instinctive urge to shield you, he wrestled with the awareness that his protective demeanor might eventually suffocate the relationship. To counterbalance his guarded nature, Pavia embarked on a path of intentional vulnerability, striving to open up the vault of his emotions..

He tends to be honest with you then and there, but often finds himself leading the conversation into something else more uplifting. All in his worries that you might see him as him trying to justify his actions, which is possibly why he cannot exactly open up fully. That, and he just can't help but talk about other stuff mid-sentence. Learning more about you, your boundaries, your silly interests is just.. more of a reason to keep you safe.

He doesn't know communication skills all that well. But he takes it on after you, so guide him properly and heal those scars that may linger for a life time.

But if you stick around, he's sure to let go of the tension on his shoulders a few times and enjoy quality time with you without the doubt you'd potentially get harmed in the process of your relationship. <3

[drmobiusvanch]

HERE'S HOW MOHGMIQ CAN STILL WIN

This was originally part of a big thing I was writing trying to organize the various theorycrafting I'm doing about the DLC, specifically including Mohg, and while this certainly isn't all and wasn't related to the actual stuff I was trying to discuss-that is, the Formless Mother, who she is, what she is, and what she has to do with everything-this ended up happening and it was a way to spill out my thoughts on paper so.

MASSIVE SHADOWS OF THE ERDTREE SPOILERS, AS WELL AS DISCUSSION OF INCEST AND DUBIOUS CONSENT OF ALL STRIPES THAT MAY END UP STRAIGHT UP NONCON DEPENDING ON HOW YOU INTERPRET IT.

First off, let's clarify some things re: Mohg.

First, the explicit canon:

1-Mohg was brainwashed. This is inarguable.

2-Likely pre-brainwashing, Mohg revered the Formless Mother. He was already Lord of Blood with Ansbach as his servant when Miquella approached them.

3-Mohg 'kidnapped' Miquella from the Haligtree.

Here's where my theorizing begins.

First, Miquella's goals. Pre-DLC, I assumed Miquella was already in the cocoon at the Haligtree, but that obviously raises the question of why in the world Miquella would need to brainwash Mohg.

Second, MOHG'S goals. Mohg's clear goal is to create his own dynasty and serve the Formless Mother. And here's where I'm going to get controversial:

I believe that Mohg's sexual desire for Miquella was not compelled.

(And yes, it's sexual desire, 'shared his bloody bedchamber' ffs.)

Throughout the DLC, we see many people affected by Miquella's charm. It can affect large parts of their personality-see Leda-but it also works fundamentally differently. Though they cannot act contrary to Miquella's goals, they all do maintain their own personalities: even before regaining himself, Ansbach wants to investigate Miquella.

Furthermore, none of Miquella's followers behave anything like Mohg's obsession with Miquella. They show none of his possessiveness, and Kindly Miquella is nothing like Mohg's 'dearest Miquella'-a term of endearment, rather than beatification. Love and its different manifestations is a major theme reoccuring with both Miquella(see: the rest of the DLC) and Mohg. For Mohg, even beyond Varre's dialogue about him always tying back to 'love' and the roses he's associated with, there's also his love as a foil to his brother's. Morgott is defined, in many ways, by his deep and unrequited love for the Golden Order. I previously considered Mohg's love for Miquella as a foil to this, and I still do, but in different sense. Mohg's love for Miquella is a creepier version of Morgott's for the Erdtree-explicitly sexual and manipulative/possessive, but still devoting his entire self to someone who won't-and by the end of the DLC, can't-love him back.

(To put it in Greek terms, Mohg's feelings are 'mania', obsessive love, as opposed to, say, Malenia->Miquella(storge, familial love) or Rellana->Messmer(agape, unconditional love).)

So. Miquella wants to become a god, and brainwashes Mohg to enable him to do this, causing Mohg to fall in obsessive love with him. Mohg's love for Miquella and whether it takes the form of the chaste love of everyone else or the sexual love Mohg has is irrelevant to Miquella's plans. I don't know whether Miquella actually intended to kill Mohg in the beginning-the Miquella who entered the Land of Shadow was a fundamentally different person than the one we fight at the end of the DLC. And this is where we get to the last part: the fact that now Mohg's feelings for Miquella not only foil Morgott's for the Golden Order, but Miquella's for Radahn-which are also explicitly romantic(if not sexual) and also coded as dubiously consensual at best. (Though Mohg/Miquella is dubcon in multiple directions at once, win for them!)

Miquella clearly loves-or loved-Radahn. That's, IMO, very clearly the intent of this item description:

In their childhood, Miquella saw in Radahn a lord. His strength, and his kindness, that stood in stark contrast with their afflicted selves. And so Miquella made his heartfelt wish. That Radahn would one day be his king consort.

Miquella, as a child, was struck by Radahn's strength and kindness. (Note: this is not saying that Radahn is a good person. It is saying he is a kind one.) Radahn seemed to him like an ideal lord, a fairy-tale king who he can rule together with, and wished for that. Miquella's love for him is sort of an intense puppy love. Now, several people have said that consorts can be platonic, but a)it's more interesting this way and b)Miquella was a kid. No matter how adult his mind grew, his feelings for Radahn solidified in his childhood, when he wasn't really thinking of how Radahn's strength could work to solidify his rule. He was thinking about how Radahn is strong and kind and amazing and Miquella's going to marry him when he grows up.

Except Miquella can't love. Miquella sacrifices all of his love, along with everything else. This is one of the most important thematic moments of the DLC. It's not simply that Miquella's ability to compel love affected his own ability to understand love, which it may have-Miquella, to become a god, became something that cannot love. So what love Miquella may have once held for Radahn is completely irrelevant, much like whether Mohg loved Miquella before Miquella brainwashed him. Miquella still cared for Radahn and Malenia, but it wasn't anything like love, not even Mohg's obsessive, all-consuming love that ignores what Miquella wants. Miquella is unable to love even like that. His feelings for Radahn are someone's for a favorite thing, not a person.

In conclusion: good fucking food.

[butterflydm]

wot reread: a memory of light (chapter 37)

spoilers for the last book, a memory of light

I am going to do this enormous chapter a little differently than the previous chapters (basically so that I can refer to this post later and understand all the various threads and not get them mixed up with each other). Instead of going in chronological order by each event presented to me, I'm going to have different PoV sections and then have my thoughts under each of those.

Egwene & Gawyn (& Galad)

Gawyn is exhausted, despite the week that they all just took to prepare for this last push of the battle. That's not a good sign. Pretty sure that's the Bloodknife ring sapping his strength. Yeah, when he puts the ring on again "his strength returned". (From TGS: "One never committed Bloodknives unless one was very serious, for they did not return from their missions." "The incredible abilities came at a cost, however, for the rings leeched life from their hosts, killing them in a matter of days. Removing the ring would slow that process slightly but once activated - done by touching a drop of one's own blood to the stone ring while wearing it - the process was irreversible.") He's already dead. He's just still walking around. Oh, hon.

"[Egwene] hesitated for a moment, looking through the gateway to Mat's command post. Egwene met the eyes of the Seanchan woman across the table, where she sat imperiously on her throne. I have not finished with you, Egwene thought." A very mean thing for Sanderson to write here, considering.

From her sense in the bond, she believes that Gawyn has gone off "to join the Andoran army" and sends Bryne to fetch him. Then she assigns Siuan to go "join Mat and the Seanchan Empress and listen with ears accustomed to hearing what is not spoken". Siuan calls Egwene a legacy that will shape "what is to come".

"I'll help watch this Seanchan woman for you, maybe help poor Min crawl out of the fang-fish net she's found herself in." Good luck, Siuan!

Egwene realizes, too late, that she's sent Bryne off to the wrong place, as once she travels to her own new location, that Gawyn is actually "on the Heights themselves, where the Shadow held the strongest."

Honestly, using the Special Assassin Rings to try to commit a Special Assassination on the leader of the Shadowspawn forces sounds like... a good idea? Gawyn knows that the original Bloodknives were doing a very good job specifically murdering Aes Sedai, because that was the crime that he was investigating when he found them in the first place. I also wonder if a lot of people forgot or missed that this attempt to go kill Demandred is not when Gawyn first activated the ring and signed his own death warrant (I bet that I missed it during my first read too). That he first activated the ring back when he and Egwene were pinned down by the Sharans and death seemed right around the corner for both of them. Gawyn's death has been irreversible since chapter 23.

"Once, perhaps, he would have done this for the pride of the battle and the chance to pit himself against Demandred. That was not his heart now. His heart was the need. Someone had to fight this creature, someone had to kill him or they would lose this battle. They could all see it. Risking Egwene or Logain would be too great a gamble. Gawyn could be risked. No one would send him to do this -- no one would dare -- but it was necessary."

He isn't able to get the assassin's blow off on Demandred and it looks like a key element is because Demandred detected the 'weave' that the ter'angreal is using on him. He calls it Night's Shade and confirms that it "leaks your life away".

I wonder why Demandred's face seems "eerily familiar" to Gawyn? I can't think of why that might be. lol, why does Demandred call everyone "little"? "Little man." "Little queen". "Little swordsman". What is your obsessions with everyone's heights? (wait, is he the one that was SLIGHTLY shorter than LTT and pissed off about it? as opposed to Sammael, who was considerably shorter than LTT and pissed off about it?)

haha, Demandred is CONVINCED that Lews Therin is the one directing the battle on the other side, either using Mat's face as a Mask of Mirrors or by sending messages through Mat. He has a spy in Mat's camp, probably, but is convinced that Rand is there somewhere, hiding. I mean, I kinda wish he were, just so that Rand and Mat COULD HAVE A REAL SCENE TOGETHER, but Demandred and I will both have to be disappointed. But it's kinda funny that it feels like Gawyn was rejecting the idea that he is "following" Rand in, like, a philosophical way, but Demandred meant "Lews Therin is literally your battle commander".

Gawyn loses the duel. And I like Gawyn this time around, so I'm much more emotionally affected by it. That's so rude. 😭

Egwene fights to reach Gawyn, feeling how close to death he is. 😭😭

Galad is on the Heights, fighting against Sharan channelers on Mat's orders, wearing a copy of the foxhead medallion. Galad also keeps getting confronted with things about 'his' Children of Light that are making him go 'yikes'. He's killing the Sharan channelers because it makes sense for the battle and he was ordered to do it... but the Children are happy to have an excuse to kill channelers and have some... real strange beliefs that kinda make channelers akin to vampires (...burying the head separately or they will rise again?).

