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pengychan · 2 months ago

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[Baldur’s Gate III] Hell to Pay, Ch. 29

Illustration by @raphaels-little-beast

Title: Hell to Pay Summary: Assassinating an archdevil is a daunting task, even for the heroes of Baldur’s Gate. Some inside help from ‘the devil they know’ would be good, if not for the detail their last meeting ended with said devil dead in his own home. Or did it? Characters: Raphael, the Dark Urge, Astarion, Haarlep, Halsin, Karlach, Wyll. Rating: E Status: In progress

All chapters will be tagged as ‘hell to pay’ on my blog. Also on Ao3.

*** Well hope the party enjoyed their break because it's Back to The Usual Bullshit now. (But also there's art of the previous chapter now, go check it out!!!) ***

“So, he lives.”

Mephistopheles’ voice was calm, echoing across the throne room with no need for him to raise it. Of course it did: the Palace was but an extension of its master, and its walls would never not carry his voice.

For a few moments, the words were met with silence. Before the throne lay the smoldering remains of the unfortunate cambion who’d come bearing the news. A shame, that; Rigorath had served their lord well as an emissary for over two centuries, keeping watch on Avernus through the MIrror of Mephistar. Only a few steps away from the corpse, Chamberlain Barbas seemed at a loss for words, and Justiciar Bele appeared particularly interested in the floor.

In the end, it was Steward Adonides to speak. “Yet you devoured him, my lord. We all witnessed his end at that very moment.”

As though shaken from a stupor, Barbas nodded. In most circumstances, he would have been all too happy to find someone to take the blame - he probably kept a list of devils he’d like to do away with for that very purpose - but this was different. To concede that Raphael indeed lived was to say, aloud, that Mephistopheles failed to kill him.

“That we did, my liege,” he said, casting a glance at Rigorath’s corpse. “Perhaps Rigorath misunderstood, or was misled. Even if he lived, the halfbreed would have never had power enough to--”

“You seem to forget,” Mephistopheles spoke, his voice calm and courteous as it often was as he glanced out of the window opening onto a balcony, overseeing the icy wasteland below. “The halfbreed has my blood. Surely you do not think so little of it to surmise that some mortal blood would render it powerless.”

“Oh-- of course not, my liege.” Barbas spoke hurriedly, bowing. “I misspoke. What I mean to say is, if Raphael survived, it would only be the mortal half of him. Far too weak, surely, to best an archdevil, as rumor would have us believe.”

A hum. Mephistopheles kept looking out of the window, hands folded behind his back. Outside, the wind kept howling. It had never stopped since the beginning of his reign, and it never would. “He was not alone, it seems, and they did not best Zariel. They only held their own long enough that they could entice her to accept that angelic spark back within her. Not too surprising, all things considered. I have known for some time that the former Lord of the First had… struggles, shall we say, reckoning with the past.”

Barbas nodded. “Ah, of course. It is as you say, my Lord. Duke Zariel had a weakness which was truly unbecoming of--”

“Justiciar Bele,” Mephistopheles spoke again, cutting him off. Bele seemed to recoil before bowing his head.

“My liege?”

“We discuss matters of justice often.”

“That we do, my--”

“I was not finished speaking,” Mephistopheles cut him off, and Bele shut his mouth so quickly his teeth snapped together as his liege lord spoke again. “Let us assume that the report we heard was correct, and that the human part of my useless offspring still lives. Yet I did devour someone that day. All of you witnessed it, as Adonides so promptly reminded us. So I pose to you the question, how did that come to be?”

Bele licked his lips before he spoke. “A switch, I would imagine. Perhaps the prisoner the guards took to you was not Raphael.”

Far-fetched as it may seem, it was not impossible either. There was no way a simple illusion spell would have fooled Mephistopheles, but it was far from the only way the switch may have occurred. Antilia had not been present when Raphael was devoured - she’d snapped one of her harp’s strings, to have reason to leave the hall - but she’d heard of the state Raphael had been in when dragged inside to face his sentence. Clad in little more than rags, with his face bloodied and a scold’s bridle over much of it, piercing his tongue with a spike.

Enough of the face concealed for someone else to pass as him. A spike through the tongue, to keep them from speaking up. Yes, it is possible. Likely, even.

Lord Mephistopheles seemed to think so as well, for he nodded. “Well then. You’re to have all the guards brought to the School of Hellfire, to be sharply questioned. Let Quagrem do the questioning, but I expect you to be there and listen, Barbas. Intently. Raphael was a powerless human when I had him taken to the dungeons, and if he did escape he must have had help here in Mephistar. If the guards are not involved, perhaps they noticed something. Anything they reveal must be reported to me immediately.”

Another bow. “Of course, my liege. Anything else?”

Mephistopheles turned back to the window, a hand reaching up to stroke his beard. He was wearing his Lord of Hellfire form that day, with crimson skin and pearl white eyes. Looking at that profile, the resemblance with Raphael was striking. “That incubus of his,” he spoke. “The one who returned to my court after my son’s downfall. Have them taken for questioning, too.”

“They left weeks ago, my liege, allegedly to collect new forms from the Material Plane. They have not returned since,” Bele replied immediately. Too quickly, in fact, not to raise a couple of eyebrows - those of Adonides and Barbas, specifically.

“You seem particularly well-informed,” Barbas needled him, “over the movements of this specific incubus.”

Bele glared, but he knew better than to snap in their lord’s presence. “I keep an eye on the comings and goings at court, is all.”

The comings more than the goings, Antilia mused. A most unbecoming thought for the High Cantor of Mephistar, that, which would gain her some reproach from her liege should she speak it aloud. In other circumstances she may have laughed; as things were she kept standing to the side, silent and stone-faced, as Barbas spoke again.

“As chamberlain, that is my duty. I will seek out this incubus, my liege, and if they are not in Cania I’ll ensure that they are found.”

A slight tilt of Mephistopheles’ head, the golden rings around his horns gleaming faintly. “Very well. Adonides?”

“My lord?”

“You’re to spread the word through all the layers of the Hells that a reward awaits whoever brings me Raphael - alive. Do ensure my cult receives the message across other Planes to keep an eye out for him, and for any of the mortals traveling with him.”

“It shall be done.”

“Any known diabolist who may open a portal to Baator should be looked into. If the fool intends to travel to Cania, certainly he’d rather use a portal than traverse all of the layers from Avernus to here.” A vague gesture of the hand. “You are dismissed - not you, High Cantor. And do send someone in to clean, Barbas,” Mephistopheles added, briefly tilting his head towards the dead cambion’s remains.

“Of course, lord Mephistopheles.”

There were steps, some slower and some more hurried; the sound of the door leading to the throne room opening and closing; and then, for a few moments, silence.

“... Rigorath was an asset, my lord,” Antilia said quietly, gaze lingering on the blackened innards, on the face still frozen in a scream. It was not the first time she watched the Lord of Cania shoot the messenger when the news they had to relay was less than pleasant. It never failed to make an uncomfortable feeling - will I be next? - coil up in the pit of her stomach. “A reliable pair of eyes on Avernus.”

A dismissive hum, and Mephistopheles stepped away from the window, past the body. “We have more eyes on Avernus than it’s worth counting. I’ll send another emissary to stand watch at the Mirror.”

Was he your blood, too?

It would do her no good to ask that question, even less to hear the answer, so she did not speak it. She only turned back to her-- sire -- liege, folding her hands, and followed him to the pit of flames. Away from the pool of blood which had long since stopped steaming, and was beginning to freeze. She stopped a few steps behind, eyes fixed on the black hair falling down his back, almost indistinguishable from the cape of black voice he wore. She did not mean to keep staring in silence, but that she did, only to recoil when Mephistopheles turned to glance at her over his shoulder. He looked at her, at the corpse, and back at her before giving a wry smile.

“You are at liberty to speak without the same fate befalling you. You know that.”

Do I?, she wondered. But she was not eager to test his statement, and did not voice the thought. Instead, she bowed her head. “You believe Raphael is seeking to return to Cania.”

“I know he is.”

“It would be foolish of him.”

“Yes. And he is a fool.”

“All that awaits him here is death.”

“And half his soul, the only one worth anything.” Mephisto held out a hand, and called upon a soul from the column at the other end of the room. It fluttered over his hand, but he didn’t consume it right away. He let it weave between long fingers. “I saw his potential, and extended grace for it. I seldom give warnings, but I did warn him. And when he overreached, I only elected to kill the weaker part of him, rather than to destroy him entirely.” A silent glace to where Rigorath’s body lay. “... It vexes me to say I have underestimated that human half. I shan’t make that mistake again, and neither should you.”

Antilia nodded. She’s lived at court all of her life, served her-- father, will the day ever come you’ll allow me to call you such? -- lord for almost as long as she could recall. There was much of his mind that remained a mystery to her, but some things… some things she understood. Some things were indeed easy to guess.

“You expect him to pass through Maladomini.”

“He must. All of Cania is closed to portals; I made sure of it. But the Circle of Ruins remains liable to be breached by a skilled enough diabolist, and Baalzebul would love nothing more than to assist his passage to Cania. Anything to spite me. That too, Raphael knows well. What he does not know is that Baalzebul believes you to be his faithful spy here in Cania.”

Mephistopheles opened his hand, and the soul he’d been holding onto was sucked into his mouth, his nostrils. His eyes glowed white hot a moment; in that instant Antilia saw it briefly, as though a foggy glass - the glimpse of something ancient and terrible, the flash of too many needle-like fangs like those of a fish of the deep. Then the light was gone, and the Lord of Hellfire stood before her again. He smiled without baring his teeth.

“You are to go to Beelzebul’s court. Offer him any sort of information on my court that’s outdated enough to be of no true relevance, and linger. Ensure that the Lord of the Seventh entrusts you to take Raphael through the passage to Cania, should he truly make it as far as Malagard.”

Antilia swallowed, and nodded. A small part of her balked, but she ignored it. Mephistopheles had given an order; Mephistopheles would not be denied. And why would she risk his ire for Raphael’s sake? She, too, had tried to warn him, yet he failed to heed all warnings. There was nothing more that could be done for him. He made his choices, and he chose wrong.

“Am I to call upon your forces once we’re in Cania?”

“And give him a chance to run back to Maladomini, where we cannot chase him without an open conflict with Baalzebul?” Mephistopheles chuckled, and approached. Once they stood one before the other, she had to tilt back her head to look at his face. “No. You’re to take him, alive, all the way to Nargus. He’ll follow you, as long as you can keep up the ruse, and I know you can. Once you’re deep enough in Cania to see Mephistar atop the glacier, that is when you’ll call upon my forces. He is to be taken here alive. ”

And he’ll remain alive, the unsaid part went, until he begs for death convincingly enough for me to grant it.

“Of course, my lord.”

Antilia bowed, and turned to leave. She didn’t get to take a single step before he spoke again. His voice was quiet - gentle, even, if one did not know better than to describe the Lord of the Eighth as such - but it caused her to still as suddenly and sharply as a shout would have.

“Daughter.”

No one in court or elsewhere, no one beside herself and Mephistopheles, knew that to be true. None could know. She was to be his spy; none would be foolish enough to trust Mephisto’s own blood, and certainly not the Lord of the Seventh. Mephistopheles rarely referred to her as such even in private. It had been years or perhaps even centuries since he last did.

She turned slowly. The words - sire, father, maker - refused to leave her throat. “... My lord?”

Mephistopheles stepped closer, and cupped her chin to tilt her face up. “You have served me long, and you have served me well. Once you lead Raphael in my grasp, Baalzebul is bound to know where your loyalty lay all along. You shall never be able to return to Maladomini as his spy in Cania.”

Out of the corner of the eye she still saw it, the corpse of a cambion destroyed in a fit of anger, over the delivery of unpleasant news. He’d been many centuries younger than her but he too had served Mephistopheles well and long, nearly his entire existence. Yet there he lay… and there she stood. “My liege,” she spoke. Her voice was weak in a way a cantor’s should never sound. “I am certain I can still be of use, once my time as Baalzeul’s--”

“You’re my high cantor. Your place at court is secure,” he cut her off. A clawed thumb ran over her cheek. “But you always wanted more. Like your brother, like all your siblings. Ever yearning for more than what you’re given.”

Of course we do. It’s your blood in our veins, that of the archmage of the Hells who’s been coveting the king’s throne since time immemorial. Our blood screams that it’s never enough, that we can be more, must be more. It killed nearly all of them. But I can silence it, if I sing over it, quiet it down to a murmur. I ask for little, so very little, and even that I am denied.

“All I want--”

“Hush. I know what you want. And you shall have it.” The Lord of the Eighth looked her in the eyes, those white pearly eyes bearing into hers, full of swirling mist. None of his offspring had such eyes, nor pale blue of the Cold Lord. “I am not so naive that I do not know that you shall take no joy in the task ahead of you. But bring Raphael to me, and I’ll ensure the entire court stands witness when I call you my daughter.”

True baatezu did not have hearts, nor other organs - not the kind mortals had. But half-fiends did, and she felt her own heart skip a beat. When it beat again, it seemed stuck in her throat.

“I won’t fail you, father,” she promised, and she meant it. After all, she had warned Raphael not to trust her countless times.

If he had not learned the lesson, it was on him.

***

“Oh, look. You’re alive. Color me surprised.”

For all the surprise she claimed, Helsik didn’t sound particularly impressed when she lifted her gaze from her ledger. Frankly, Astarion would have expected at least some gawking. She’d been mildly impressed when they’d taken down Raphael, after all; surely, defeating… well, convincing an archdevil to step down was even more impressive. Maybe she hadn’t heard they had been involved.

“And we are ready to head back,” Durge replied, and placed the Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength on the counter. She snatched them up as though she expected them to be taken back. Durge sighed while she examined them to make sure they were the real deal, but did not protest.

They had spent the past three days eating well, resting as much as they could when they were not having a bit of fun, and buying all sorts of potentially useful potions and supplies. Those of them who had no resistance to cold had bought some item - a robe, a ring, a pendant - that would grant them that, on Raphael’s urging. Just so that they wouldn’t freeze their asses off as soon as they stepped into Cania, Astarion supposed. If they stepped into Cania. They had another layer to brave before it got to that.

