#also yes this includes the lords in black OBVIOUSLY

[vaguelydreaming]

"oh pete is trans" "no richie is trans" "ethan is trans"

you fools. you absolute buffoons. EVERYONE in hatchetfield is trans. steph? trans. macnamara? trans. miss holloway? trans.

what do you think the t in hatchetfield stands for?

[rockrosethistle]

If there's one thing TGWDLM fans are gonna do, it's think about the implications. And the implications of the opening number are crazy.

So. We know that the show isn't completely chronological since the opening number takes place before the meteor hits. So that song is a sort of "flash forward" moment. But when you think about it, we don't really know how far in the future it takes place.

What we do know is that by the time it's happening, Emma is infected. She has a little solo in it singing about how Paul is pining over a barista

And we know that this is meant to be an infected Emma specifically. Lauren had other characters in the show, if they wanted to avoid the Emma implication they would've just dressed her as one of those.

So we know this is meant to be Emma.

And Emma isn't infected until the very end of the show. She's dragged off stage during the credits. So since she's infected in the opening number, we know the number takes place after the events of the show.

Another important detail is that Paul is infected before Emma. He's the one that passes it on to her.

So back to the opening number, Emma is infected. Which means by just following a simple timeline, Paul must also be infected. He should be singing and dancing, right?

But that's not what happens. Paul misses his entrance.

If Paul is infected, then there's no reason he should be missing his entrance. Furthermore, if he's a part of a hive mind, there's no reason other members of the same hive mind shouldn't know where he is. They are literally all connected by one brain, and yet both Mr. Davidson and Bill express they have no clue where he went.

What I'm saying is that Paul is not infected. He was infected (again, we know that because Emma is infected and he was infected before her) but now he's not anymore.

I'm saying there's a way out of the hive, and Paul found it. That's the only explanation that makes sense given the facts of the situation. Sometime after the events of tgwdlm, Paul is able not only to break out the hive mind, but to hide from it.

And if he broke out, others could do the same. Maybe even Emma.

Edit because a countertheory has emerged: Yes it's possible that everyone is infected the entire time and the show itself is just Pokey replaying the events for the fun of it. But it seems unlikely to me. First of all, each of the Lords in Black has a distinct personality. They all are evil, but within that they seems to fall somewhere on a spectrum of "silly billy" to "prick." For example, Tinky is more of a silly billy. He toys with humans without much of a motive and more for just shits and giggles. But in every instance, Pokey's more on the extreme side of prick.

He's one of the few with an actual motive behind what he does. In Yellowjacket, it's confirmed that Pokotho hates the sound of anyone's voice except for his own. The events of TGWDLM don't happen because Pokey is bored, they happen because he is executing a plan. So I don't think that he would just have them play out their little scenario just to entertain him, especially just one small island? I just feel like he'd be more focused on world domination.

If the theory is that all this is happening after Pokey's already taken over the whole world, no one was successful in stopping him, then yes it's plausible, but still weird. There are a strange amount of things in that show you just think an eldritch god wouldn't include.

Edit 2: New evidence has emerged???

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is loosely based off of Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Paul's last name is even a nod to the main character, Matthew. At the end of the film, Matthew survives, and continues living among the infected, pretending to be one of them. And wouldn't that be just such a fun little parallel...

Obviously it doesn't prove anything but the source material doesn't lie folks.

[vidavalor]

Hi! I love your posts. I would really like your opinion on what the hell is going on in the drake scene in the scriptbook?? I know it's also in the book but I don't get it in the book either? All I know is that Aziraphale calls Crowley "my dear" in it so I wish it was in the show!

Aziraphale is tossing a breadcrust to a drake. The drake pecks at it, then squawks, and dies.

AZIRAPHALE “Really, my dear, was that necessary?”

CROWLEY “Sorry.”

The drake returns to life, quacks and paddles off.

HELLLLLLP!!!1 😁😁

Hi there! 💕Thank you. Oh, yeah, I got you. 😉 Opinions galore on the drake scenes below. *passes the box of chocolates*

A drake, as we know, is a male duck, but the word also can refer to a serpent, a dragon, or a sea monster. So, visually, in front of our word-nerdy Crowley and Aziraphale in this scene? There's this duck-- this water-dwelling bird-- that is very, very Crowley, right?

And this Crowley-esque duck? What's happening to him in the scene? He's getting fed some bread by Aziraphale, yes?

Bread is bread, yes, but, in an amusing bit of Nightingales blasphemy here, bread is also a word that has also been used to mean all food collectively since that was first coined in the "give us this day our daily bread" bit of 'The Lord's Prayer.' And what's very obviously food in Crowley and Aziraphale's Nightingales speak, as many scenes, including Job's cellar and The Ritz, have shown us? Sex. One of the oldest euphemisms in history and Crowley and Aziraphale basically unintentionally started it with the whole Eve and the apple bit. So, anyway...

Bread is food and food is sex. So, bread (and all its built-in rising dough jokes) is a sex partner or a bit of sex. The bordello owner Mrs. Sandwich... Aziraphale "baking" four different kinds of sourdough loaf during the first days of Covid lockdown... "And the brioche..." in 1793... The Russian cultural attache's black bread was particularly sought after by the more discerning duck... and so on.

So, in the drake scene, Aziraphale tosses some literal bread to the Crowley-esque duck. Crowley, flirting, has the-drake-that-is-like-him respond the way Crowley himself feels like doing whenever Aziraphale feeds him any euphemistic bread.

The drake pecks at the bread, as ducks and birds do. A joke on Aziraphale's hilarious choice of the bird-originating peckish in 1793 as euphemistic for horny-- and, also, the fact that a peck is a kiss. Birds and ducks both eat and kiss with pecking movements so the-drake-that-is-Crowley happily consumes some of Aziraphale's bread. Then what?

Crowley then has the drake respond to the bread consumption by squawking-- the duck version of crying out-- and dying. Imitative of orgasm-- literal death as "the little death." This post has more examples of Crowley and Aziraphale using sex-and-death metaphors in other scenes. They are all more verbal innuendo, though, while, in this scene, Crowley's temporarily literally killed the drake in the process of this flirtation.

This is why Mr. Brown of Brown's World of Carpets never stood a chance, you know. Shockingly, it has never once occurred to him to flirt with Aziraphale by finding a suitably wordplay-funny visual pun of a duck and then temporarily murdering it. Lacks a certain panache, Mr. Vacuum does. 😂 Unlike Crowley, who is just like...

See that duck over there that's just like me? Its heart just gave out, as mine still does after all these millenniums, at but the smallest morsels of your bread, my love.

Aziraphale's reply is a dry: "Really, my dear, was that necessary?"

Must you kill the poor waterfowl with your punny professions of love, Crowley?! Not that I don't completely love this but please undead the duck.

In the script, Crowley was to respond just with "Sorry." and bring the drake back to happy duck life. This scene, as you mentioned, is taken from a similar one in the book, though, and there's a little more there we should look at, too. In the novel, it goes like this:

Aziraphale tossed a crust to a scruffy-looking drake, which caught it and sank immediately.

The angel turned to Crowley.

"Really, my dear," he murmured.

"Sorry," said Crowley. "I was forgetting myself."

The duck bobbed angrily to the surface.

If you recall, when Crowley is described earlier in the novel, the paragraph includes this line:

And, whenever he forgot himself, he had a tendency to hiss.

Forgetting oneself can mean to act out in strong emotion-- and we have seen Crowley hiss a little when upset or overwhelmed in the tv series. Its chief meaning, though, is just to lose composure and self-control... which also can apply to a certain, other kind of situation where one might do that. Adding to that more innuendo-laden meaning, it also has a connotation of becoming deeply engrossed in something.

So, the scene with the drake in the book is then calling back to the "and, whenever he forgot himself, he had a tendency to hiss" line describing Crowley earlier in the novel. It underlines the innuendo by having Crowley say that he was "forgetting himself"-- on the surface, sounding like was lost in thought, but really referring to the joke that he, as the drake, was "forgetting himself"-- having an orgasm-- when the drake cried out and dropped dead from the ecstasy of consuming Aziraphale's bread. It makes one level of "when he forgot himself" being about when he comes, and then says that Crowley has "a tendency to hiss" when he does.

That "I was forgetting myself" line in the drake scene was likely dropped between the book and the script book because it existed in the book to call back to the earlier, written description of Crowley. That description was (as best as I can remember right now) the only other time it appeared in the novel. Skipping it in the tv series wouldn't have really impacted anything while having it in there might have been potentially confusing to those who hadn't read the book.

If you ask me why I think the drake scene never made it past the earlier draft of the script, though? I think it's likely because, if this scene had existed in the 1.01 St. James' Park scene? Or anywhere in S1, really? One of the biggest questions from S1 would have been why did Crowley kill the duck and bring it back to life? The audience would have figured it all out in big numbers from the start because more people would have been talking about it and, once you see it? It becomes pretty impossible not to see that they're lovers.

It's the fact that it's Book Omens and one of the more overlooked cut bits of the script that have caused it to fly under the radar. I think that cutting it from the tv series made sure that there was still plenty of bread-and-ducks-themed Nightingales in the scene without Crowley's romantic (?) temporary duck slaughter making it too clear to the tv audience too soon what those things are all about.

[angrycommielez]

Mr Everdeen's name theories

Ok so I listed all the options I had in mind for Mr Everdeen’s name, including the theories about him being related or close to the Covey. ✨Feel free to add more✨.

Ballad names : 

Although I love the ballads of Joe Hill, Tom Joad, Michael Collins and James Larkin etc I don’t think this is what she has chosen (cause yes she has decided his name and she better gives it to us sorry that sounds like a threat) because it’s not really related to his story. 

Annarchie from Annarchie Gordon : I saw someone on Tumblr or Reddit talking about this scottish ballad and how they could see Mr Everdeen being named after this song for it’s about a women, Jeannie, who “is to be married off to the wealthy Lord Saltoun, but she is in love with Annachie”. Contrary to Katniss’ parents who end up together, Jeannie marries the Lord. So she, and Annarchie, both die of a broken heart. Similar to Mrs Everdeen falling into depression when Mr Everdeen literally dies. 

Also, if he’s named Annarchie, wouldn't it be funny if Mrs Everdeen’s name was Peggy (because of the ballad of Peggy Gordon). 

Jack from Black Jack Davey : When I heard this song and its differents versions like “G**** Davey”, “The G**** Laddie” or “The G**** Rover”, I thought of Mr and Mrs Everdeen. I mean, look at the lyrics : 

He whistled and he sang 'til the green woods rang And he won the heart of a lady

It is also a ballad about a girl from a wealthy family falling in love with a man she’s not supposed to marry. There are multiple versions and in some, while she left her husband (and sometimes baby) behind her to go with her lover, this man leaves her. But in most of the versions I listened to they live happily together. Plus, in this ballad, the man sings and he’s a traveler, like the Covey. 

And in “Black Jack Davey” well, there’s also a color, so…….

Robin from Robin Hood : Many people have said this was one of their guesses, due to the obvious connection with the woods and the use of bow and arrows, but also because Robin is kind of a rebel. Just like Mr Everdeen. It’s also a name connected to nature since Robin is a type of bird. And god do I love birds images in THG. 

Ira from Ira Hayes : He was indigenous (an Akimel O'odham American) and was a marine who fought during the Pacific War. He suffered from PTSD and alcoholism. It’s not in relation to what happened to Mr Everdeen who wasn’t even born during the Rebellion and died in a mine accident, but Ira is also a common name in the South and it’s my hc that the Everdeens are part native. 

Covey name : ballad + color 

If Mr Everdeen not only has a ballad name but also a color, maybe Black for “Black Jack” as stated before. But others could be : 

Ash (for Gray as in Lucy Gray but also for the fire symbolism).

Russet (color of fall “often associated with sorrow or grave seriousness”).