One of the Children finds Gawyn, near death, and brings Galad to him. As he dies, Gawyn is talking over his regrets, starting with regretting staying at the White Tower back in book 4. He tells Galad to tell Egwene that he loves her, and Galad reassures him that Egwene already knows. Galad gets very cold inside when he realizes that his brother is dying. "He had seen men die, he had lost friends. This hurt more. Light, but it did."

When he tries to tell Gawyn that he needs to leave, so that he doesn't leave Galad without a brother, Gawyn tells him about Rand. And he tells Galad not to hate Rand. "I always hated him but I stopped." And Gawyn dies. 😭😭😭

Egwene feels it when it happens. After sending out a burst of flames at the nearby enemies as the pain consumes her, she collapses for the moment (there is a group of Whitecloaks nearby so she was very very close to reaching Gawyn before he died. That is heartbreaking).

Egwene wakes up after having been removed from the battlefield. She feels empty and heartbroken but, especially after she overhears how badly the battle is going, she knows that she does not have the time for grief or mourning, not now. "Egwene al'Vere lost a man she loved, and she felt him die through a bond. The Amrylin has sympathy for Egwene al'Vere, as she would have sympathy for any Aes Sedai dealing with such loss. And then, in the face of the Last Battle, the Amrylin would expect that woman to pick herself up and return to the fight." It's interesting how (as Rand's foil), Egwene is both the same kind of hero that Rand is, but she's also the kind of hero that Rand expected himself to be but actually ends up not being. Rand's Last Battle is philosophical; Egwene's Last Battle is physical (which is to say, the show gets another point right in how they decided to distribute episode eight out to its protagonists -- with Rand's fight ultimately being in his head while Egwene's is out on the battlefield; that's what Rafe & co meant when they said they were doing a whole-series adaptation and not just adapting book-by-book. they looked at the actual endgame needs of the characters and put in the work up-front to make sure that those would vibe with the set-up).

18. In order to keep herself balanced on the battlefield, Egwene decides that she needs to bond a Warder, though she is far from emotionally ready, and she asked "Leilwin Shipless" if she will accept the duty, getting immediate agreement. And Egwene goes back out to fight again.

19. "Egwene led an assault the likes of which had not been seen in millennia." There's some intense fighting and then Egwene comes face-to-face with Taim, who calls himself M'Hael now. There is an intense battle scene. The battle involves a lot of balefire being tossed around by Taim and, in the back of her mind, Egwene ponders the notion of whether or not the weave really is impossible to counter. Egwene didn't need the help of anyone else's ancient memories in order to rediscover Traveling, after all. That was all her, figuring it out from basic principles.

20. Egwene and her Aes Sedai have been fighting on the Heights for hours. Taim reappears, pouring balefire into her line of Aes Sedai and killing dozens. Egwene thinks again about what Perrin said in TAR about balefire -- "it's only a weave" -- and considers how balefire is considered a one-of-a-kind sort of thing. But what if it isn't? What if it works like any other weave? With the One Power, there are always two halves. Logically, balefire should have an equal and opposite counterpart, just as saidar has saidin. "If a weave exists, so must its opposite". And when Taim strikes again with balefire, she counters with this idea of this weave that she has created, one that is the opposite of balefire. Something that will reinforce the Pattern instead of unraveling it.

She decides that it is called the Flame of Tar Valon, and she uses it to kill Taim.

21. Egwene realizes that she's reached the point of no return -- if she releases her grip on saidar, then she will burn out. There is too much inside her right now. More than she can hold. So she can let go and burn out and survive... or she can take that power and use it.

She tells Leilwin née Egeanin one last command -- find the seals and keep them until she sees 'the moment the light shines'. Then she wraps her up in Air and shoves her through a gateway, releasing their bond.

She closed her eyes and drew in the power. More than a woman should be able to, more than was right. Far beyond safety, far beyond wisdom. This sa'angreal had no buffer to prevent this.

Her body was spent. She offered it up and became a column of light, releasing the Flame of Tar Valon into the ground beneath her and high into the sky. The Power left her in a quiet, beautiful explosion, washing across the Sharans and sealing the cracks created by her fight with M'Hael.

Egwene's soul separated from her collapsing body and rested upon that wave, riding it into the Light.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Before I move on to the next set of plot-threads, I want to ponder a question: why on earth does Gawyn get blamed for Egwene deciding to go out in a blaze of glory? He died hours ago. She bonded a new Warder. She doesn't die out of rage over her Warder's death here. To quote Gawyn: [Her] heart was the need. Egwene looked at what the battle needed from her at that moment, and she made a choice.

Once upon a time, Lews Therin stood on a mountain after losing the love of his life, and his despair created destruction around him. Once upon a time, Egwene stood on a battlefield after losing the love of her life, and her sacrifice healed the destruction around her.

Last time around, Lews Therin was fighting the wrong battle -- and the wrong person was the one fighting in the battle.

re: Egwene dying at all. I actually do think that having one of the Emond's Field Five die was a good choice. Would I have picked Egwene as the one? Probably not. otoh, it kinda seems like the other four were all mentioned as still being alive in Jordan's epilogue, so Egwene was the only one who could die (since the epilogue was considered basically sacred). idk I'm a big softie who has a hard time killing off characters so I'm not really the person to talk to about that subject, lol.

Rand (& Nynaeve)

TDO's attack against Rand starts out as an attempt to break him down and shatter him, but Rand resists. "It was as if the Dark One was shredding him while at the same time trying to crush him entirely, coming at Rand from infinite directions, all at once, in a wave."

When that fails, TDO then 'weaves' a reality for Rand to see. A world 'remade' in TDO's image, where the taint overlays everything, the Blight is everywhere, and Rand has been forgotten in his failure. TDO makes him watch his father die, and then Dannil leads him back to Emond's Field, where a Turned Nynaeve is waiting with channelers and Fades to Turn Rand too. It's an attempt to make Rand feel despair and give up, but when Nynaeve & co begin the process of trying to Turn Rand to the Shadow, he pushes back, rejecting this reimagining of the world that TDO has created. Hmm, Rand finds threads here that are more varied than the five threads of the One Power, calls them "the fabric of creation" and uses them to channel a different reality.

We now get introduced to the world that Rand reimagines. "He passed from nothingness into majesty."

Gorgeous buildings. Wide roads but nothing driving on it, only people walking around, in vibrant clothing. Now, instead of the memory of Turned Chosen enslaving and tormenting the Two Rivers, Rand has willed into being memories of Ogier coming "to the Two Rivers to repay Rand for his sacrifice, intending to build a monument here, [but] the town's leaders had wisely requested help improving their city instead".

Rand doesn't quite imagine paradise entirely -- though he's integrated the Seanchan into his vision of peace here, he doesn't know enough about the Sharans to do the same, so there are still "campaigns" there. And there is a monument dedicated to the fallen of the Last Battle with "familiar" faces that Rand isn't quite willing to look at. Like TDO had done earlier, "He'd built this reality out of the threads of what could be, of mirrors of the world as it now played out".

The knowledge that other people are out there dying and sacrificing for a potential future shakes Rand -- he wanted so much for his sacrifice to be the only sacrifice, which was always going to be impossible. But when he lets that thought enter his mind, this vision of reality starts to get eaten up by TDO and Rand has to force it back into place.

It is the anniversary of the hundred years of peace that Rand had wanted in the Dragon's Peace that he had the nations sign before (and during, in the case of the Seanchan) the Last Battle. Lady Adora, Perrin's granddaughter, is the mayor of Emond's Field. Rand slips past her and into the school. A school for anyone to come and learn, no matter what their background. TDO taunts him again for believing that he can eliminate suffering entirely. So we're kinda doing a "the perfect is the enemy of the good" argument here. Is "better" enough when it isn't "perfect"? And is "perfect" only ever a lie? TDO attacks Rand again, and this world fades back into a faint mirror of possibility. The heart of the Last Battle is a philosophical argument about the nature of reality, and of human nature.

As he stands with the great shadow of TDO, Rand can see the armies outside fighting. TDO is mostly outside of time, except wherever it touches the Pattern. There it is bound to the linear nature of time. TDO tells Rand to watch as the people fighting in his name die, and spins another vision for him.

The new world-possibility that TDO spins for Rand looks very much like the regular world, with some minor differences like steam-drawn carriages driving around. He's in Caemlyn this time, and he can still see the hole in the wall from when Talmanes blew the hole to escape from the Shadowspawn, but there's a bustle and a life around.

He goes to a fruit seller, and she mentions her fresh peaches for sale. "Peaches," Rand said, aghast. Everyone knew those were poisonous. She tells him that they are safe now; the toxin has been removed. Hey, isn't it peach blossoms that Rand made bloom back in Ebou Dar? So that was actually meant as something of a subtle threat, though Tuon took as an Important Omen. As they're talking, a street urchin steals one of the fruits and starts to run off, and the fruit-seller pulls out a rod and does something that instantly kills him. When Rand reacts in horror, she acts puzzled, asking him if "it" belonged to him. Yikes! Yeah, definitely still a very Bad World, Rand. When she asks him what faction he belongs to, he takes that as his cue to leave, very quickly.

He searches Caemlyn to find the Queen's Blessing and, with relief, sees that Basel Gill is working inside. So this one is not a hundred years in the future like the last one. Gill says that they're in the Fourth Age and that the Last Battle was won. After Gill tells him that he'll get him a faction symbol, Rand notices a nothingness that signifies TDO's presence and questions it. This is a world where TDO has tricked people into believing that they won the Last Battle.

When Gill returns, it's with guards to rob Rand for his fancy coat. Rand realizes that TDO has taken everyone's consciences/compassion. This is a world without any spark of 'light' inside people's hearts, only Shadow. Rand tells TDO that seeing this only makes him want to fight harder and now he will show TDO a world "without Shadow".

In the cavern, Nynaeve works to save Alanna's life. All her Power is still wrapped up in the link with Rand, so she has to sew and use her herbs and all her know-how from being the Wisdom of Emond's Field.

As Rand tries to weave together the possibility of a world without the Shadow, he finds that the threads resist him and he wonders if that is because of how unlikely such a world is. iirc, Rand's upcoming dreamworld is a moment that the show has already given us great set-up for with the fantasy that Rand gets from Ishamael in episode 8 and is another illustration of how far ahead Rafe & co were thinking with all their choices in the first season.

He chooses to create Caemlyn, to wash the taste out of his mouth of having seen the horrible vision that TDO showed him last time. Trees are in full bloom, there isn't a cloud in the sky, and children don't recognize what a sword is. He asks to visit the queen and is directed towards the gardens, though he first travels through a hallway of magic mirrors, letting him see this paradise reflected in other lands: a peaceful meadow in the Mountains of Mists, the Stone a museum instead of a fortress, the rebuilt towers of Malkier, the Chora Fields of the Age of Legends surrounding the city of Rhuidean as he hears Aiel voices lifted in song. No locks on the doors. No more need for money -- "a nearly forgotten eccentricity". Channelers create food for everyone and Aes Sedai heal anyone who suffers injury.