“... So. You were serious when you said you wanted to go further down,” Helsik finally spoke, clearly satisfied that the gauntlets were… well, exactly the ones she had been after all along.

Once again in his half-elf disguise, Raphael smiled. “Very much so. I don’t suppose Mammon’ lockpick has found a way to circumvent Cania’s enhanced magical defenses since our last meeting?”

A sigh. “As much as it pains me to admit, no. The archmage of the Hells really went all in to make sure no more portals could be opened in his layer. Maladomini is still the closest I can get you to it.”

An annoyance, that. The frozen wasteland of Cania was not something any of them looked forward to, either, but Raphael had made Maladomini sound even worse. A stinking rotten mire, full of crumbling roads and trash-filled cities. The Circle of Ruins, he’d called it. Not very inviting, but then again if all went well they’d only stay a short time.

They’d also stay a short time if all went badly, too. Astarion would rather not think of that possibility, though.

At the counter, Raphael nodded. “Understandable. I have heard the Lord of the Eighth is a wizard of some skill. In that case, we’ll need the portal to open as close as possible to Malagard.”

“Very well. Give me a moment…” Helsik reached beneath her desk, and grabbed something. A scroll, it looked like. Instructions, no doub--

“Ad lapidē.”

Several things happened at the same time - none of which, annoyingly enough, Astarion had seen coming. A holding spell took... well, hold of Raphael, trapping him on the spot where he stood; a gesture from Helsik caused several imps and a couple of minotaurs - were they made of gold? - to appear out of nowhere. And from the door, shutting it behind them, four more people stepped in - a dwarf, two humans, an elf.

“Shit. Hellfire warlocks,” Wyll growled, reaching for his rapier. “This has Mephisto written all over it. Well then, come forth and--”

“Oh, come now. There is no need to fight yet - or at all, if you’re wise,” Helsik spoke, and turned back to Raphael. She smiled, and whispered something; the disguising spell dissolved and the half-elf’s face was gone, leaving behind Raphael’s own. He glared at Helsik, teeth clenched, but fear was plain to see on his features as he remained frozen on the spot. The diabolist looked back at them. “Mephistopheles is looking for him, and has promised untold riches to any who bring him to Cania - alive. Whatever Raphael has offered you, surely his sire can more than match the offer. And of course, we can split the reward.”

Astarion caught a movement out of the corner of his eye - Haarlep, in the unassuming form of a tiefling, reaching back for the crossbow. He grasped their wrist, firmly, to keep them still. Wait, he mouthed, and to his relief they did, although the muscles and tendons against his palm felt tense as a bowstring.

“Hey guys, did you know that we went head to head with fucking Zariel?” Karlach snapped. “You and your little friends...” She turned, running their gaze on the hellfire warlocks, two of whom visibly shifted. “... Will be corpses by the time we’re done.”

Helsik set her jaw. “Perhaps. But one or more than you may perish or be maimed, and what for? For the sake of the being-- half the being you fought not a year ago? I am making a generous offer--”

Durge snarled. Their eyes had always been more blood than fire, but for a moment they seemed to blaze all the same. “I too have an offer,” they spoke slowly, their voice a low rumble that promised slaughter, the distant thunder before the storm. “Let him go, and pretend you never saw us before I spill your blood, feast on your marrow, and decorate the walls with your entrails. I promise you, this place won’t be so easily distinguishable from the Temple of Bhaal by the time I’m done.”

No one spoke, no one moved - but the warlocks shifted again, and Helsik swallowed. She clearly didn’t want to fight them; She’d thought they could sway them, counting on the fact they’d hand Raphael over instead of making an enemy out of Mephisto like… what was it that Raphael had called them? The worst gaggle of imbeciles in all the Planes, if memory served.

How unfortunate for them that they were, indeed, those imbeciles. But it wouldn’t hurt to pretend otherwise, at least for a little. “Love, perhaps we should hear them out,” Astarion spoke. “After all, they only want to bring him alive to their master.” Cazador wants him alive. “You remember what you did last time we were in a similar position, no?” Get away from him, or die screaming.

They’d held back, at the time, because Astarion had not yet decided whether or not he wished to complete the ritual himself, and needed all his siblings alive… but now, they had no such limits. Durge turned to look at Astarion; they no longer had the parasite to communicate with, but he rather hoped his look was enough to convey two requests: wait and let me talk.

Thankfully, it was. Durge nodded imperceptibly and Astarion stepped forward, hands up, an easy smile on his face. “Forgive my partner, they do have that pesky bloodlust problem - runs in the family, I’m told, very difficult habit to kick - but they can be reasonable. Now, if I have to be entirely honest, I never really wanted to travel to Cania. Too cold for my taste. Didn’t much enjoy Avernus either, but you do that kind of thing for people you tolerate well enough to want to see them every once in a while. Raphael, though?” he glanced at him, still trapped in the spell. “I am not sure he fits that description. How much of a reward are we talking about?”

There was a long breath, almost a sigh of relief, and one of the warlocks at the door lowered the flaming spear it was holding. “It is good to see you can be reasoned with. Our lord Mephistopheles offers untold riches in exchange for his ungrateful spawn’s return--”

Astarion moved quicker than any of them could react, before the man could add another word. Within an instant he had a crossbow on each hand, and two bolts buried themselves in two different throats. Chaos ensued, with all his companions reaching for their weapons. Durge cast a cone of cold against Helsik, causing her to stumble back with a cry, just as Halsin summoned an elemental.

Astarion grinned. He never had any doubt they’d win the fight, but truly, it never hurt to have the element of surprise on their side. He reached over to grasp Raphael’s arm, pulling him out of the magical hold he’d been stuck in.

“Heard that? You now owe us untold riches,” he laughed, and went back to firing off bolts, faintly wondering how much richer they would be once they were done looting that place.

***

Until that day in Reithwin Town, a scarce twenty years after the beginning of Zariel’s reign on Avernus, Raphael had no quarrel with Shar.

He had not approached Reithwin with the intention of making an enemy out of the goddess of Loss, truly. It was never his end goal, and generally speaking it was quite unadvisable. However, Reithwin had caught his interest - more accurately, the blanket of despair that clung to the town ever since Ketheric Thorm’s faith in Selûne had died alongside his daughter.

Two of the greatest follies mortals, he mused - to love, and to put their faith in the gods. What blessings they may bestow upon occasion were rarely worth the sacrifices they demanded of their worshippers, whose prayers fell to deaf ears more often than not. A devil, at the very least, would listen.

Which was, incidentally, what he was doing now - and the information his warlock had gathered was indeed of great interest indeed. A selûnite turned sharran out of grief was a delightful sort of tragedy, the kind poems and ballads are full of. The tale of a town forced into conversion on penalty of death, with Dark Justiciars scouring the streets to flush out the last remaining selûnites, hanging their corpses as warning, was too a suitably dark tale.

But word of the sharran stronghold underground just as Harpers and druids prepared to strike out at the tyrant… that was what truly interested him. That, and the murmurs of a small circle of devout followers of the Lady of Silver, still practicing their faith hidden away beneath the Mason’s Guild.

That sounded like an opportunity. Particularly as it wasn’t just any mason who led them, but an architect as well - the very same who built Moonrise Towers. A magnificent structure, truly. The man knew his trade, and the dwelling Raphael had made for himself in Avernus - ever floating in the skies as battles raged below - could certainly use improvements.

It was adequate, he supposed, but it lacked grandeur. And why should he not allow himself just that? He had souls enough, influence enough, to afford it. That, and Haarlep had been making some very unsubtle jabs about how wonderful it would be to have a proper boudoir.

“Or at least a bathing pool,” they’d said, “which would be more beneficial than another gaudy portrait of yourself. And with that goatee! I can’t see why you’d want it immortalized. It’s a mistake, I keep telling you. I should refuse to bed you until you shave it, honestly. Or until you give me a proper bathing pool, whichever comes first.”

Getting rid of the admittedly ill-advised goatee had been the quickest option, along with burning the portrait depicting it for good measure. But truth be told he would too appreciate a larger mansion, one befitting the status he’d clawed for himself where all manners of treasures he owned could be properly displayed.

Why not? What good is power, what good is wealth, if one doesn’t have anything to show for it? Haarlep would have the boudoir and the pool, and he would show everyone he was a duke in all but name.

And more yet, I can be more, I shall be more, he thought. Until then, he’d amass riches, servants, status. He’d bind more and more souls to him, bid his time, and feast.

He found Morfred precisely where he knew he would, at work in his guild. He made his offer, letting him know he could be found at the Waning Moon if he wished to speak further. He told the man he’d wait three days, and not an hour more.

Morfred, architect of Moonrise Towers and devoted selûnite, knocked at the door of his room by the evening of the first day, and the deal was struck. Truly, desperation was the greatest ally a devil may ever ask for.

“The Justiciars in the stronghold, will they all be wiped out?”

“None of them will be left standing on their own two legs. Do you wish to know how?”

“... No. I want them gone. I don’t care how.”

He’d signed away his soul and his services and that, love, was that. Raphael had another servant and soon an abode befitting of his station. If he played his cards right, he may just ensnare a more powerful servant to guard it, too… and he had a promising candidate in mind.

After centuries serving at the front lines of the Blood War, and several promotions, Yurgir was an excruciarch no longer. He was now an orthon, and a powerful one. Raphael had seen him lead merregons to battle time and time again and return victorious, covered in the ichor of demons and baring his fangs in gloating satisfaction.

But the satisfaction never lasted long, and soon enough he’d be back in the midst of the battle, where the fighting was fiercest and the odds to survive were few. As well as bloodlust to spare and savagery in battle, Yurgir had a knack for defying the odds. That, Raphael had to admire. Since the end of Bel’s reign, he’d been taking on some mercenary work.

Raphael most certainly had treasures enough to warrant protection, and such a powerful fiend would make an ideal guardian - or a convenient bodyguard to take with him for dealings with a certain likelihood to turn violent. But Yurgir would no doubt be expensive to hire long-term. Not so expensive he couldn’t afford it, but why pay up when he could secure his services by hiring him for one mission, with servitude as penalty should he fail to slaughter every Dark Justiciar in the Gauntlet? Yurgir may wield a deadly blade in battle, but he himself was never the sharpest knife in the drawer... and he was confident enough to accept the deal, certain as he was he could not possibly fail such a simple mission.

And to be honest, had Rapheael not intervened, he would not have failed. Yurgir and his merregons laid waste to Sharran forces, shattering their defenses and cutting all of them with no mercy… all but one.

Raphael’s appearance must have seemed like a gift from Shar herself to the terrified Lyrthindor as he cowered in a hidden room, listening to the cries of his last comrades being slaughtered and knowing full well he would be next. He’d learned quickly enough what he was - Raphael found it polite to introduce oneself - but with a bloodbath going on on the other side of the poorly barricaded door, he’d take help from anyone willing to offer it.

And Raphael, ever generous, had just the help he needed: instructions he penned himself.

In each of us is more than what we are; parts and multitudes that form our thoughts, desires, nature itself. Manifold are the creatures inside you…

Lyrthindor spoke the words and he did, in fact, become many. The multitude of rats scattered across the Gauntlet, entirely ignored by the pillaging fiends. Raphael briefly considered taking a look at the aasimar that was rumored to be trapped in the Shadowfell - was it truly a child of Selûne? How ironic, but how unsurprising, that her shimmering mother made no more effort to save her than Mephistopheles would spare for him.

I am older than you can begin to comprehend, his sire had said. None of my offspring, and there have been many, lived more than a minuscule fraction of that time.

Truly, the gods were no better than devils; maybe even the aasimar would admit it now. But despite his curiosity, he decided against trying to seek her out. The Shadowfell was Shar’s domain, and the goddess was unlikely to welcome his presence in it… especially after what transpired that day. So he returned to Avernus instead, where he waited for Yurgir to come crawling, bound to servitude.

It turned out to be a long wait. Raphael had thought of everything but one thing: Yurgir’s sheer stubbornness. Rather than admitting defeat and stepping out to become his servant, Yurgir remained in the Gauntlet, on the prowl, as beyond his reach as Lyrthindor was beyond his. An annoyance, that, but no matter. Raphael had little time to focus on it while he watched Morfred’s wretched soul design him a house fit for a king, and oversee its construction.

As long as the pack of rats in the Gauntlet lived, Yurgir was going nowhere.

***

“All right, I think we took everything of interest on this floor. Have I ever told you that bag of holding was your best steal yet, love?”

“Several times,” Durge chuckled, holding said bag open so that Astarion could dump inside a frankly concerning amount of weapons, potions, and artifacts of infernal origin and unclear purpose. He wasn’t the only one to keep busy looting: Karlach was stepping over the body of one of the warlocks, muttering something about what a good find that ‘big fuck-off halberd’ was - “It’s silvered, too!” - while Halsin put on a rather curious antlered headpiece that, apparently, would allow him to take on a wildshape one extra time before he needed rest.

Somehow he made even that look good, Durge thought - only to be distracted by Wyll tapping on their arm, holding up a pair of Spellseeking gloves. “Heard these are good for sorcerers?”

“Ah, they are. Thank you.” They put them on, and turned to look for Raphael. He was standing behind the counter, not far from Helsik’s corpse, and was reading through a ledger. He heard Durge approach, and spoke without looking up.

“We are in luck. It seems Mammon’s lockpick here kept notes on how to open a portal on each layer of the Hells, and in specific points. All the materials we need to open the portal to Maladomini seem to be at hand. It appears that we can conveniently make our entrance at the outskirts of Malag-- what is it?” Raphael trailed off, turning to glance at the cloak Durge had dropped on his shoulders.

“Cloak of the Weave,” they said. “It will absorb some magical damage for you, and add it to the next spell you cast.”

“Ah, I see. Useful, I must admit.” Raphael put the ledger down to properly clasp the cloak, and raised an eyebrow at Durge’s chuckle. “What?”

“You look good in a cloak. It suits you. I actually did wonder how come you didn’t wear one.”

A hum, and he picked up the ledger again. “Force of habit, I suppose. I do rather like the look of a fine cape, but it only suits my human form. It would look quite ridiculous once I transform, I’d imagine, with the wings sprouting beneath it.”