Cornsilk (if he is Maude Ivory’s son or grandson, it could make sense to have another shade of an off-white color. Specially in contrast to Snow’s obsession for his white roses). 

Crimson (deep red, similar to Carmine so perhaps a link with Clerk Carmine Clade. And numerous birds have that name although not in America).

Copper (reddish brown, there's a venomous snake named “the eastern copperhead” in eastern North America that can be found in Appalachia). 

Or types of green like Erin (also an irish name), Myrtle (a dark green + Myrtus is a kind of flower). And obviously, Evergreen. I remember thinking it was a funny coincidence that Katniss’ favorite color was green when her family name was so close to Evergreen. Then TBOSAS came out and I thought maybe the Everdeens are descendants of the Covey but they have changed their names or were forced to. 

There’s Canary and Olive but too obvious imo. Maybe Beaver (color + animal so linked to nature and hunt), Chestnut (named after the nut of chestnut tree so nature and food), Fallow (a pale brown associated with fallow deer) or Fawn. 

I saw Claret (color of red wine) and the word has a nice ring so it stuck with me, even though I don’t see why specifically that could be a covey name for him. 

Traditional / nature names : 

I'd like to believe that naming Katniss and Prim after plants was a personnal thing for Mr and Mrs Everdeen, in relation to how they met. But since others in 12, especially in the Seam, have nature names perhaps Mr Everdeen has one too.

Ira / Hayes : traditional names in the South, also a link to Ira Hayes. 

Fawn : traditional appalachian name (and linked to the animal). 

Lafe : traditional name in the South, means “heir, descendant ; faith��� (could refer to Lucy Gray and the Covey’s legacy, that Mr Everdeen passed down to Katniss).

Merle : traditional southern name and also a bird. 

Earl : traditional southern name which means "nobleman” or “warrior.”

Tanner : traditional southern name which comes from the profession of tanner as someone who made leather from animal hides. The name “is often associated with hard work and practicality, reflecting the practical and hands-on nature”. 

Chayton : originates from the Lakota word čhetáŋ, meaning “falcon” or “hawk.” 

Willow : traditional appalachian name and also linked to nature (now imagine toast babies named after him)

Harper : traditional appalachian name and a link to the musical instrument. 

Yarrow : traditional appalachian name, meaning “rough stream” but also associated with a wild herb and flowering plant.

Hunter / Archer / Forest (but let’s hope it’s not hahahahah)

Knowing that if it's a traditional name, she probably changed it a bit.

[velvetvexations]

i feel like the sentiment of ‘human shields’ or ‘you should be able to use slurs (“theyfab” the one im thinking of) against a group that (you perceive as) your oppressors’ comes from like. a flow chart way of thinkin

it really isn’t math. certain women (as broad and vague as the group can be defined) absolutely have power over certain men sometimes. race is one of the main ones, but like, off the top of my head there’s also age, disability, and certain authority or workplace positions. i would even include as small as a community as like, a gathering of friends to whom ive just invited a new person. the new person is statistically gonna be shyer or more prone to being pushed out. of course there are always a million modifiers, a million past and future happenings that shape someone and may or may not add to their “power meter” (if such a thing is real and operates like a meter) but being any specific identity is not going to be the sole driving factor of all interactions, especially in micro communities with their own standards.

i guess what im trying to say is that the claim that one is oppressed in every situation due to their identity and therefore any bullying towards others of one identity just counts as ‘pushing the needle’ is disingenuous. it is much more comfortable to feel like the ‘beaten down person who is just lashing out against their attackers’ without realizing that those attacks do hurt because some of those people may in fact be just as powerless as you (not you, velvet!! example you)

Flowchart anon: forgor to mention, or course own identity can be impactful and everyone knows better than a stranger how they’ve been affected by their identity, but also I think it’s possible to harness power even when you don’t know it, or unfortunately don’t approach people that way

it's wild too because the slurs get explained away as being like Black people saying cracker and a White person telling a non-binary person of color you should get to call them slurs because they're like White people to them is wild on it's own but like

have you

EVER

seen a Black person go to the fucking mat on a daily basis for 'cracker' like TRFs do th**yfab?

Yes, obviously, Black people have regularly argued with disingenuous idiots about it all the time. But have you ever seen Black activists, out doing serious, important work, fiercely argue every single day against a massive horde of White people telling them not to? I'm not even saying that a Black person can necessarily say the word cracker without ten White people popping off in the replies. But how often do they get replied to? And how much of those White people are trying to get through that it sincerely hurts them, and not just claiming it's rhetorically hypocritical?

Because from the TRF perspective it feels like "no but we should get to use this insulting word for other people and if not you're literally killing us!" is like, the major discussion to be having! I've talked a lot before about how even I, someone massively triggered by things outside of intercommunity stuff, somehow manage to bring those issues up more than TRFs do with their incessant focus on the perceived transmisogyny of other trans people, but good Lord. Even if it WERE okay and justified, it's so obvious they care about their sacred right to be aggressive towards other people over literally anything that will ever actually help a single trans woman.

They're exploiting the concept of "punching up" to be mindlessly cruel to another group of marginalized people. And frankly that should be insulting on it's own. Even if you did buy into the explanation that the word was coined by trans women mad about some non-binary people scabbing for Wymyn's Warped Tour,* they're seriously saying that's the equivalent of centuries of enslavement and violent terror? Like yeah, God, remember that time some th**fabs got to watch a bunch of cis women play acoustic guitar while reciting bad poetry and I didn't? That was exactly like a burning cross in the yard warning me to not vote.

*AND IT FUCKING WASN'T

[shegatsby]

Love Thy Enemy

Summary; Y/N Atreides had always been a stranger to the entire galaxy, her bed wasn’t her bed, her home wasn’t her home due to the fact that she was sent to accompany and be sisters with Irulan. She had limited access to her actual family and over the years they grew distant. She thought she would be like Reverend Mother, alone, yet powerful, and soon she would realize that there was no need of being alone when a wild creature had his eyes on her for a long time.

A/n; Hi my little doves, sorry i kept you waiting because i had my uncle and his family over from Germany and we spent quality time and also im working and my work is crazy lately but here i am. Love you all xx (sorry for any typos)

TAG LIST IS OPEN! (let me know if i forgot to tag you)

Warnings; Fighting! SMUT in next chapter!

Words; 3.529K

Chapter Eight ‘’Newly Weds''

She had to admit the food was delicious, she was aware that the meat dishes were exactly the way she prefered it, but she had no appetite, the grand hall was packed, houses all around the galaxy came to her wedding, including her sister-in-law and best friend Irulan, their tables were close so she saw Irulan smiled at her warmly, maybe she was encouraging her or feeling pity, Y/N couldn’t read her face from afar. Various guests brought presents such as; ancient scripts, carpets made of spice, valuable stones to make jewelry.. after a while she lost count.

When it was time to dance Feyd-Rautha bolted to his feet with a stoic expression and extended his hand to his new bride, ‘’May I have this dance?’’ it wasn’t a question he was basically demanding and it was custom for bride and groom to start the dance, the entire galaxy knew it. ‘’Yes, my Lord.’’ She replied and held his warm hand, his fingers grasped her delicate hand, he led her to the obsidian dance floor, when he held her waist she felt a sudden rush to her chest like her blood just gathered there.

‘’Try to smile, everyone is watching us.’’ He said quietly, obviously caring for his reputation and his wife’s. She looked into his eyes first, he was an excellent dancer and she was in awe every time, his blue orbits made her feel like they were the only two people in the grand hall, she felt at ease and automatically the corners of her lips lifted up into a gentle smile, a smile that pleased Feyd deeply but he kept his composure.

Soon other couples joined them, she followed Feyd’s eyes to a couple dancing close to them and she turned to see the couple, Pyramus and his fiancé were dancing…

Y/N’s eyes couldn’t believe what she was witnessing, ‘’Aww, are you hurt little dove?’’ she turned to Feyd, his tone was mocking but his eyes held something else, she could see a storm brewing in those ocean eyes, ‘’He doesn’t interest me anymore.’’ She was telling the truth but in Feyd’s dark mind she was a liar. Feyd didn’t respond and kept guiding the dance however he could feel raw rage building in him. His mind which was led by his uncle for so long was doubting his wife’s reply;

‘’She is lying, isn’t she?’’

‘’One cannot forget someone they once held dear..’’

‘’Were they ever intimate with each other?’’

His twisted mind kept twirling into those dark thoughts but his perfectly chiseled face showed no evidence of it.

Y/N’s eyes watched the guests retrieve to their guest chambers one by one, it was almost dawn and she was tired, her feet were killing her but Feyd stood still like a champion, she wondered if he was tired as well but his composure promised otherwise, Y/N found herself admiring her husband for being strong and when she caught herself doing it she shook her weary head in disbelief.

‘’Congratulations again dear nephew.’’ Baron Vladimir approached in his elevated carriage, towering above them, ‘’Thank you uncle.’’ Feyd’s response was short, Y/N bowed to show respect, Reverend Mother was next to Baron in her black clothing, covered head to toe, ‘’I shall pray for the old gods and the new for your marriage to succeed.’’ She said her eyes only focused on Y/N, she understood Reverend Mother’s true intentions, after all Y/N was one of them and she was trained to read between the lines, Reverend Mother was basically saying that ‘’I’ll pray for you to survive and keep Harkonnens connected to the Bene Gesserit by blood’’ one way or another she had to produce heirs but her plan was to avoid it as much as she could. ‘’Thank you Reverend Mother.’’ She bowed to her as well.

The way to Feyd’s chambers were covered with white roses, it was a custom of the Harkonnes, when the celebration of marriage ends the bride and groom walk back to the groom’s chambers hand in hand among white flowers to consummate the marriage.

Y/N’s heart was beating at full speed, his hand was like a cage to her hand, the hall was so silent that she could her heart beat in her ears, she knew the way to his chambers since she had been occupying it for days. She turned to get a glance of Feyd, her husband… his stoic face made her even more uneasy, she never liked not knowing or not predicting someone’s actions.

When they reached to the black door Feyd let go of her hand to open the door, he walked in and extended his hand, she took his hand again and walked in and her skin froze when she heard the door close.

‘’Do I have to kill him for you to stop loving him?’’ was Feyd’s first words to Y/N since the dance, she knew something was wrong with him.

‘’Pardon me?’’ she turned to face him, they were in the bedroom section, the entire chambers living room, bathroom and bedroom were spotless and decorated with white roses, it smelled nice.

Staring down at her, Feyd’s eyes were dark and intense as he asked the question that had been weighing on his twisted mind  since the celebrations, ‘’Do you still love him even after he sold you off for spice?’’ his voice laced with a hint of jealousy and possessiveness. His gaze remained on her, not entirely convinced by her words earlier when she said that Pyramus didn’t interest her anymore, ‘’Then why does he still have an effect on you?!’’ he asked, his tone tinged with skepticism.

She couldn’t believe that she was being accused of this, ‘’Why would a man who sold me for spice could have an effect on me?!’’

Feyd smirked as her anger flared, relishing the fact that he had gotten under her skin. ‘’it’s a simple question little dove,’’ he said coolly, his lips slightly curled in a smug smile. The mention of her ex’s betrayal ignited a fire within him, fueling his own possessive instinct. ‘’Then why was he eyeing you so intently during our wedding?’’

His questioning made her roll her eyes, was he out of his mind? Well, it was Feyd so anything could be possible. ‘’You should ask him that my Lord!’’

Feyd’s irritation grew at her eye roll and insolent response. He couldn’t help but tighten his jaw in annoyance. ‘’I am asking you little dove.’’ He said firmly, he took a step closer, towering over her in an attempt to assert his dominance. ‘’Explain why he was staring at you like that.’’