His own grave in the Blasted Lands, where his body had been burned after the Last Battle, overgrown with leaves, grass, and flowers. Rand pauses at this window for a long moment before he moves onward into the gardens.

Elayne sits alone in the gardens, not too far from the garden wall where he once fallen in and met her for the first time. "Elayne was as beautiful as she'd been when they'd last parted. She was no longer pregnant, of course. A hundred years had passed since the Last Battle. She appeared not to have aged a day." When Elayne sees him, she greets him in surprise.

18. She wonders if her daughter is using the Mask of Mirrors to play a prank on her, but Rand sinks down to one knee before her and tells her that he's real. And, as he looks into her eyes and listens to her voice, he realizes that "something was wrong".

19. "That simpering tone, that vapid reaction... Elayne had never been like that." He gets more disturbed as she continues, talking about Aviendha spending her week off from singing to do "nursery duty". "Aviendha. Tending children and singing to chora trees. There was nothing wrong with that, really. Why shouldn't she enjoy such activities? But it was wrong, too. He thought Aviendha would be a wonderful mother, but to imagine her seeking to spend all day playing with other people's children..."

20. When he looks into Elayne's eyes, he sees the same kind of blankness that he's seen in those forcibly Turned to the Shadow. He accuses TDO of having done something to her. But TDO asks him, "Did you think that removing me from their lives would leave them unaltered?"

21. "She was not herself... because Rand had taken away her ability to be herself." Again! This resonates so well with what was set up in episode eight! Rafe is playing the long game!

22. I do have to... interject a side note: this scene really couldn't be done with Min because... this horror that Rand accidentally did to Elayne, stripping her of her autonomy in an attempt to create a world without Shadow... is basically what Min did to herself in LoC.

He’ll have to take me as I am, [Min] thought, twitching the reins irritably. I’m not changing for any man. Only, her clothes would have been as plain as any farmer’s not that long ago, her hair had not been in ringlets almost to her shoulders, and a small voice whispered, You’ll be whatever you think he wants you to be.

Honestly, that's a big part of why I dislike how prophecy is used in a couple of the romances (Min->Rand and Mat->Tuon) because it feels like it's been used to strip away their autonomy and yet this loss of their self doesn't get treated like a horror even though their 'choice' to chase Rand/marry Tuon was done because they believed they had no choice.

23. Rand weeps in despair at all the loss of life that is going on in the Last Battle outside of Shayol Ghul. "He should have been able to protect them. Why couldn't he? Against his will, the names began to replay in his mind. The names of those who had died for him, starting with only women, but now expanded to each and every person he should have been able to save - but hadn't." But he refuses to give in to TDO's offer to 'stop fighting and rest'. And TDO spins another possibility for him...

24. The next offer that TDO makes is 'nothing'. Aka oblivion for all of existence. He claims that it is the same as the 'peace of the void' that Rand seeks so often. Rand gives the offer due consideration, and then rejects it.

25. Rand feels Egwene's death and it shakes him hard. Egwene's name is added to the list in his mind, and despair claws at him as TDO gloats that the dead belong to him.

26. Rand is watching the whole battle play out -- he sees Elayne (captive and alone), he see Rhuarc (his mind forfeit), Mat (desperate, facing down horrible odds), and Lan (riding to his death).

Demandred's words dug at him. The Dark One's pressure continue to tear at him.

Rand had failed.

But in the back of his mind, a voice. Frail, almost forgotten.

Let go.

Elayne & Mat (& Fortuona & Min & Galad)

Elayne is heading into the main Seanchan camp to talk to Mat about why he appears to be changing the battle plans without letting her know. Along the way, they deal with some Draghkar and Elayne deliberately deafens her side so that they will be able to ignore their song. After this, she's approached by a sul'dam and damane pair and, reluctantly, allows the damane to heal her ears. Elayne is, btw, wearing sturdy boots.

Elayne has also been paying attention to how the Seanchan behave, and so she does not talk to any of the sul'dam herself, because she's noticed that they care a LOT about who talks to who. This sul'dam in particular is highborn, Elayne suspects from the shaven sides of her head, so she'll definitely feel insulted by Elayne not being willing to speak to her. <3

Elayne also notes here that the Seanchan highborn seem to dislike the idea of being healed with the Power ("Why any of you would want to be Healed by an animal is beyond me," the sul'dam says). But she also points out that there's a gap between what the Seanchan claim is true and what they actually seem to do -- they say they disapprove of healing but are having their damane learn the weaves.

Mat and Elayne's relationship seems to be fairly healthy here which honestly is fascinating given... you know. Tuon and the whole Seanchan defection. Elayne insults Mat when she greets him, but he finds it amusing, just as she suspected that he would. He's made up a throne for her in Andoran red-and-gold, extra cushioned, and with a still-steaming cup of tea waiting for her! Husband behavior! Not the kind of ~husband behavior~ that Mat derided all throughout TGS but actual "I care about your comfort" behavior.

She notes that his clothing "smelled of some kind of compromise" -- Tuon agreed to let Mat wear clothing in the style that he preferred as long as it was silk? Elayne also notes that he's wearing a pink ribbon around his hat. And that is also fascinating because Mat had two very specific memories about Tylin's (pink) ribbons in his second chapter in this book (right before he saw Tuon again), and they were both extremely negative. The first time was when his scarf around his neck reminded him of "a ribbon that felt like a chain" and the second was his flashback to the pink ribbons when he saw Tylin's headboard/bed. So for Mat to put a pink ribbon around his hat is... interesting. A reminder of the chains that he's still wearing? We're not in his PoV, so we don't get his reasoning, and I don't think he ever thinks about it in his own PoV.

"All in all, Elayne was impressed by how easily the scout mixed his obeisance and his report. She was also sickened. No ruler should demand such of her subjects. A nation's strength came from the strength of its people; break them, and you were breaking your own back."

I am also really really curious by what (silent) Fortuona might be thinking of the casual & intimate way that Mat and Elayne are talking to each other here, given how jealous she's gotten in the past. Elayne noted when she entered the tent that Fortuona was present ("dressed in enough green silk to supply a shop in Caemlyn for two weeks" and with Min standing silently at her side) but has not engaged with her at all.

"You spent this whole week planning with us, and you knew the entire time you'd throw [the plans] out with the dishwater." Anyway, Mat says that he didn't know the entire time, but that he needs to keep the plans in his head if they want them to be safe from the Forsaken. Also, Elayne, in contrast to most of the people who have interacted with Mat recently, is able to figure out what he's thinking just from a couple of micro-expressions.

But it's interesting/frustrating the implied changes that have happened over the course of this week of off-screen planning -- aka Tuon compromising with Mat. Because it happens off-screen, we don't actually find out why Tuon was willing to compromise - is it because, with all his friends around, she's realized that it would be impossible to control him with the methods she would use if they were alone, because he could just... walk fifty feet away and hang out with his powerful friends instead of being stuck with her if she pushes him too far (as he did in the previous chapter when she was trying to force him to sit in judgement)? Has she actually had off-screen character development (if so, stop having important emotional moments happen off-screen!)? We just don't know.

Mat is also still calling Fortuona "Tuon". And that scene ended with Elayne never, at any point, engaging with Tuon and she also never thinks of Fortuona as "Mat's wife", only as "the Seanchan Empress". Surely she has to know by this point that they're married but she Does Not Think About It. I genuinely have so many questions -- one of the primary ones being: where has Mat been sleeping this last week? Does the fact that Mat was saying "Tuon's tent" in the previous chapter mean that he has his own tent separate from hers? Tuon positioned "having sex" as a reward-type situation back when Mat first showed up in Ebou Dar, so is that time in the gardens the only time that they've had sex? Given that Tuon seems to want Min by her side constantly, if she did decide to have sex with Mat again, would she insist on Min staying in the tent with them to keep an eye out for sex-related omens? (we already know that Selucia and at least one or two other guard-slaves would likely be present) Has Mat been avoiding having sex with her or sleeping in the same tent as her so that she doesn't get another chance to steal his medallion? So many questions, absolutely nothing in the narration that gives me any hints at answers.

Okay, our first Mat PoV in this chapter is fascinating because Mat has basically the exact same thought here about Galad that he had about Tuon in an earlier chapter. Compare "[Galad] could have been a statue, with that pretty face and unchanging expression. No, statues had more life." vs "Mat shivered. He didn’t like it when Tuon got like this. That stare of hers... it seemed like the stare of another person. A person without compassion. A statue had more life to it." The Whitecloaks = Seanchan comparison is alive and well (or the Seanchan are what the Whitecloaks would be if they had the kind of continent-wide coercive power).

Min is spending all her time in the command tent whispering to Tuon. It sure feels like she swapped super-easily from being Rand's prophecy girl to being Tuon's prophecy girl (okay, okay, I'll cut her some slack since Rand did ask her to watch Fortuona). When Elayne's voice sounds "cold" here, Mat compares her to an Aes Sedai, unlike their earlier encounters. Also... it doesn't sound like Selucia is around? Did she get demoted again? Elayne also... sorta speaks to Tuon here? But then quickly swaps back to talking to Mat only lol.

Mat realizes that there's a spy either inside or just around the command tent, because of how quickly Demandred is responding to his changes.

Mat is amused by the fact that Elayne has managed to "shift" her throne around so that it's either the same height or slightly higher than Tuon's, so he hasn't ~embraced Tuon's dignity as his own~ or however the Seanchan might put it.

15. Hmm, we also have confirmation here that Mat has been... flirting (????? sexually harassing???? who knows with New Mat but probably harassing, sadly) with other Seanchan Bloods, if not in front of Tuon, then in front of people who would report to Tuon, which is another interesting piece of data to put into the puzzle. It really does seem like Mat has managed to (off the page) force a certain level of compromise into his marriage.

16. And, here, Mat slips away with just Elayne and Birgitte so that he can reassure Elayne about his plans in private, even though Tuon questions him walking away (and he doesn't even look back at her because "those eyes could drill through solid steel"). It genuinely seems like some fascinating stuff happened in that week of planning that we didn't get to see! Mat seems a lot less scared of doing things that will upset Tuon. But again, we don't know if that's actually due to a change in Mat and Tuon's relationship or if it's Mat's physical proximity to people who would unquestioningly take his side against hers that gives him new boldness.