“You’d imagine, or did you find out the hard way?”

“... I am under no obligation to answer that,” Raphael replied, but his lips seemed to twitch in what was almost an approximation of a smile. He nodded his head towards a small heap of items he’d been picking out and placing on the counter. A large fly buzzing inside a small bottle caught Durge’s eye. “This should be everything we need. Let us head upstairs before more come seeking me.”

“Ah, speaking of that…” Durge reached into their bag, pulled out an entire smoked fish, and stuffed it back in before actually finding what they were looking for - a Dark Justiciar mask they’d picked up… at the Grymforge or the Gauntlet, probably. It had been a while. “I know your human face is not widely known in the Hells, but as Mephisto promised such a great reward for your capture, I suppose it’s best to be safe.”

“Of course. You wouldn’t want someone else to capture me, I imagine, when you have the chance to deliver me alive in my father’s grasp and take the entire reward.”

Durge stilled, and gave Raphael a long look. “I sure hope that that was just a bad joke.”

Raphael hesitated, and looked down at the mask before he sighed. “Yes. I suppose it was a poor jest,” he said, and put it on. “Was this taken from one of Thorm’s Justiciars?”

Durge breathed out, and chose to let him change the subject. For now. “It was, yes.”

“Ah, irony. I used to love it, when it was me to--” A sudden explosion upstairs, followed by a yelp, caused him to trail off and look up, alarmed. “What the-- Haarlep? Haarlep!”

“I’m good!” Haarlep’s voice drifted from above. “I’m - ow! - mostly good. Found a trap!”

“You did not find-- you fell into one, you-- ugh. Stay where you are, you walking calamity,” he snarled, and picked up the objects he’d collected with a huff before they all headed upstairs - back to the bloody pentagram and, by extension, back to the Hells.

***

It was not often that Mephistopheles visited the vaults.

Not because he did not keep great treasures in there - he did - but because he had too many priceless artifacts to count, too many to allow himself to split his attention among all of them. Those he was actively studying or working on would be in his laboratory; the others would stay in the vault, always at hand if needed, and secure.

Or at least he’d believed them secure, until mortals had dared infiltrate his citadel, his vaults, and take the Crown of Karsus. Not only the Crown, but the notes on the Accelerated Grand Design he’d collected, and which he had kept nearby. He had very little doubt that the Chosen of Bane had read them, for only those writings could have possibly given him the idea of using the Crown to subdue an Elder Brain and infect countless beings with modified parasites.

The notes should never have been so close to the Crown that they’d catch the eye of a thief; the Lord of the Eighth saw that now. But then again his vaults were never meant to be breached, and neither thing was meant to fall into mortal hands. It had almost been a disaster, for the Material Plane and the Astral Plane, for the Hells and for more Planes still… and if Asmodeus knew it had been his carelessness to almost bring it about, there may have been severe consequences.

But he did not know, he could not know. Baalphegor had perhaps guessed something, for she had been asking too many questions, and too specific, about the heist. Before long he’d known that she could be his consort no longer and sent her away, but he had no reason to think she may have found out what else had been stolen from his vaults alongside the Crown. If she did not know, neither did Asmodeus - or else he would have already taken action. With the Absolute crisis well and truly over, Mephistopheles was confident enough that the Lord Below would never know.

How ironic, he thought as he entered the vaults, that the key to avert disaster was the very Astral Prism that Raphael had given Vlaakith so long ago, as part of a deal whose finer details escaped him. He’d given the ruler of the githyanki the perfect prison to ensnare Gith’s son, but he also created and kept the very artifact which could set him free. The perfect insurance, a potential weapon to use against the Undead Queen should he ever wish her gone or seek to demand something of her.

Praise did not come easily to Mephistopheles, but he had to recognize his son had shown both cunning and foresight. Certainly he could not have predicted the prism and the hammer may open a path to the Crown of Karsus one day - who would have? - but it had been a masterful deal nonetheless.

Of course, for all his cunning, he’d fallen short of gaining the Crown yet again… and he’d paid the price for overreaching, as he’d been warned would happen. Mephistopheles may have even chosen to turn a blind eye to his arrogance, his ambition, his hubris: no self-respecting devil would not desire that Crown. But he had come too close to success for comfort, and he had to be made an example of.

And of course, there was the deal with the vampire lord he’d interfered with. Seven thousand souls - seven thousand! - taken from him, a contract over two centuries in the making lost, and all because he sought to win the trust of a vampire spawn and a few mortals as part of his mad quest for the Crown.

And to spite me, of course. Always to spite me. Well then, I can be spiteful too, as he painfully found out. None may give away my secrets and live to tell the tale.

Cazador Szarr’s soul was his now, for failing to hold his half of the bargain, and was given to Qagrem to experiment on in the School of Hellfire. Once he got his hands on Raphael, the whelp was going to wish he’d receive such a lenient punishment. And he would get his hands on him: someone would catch him before he returned to the Hells, or his only worthy daughter would intercept him in Maladomini. Mephisto was certain he would not make it to Mephistar on his terms, let alone set foot into his vaults… but, he knew, some extra insurance never hurt.

And the perfect weapon to crush that insect as he deserved, in the unlikely case he did make it to the vaults, was already there. The very thing he sought would spell his end.

“Raphael!”

The vaults were empty save for himself and the guardian he’d fashioned out of his son’s fiendish half, the part of him that truly belonged to his sire. The ascended fiend screeched somewhere in the distance, responding to his call. There was the sound of heavy steps on ice, the fierce sound of crackling hellfire, and soon enough he stood before him.

Countless children sired over countless years on countless mortals, and not one had the ability to ascend until Raphael survived what ought to have been unsurvivable. None of his spawn could control hellfire, either; Mephistopheles had admitted to only Baalphegor and Hutijin that he’d been taken entirely by surprise when Raphael manifested such raw power. It was the first time that whelp of his ever truly impressed him.

The ascended fiend standing before him now was more impressive still, thanks to Mephisto’s own handiwork. Arcane magic could do wondrous things, particularly in his hands. None before had succeeded in making a fiend’s ascension permanent, with no need of souls to fuel it - yet he’d made it a reality. This Raphael drew his power from the essence of Baator itself, much like hellfire did. He was more powerful, burned hotter, stood taller than he ever did before.

Even whole, he’d never been as powerful as he was now. He was perfect at long last. Mephistopheles smiled, and held out a hand. When he spoke, it was not unkindly. None was there to hear, after all: only the two of them. “Come, child of mine.”

Raphael obeyed, for there was nothing else he could do. Three yellow eyes turned to him, and his son stepped closer and crouched, clicking noises echoing deep within each skull. The Lord of the Eighth placed a hand on the central skull, and met Raphael’s gaze.

“Listen to your father, and heed your lord’s command.” His palm glowed, hotter than even the wreath of flames which crowned his son. There was a chirring noise of distress when Mephistopheles focused his mind on his other face, the human one, but it was not unexpected. Of course it would hurt, being forced to see his other half. Two halves of one soul will always yearn to be one again… but Mephistopheles would not allow it. He’d give the order, and he’d be obeyed.

“Should you face him, you’re to destroy him,” the Lord of the Eighth commanded, his voice a growl. His palm glowed white, and so did Raphael’s eyes; he was silent and still now, listening to his command, taking it in. “You’re to tear him apart the second you ever lay your eyes on him. You’ll stop at nothing until he lays broken and bloody at your feet. Fight to the death, if you must. Thus I command you, and thus shall be done.”

The glow faded, and he pulled his hand away. His son staggered back, groaning as though awakened from a nightmare. Even as he stepped away to resume his eternal patrol, he seemed dazed… but it was of no concern. That would pass soon, leaving behind only an order he could never defy.

Mephistopheles smiled and he turned to leave the vaults, some of the fury that had been churning in his chest finally abating. He’d taken care of every possibility, of every loophole. In the unlikely case Raphael did somehow reach Mephistar and breach his vault, he would die there, at the hands of the half of his soul he’d tried so hard to reach.

In the vanishingly unlikely case he could kill it… well, it would be a shame to lose a guardian such as that, but no matter. That fool would still fail.

Whichever way it went, Raphael would never be whole again.

***

*** [Back to Chapter 28]

[On to Chapter 30]

[Back to Start]

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #the dark urge #raphael bg3 #halsin bg3 #haarlep #raphlep #wyll ravengard #karlach bg3 #haarlep bg3 #bg3 raphael #raphael the cambion #bg3 astarion #antilia dnd #durgestarion #wyllach #mephistopheles dnd #hell to pay

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catiuapavel · 2 years ago

Note

i've seen a lot of criticism about vyce's drastic personality change in the first chapter. do you think it's contrived, or do you like the way it was handled?

Yes and also yes.

I imagine this is about the end of ch1 specifically and all in all I understand and agree there is a steep gap between how Vyce acts if you agree to the massacre versus how Vyce acts when you disagree with it. The dramatic portrait change doesn't help either, I feel like they could have changed it at the beginning of chapter 2 after the little time skip. I guess the shock factor was partly the point.

When I played Tactics Ogre (blindly) for the first time, I went Lawful route and Vyce's stance made complete sense to me. When I decided to replay the game and go Chaos route, I replayed the entirety of Chapter 1 as well to revisit it and really consider Denam's rejection of the Duke's plan in the context of what happened beforehand. And still, Vyce's opposite stance made sense to me, in regard to how he was written in Chapter 1.

Whenever I take a closer look at Vyce in Ch1, I feel there is a lot of caution as to how he's written so that it's entirely believable his anger and his passion for the Walister cause could lead him to rise as a leader or to resent the people of Balmamusa for accepting a life of servitude. So to me, there is nothing unbelievable about either of Vyce's stance though they may be antithetical.

I think Vyce is a tragically misunderstood character ʰᵉ'ˢ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵃ ᵖ��ᵒʳ ˡᶦᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵐ��ᵒʷ ᵐᵉᵒʷ. His actions in Balmamusa are also misunderstood. He's not just being a contrarian who attempts to spite Denam no matter what. It hinges on Denam's decision, but it's not just about him. It's about Vyce as well and about the two are perceived by the world. Not only is Vyce a Walister, he's also an impoverished commoner and the unloved beaten son of the village's drunk. This is who he has always been.

If Denam refuses to take part in the massacre, then he matches everyone's expectations of him. He proves to Vyce he truly is the son of the beloved abuna who could do no wrong. And Vyce embraces the role that was always projected onto him, that of a monster.

However if Denam compromises himself and chooses to stain his hands with the blood of the innocents, that image of a respectable man shatters completely. It means that the world was wrong about Denam, and in turn, that it may be wrong about Vyce. It's his opportunity to prove himself and the world he can be better.

Tactics Ogre purposely witholds this from the player and any understanding of Vyce is delayed as a result. It'd have been easier to present all this beforehand but it's just so much more interesting this way (plus it does fit Vyce to be fated to be misunderstood).

I also think there are ways in which Vyce is consistent from one route to the other. He's vehemently ambitious and always puts himself at risk. It's more obvious on Chaos route but you can definitely see it in the way he turns himself into bait for the Galgastan army on Lawful

Still the gap is steep and I think more could have been done to bridge it. Imo the most interesting aspect of Vyce is this burning rage and hatred born of trauma, injustice and ill-treatment that consumes him and everyone around. On Lawful route, he rises in revolt against an unfair system that benefits the powerful but on Chaos, he violently revolts against an entire world that has rejected his existence. I like to see him take the opportunity to prove himself, but I miss this cathartic display of rage that gets left aside.

So all in all, I think the contrast between his behaviour in Balmamusa works well but I do wish Lawful route did a little more to shorten the distance between his persona on both routes.

#tactics ogre #vyce bozeck #chaos vyce apologist hours

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i-exist1992 · 9 months ago

Note

I feel that a lot of people misunderstood this chart, it is about political rank AND magical power, not physical strength as I seen people suggest. Like:

Imps and hellhounds are the lowest in the hierarchy (though I agree hellhounds are lower than imps) they live a pretty average lifespan, can be killed and have no magic powers.

The hellborn are second up in the hierarchy, live average lifespans, can be killed, but have some magic powers (we know that succuby have some semblance of a full demon form as shown in episode three of helluva boss, when they attack Moxie in the beginning).

The sinners are third up hierarchically(is this even a word?), can’t die by natural causes, can only be killed by angelic weapons and have approximately the same magic power level as hellborn demons.

The overlords are forth up in the hierarchy, can’t die by natural causes, can only be killed by angelic weapons and have significantly more magical power than all the previous levels.

The Ars goetia are fifth up hierarchy wise, can’t die by natural causes, can only be killed by angelic weapons and have cosmic powers going all and beyond. It is also worth mentioning that that the goetia are divided by classes too: we know already the marquses, the princes and the kings, if the hellaverse will keep sticking to the lesser key of Solomon, which is the manuscript the ars goetia originated from, it may be kinda like: the presidents, the knights, the earls, the marquses, the princes, the dukes and the kings.

The seven deadly sins are sixth up in the hierarchy, probably can’t die at all, but I am just assuming here, we don’t actually know it, and have even more cosmic powers going all and beyond.

Charlie and Lilith are both top two in the hierarchy, probably can’t die, again just assuming, though we see Charlie bleed, or at least I think it is her blood in the season finally of Hazbin so yeah. The two of them also have a lot of magic powers, but I think this makes sense already.

Lucifer is on top, again probably can’t die but don’t quote me on this and could probably kill everyone in hell all together with his powers.

So basically yeah, Stolas would absolutely beat Alastor, like we are putting a, yes, powerful, but still human, soul, against a cosmic hell owl being, who could perhaps possess or just rip into pieces any soul he would encounter, but perhaps some lower ranks demons like hellborns or even sinners (though obviously, not permanently) could be beaten by imps and hellhounds, as both their magic power levels are pretty low and in those cases a fight would probably come to just physical strength.

I bet Alastor could tank Stolas

Vivzie has said that Stolas could use Alastor as a broom. Idk why ppl are having such a hard time with the power scaling of Hazbin/Helluva:

This is pretty much fairly accurate, except Hellhounds are meant to be lower than Imps. But this is it. Alastor is powerful...for a Sinner. Don't forget Overlords are just Sinners who are really powerful and can make deals. Meanwhile, Goetians have their own legions that are willing to die for them.

