#The jury's still out on whether or not that's true

[bellamontwasright]

I know that characters like Joanelle tend to be deeply insecure and cover for it with increased braggadocios. Not Joanelle, though. She is 100% That Far up her own ass. So into herself and sincere in her belief that the world, or even fate itself, will bend to her will that she went to the Shivering Isles and mantled Sheogorath about it.

[gravitywonagain]

Ch. 20 of Words are Gonna Bleed from Me is up!

Wen Ning glances at the screen before he presses a button and answers the call, “Jie?” The voice that comes through the small speaker is distorted and quiet. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be able to listen in without his ghosts. “Pull over,” Wen Qing tells her brother, “there’s a… situation.” ~Or: It's the morning after, and things get... interesting.

[drchucktingle]

non-dysphoric soul

i am not a religious buckaroo and dont think i ever will be. this universe is so wonderful and my life so blessed that idea of needing something more does not make any sense to me. what we KNOW about existence already takes my breath away, i do not need the unknown. i am so happy and thankful as is

HOWEVER i am also curious and while i do not NEED the grand unknown i find it exciting and romantic sometimes. i FEEL it in art, and i am not arrogant enough to think 'i know everything'. i do not. so there is a door within me that is open to something spiritual for lack of a better word.

lately i feel the door opening wider and wider and while i think most folks think of my agnostic trot as a sort of SIDEKICK to atheism, to me it is really its own thing that has plenty of room for thoughts of 'well maybe there is something more? i do not know so lets bask in it and see what happens'

i think single most important part of my journey as spiritual buckaroo has been self reflection and personal understanding of my own non-dysphoric transness. which is interesting because i think some who CLAIM to be spiritual in the specific american christian sense have a large anti-trans history

and it makes me think ‘kinda wild that you can believe in a soul that is distinct from all the firing neurons and churning cells of your body, some separate trot outside of known matter and energy, and then claim that this soul ALWAYS ends up in a correspondingly gendered slot?’ couldnt wires cross?

REMINDER i am not a religious person. i am not sure if there is a soul out there that defies any sort of quantifiable trot. maybe this SELF i feel is just electrical currents of a brain trying VERY HARD to convince itself of something more. the jury is out. ITS OKAY. in fact the mystery is beautiful

over time, i feel like i get hints from the jury, one or two heads poppin out from the jury chambers to wink and say there is something more. A SOUL. whether that soul is a wonder of science of a wonder of the great beyond will probably never be answered. that is just fine with me. i do not need it

point is, my understanding of my own self and my non-dysphoric trans way can BEST (maybe ONLY) be described in terms of a soul. i have no desire to change, no dysphoria, no plans. it has never had a impact on my life and very likely never will, but feeling is true. id be lying to say otherwise.

so with all the politics around gender and who can identify as what and on and on, i find myself saying ‘well my soul is this, and my body is this, and that is fine. i love my body and i love my soul and they happen to be two different trots’. its easy to miss the SOUL part of that conversation

'A SOUL?' i suddenly think. 'WHAT THE HECK? YOU DONT BELIEVE IN SOULS'. and i have to remind myself, ‘well you dont believe in anything really, you DONT KNOW’ and while most see this proclamation of not knowing as being closed off to all things, i see it as being open to all things

and i am grateful. how lucky that this rare sensation of soul and body disconnection could happen TO ME? because it declares THERE IS A SOUL. i know to others the trans journey is hard and i dont want to diminish that. it can be pain it can be torture. but thats not my story and theres room for all

because every day that i notice MY disconnection between body and soul is a day i get to reach into the great beyond, into the vast cosmos, and feel around for a while. i still do not expect to find anything, but DANG is it fun. and DANG is it exciting to be alive in a way that proves love to myself

[homunculus-argument]

The finnish array of folklore creatures mainly exists outside of any human understanding of good, evil, right, or wrong. Or to be more specific, their personal moral codes - if they have any - have no regard for human wellbeing. This includes household spirits. A house elf is attached to the house, not the people, and it does not give a shit about individual human beings, but grudgingly aknowledges that whatever's good for the household is usually good for the house. But it will not tolerate residents who don't maintain it.

The sauna in essentially a sacred place. Not in connection to any particular divinity, but sanctified for washing and cleansing. People gave birth and were born in the sauna, because it was the cleanest place to do so. The sauna was were the dead were given their final wash before burial. You strip naked and rinse yourseld before going in because your skin and your clothes are dirty, and in the sauna you sweat out the dirt still in your pores. Every surface of the sauna is scrubbed clean at least twice per year, for christmas and summer solstice.

The sauna, too, has a guardian spirit. And just like the house elf, the sauna elf does not give a shit about you. Their duty is to guard the sauna. See that it's heated appropriately, washed properly, treated with reverence and used with respect. If you fuck around with the sauna, the spirit can and will kill you. You jack off in there too many times and the elf will straight-up skin you alive, eyelids and all.

There's been joking discussion about whether all saunas have an elf or not - some say that all saunas do, some say that only wood stove saunas do and electric saunas don't, the jury is out there. I for one have observed that my facial piercings start burning in an electric sauna, but not in a wood one, though I don't know why a sauna elf would particularly approve of them.

That being said, the saunas that I am certain do absolutely not have a guardian spirit in them are the ones at the american gyms y'all are talking about. Because if you can walk in there without showering, in your sweaty gym clothes, with your shoes on, and watch tiktoks on your loud-ass phone with no headphones on, that is either not a true sanctified bathing sauna, or nobody is going to leave that building alive today.

[aquamarinemarie]

Second Love

There is nothing wrong with being a man’s second love. Or a woman’s for that matter.

I’ve heard it being said, whether by gleeful solavellan critics or by angry, disappointed solavellan’s themselves, that the love Solas and Lavellan share is now diminished or tainted by Solas’ love for Mythal.

I could not disagree more.

In fact, I believe Solas’ love for Lavellan is made all the stronger by him having experienced (and lost) love in the past.

No one ever forgets their first love, this is true. First love is special.

But first love rarely lasts. For most people their first true love is the love that will inevitably lead to their first heartbreak.

Solas’ first love betrayed him – so much so that he had to burn her off his face. She lied to him, she used him, and yet he still held out hope that she would come back to him. He fell in love with an unobtainable, married woman, who thought she could control him.

“But you were always stubborn, Fen'Harel. Insubordinate. Unmanageable, even by Mythal’s reckoning.” – Elgar’nan

A woman who wanted to be a queen. To be a god to her people. She was not the woman he thought her to be, and so, their relationship had fallen apart.