Y/N was puzzled, how could she know? She didn’t move away from him, Feyd’s patience was wearing thin. He grabbed her chin forcefully, his grip not quite painful, but firm enough to make his intentions clear. ‘’Why can’t you just give me a straightforward answer? Do you enjoy testing my limits?’’ he growled, his eyes narrowing as he studied her face, searching for any hint of deception.

Y/N didn’t back away from his grip even though it was a bit painful, ‘’As I have said, I do not know anything about him anymore, I left him in my past and I shall not bring him to my present and my future.’’ She replied calmly but she could feel the tears forming at the corner of her pretty eyes, Feyd’s grip on her chin remained firm as he leaned in closer, his gaze unwavering as he continued to question her, ‘’Why should I believe you?’’ he asked, his tone sharp, ‘’You say you’ve left him in the past, but your actions contradict your words. I don’t buy it.’’

He was being unbelievably stubborn, was he threatened by Pyramus?

‘’I was on your side the entire time.’’ She protested, his fingers were digging in her jaw, he noticed the tears forming but remained unyielding, he took a step closer again, his body now mere inches away from her, his breath warm against her lips as he continued to probe, ‘’That might be true,’’ he admitted begrudgingly, ‘’but that doesn’t change the fact that I can sense the lingering connection between you two. Don’t try to deny it. I’m no blind.’’

Maybe he still had feelings for her but she had none left, ‘’I do not know how I can convince you but I don’t love him.’’

Feyd’s hand dropped to his side, she was free from his grasp, he didn’t say anything, didn’t have to because she could see that he was still questioning her with his eyes. He pulled out a pocket knife and moved to the bed, Y/N was watching his every move. He cut his palm and smeared the blood on the side she usually slept, before she could ask he spoke with a cold tone; ‘’In few hours maids will come to take our sheets to my uncle to show him that we have consummated our marriage.’’ He took of his clothes and threw them around, he wasn’t even looking at her side of the room. He was only in his undergarments and he got under the covers, ‘’You should scatter your clothes around the room and get some sleep.’’ His back was turned to her, Y/N did what she was told and with her lacy white undergarments she got under the covers and turned her back to him. Sleep came quicker than usual.

Feyd-Rautha was a lot of things but not a liar, after getting some sleep maids have entered their bedchambers to wake them up for the new day ahead and also to ‘’change the bed sheets’’ when they saw the blood Y/N noticed the small smiles they shared among themselves, her Bene Gesserit training told her that the servants were happy to have her as their new lady. Na-Baroness Y/N Harkonnen.

Breakfast was ready for them but Feyd ignored her and left their quarters to his study room to get some work done, he was a busy man and the house Harkonnen’s future depended on him.

While she was having her breakfast she announced; ‘’I would like to visit Giedi Prime’s orphanage.’’ Her request was an odd one, maids around the room couldn’t comprehend her request, ‘’Now that I am the Na-Baroness I represent my husband. I do not wish to busy his already occupied mind about charity work and other social details. I want to see the conditions of the orphanage and offer my help. Don’t let the workers there know that I shall visit.’’ As an Atreides born and raised ladies of her house tended to more social problems and handled them with perfection. Even though she didn’t wish to marry into Harkonnens now she had duties to fulfill, Reverend Mother’s words hanged in her weary mind, the old lady was right in a sense. Y/N had to survive no matter what and her plan was to gain the public’s affection. Show them what kind of a woman she was and how useful and helpful she could be.

Little spies of Feyd-Rautha whispered into his ear that Na-Baroness wished to visit the orphanage today, she ordered her maids to prepare bags filled with clothes, medicine, toys. Feyd found himself smiling when his spies left. He changed his plans for today and decided to join his wife.

Y/N was waiting for the ship to arrive and take her and her servants to the orphanage when she noticed her servants bowing to someone, it was a hot day and the black sun of Giedi Prime made everything look too shiny white and dark black. Her dress was simple, she wanted to give a nice impression and as her first day being Na-Baroness she had to be careful. A soft wind made the silk grey dress clung to her thighs, it was a modest one, she turned on the open field to see who was coming and saw him in all black head to toe.

‘’You thought I would let you leave the fortress on your own Na-Baroness?’’ his raspy voice was sarcastic yet held a truth to it, it was too dangerous outside for the royals to roam. ‘’As I have proven before I can hold my own but-‘’ she watched him stand next to her, his hands clasped on his lower stomach, he leaned in to hear her clearly and it made her aware once again about the height difference.

‘’I do appreciate it.’’ She finished looking up at him, he did something which surprised Y/N, he kissed her temple with his soft lips, placed his hand on the small of her back, his gesture made the servants stand there in disbelief, they have never witnessed their Na-Baron being gentle with someone, especially a woman…. Y/N noticed the glances the servants shared among each other but paid no mind. She let them whisper, if it meant that she could win the public by simple and soft gestures shared between her and her husband then she was happy to oblige. When the ship arrived Feyd held her hand and guided her inside.

The trip to the orphanage was calm, Y/N and Feyd shared a small room together, she was sitting by the small window, ‘’So,’’ she began watching the scenery before her eyes, nothing but buildings, roads and factories, at a distance she could see a forest but it was far. ‘’There is nothing wrong when you don’t dine with me but if I refuse…’’ she mentioned earlier today when he left without a word. Feyd was getting a drink, he froze with her questioning, didn’t except her to say something about it.

‘’I thought you don’t like my company, matter of fact,’’ he turned to her with a glass of wine in his palm, ‘’you said it yourself before.’’ He was teasing.

Her hands resting on her lap, she started to play with her fingers with uneasiness, ‘’I may have said something like that before.’’ She tried to hide her smirk but he saw.

‘’My Na-Baron, we have arrived.’’ A guard announced and Y/N took deep breaths before they left the ship together.

The sun again blocked her vision for few seconds when the doors of the ship opened, she forced her  eyes to stay open and get used to it. She felt his hand wrapping around her hand and together they got off the ship.

The orphanage was gigantic and white, pure white, the floors were marble with grey veins. When she looked around and found not a single tree or a bush, she thought that had to be changed.

‘’Na-Baron,’’ a man approached them like his life was at stake, he was a tall old man with a long beard and bald head, ‘’And Na-Baroness, congratulations. We pray for this union to bring prosperity and power to us.’’ He bowed, ‘’Thank you Ser.’’ Feyd-Rautha spoke with his formal manner, it was amazing to see him shift that quickly. ‘’If we had known that you were visiting we would have been ready for you.’’ He seemed embarrassed, ‘’Please,’’ she spoke with a soft tone, ‘’Do not fret. I am here to see the conditions of the children who live here and we have brought clothes, medicine and toys for them. May we see inside?’’

The old man was startled by her soft spoken nature, ‘’Of course my Na-Baroness.’’ He bowed again and led them inside.

The walls were grey marble, there was no vibrant colors for children to see and it broke her heart. In a way Y/N was an orphan, being apart from her actual parents and staying somewhere that wasn’t home… Feyd noticed the sudden shift in his wife, her hand went to her chest in a troubled manner, ‘’Are you feeling unwell.. wife?’’ just like her Feyd was also getting used to being married and having a wife. Y/N turned to smile kindly, ‘’I am fine Na-Baron, thank you.’’ She replied shortly, Feyd didn’t pressured her to explain but he made a mental note to observe her closely. Y/N noticed the looks she got from children around her, they watched her walk gracefully in awe, everyone knew the yesterday’s grand wedding and ever citizen wanted to see the Na-Baroness up close. She smiled and bowed her head slightly to the children and watched them blush and avert their afraid gaze to somewhere and look back at her again. As a Bene Gesserit her mission was to make the citizens of Giedi Prime follow the Sisterhood’s prophecies and laws but as Y/N her mission was to win their favor and show them kindness.

Together they looked at the children’s bedrooms, toilet chambers and common rooms for hang out and eating. The building was old thus the furniture and plumbing system as well. Y/N, clearly was aware that everyone was watching her, held her husband’s arm in a loving manner and spoke ‘’My dear, we should renovate this institute in our name so that children here can have the newest technology and luxuries to succeed.’’ Her plan was to move the Baron and Rabban aside and make her name and Feyd’s name more popular among the people. ‘’Such an excellent idea dear.’’ He agreed, it made her eyes shine in hope which he noticed and felt a strange sensation at his chest, the symptom was heart attack but it was impossible. Then what was it? He didn’t linger on it.

Y/N personally gave the children boxes of toys, she talked to them, listened to their dreams and Feyd found himself watching her while he was talking to the workers. His eyes were on her, she was such a natural at being kind and nurturing that he was in awe of it, all his life he was shown nothing but brutality, fight, and blood. Women in his life before were trained to be an accessory in his life style, however Y/N was the opposite and she never tried to fit in, it seemed like she had a mission and she was following it like the paper ship on a lake, flowing in the water’s direction swiftly.

It was getting dark when their work was done, they said their goodbyes and got on the ship to return to the fortress. Not knowing what was waiting for them.

The ride to the fortress was calm one, they sat in comfortable silence, she could feel his eyes every once in a while, thanks to her trainings she could sense if someone was watching her. The question she was pondering on since last night came to her again ‘’Why didn’t he sleep with me last night?’’ It was their wedding night and ever since she was brought here he seemed eager to have her and when it came to it he stayed distant, his action last night left her in disbelief. He literally cut his palm and rubbed the blood on their sheets to trick the Baron and the rest of Giedi Prime but why?

‘’Last night,’’ she found herself speak, Feyd was sitting next to her and she caught his attention, ‘’Yes?’’ his raspy voice brought her to reality, she changed her mind. ‘’Never mind.’’

As soon as they landed a servant came to collect them, said it was urgent and the Baron requested their presence. She followed Feyd, he was holding her hand, guiding her.

Baron was waiting for them at the strategy room, every house had a room like this one to have meetings for war, spice etc. Baron, as always was in his floating device, ‘’Greetings young couple.’’ His voice didn’t match his words, ‘’Hello uncle.’’ He let go of her hand, didn’t go unnoticed by Y/N. She watched Baron witnessed it and smile with victory, she was good at reading expressions.

‘’There is trouble in Arrakis, Rabban is messing up the whole spice production,’’ Baron began, ‘’you have to take his place and deal with Fremen rebels.’’ He was newlywed and Baron didn’t even hesitate to give him an onerous  mission ‘’Me and my wife shall get ready in an hour and-‘’ his speech was cut off, ‘’This matter only concerns you Feyd. Na-Baroness shall stay here and wait for your return. You have consummated the marriage, I’m sure when you come back you will hold your first born.’’

Y/N froze in her state. She was going to be here all alone, Feyd was refusing to look at her because if he did he would slice his uncle’s throat.

The walk back to their chambers was slow and quiet, their fingers brushed and left stingy sensation, when Feyd closed the door behind him the realization hit Y/N. According to Baron, Feyd was suppose to be gone for 9 months maybe more.. she turned to him and his expression broke her heart. He looked like that little boy she met years ago, alone and afraid. ‘’I don’t want to leave you.’’ He confessed which made her throat clench itself in agony, he looked away for a moment, contemplating something in his mind and he cursed under his breath and closed the distance between them, their lips met in passion.

Tag list; @superchatnoir07 @mamawiggers1980 @landlockedmermaid77 @moonsoulk @crystalskiesandcherrywine @palomavz @beebeechaos @jeong-uwu @tian-monique @avidreader73 @aleemendoza2425-blog @taleah @oneandonlybbygrl @flower-frog @or-was-it-just-a-dream @howibecameabadassbitch @monstreshhorn @keanuispunk @lunerose0 @purplepeach333 @torossosebs @austinbutlerslovers @athanasialove @darlingisntit @aoi-targaryen @alexa4040 @wo-ming-bai @affabletimelady @mydearbabydoll

[reginalusus]

power scalling gotham crime lords: two face versus all the non meta criminals like black mask, joker etc. how far does he go before he gets defeated? everything counts like skills, number of goons and 1v1 etc.

Harvey solos.

Serious answer under the cut.