Hell, Alastor probably couldn't even take down Zestial or Carmilla. The only people making the power-scaling ridiculous are some of the fans, for some odd reason.

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dolliedarlin · 4 years ago

Text

i m p l i c i t ⏤katsuki b.

p a i r i n g : bakugou x f.reader

s u m m a r y : ever since you were young, you were forced to meet with the person dubbed as your finance, Katsuki Bakugou, a Baron’s son who had quite the temper but peaks your interest in every way possible

l e n g t h : 1.9k

g e n r e : olden days au ; fantasy au ; arranged marriage au ; Bakugou is a tsundere ; and we love him for it ; reader is an amazing bean that can keep up with him ; kirishima is your brother ; best brother ever ; rumours are toxic ; never base your opinions on someone solely on rumours ; you attract a stalker ; it’s not your fault ; he just as a twisted yandere mind ; Katsuki is your hero ; he makes your heart flutter ; and he makes your knees weak ; i really want someone to protect me and say what he said at the end of this

w a r n i n g s : swearing from our lovable explosion murder king ; acts of stalker/yandere ; sword fighting

a / n : i didn’t plan on posting this but mother nature decided to pay me a visit today so i basically lazed around in my bed groaning in pain and half starving bc it was too painful to get out at times for food. instead i started writing this imagine again that i had began months ago. this is inspired by Ranma 1/2, which is an anime that i loved watching when i was much younger, it’s not well edited because i’m kinda dizzy rn but i hope you enjoy it!

— first of all, before either you or Katsuki were born, the arrangement for your marriage to each other was already settled by your parents, hence why you were immediately introduced when you were children

— neither of you knew what marriage or engagement meant but you both associated it with seeing each other

— it wasn’t something Katsuki liked but you didn’t quite mind it, he always gave you really interesting reactions that you quickly came to like

— as the two of you grew up together, you always tried your best to get close to him but Katsuki was adamant at pushing you away and keeping you at arms length at all times

— despite all that, you wanted to catch his attention, which meant that you took interest in all the things that he found interesting too. that included: sword fighting, horse riding, duelling ; spicy foods ; battle tactics ; magic etc

— Katsuki always tried to ignore you but secretly appreciated how skilled you had become over the years. you were still nothing compared to him but you were able to battle against a majority of qualified knights and still be the last one standing

— he only scoffed at you because your talents were wasted; you’re too kindhearted to ever use your honed skills properly - it irritates him that other women push you to conform to etiquette, tea parties and high society when you were better than that

— you’re better than shallow conversations about the latest fashion, or the art of sipping tea, calligraphy and painting because he knows how much you train and how much effort you put into your education outside of such insignificant things

— Katsuki knows that you can handle yourself better than any other nobleman he knows of, he’s seen you help your father with his business and vigorously train with your dukedom’s knights

— what’s the point of all that effort if you weren’t going to show anything for it?

— because of that Katsuki always acted like he hated having you as his fiancée despite your optimism about him, as well as your patience and understanding of his unique way of expressing himself

— because the two of you are forced to spend a lot of time together by your parents, you’ve has been able to understand Katsuki and his mannerisms better than anyone else as your mother has always taught you to be openminded - she’s never been like the other noble ladies of society, hence why your father married her

— now, you were following in her footsteps. there’s been much gossip about your unladylike behaviour but you didn’t care, all you needed were your parents’ love and the love of Katsuki. he still needed some more time to come around but you’re positive you’ll get to him soon enough

— you’re positive there’s a different gleam in his eyes whenever he looks towards you now. it had always been one of hatred when you were much younger but his expressions frequently soften around you nowadays.

— no matter how subtle it may be, you always notice

— many rumours circulated about you the first time you had shown your skills openly amongst the knighthood. it had first started with your knights who praised you highly but, as soon as those whisperings reached outside the dukedom, many noble ladies started to gossip about your misdemeanour.

— surprisingly, those rumours were shut down in under a week and you didn’t know why; usually such good gossip material stayed for months and only faded with the years so it was peculiar to have it die down so quickly

— what was suspicious was that, as soon as your rumours died down, stories about Katsuki surged forward.

— when you conversed with other people, they would say how horrible they feel for you having to marry such an aggressive and dislikable fiancee. they would then over-exaggerate all the belligerent and misunderstood characteristics of Bakugou, even making up disgusting rumours that painted him to be more villainous than he actually was.

— “how shameful,” you spat with disgust, glowering down at the noble ladies frozen in their seats, “how dare you openly gossip about my fiancee right in front of me, the nerve! you should know better than to act like such children. if you have nothing better to do then i suggest you leave the kirishima estate immediately and never expect to be invited back,”

— they tried to beg you for forgiveness, seeing as your father held such power in high society, being one of the four noble dukes of the kingdom serving directly under the king as they all had noble blood.

— nobody expected your father to marry you to a Baron’s son. Katsuki didn’t have a higher title than you but your fathers had gone to war together and remained loyal friends ever since, Baron Bakugou went on to acquire his title of Braon after his service in the war but many people still looked down on him from his commoner origins. to think that such educated ladies of high society would use that as leverage to gossip however they wished.

— word of your actions on behalf of Bakugou spread quickly and the two of you became a couple that shouldn’t be trifled with.

— after that day, you always defend Katsuki and never miss the opportunity to express how much you admire him and care for him even if he doesn’t tend to reciprocate it

— you do this when Katsuki’s friends make an appearance, they consisted of your brother, Eijiro, Denki of house Kaminari (son of Marquis Kaminari) and Hanta of house Sero (son of Marquis Sero).

— they usually don’t visit the estate but this time they decided to utilise the knights training grounds for extra duelling practice and happened to catch you just as you were walking out, having finished your own training

— as soon as introductions and polite greetings were exchanged, came the jokes and jives.

— “I wouldn’t blame you if you eloped with someone else on your wedding day, Lady (Y/N), knowing this guy’s attitude,” Denki snickers as he points his thumb at your fiancé, who growled lowly in return.

— “i wouldn’t dare do something like that because, even if this is an arranged marriage, Katsuki will be the only man for me” Katsuki didn’t expect you to be so forward and couldn’t help the blush that coated his cheeks from your response

— Denki whistled in a mix of astonishment and amusement, “Katsuki’s a lucky guy!”

— “he looks really happy to hear you say that too, sis,” Eijiro teased as Hanta grinned from beside him.

— “shut up! we came here to train so let's train already, you dumbasses!”

— the days go by and life is good; the quicker your wedding day approaches the kinder and gentler Katsuki treats you. it wasn’t until the kindness you practiced with everyone you met, no matter their status, became something more in the twisted mind of an unknown individual that you encountered within city streets, while out shopping

— one act of kindness made the stranger crave for your touch and sought you out in the most deviant method. he sent constant letters multiple times a day and even mailed one with his most intimate item of clothing, not only that but he always stood at the gates of your estate, waiting for it to be opened just to slip in and try to meet you again

— of course, he didn’t get far because of the security brought on by your dukedom’s talented knights stopped him at every devious attempt. each incident was reported directly to your brother, who was training to inherit the duchy as soon as your father retired

— Eijiro was having none of it and devised the best plan of action he could, knowing that his image as the heir of the dukedom needed to be thought of so that his people wouldn’t be against him when he took over his capable father’s place. he resisted the urge for an immediate confrontation to plan with you, about how you wanted to defuse the situation

— however, as soon as word got to Bakugou, he ran over on foot to confront the man at your estate, just as Eijiro came down with a squadron of knights and you at his side

— lost in his own world, your stalker immediately reached out for you the instant he caught sight of your figure. on his face, he had a twisted smile and manic eyes, his breathing became heavy as if to savour the same air you breathed not too far away from him. it was frighting and chilling to see such an unhinged man. he was so deranged, he didn’t mind the swords and pointed glares directed at him by all that were present and Katsuki, who was fast approaching from behind

— “Get. Away. From. Her!” Katsuki shouted in anger as he drew his sword and slashed at the young man, making you jump back with a gasp.

— “Bakugou!” Kirishima warned as he pulled you into his chest for protection from the clashing of swords

— “Katsuki, be careful!” you cried. confronting someone with such an unstable mind could go horribly wrong and no matter how skilled your fiancee was, you couldn’t help but worry

— Even though this was the first time Katsuki ever showed his feelings for you in such a dramatic gesture, the worry you had for him consumed your joy as his opponent drew out his own sword and started lashing out with worse coordination than your junior knights.

— what he lacked with technique, however, he made up for in agility as well as his own unpredictability. it made it hard for Katsuki to predict the path of his opponent’s sword so for a time, he was constantly dodging his blade. it didn’t take long, however, for the game of endurance and stamina to come into play and slow down his opponent enough for him to fight back with more accuracy.

— “you revolting rat!” Katsuki growled swinging his sword with might only to grind his teeth when his sword is narrowly dodged. not one to give up, however, he goes in once again and finally lands a hit that forces your stalker to crumble to his knees, “you try and pull that shit with (Y/N) again and I’ll be doing more than just beating you to the ground,” it was an obvious win for the blonde.

— “And what would that be?” your stalker still had fight in him that came off as more irritating than anything else Bakugou had ever encountered in his life of servitude as a royal knight and baron’s son.

— just to prove his point, whatever it may be, Katsuki goes to stand beside you and pull you into his chest with his large hand at your waist

— “landing your ugly, disgusting ass in a fucking coffin!” the venom in his voice was evident and it made you shudder, curling up into his chest for comfort, not knowing that the next words he’d shout would have your knees weaker than any training could ever do, “(Y/N) is MY Fiancee! you touch her and I’ll kill you!”

n a v i . | bnha mlist

#bakugou x reader #bakugou imagine #bakugou fluff #bnha bakugou #bnha olden days au #bnha fantasy au

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codenamed-queenie · 5 years ago

Text

#BatsInQuarantine

I am going insane. So I poured my restlessness into one long and very detailed post and got super into it. Please enjoy this hot mess.

The Justice League, being the well-meaning virus-proof Super Friends that they are, took one good look at the news, one good look at their non-powered friends Ollie, Bruce, and their families, and collectively decided that these normal humans must be Protected At All Costs.

Now, keep in mind, Bruce is never one to roll over when it comes to being benched.

However, he understands the importance of social distancing. He knows he needs to set a good example for his kids, and keep up appearances as Gotham’s Most Responsible Multi-Billionaire.

So. Quarantine it is.

But how are his kids handling it?

Dick -

100% on board in the beginning. Gotta do the Responsible Thing. Gotta set a Good Example. Besides, guys, this is gonna be Fun. Quality Family Time is always a Must.

He lasted 2 days.

Then he started to get twitchy.

And as everyone knows? A Trapped Dick Grayson is a Feral Dick Grayson.

He bounces off the walls.

Literally.

“I have to climb.”

“Dick, no.”

“I have to climb everything.”

Has scaled the manor 16 times already. Has climbed the chandelier. The banister. Bruce. The roof. The Cave. Anything in the house that’s been bolted down and especially anything that hasn’t.

Duke found him clinging to the wall 10 ft off the ground like Spiderman and screamed so loud it shattered glass.

Desperate for news of the outside.

He thrives off of it like a starving man.

Was the one to suggest he and Barbara take a break to Social Distance from each other (”Sorry, babe, kissing spreads germs”) and experienced Instant Regret(TM) approximately 5 minutes after.

The Family has labelled him a Flight Risk Level 1 (Most likely to say f**k it and make a break for the outside world)

Jason -

Accidentally got trapped inside the manor with the others when Bruce called Shutdown. If he had his way, he’d be chilling in his favorite safe-house right now, binging The Witcher with Roy and Artemis, and not worrying about finding a stray brother in his sock drawer.

But he’s nothing if not an opportunist.

The way he sees it, Jason has 3 options:

Self Improvement

Self Isolation (See Duke, Cass, and Damian)

Descension Into Madness (See Dick and Steph)

And, well, he always wanted to try a few things. Now he’s got the free time to do it.

So he settles on baking.

Alfred’s got enough food and raw ingredients stored up to feed an army. (Not because he’s a Panic-Buying-Hoarder in times like these. But because he’s a Panic-Buying-Hoarder all the time. Just try feeding 11+ teenagers sometime.)

Uses recipes he finds off Google.

His first few attempts are, in a word, ‘tragic’.

Alfred slips him a few of his recipe cards, and Jason suddenly starts seeing Results.

Turns out he’s pretty good at this baking thing once he gets the hang of it.

Hope everyone’s okay eating nothing but pie, macaroons, biscuits, and whatever else Jason whips up.

Cause that’s gonna be the only food left by the time he’s done.

Barbara -

Self-quarantined with her dad.

They’ve been binge-watching classic black and white movies together.

It’s a fun time, but she’s started to get a little antsy. Loving her dad and wanting to be around him 24/7 are, understandably, mutually exclusive.

Calls the manor to video-chat every day.

For her sanity just as much as theirs.

Gives everyone little challenges to film on their phones and send in. She makes compilations of everyone’s submissions so they can all watch and laugh together.

Bonus points for Creativity

One comp shows the family trying to drop Mentos into coke bottles.

Dick did a handstand, and dropped his Mento from the second story balcony.

Tim did it wearing the Batman cowl. The soda exploded into his face, and the rest of the video is just Bruce’s Shrieking.

Stephanie tried it, but the bottle tipped. Everyone on camera screamed as the bottle rocketed through the front window.

She spends most of her calls having one-on-one convos with Dick.

They’ve come up with little code phrases so they can be Cheesy even with family members lurking in the background.

She thinks the way he clings to the monitor is cute.

Almost like he’s giving her a hug through the screen.

(It’s easier than letting herself worry about his mental state, at least)

Tim -

Oh this boy.

Freaked out for the first five minutes before he decided ‘hey wait, Bruce is letting me stay in my pajamas all day? Noice.’

Now he’s just vibing.

The rest of his family is Low-Key shielding him.

He Has No Spleen, you see.

Steph: “Someone could cough on him and he could die!”

He just goes about his day, playing Animal Crossing like there’s no tomorrow, tinkering on projects, taking naps, etc. Living his best life.