And then Mythal was murdered. Solas blamed himself and grieved his first love alone.

In Inquisition Solas never anticipated that he could fall in love, not for a second time. But within a year’s time Lavellan had somehow wormed her way into becoming someone so special, so dear to him, that he was tempted to throw everything away just to be with her.

Second love could not be denied, no matter how hard Solas attempted to resist. No matter how many times he tried to turn away.

Love kept calling him back, and love kept calling him forward.

Second love is less naïve than the first and has learned from past mistakes. Second love is all the more hopeful and knows the pain of love lost. Second love knows the value of their shared bond and can show you what real love is supposed to be.

Solas and Lavellan’s love is an enduring, mature love. It endures separation, persists through doubt, is sacrificial, is understanding, is compassionate, and is forgiving.

When Solas says that he will tear down the veil to create the world Mythal wanted, please know that this is a lie. Solas is ultimately tearing down the veil for himself. To rectify one of his greatest mistakes. To salve his conscience.

Solas knows he’s in the wrong here, and that is why he cowers when Mythal appears before him. He's ashamed of his actions, and he's never fully allowed himself to grieve.

Remember who Mythal was when she was alive. She was his queen. Judge, jury, and executioner of the elven people.

Solas truly believes he deserves to be executed for his crimes - that is why he halfway offers the dagger to her. But what he doesn't anticipate is Mythal owning up to her part in the wrongs they did and admitting that she broke him.

He doesn't anticipate her finally releasing him.

Old friends and former lovers. Solas will always love Mythal, but he is no longer in love with her. His heart belongs to Lavellan now, to his future.

[matchalovertrait]

Alegría v Caruso: Day 3, Pt. 2

"Please state your name and occupation for the record," Antonio requested.

"Mia D'Angelo-Ramirez. Michelin-starred chef and head judge of Diced Junior," the woman spoke calmly.

"What was your impression of Ms. Alegría?"

Mia smiled. "At first? I saw a younger version of myself, though not nearly as shy. She's a star. A brilliant artist. She made a name for herself."

"So, in your professional opinion and experience, has Ms. Alegría ever shown signs of struggling with originality?"

"Not once. She's quick on her feet. That's one of the reasons why she was chosen to compete in Diced Junior."

Antonio nodded. "Would someone like Ms. Alegría—who has spent years refining her skills, proving her creativity, and training at Santoro—have any reason to steal recipes?"

"No. She wouldn't need to. Even when she and another contestant both prepared soups for the second round, their dishes were still distinct. If we suspected copying, she would have been eliminated for that alone."

Antonio turned to the jury. "There you have it. Straight from one of the most respected chefs in the industry. Ms. Alegría is not a thief. She is an innovator. There is no question about her talent or whether she deserved her spot. She didn't need to steal."

Then it was Isabela's turn. "Ms. D'Angelo-Ramirez, just to clarify, you attended Santoro yourself, correct?"

"Yes, I'm an alumna."

"How many Diced Junior contestants have been accepted into Santoro over the years?"

"Not many."

"So, it's quite rare for a former contestant to be accepted into such an acclaimed program?"

"It's rare because Santoro has high standards, even higher than needed to be accepted to compete in Diced Junior. Clearly, Dulce met them."

Isabela paused, trying not to smirk. "Or maybe... she is not that skilled and had a little help?"

The people in the courtroom grew curious.

Antonio knew exactly where she was headed. "Objection. Speculation."

"Sustained," the judge asserted. "Careful, Ms. Campos."

Isabela continued, "Let's talk about Mr. Caruso, then. Ms. D'Angelo-Ramirez, as part of the Diced Junior selection process, did Mr. Caruso ever make it into the show?"

Dulce had no idea where Isabela was going with this. That's a weird question.. doesn't that go against her own client?

"No," Mia responded with caution, also noting the odd question. "He auditioned multiple times but was never selected.

A few jurors exchanged glances, some of them gasped. Auditioned several times, and he never got in?

Isabela moved forward, "And Mr. Caruso didn't need a TV show to prove himself. He got into Santoro on his own merit, didn't he?"

"I suppose so? I'm not part of the Santoro admission committee, Ms. Campos."

"And yet, Ms. Alegría—someone you publicly vouched for—was accepted into the same program as you, despite the chances."

"Objection-" Antonio began to say.

"Overruled," the judge said. "Proceed."

Isabela looked at the judge. "Your Honor, I have evidence. May I present it to the court?"

"Go ahead. But it better be relevant."

"Ms. D'Angelo-Ramirez, during filming, you told Ms. Alegría, and I quote: "I'll be watching your career closely. Don't let me down, alright? Be smart with your choices."

Mia knew it was true before Isabela played the video. She had meant for the conversation after Dulce's elimination to happen off-camera, but the producers had kept rolling and aired the footage anyway.

"I truly saw potential in Dulce. Don't twist my words," Mia argued.

Isabela turned to the jury. "All I ask is that you consider the possibility that personal connections—not talent—played a role in Dulce's admission to Santoro. Perhaps Ms. Alegría isn't as skilled as she claims. Ms. D'Angelo-Ramirez took a liking to her, after all. And she said, 'Don't let me down.' Now that Ms. Alegría is facing serious allegations, isn't it possible that Ms. D'Angelo-Ramirez is simply trying to save face?"

Fine, Isabela. Want to bring out the clips? Let's do it then.

"Your Honor, if I may, I would like to present a compilation of clips from Ms. Alegría's episode of Diced Junior."

What was this? Movie time? The judge really wished it was allowed to eat popcorn on the job. "Proceed, Mr. Romero."

A lively preteen Dulce was shown on the screen. The courtroom watched the young chef talk about her dishes in detail, share her thought processes, and maneuver around the kitchen with ease. The professionalism and precision were apparent. Many adults now can't do what the child on the television was doing.

When the video ended, Antonio turned to the jurors. "That is the same Dulce Alegría that is sitting in front of you today. Imagine everything else she accomplished in nearly a decade after his was filmed."

He continued. "Dulce Alegría is not a thief. Maybe she didn't win Diced Junior, but she has proved herself in many ways. She had a promising career, which is now suffering because of damaging lies. She lost opportunities. Doors that were once open for her were promptly shut. I ask you to hold the defendants responsible. Words have power, and today, your verdict will ensure that truth prevails. Thank you."

It was time for the jurors to deliberate.