What the fuck do you mean 'before he gets defeated', that MF is winning. He has blackmail on everyone, a 1983 Milkor MGL and a AA-12 shotgun at his disposal. Everyone is dying.

Ok, ok, sorry for my bias. It would be silly and unfair, yes. I'll give a more comprehensive answer. Also, I love how people throw fighting questions at me specifically because I don't stop yapping about how Harvey is physically capable and should be in a fighter game and shit (he should be).

Anyway, I'm only counting Joker, Penguin and Black Mask as to not get too convoluted. Harvey canonically dismantled the old crime mobs almost single-handedly and ushered in the era of crazies, we all know that, so I'm not counting them either. He has that behind him. So consider that also.

I think out of those three, Black Mask would probably, maybe, be the easiest to take down. 'Easy' is not too easy, obviously. Roman is a petty pyscho and if he has his False Face Society backing him, he's gonna have some loyal grunts at his side. Roman himself is also a pretty good criminal strategist, but Harvey is just better IMO: he's been in the game longer and knows an uncanny amount about how the underground operates, an underground which cannot completely hide Roman. Harvey has, and could gather, information on everyone. Harvey is known for having loyal men (just look at the Arkhamverse), and I do think Harvey's influence stretches farther than Roman's. Harvey himself also has more combat training than Roman, better gun handling too, so I am very confident he'd whoop Roman's ass 1V1, sorry, Roman.

Next is Oz. Oz is a lot trickier to tackle as an answer because, while obviously Harvey could one-shot him, it's the power that Oz has under his belt. He has guys everywhere, he controls gun operations in Gotham, he is surrounded by protection, he is extremely manipulative also, and has a SHIT ton of money. I think the hardest thing Harvey would have to do is actually get *near* him. However, again, I think Harvey's wit and knowledge could allow that. He could find a way to 'meet' Oz through bargaining and blackmail, if he has any, though the latter may be a mistake since Harvey and Oz normally don't get along. At all. So that may have future repercussions. If we go by the Arkhamverse again, a lot of Oz's men are quite fickle, with some even betraying him to join Harvey's side. So perhaps Harvey could take advantage of that, take him down from the inside. And then, when he finally does get into close proximity of Oz, boom, it's over, really. However, it's *still* not that simple. Oz has enough money to build himself an impenetrable fortress, really. BUT, Harvey HAS got the drop on him before. So this is difficult. It'll boil down to Harvey's prep. The dreaded 'prep'.

Oh, boy, then there's Joker! The issue with Joker is that he plays dirty and has gadgets and toys to use. He is unpredictable, and also extremely powerful in Gotham's underground scene. I am going to completely disregard modern takes on the Joker, including my beloved Arkhamverse Mark Hamill version, because modern depictions make him far too OP IMO. He is a twink clown with a lot of guys, gadgets, and a clever, criminal wit. Harvey could physically solo him, but it's the trickery and dirty play that he'd have trouble with. Harvey, again, is better with gun handling, so ehhhh. It's 50/50 here, ironically.

I'd say the one to defeat him, if it does result in that, would be Oz. But, again, it comes down to SO many variables. You could twist it any way to make any of these characters win TBH.

But Harvey solos in my heart.

[dingodad]

oh what if The Game the kids are playing (could still be called sburb but idgaf about that) is seemingly what summons the trolls in the first place. no carapacians or nothing like that, just Trolls. and the "objective" of said game is, like in chess, to capture the king (LE). but theyve gotta take out the Queen (HIC) first! generic sburb monsters are instead just troll drones and shit. i dunno how to involve the sgrub cast though. maybe theyre rebellious teens "led" by karkat (or vriska or terezi or whatever. regurgitate the joke from the comic about who the actual "leader" is)

see now you guys are starting to get it. the black king and queen serve exactly the same purpose in the story as lord english and the condesce just on a smaller cosmic scale, so the story structure loses nothing of value when you cut out the midbosses to skip to the end ones. i think the overall purpose of homestuck's story is a little more complex than just "beat the queen so you can take out the king", but imo that demonstrates exactly why including most of sburb in a condensed version of the story is a waste of time to begin with; sburb's purpose in the comic is basically to trick you into thinking homestuck has straightforward quests with straightforward objectives when the real meat of it is far more interesting. so skip to the more interesting bits; in this sense, yes, if the homestuck movie does need to have a video game as the inciting incident, then it's going to be a video game that causes trolls to appear, ala trolls as manifestations - because that's basically how it goes in homestuck anyway, just with all these extra steps in the middle.

the trolls obviously need to start out as "'trolls", and in lieu of the whole convoluted bec noir debacle having them be part of the antagonistic force seems to me like the most immediately obvious way to put them in a position to come around to the humans' side. being part of an alien army just makes the most sense for karkat/terezi/vriska as characters anyway and the alien army consisting of children highlights what was implicit in the comic about the different relationships the kids and the trolls have with adults

the way i see it, if you get One Homestuck Film then you have to make the choice between a kids&trolls movie or a betas&alphas movie. there's absolutely an ironclad argument to be made in favour of the alphas, and i've probably said already that the movie version of "homestuck the Pure Idea that exists within andrew hussie's mind" shouldn't even QUESTION putting the trolls on the cutting room floor. that version of homestuck would be a movie about kids meeting child versions of their own parents and the catharsis that comes with that. but i also think it's evident that homestuck has grown far larger than a Pure Idea, and to me, an important cultural consideration to take into account in such an undertaking as a feature film adaptation is the lasting cultural appeal of the trolls. to my own storytelling sensibilities the trolls create the more powerful and interesting world as far as illustrating homestuck's key themes (re: creation, nurture, etc) goes. i concede that others who like the alpha kids more than i do will have the opposite viewpoint LOL but that's just how i instinctively approach the issue.

in the homestuck movie-with-trolls that exists in my mind the alpha kids are just the kids' parents. dirk is dave's bro. roxy is rose's mom. supernatural goings-on cause the ghost of john's nanna to appear. the characterisation that becomes more explicit for these characters in act 6 is just applied to the act 1-4 iterations of them. to me the relationships the alphas have with their children - nonlinear timeline or no - is the really important part, especially if we want to come anywhere NEAR addressing homestuck's thematic concerns re: parenthood. and looking at it from a purely practical standpoint if you were ever told hey actually you get to make one sequel to your single designated homestuck movie it would just be so easy to follow up the Acts 1-5 Movie with a Post-Scratch Movie, whereas following up the Act 6 Movie with troll shit is only ever going to feel like going backwards into less interesting territory

[sem24]

The whole discourse over the casting of Astrid in the How to Train Your Dragon remake is insane.

What do you mean you’re upset because she’s Black? The argument of “I’m not racist, it’s just that it’s not historically accurate to have a Black woman in a movie about Vikings” is absurd.

Let’s pretend for a moment I’m actually taking the argument about historical accuracy seriously. Looking at it in good faith, the argument is still just as obviously a a thinly veiled excuse to be a bigot.

First of all, the HTTYD movies are as “historically accurate” as Lord of the Rings is to real medieval Europe, Mulan (the Disney movie, obviously not the real Chinese legend it’s based on.) is to ancient China, or Bridgerton is to the Regency period. In other words, not even close.

And that’s fine! HTTYD isn’t even trying for historical accuracy, just as those other projects aren’t. They all take a justifiable amount of artistic license, aiming more for the general vibe of the period than for actual historical realism. It’s a broad-strokes interpretation.

I’m no historian, but even a quick search will show you that Viking women didn’t dress anything like Astrid does in the movies anyway.

What they actually wore:

Here’s where I found this image—it includes more information on how Vikings dressed. (And for the pedantic history nerds out there, yes, I know “Viking” is technically a verb, not a noun. I’m just using it because it’s the general term most people associate with what I’m talking about.) The article describes layers of long, cotton dresses and covered hair—styles that are a far cry from this:

Shockingly, Viking women weren’t actually wearing mini-skirts and skin-tight leather. And again, that’s okay! For the most part, I actually like Astrid’s designs—they suit her character and fit the unique Viking-inspired aesthetic of the movies.

Plus, the skull belt is admittedly a slay, both literally and fashion-wise.

But let’s not pretend for a second that these movies were meticulously accurate to the (vague) time period they drew inspiration from.

Also, if I’m remembering correctly (I think the creators mentioned this in a featurette I saw a few years ago), they were fully aware that Vikings didn’t actually wear helmets with horns on them, as depicted in the movies.

But they used it anyway as shorthand since horned helmets have become such a staple of Vikings in pop culture. It was simply economical storytelling. Even the creators admit that historical accuracy wasn’t their main priority. The How to Train Your Dragon movies aren’t trying to be historically accurate at all. I haven’t even brought up the most obvious argument… the fucking DRAGONS.

The entire “historical accuracy” argument also falls apart when you consider evidence of the Vikings’ far-reaching explorations and interactions with other cultures. Scholars suggest that Vikings traveled widely, interacting with people across Europe, the Middle East, and even parts of Africa. So while HTTYD isn’t grounded in reality, a more diverse Viking community wouldn’t even be ahistorical.

What’s more improbable: someone of a darker complexion getting on a boat and sailing to Scandinavia, or fire-breathing lizards? And yet no one’s complaining about the dragons. I wonder why.

(Even the books How to Train Your Dragon is based on—yes, if you didn’t know, the movies are based on a series of children’s books—aren’t historically accurate, (or even trying to be). I haven’t read them, but I hear that in the books, Hiccup can actually speak to dragons in their own language, and they have steam-powered machinery centuries before it existed.)

But we all know why they’re making such a fuss about this casting—it’s the same reason they whined about Halle Bailey as Ariel. They’re just looking for an excuse to be racist. This poor actress is simply a casualty of their bigotry, and it’s both disgusting and awful.

I wasn’t actually planning on seeing the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. The franchise is one of my all-time favorites. I distinctly remember watching the first movie in theaters when it came out. And, honestly? I didn’t like it—because child me was an idiot. Let’s all boo younger me, the dumbass.

A few years later, though, I walked in on my younger siblings watching Race to the Edge (a spin-off show set between the first two movies). At first, I tried to play it cool and act like I wasn’t interested—that I was too cool for a “silly little cartoon.” But by the end, I was fully engrossed. (Race to the Edge holds up, by the way—highly recommend. It’s on Netflix and has six seasons.) I binged all the seasons that were out at the time, rewatched the first two movies (the third one wasn’t out yet), and inhaled every spin-off show and short I could find.

(For the record, while I think Race to the Edge is the best spin-off, the others are fun, too—the quality is pretty consistent across the whole franchise.) Look, I’m a completionist. Once I get into a fandom, I can’t stop until I’ve consumed everything. (What I wouldn’t give to have that kind of free time now!) My hyper-fixation with How to Train Your Dragon was strong.

All this to say, I really care about this franchise, and while I was sad to see it end, I was okay with how it concluded. And then they had to go and announce a live-action remake. It’s not exactly a hot take to say that a lot of the original’s charm came from its incredible animation and expressive designs. Why would I want to watch the exact same story, just less creative and slightly worse? I wasn’t about to spend money on the reheated leftovers of what was once How to Train Your Dragon. Honestly, I’ve been secretly hoping it would get canceled this whole time.

Until this controversy. Maybe this is exactly the kind of attention the marketing team wanted, but you know what? I’ll buy a ticket—if only to spite the racist assholes. I am nothing if not extremely, extremely petty. If your life is so empty that you’re on the internet complaining about the casting of a Black actress to play a CGI blonde woman riding a dragon, voiced by a Latina actress, I have only one thing to say to you:

In the wise words of Tuffnut, “The chicken is not amused.”

[rachelillustrates]

My top 7 Faerie stories/worlds atm 🦋

**Note, I am super dupes aware that I haven't read/watched everything, so please feel free to reblog/comment with recommendations!**

Faerie is the pulse of my heart, and my mind/spirit/etc. spends a LOT of time thinking about it, SO here's the most resonant of depictions of the realm/faeries themselves in my current opinion (and why).