Meanwhile there’s always someone lurking behind him, keeping watch, keeping him safe.

Dick sneezed within 5 feet of Tim once (the fact that he was on top of the dusty bookshelf Tim was perusing is irrelevant)

Jason still full-body tackled him the second Tim’s back was turned.

No one with any symptoms--

Like, any symptoms. They don’t even have to be Corona-related.

--is allowed within 10 feet of Tim.

Tim has been wandering the manor for weeks, now, without seeing another human being.

(He sees Dick on the ceiling sometimes, but that doesn’t really count)

He’s been trying increasingly drastic pranks and shenanigans to draw someone, anyone, out.

But it doesn’t matter how many times he steals Damian’s sword, or sets fire to Jason’s brownie bites.

Nobody wants to risk it.

Cass -

No one has seen her since quarantine started.

Everyone is approximately 87% sure she’s somewhere in the manor though

Because she does eat the meals Alfred leaves out for her.

Or at least someone does, at any rate.

(Jason and Santa top the running suspects list)

Santa was Steph’s suggestion. For some reason it snowballed.

It’s assumed that Cass misunderstood the meaning of ‘social distancing’ and took it too far.

But no one knows for sure.

She is Tim’s Guardian Angel.

People who so much as clear their throats a little too loudly anywhere near him suddenly wake up on a different floor of the house four hours later.

Duke came closest to spotting her while he was up in the attic.

Either that, or there’s another Creepy Sister everyone forgot to tell him about living up there.

She is silent, and watchful, sticking to the shadows, but she does leave the occasional note out to brighten her siblings’ day.

Things like ‘helo i love u’ and ‘hop u ar ok’ mostly.

She is bound and determined to protect her family from this invisible threat, no matter the cost.

Steph -

Like Dick, she was Super Pumped at first.

(Just kind of showed up at Wayne Manor before quarantine was enacted. The original purpose of her visit is unclear, but regardless, she’s Trapped.)

Also Like Dick, her descent into madness was swift.

She is impossible to pin down.

Not like Cass or Damian, who’ve stayed off the grid, and are therefore Untraceable.

No. She’s impossible to pin down, because she never stops moving.

Switches seamlessly between Zumba on top of the Giant Dinosaur in the Batcave, and furiously knitting Alfred (the Cat) a sweater with a pair of Tim’s used chopsticks.

Braided everyone’s hair while they were asleep.

Even Bruce’s.

She tried to do Tim’s, but somehow blacked out and regained consciousness in the attic.

When she woke up with a scream and a furiously twitching eye, she startled Duke out of his Makeshift Fort he built out of old cardboard boxes and antique furniture. He’s had to resort to finding a new hiding place.

Sometimes, on the rare occasions she does sit still, staring off into the distance, she’ll suddenly start laughing hysterically. This may last between thirty seconds and thirty minutes, depending entirely on how long it’s been since she’s knitted a cat sweater or done cartwheels through every room in the house.

Blew up the greenhouse out back, somehow.

Everyone has agreed not to talk about it.

Some people were built to handle prolonged time inside their homes.

Stephanie Brown is not that way.

Damian -

Damian Wayne Cannot Be Contained.

At least not inside the house.

He took off thirty-six hours into quarantine.

Thanks to the security equipment around the borders of the Wayne Estate, he can’t escape the grounds.

(He’s tried and failed multiple times. Jason and Bruce have a running bet on how many times the perimeter alarms will go off per day.)

(Jason is winning.)

He wanders the grounds with Titus as his only companion.

The two of them run laps, practice drills, and find ways to occupy their time.

No one’s entirely sure what those ways are.

In fact, nobody knows exactly where Damian is at any given time.

Only that he is Out There.

And he’s the best security system Wayne Manor’s ever had.

So far, he’s stopped five groups of civilians scaling the perimeter walls before the lasers and electric nets even have a chance to deploy.

They were trying to break in and steal supplies.

(Even ones they already had in surplus. Like Toilet Paper.)

He’s also stopped Dick from escaping twelve (12) times.

Drags him back by his shirt collar and deposits him on the welcome mat.

Usually with a note for Alfred/Jason, requesting more fruit tarts.

Duke -

Did not leave the attic for two weeks.

Then Steph discovered his hiding spot (read: was dumped there by Cassandra) which forced him to relocate to the basement.

Yes, it turns out Wayne Manor does have a basement.

This was a surprise to Duke, who always thought that the Batcave was Bruce Wayne’s basement.

Alfred keeps him supplied with all the necessities:

i.e. food, magazines, assorted pastries from Jason’s latest batch, usually straight out of the oven.

Duke also snagged the Manor’s Alexa.

She has become a sort of ‘Wilson’ to Duke’s ‘Chuck Noland’.

She is his only comfort. His only ally.

He’s determined to wait out this quarantine, doing his best to avoid the others.

Duke has seen these people under pressure.

He knows exactly what he’s dealing with.

Duke: “Alexa is the only motherf****r in this madhouse I ever respected.”

*offended butler noises from the other room*

Duke: “And also Alfred.”

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mtsainthelens · 3 years ago

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dune live blog 1

I was debating doing a live blog, because Dune is a very old and studied series. Everything there is to say about it has probably already been said. I know I’ll be making some fairly inane statements that people who have never read the book won’t care about and that people who have finished the book also won’t care about. This live blog mostly exists for my own benefit. This probably could have gone in a notebook somewhere. But eventually I decided that there is some value in seeing someone react to a series for the first time, even if it’s a kind of smug, poorly-aged remark everyone can laugh at. On the other hand, wrong predictions might even be more insightful than correct ones. Fresh eyes are good, I think.

I’m at page 100 right now, so starting a little late - not really though, it’s a sci-fi book, so it’s taken me about this long to get situated. Most of my observations have been about things Jessica has said.

First of all, I love this woman. She’s balancing a lot of things and despite all she knows, she isn’t shown to have that much confidence in herself or her instincts. Her exchange with Yueh in the latest chapter kills me, where the text calls him a traitor every other sentence and all she can do is feel pity for him.

Another thing she mentioned in the exchange was her relationship with Duke Leto - the two sides of him, how sweet he could be and then how cold. She blames the latter on Leto’s father: “If only that old man had died when my Duke was born!”

I’m guessing generational curses may be a big theme in this, and that this line may be indicative of the way Jessica views Leto’s influence on Paul as well. I haven’t really seen how Jessica reacts to Paul being around Leto, but it doesn’t seem to be with great enthusiasm. Paul is being raised in the Bene Gesserit ways - he’s meant to take after his mother while taking over the responsibilities of his father. In a lot of ways, it seems like Leto himself is a hinderance to this process.

I was misunderstood on the meaning of concubine, and took it more to mean prostitute. I was forming a vision of Jessica in my head not unlike Magdalene, but I don’t think it holds up much now. There is a lot of religious subtext in this book. I’ve heard that Islam was apparently pretty intrinsic to the series, but unfortunately I can’t speak much to that. All I recognize is the young, unmarried woman with the son destined for greatness and supernatural ability. Treachery, also is not limited to Christianity, but all the talk of Yueh makes it seem like a significant parallel. (It’s also interesting how they didn’t hide the fact he was a traitor at all, even a little bit. still, they haven’t what exactly he’s done or will do.)

This is a small thing that I’m kind of proud of myself for picking up on, and the last thing I have to say about Jessica.

Page 49, Paul recalls how the Reverend Mother said “a ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel.”

Page 104, Jessica says “motivating people, forcing them to your will, gives you a cynical attitude towards humanity. It degrades everything it touched. If I made him do . . . this, then it would not be his doing.”

I didn’t understand the first statement until I read the second. Now it reads as though the difference between persuasion and compelling is that the former requires work and preserves the autonomy of the people involved. “Compel” and “motivating”, however, may be used interchangeably. I think this was a specific warning from the Reverend Mother to the Kwisatz Haderach. It’s a warning not to abuse the powers he’d have inherited from his mother when he ascends to leader - a unique predicament only he could be in.

Moving beyond that, I’m still a little vague on the political and business side of things, but I’m invested. My prediction is that the nephew of the Harkonnen will be set up as a foil to Paul? They’re all part of an empire, I know that much. I’m hoping we get to see what some of the battles look like - my original assumption was those would take up a lot of the book. Remains to be seen.

Also, what’s up with that knife?

#dune live blog

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misunderstoodnotevil · 4 years ago

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“You bastard.”

Series 1, episode 4

Let's put everything else that happened in the episode out of the way: Welcome, Mr. Branson. He's the new chauffeur. He reads history and politics. He stalks behind windows to see Lady Sybil's new "dress" (which is a tiny bit awful... and she looks like as if it's just escaped from a harem), but in a cute definitely not a stalker (ahem) way.

Anna, Carson, Robert, Violet, Cora and of course Matthew hold Mary into a very high esteem.

Isobel' tries to treat Molesley's allergies, but she gets the wrong diagnosis and is put in her place by Dr. Clark... no wait he sits there on his armchair leaving Violet to give the right diagnosis.

There's a romance in the making between Anna and Mr. Bates.

O'Brien is shown to be the mean-spirited antagonist/villain that she is by -gasp- refusing to be treated as a slave and do work that isn't part of her job description. Lord, you have to love this. They make it look so atrocious that she actually knows what her job is. Of course, being a kind hearted person is by far better than knowing your place.

There are things going on between Mary and Matthew, but Mary is a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, due to slight self-hatred. I haven't really understood her real feelings in regards her night of passion (and loss of virtue) at the hands of the late Pamuk. Not that I have no idea how to examine them, but this is not the point here.

Thomas: Welcome to the dark side of dastardly deeds. Mostly antagonising William. (And someone's stealing wine... Carson says). So William wants to ask Daisy out to the fair and Bates tries to support him, but Thomas beats him to it (because YOLO) for no other reason than to beat him to it. I-like-one-bloody-bastard. Daisy is ecstatic (reasonably so), Bates calls Thomas a bastard. He does have a point. But, why does he have a point?

Because of Thomas' self-satistied smirk.

The audience has never actually watched Thomas being close to any man except for the Duke and Pamuk. Unless the servants of Downton Abbey were looking behind key holes at those instances, I fail to understand where the comments are coming from. And it's not just now. It's for the whole 6 series. Everyone there seem to have a better assesement of who's gay than Thomas himself. Mrs. Patmore is quite scathing trying to discourage Daisy's crush on Thomas. On multiple occasions. The narrative may make it seem as if they all knew but they weren't homophobic towards him, however, when Daisy quite dreamily says that Thomas could have been a sportman, Mrs. Patmore replies "Really? Which sport did you have in mind?" The story itself has proven, again on multiple occasions, the answer is to whatever sport he'd like. Cricket? In the same scene, while Thomas wonders where Mrs Hughes has gone, William says it's none of his business (which tbt it isn't) and Mrs. Patmore again: "Like most of what goes on 'round here." It's clear though that Thomas' wereabouts is their business.

Mrs. Hughes is seeing an old friend of hers.

"What did I tell you? She’s found her Romeo." When Thomas, with Gwen, Daisy and William see her with her friend, and he says she's found her Romeo they don't believe him. Except for Daisy, who as I type this down he thinks he can see the sun shining behind his dark hair and dark grey eyes. (I can identify... but... not really.)

"You’re hiding behind him, but he’s not what you think he is." Now, what does William mean by this? Is it that Thomas is not a good person? Well, Daisy sees everything Thomas says and does, or at least the parts everyone else sees. She can come into the same conclusion sooner or later.

So William means something else. Gee, I wonder what. And don't get me wrong, he's jealous. Of what I'm not sure why he's jealous if he knows that either way Thomas wouldn't touch Daisy with a five feet stick. Is it the idea that the girl he's interested in is interested in a man who is not going to want her back? Quite possible.

"He can disapprove all he likes, Mrs Hughes has got a fancy man."

Personally, I didn't know what a fancy man is so I had to look it up; "the man that a person is having a sexual relationship with, but is not married to" How did Thomas go from "Romeo" (and yes Juliet may have had sexual relationships with him, but it's the epitome of romance) to "fancy man" in a couple of hours it is a question. Or is it that he tries to be willingly impudent among the older people?

When Daisy laughs at the "fancy man" Mr Bates tells her it doesn't suit her to be nasty. As oppsed to Thomas, we may presume here. The question that arises is why? Why doesn't suit her to be nasty? The audience has to believe her bad behaviour is because of Thomas' influence killing Daisy's agency due to her age (and possibly gender). The future will prove Mr. Bates wrong. IMHO She can be nasty all on her own. But the difference is Daisy is not shown as the antagonist.

When Thomas, clearly tongue in cheek asks Ms. O'Brien, with whom it is clear he has a close relationship, if she fancies a promotion in case Mrs. Hughes gets married and leave, the reply could be amusive, but it's scathing. "If she's got a boyfriend, I'm a giraffe."

Well....

The thing is, if you remove the vulgarity of "fancy man", Thomas is right. The only one who is right. But it's not shown that way.

Mr. Bates is concerned for William's well being. And when a smug and cocky Thomas says "What chance did he have up against a champion?" instead of laughing at the childish behaviour, he grabs Thomas and shoves him up against a wall. I have read a couple of nice analyses of the matter so I won't dwel on it. Considering the age difference between the two men, the violence is unneseccary, I think, but at the same time the narrative brought it here so it can escalate Thomas' dislike and want to have Bates removed from the Abbey.

If you think about it, until now, other than a few concerns in regards to whether Bates can do his job and ill-intended remarks, Thomas hasn't done anything particularly nastier than usual against Bates.

"Now, you listen, you filthy little rat. If you don’t lay off, I will punch your shining teeth through the back of your skull."

Is the reaction in accordance to the crime? Or even crimes? Yes, Thomas is a disagreeable person. Always with a witty scathing remark, always on the other side, controversial, annoying, a little pest. But, he's a footman and Bates is a valet, Thomas is (a lot) younger than Bates, there are power dynamics at play here that Thomas seems not to particularly care about. Keyword: seems.

"Is this supposed to frighten me, Mr Bates? ‘Cause if it is, it isn’t working. I’m sorry, but it’s just not working."