Start from the beginning (Gen 2)

Previous | Next

[walk-the-plank-the-what]

Shangjiu fic

Omegaverse AU where Shen Jiu is discovered as an omega and Shang qinghua is the only alpha he considers safe to be with due to Shang qinghua’s general patheticness.

——————————————————

SJ collapses during peak lord meeting, and is taken to Qian Cao. Mqf did an examination while sj was passed out and finds that sj has been on sketchy/dubious/illegal suppressants ever since coming to Cang Qiong

(Maybe he started suppressants after joining Wu yanzi, since he presented the night he broke free of the qius)

The news of SJ’s 2nd gender is shocking, but MQF is a professional goddamn it, and he won’t spill SJ’s secret. However, since SJ is endangering his own health, MQF will advise that he quits the suppressants and have a heat to rebalance his qi or whatever. Of course he also suggests finding an alpha to spend it with bc alpha pheromones can have soothing effects for what is likely to be a quite intense heat. (Jury’s out on whether he insists that the sect leader know abt sj’s designation, but in this au maybe yqy already knows? but they’re definitely not reconciled either way.)

Of course sj refuses to have a heat and doubly refuses to have an alpha, but maybe he agrees to take a few days off suppressants, or maybe the reason he collapsed was due to a bad batch and his suppressants had to be tossed out, but for whatever reason, sqq is now off his suppressants for the first time in decades. He tries to seclude himself, but due to general sect sibling nosiness, everyone finds out his secret anyway. (lqg knocks down his door for a spar perhaps, and lqg is too noble to go blabbing, but a disciple probably sees/smells sj through the open door)

Since everyone already knows, sj goes off his suppressants altogether. (Perhaps in the common trope where it’s due to them all feeling regret over how they treated him and wanting to care for his health so they get rid of the suppressants? But I like the idea better that they already cared for him as sect siblings in their own way, but that his upbringing caused him to be wary of them and the rumors around him and his acerbic personality caused them to be a little wary of him in turn. I don’t think there’s any hatred or true cruelty between them though. Sj probably still wants to avoid heats, but his sect siblings make sure to cut off the sources of his suppressants for his health.)

Knowing that an alphas presence can help, many sect siblings offer to spend his heat with him. Of course he refuses due to various reasons (general distrust of alphas for most of them, violent history with lqg, weird guilt relationship w/yqy). I would like to say that he actually would agree to some of those on certain conditions though. For instance, if they would agree to being bound and immobile in immortal binding cables for the duration of the heat. Of course, none of them would agree to this, so it comes to be that there’s no option for him but to spend his heat alone.

However, :D there is a resident little freak in these peaks. Shang qinghua had been off the mountain range this whole time on a supply run/negotiating trade deals or something. When he comes back, a peak lord is filling him in, and of course he already knew that sj was an omega, but he never expected others to find out. While he’s freaking out over why his story’s getting off track, the peak lord grumbles something about sj being unreasonable and demanding to tie up alphas and shang qinghua lets the intrusive thoughts win and says something down bad about wanting Shen-shixiong to tie him up. And of course sj overhears or it gets back to him somehow.

For how sj thinks of shang qinghua, I like the perspective in this post, and in another post that I can’t find anymore, but where sj sees that sqh’s pathetic act is just an act and he sees it as a valid form of self preservation.

Basically, somehow Shen jiu does something a little intimidating and a lot hot to proposition sqh for his heat and they have a really good time with it and all the other alpha peak lords are a little jealous.

After spending this time together, I’d like to think they continue this sort of relationship and end up getting close to the point where SJ seeks out SQH even outside of heats and eventually they get together

——————————————————————-

Anyway, I just love the idea of Shen jiu learning that not all alphas are bad and such

[robertreich]

5 Facts About Trump’s Indictments

Trump’s defenders are still lying about his indictments. Here are 5 crucial facts you can share with whoever in your life needs to hear them.

1. President Biden did not indict Trump.

Four different grand juries — made up of ordinary citizens — indicted Trump after being presented with evidence they found compelling enough to warrant criminal prosecution.

The reason we have grand juries is specifically to help make sure no one gets prosecuted out of a personal vendetta.

2. This isn’t about “free speech”

In all four cases, Trump has been indicted because of what he allegedly did, not what he said. Lots of crimes involve speech, but that doesn’t stop them from being crimes. Even Trump’s hand-picked attorney general, Bill Barr, recognizes this defense is nonsense.

3. It doesn’t matter whether Trump believed the election was stolen

There’s plenty of evidence that Trump knew he lost the election fair and square. His claims of massive fraud were rejected by his own campaign manager, White House lawyers, and his hand-picked Justice Department officials. 

And privately, Trump seemed to admit that he either knew or didn’t care that his claims were false, allegedly criticizing VP Pence for being “too honest,” and allegedly admitting to his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that he lost and wanted to cover it up.

But even if Trump really did believe the election was stolen, that doesn’t give him the right to allegedly commit a criminal conspiracy to try to steal it back.

4. Trump has received preferential treatment because of who he is.

Trump’s defenders complain about a two-tiered justice system.

They’re right about that, but not in the way they claim. Trump has been given special privileges most criminal defendants would never get.

In all four criminal cases, he has been released without bail. He has repeatedly been spared the indignity of a mugshot. He has not had his passport suspended or had limits placed on his ability to travel — even though two of his criminal cases involve direct threats to national security, and even though he has used social media to issue insults and threats against potential witnesses, behavior that would cause many criminal defendants to be held without bail pending trial.

5. Trump was in legal trouble long before entering politics

Some of Trump’s defenders claim the sheer number of criminal charges and civil suits he’s now facing is proof that he’s being targeted for political reasons. But you have to remember that Trump was the subject of about 4,000 legal actions before ever running for president. From his fraudulent Trump University scam to federal lawsuits over racist housing discrimination, Trump has spent his life in court because of his own shady behavior.

Trump is being prosecuted now because, as four grand juries have found, the strength of the evidence against him merits it. If we fail to hold him fully accountable under the law, the precedent will embolden future presidents to break the law, jeopardize national security, incite insurrections, and possibly even overturn an election.

The principle that no one is above the law is only true if we make it so.

[inkiighost]

I am not a person. I am just prey to be added to your fat and tits

I realized this last night after I was watching one of your videos. You ran your claws along your stomach. At first, I was a bit stupid. I thought you were doing it because whatever poor soul was in there you had a little sympathy for. "There there, poor thing. I know it's painful but it'll all be over soon".