(And not in any particular order:)

Elfhame, @hollyblack 's "Folk of the Air" series and all related books

Arda, Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and all related adaptations

"Suitor Armor" by @thepurpah

Studio Ghibli's take on spirits in Japanese folklore

Brian and Wendy Froud's take on Faerie

"Fraggle Rock"

"Tock the Gnome," by myself!

Thoughts:

(Art by Rovina Cai, from "How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories")

I feel very much that Holly Black gets the lushness and richness of Faerie, plus the trickery of it, and that level of dangerous beauty - what attracts humanity to it, etc. How everything is in extremes, too, but also how parts of it echo the human experience - both in terms of courts, but also in terms of the heart, and the emotional impact of intense circumstances and intense feelings.

I am, admittedly, not all caught up yet since I haven't read her earlier works, but of course I recommend starting with "The Cruel Prince" and reading forward from there (the more recent "Stolen Heir Duology" having an extra special place in my esteem)!

(Also special shoutout to the fact that there are Nisse - Gnomes! - in the recent books, AND that her take on Redcaps is absolutely Orcish 💚)

(Also also, cw: Changelings. They can be a triggering/upsetting subject, considering how our concept of them as humans seems to have come about. She does make pretty heavy use of them, but not in the ways that one might expect, and always from a very emotionally-centered space - not a humans-abusing-potential-fae space.)

So, Tolkien - yes, I am including the world of his works in this because even though he considered them religious and specifically-denominational, he took SO MUCH inspiration from folklore and faerie tales (do not even get me started on what got edited out of "The Silmarillion" istg) that Arda is not wholly Christian, from my Faerie-worshiping queer-ass faerie perspective thankyouverymuch. Not to mention what is being done in fandom with the faerie-races, especially the Dwarves and the Hobbits, AND what recent adaptations are opening up with the Orcs!! Obviously, his take on Faerie is a much more literally-grounded reality - they exist in the Earth-based world (as if Faerie has bled into what we expect Earth to be), they have magic (at least the Elves and Dwarves do) but it's both somehow super ethereal and super physical at once. And divinely connected, since the biggest magic in Middle-earth (or any part of Arda) comes from the lesser Gods - the Valar, and the Maiar who serve under them as well as from Big Sky Daddy Eru, but we're not talking about him right now. So that, to me, really speaks to the spiritual nature of Faerie too - which is always always always personally interesting to me, and Jrrt's take on the fae was absolutely foundational in my budding concept of them, before I even really thought about who they are in a conscious way.

I don't know where to recommend starting, since I got into the world through the Jackson films, first, and I wouldn't change my experience for anything because it's given me SO much. But in fandom, shoutout to the works of @conkers-thecosy (read her fics here!) as well as "A Long List of Happy Endings" by vicious_summer and "The Mushroom Mine" series by @chrononautintraining for Dwarf Stuff - and "Splint" by HelenaMarkos for Orc Stuff. Plus, as much as I know it's divisive, "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is - again - doing wonders about the Orcs AND doing very well by the Dwarves too, in my opinion, showing them as a fully realized and thriving people (though Dwarf women should still have beards, Amazon!! And there seems to be some confusion around how the name of Durin functions...)!! Available to stream on Prime, here.

"Suitor Armor" takes place in a world that appears very similar to medieval Earth, and as such the worldbuilding itself doesn't feel very specifically Faerie - yet. However, with the main character having significant ties to the fae, and with the story still having space to explore their culture once the tale takes the characters there, I have faith that we are gonna see more of this take on Faerie specifically soon. In the meantime, what we have seen so far - how faerie magic works, how they relate to each other, etc. - rings true for me, and is lovely to behold, especially in the face of the tragedy around their circumstances in the Big Plot.

Free to read here (and coming to bookshelves in 2025!!).

As for Studio Ghibli - Miyazaki's take on the spirits of Japanese folklore - which are absolutely Faerie - was SO formative for me growing up. I don't have anything else to say about that except that he's right!!

I recommend "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro," particularly. All available to stream on Max right now (but buying physical media is better, and they're very likely available to rent other places, too).

Brian and Wendy Froud's work has, of course, also been absolutely formative for me - especially when I started getting into Faerie properly. Their work doesn't require much commentary either - they're just correct 💗 Nothing I've experienced has ever contradicted what I've read in their books, and I feel like their work really, really gets the energy of the fae and the liminality of their existence. And that there is kindness, and light, as well as danger.

I recommend "Trolls" and "Faeries' Tales," to start with, and of course the quintessential "Faeries" by Brian Froud and Alan Lee, which started it all.

(Also, considering what's below, special honorary shoutout to their work on "The Dark Crystal." Definite overlap there and absolutely counts.)

Obviously there's some crossover with The Muppets here, considering they come from the same studio, BUT if we're looking at just "Fraggle Rock" on its own - absolutely. Though a very different take than those mentioned above, if you're looking for the whimsy and delight at the heart of the fae, the Fraggles have it.

Both the original series and the reboot are currently available to stream on AppleTV.

Okay, and my own! What I'm doing with the world of "Tock the Gnome" is a little bit different - again, we're looking at a realm that isn't free from some of the physical bounds we find on Earth - but in its vast history there is Faerie at its purest, and the characters are on a Big Quest that will be instrumental in restoring the realm to what one would expect of Faerieland (all wrapped up in a body-positive, sapphic-presenting queer romance, btw). My focus is on Gnomes and Orcs, in particular, since the fact that they're also fae is a big part of my message. Recognizing that, as well as recognizing the importance of connectedness between people and the balance of that and personal sovereignty, and how damage to those things might impact the whole of a magical realm.

All pages available to read for free here, across several platforms (with print issues available here).

🦋💗🦋👏👏

[lonesomedreamer]

The Rings of Power Liveblog: “Shadow of the Past” (Episode 1)

Two years late, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided I had to see this thing for myself ahead of the second season premiere…spoiler: I didn’t hate it.

I’m not going to gripe about these children looking decidedly human (or at least not Elvish), because I understand the limitations of using, you know—actual human children as actors. But I will question the notion of Elvish children being smug bullies.

But baby Galadriel definitely looks the part.

“It’s not going to float, it’s going to sail.” Not off to a strong start with the dialogue…

Oh, the Elf children are…throwing rocks at her paper boat? All of them? Why?? I know the behavior of Elves in the First and Second Ages tended to be less detached/noble and whatnot, but little Galadriel is literally about to punch this Elf boy…

I have so many questions about this hairstyle choice.

“We have no word for death.” Somehow, I doubt that. This is the Second Age, right? Elves had definitely already experienced death.

Why does this seem like a slightly retooled Minas Tirith design? Is this supposed to be VALINOR??? (Actually, this would be a decent Amber design…)

A very underwhelming depiction of the destruction of the Two Trees…this is what Amazon spent amlost a billion dollars on? I know they can’t accurately depict what happened because, you know, no rights to The Silmarillion, but it still underwhelmed me.

This sequence is just all so obviously CGI. While I’m no fan of the original Jackson films (sorry, I know—boo, hiss), a lot of it looks real.

“See, it’s just like that Game of Thrones spinoff you like, but with terrible CG!”

It would be so helpful if Galadriel’s voiceover told viewers that Orcs were created as a mockery of the Elves, or hinted at why Morgoth created them/why he hated the Elves. Unfortunately, this is what happens when you try to adapt a work to which you don’t have all the rights.

She is very, very pretty.

“What devilry is this?” Is that a word in Middle-earth?

Lots of Galadriel confidently assuming she knows things she can’t possibly know (for the sake of hurrying the story/journey along, I guess)…if only the streaming services didn’t limit themselves to eight or ten episodes and gave their stories room to breathe!

Anyone watching who’s never read The Silmarillion (or even the trilogy): who the fuck is Morgoth? What are the Trees?? What year is it??? What’s going on here??!? Again, the huge problem of adapting a larger story/universe when you only have partial rights…

Insert obligatory video game-esque troll battle that’s also a callback to the Moria scenes of the FOTR film. You can use the bathroom here and miss nothing.

Some proto-Hobbits, because why not? I did like the “hidden village” reveal thing, though!

I kind of love them?

There’s a lot to be said for the charm and appeal of the Shire from an audience perspective, the comfort of it (which is why the Scourging of the Shire is so thematically important and excising it was an irredeemable sin…but I digress), so I actually 100% understand why they included these guys. TTT is by far the bleakest book of the trilogy, my least-favorite, and the lack of the Shire is a huge reason why.

23 years later and I’m still not over the utter miscasting of Hugo Weaving. Visually, this Elrond isn’t really better. Why is Elrond so damn hard to get right??? And his hair is described as black!

The best costumes a billion-dollar budget could buy?

“Elf-lords only.” Such a dignified, Elvish thing to say…

Yes, Elves could be haughty and unkind; just ask Bilbo! But Elrond is an Elf-lord. Hmm.

Also…Elrond and Galadriel appear to be approximately the same age. It doesn’t matter that Galadriel is actually much older (and his eventual mother-in-law!), because TV is such a visual medium.

This is actually a larger overall problem. Because most of The Lord of the Rings takes place over the course of one year, an adaptation doesn’t need to hold the audience’s hand regarding the passage of time. But in this case, as Galadriel’s narration too-briefly mentions, events are taking place across hundreds and even thousands of years. Elves like Galadriel are significantly older than others, like Elrond, but unless you tell the audience that, they won’t know, and the story loses something as a result.

Even though this design is clearly based on Rivendell in the Jackson films, it is quite lovely.

Pretty!!!

How do Galadriel and Elrond know each other? They seem close. Inquiring minds want to know!

The content and context of this scene is meaningless, but I don’t care—it’s just so pretty!

Even though I know they get worse, for now I don’t really mind the proto-Hobbits. They’re obviously not Tolkien, but they’re an homage, and they’re fun/visually appealing.

The casting director gets a D+ for the male Elves. (Then again, they were poorly-cast in the Jackson films too.)

“And as a reward, you will all be exiled!” lmfao. Being shipped off to Valinor doesn’t seem like much of a punishment, though. Where do I volunteer?

Still, it makes sense that Galadriel, who (correctly!) believes Sauron to still be alive and a threat and who wishes to avenge her brother, would be upset about this. They’ve changed her backstory/motivations—which I hate—but her attitude does track with those changes.

Nuns??

This set design is magical, no notes.

Luthien??

She really is perfectly cast.

Elrond, one of the wisest and kindest of all the Elves, is being written as some smug royal enforcer. Just like the Jackson films wrote him as a grumpy, condescending overprotective dad. Sigh.

“[Evil] waits. And at the moment of our complacency, it blinds us.” I mean…yeah, that’s basically how it goes down in Middle-earth. Repeatedly.

Not Elrond mansplaining about Valinor to someone who was literally born there…

None of these people look like Elves.

“I’m going with you!” But why?!? This lady is a healer with a youngish son still dependent on her at home!!!

I really hate them saying “mum” instead of “ma” or “mama” or something similar. (I’d also hate it if they were saying “mom,” to be clear. It’s just so modern-sounding and breaks any immersion they’ve built so far.)

Wow, the hilt of a broken sword with Sauron’s symbol on it… Generic “halfling” characters I can enjoy as a homage. This is lazy writing. And see? I knew her son needed adult supervision. (It’s also a ripoff of Pippin and the Palantir.)

(muttering) None of these people look—oh, forget it.

Elves don’t age as Men do (or age extremely slowly/imperceptibly), so what’s going on with this dude?

Gorgeous, all.

Ents???

Galadriel jumping off of the ship and just…floating there in the middle of the sea is as silly as the naysayers said it would be. However, I thought the scene leading up to it was fairly well-executed, though I wish they’d done a better job animating the rain of silver glass that leads into Valinor…that image has always resonated with me.