Thomas and William are around the same age and have little difference in positions. Bates is his superior in every way that matters (position and age and even weight). I don't understand why they thought having Bates in his undershirt was a good decision either. He seems overly menacing.

But of course, all that doesn't matter because in the next scene, Thomas is seen conspiring with O'Brien how they'll use the information about Mary and Pamuk. Not to mention that it continues with Thomas' bullying William. I mean, he just tells him to fix his appearance, and if it was said by Carson no one would bat an eyelid, but Thomas' tone and everyone's reaction to it is seem to be humiliating for William.

The way the Bates/Thomas and Thomas/William scenes are framed make the latter seem worse and Thomas' behaviour even more unaccepted.

And we go back to Mrs. Patmore trying to dissuade Daisy from making eyes to Thomas. Except for outright saying "he's not interested in you unless you're a man" she says everything else she can. 1. "He’s not for you, Daisy." Daisy thinks he's too good for her. 2. "No. He’s not too good." From one side this is good, because Daisy shouldn't see anyone as being "too good for her". But that's not exactly what Mrs. Patmore implies, is it. Daisy cannot understand her. 3. "He’s not the boy for you, and you’re not the girl for him." Unhelpful, really, really unhelpful. 4. "Perhaps Thomas has seen and done more than is good for him. He’s not a ladies’ man." Seriously, I repeat, it's as if the characters are part of the audience. And as confident as Thomas is (at least he was in the start), he hasn't been shown doing anything publicly to explain this. Zero dramatic irony. In the meantime, Daisy wants her man experienced. 5. "Daisy, Thomas is a troubled soul." I would assume a "troubled soul" would ensure having a bit more support from those around him. Except, it doesn't. Daisy still doesn't get it (and why would she? This is the 1910s!!!) and Mrs. Patmore gives up and moves on to dinner.

Let's compare it to Mrs Hughes talking to William: She likes listening to William playing the piano and tries to give him comfort. "You mustn’t let Thomas get you down. He’s just jealous. Everyone likes you better than him." Well, except for Daisy, I guess. And Mrs. O'Brien, if we are honest. "Then she’s a foolish girl and she doesn’t deserve you." At the very least, you have to give it to Mrs. Hughes, she doesn't deny Daisy's agency at being a foolish girl all on her own.

And then Mrs. Hughes talks with Mr. Carson, and guess what? Thomas had a point. Her friend did ask her to marry him. Who would have guessed? Of course, she denied because being the housekeeper of Downton Abbey is more fulfilling, I guess.

There wasn't much Thomas so I had to improvise here.

PS. In case my intention is misunderstood, I clearly don't say Thomas is a poor misunderstood (sorry Rob) angel who is always right. On the contrary, he's a sneaky weasel at times (read most of the times). He tries to be as disliked as possible by everyone. I'm merely criticising the narration of the story telling & how unsubtle the whole thing is.

#Downton Abbey #Thomas Barrow #NotEvilTexts #DA watching #1x4

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the-busy-ghost · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on TSP S2E05- The Plague

Well that was An Episode. Actually I thought the writing in this one was a little better than the other episodes (at least until the last three minutes or so, what the fuck), and I did like some of Katherine’s speeches this time. Nonetheless some thoughts:

- Firstly, I would like to see the casting call. Do they cast for ‘Whispering Lady #1′ and ‘Whispering Lady #2′? Seems like you could make a career out that, given how often they appear in period dramas.

- How long has Sir William Compton been ill? I know the plague was a terrifyingly quick disease but you would think someone would have noticed he looked a bit peaky BEFORE he dropped dead in the middle of the hallway. Also they’ve established that he’s the physically closest person to the king and yet nobody is at all focused on checking to see if Henry is well?

- I really feel like they’re setting up Anne and Katherine’s relationship to be Bessie Mark 2. Like Anne is going to be portrayed as a close attendant and confidant and then stab Katherine in the back, thus robbing Anne (and indeed Bessie) of any independent motivation or justification.

- Could they call this episode Bessie Blount and the Fastest Three Year Pregnancy in England

- And while we’re on the subject poor Bessie. I really feel like she’s been robbed a little by the writing (not by the actress, Chloe Harris is great). She doesn’t get to say a word in her defence until halfway through (the silent Other Woman), and then we’re supposed to believe that being the king’s mistress was such a huge dishonour she’d be chucked out, and then the only reason she is restored to favour is probably going to be because of Katherine? That’s a lot to saddle on one woman. I was already a supporter of the Bessie Blount defence squad and I am quietly seething on her behalf. Also I feel like they could have had Katherine help at the birth IN LITERALLY ANY OTHER WAY THAT WAS VERY GROSS AND NOT AT ALL SAFE AND THEN YOU JUST LEFT HER THERE BLEEDING AND FUCKED OFF WITH HER BABY

- Katherine “what did you think I was going to use it for” WELL SURE I DON’T KNOW KATHERINE BUT HOW IS THIS BETTER??? The Myranda absolutely JUMPED out here, I cannot even BEGIN to describe how appalled I am.

- Also again is this supposed to be a sympathetic portrayal? Snatching baby Henry away from his mother before she’d even held it? Even if you hate her it’s a dick move especially since you are known to dislike the pregnancy and you also just pulled a knife on her? And you won’t even hold your own daughter so like double shit?

Anyway moving on...

- They are really playing up the ‘Wolsey lives vicariously through Henry’s mistresses’ vibe this episode. It is A Lot

- Also how does Stafford always manage to say things in literally the grossest way possible. Who gave Olly Rix these lines.

- Lol @Wolsey just dropping his cardinal’s hat casually into the conversation. Classy.

- Nobody “understands” Henry. Except Wolsey of course. Poor misunderstood baby king, AYE RIGHT.

- Mary’s storyline was actually pretty well done. They ARE cute. But I suppose it’s easier to pull off the ‘beautiful princess in arranged marriage and secret wedding’ plot than anything more complex like Margaret’s. I’m still not over the fact that that is very clearly Waddesdon though.

- *Technically* I’m not sure their marriage actually counts as treason, in the terms of the fourteenth century treason acts, but I’m no expert on that so I could be wrong. Just seems that period dramas throw the word treason around a lot when it had quite a specific meaning in England (in Scotland not so much, it’s a very flexible word there).

- Mega Feminist Katherine of Aragon refusing to touch her daughter and continuing to refer to her as a ‘useless girl’. 100% Accurate and Feminist portrayal this (not). But Girl Power right?

- Awkward sex scenes GALORE this episode

- Margaret’s storyline was... somewhat comprehensible this episode but still a bit naff. Not the actors fault, they are doing their best. But I suppose it works? I do have some specific thoughts on details on that though, so more below

- Do I have to keep pointing out that James V WAS the king not the future king? Did you all miss the mourning coronation or something? Also the ‘Stewart clan’ does not “insist” on anything, because that is waaaaay too simplistic and also the wrong terminology.

- Albany’s line about ‘civilised company’- I mean as a Scot OUCH but also it’s quite believable coming from him I suppose, wee John was not a huge fan of Scotland.

- Holyroodhouse was not part of Margaret’s dower so far as I’m aware? At least it wasn’t traditionally part of queens’ dowers in Scotland and it wasn’t in any of the documents I’ve seen made at the time of her marriage. It also had a freaking abbey attached to it (though tbh, that had fallen into decline a bit by the early sixteenth century). So why not pretend you’re using one of Margaret’s actual dower houses, further north? Also if I were Angus and I was trying to hide out from the Duke of Albany while illegally retaining control of James IV’s illegitimate children, I would probably go to the much more secure castle of Tantallon, not Holyrood. But everything has to happen in Edinburgh I suppose.

- Ok it’s a tiny detail but I am still exercised about the Presence of James IV’s illegitimate children. Firstly, how are they all still kids?? The only one who should still be under the age of twelve in 1516 (or 1519? God knows when this is) is Janet Stewart, the future Lady Fleming and daughter of the Countess of Bothwell. There is no evidence that she was ever raised at court and her mother Agnes was still very much alive (she actually spent Christmas with Margaret Tudor at Morpeth after the queen’s flight into England).

The others were either dead (Alexander via Flodden and a few who died in infancy), married adults (Katherine, Countess of Morton, and Margaret, Lady Gordon- the latter *might* have also been in a relationship with Albany’s older brother Alexander Stewart at this time, it’s unclear), or teenagers approaching adulthood who were either on the continent or in Albany’s camp (James, Earl of Moray).

SECONDLY how does it AT ALL fall in Margaret’s purview to raise them, let alone that of the Earl of Angus. Margaret could theoretically have stepped in as a benefactor- that’s not unknown and the royal family was a wide concept so Albany and Margaret sometimes did act on behalf of royal cousins and illegitimate children- but Angus? Even Jane Stewart of Traquair would theoretically have more right to one of the children than him (and NOT because of some stupid ‘Stewart clan’ nonsense) since wee Janet Stewart was probably her first cousin. (Margaret Stewart, Lady Gordon was Angus’ first cousin but once again, she was a married woman with children of her own). Although if they’re implying this was a political move on Angus’ part then that would have been a smart move- having custody of James IV’s illegitimate children could be quite useful politically, as later events involving both Albany and Margaret Tudor showed. But since the show has sort of been implying that they’re useless and that Margaret is stuck with them, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

- Also none of this is how a pre-contract works, and while we know very little about Jane Stewart of Traquair anyway, it’s clear that the show knows even less. But we love to see the Earl of Angus torn to shreds by both Margaret and Jane. One would hope that that was him Telt but sadly we all know this isn’t the case.

- Oh and a woman! In Scotland! Who is Scottish! We’re not cryptids after all! And she was then immediately chucked out.

- Also he just... walks off?? No attendants, no kinsmen, no horses? Do the writers have any idea of the level of power and status the Earl of Angus theoretically held?

- One of the men behind Margaret had A Line. I fear this is how Henry Stewart is being introduced to us.

- Can they shut up about the god damn kilts for TWO. MINUTES.

- BUT the real award for the most truly disappointing thing about this episode goes to the fact that we are now unlikely to get the Margaret and Mary reunion we all deserve. I mean I cannot BELIEVE this show passed up the opportunity to show the Queen of England and the dowager Queens of Scotland and France all acting in consort after the Evil May Day Riots. But then I suppose they would have to deal with that event in a sensitive fashion which like, I do not see them doing. I am genuinely disappointed by this, since the actresses are doing their best and I think it might actually have been a good scene. And it would have been an excuse for some fabulous costuming.

Anyway. That’s about all I’ve got.

#TSP #Margaret Tudor #Mary Tudor #rants #Meg Tudor

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lady-plantagenet · 5 years ago

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Unpopular opinion, no anon edition because I dont care if ppl know: The absurd amount of hatred vs romanticization Richard III faces is both incredibly annoying, and incredibly amusing. The sheer volume of misconceptions in both spite and favour of him are baffling to me? Can we not accept that Richard was as multifaceted and complex as any regular human being? Whether you love or hate him, he was still a person who had to play a game he either couldn't understand or didnt want to play at all.

https://lady-plantagenet.tumblr.com/post/617714526816714752/send-me-unpopular-opinions

Thank you so much for the ask 👀😊, it’s perfectly timed with some of the Anti-Richardian crackdown that is going on on here these par couple of days haha

This answer won’t be full of historical citation like the previous because, as one of the most well-known figures, I think don’t think people need me to be informed about Richard III’s life.

Let’s talk about fiction. I am in the process of finishing ‘The Sunne in Splendour’ by SKP atm and I must say that despite it having its occasional high narrative points (I mean it some scenes are poignant), it exemplifies the ridiculous revisionist attitude that pertains to Richardians. I was told that it was the book about him, however, hidden behind the wealth of historically accurate detail, there is a portrayal of Richard III, which, dances too close to that of a Gary Stu. George is turned into a violent buffoon, Isabel into a weakling, Elizabeth Woodville into essentially Cersei Lannister and Anthony Woodville... oh man... into a greedy fool.

This exemplifies the weakness of the Richardian dogma: he cannot be made saintly without innacurately twisting the truth about his detractors to the point that their personalities no longer match the history, therefore he could not have been the romantic hero they all envision IRL. It eludes me how no one notices this.

Richard himself would probably cringe at the blind devoted love some people attach to this romanticised version, because as you implied, he was a 15th century man with 15th century morals and we love him for this. If we didn’t, then why not switch to a modern history interest? He is just about the most complex figure in the Wars of the Roses era because we are so unclear about a lot of his motives and feelings.

Sue me, but for all intents and purposes, I think he was portrayed well by Aneurin Barnard in The White Queen TV series. We are unclear about how he feels about any of the people close to him (except his son, it was quite clear he loved him). Hell, it is also unclear how he feels about his enemies, all we can see is a sheer pragmatism which conceals an idealism and sense of justice deep down that never left him (see his law reforms and devout religiousity). That is Richard to me. Not an impulsive and blindly loyal man - because I mean common, isn’t it a bit convenient that he waited until Edward’s death to expose the Eleanor Butler marriage, if he were blindly loyal to Edward he would have let the information slide into obscurity. Also, if he were an idealist he would have acted like George of Clarence and brashly rebelled and taken public steps to make it clear to all of England that the King’s marriage was invalid or at least inform Edward IV that he knows. But no, he bid his time, the events of 1483 unfolded and he drew the conclusion out of both pragmatism and a higher sense of duty, that the Woodvilles were not going to co-operate and he played the cards he for many years had to himself. He did not relish in executing Hastings and Anthony (who were without fault) but he saw it as a lesser evil, because with them alive England would collapse into another power struggle. He also knew they would have done the same to him - given the chance and that’s just the way things were in the 15th century.

In conclusion, I am unsure if he wanted to play the game or not - but I remain firm on the idea that he knew how to and from a precocious age. He was never the impulsive lad from Richardian literature. You may have noticed I didn’t address my views on the misconceptions against him. This is because ever since I was born in 1998, all I had ever known was the Richardian revisionist view of Richard III as misunderstood, tragic and a great guy. There is not even a point of going on about the injustices done towards his character because no person in their right mind *actually* believes in the Shakespearean interpretation. This Richardian view I describe (and as you may have not noticed from other people’s posts) has been around since the Victorian era as had greatly superceded in prominence the Shakespeare view.