Of course that isn't it. You couldn't care less about the meal churning in your guts. I didn't care about the beef stew I had for lunches feelings, so why should you? No, the reason you rub your stomach is because your belly is your real pet. Like petting your dog after it snaps up a spare piece of meat at breakfast.

And then I came. Hard.

That's when I realized I belong in your guts. I set one of your videos to loop through my headphones and fell asleep, to dream that you and your powerful guts would churn me until I was gurgling through your intestines. I slept 14 hours straight and thought I died, and the jury is still out on whether that's true or not.

Its not enough though. Please eat me

Everyone take notes. If you were wondering what a love letter to me would look like, this is pretty much it.

Enough of the singular messages of “please eat me” or “squish me mommy”, I desire supplication. If you genuinely want me to indulge (upon) you, then you must entreat me first.

With that out of the way, this is incredibly hot. It sounds like you were straight up hypnotized by the sound of my stomach mulching down on some poor thing. It never ceases to amaze me just how badly some people want to throw their lives away just to add a layer of fat to my plush body ���

[autisticrosewilson]

Hello to the one blog I've been loving to read for the past few days :) <3

Just wanted to add a little something that I started thinking abt after reading a few of your really cool posts, I think we should also discuss abt how Bruce's argument abt killing (with Jay) are often framed with "you're not the judge, jury & the executioner" which is really telling of who he thinks can exersise this legitimately? ? ?

I think it'd be constructive to actually properly discuss this aspect of Bruce's philosophy too. Plus, we get more nuanced Bruce characterisation. (Also keeping in mind uh... comic book propaganda of the writers and DC themselves)

YES ABSOLUTELY! Like what if someone is given a death sentence by a court of law? Does Bruce still care? I'm sure most writers would tell you no because Bruce has become a cop allegory. He's a violent enforcer of the law, and he seeks to uphold the law. Which is a recent switch! Batman comics used to be more radical, but now they're being written by old white men. So it's another one of those things where you can ignore it for your PERSONAL INTERPRETATION but you can't say that it's not A Thing because it's been like this for at least a decade.

His argument would likely be that everyone deserves a fair trial, that everyone has the right to be seen in court. Something which I do think Jason would agree with because when he's being written well he's not just shooting petty criminals! Jason's stance comes in with the big players, the disgustingly rich or well connected upper class who get away with murder. This has been true since the Garzonas case, the whole point was that Felipe was virtually immune to the law, and Jason couldn't allow that.

I think what it comes down to is whether they believe in reformative justice or punitive Justice, and I can most assuredly say that Batman believes in the latter. You can argue that Bruce is an advocate of prison reform but we don't really have evidence of that. He considers himself a punishment for criminals, he considers himself an equalizer but that's not true because he just delivers criminals into a system that is fundamentally corrupt and unfair. Do you actually think a trial in GOTHAM of all places is going to look at a rich man vs a petty crook the same way? That rarely happens even in real life.

And I don't think that Bruce does what he does out of inherent malice. Bruce is a deeply empathetic person, the core of Bruce Wayne is that he cares. But that's not enough, Bruce was allowed to grow up sheltered and it gave him an intrinsic idealism. He only has a Birdseye view of what the common people go through, that is not enough to stand there and say that he understands . Because he doesn't. He literally can't. And I think this bias, certainly one projected by the writers but that's another issue, comes through the most with Jason and Steph.

As far back as Jason's Robin era - widely regarded as Bruce's peak of being a good dad - he still makes some pretty big mistakes. Because he finds this homeless kid whose family has been ripped apart by the corrupted systems, who has actively experienced the worst Gotham has to offer, and he comes to the conclusion that if he doesn't take Jason home Jason will inevitably become a criminal even after Jason explicitly says he doesn't like stealing. So he takes Jason in but he makes that position as his son synonymous with Robin. And this is where we have to talk about meta because Jason is intrinsically tied to meta narratives. I'm not sure if you saw my other posts about Robin, as a concept, but I'll summarize here.

Child sidekicks are fine, in early comics. When things were campy light hearted whodunnit mysteries with a few action sequences, when you always knew that the child hero would come out unscathed, would always live till the next issue. And so when Bruce makes Jason Robin you have this veil of suspension of disbelief. But Jason's era is where you start seeing these kids' storylines get worse. More gruesome, more violent, more cruel. They start really testing the limit of Bruce's morality.

Batman: The Cult - Robin Jason has to crawl through a pile of dead bodies and while Bruce is having a mental break this MAYBE 14 year old is trying to get them out. The Diplomats Son - Jason watches a rapist be let go, because he's powerful and his dad has money. He sees exactly the kind of damage it does to the victims, he's the one who finds Gloria Stanson. A Death in the Family - Jason is murdered. Tortured and murdered and betrayed. He's dead and he was always intended to STAY dead. And all throughout Tim's run and then into Steph's the writers retroactively change everything about who Jason was because it has to be HIS fault, because if it's not Jason's fault then it might be Bruce's. Because how can audiences see Bruce as just and good for taking in new kids after what happened to the last one?

The suspension of disbelief shatters. Because now Jason is back and he's angry. Because maybe we as readers know that Tim, and Steph, and Damian need to be Robin because Robin makes money with young readers. But you know who doesn't know that? Jason, who no doubt assumed that his survival depended on being Robin. Who was sold out because he was Robin. Who was badmouthed and disgraced the entire time he was gone by people he loved and trusted. Jason doesn't know that he's in a comic book, but I argue he knows he's in a Batman story.

If not from his first appearance then definitely in recent ones. What can you do besides lay down and forgive and keep coming back when you know that the universe revolves around one man? How do you get rid of the terror and anger at realizing that you can never leave, that no matter how much he hurts you the universe will bend itself in half so that he is still just and right? When you realize that the love that has defined you is a disease rooted so deeply that to rip it out would be to kill yourself, that you can't even stay dead because Bruce does not want you to be.

And they couldn't even stick to Jason being the problem! Because then Steph dies. And all I could think was "Of course she did. She's an East End girl whose been compared to Jason constantly. Or a version of him. Of course she would be tortured to death trying to get Bruce's approval." Here we are, history has literally repeated itself, and...Tim is Robin again. Why? Because this is a comic book, and Batman needs Robin.

But what do you think everyone in-universe thinks? What do you think that looks like? How can you possibly still call Bruce a good parent under these circumstances? Bruce calls Robin a blessing, a gift, a necessity. He relies on Robin, physically to watch his back and emotionally to keep him in line. He trains them, he molds them, he loves them.