17. He tells Elayne that he has a plan to deal with the spy that he believes is listening in at the command tent, and he goes through his entire thought process for her here, which is an astonishingly unprecedented amount of communication from Mat. So Elayne is in on his plan -- and away from the command post so that if things go wrong, she can pick another general to lead them; and he sent a message to Talmanes about his plan as well (that Talmanes signaled that he received), so the only remaining question mark for Mat is whether or not he can "coax" Tuon into doing what needs to be done.

I am going to say that I find it very interesting that when Mat is certain that there's a spy in the command tent and that their security is compromised, he finds a reason to get Elayne away from the command tent. The reason makes tactical sense, of course, but it's interesting.

18. Birgitte tells Elayne that all her older memories are gone now. Her first memories are of waking up to Nynaeve and Elayne in this world. Elayne wants to go after Birgitte, to try to comfort her, but Galad arrives. Galad isn't entirely certain why he's been sent here but he's got time to scold Elayne for being on the battlefield "in your condition". Elayne (accurately) points out that if they lose, it's gonna be a lot worse for the kids. So Elayne and Galad can talk about the kids together but Elayne and Tam can't?

19. Elayne knows Mat so well, even as she claims to despair over understanding him. "I'm convinced that Mat only acts simple so that people will let him get away with more."

20. A letter arrives for Galad from Mat, and Sanderson makes fun of himself when he has Elayne note that Mat's spelling and handwriting is much better in this letter than the one he sent her in ToM. Anyway, he's sent the copy he had of the medallion (Elayne does verify here that it's a copy and not the original) to Galad and told him to go kill as many Sharan channelers as he's capable of killing. Because he feels like "a Whitecloak" will have the stomach to go kill a bunch of channelers. When Galad agrees with Elayne that he shouldn't have a problem with "killing women" and explains that women are just as capable of evil as men are, Elayne tells him "You actually said something that doesn't make me want to strangle you." lol, ilu Elayne. Galad thinks she's joking but, no, of course not.

Characterization note: Mat never gave the medallion copy to Tuon. That was the whole reason that he'd originally held onto it after ToM, with plans to give it to Tuon to protect her. ...and then she stole his medallion and it sounds like he had to do some fast-talking to get it back. And then he never mentions or brings up the copy until this moment when he sends it to Galad.

Did Tuon's betrayal of Mat earlier in AMoL mean that he no longer trusted her with a medallion?

Did Tuon's own paranoia and mistrust screw her out of getting that extra level of protection and trust openly given from Mat, and so Mat held onto it to find another purpose for the copy instead?

21. Min apparently is still spending all her time here quietly whispering to Tuon. She's gotta be someone's little whisper, I guess. She's gotten used to it over the last few books. Anyway, Logain is here because he wants to go fight at Shayol Ghul instead of here at the "battle for the little lives of men". Or he wants to be sent against Demandred, as the "dragon's replacement". Mat finally just gives Logain permission to go fight Demandred if he wants to do it so badly.

22. Ah, here is where Mat has another willful delusion (number five? six? not sure): "What he would give to be done with all of these high heads. Mat might be one of them now, but that could be fixed. All he had to do was convince Tuon to forsake her throne and run off with him. That would not be easy, but bloody ashes, he was fighting the Last Battle. Compared to the challenge he now faced, Tuon seemed an easy knot to untie."

Made up a girl in his head, one that Fortuona will never be. Good luck with that, and all.

This does also show that Mat continues to have no interest in being part of the Seanchan hierarchy (and this is something that is backed up by his actions, like refusing to legitimize himself as the Prince of Ravens by refusing to sit in judgement of soldiers throwing themselves on the Empress's mercy). Though Mat shows signs of protectiveness and sometimes affection towards 'Tuon', he shows no signs of wanting to be involved with 'The Seanchan Empress Fortuona'. It does feel a bit like we're continuing the thread where Sanderson actually gave Mat a reason for his bizarre turnaround in CoT/KoD by having him mentally compare the fear that Tuon/the sul'dam have over channeling with the fear that Rand/male channelers have over channeling -- this is an echo of the 'Rand-friend vs Dragon Reborn-scary' battle that Mat has been having in his brain, off-and-on, ever since he first learned that Rand could channel. I wish that Sanderson had leaned into it more, but even this subtext here is more of an explanation for Mat's change in characterization in CoT than we ever got from Jordan.

I have to admit, the way that it's done does kinda remind me of BBC's Merlin -- in S1, Arthur and Merlin go through this entire character arc of Arthur looking past his prejudices about servants as he becomes Merlin's friend. And then the show aired and large parts of the audience went, "huh, kinda seems like they're in love with each other"; and so the show did a hard reset in S2 and Arthur basically went through that exact same arc with Gwen, who was always meant to be his canon love interest, and went back to being more of a jerk towards Merlin. And in WoT, Mat's struggle between caring about a person vs being put off by/scared of that person's public mask was first grounded in his friendship with Rand, but now it's basically been transferred over to Tuon instead. Basically "oh shit, this character arc makes this character look queer; better shift it over to his canon het love interest STAT".

(but imo this thread works so much better with Rand because the READERS know the real person behind the public mask; and I feel like we never really get that with Tuon -- there are hints that a real person exists but even in her own PoVs, it feels like Tuon is still mostly just The Mask)

23. Tuon signals that it's time for her and Mat to stage their fake fight about the Seanchan pulling out of the battle, picking "I can protect myself" as the issue she wants to fight over, which Mat thinks is kinda silly but whatever. "His plan with Tuon was to take a cue from what Rand had once done with Perrin". ...how did Mat find out about that? I guess from Min? Perrin was asleep and Rand was gone, so I guess it must have been from Min. I'm... pretty sure she knew the Rand & Perrin fight was fake? Or maybe Perrin told him about it during the dinner where Perrin laughed and laughed over how droll it was that Mat had married a slaver. Because Perrin and Mat got to have a reunion dinner.

24. A Gray Man attacks. I'm sorry... are we supposed to believe that this is the same Gray Man from Ebou Dar that escaped back in Mat's second chapter? Because I thought Shadowspawn (including Gray Men?) couldn't go through Gateways? Maybe this Gray Man also has Mat's non-channeling teleportation skills. Anyway, this time the Gray Man is attacking Mat just as channelers invade the command tent (so... literally proving the point that Mat had just made about how the tent was no longer secure) so Min... throws herself at Tuon to protect her? Why is Min's first instinct "protect the head slaver"? Why is Min in the tank for the Seanchan so quickly?

Min also manages to knock over Tuon's ten-foot tall throne, so it sounds like it's actually made of pretty flimsy materials. That kinda feels like an unintentional metaphor -- looks imposing but is basically paper mache. lol.

25. Anyway, this is the first time Tuon shows any shred of an actual... like... positive emotion towards Mat? (I don't count "laughing at him because she views him as a brainless sex toy" as a positive emotion) So I guess we should celebrate that. Because when everyone gets attacked, Tuon runs over to try to help Mat with the Gray Man, "growling softly in an almost feral way". Once again, I am deeply curious about the mysterious changes that happened in their relationship during that skipped over week of planning, that resulted in Tuon compromising with Mat and now appearing to actually give a shit that he might die (... or she might just be possessive and not want to lose her new favorite toy? But I will choose to extend the benefit of the doubt).

26. And, once again, Min's entire priority list seems to be Tuon. ?????? Why are you so obsessed with her? Since we're in your PoV right now, could you explain to the readers why you're so deep in the tank for the Seanchan and Fortuona? Would love a reason. Anyway, she can't reach her new-found love, Fortuona, so she slips out of the tent to see if she can help any other way, and runs into Siuan.

27. When Min tells her that she needs to go find Bryne because that's the only way she'll survive, Siuan says that she can't leave because "Cauthon is in danger." Hey, you were willing to call him 'Mat' back in book three. But anyway, she says, "If Cauthon falls, this battle is lost! I don't care if we both die from this. We must help. Move!" So. Siuan. The tent is on fire. Would you say that you were there to help Mat "when the flames are high?" Just asking.

28. Okay, there's a whole group of Gray Men attacking Mat, so we're not supposed to think it was the one from Ebou Dar. But that's a gun that never went off, now that I think about it.

29. MIN! Yelling at the terrified damane to help when her sul'dam is dead is pointless if you don't FREE HER from the collar. She isn't capable of channeling without her sul'dam's permission. You should know this. YOU WERE IN FALME WITH EGWENE! Egwene explained all of this to you! (also, I think Min left the poor nameless damane to die in the burning tent, since she would also be incapable of running away on her own if she's still leashed? Slave-masters always get rescued before slaves, after all, and Min has yet to actually voice any objections to slavery since she has joined up with the Seanchan)

30. Anyway, Min successfully throws a knife at the remaining Gray Man and Mat hauls an unconscious Tuon up over his shoulder, and we have sadly saved the head slaver's life yet again. "Never had [Min] been so happy to see a knife fly true." ????? I mean, I guess the idea is that saving Tuon means that Mat is willing to leave the burning tent but still... didn't she once save Rand's life during some event or other? Or maybe I imagined that and this is the first time Min's knife skills have ever been useful, idk.

31. Oh, and Siuan is dead. Happened when Min wasn't looking. So we traded Siuan's life for Tuon's. Not worth it. Min gets a break from being the Distressed Damsel because Rand isn't around and so Tuon gets assigned the role. I feel like... maybe the narrative should have focused on whatever it was that Siuan was doing to help there, instead of what Min did? Also, it seems somewhat convenient that Siuan died before she got a good look at Tuon, because Siuan has a Talent for seeing ta'veren.

32. I wish... I really wish that Sanderson had given us the compromise conversation between Tuon and Mat. I wish that we'd actually gotten that conversation on the page, instead of just implying that something has changed because Elayne notices the effects. Because then maybe I would also give a shit about Tuon instead of just kinda wishing that someone would let one of these assassins take her out.

33. Okay, our first ~Fortuona~ PoV since the week of planning that appeared to have led to compromises in her marriage with Mat. Let's see how things stand with little miss slaver. She refuses to be healed by damane herself, though she seems vaguely tolerant of the idea of other people being healed by them.

34. I have to roll my eyes over Fortuona thinking about how her slave-guard's 'honor' depends on her fatally punishing them for their failures. It's like how she pretended that she was the one who most regretted having had Selucia beaten a time or two back in her initial intro PoV, rather than the actual person who got their ass whipped. It's just toxic brain-vomit that speaks of how deeply conditioned Fortuona is by her culture. If she actually cared about any of them as people (she doesn't, of course; she cares about them as property that she owns) then she would care about trying to dismantle the part of their brainwashing culture that says that their lives should be forfeit if they have failed her.