What I want is a complex, intelligent, principled but ruthless Richard III, not the blindly loyal and innocent romantic hero nor the evil power-hungry overpowered uncle who did the impossible e.g. murder George Duke of Clarence (like wtf) or the Duke of Somerset (who died when he was 3!)

Thank you for sending this ask, I really enjoy answering them 🍷❤️

#🍷❤️#richard iii #wars of the roses #richardian please do not give me a hard time #as always #if anyone disagrees or agrees i’d love to know your opinion

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gxymlky · 4 years ago

Photo

Character Profile:

Name: Amiya Plume

Age: 22

Occupation: Magus (spellcaster), student

Affiliation: Chaldea Security Organization

Magical affinity: Imaginary numbers

Lineage: Plume

Family: Arina Koei (mother), Uriel Plume (father), Erich Plume (older brother - deceased), Rene Plume (younger brother), Isolde (paternal grandmother)

Personality: INFP-T

On the outside, Mediators (INFPs) may seem quiet or even shy. But they often have vibrant, passionate inner lives. Because they make up such a small portion of the population, people with this personality type may sometimes feel misunderstood or out of step with the world. Fortunately, their caring nature can help them create and sustain deep relationships with their loved ones.

source: x

Physical description: Amiya is a young woman in her early twenties having rectangle-shaped build. She has rosy fair complexion, prominent feature of her is having two moles beneath each of her eye, her eyes almond-shaped, the colors are golden brown color. She has milky white, long hair with blunt fringe.

Height: 158 cm

Weight: 46 kg

Abilities:

Amiya is has decent working magic circuits and her elemental affinity is imaginary numbers, unlike her younger brother, she is inept initially with their magecraft despite inheriting a portion of the magic crest.

Her ancestors have a connection with the elementals (fairies) causing the descendants to have mixed blood. Them being Isolde and her granddaughter, Amiya.

Her sorcery trait is her blood and since she has a blood of a Fey, she hosts a familiar inside her acting a guardian and provided strength but the downside is that the more she withdraws power from the familiar, it would disrupts her magic circuits and her nerves completely shuts down leaving her weakened and gives an enemy an advantage over her.

She owns a mystic code which is a staff that allows her blood to project a blade.

She utilizes healing magecraft that only covers minimal wounds.

Servant/s: (otome-style route) bedivere\ asclepius\ tristan\ arthur\ meltryllis

Trivia:

Amiya’s favorite flowers are tulips and wisteria

Her home in Ireland is in a countryside and is twenty minutes walk away to a cemetery and a creek.

She frequents public libraries and is often accompanied by either her mother or grandmother.

Her favorite animal is a panda.

She frequents the library in Chaldea in her free time.

Amiya’s childhood name is Miyu.

She draws in her free time.

Her wardrobe consists of classic lolita fashion though her casual consists of high-waisted skirts, long-sleeves with frilled collars.

She loves to read web comics and novels, her favorite genre is isekai

(I like to think manhwas like WMMAP and The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke's Mansion exists in FGO world)

#mastersona #gudasona #fgo master oc #fgo oc #amiya plume #gxymlky ocs

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blackevermore · 4 years ago

Text

Trouble The Water

[ Alastor x Ester]

Summary: When the coven sings danger comes. When the coven calls Ester will fight.

Genre: N/A

Warning(s): None

Word count: 1,368

A/N: I made headcanons that Ester still sings gospel music in hell and so does her coven. So I just wanted to write out this little bit here.

Territory was a gambling man's worst nightmare when it came to Hell. When the dealer left the table and turned a blind eye to the players. There was no way in telling who would be the cheater. Everyone had an itching to count their cards and check the dealer's hand. They will flip over their duke and call their move to win. They would bid a higher fee for the dealer to make them the winner. But if someone chose to draw a higher number, the dealer had no choice to pull out and allow them to settle. Lucifer always allowed them to settle. With catfights and endless floods of blood, the table would settle, and someone came out on top. As long as no one touched the dealer's deck nor pinched his pocket, any territory was a free for all. Lucifer always stood behind the table, cutting the cards and cutting them six times, waiting for the next merciless fight. Ester told herself she wouldn't play Lucifer's game with the ruthless. Yet she found herself counting her cards and telling him to hit her with another one. She lost the first game to a man with a buzzing face. Nothing much than her necklace and the rings on her fingers were now his. She promised she would never lose again; she would count their cards and watch their faces and take their winnings.

Her white dress never stained and her needlework only got better. Ester could stitch her name through someone's neck as a reminder; she not only brought them down but that she also owned them. Every person she fought now belonged to her one way or another. Big names overloads even wore her name in secret. They were the one's that begged her not to tell anyone, never let anyone see the beautiful blue threads forever laced through her skin. The first fight she had ever been in taught her she was now carrying energy she didn't have before. She wasn't human anymore. She could do things she never imagines, and that set her on a rampage towards the waters. She wanted to stand above and watch her competitors drown in the murky red pools of the swamps. She wanted to see their final moment before they were sucked further down in the depths.

That's how her haven for the not so wicked was found at the recently vacant plantation house (oh how fitting) that sat on risen land enclosed by the red swamp. The couple that owned it before her begged her to spare them, that the house nor the land was theirs. Their clamorous cries were silenced by thread, and soon they were thrown over the porch to Jezebel and Cain. Ester once lived alone, counting the days in Hell, waiting for the loas to figure out her true ending. Over time to her heart found space for other citizens of Hell would don't truly belong there, and she welcomed them. The many rooms in the house filled with a newfound family. To Ester, they were unforchant victims of circumstances. To her followers, she was Mama Ester, the demon who walked among the living and the dead. She was powerful, she cared, and that was enough for them to devote themselves to her. Ester now found herself standing in the water standing above new members baptizing them to their new freedom with her.

Ester had no idea what she was doing, but she knew she had to keep them safe now. That meant when one of them got word that someone wanted to come and fight Ester for her land. The coven would fight with her. This was home and no one was going to take that away.

"Stand in the water and we will welcome them with a song from our ancestors."

Clenching their beads and fanning themselves with decorative fan, the coven stood in the waters around the house and sung their song. Their white clothes turned red from the knee up and their heads held high. Their ghostly haunting voices could be heard before the person made it to the water lands. The words were clear as day as they sang of how the waters would become disturbed if fighting came crawling.

Wade in the water

Children wade, in the water

God's gonna trouble the water

Anyone that heard the call of Ester's followers knew a battle was about to start. It was their war call. It was their gospel.

See dat band all dressed in white

God's gonna trouble the water

The leader looks like the Israelites

God's gonna trouble the water

Whoever came from the dirt path that led from the pentagram was no longer safe. The waters started to ripple, and Ester's white dress turned to the colour of blood. Her followers rose their hands to the sky and gave her their powers. They whispered her name in a chant. Ester flicked her fan close and crossed her hands in front of her body.

See dat band all dressed in red

God's gonna trouble the water

It looks like the band Ester led

God's gonna trouble the water

When the vegetation rustled the coven lowered their voice to a hum. First came the shadow of a fearful man, then came the static, lastly came the man himself all dressed in red. Ester walked forward slowly, ready for anything that may come her way, stalking carefully just enough to heed her warning.

"You are not welcomed here." She spoke low and stoic, not an ounce of friendliness anywhere. The demon only laughed and looked around her to all the others. Then he looked towards the house, impressed with how lively it looked. The static grew louder but Ester didn't falter and stood her ground. The red demon said nothing and rose his fingers to his mouth to blow a whistle. Ester drew her fan open and swallowed. Around her feet, the waters still rippled like a hungry stomach. Waiting for her to move her hand and swallow this demon alive.

"My dear," the demon began to speak. "I think you've misunderstood. This land doesn't belong to you, a matter of fact it didn't belong to the people you took it from." His voice was familiar, soothing yet scared as it crackled. Ester looked down when she saw large shadows swim around her. Her alligators swam towards him and poked out of the water like cats. He called them by their names, names only Ester and one other person knew. This made her uneasy. "This belongs to me, just like these dashing gators." The demon walked into the water with a swagger of arrogance and confidence.

He petted the top of the gators head and snapped his fingers for them to swim away. His smile grew wider once he was closer to Ester and could map out every inch of her face. Oh, he had heard of the trouble a demon was causing in his territories. He attuned his ears to the radio waves every time he heard the coven's call. He found it very ironic they song gospel in Hell of all places. Was Heaven sending angels down again to clean up a mess? The demon just had to know!

Never had he imagine that surely an angel was sent but not for the right reasons. This angel wore no halo but only a white bandana. This angel didn't smile nor had grinning eyes. This angel was broken and had fallen.

"I haven't heard that song in years," The demon chuckled and closed his eyes to hum a bit of it. "Oh, how it brings back sweet members of my days alive. I troubled the waters all the time. I settled them as well; I even fed them every once and a while an unwanted guest."

"Just like bad jambalaya." Ester's words were shaky.

The radio demon's eyes grew ten times wide then lowers like the moon sun falling over the horizon, "Just like bad Jambalaya." The demon stood very close to Ester and hooked a finger under her chin to raise her head. "My little lamb, oh how it's been so long."

#🔻Red Thread🔻#alastor hazbin #self ship #self shipping #self shipping community

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that-shamrock-vibe · 5 years ago

Text

Movie Review: Frozen II (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review a couple of days after it first airs in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie, and I strongly recommend you do, then don’t read on until you have.

LGBT Representation:

Alright so I’ll get into character analyses shortly but first of all I just want to talk about the LGBT representation in this movie, because my takeaway from it in this movie is completely different to what seems to be everyone else’s takeaway from it. LGBT representation is very important to me particularly in an all-age property so I wanted to spotlight it.

Now the main issue I see is that people are still insisting that the LGBT representation is that of Elsa being a member of the LGBT community. This is something that emerged after the first movie with Elsa being one of few “Disney Princesses” (despite the fact she is a Queen and neither she nor Anna are official members of said brand) not to have a love interest in the first movie or even this movie, outwardly.

Yes, while no one is openly depicted as an LGBT character in this movie, good old Disney, Elsa is still being shown in that LGBT light to some fans because of two or three character traits.

Firstly there’s the theory that her not feeling like she belongs in Arendelle is because she is, sorry for this, the only gay in the village and not knowing how to handle it. Secondly there’s her new outfit which she acquires at the start of the third act in the movie which is white with rainbow accents...fans believe this is a clear nod to the rainbow flag but to be fair it could just simply be to represent the Aurora Borealis aka the Northern Lights.

Thirdly, despite the first teaser trailer giving fans the completely wrong idea about Elsa’s potential love interest in this movie, who turned about to be a young version of her mother, Elsa does get close with new very minor girl Honeymaren. There is no evidence that either Honeymaren is an LGBT character but people have suggested that their cosy chats border on the flirtatious.

However, I personally do not think the LGBT representation is on Elsa or Honeymaren. I think the LGBT representation in this movie is in fact Honeymaren’s brother Ryder voiced by Jason Ritter. I swear he flirts with Kristoff at least three times in this movie for the brief time he is in it.

Of course all of this is just speculation, but the theory of Elsa, Honeymaren and/or Ryder being potential members of the LGBT community is a major plus both for Disney and for this movie.

Characters:

Elsa:

It can’t be not true that Elsa is the best character not only in this movie but also this franchise as a whole. Not only is she the first real instance of the combination between Disney Princess and Superhero, but also there is no denying the journey and the transformation Elsa goes on from care free child to fearful teenager to in-control young woman.

This character development alone is not only relatable and representative for many if not all young girls coming of age, but also she is both stylish, humble and flawed in a realistic sense...as realistic as someone with ice powers can be I mean.

Now by flaws, I am mainly referring to her inept ability at ruling Arendelle, three times now she has effectively abdicated her throne either for her own reasoning or to actually protect the kingdom, I am more annoyed with Anna for these decisions which I’ll get into when talking about her, but it was quite clear from the first movie alone that Elsa never wanted to be queen. She runs away when her powers are discovered by the people, she then goes off to find out the mystery of her past, she finally abdicates completely and makes Anna queen so she can go off and live in the Enchanted Forest amongst the Northuldra people while not exactly joining them.

Having said that, she absolutely does the right thing by her because, not only is it important to both understand and be completely comfortable with yourself, but also this was where she was always meant to be.

Elsa’s fashion in this movie steps up from the first movie not only in colour but also in style. Gone are those heavy, coverall gowns and now we have light, bright and flowing gowns. Also leggings, Elsa is really only the second “Disney Princess” to wear leggings after Jasmine and it is really good to see someone in that “Disney Princess” role be versatile in fashion.

My favourite three outfits of Elsa’s are her vivid pink nightgown, her travelling outfit and her last outfit when she embraces her role as the fifth spirit. Something about Elsa with her hair down and flowing that really added another layer of power to that transformation “Show Yourself” scene.

Her powers are also plused here, the lady gets a freekin’ water horse which she could freeze to ride on water! Seeing Elsa riding her new steed across the water to stop the tidal wave from flooding Arendelle is the most fiercely stunning sequence I have seen in any movie animated or live-action.

Also her crystal manifestation, which emulated the elemental runes, bursting out from her like an outcry after she sings about wanting to know what it all means and then having them all fall to the ground effectively like hail. I thought her creating the ice palace in the first movie couldn’t be topped but her powers are kicked up here.

She even has a sort of attack move with her powers as she was shown to briefly create an ice snowflake to combat the water spirit who later becomes her steed.

When she finally finds Ahtohallan and discovers she is the fifth element and starts seeing all those memories of her past and singing “Show Yourself” with her mother, just watching her literally walk through memory lane with all those frozen versions of her memories and reacting different to different ones, like with the Duke of Wesselton where she laughed and Hans who she instantly crumbled and even her singing “Let It Go” which she reacted awkwardly to, all of this was just splender and made me particularly well up.

Then you have her discovering the truth of the past where her grandfather was revealed to have villainous tendencies, I’m not going to say he’s an outright villain but he did kill the Northundra leader and start the war which hid the Enchanted Forest from the world, the fact she literally went to far down and froze to death just like the opening song foreshadowed was also very emotional.