But sometimes love just isn't enough and the good Robin does shouldn't negate the harm they get in the process. Robin then becomes this horrible force of change, you get it and you know that this has doomed you, one way or another. Because Bruce believes that suffering is noble, that pain can reform people. It's baked into his character. Even if he doesn't intend to hurt his kids, it's not like we haven't seen him justify it to himself and others. "I love you, I did this for your own good, I thought I could help you, it was your fault I did that, it won't happen again, I lost control of myself but only this once, we can be a family again if you just come home." It reads an awful lot like an abuser trying to convince you or himself that he's not in the wrong.

This was longer than I intended it to be, but I guess my main point is that Bruce and Batman can't ever be fully separated. Something that I think his relationship with Cass shows us he's aware of but chooses to ignore. We know that Batman is dangerous, that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt his kids, we saw that with Zurr-Batman (WHO BRUCE ADMITTED WAS A FACET OF HIMSELF YOU CAN'T SAY IT WASN'T HIM BECAUSE HE HIMSELF SAID THAT IT WAS). So why try and act like it's this impossible out of character thing for Bruce to be harmful? For his kids to feel angry and hurt about his actions or for their feelings to be as or more valid than Bruce's. Batman has and will hurt his kids and Bruce will try to rationalize it all away because he loves them, he would never want to hurt them. And the narrative will tell us that Bruce is right, that this is good and fair and just, that Bruce's perspective is the correct one, that his kids deserve this, because this is a comic book and outrage sells. Or they'll retcon it and pretend it never happened. Or they'll just never bring it up again. Or Bruce will be forgiven regardless just to hammer home how good and right he is.

Because this is a comic book about Batman, and Batman is a hero, he is our protagonist, and so he is reliable and we should never doubt him, or call him out, or be mad at him. Naturally.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

I know I don’t usually get political on here, but with recent events happening I wanted to make a post to reach as many people as I can, as a young woman in the US in this current political climate. Everyone needs to vote.

“But what if I don’t want to register because I don’t want jury duty?”

There is no guarantee you would ever be called for jury duty. I have met people in their 80s who have never been called. Even if you are called, if you tell the judges that you will be an awful juror, you won’t pay attention, you’re incredibly biased, etc. they will dismiss you. They do not want someone on the jury that would be an inconvenience to both sides. As someone who has been called but was not chosen, it is not as big of a deal as you might think it is in the grand scheme of things, and at least in my state you can only even be called once every two years. Plus, certain conditions can disqualify you from even having to show up as well.

“But what if I don’t like the democratic representative either?”

That literally does not matter in this actually life and death case, because the other choice is Donald Trump and Project 2025. If you do any research into project 2025, which no, is not just empty promises they’re trying to make, it is a plan built mostly around removing the rights of women, LGBT members, and deconstructing public education. It is a very scary document and it is one they will 100% go forward with if Trump is put into office. Whether Kamala ends up as the representative for the party or someone else does, you MUST vote blue.

“Well, why can’t we all just vote independent?”

Because they will not win. They won’t. Independents are not even always put on every bracket in every state, but even if they were there is no way that they would win the upcoming election because none of them have a big enough audience at present moment. They need time to build an audience, and they need a Blue country to be able to do so. Plus, we have the electoral college to worry about, and there’s no way in hell any of them are voting independent. In this election it is Blue or Red, and Blue is the much better choice.

“But I don’t think that Blue is going to win, so I don’t even want to bother with voting.”

That is the exact line of thinking Trump wants you to have. Trump is scared of losing! He wants you to think he’s the only winner possible, and that’s why we need to prove him wrong! Not voting at all is still a vote for Trump! We need to show up and vote, because otherwise you are just automatically saying you’re fine with letting Trump win, which is saying you’re fine with losing your own rights or your friends and your family losing their own rights. This election is not a joke this time, we cannot just let it slide this time and assume it’ll be different in four years.

“But politics stress me out and make me anxious so I don’t want to get involved in them.”/“I don’t live close enough to reach my polling station.”

That is the same as the previous one. I know this is an extremely stressful time for everyone, believe me, I’m extremely anxious about it too, but you just need to vote Blue, and show up on one specific day to vote. If you’re too anxious to physically go to polling station or you don’t live close enough, you can also do a mail in ballot, which I’ve done before! You can request one online, receive it in the mail, and send it out! No contact with any other people required. Mail in ballots are still an option and literally made for people who cannot physically show up to a polling station.

“I know all of that’s true, but again, I REALLY hate the Blue candidate.”

Well, consider this. We are not just voting for the president, we are voting for Supreme Court members. Presidents serve as of right now up to 8 years, but Supreme Court justices serve for life. Trump put on the last Supreme Court members, and I’m sure you’ve seen the horrible choices they’ve made in the sake of the Republican Party. The president is the one who chooses those members, so if you allow a Red President, you are allowing the possibility of an even more Red Supreme Court. Vote Blue not just because you are voting for the president, but because you are voting for the sake of your literal future with Supreme Court justices. Politicians have historically always sucked. When it comes to voting, it is the lesser of two evils, and when you’re picking between them, Blue is obviously the lesser of the two evils, especially when Red wants to remove as many rights as physically possible.

“What if Trump also gets removed from the running. Won’t we be okay then?”

No! Because it does not matter who the Red representative is, they are STILL going to move forward with Project 2025. Even if Trump somehow keels over and dies tomorrow or decides to drop out (which I doubt will happen), they would still make the next representative go through with Project 2025. They want this plan more than anything else in the world, and so long as there’s a possibility of a republican representative going into office there is a guarantee of them using that plan.

“But what if Project 2025 really IS just empty promises?”

It is not. I guarantee you it is not. Even if it was, do you REALLY want to take the risk? Do you REALLY want to try and play this game? When the rights of women, LGBT members, public education, and the environment are at risk, do you really want to just assume it’s not going to happen? Is it really worth it to you to play this game and assume so? I’m going to guess it is not, in fact, worth it to play this game. You NEED to fully believe that Project 2025 is actually going to happen, because it is going to happen if they win. This isn’t a fever dream we’re going to wake up from and laugh about if they win. It’s the reality of the current shithole country we live in, and this country could become far, far worse if they win.

Even if you do not live in the US, I am just asking of you to please consider reblogging this and spreading it, as there are probably Americans that will see if if you do so. If you’re even still too young to vote, people that are old enough are likely to see it. I know I’m not a huge blog, but reblogs are always important and I still want to try.