Anyway, she assigns them to go off to be suicide troops in the battle. Oh, and Selucia is here now, in the aftermath, with an injury. So I guess she in the tent that whole time, it's just that no one mentioned her. Poor Selucia. She really has gone back to being nothing but Tuon's Voice.

35. Fortuona raises "Darbinda" aka Min to the Blood for saving her and Mat's life, and Min isn't impressed enough for her liking (I'm also not ever going to be using that name for Min again). "How like [Mat] she was. Stubbornly humble, these mainlanders. They were actually proud - proud - of their low-born heritage. Baffling." Have you- have you considered having an actual conversation with one of them about why? And about the name thing too -- both Min and Mat are people who actively choose to go by shortened versions of their names. Maybe ask them why they don't consider forcible re-naming to be an honor (and Fortuona should know that Mat feels that way, since she glared at him and willed him not to argue when she re-named him).

Though, of course, given that Fortuona Must Always Have Slaves Around Her at all times, having a conversation like that with Mat or Min becomes a bit trickier, because if they give good answers to her questions about why they don't care about being part of the Blood, Fortuona's slaves will hear those answers. That's a major downside to the whole "nothing is private (when you have slaves)" lifestyle that Fortuona is rocking. She probably doesn't even really understand what having privacy would be like (once again, I have to say what a huge mistake it was for Jordan to have Selucia along on the circus journey, because it meant that Tuon was still wallowing in her toxic slave-owner culture during that entire time period, because she always had a slave on tap to make sure that she kept The Mask up at all times). Because though Tuon doesn't see her slaves as people, she does always need to be The Owner when they are around (which is always).

36. Mat looks over to her and gives her a nod, to let her know that they should have their fake break-up fight now. Alas that it isn't a real break-up fight. So they fight over how Mat should have warned them all sooner that the tent wasn't safe. Interesting note: though many of the Seanchan look at Mat with "accusing" eyes after she lays her charge, Galgan frowns and Fortuona notes that he doesn't seem to agree with her accusation. "Impressive, that [Mat] had converted Galgan so quickly." Anyway, after a super-quick fight where Mat is just like "okay, fine, storm off in a tizzy if you want, see if I care"; Fortuona turns around and does just that.

37. Interesting that their fake fight actually got Mat's genuine temper up. And he wonders if Tuon was genuinely angry as well and if she will genuinely abandon the fight rather than come back as planned. Interestingly enough, Fortuona didn't have a single spark of genuine anger in her PoV. It was all her following the plan. So it sounds like the fight involved a lot more of Mat's genuine frustrations than it did Tuon's. "I've had it with you. You and your bloody Seanchan rules just keep getting in the way," does feel like a pretty accurate representation of how Mat has been feeling in a lot of the Seanchan-related scenes that he's been forcing himself to endure, yeah. But Fortuona assumed, in her PoV, that Mat was entirely acting and that none of his reactions were genuine -- "he was good at this". Mat and Tuon are still looking at each other and seeing someone completely different than the person who is really there.

38. What Mat says to Min here is also genuinely fascinating. I don't particularly like Mat & Tuon, even now, but I am finding them much more interesting (in a 'watching a bug through a glass' sort of way) than I ever found them in the Jordan books. Because Mat tells Min to "keep an eye on" Tuon and then clarifies that he doesn't mean in a "protection" way but in a "watch her" way. "She worries me, Min."

...I do kinda have to giggle at Mat saying that Tuon doesn't need protection and is a "strong one" when Mat literally just had to haul her unconscious ass out of a burning tent because she basically failed immediately when she went to go help him with the Gray Men. But, hey, I appreciate that Mat didn't let the narrative shoehorn Tuon into the role of his Personal Distressed Damsel even when it was clearly trying its hardest to force her into that position.

39. Oh, so Mat and MIN get a hug when they say goodbye. *eternal grumbles at how the ONLY PERSON who didn't get an emotionally appropriate reunion with Mat was his fucking best friend*

40. Ugh, is this where Mat starts calling her "Fortuona"? Because he's decided to take Karede's suicide troops into battle with him and Karede refuses to go with him if Mat won't call her "Fortuona"? I guess I'll wait and see if the way that he addresses her actually changes.

Anyway, Mat tells Karede to keep Mat alive "for Tuon" because he's "almost certain that she's fond of" him.

*gazes off into the distance, thinking about how everyone else that Tuon is 'fond' of is a slave that she owns and is fully willing to beat or order to their death if they fail her*

41. Bryne dying off-screen affects me a lot less than Siuan somehow managing to die off-screen in a scene that she was actively in. Elayne figures that Bryne's fit of rage that sent him running towards Trollocs and got him killed means that Siuan is dead.

Siuan and Moiraine never got to see each other again. 😭

(fingers crossed for her getting to take Thom's place as the watcher outside the cave in the show version, if we get to the ending)

42. Yeah, from what we've seen in every other PoV and perspective, Perrin is the only person who thinks that Elayne isn't good at tactics. So we can safely discount his opinion as just him being an asshole who thinks that the only woman worth listening to is his wife.

43. "The Shadow pushed with all its might. Humankind did not have days remaining, but hours."

44. A bolt of balefire attacks their camp, and Demandred loudly taunts "Lews Therin" that he is hunting "a woman you love". Of course, Rand can't respond to any of that, no matter how loudly Demandred echoes it across the battlefield with the Power. Birgitte grabs Elayne so that they can get somewhere secret and safe to regroup from, since Elayne herself is the main target now.

45. Of course, Galad can hear the threats and knows that Demandred is actively hunting his sister, so now he has twice the reason to try to kill the man -- killing his brother and trying to kill his sister. In order to get Demandred to fight him directly, Galad loudly proclaims his relationship to Rand. "[The Dragon Reborn] is not here, but his brother is!" And now Galad and Demandred will duel.

46. Mat finds out from Bashere that no one has heard from Faile. He wonders how he can possible finish off this battle without help from the Horn of Valere. ...maybe you shouldn't have deserted from the Last Battle at the start of the book, Mat? Just a thought. Mat yells at Bashere, which makes him grin and his wife give Mat a fond look -- hey, Mat, bet they'd be willing to let you be a third, especially if you yell at Bashere some more. Still healthier than your marriage with Tuon! Give it some consideration!

47. "He needed an army. And a gateway. He needed a bloody gateway. Fool, he thought. He had sent the damane away. Could he not at least have kept one? Though they did make his skin crawl as if it were covered in spiders." God, this is the first time since Winter's Heart that the narrative has let Mat openly think about how fucking creeped-out he is by damane and what the Seanchan do with them! Mat was so incredibly disturbed by the damane kennels in WH and then in CoT & KoD, he acted like it was the sul'dam who had the raw end of the deal. So, yeah, Mat's first chapter in AMoL had brain-breaking teleportation and he forgot half of his characterization until he was finally allowed out of fucking Ebou Dar (RIP any hopes of an emotionally-resonant Cauthor reunion), but we have seen, over the course of the last few chapters, the slow return of how incredibly disturbed and creeped-out Mat was over the damane system. This was the thing that Jordan essentially made Mat forget in order to get him to be willing to suck face with Tuon at the end of KoD, so it's really nice to see it coming back to life. Finally.

Maybe Min will also remember at some point how fucking awful the damane system is.

48. Oh, Mat gets to reunite with Loial now? *insert annoyed grumbles about how Mat & Rand is pretty much the only important relationship that got completely cheated by how Sanderson decided to do the plotting of AMoL*

Since I mention Rand:

Those dice kept ratting in his head. He also felt a pull from the north, a tugging, as if some threads around his chest were yanking on him.

Now now, Rand, he thought. I'm bloody busy.

No colors formed, only blackness. Dark as a Myrddraal's heart. The tugging grew stronger.

Mat dismissed the vision. Not. Now.

I feel so cheated that this ends up giving me nothing that I wanted, thanks! Why did we bother! I am vibing with so much of Mat's PoV in this book now that we're out of Light-forsaken Altara but I'm so frustrated by how much Sanderson is teasing something that I already know I will not actually get.

49. Mat gets to reunite with Teslyn here. Not that I am not thrilled to have Mat reunite with Teslyn because I am, but it does... frustrate me all over again, how shallow and limp the Cauthor reunion ended up being, all happening in the shadow of the slaver ball-and-chain. Every time Mat gets a better reunion with someone else, I feel cheated about his reunion with Rand all over again. Anyway, Mat is so happy to see Teslyn that he could kiss her. (he does not)

Teslyn is going to take Mat, Loial, & co up to the Heights. My brain wants to find something symbolic in the fact that after Mat sends away Tuon & the damane, the first channeler that he runs into is Teslyn and she is the one who is enabling all his battleground hopping as he sends out order after order.

Something, something, wrong road vs right road.

Tylin... Tuon... Teslyn. Women that Mat met in Ebou Dar who have similarly rhythmic 'T' names. Tuon was jealous of Joline but it was Teslyn who started the ball rolling on Mat helping the Aes Sedai escape Ebou Dar.

idk. Maiden, mother, crone vibes, but the maiden & the mother are both abusive?

50. Demandred and Galad duel; Demandred tries to taunt Galad about Gawyn's death in order to break his focus. Galad realizes that the main purpose of what he's doing here is keeping Demandred's focus off of the armies and off of Elayne. It's in Galad's best interests to last as long against Demandred as he can. Some more fighting happens but then Galad's arm gets cut off, and he too, has lost his duel against Demandred.

51. I've seen objections to Mat personally leading the fight at this point but -- the situation is pretty dire and his command tent was blown up. Maintaining a mobile unit and darting in and out of the battle seems like the best of the bad options at this point?

52. For the moment, Elayne and Birgitte are out of the direct line of the fight. Elayne is not currently flying her banner, but she's sent messages to her commanders to let them know she still lives. Then a fake band of refugees arrives, hiding Mellar, who still has his copy of the medallion and who is here because he is still obsessed with Elayne. She thinks here that he's "the one many people still assumed fathered her children". So Elayne sent out the "Rand is the baby-daddy" press release but some people actively chose to continue to believe that slimy Mellar was the daddy? Gross. He has, apparently, been trying to track Elayne down this entire time.

53. He kills Birgitte and the loss of the bond -- and the loss of her friend -- tears at Elayne. They also have another corpse -- a woman dressed to look like Elayne, with her hair color -- that they plan to parade around to pretend to everyone that Elayne is dead. His next plan is to cut her babies out of Elayne -- ah, this must be why we jumped her pregnancy so far ahead, so that it wouldn't be quite so ridiculous that her babies could be kept alive after this -- and TDO gets the kids while Mellar gets to keep Elayne.