The Good:

Many absolutely stunning visuals thanks to great set design (with Valinor of all places somehow being the least-impressive!) and, apart from some cheap/underwhelming looks, costume design that varies from good to great

A solid score that seems to be trying a little bit too hard to mimic Howard Shore’s from the films

Morfydd Clark, in her entirety; the writing for Galadriel might be awful in upcoming episodes, but her casting was inspired

I find the Harfoots whimsically charming, at least so far, especially Nori.

The use of Tolkienesque maps to indicate location changes

An attempt was clearly made, in this episode if nowhere else, to pay homage to the source material, even the source material they don’t have the rights to use outright (the Two Trees, Morgoth, perhaps Luthien)…it’s better than nothing.

The Bad

Every single male Elf is miscast; yes, I said every single one, from Galadriel’s brother to Elrond to the OC Arondir. Gil-galad and Celebrimbor look like they’re in their late 40s/50s, at best, and idk…there’s nothing “Elvish” or “ageless” about any of the male actors playing Elves. (Full disclosure: I don’t remember being impressed by the male Elves in the Jackson films, either.) I also saw someone say that Gil-galad looks like Liam Neeson in a mullet, and now I can’t unsee that.

Some really clunky dialogue

Lack of adequate backstory/exposition…but exposition in an adaptation like this is hard, because most of it is contained in The Silmarillion, for which they don’t own the rights.

Building on that theme, I appreciate the idea of “showing not telling,” however…did they ever tell us Galadriel’s brother name (Finrod)? Or that “the king” is Gil-galad? Or even suggest that there are a variety of different Elves in Middle-earth? A lot of people know these things, because we know Tolkien. But I’ve got to assume that a lot of others don’t. Heck, it took them until almost the end of the episode to name one of their OCs (Bronwyn).

Some worthless scenes, like Galadriel’s company fighting the “ice troll” in the mountains. Actually, the entire sequence in the mountain lair was badly-written.

I don’t care about the “forbidden romance” subplot between the OCs Arondir and Bronwyn…if they’d spent longer than a few minutes in the first episode establishing their relationship/characters, maybe I’d be more invested. (See my earlier complaint about unnecessarily short seasons—some stories need room to grow!)

Even though my criticism outweighs my praise, even though I’m a self-identified Tolkien purist, I thought this was…fine. It’s an absolute feast for the eyes, truly gorgeous to watch (even with all those woefully miscast male Elves)—visually, apart from a few moments of obvious CGI, it’s what I would expect/want from a Tolkien adaptation! My expectations aren’t high for the rest of the series. There are upcoming plot points that I know will disappoint, infuriate, and disgust me. But considering that I went into this episode expecting to loathe it, I was pleasantly surprised.

Besides, I’m going to keep watching no matter what to see more of Nori and Morfydd’s face. This also makes me want to finish The Silmarillion, which I have been starting and then “saving for later” since I was a small child.

[honourablejester]

PF2e Character Concept: Angelic Detective

I was browsing deities on Archives of Nethys, and found the Empyreal Lord Zohls (/Verity), who is quite literally the goddess of detectives, among other truth-seeking professions. Investigations that reveal the truths of crimes and horrors are the thing she values most. And, well. I can do that, lady! I will never pass up an opportunity to play a fantasy noir detective! Heh.

I also really love this paragraph on her physical description when she manifests:

“When appearing to her followers, Verity is always practically dressed, usually wearing a tunic and breeches. She wears black and white clothing, as these colors represent the light of truth and the darkness of obscurity and the unknown. She keeps her light-brown hair pulled back in braids. On her back she has large wings made of parchment that never wrinkle, whether furled or unfurled. Followers of Zohls include detectives, scientists, researchers, historians, archivists, librarians, and even conspiracy theorists.”

She wears sturdy, practical clothing, and has paper wings. I love her so much. And I want to steal that whole look. That whole vibe. Sturdy and practical and winged. The whole deal. So.

Name: “Darkdelver. Ida Darkdelver. What seems to be the trouble, ma’am?”

Ancestry: Dwarf

Heritage: Nephilim

Background: Detective

Class: Investigator

Archetype: Cleric

Starting Stats: +3 to Intelligence, +2 to Dexterity and Wisdom, +1 to Constitution, +0 to Charisma and Strength

Sturdy and winged, see. I wanted the Nephilim versatile heritage. Angelic nephilim. We’re going to take the ancestry feat ‘Divine Wings’ later, and they’re going to be papery. And I put it on a dwarf base, because I just love dwarves, and also that fits for ‘sturdy and practical’. For other ancestry feats, I also want the dwarven ‘Defy the Darkness’ to get greater darkvision, because that also feels fitting for a seeker of truth. Dealers choice from there, but I started with Nimble Hooves (‘ankle wings’ version), because we’re a dwarf and slow and a speed boost never hurt anyone. But Halo would also be fitting and funny. A very angelic-looking noir detective.

Because … I love noir fiction, right? And there is a thing in classic noir about L.A. The ‘city of angels’. Zohls as a heavenly detective, it appeals to me so much. An earthly character following in her footsteps. I’m not sure where I’d want her based on Golarion. Absalom is the city of cities, but maybe a darker, shadier city might have more use for an angel-touched detective.

And for class, obviously we’re going Investigator. But I do want to double and triple down on the angelic too, plus I think she’s an actual follower of Zohls, so we’re going to take the Cleric dedication feat at Level 2 as well. I did want it that way around, some cleric spellcasting on a primarily investigator chassis, because the detective part is the base, not the priest. She serves her goddess practically, in the field and on the streets. The edict is to investigate crimes and solve puzzles. She came to Zohls because Zohls is the goddess of detectives, not became a detective to better serve Zohls. Yes, she has angelic heritage, but that wasn’t the why of anything, that was just a happy accident. Ida wants the truth, and pledged her cause to a goddess who shared her goals.

And with the cleric spellcasting … if we take the archetype all the way up to ‘Master Cleric Spellcasting’, we can get up to 8th level spells, if not many of them. And I kind of want to pick some of the more investigative spells on the Divine list. See the Unseen, Augury, Message, Scouting Eye, Sending. Maybe Helpful Steps and Lock. And then, GM allowing, some of the weird niche rare ones, like Fate’s Travels, which if you cast on a corpse gives you a vision of the person’s last 10 minutes of travel, and/or the uncommon Ghostly Tragedy, where you can get local spirits to reenact a recent violent event in the area that you can name, though you take damage for it. Then probably throw in a couple of more traditional cleric spells, like Heal or Angel Form.

I definitely want the 8th level spell, if/when we get there, to be Pinpoint. Again, uncommon, but. So fitting for a detective. You learn a target’s exact location, regardless of plane, and automatically overcoming any lower-level defenses against divination. “I know where you are, you bastard. You’re nicked, sunshine!”

For skills, and this is the other reason to put it all on an investigator chassis, I want to focus on levelling Society (we’re a dwarf, charisma is not going to be our speciality, so society can compensate some), Stealth, Religion, Occultism and Thievery. And, since we’ll be getting wings, Acrobatics. Society and Thievery are to help out our investigative efforts, though we’re going to be careful to avoid contaminating evidence with said thievery. Religion and Occultism … Religion helps with our cleric spellcasting, obviously. But. If we’re going to be a bit angelic. If we’re going to have cleric spellcasting and slightly necromantic investigative options available to us. We could also go full fantasy detective, and throw in some occult detection methods in general. Pick up some feats like Schooled in Secrets to track cults, Read Psychometric Resonance for a bit of psychometry, and Consult the Spirits, both Occultism and Religion versions, for more information-gathering options.

Because Zohls does favour investigations that reveal the truth of crimes and other horrors. So. We can play into that for sure.

So. An angelic dwarven detective, a private eye in a darkened city, who prays to a goddess of truth, determination and investigation. Ida Darkdelver, fantasy gumshoe.

[sodapops0lstice]

Intro Post!

Because I've never made an actually good one...

Favs! Blinkies & Stamps! Sprite Drive!COMMS!!!! Classic Era Say hello to me!

@badlydrawndirk @badlydrawnjade @ectobio @our-fav-hs-char @alternian-life-advice @aviansaffection @arethesewordsinhomestuck @fuckyeahhomestuckladies @the-gang-makes-a-blog

⬆️I run all those ⬆️

My tags:

#soda's minifridge <- wishlist

#fizzes <- asks

#solar systems <- original posts

#neighbouring stars <- mutuals and pals

#grubpeta <- my earth c au

#cure pop <- PreCure Tag

#splatstuck <- Splatoon x Homestuck au

#jo au <- My fluff au where Joey takes care of Jade

#candy bowl for roxanne <- posts for my good chum and friend roxanne of marinealcoholic fame

#meteorites <- queued posts

#lesbian danny devito <- dog pics, block as needed

Basic Stuff

I'm a freak by many a name. But I go by Soda, Cece, Admin, Ary, Xefros, Sol and Rezi mostly. Seriously. Any of those will do. Hell, I'll take new names aswell. Drop them name recommendations lmao

I'm 15 aswell, in Year 11. (I chose Triple Science, French and History if you wanted to know about my GCSE choices.)

I'm a lesbian and agender, which basically is me saying my gender changes for when it's funniest.

I use ALLLL the pronouns, even xenos and neos because I am badass and awesome. Literally anything goes.

I'm Scottish and Irish. Which is kinda cool, means I burn hella easy though which sucks ass.

I'm also autistic, I like to post about that.

I also also have depression and anxiety, I don't really care though because I'm balling 24/7 B)

Interests & Likes

Obvious is obvious but I'm a massssive Homestuck. That is primarily what I post/reblog. This includes Hiveswap/Hauntswitch

I also enjoy Pokémon. A lot. Like... 2200 hours on Ultra Sun alone enjoy.

Youkai Watch is also a big fav of mine. In fact, Youkai Watch 3 is one of my favourite games of all time!

I absolutely ADORE A Hat in Time! It is THE game for me. It means the world and everything to me.

Alongside AHIT, Undertale and Deltarune are some of my favs ever! (I don't cry everytime I replay UT what do you mean?)

In general, I'm a total loser for vidya. I can do a quick rundown of the gaems I like but probably won't be reblogging often

Crash Bandicoot

Kleptocats

Touhou

Gmod

Sonic

Papa's -rias

FNAF

Animal Crossing

Half Life

Persona 5

I don't often watch many series or movies. But there's a special place in my heart for Invader Zim, The Owl House, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Eddsworld and My Little Pony. I'm also super excited for the new Scott Pilgrim show :D

It's strange to say but I have a keen interest in reality shows. This means Gogglebox, Come Dine with Me, Four in a Bed, Kitchen Nightmares (both versions) and Impractical Jokers. Only the lord knows why. I think it's the autism. It's probably the autism.

I'm a fan of Pretty Cure aswell! Those girls are so beegitful <3 in those dresses... Yes I found out about it through Glitter Force but that doesn't change anything. Another anime I also love is Pop Team Epic that show irreversibly changed my sense in humour. I've been getting into MHA and Chainsaw Man aswell.

I also adore!!! Vocaloid it literally makes up 50% of my music taste. I black out and wake up with 20 new pieces of miku merch lmao

Music

I have a lot of different music interests! But my all time favourite band ever is Qbomb! I adoreeeee them to infinity. I literally don't know what my favourite Qbomb song is because they're all so good.

But! Qbomb doesn't have my fav song, that honour goes to Stacked Like Pancakes and their song SFDD. It's a really high energy ska song that I recommend highly. (You won't regret listening to it!)

Instead of just listing my spotify stats here, I'm gonna just get some images of those funky websites instead :)

Obviously this isn't completely accurate since this is from my entireeee spotify history. But it's basically all there!

[arenabreadandbiscuits]

Douma + Claude x Fem! Reader Snippet || One's True Nature

So I spun a wheel for a cross fic type of thing. Did it a couple times so if you want to read the others follow and follow my progress.