As a woman and LGBT member who does not want to lose her rights, I am asking for you to please read and spread this post. Even if I can just reach one person who will care, it can be a great help. They do not want us to unionize and vote against them, but that is exactly what we must do. Regardless of how you feel about the Blue party, you have to vote for them this year, it’s the only thing we can do.

[mrinafria]

Seen some viewers not liking The Judge from Hell for different reasons, and I think I kind of get why (just my guess). Also, disclaimer (in case it's not obvious enough): I respect and am fine with anyone disagreeing with me and not liking the show for whatever reason.

If you've watched The Devil Judge, then The Judge from Hell is not that. Unlike The Devil Judge, it doesn't have a dark, grim, ominous setup that stays true to that heavy vibe till the end. If you've watched Lucifer, it's not that either. Close but also not really. Unlike Lucifer, The Judge from Hell hasn't shown us an anti-hero/anti-heroine who, underneath the charisma and confidence and tricks and looks, is full of self-loathing, unprocessed angst and human-like emotions. I'm just going off of the 8 episodes of TJFH aired so far. Unlike Lucifer, Justitia doesn't seem to display a subconscious desire not to be misunderstood and abandoned, nor does she feel complex emotions about humans and humanity (it's just starting with Daon she still has a long way to go). We don't see a Fallen/Demon with a semblance of a moral compass here.

Even her "I trust what children say" doesn't mean much because she doesn't do that out of some morality; to her, it's just facts that children are the least crafty and least vile amongst humans. Justitia is very mechanical (and petty even) in what she does- she's not on some great self-discovery or redemption journey in here to even entertain the notion of humanity or morality. If we expect such nuance from her so early on in the story, we maybe setting ourselves up for disappointment. Y'all she's been doing this for Lord knows HOW many hundred years. It's not her first gig. If you have been having coffee at night despite being an insomniac for like three decades, it's highly likely you'd stop thinking or caring about the morality, the 'rightness' of drinking coffee even when it destroys your health.

It's like that for her, to the point where she can, in fact, treat every murder, every crime, every criminal lightly. She's been the judge, jury and executioner all along, and that's the job she needs to do well on earth too. As audience, we may be living on earth longer than she's been but the moment Justitia stepped in, it became 'her world' that we're now getting a peek at.

She's not some vigilante or messiah; just an eccentric, murdering demon from hell who likes Z cola and a pretty wardrobe and Han Daon too- what's wrong with that lol. I remember seeing similar sentiments when Vincenzo was on, because some felt the comedy and humor didn't go well with the overall theme, with a psycho CEO committing all kinds of crimes+ ML's childhood grief and mafia ptsd+ revenge etc. I feel like it was a conscious choice not to make the show so heavy or serious, despite the subject matter. TJFH feels like it treats heavy stuff casually because it is mostly shown through Justitia's lens, and so far, SHE has been treating heavy stuff casually. She really doesn't feel anything emotionally for the girl being in an abusive relationship, or the child being with that horrible excuse of a stepmom. All she sees are the sinners and their sins, and whether they can help her fulfill her mission.

But even that is changing now, gradually, with Justitia/Kang Bitna starting to feel more and more human emotions (props to Daon).

Now, could we have gotten a more nuanced character arc with a serious undertone? Maybe yes, maybe no. The story is yet to unfold fully so I say it's too early to decide that? However, three things that come to mind are: 1. kdramas generally don't get seasons unlike TV series in the US or UK, to explore things gradually with each season geared towards a certain theme or development. Lucifer did what it did in six seasons. 2. I've noticed that unless it's a super horror, super apocalyptic or dystopian show, kdramas like to incorporate humor in their story no matter what genre it is (even shows like The Light in Your Eyes or Moon Lovers or Hi Bye, Mama have their lighthearted moments). Kdramas aren't perfect. Different shows become perfect to different audiences because of their personal preferences. I watch the show because the trailers promised us a fantasy drama with angst between the leads, because it gives me a good laugh, and also maybe because a small part in me kinda sorta lives vicariously through Justitia's ultimate reckoning lol.

I'm actually glad it's not a heavy show because the stuff they've shown so far can be quite disturbing and triggering and I'd be very hesitant to proceed with it if that were the case. 3. I think it's also okay to acknowledge that not all writers/creatives would prefer to do the research needed to pull off certain themes, nuanced character arcs and dynamic, which can leave some viewers wanting more out of a character/show too.

It's fine not to like a hyped drama or a character (happens to me too). But in my opinion, the show is delivering what it promised to deliver initially, and I'm glad it is.

[raayllum]

it doesn't happen often but sometimes you really do just end up writing meta in the discord DMs with your friends re: why the main trio will eventually come to understand Aaravos & the Cosmic Council even if they haven't questioned/understood them yet

1) The show is always very critical of dismissed intentions.

Whether it's Rayla being Ghosted (only for Ethari, "so i know you did not betray them out of malice, but that doesn't matter," to deeply regret and atone for it), or Leola's trial ("this act, however motivated, is the beginning of the end"), not considering WHY a person is doing something is seen as a roadblock to understanding and forgiveness. This is why Rayla pushes Callum on WHY he'd do dark magic again in 6x03, this is why Soren and Claudia's refusal to engage with the other person's viewpoint at all is so intensive, why rather than being reactive and angry in 4x03 (like Soren) over the defaced painting Ez instead comes from a place of empathy, and why the 1-2 times Karim is right it's about "you must show that you understand their anger (aka why they're angry)". This all comes back to Harrow's advice (our most consistent thematic underpinning being his letter): "You must free yourself from the past. Learn from it, understand it, and let it go." The show both consciously and unconsciously demands us to understand why characters are doing things by giving them understandable reasons, even if the actions they take are often flawed (this is true for the entire main cast) and Not Understanding someone (Viren overruling Lissa, Viren & Soren, Claudia w/ King Harrow in s1, Rayla & Callum growing to understand each other better, etc etc) is what causes all the relationship breakdowns in communication/aid.

This is particularly seen in 1x01 using Ziard's dark magic use to be our initial "dark magic is (always, unconditionally) evil and scary" only to steadily strip that away over each season (particularly S5-S7) and in 3x01, wherein we as the audience realize that Ziard's context / intentions and movations were intentionally withheld from us, only to be seen as pretty damn reasonable if not heroic.

Therefore, the show letting the audience understand Aaravos as much as we do (even if we don't understand everything) is critical and crucial and very on par, even if the main characters are still playing catchup.