54. Mat has requested that the Seanchan make their return to the battlefield but instead of doing that, Fortuona is taking some time to listen to her captains debate over the subject of returning. While people suffer and die on the battlefield.

55. ...Min thinks here, with no commentary, that a Captain Yulan "had been the one to lead the strike on Tar Valon". Do you... have any opinions on that, Min? No? No opinions. Okay, noted. Her only worry is that she's started to think of her viewings as 'omens'. She really does lose herself in other people so easily. For literally the first time ever, Min uses her viewings to try to suss out a spy. Wow, Rand would have found this extremely useful, Min! She notices that one of the random so'jihn (those are slaves, Min, btw, in case you've forgotten about the existence of slavery) has a bunch of images over her head the way that normally only Aes Sedai, Warders or ta'veren do.

56. Part of her wants to just try to stab the woman, but instead she goes to confront Fortuona, asking her to please define what a Truthspeaker is. Fortuona... reluctantly... allows that it's her job to call Fortuona out in public if she screws up. So Min turns to the Blood and says, "[Tuon] has abandoned the armies of humankind, and she withholds her strength in a time of need. Her pride will cause the destruction of all people, everywhere."

She calls out the member of the Blood that the spy has compelled while throwing a dagger at the spy -- which is caught mid-air using the Power. After Moghedien (I'm assuming) escapes, Min says that this shows that the Shadow is trying to keep them from the battle. "With that in mind, will you still pursue this course of indecision?"

57. Tuon does claim here that following this mandate that Min has pressed upon her is "follow[ing] what my heart would choose". Is that true? Who knows? At least she's going back. Tuon also seems to regret slightly that she's now placed someone into the position of Truthspeaker who doesn't have the kind of trained-in deference that Selucia had. Grass is always greener.

Question: does Tuon's 'heart' matter if she still actively chooses evil unless her feet are held to the fire? That is the sort of... moral question that I feel like should have been at play way earlier in the Mat & Tuon relationship. Sanderson is actually using the basic foundations of Mat & Tuon to much greater emotional complexity than we saw at work in CoT & KoD but because it's happened after we already saw that stagnant Tuon in those two books... it's hard for this to feel earned by the narrative. It works a lot better if I close my eyes and try to imagine that we had a better lead-up in the earlier books, lol.

58. Mat learns that Egwene has died (Blood and bloody ashes, Mat thought. Egwene. Not Egwene too? It hit him like a punch to the face.) and half the Aes Sedai have exhausted themselves too much to keep channeling but all the Sharan channelers have been taken out of the picture. Then we also witness Mat's coping mechanism in action -- when his mind wanders back to Egwene, he abruptly cuts the thought off. "No thinking of that right now". Instead, he forces his mind back to business and asks if they've gotten any new troops from Mayene, healed up and ready to fight again. Lan says that he'll check.

59. Then Mat digs in his saddlebags, pulling out Rand's banner, "the one of the ancient Aes Sedai" and he tells them, "Somebody hoist this thing up. We're fighting in Rand's bloody name. Let's show the Shadow we're proud of it."

So many things that could be said here. Frustrating how late this happens? I guess that's my main feeling here, which is a shame. I wish that it could feel more triumphant for me, but this is essentially where Mat already was before he had his weird teleportation to Ebou Dar at the start of AMoL, so it's mostly just me being frustrated that none of this was allowed to exist when Rand was actually here for Mat to interact with him. Mat's friendship with Rand disappeared from the narrative just long enough to avoid us actually getting any kind of emotionally-resonant scene between them and that just... will probably always be something that I will find deeply regretful about the choices Sanderson made in this book.

But I don't want to hold onto my frustration forever, I guess. Mat really has gotten a lot better over the last few chapters. I will choose to be glad that Mat has gotten to a better place again with Rand, even if it's still bizarre that he suddenly backtracked on him at the start of this book.

60. Mat is hoping that his luck will come through when another messager brings news. The Queen of Andor is reported dead. (Bloody ashes! Not Elayne! Mat felt a lurch inside. Rand... I'm sorry.) Just like with Egwene, though, he doesn't let any of that emotion show through to the soldiers, only asking the messenger who is now in charge of the battlefield.

61. He wonders if he might not be able to win even if the Seanchan do return. If it might not be better to let the Seanchan/Fortuona hunker down in Ebou Dar and... die anyway in a few weeks or months? lol, that's not a mercy for them, Mat. But he did just hear that two people he cares about deeply are dead, so I'll give him a little slack for momentarily wishing that he didn't have to call Tuon back to her potential death too, even if he's still never given me anything he actually likes about her besides "hot enough to have sex with".

...oh, and he then learns here that Lan disobeyed his orders and went off to head towards Demandred on his own.

But Mat moves forward with his plan anyway, even though he's fairly sure it won't be enough.

Horn of Valere Team (Faile; Olver)

Faile & co run across a camp in the Blasted Lands that is being used as a supply station for the Shadow's army.

Aravine betrays the group and is a Darkfriend. I am... struggling to remember who she is. brb, will check the wiki. ahhh, she's one of the people that Faile met while she was a captive of the Shaido; a fellow captive. Anyway, Darkfriend, and she finds the Horn in Faile's bag at this point and says that she will deliver it to "Lord Demandred". Olver gets free and stabs the woman who is keeping Faile captive.

Faile grabs a horse (miraculously, it is Bela) and gives chase after Aravine, soon joined by Harnan and Vanin. She accuses them of trying to steal the Horn but they protest that they were only trying to steal the tabac that they thought she was carrying, because Mat owes them money, and seeing the Horn in there came as a huge shock to them (which is why they dropped it and didn't take it with them when they ran).

She throws a knife at Aravine's back and recovers the Horn. She finds Olver again, but they are being hunted by the Shadow's forces, who now know they have the Horn. She gives the Horn to Olver and tells him to get it to Mat. Then she gets back on a different horse (not Bela), making sure that the sack she carries is obvious, and heads off on distraction duty.

So Olver has the Horn. He's pretty stressed because now he's all alone again, as the Darkfriends and Trollocs chase after Faile. "How brave he had thought himself. Now, here he was, finally at the battle. He could barely keep his hands from trembling. He wanted to hide, dig deep into the earth."

A Trolloc discovers him and Olver sees Bela still there and runs for her, wishing he had a horse that looked faster. He races towards where he can see Mat's banners on the horizon, but more Trollocs keep appearing. And Bela gets shot by a Trolloc arrow and goes down. He tries racing up the mountain to reach Mat's banners but they're so far away. He finds a crevasse and wedges himself into it, trying to push deep enough that he's out of the reach of the Trollocs. Poor kid. This is all incredibly traumatizing for him.

He couldn't stop shaking. He also couldn't make himself move. He trembled, terrified, as the beasts pried at him with filthy fingers, digging closer and closer.

Other Misc PoVs

We get a Tam PoV that continues to have zero acknowledgement of the whole "Tam knows he's going to be a grandfather" thing. It's just weird at this point.

Okay, what Uno thinks about Mat ("He still didn't understand why anyone would put Cauthon in charge of anything. He remembered that boy, always snapping at people, eyes sunken in his head. Half-dead, half-spoiled.") should also have been what Min remembered about Mat. The last time they both saw him was around that same time period of Falme, when Mat was deep in the grip of the dagger-sickness. This is the Mat that Min would have met!

Perrin wakes up and is told that they were able to heal him so that he wouldn't die and will recover but that's all they can do for him. Healing needs to be saved for other people too, so "your participation in the Last Battle is over". And then he goes back to sleep, but regular sleep this time.

Graendal collects Rhuarc as one of her pets. 😭

...why am I supposed to care that Demandred has feelings for women (or, I guess, A Woman)? I really have absolutely no reason to care about Demandred's love life. Why am I being told any of this? Was someone worried that readers would think Demandred was gay for obsessing so much over Lews Therin, so a "Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?" moment was thrown in to avoid that? It does seem put in to deliberately contrast for his, uh, "burning passion that was his hatred for Lews Therin".

Another possibility is that this is a relationship meant to foil/reflect Mat and Tuon's? Shendla sounds just as willfully delusional about her future with ~her Wyld~ as Mat always sounds when he's thinking about his Fictional Tuon Girl. "Oh, just because you do evil things and control an evil army of literal horrors doesn't make you evil, darling! Just because you own slaves command Shadowspawn doesn't make you bad, sweetheart! The evil things that you do don't define you! You can do evil things and be a super-great person! I believe in you!"

We get another Tam PoV where he doesn't think at all about his impending post-Last Battle grandfatherhood.

Our third Tam PoV. No acknowledgement of Elayne's pregnancy and how Rand has been announced to be the father. We have time for Tam to run into Lan and for Lan to be all "ah, the blademaster who gave Rand his sword earned the title" but no time to think about Tam's actual upcoming grandkids. It's so weird how disconnected Elayne's pregnancy manages to be from Rand's plotline even after Rand and her entire army all know about the pregnancy and that Rand is the father! Somehow, this plotline is still only considered relevant to Elayne herself and not relevant to Rand or Tam at all????

Androl pickpockets Taim for the true seals, I think? I feel like maybe Sanderson should have leaned into the pickpocketing thing for Androl. tbh, this plotline has felt pretty pointless, lol. The Asha'man could have just been part of the army in the other plotlines and nothing of value really would have been lost.

Okay so... why are the Sharan channelers such experts in war, anyway? Because it doesn't sound like they've constantly been having civil wars, the way that the Seanchan have, so where have they been getting their experience in fighting? You can't become an expert fighter in a vacuum.

The Band has been secretly hidden in caverns deep underground so that they can work on repairing the dragons (with Aludra's expertise guiding the way, of course), waiting on Mat's order (with Asha'man and gateways to get them out again) for them to attack once more.

The Tuatha'an work as battlefield triage, going through the bodies trying to find those who are only wounded and might be saved. "The Way of the Leaf was an easy master at times, providing a life of joy and peace. But a leaf fell in calm winds and in the tempest; dedication demanded that one accept the latter as well as the former."

Raen asks Ila what they would have asked these people to do, in the face of Trollocs. Ila says that they could have run. That there was no need for them to fight here, right at the cusp of the Blight. Raen says that the Trollocs would have followed. "We have accepted many masters. The Shadow might treat us poorly, but would it really be worse than we have been treated at the hands of others?" Ila asks, but Raen disagrees. "It would have been worse. I am not going to abandon the Way, Ila. It is my path and it is right for me. Perhaps... perhaps I will not think quite so poorly of those who follow another path." Ah. They're talking about/mourning Aram. Ila says, "I shouldn't have turned my back on him. I should have tried to help him return to us, not cast him out." She had always felt as if she knew the answers in life. Today, most of those had slipped from her. Saving a person's life though... that she could cling to. She headed back among the bodies, searching for the living among the dead.