Anyway, the two characters are obviously Claude Faustus (Black Butler) and Lord Douma (Demon Slayer). I'm having fun with this already.

Think I'll add cross fics to my commission list.

-

Douma + Claude x Reader

What it'll include: Spanking, biting, marking, breeding, dom and sub, choking and maybe a few others.

Goal : 10k words

~

It's been many long years. 

Many years since he was first beaten, destroyed by an archenemies who he had spent so much time on for such a silly reason. Said reason being some brat's soul because who was he without as the creature that he is. 

Claude lurks in the shadows. His form is different now from his previous life though not vastly so. He's of a toned build, with smooth, pearly white skin except for his hands and feet which were made up of claws. His body isn't the only thing that has changed but so has his location. 

These weren't the streets of London, lanterns and art lingered in every which was like a colorful dream as humans below seemed to have a celebration of sorts; drinking alcohol, laughing, and whatever else. 

To be fair, Claude has a hate for it. The loud noises, the colors, but ever since he's come back he's been struggling with a deep hunger, one that he hadn't been forced to deal with previously when he was in Europe, one that seems to lure him into more primal needs and sensations. 

It's annoying, the way that he's never been allowed to show this side of himself, to express his hunger like this… when he had been practically trapped in his last deal. He remembers the days, serving that young brat day in and day out and even with how hungry he was he was forced to stay in control, to tame his needs, just for him to lose control in the end anyway. 

Claude could admit that he didn't regret it, crushing that boy's… Alois’s, head in his strong hands until it seemed to pop like a grape and spill blood all over him. 

Even with how calm Claude presented in many cases back then of course he still had his emotions and when it came to Alois all he could do was feel annoyance, dread, anger… and Claude had put up with it until he simply couldn't. He could also admit that he paid the price, going against his arch enemy… Sebastian, even going out of his way to try and steal the other's demon's prey. His death… as humbling as it was to say, was one that was bound to happen and maybe Claude had done all of that just to end the suffering. As demons as he and others could do was live as they are and with Alois Claude had been needy, starved. What else was he to do but to go after what he could which has been that stupid, idiotic boy… though, here… it seemed different. 

Very different. 

Claude could smell the scents in the air, he's not as strong as he used to be but he seems now that he has the potential to do so now and such much more. 

He was… free. And freedom has never tasted better. 

There's so much food around but as the creature he is, the last thing he wants is a corn dog or poe of some sort… he wants blood, meat… and a lot of it.

One scent in particular seems to jump out at him suddenly and Claude doesn't hesitate to snap his gaze over in the same direction as if to follow such a smell. It's fruity, sweet,... Tempting and Claude feels a rush of heat run through him when he locates the owner. 

She's beautiful, as soft and sweet as she looks and dressed in sine silks. Claude hadn't cared much about the history of this place previously, the scenery, the festivals, the fashion trends but the second his eyes landed on her they stuck. She seems to order herself a snack and as Claude stands from his squat and decides to silently get closer Claude can't help but admire her. It's her sweet face, his soft skin, her feminine figure and if Claude was human his heart would be rushing. 

He is a demon again yes but never had he felt like this and if he had it must've been a feeling that had become long forgotten to him. Never once had he felt quite as… warm and hot like this over some random human woman and he isn't exactly sure what it is that makes him feel so drawn to her but it has him feeling like he was having a hard time keeping control of himself. 

It's interesting how difficult this new life of his was, how different it was from his old one. Never once had he felt a craving like this, with Alois, or even Ciel… it's like he quite literally wants to jump down there and tackle her to the ground, jump on her as if he was some sort of leopard, an animal, a beast and she… some sort of deer, prey. Outside of his rebirth he doesn't know anything about this new life he's been giving but what he does know is that suddenly he feels… hot. He wants this woman and while he still isn't sure what for he's confident in his choice. 

He needed to get closer, if not to know this woman than to touch her… caress her skin with both his hands and his lips and maybe he'd proceed by… keeping her, like some cute little pet at his side. Maybe if she agreed to stay by him and at his side he wouldn't kill her immediately. 

She walks along the streets and he follows like a lingering shadow as he tries to think about the best way to go about this. As she now sits at a bench by herself he settles on the building just behind her, looking down on her with bright eyes. He's still thinking and it's only when his eyes snap aside and land on an approaching figure that Claude feels like he has in fact wasted to much time. 

Whoever this guest was he was tall, broad and Claude could admit that the man's physical appearance was rather… impressive, distracting even. He wears a kimono just as everyone else has and even with such clean and gentle looking garbs Claude can practically smell how strong this male is. It's intimidating and Claude had come to an understanding that in this life demons in fact had ranks. Of course they always had but this was so different, so new and even though another other demon would have probably scurried away, Claude lingered even with the rush of tingles he feels race up his spine. 

He proceeds by watching the two, the only prominent features he's kept from his last life was his bright golden eyes which now watched the two figures. The male greets her, bowing his head to the woman before reaching out to take her hand and with a little giggle she gives it to him after her flashes a charming smile. Claude suddenly feels a bit more… annoyed, his eyes narrowing slightly at the scene because though he knows nothing about either one of these two and probably couldn't care less to do so but something about this guest… this man was reminding him of…

Sebastian. 

It's only then that her laughs rings through the air and Claude clears his mind to focus again only to look down and freeze when bright eyes are looking back up to him. 

A second passes where they stare at each other for a moment and then something seems to burst within Claude's chest. He holds the other demons gaze and the rush of emotion he feels makes him feel both ignited and frantic, as if that the moment their eyes connected with each other had been a deal of some sort all on its own. 

Claude reels back before he can help himself, jerking back and blinking owlishly. There's a rushing in his chest that makes him reach a shaky hand up and clutch his heart. 

Now. What the fuck was that? 

Claude wasn't sure at all but after a moment of silence he finds himself wanting… more. 

It's like something had woke up in him, jerking awake in fury and Claude was s man who would sit here and lie and say that a man couldn't possibly win his heart but the way his was racing in his chest suddenly made him feel many, many things. 

“Do you…happen to come here often?” A smooth and charming voice suddenly rings out over the sea of others and something tells Claude he shouldn't and yet… he decides to peak back over the length and as he thought, the man was now speaking. He looks at the woman with a fond smile, reaching out a hand to her and she giggles softly as she does so, humming as he seems to raise her hand to his lips and lightly brush his soft lips over her knuckles. “I'll admit that I haven't seen you around here much.” He continues and she hums. 

“What's your name pretty? I must know it so I never forget.” He continues as she smiles.

“Y/n. You can just call me y/n.” She answers him and her voice is so soft, so smooth and Claude finds himself leaning in to hear more of it as if he couldn't get enough. The man makes a noise of acknowledgement while Claude personally saves such into in his head and as the man moves to sit beside her, his hip pressing against her own, he finally responds with his own name. 

“You may call me Douma-Sama. Everyone calls me it.” Douma chuckles but something about it sends a shiver running up Claude's spine when he hears it as if the man's name was a curse all on its own. Not only that but… their eyes connected again, his and Douma 's as the other demon looks from the wan to him from the corner of his eyes. 

Douma-Sama. 

It was an interesting name, Claude could give him that but something about the way the man had said it, practically purring it out but each syllable and everything was enough to make Claude's cheeks feel…warm. 

Claude reaches a hand up to inspect his face and soon comes to the realization that he was lightly blushing. His cheeks a light pink and he's spooked into silence, even when he and Sebastian battled as much as they did in his previous life never had Claude allowed himself to blush this easily with the man even when that's what Sebastian clearly wanted out of him. He had always waited until he could get alone where he could be stuck with his thoughts all of his own for as long as needed, and maybe he had many, many fantasies and ones he tended to act up on and wasn't exactly sure what it was but just as Sebastian had, this demon… Douma-Sama, had managed to piqued Claude's interest. 

-

TBC~

- A

[koneko-pi]

Potion Pandemonium

The strangest things can bring people together.

Mean to be a series, idk how long. This is just a self-endulgent, chaotic filled story that may get a spicy ending, we'll see where it goes. I usually like to include my moots in these kinda things, so if you wanna be a little easter egg in here lemme know, but if it's weird, then ignore me...

Summary: Someone slips a special potion into the drinks at a large party and Briar is left to deal with it.

Part one.

Violin and piano played elegant tunes in a ballroom, to set the mood. With ceilings up high, held up by pillars, decorated in roses brought in by the Roselie family. Floating lanterns drifted overhead, casting warm glows down upon tables decorated in gold silverware, clear glasses and a variety of drinks or food. People dressed in ball gowns and suits milled about or danced with one another across an open space.

It was an elegant and sophisticated party to say the least, with the majority of the attendees being nobility. Anyone who wasn't was a magic knight that had been extended an invitation simply because of their occupation. Normally most of them didn't show, not wanting to be watched or judged by those in a higher class. But Nozel couldn't help but notice how many more commoners seemed to be here compared to last year.

He watched a few of the green mantis linger around the wine glass tower, talking quietly to each other as if trying to egg one another on. A couple of black bulls were also attempting to flirt with girls who obviously didn't want it, or were trying to control another friend from stealing more food than was necessary.

And yes. It did cause them to get quite a few stares from the nobility who actively tried to avoid them… He wasn't sure why they bothered to be there. No… that was wrong, he could think of one very simple reason, and it was the free food.

He sighed heavily, wondering why he himself bothered to attend. The party was meant to be a kind of… get together for the holiday: Three-Leaf-day. A day where one would give a gift to another who may have brought faith, hope or love into your life. A holiday for couples. So naturally most nobles attended in hopes of mingling with one another to find a life partner.

Something Nozel rarely ever thought about.

Sure, it was a necessity pushed upon him by family members. He was head of the Silva house after his father retired early with the death of his mother, and so it would be his responsibility to make sure the bloodline of Silva continued. His siblings could find favor with someone and have their own spawn, but it wouldn't be the same. After all, Mimosa and her brother were certainly not held to the same standard as either he or Fuegoleon, despite being cousins. They were a branch family. So him finding a wife was far more important in the eyes of their older family members, and other nobles, than say…. Solid or Noelle.

His own father had recently been pushing for it after unsavory rumors about him had been spreading around. He clicked his tongue in irritation at the memory of Solara having to come all the way to his office just to tease him over it. Sometimes he wondered what Fuegoleon saw in that woman. But she made him happy… so he wasn't about to complain too much, not unless she made visits like that regularly. He wondered for a moment if the pair of them were actually here.

"Are you going to be standing here off to the side the entire night?" A deeper, gravely tone came from Nozel's left and he had to take a deep inhale to mentally prepare himself for this encounter.

Nozel uncrossed his arms and turned to the man speaking to him. He was pale, with blue eyes that seemed to lack any form of emotion, sunken in cheeks and long hair that was white from old age. "Hello, Father." He greeted him with a small bow.

"You didn't answer my question." Lord Silva huffed in disapproval.

It had been a long time since Nozel had actually gotten along with his father. He had never really seen much of him to begin with in his adolescence, he was much more attached to his mother. But after she had passed away the gap between him and his children had only grown, leading to any of their meetings becoming unwelcome or uncomfortable. Nebra and Solid didn't even want much to do with him now.

"I'm not one for parties." Nozel responded dryly.

"How else will you meet a woman?" The man narrowed his eyes on his son. "You spend all your time in your office working. This is the only time you get out and even then it's when I force you."

Nozel did not want to deal with this right now. His father always had a way of bringing about a headache in him, especially with this specific conversation topic.

"There's actually someone I want to introduce to you."

Ah, the throbbing intensified.

Nozel watched the man gesture to a young black haired woman in a blue dress. She came walking up to them with all the grace a young noble girl should have, with chin held high and elegant movements. She grabbed her dress and gave a curtsy.

"Anna Lockheed." She greeted them. "It is a pleasure."