2) My base assumption was always that the main trio were going to grow to understand Aaravos and the Cosmic Council, while also learning/becoming Better than them, was because first they were going to Become them.

S7 did a Ton of ground work in this in particular, given that Ezran has his journey of forgiving Runaan somewhat because -- unlike in the beginning of the season -- by the end he's Become Runaan, willing to kill (assassinate) someone. We also know thanks to S7 that the Archdragons and First Elves used to have conflict while having a season of set up for Ezran and/or Aanya's brother (first elf stand ins) to have conflict with the dragons / Zym in future seasons once project ruby fire starts going off the rails.

Callum also had a very explicit arc in this way. In a lot of ways arc 2 was seeing how he could become like Viren, down to using/acquiring the staff. The other undercurrent throughout arc 2 (particularly S7) was how he could become Aaravos. This is evident through his possesion of the cube, the Book of Destiny / Primal Book just as a Concept, and him becoming a primal mage who ALSO uses dark magic + an Archmage™️ in arc 3. Callum is already on the road path to becoming / being like / understanding Aaravos ("Callum sees the world as I do, understands the need for compromise") and carries all the thematic weight of Being The Thing that Leola was executed over.

Additionally, the main characters (thanks to their political & magic power) are going to get to decide things like who has what / be judge jury executioner (a la the Cosmic Council) / what mercy is. S7 also pushed them more into these roles and these choices more than ever, of the choices you can make when you're scared or sad or angry, and the harm/consequences they can cause.

They'll understand them by becoming them and then progressing past them ("their fear, the Great Unravelling" / "i had to work to unravel all the hatred of my upbringing" / "in mercy, in compassion" / "sometimes the line between mercy and cruelty can be thin" / "evrkynd, a place where we will always be kind to one another") by unifying the magics / peoples / the land in a Better Restoration compared to what it had ever been in the olden times (a la Soren & Viren both having restoration arcs of becoming better versions of the roles they started out in as crownguard and high mage, etc.)

Like to me we are very much Well on our own on all fronts, with plenty of arc 2 providing set up / introducing ideas and complications so that arc 3 can bring it all home

"this is justice! the humans attacked us unprovoked" never being true and that's the whole Point understanding/seeing yourself in your enemy is amaya's entire character arc ("she was callous, she was cruel. and in truth so was i." / "you know who you sound like?" "who?" "me" / "i understand you, karim.") and like. s7 was a massive neon sign of "we're getting there w/ Aaravos & the Cosmic Council" flashing at me every episode

even arc 3 being set up to interrogate the ethics of abandonment/isolationism with the Cosmic Council just dipping ("Callum, I know my leaving hurt you" / "She left us. She left" / "take your people, and build your own future far away from here") when exile/isolationism has always been a Huge problem for Xadia culturally to begin with like. we're so There

like the main trio is acting very harrow in him and sarai's convo about the magma titan and i Believe in them bc basically every time i've gone "huh idk what that's about / that thread is going" (lissa leaving the fam, ezran being so passive in s1/s2 with decision making, the archdragons not just killing aaravos and imprisoning him instead, the sun-moon emphasis in early seasons, the 2x08 dream foreshadwing, etc) tdp has taken me by the hand and gone "oh it's on purpose hun don't worry" and kissed my forehead

like even Claudia BECOMING a dragon (the thing she hates and refuses to meaningfully engage with) like. they are Screaming it at us

[author-main]

Welcome back to Author Takes the Romance out of Wrightworth just to Put It Back Later. The reason why I do this is because, I'm a relatively newer fan, haven't been here for super long. And I wanna share my thoughts and opinions as a fan who got into the games because of nrmt/mtnr. I (personally) think a lot of the meaning in the characters' dialog gets kinda lost in fanon. So today, I will discuss how:

Phoenix becoming a lawyer for Miles isn't THAT extreme when you learn how easy it was to "change his life" to do it.

By that, I mean... it wasn't THAT big of a change.

Point One: Phoenix did not change his entire college course for Miles, nor did he need to.

I should start with: becoming a lawyer is no joke, no matter where you live. But since I'm American, we'll follow the localization.

In the U.S. you're required to obtain your Juris Doctor (J.D.) to take the bar exam. What you need to start working towards a J.D. is any bachelor's degree. Phoenix was 21 and still an art major (April 2014), even after knowing for up to over a year (February 2013) that Miles was a prosecutor. He is said to have taken law classes, that could mean three things

Law electives

Law minor

double major

Note: The double major is the least likely in canon, because if that was the case, his character profile in 3-1 would've mentioned it.

Given the timeline of events, I believe that Phoenix was already a graduating senior at by the time of 3-1. Not a super important thought, just a "he's pretty much ready to get into a grad program anyway" thing.

Point Two: Larry Butz is his other reason in becoming a lawyer.

And not so many people ship them now do they? Most people either see Larry as just a friend to Phoenix, or they outright forget him (which is why I have to point him out NOW). Phoenix knew Larry for his entire life, longer than he knew Edgeworth. And he's the reason they all became friends in the first place. But he's even more important than just being the reason he and Miles became friends.

Phoenix wanted to show his gratitude to Miles and Larry in the exact same way, by defending them in court. This isn't romantic, this is wholly platonic. This is his way of showing how much they actually meant to him, how much their friendship meant to them. He's trying to show them what exactly they've done for him. They changed him as a person. Showed him that he should follow his convictions and intuition, to believe in people and defend them especially when the rest of the world is against them.

Point Three: "I'm the only one who knows the real Edgeworth": You NEED to pay attention to the entire conversation to understand why he said this. (though I obviously can't share it all here, but here are the most important parts for this post)

Probably the most seemingly obsessive part this of is: "He's in pain… And no one's on his side. I'm the only one who knows the real Edgeworth. I'm the only one who can help him." But you really need to actually consider what he's saying here. Phoenix knows that the world is cruel and that mob mentality can form no matter the demographic. He knows that whether it's a class of elementary school kids, or full-grown adults in suits and ties; if the world thinks you did it, you're discouraged from defending yourself. If the world thinks you did it, you'll start believing it too. If the world tells you to apologize and take responsibility, you're going to do it, even if what they accuse you of isn't true. And Phoenix knows what it's like to not be able to defend himself. He knows that he needs to defend the seemingly indefensible. That's why he became a defense attorney. That's what the class trial taught him, what Miles and Larry taught him.