Galad ends up in the Mayane hospital. I wonder if he still has his copy of the medallion. I assume he does. Not sure when he'd have had a chance to give it back.

Ah, asked and answered. Berelain finds the medallion around Galad's neck as he whispers "back to Cauthon", so she takes the medallion and heads off at a brisk pace.

Loial and Erith take a moment to rest together before the final charge of the Last Battle. Loial has managed to take notes here and there, for a story that he'd like to pretend that he'll still get to write. "There was no harm to such a little lie."

The night grows darker as Lan charges towards Demandred and we pass our final Tam PoV of this chapter... still no mention of the fact that he knows he's going to have grandkids. (or the news going through the army that Elayne is reported dead? or anything like that?)

18. Ah, Lan was the one who received the note from Berelain with the medallion - I do not know how Galad ended up with this, but I believe he wished me to send it to Cauthon. I wish that Lan had cleared this plan with Mat tbh! But anyway, Lan does have three things here as he faces off with Demandred: one that Gawyn had (he's a Warder, with that boost in endurance) and one that Galad had (a medallion to protect him from weaves) plus he also has twenty years of experience fighting at the side of an Aes Sedai in a quest to locate the Dragon Reborn. It sounds very much like his reasoning is the same as Gawyn and Galad as well -- this is a necessary job, and I'm a person who is already here and can be risked to do that job.

19. "Lan held nothing back." He knows that he can't afford to give Demandred time to think, so he just goes for a relentless assault. Demandred does pretty quickly figure out the 'just channel things at him' trick, so Lan is dealing with dodging rocks as well. Demandred is just so certain that anyone who can hold their own against him is Lews Therin! It's honestly been kinda the comic relief of this chapter.

20. Then he uses one of the lessons that he taught Rand (that Rand used in his battle against Ishamael in Falme) -- he deliberately lets Demandred stab him so that he can get close enough to stab his own sword through Demandred's throat.

The world grew dark as Lan slipped backward off the sword. He felt Nynaeve's fear and pain as he did, and he sent his love to her.

[chibrary]

The Chrimer: 2015, F3.

Everyone loves a good rivalry.

Charles and Max's karting history could-- and probably will-- be their own primer, but for Charles' 2015 season only one part really matters: Max jumps from F3 to F1. This casts a long shadow on Charles as his childhood karting rival.

Charles spends most of the year getting asked about seeing Max compete at the highest level of motorsport, like in this segment from a South China Morning Post article about the 2015 Macau Grand Prix:

For his part, however, Leclerc is keeping the focus on what’s right in front of him, rather than on what the horizon might offer as he sets out to tackle the tricky Guia circuit for the first time, knowing, of course, the greats of racing who have gone out there before him and still with comparisons to former VAR – and current Formula One – star Max Verstappen ringing in his ears. “I am taking things step by step,” says Leclerc. “I want to arrive in Formula One when I am more than ready and Formula 3 is a good choice in that I can learn and develop. And I raced Max all through my karting years and we fought each other at the finish, so I have always had the comparisons with him and I am okay with them.”

The jump to F3 is a last minute surprise: Charles had originally been tipped for a full-time Eurocup spot. Eurocup would have been more of the Formula Renault 2.0 level of competition Charles had experienced the previous year; F3 was considered a promotion.

In an interview, Charles was asked why he decided on F3 instead of Eurocup:

"After the season of last year, my manager and I thought that it would be better to jump to F3! Firstly, there are 3 races per weekend and 11 weekends so we drive a lot and so we gain a lot of experience! Then loads of drivers were planning to do it! And I felt really good in the car and the tests went well."

Surprisingly, Charles picks to race for Dutch team Van Amersfoort in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship like Max did the previous year. He essentially steps into his former rival's spot, replacing Max as team leader and taking his former engineer. This was allegedly on Jos Verstappen's suggestion, but there isn't much reference to that connection out there that I could find.

This doesn't help the comparisons.

Formula Scout-- in their 2015 Driver Profile of Charles-- would write:

Leclerc marked himself out as a real prospect in karting – so much so he topped our 2012 ‘karters to watch‘ feature, ahead of Verstappen. But it’s never a foregone conclusion that a successful karter will make a successful car racer. [...] Those performances suggested he would be capable of stepping up to F3, particularly as his old rival Verstappen had made it look easy and didn’t have the benefit of a year of car racing experience. And so he has proven to be. It’s still early days, but Leclerc has so far been the class of a large crop of rookies and taken the fight to proven F3 winners with multiple years of experience already under their belt. His early performances are on a par with what last year’s star rookies Esteban Ocon and Verstappen were doing – in fact, his record of two wins and five podiums from the first six races replicates the 2014 champion’s start. If he keeps it up, he will deserve to be held in the same high esteem as them a few months down the line.

They would ultimately summarize Charles' future as so:

While he’s got plenty in common with his old karting rival and Van Amersfoort F3 predecessor Verstappen, a lesser reputation and sensible management mean he’s unlikely to be making the jump straight up to F1 next year. He will therefore need to sustain this impressive form into an intermediate category like GP2 in order to make the grade.

Even with the comparisons to Esteban and Max, Charles still appears to be able to joke with both at the beginning of the season.

This lightheartedness would be needed, especially when Max was the special F1 driver guest for one of Charles' podiums:

Charles would start the season strong. As a rookie, Charles would top the morning running at the pre-event test of the opening round weekend by nearly half a second.

In true Charles fashion, he's unable to take the W:

"A good day," said Leclerc at the end of the test, after reviewing the results and drawing conclusions. “We have learned a lot, both about the set-up for qualifying and for the race. However, this does not mean that I am automatically one of the leading drivers this weekend as well, testing and racing are two different things. But needless to say, it's my goal to do it."

He would bring this momentum into winning in Silverstone, Hockenheim, Spa-Francorchamps and Nuremberg. I find the races themselves a little dull to break down race-by-race, but if you're interested.. an anon has provided video of every race here.

Charles would explain that:

“We arrived at the first race quite confident but obviously there were still had doubts from some people who didn’t know me when I arrived for testing. We were really fast from the first race which was a bit of a surprise because I was a rookie among all these experienced drivers so they didn’t really expect me. But from another point of view we were prepared, we worked hard and after testing it wasn’t that much of a surprise for us, how we went. We were quite confident.”

However... Charles' season would become inconsistent after a crash in Zandvoort with Lance Stroll would damage his chassis in a way that could never be correctly repaired.

Jules would pass the next week.

Charles would only podium once more during the remaining season, five months later in Macau.

He is quoted as saying:

“It is a good result, but I am never happy when I'm not first. Since I was a child I was never happy when I wasn't first. So, it is the still the same.”

Charles would end up finishing the season in fourth place behind Felix Rosenquist, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Jake Dennis. He'd still have 4 wins, 13 podiums, 3 pole positions and 6 fastest laps, making him the rookie champion over future F1 competitors George Russell, Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon.

Formula Scout would summarize his season:

VAR, like most, couldn’t keep up with Prema in the later part of the season but Leclerc seemed to lose some individual sparkle too. That’s forgivable for a teenage rookie though, particularly with the early-season highs becoming impossible to match. And no young racer should have to say goodbye to a life-long friend and mentor mid-season. Leclerc might not have been champion but he was F3’s standout talent in 2015.

Even with the issues in the later half of the season, he was still tapped to go into GP3 with Todt's team, ART Grand Prix. And he had some lighthearted moments:

(Behind the scenes footage here.)

One of the most lasting legacies of this season, though, is how it would set up the rest of Charles' career.

Charles did go into 2015 with very few sponsors outside of Todt. In a pre-season assessment, Formula Scout summarizes his off-track relationships:

No doubt assisted by the Bianchis’ tutelage, Leclerc signed with Todt Jr’s All Road Management firm in 2011. At present, Leclerc has no ties to F1 teams, but through his work with Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Bianchi, Todt has dealt with most of them and will be very well-placed to get his protege a role when the time comes. A potential stumbling point is that most F1 teams are already overflowing with some serious sub-F1 prospects, but if he continues to impress as he’s doing at the moment, they could begin falling over each other to find a space for him. Funding-wise, Leclerc benefits from partners usually tied to Todt’s projects, and watch maker Richard Mille (currently a sponsor of the Lotus F1 team) is his loyal main backer. And you’d imagine that being billed as a future F1 star from Monaco could well tempt some further future investment.

Lance Stroll would spend most of his single-seaters career against Charles as the Ferrari-backed driver until 2015, when he left to take a development driver role with Williams.

By this point, the Ferrari Driver Academy was heavily scrutinized to the point where it was speculated that they would do away with the initiative entirely. While Red Bull's junior program had brought Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kyvat to its senior team, no driver from the FDA had successfully made the jump. At the end of 2015, Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene decided to appoint a new head and restructure the program entirely.

Charles was rumored to be the next addition to the Ferrari Driver Academy in November 2015 as part of these changes; by December, articles were already talking as if the signing was inevitable.

In 2020, Charles would talk about visiting Maranello for the first time-- not as a friend of Jules'-- that year with his father:

I went with my father to Maranello (the home of Ferrari). I was 17 years young and extremely shy. I was scared because I didn't know if I was good enough to be included in the programme.

He was. He would end up impressing Ferrari in his two days of testing.

They would announce Charles as a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016, setting up both his next year and the rest of his career.

[morvith]

I stumbled on this post by @velvet4510 : "If Míriel had lived, would Fëanor still have followed the same dark path?"

I voted "no" because so much of Fëanor was shaped by his abandonment issues.

...pause for a moment as I contemplate Fëanor growing up well-adjusted.

But, let us imagine for a moment a perfect word.

A world where Miriel doesn't die after giving birth to Fëanor and Finwë still gets his large family (The other children of Finwë will maintain their original name for clarity’s sake)

So Miriel does not die, but the birth still leaves her fragile. It takes her a long time to recover and decide that she wants to try again, so much that there is a big age difference between Fëanor and Fingolfin

Which, not that unusual among Elves, I bet it's not uncommon for siblings to have about a century between them.

However, when Fingolfin comes along, Fëanor isn't just of age, he is fully established: he has found his craft, maybe he is not a master yet but at the very least he is well on his way to it.

He definitely panics at the idea of his mother being pregnant again, since he remembers his early years when mother was recovering - how weak and wan she looked, how easily she tired. There are arguments about it, but eventually Miriel puts her foot down and points out that this is her decision, she wouldn’t do it if she did not want to or feel up to it, and that's final.