But on that note of finding out there is that darkness in her family, it did remind me a lot of the Once Upon a Time Frozen arc when they introduced the Snow Queen Ingrid as Elsa and Anna’s aunt who had the same powers as Elsa and who was villainous for being misunderstood. They could have copped out and done a similar story but the fact it was routed into Elsa and Anna’s own history in terms of their family was a nice touch.

However, it did give me possibly my favourite line of the movie which is “Fear is the true enemy” in retaliation to hearing her grandfather say that magic is evil. This line can be true of any type of prejudice, I’m thinking of Homophobia but it can also be racism and even sexism, that for an animated Disney movie rated U to accomplish this level of thought is outstanding.

Idina Menzel may not be the most emotive actress but I love her, and what she may lack in her speech she more than makes up for in her singing. Also the fact that Elsa has such emotive facial expressions and the animation and character designs here are so fluid, that it makes Elsa almost seem like a real person.

Olaf:

Josh Gad as Olaf was definitely something I’ve been looking forward to revisiting especially after Olaf’s Frozen Adventure received a very icy reception. I didn’t really care for it, much like any of the Frozen shorts that have come but I’m really happy with him here.

I really liked the idea of exploring Olaf being a child because, I think with this movie taking place a couple years after the first one, Olaf is really only a toddler, so he acts like a toddler.

The fact Olaf sees the world in such innocence and beauty really resonates with little kids watching this movie and hopefully allows them to get out of it what Olaf gets out of it which is not understanding the world as a child but having to grow up and face reality.

I wasn’t crazy about his song, again like the first movie I feel it wasn’t as grand as the rest of the songs but I did like the message behind it of things not making sense to Olaf now but will make sense when he grows up.

By far the funniest moments of this movie are when Olaf reenacts the events of the first movie for the people trapped in the Enchanted Forest and also at the very end after the credits when he reenacts the events of this movie for Marshmallow and the Snowgies. I just loved again that child-like interpretation and bluntness of events. “Anna and Elsa separated but it’s okay because at least they still have their parents! Their parents are dead!” My screening could not stop laughing at that point.

Speaking of death, there is death in this movie, both what you see and what is open to interpretation. Elsa effectively dies as she is frozen solid much like how Anna is in the first movie, but Olaf’s death came as a consequence of Elsa’s death due to him being enchanted by Elsa. Possibly because this whole thing takes place after the “Show Yourself” scene and Elsa finally being true to who she is and of course because Olaf is the innocent dying, it really made me sad.

I was thrilled he came back, of course I knew he was going to come back. However, I did hear that early scripts had him staying dead but I don’t think that would have gone down very well with audiences and particularly merchandising because after Anna and Elsa merch I know Olaf is up there, although I think he may have competition after this movie...we’ll get to Bruni.

Also in keeping with the idea of Olaf being a child, I found it fascinating that he was experiencing new emotions in this movie such as anger, without actually getting angry he just felt it and didn’t know how to handle it. A little bit like with Groot in the MCU, I do hope we maybe see Olaf age or mature and experience the emotions that everyone experiences growing up. I know snow can’t really age in that way but it would be very interesting to see.

Speaking of the properties of snow, I also found the concept of water having memory interesting. It does play into the Disney/Fantastical element of the almost absurd but in a sense you want it to be true, like Aladdin’s flying carpet or even how woodland animals can help clean.

I’m not so certain about the cop-out of no longer giving Olaf his own flurry, yes they explained it as rather than it being a cloud simply being a kind of coat which was beautiful to see lit-up and everything, but it just seemed like the animators not wanting to animate a snow cloud constantly, even using the excuse that it only appears in hot weather was proven false because it was sunny numerous times in this movie and nothing appeared.

Olaf is still one of my favourite characters both in this movie and in Disney in general, I think he’s fun, I love his innocence and a lot of that is down to Josh Gad’s vocal performance. I can no longer think of Josh Gad without thinking of Olaf but in a way that’s not a bad thing.

Anna:

There was a massive opportunity missed from this movie which was not spotlighting the fact that Anna almost had PTSD from the events of the first movie. She wanted the status quo to remain how it was in the moment at the start of the movie and was desperate to keep her loved ones safe.

I don’t particularly know what purpose Anna served in this movie outside of living in denial of everything going on. Yes it is a noble deed to want to keep your loved ones safe, however, Anna should have known that not only Elsa discovering her origins but also the two sisters finding out about their mother’s history was not only important but I feel necessary. Finding out what happened to their parents, why they went off, even how they met.

But instead we have Anna constantly wanting to be the mother of the group and look after everyone, except for Kristoff. I will talk about Kristoff in his section but seriously these two went from being the ideal couple in the first movie to “Why the heck are you to together?” in this movie.

All of this is why what made her hitting rock bottom after both Elsa and Olaf had “died” so important and her realising that and building herself back up. Again, like Olaf, I didn’t really like her song but I appreciated the meaning behind it.

It was from this point that Anna showed true signs of not only being a leader but also actual competency. I mean once again both Elsa and Anna abandon Arendelle, yes Anna has done it twice in the hopes of saving it which is noble, but she goes from leaving a man she just met and got engaged to in charge without knowing him for more than five minutes, to leaving Rock Trolls in charge. Yes Grand Pabbie is at least responsible for an entire tribe but seriously?

However, after she realises what has to be done to right the wrongs of the past, her selfless decision to destroy the dam and flood Arendelle to free the Enchanted Forest was impressive because obviously the kingdom can be rebuilt and the people were safe in the Rock Troll Valley.

Now of course, everything turned out fine because Anna unknowingly revived Elsa by getting the dam broken down and she stopped the tidal wave from destroying Arendelle, but Anna didn’t know that when she decided to do it and she still chose to it, and made the old Arendelle guard listen to her.

This is how she proved herself as queen, so that when Elsa made her queen so she herself could go and live in the Enchanted Forest, she earned it. She’s queen, she has Kristoff as a fiancé and obviously she and Elsa will keep a strong bond between Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest.

Kristen Bell is Kristen Bell, you know she was born for this type of role and this type of world. Having said that, again she was almost pushed to the background or was making me want to push her to the background because of her constant complaining. But she was still very good and the main core four cast continue to be a big selling point for this franchise.

Kristoff:

I find it ironic that the title of this franchise is Frozen and that he is an ice seller because they effectively fridged Kristoff in this movie.

Kristoff’s role in this movie is pretty much the one-note version of Bernard’s from The Rescuers Down Under, in that his story throughout this movie was trying to propose to Anna and yet constantly failing. Now granted, he goes to greater extravagance to do so than the mouse did but it takes them both the length of their movies to simply learn it’s now how you say it it’s just saying it.

On that note, I felt no chemistry between Anna and Kristoff in this movie. They both think the other one abandoned them part way through this movie and Anna particularly doesn’t really seem to care.

As I said before, when Kristoff and Ryder had their scenes together, I felt more chemistry between them than I did from Kristoff for Anna. Also Kristoff and Ryder are more suited. They both love reindeer, they both talk for their reindeer, and also I got the sense that maybe Ryder actually liked Kristoff in that way, as he seemed upset that Kristoff didn’t ride off with him.

Kristoff did give me one of the best moments of the movie though which was his song in the form of an 80s/90 pop balled video. It was one of the most bizarre choices this movie could have made, but considering you have Jonathan Groff and didn’t let him do what Jonathan Groff is known for doing in the first movie it more than makes up for that.

Once again I don’t feel like he contributed much to the actual story and genuinely felt like he could have been cut and nothing would change, but it is good having a male presence in this movie who is human so I give him credit for that.

Northundra:

I really enjoyed this tribe, the native-american qualities they had really helped separate them from the citizens of Arendelle. Both Native-American and Australian Aborigines I feel were portrayed rather well in the tribe.

Yelena, Ryder and Honeymaren were really the only three spotlighted in the tribe and I felt that is all they really needed.

However, we also know from this movie that Elsa and Anna’s mother, Queen Iduna, was Northundra...which kind of makes sense as a child because she has some colouring, but as an adult she’s Caucasian...and Anna and Elsa are clearly Caucasian.

I mean it’s slightly obvious the Northundra weren’t on the cards in the first movie, however simply having Iduna being of that race would have made more sense.

Speaking of the first movie. The Northundra here have a chant they perform when Elsa and Anna realise they have Northundra heritage, but this sounds like the same chant from the opening of the first movie which leads into “Frozen Heart”. So maybe they were foreshadowed?

Spirits:

Alright so I didn’t know how much there was to talk about the four spirits that seemingly guard the Enchanted Forest and whom Elsa awakened and apparently made angry towards the start of this movie so I thought I would talk about them collectively here in the order they appear in Elsa’s vision during ��Into the Unknown”.

Fire:

Two things I love about the fire spirit, the first is that it’s fire form is this very vibrant pink colour and I’m always a fan of fire having different colours, I prefer green but pink works well here I guess.

The second thing I love about it is Bruni, who is the actual fire spirit and I don’t think named ever in this movie by name. However, I have loved Bruni since his one main shot in the trailer, I love how cute he is, I love the fact he’s another reptilian being a salamander, after Pascal from Tangled being a chameleon.

Also, Bruni may have about as much screen time here as Pua the pig from Moana but he is just one of Elsa’s new animal sidekicks and unlike most of the Disney Princesses, this queen has two magical creatures as animal sidekicks. I think the only princess in that category is Mulan with Mushu.

As I mentioned before with Olaf’s merch, I do feel that Bruni is a potential competitor for beating him in merch sales. I think Olaf, Sven and Bruni all have plush toy qualities, but Bruni has that added cuteness and he’s new.

Water:

Elsa’s other magical animal sidekick is the water spirit known as The Nøkk, who is a mythological Scandinavian water spirit in the shape of a horse...with a waterfall mane.

Not only is this a cool pet anyway the fact Elsa can freeze and ride it is just epic. Who wouldn’t want a water spirit horse.

Earth:

Alright so I can’t remember when the Earth Giants first appear, whether or not they emerge during the earthquake that took over Arendelle or if they appeared in the Enchanted Forest but I did enjoy them.

I don’t exactly know when Elsa tamed them, it did seem that if anyone did Anna did by getting the dam broken.

Air:

I enjoyed Gail, I thought giving what is essentially a tornado that turns into a light breeze a name also gives it character.

But once again, while Elsa broke free of the tornado, Olaf was the one who named it and as such wasn’t he the one to tame it?

I did like how Gail became the messenger for the two kingdoms also.

Songs:

Alright so like always, I’ll be talking about these songs in order of my favourites.

Into the Unknown:

While not as groundbreaking as “Let It Go” but it is powerful, moving and delivered beautifully by both Idina Menzel and AURORA who is credited as “The Voice” that do that “Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah” sound that I want as an alarm tone.

I loved how Idina managed to match AURORA and almost harmonise with it, I love the message of being scared of the unknown but pushing yourself into it, the presentation of the performance was beautiful particularly when she went into that black space with the production going on around her.

It’s my favourite song in the movie and everything about it was just brilliant.

I do also enjoy the Panic! At the Disco version that plays over the end credits, it’s definitely a better pop version of a movie song to Demi Lovato’s version and I feel has a better mainstream future than it too.

Show Yourself:

This song made me emotional, and not many songs do that. I feel maybe it was the build-up to Elsa finally discovering who she was meant to be, the duet with her mother, or the fact she had that walk through her history in ice sculptures, but something welled up inside me and I love it.

The song is about realising who you are and being true to who you are. It’s something I feel anyone can relate to and the fact it’s in a duet with her deceased mother is just the icing, pardon the pun.

Also, this is where Elsa gets her new look, starting off with her taking her hair down and then her updated ice-blue dress transforming into her final white dress with rainbow accents.

Idina Menzel once again dominates with her vocals here but also Evan Rachel Wood matches her quite well.

Lost in the Woods:

I loved Jonathan Groff’s singing in Glee, from “Highway to Hell” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” to “Rolling in the Deep” he had such a range vocally that, despite hating the character, I loved him singing.

This is why it was criminal that the only “singing” Kristoff did in the first Frozen was that “Reindeer are better than people” lullaby song which made a comeback here at the start of this song and made me almost give up on Kristoff completely.

However, when you get passed that and Sven actually singing, you have a rather good song in the style of an 80s/90s pop ballad music video. Instantly I thought of “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams and, despite not liking that particular song, I loved this and the arrangement of the performance.

Having Kristoff lean up against a tree as a wide shot while having his full face fade in to the side of him was so cheesy, so cringy and yet so good. I couldn’t help but enjoy it.

The Next Right Thing:

Now again, I didn’t particularly enjoy this song but I did enjoy and appreciate the message behind it.

When Anna is at her lowest edge having lost Elsa, Olaf and potentially Kristoff...again she doesn’t really give him a second thought at this point, she remembers advice that both her mother gave her and that Sterling K. Brown’s character enforced and builds up the strength to get herself out of the cave.

It’s a song about reaching rock bottom and figuring out where to go from there, it’s something I can definitely relate to and I am sure others can to, whether or not that’s in school, college/university, work or personal lives.

Kristen Bell is a good singer but for some reason something didn’t click here for me.

When I Am Older:

I love Olaf and thought his song was a very nice and fun sidetrack to the movie, however in terms of it being memorable...”In Summer” was a lot better and had the funny beats of irony to it.

As I said when talking about his character, the song did help define Olaf’s story through the movie of being young and immature.

Also the funny beats to this song of ending it in complete denial of “This is fine” before being crushed by a boulder were great.

Some Things Never Change:

This was possibly the most cringe-worthy few minutes of the entire movie. This happens right near the start originally between Anna and Olaf before become an ensemble piece.

Again, I understand the message behind the song of how people don’t like change but it just came out of nowhere and had no real tie-in to the rest of the movie other than Anna’s unrealised story arc of wanting things to remain how they are.

All Is Found:

As a lullaby this was an okay song, however I don’t think it did much to progress the story despite being the start of the movie. “Frozen Heart” had more of a beginning quality to it rather than this.

Overall I rate the movie a 9.5/10, it’s a near perfect movie but there is still room for improvement as always. I loved the characters, the songs, the animation. It all just felt very Disney.

So that’s my review of Frozen II, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

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