"I'm the only one who knows the real Edgeworth." -> "I'm the only one who knows what it's like to be in Edgeworth's shoes and I know for a fact that he's innocent. I know that no matter what happened in the past, that he doesn't deserve this."

Extra: The other reason why I decided to write this is because of Xitter lurking

This was all part of a conversation but I'm only sharing my own opinions

[haru-dipthong]

THE JURI EPISODE (My utena fansub ep 7)

This is my favourite episode of the whole show. My phone background has been the shot of the falling sword ever since I first saw it. I love everything about it, so I really wanted to be sure I did it justice in the translation!

ただもし彼女が本当に世界を革命する力があるというなら私がこの手で奪ってやるさ。

But if Utena truly possesses the Power to Revolutionise the World, I’ll steal it from them.

BIG MOMENT! This is the first time one of the student council uses they/them for Utena. You may notice that the Japanese is 彼女, often translated as “she”. So why am I translating it as “they”?

In the fountain scene, Juri draws a parallel between Utena and Shiori. She begins to frame all of Utena’s behaviour through a lens of heterosexual lust/love, which makes her completely flip out as it makes her feel more alone than ever because (I believe) she saw a kindred spirit in Utena’s gender non-conformity, and sees that cameraderie dry up because of the phantasm of heterosexuality.

After the duel, Juri has rediscovered hope in herself and in the world. I believe part of this is because she realises she was wrong about Utena. Their duel is essentially over whether Utena is deserving of the ring, which, to Juri, is a question of whether Utena is really driven by heterosexual love. Through her loss she is forced to admit that she was wrong, that Utena is not motivated by heterosexual love for the prince, and there was and still is a cameraderie there. Using “they” is an admission that she was wrong, and an indication that she understands Utena a little more. It’s in direct contrast to the fountain scene when she calls Utena “a little girl”.

That’s my interpretation anyway. Anya’s interpretation is that Juri is distancing herself from Utena in this scene; that Juri has realised that “miracles are real, just not for me”. In this interpretation, “they” also makes sense — by gendering Utena as nonbinary, Juri reaffirms her position as the only girl in the duel system. She is attempting to process the idea that Utena is special by distancing them from womanhood (and therefore she, a woman, is doomed to live without miracles).

“Sure sure, there’s lots of narrative justification for it,” I hear you say, “but it’s simply not in the original japanese script!”

Well, actually, there’s justification for this too. 1. Utena’s use of 僕 (boku) is untranslatable — we lose that gendered meaning in translation. It needs to be added back in somewhere, and this is the place. It’s not a perfect compensation (boku is self-identifying while “they” is an external identification) but based on the narrative elements I’ve mentioned above, I think it’s acceptable. 2. Japanese rarely uses third person pronouns, and doesn’t have a gender neutral one. I think Juri uses it here because she doesn’t want to say Utena’s name (still a bit sore from the loss?) so I don’t see the gendering here as being important to keep in the translation.

-----

奇跡の力で勝てると自惚れてるがいい。

If you beat me with the power of miracles, you're entitled to your conceit. (from ohtori.nu)

If by some miracle you beat me, you can keep your shallow dreams. (my translation)

Like I said above, for Juri, this duel is about whether or not Utena is driven by heterosexual love. 自惚れる is usually translated as “to be conceited” but here, Juri is saying that she’ll allow Utena to keep pining for her lost prince with the alternative being that she will shatter Utena’s dreams. With that in mind I thought it better to phrase it in a way that extends and makes clear Juri’s resentment of Utena.

-----

奇跡を信じて。思いは届くと。

This was the hardest line in the whole episode. I went through several iterations:

Believe in a miracle, and your feelings will be returned.

If you believe in a miracle, he’ll love you back.

Just believe in miracles, and your love will be returned.

Miracles can happen. Your true love will love you back.

The phrase 思いは届く literally means “your thoughts will reach their destination”. In practice it means something like “your feelings will be understood and reciprocated”, and it was hard to find an English phrase that had a similar meaning while still sounding good as a repeatable quote. Anya’s keen eye for natural and polished dialogue really helped here, as they were able to pick the best sounding combination of first- and second-halves of the line. We ended up with

Believe in miracles, and your love will be returned.

-----

@dontbe-lasanya outdid themself again with this edit. It wouldn't be nearly as good without their help!

Be sure to follow for updates! You can find previous episodes here:

[captainmazzic]

The Sith Lord leaned in as far as his chains would allow, his eerie grin curling even wider. He licked his cracked lips, and his voice came as a whisper, silky and almost sensual. “The taste of your fear is all the sustenance I require. More palatable than the most opulent of feasts.”

----

Meet Darth Virulen, Master of Massacres, Duskborne Assassin, the Butcher of Sluis Van. The man so infamous for turning capital ships into slaughterhouses and battlefields into charnel grounds that his genetic blueprint was requested by the Sith Alchemist Lord Fulminiss for the development of the Harrower Sithspawn.

He is a Squamatan by birth, but was raised by a nomadic clan of Nagai that ultimately settled near the Stygian Caldera, and had close ties with the Sith Empire within. He joined the Sith at an early age, and a few years before he gained the title of Darth he engaged in a duel with a, uh, certain fellow apprentice of his master. The duel ended with him receiving a lightsaber blade to the face, permanently scarring him. He wears his disfigurement with pride, and he tattooed around his eyes and nose for his face to even more closely resemble that of a skull.

He knows of the Shadow Imperium and the Sith Tribunal, but his heart beats for the Empire. He is one of the deadliest subtle murder machines the Empire has - his specialty is killing, both en masse and silent targeted elimination. He has been responsible for countless massacres, disappearings, assassinations, and genocides. His strong code of honor that guides his violence ensures that almost all of his opponents face him directly, their deaths personal, rather than behind a screen or the push of a button. His worldview dovetails closely with the culture of his adoptive Nagai, and it was partly this culture and mindset that drove his master to select him as a second apprentice. As his master before him (and his former fellow apprentice), he values honesty and integrity. He keeps his promises, he is true to his word.

The jury is still out on whether that makes him less scary, or even more terrifying. :)

Anyway he's one of the two main characters for the new thing I'm writing (tentatively titled Like a Fine Wine), that (hopefully) won't be very long. I don't intend for it to be much longer than 3 or 4 chapters, and I already have the first two done. It's set in the same AU as Opening Dialogue, but takes place a year or two after.

I'll be drawing the other main character in the new fic probably tonight or tomorrow, in between all the writing XD