But, perfect word: Miriel's second pregnancy is much, much, much easier than her first one.

Same for the pregnancies that follow. Her difficult first pregnancy becomes something to tease Fëanor about - within the family only, of course, but still. Imagine that.

Fëanor does not go down the same dark path. That  does not mean that there is no dark path, or that it's not somebody else who takes it.

Maybe in this universe Melkor can't get his claws into Fëanor because he simply feels zero resentment for his younger siblings. Why would he?

It's not like his parents do not give him attention and if one of them is busy, he can always count on the other. 

Did he get some jealousy pangs? Yes, sure. He is not perfect. But he probably kept them to himself and thoroughly regretted them once he had his own children and got to see parenting from the other side.

But what about Fingolfin, the second son? The one who grows up in the shadow of his oldest brother?

The one who is still doing all the paperwork because Fëanor is off creating and can't be bothered. The one who is taken for granted, the one who will never be considered for Crown Prince because....well, why would he? He is the second born, after all. 

And he is Not Fëanor.

But perhaps that doesn’t work, either. 

Perhaps in this world, because Fëanor and Fingolfin are similar, they end up being close. Perhaps Fëanor here does appreciate all of Fingolfin's hard work, and since this is Fëanor we are talking about, you know he would not be quiet about it.

Imagine Fëanor taking Maitimo to meet Baby Makalaurë and whispering, "I hope you will grow up to be great friends, like me and your Uncle Nolofinwë."

So Fingolfin is out. What about Finarfin? The third son, the last child, the one overshadowed by both his older brothers? 

What about Findis? Or Irimë?

Maybe it's Fëanor who dies trying to defend his masterpieces. 

Maybe it's Finwë who, mad with grief, stands before the Valar and swears a terrible oath.

(with many thanks to @wings-of-indigo)

[synergysilhouette]

An alternate take on "The Princess and the Frog" (2009)

Given that I've remade several Revival-Era films by now, it was only a matter of time that I remade the film that started it all (unless you're one of those fans who considers "Bolt" the start of the Revival Era). I wasn't the biggest fan of this film for musical and story reasons, so I hope you aren't too offended by my changes.

The film features more fantasy elements--I recall controversy about how voodoo was portrayed as magic rather than a religion, and to alleviate that, I think we should confirm that it's magic we're dealing with rather than a specific counterpart to a real-world concept. I'd definitely take inspiration from Alphonse Mucha imagery for the visual (though the art I imagined was inspired by his late 19th century work more than his early 20th century work). I do like the idea that magic is regarded as mystical and dangerous, explaining why Tiana steers away from it while Naveen is enamored by it.

2. Naveen's background and culture is more clearly defined--It was CONFIRMED when the film was released that Naveen's race is fictional since Maldonia is a fictional place, however many fans view him as being Indian. I noted in another post that they could've easily made him the prince of an Indian-inspired country (or a fictional Indian state) and educated in Europe, explaining the westernized fashion and interests--even though westernization was common in general around that time. Of course, if we go the "fictional location" route with the setting for the film rather than New Orleans, this isn't as much of an issue--but it'd still be a nice touch if it was an explicitly Indian-inspired fantastical kingdom, perhaps taking inspiration from Indian fantasy films.

3. Play the duality plotline--Naveen is cursed to be a frog during the night, and a human during the day, albeit forgetful of this. A big criticism people had was that the two leads of color were frogs for most of the film. What if this wasn't the case? Naveen appears to Tiana both as a vain frog and a hedonistic young man. Due to Dr. Facilier's curse, Naveen is unable to remember his froggy curse by day, and thus cannot go about solving it, and the night is filled with shadow monsters who hope to stop him from breaking the spell, with Lawrence and Dr. Facilier manipulating him during the day to make him marry Charlotte. Tiana takes pity on his frog form (not knowing that he's the prince), and unlocks his kindness and selflessness, and as time goes on, human Naveen becomes kinder, and finds himself thinking about Tiana until they share a kiss at Mardi Gras, where he marries her instead of marrying Lottie, like the villains planned. When Facilier tries to get revenge on Naveen, Tiana battles him and breaks his talisman in a similar fashion to the original. (I feel like there's some inspiration you can take from "Howl's Moving Castle" with the plot.) Also when the kiss on Naveen fails to work the first time, Tiana gains the power to speak to animals.

4. Give Lawrence and Dr. Facilier more backstory--It's mentioned that Lawrence has been taken advantage of all his life, and it'd be more powerful to see his villain arc if we knew how much pain he went through rather than simply seeing him as greedy and selfish from the start. Plus Facilier's magic is QUITE interesting, and something I'd love to know more about. Perhaps tying into the racial subplot, he had a life similar to Tiana and her family, only he couldn't achieve his dream and turned to the shadows. Some may consider this a sympathetic villain story, but I do think that Facilier's backstory in the original would've included some racial themes as well.

5. Make Ralphie older and give him more relevance--I do like the idea that Ralphie is close in age to Naveen (with Ralphie still being the younger brother), and they have a relationship similar to Dreamworks characters, ie Moses/Ramses, Sinbad/Proteus, and Miguel/Tulio. I also like the idea that while Naveen is selfish but somewhat innocent of the world, Ralphie is selfless but easily stressed and flustered. I picture him being a mix of Aladdin and Hercules. I love the idea that he came to keep tabs on Naveen, and both he and Naveen pursue Charlotte, though Ralphie actually develops feelings for her, and she reciprocates. Plus I do wish he had a different name, but that's just me.

6. Charlotte's friendship with Tiana is a bit more pronounced--Some people think that her selfless act for Tiana at the end of the movie was too little, too late, as they found her annoying and spoiled. I'd enjoy more moments where we get to see their friendship, ie after Lottie gives Tiana a makeover, she asks her what happened at the party (which Tiana apparently never told her about since Lottie mentions how they're both getting their wishes granted that night).

7. Embrace the green--I do want Tiana to enjoy wearing green without it being associated with her being a frog. The concept art has really great designs, and it could correlate to her growing to love Naveen--plus it'd make her a good contrast to Lottie, especially if it was Eudora making these dresses.

8. Alter the soundtrack and side characters slightly--Take "Never Knew I Needed" and make it an actual song for Tiana to sing! I'd also take Luis and make him a human (his story did feel like a racial allegory) while Ray would stay a firefly for his "Evangeline" story. Plus this could also make "When We're Human" a solo for Naveen. And maaaaybe make the "Down in New Orleans" a song for Tiana or an ensemble number. And a part of me wants Lottie to have a song (maybe with Ralphie).

9. Remove Mama Odie and give Eudora more credit--I say this since Mama Odie didn't really do much to move the plot along (her advice of kissing a princess didn't really matter since Naveen and Tiana get married anyway), and she gave Tiana a good amount of insight that she wasn't able to appreciate until later. Allowing her mother to be a bigger part of her story is BIG for a Disney princess, especially if Tiana is staying human and staying in town.

Lemme know what you think! I hope you enjoyed this reimagining.

[askbishopschildren]

I'm bored, so yall get a bunch of fun facts

TW for the Loki section mentioning suicidal thoughts

Koda, Mars' and Apollo's dad for those who don't remember, originally was sent to Heket as an offering from his village. They had pretty poor harvests and not much was working, but eventually Heket came by to see what else they had to offer and took a liking to Koda pretty quick. Frankly he doesn't know why she chose him, nor does he think he deserves it, but he's grateful nonetheless

Artemis physically cannot go more than a week or two without getting sick, their immune system is THAT bad

Artemis is also allergic to cats despite loving them.

Mars prefers to stay solo, however if he fucks up and pisses off either Astraeus or another bishop, he will cower and hide behind his momma. He's a giant mommas boy if you couldn't tell

When with the lamb, Astaeus goes on missionary a lot since he can use his bigger form if a life or death situation arises

Continuing on the missionary theme, Mars tries to go as much as possible solely to get away from the lamb since he hates them, both for hurting his family but also supplying his drug dealer with enough shrooms that he died

Speaking of that, Sozo is just straight up Mars' drug dealer. They talk a lot over mushroomos and regular shrooms alike. It's also how he ended up getting along with Iluquim as Sozo kept insisting they talk

Artemis is a damn good cook, as they spend free time especially when sick doing it just to kill time. They really enjoy the cooking.

Mars really does not respect his dad much, but in the end he still does love him. He just thinks he is really weak compared to other cultists, which he isn't entirely wrong about and Koda thinks he is correct aswell.

Apollo experiments with poisons a lot, including his own as a poison dart frog. His mother gives him heretics to test the poisons on, however he usually lets the heretics that praise Narinder go under the guise of escaping.

Apollo is also just very shy when it comes to Aym, and Aym is too dense to notice the crush. Baal is driven insane every time he sees it.

Mars and Apollo both used to cuddle in their mothers bandages/scarf when they were little, with Mars even throwing fits when Heket wouldn't let him do it when she needed to do something.

Gaia is the only one of the cousins, aside from Loki, to not be able to change to a smaller form to match followers just because shes already pretty small to begin with, considering regular followers go up to her shoulders.

Mars is physically the strongest of the cousins, but it's from overcompensating as he doesn't have any special abilities like the bishops or his cousins. Apollo doesn't have much either, but he doesn't feel the need to overcompensate like his younger brother

As for their abilities, Astraeus can use weapons/abilities of different zodiac signs ones at a time, Gaia can grow plants anywhere she wishes, Loki is basically a nerfed Discord from MLP, Artemis can manipulate shadows and make animals out of them, and Apollo can light bend but it isn't much.

Artemis is AFAB

Astraeus is the cousin who's the farthest from their bishop parent by a mile, excluding Loki obviously since he ditched them decades ago, just due to Shamura being so busy in general.

AAnd for a final bit, a section fully to a Loki infodump

So we all know Leshy was a total hardass on Loki when he was a kid, but it was BAD. Loki was pretty much dead inside when Ratau found him, to the point Loki pointed Rataus sword to himself just because he had no reason to stay alive anymore. Ratau recruited him by showing him knucklebones and getting him hooked, which is why he is such a big gambler now. It's so bad that he lost both his eye and his leg in two bets, both to Shrumy, as Ratau forgot to teach him safer gambling practices and he didn't learn his lesson the first time. Loki also liked to sing for Rataus cult back in the day, and to an extent still enjoys doing it when Lambert starts their cult. He genuinely loves his counsins when he meets them and likes to help them with any issues they might have, basically acting more like an uncle to them over a cousin.

There might be another part of this if I get bored again, as I have accumulated a lot of facts and infodumps over the months of these guys being around from talkin bout em with friends on discord :]