Nozel wasn't sure how to respond. He was too busy focusing on the ever intensifying pain at the base of his skull.

"She's the eldest daughter of lord Lockheed." His father added. "A large supporter of the Aquadeer. His other children have joined the squad but she has been looking to settle down."

"Ah."

His father glared at the obvious disinterest he was giving them. But Anna seemed undeterred. "I do apologize for this Lord Silva." She smiled kindly at him. "I know how inconvenient these kinds of moments can be within families, but even so I would still enjoy spending the evening with you, getting to know you."

Nozel clenched his jaw as he debated his next course of action. Surely he could accept this offer and be forced to waste his evening at a party he didn't want to attend with a girl he didn't care for. But his father would be placated. Or, he could do what he really wanted to do, which was tell his father to buzz off and that he wasn't looking to get married anytime soon. No matter how polite a young lady may pretend to be.

Luckily though it seemed the second option was more within his sight as he recognized obnoxiously long chestnut colored hair over by the wine tower. Any excuse to get away from this uncomfortable situation was good enough for him.

"Sorry but something seems to have come up." Nozel bowed to the young lady, now wide eyed with surprise, before swiftly turning around and making his way over to the table.

"Nozel-!"

"I didn't think you would be attending such a party." He asked the young woman, mostly to drown out the sound of his fathers angry cry.

Briar Rose turned to him. He had expected her to be even a little bit surprised he had bothered to acknowledge her presence there but she seemed rather relaxed. Maybe even a little tired.

"Ah well… When you live in Julius Basement you tend to get invited to nice things." Her tone held a hint of bitterness to it. When Nozel glanced around them he saw a few nobles quickly turn away from watching them, mostly other women suddenly hiding behind their fans or starting a sudden conversation with their partners. It was obvious to him that she had already been the target of others ragging on her presence in the party, but unlike some of the bulls who could let harsh words slide, like water off a duck's back, she was getting miffed. And likely had moved over to this table to drown her sorrows, even if just a little bit.

"You didn't have to come." He noted as he reached for a glass flute full of dark red fluid.

"I am well aware." The brunette glanced over her shoulder into the crowd of lingering nobles. "But not showing up would make us look worse than they already assume."

She must have been referring to her "squad". The group of researchers not often given credit for the advances and efforts they put into not only protecting the kingdom, but pushing its creative boundaries. Nozel came to develop an odd respect for them over the last few months working with Briar. The kingdom really wouldn't have as many useful magic tools as they did were it not for their hard work.

"What about you?" She asked as she turned to look at him. "You don't strike me as a ball kind of man."

He felt like he should have been offended, but honestly it was true. "My family demanded I attend."

"Oohh..?" She didn't smile, but the small squint of her eyes was enough for Nozel to see she was amused. "And how do you like it so far, have you gotten to dance with a lovely lady?"

Nozel let out a scoff and looked away in disapproval. Which was enough of an answer to prompt a small chuckle from the woman. "A shame." She sighed. "You look a little dashing today."

His head whipped back to her, stunned that she had given him a compliment. Normally the two were like a couple of cats ready to start a fight. Perhaps they had finally gotten comfortable with one another?

Or she was waiting for her next chance to push one of his buttons.

He couldn't help but glance down to his own outfit though. A blue and gold vest over a white top with puffy sleeves. His usual high collar and the silva emblem clasped his top buttons together. He wasn't super dressed up… perhaps she just liked things simple.

She however seemed less so, her dress was floor length and was decorated in white, gold and purple. It seemed foreign based on its design. She had her signature matching earmuffs on as well.

"Well…" He wasn't really sure how to take her compliment. Instead he brought his glass to his lips to take a drink, but as soon as the fluid entered his mouth he began sputtering and coughing.

"Nozel?" Briar's eyes went wide with surprise as he struggled to breath for a moment. She quickly took the glass from him and moved to pat his back a few times.

The man swallowed what he could of the liquid in his mouth then controlled his coughing. "I'm okay-" he held a hand up to her. "I'm okay…"

"What was that about?" Briar asked, her face now changing to utter confusion. "That came out of nowhere."

"I was just shocked by the drink." Nozel took several clean inhales of air to make sure his windpipe was clear.

"This?" Briar lifted the glass and looked it over. It looked like wine to her.

"It's sweet, it caught me off guard..."

She raised an eyebrow at him before she took a sip of his glass.

He gave her a look of mild disgust to share the same glass as him, but he was glad his reaction wasn't too far fetched as she managed to swallow one mouthful before she recoiled away. "My god it's like liquid sugar!"

Nozel turned to the table and all of the other glasses. He picked up another and gave it a quick sniff, his nose being assaulted by the same sickeningly sweet scent. "What is this?"

"I thought it was supposed to be wine." Briar's tongue swiped across her lips as she also looked irritated, which was surprising. The woman consumed copious amounts of sugary treats daily, so what was it about this drink that had even her in a state of disgust?

They glanced around at the others, and while no one but them was currently drinking, there were plenty of unfinished glasses across tables.

"Whoever picked out this drink clearly made a mistake." Rather than leave the unfinished glass Briar turned to a potted plant nearby and dumped the rest of the drink into its dirt. Leaving the now empty glass on the table. "What now? I was kind of looking forward to a drink."

Honestly, so was Nozel. He could still feel his fathers burning gaze on the back of his head and a glass of wine would have been nice to dull his senses.

"Want to see if the kitchen is nearby?" Nozel glanced at Briar as she already had turned to walk away. "I mean unless you'd rather dance or something?"

"No." He responded quickly. At least this way he would be out of the crowd. "Please, lead the way."

Finding the kitchen had not been hard at all. Asking a servant for directions and flashing Nozel's status was all the pair needed to get proper directions. So now with a new Wine bottle in hand and a few clean glasses they walked down a hallway looking for a place to settle and drink peacefully.

The hallway was as nice as the ballroom had been. A crimson carpeted floor with wooden walls and a carefully carved baseboard. A couple of paintings hung on the walls of important individuals but neither mage really cared to stop and look.

"Rosé wine?" Briar read the label in a curious tone. She was more distracted by the bottle in her hand than anything.

"The Roselie are famous for that wine." Nozel told her as he watched her closely.

"Charlotte's family makes wine?"

"You don't know?" They turned down the quiet hallway, not really sure of their destination at this point. "It's how they got their status. They own almost all the vineyards in the Noble realm."

"I see…" the brunette held the wine glasses out to Nozel, who took them, and then began trying to pray the cork out with her fingers.

"Don't be a savage…" he sighed and held his free hand up, liquid metal coming to form a corkscrew in his palm.

"Oh." She stared at it before smiling and taking it. "Thank you~"

"...You're welcome…"

With swift stab, twist and pull Briar had the bottle freed to let the aroma of bitter wine overtake them. "Oh now that smells much better than the other wine."

"Aren't you a little impatient?" Nozel criticized her despite holding both glasses out, which she filled.

"Well if the Roselie family provided all the drinks tonight I want to see if this is any better than that liquid heart attack in the ballroom." The woman took her glass and clinked it against his before taking a drink. "Oh, and it is." Much better, how wine should properly taste.

And while Nozel wanted to take a proper drink of good wine himself, he found himself distracted by her glass. More specifically, the lipstick print she had left behind on it. She didn't usually wear makeup…

His eyes flicked up to her face, still reading the bottle's information, and he saw she was decorated subtly with makeup. A bit of eyeshadow that was just a few shades darker than her eye color. A swipe of eyeliner, dusting of blush and the soft pink color of her lipstick, now smudged slightly from her drink…

"Hey Nozel-" she turned to him suddenly and it wasn't till then he realized he had been leaning towards her. Their noses almost touching as she stood there mildly shocked to find him up in her face. "Uh…"

But he didn't move to back away, his mind felt anxious over what he was doing, it was abnormal for him. 'Was she always this pretty, or smelled this nice?' Was it perfume? It smelled just like a flower garden…

His body refused to move, if anything he leaned in a little more.

And she didn't stop him…

Whomp-

Crash-

The pair jolted apart, eyes wide and faces flushed as they both turned to look at a door. Whatever atmosphere between them had broken immediately after hearing something break beyond the walls.

"What was that?" Briar asked, and she wasn't quite sure if she was referring to their moment or the sounds they had just heard.

Nozel took the opportunity to separate himself from her, now feeling in his right mind, and advanced on the door. His hand quickly closed on the doorknob and forced it open.

There was the sound of bickering women in a small study but as soon as Nozel made his presence known they silenced themselves.

"Charlotte?" Briar peaked in behind Nozel, her breath across his neck sent an odd shiver down his spine and he quickly side stepped so she could have room in the wide doorway.

The bickering women in question were Charlotte Roselie, dressed elegantly in a blue gown with flower embroidery, and a black bull Briar recognized as Cybil. A purple haired woman in a form-fitted black and gold dress. They both looked furious for whatever reason, their shoulders heaving from what must have been an intense argument. Between them was a flower vase, utterly shattered with flowers all over the floor and water soaking into the carpet. An end table was not too far either, knocked over from whatever spat they must have been having.

"...what is going on?" Nozel asked, he slowly moved to put his wine glass down on a nearby cabinet.

"None of your business." Charlotte snapped at him with a nasty tone, much to his surprise. He always knew she was aggressive towards men, but she always held respect towards her fellow captains at the very least.

Suddenly being talked down to by her made his blood boil. "Well it seems to have gotten out of control." He nodded towards the broken vase.

"I said it's none of your business!" She raised her voice even louder, this time throwing mana into it.

"You dare…" The Silva's lips pulled back into an angry snarl as he too began to raise his Magic.

"Okay!" Briar quickly slipped between the two of them, hands up to deter either side form stepping any closer or starting a fight. "No need to act like Animals…"

"Oh why not?" Cybil giggles from her place off to the side. "It's all Charlotte's good for isn't it?"

"What did you say!?" The blonde turned back onto her previous enemy, eyes blazing with blue fury.

The other woman laughed. "Did you not hear me this whole time? All your good for are fighting, running and screaming. It's no wonder why Yami will never notice you."

"Oh my god-" Briar's eyes went wide.

"What did you say!?" Charlotte practically shrieked.

"You treat him like crap!" Cybil shouted back at her.

"What do you know!?"

Cybil took a step over the broken glass to jab at the noble woman's chest. "You call him names, be little his manhood and scream and run just at the sight of him sometimes!"

"I'm just SHY!"

"I CALL IT BEING RUDE!"

Suddenly both women were at each other's throats, grabbing at one another's hair and clawing at dresses, all while screaming and hurling insults at each other. It was jarring for both of the others to watch, Charlotte was NEVER this petty.

"WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU?!" Briar quickly jumped into their fight, grabbing one and yanking the other away with enough force to toss Cybil onto the couch.

"Don't TOUCH ME!" Charlotte howled as she suddenly struck Briar across the face.

The woman was so stunned by the sudden action she didn't have time to react to the net of Silver that suddenly snatched up, wrapped around and pinned the Blue Rose to the wall.

"NOZEL-!" Charlotte seethed and writhed in her prison.

Briar whipped around to look at Nozel, who looked livid. His eyes wide and ablaze with fury as he had a hand up to control his magic. "Don't you touch her." He hissed through grit teeth.

"Serves you right!" Cybil howled as she got up and tossed pillows at the trapped Rose.

"Hey!" Briar snapped a hand towards the other mage and vines grew from the couch to grab and hold her down into it. "Enough of that, you're not teenagers! Nozel!"

She turned back to her companion who seemed to only be getting angrier as he was shouting at Charlotte. Was even he loosing his mind!?

"NOZEL!"

Briar grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to look at her. Wide eyed and stunned, Nozel froze on the spot. All his attention now on her. He heaved to catch his breath but was slowly calming down.

Briar waited, ignoring the still bickering women behind her when she noticed something. Her hands came up to cup his face and, whether Nozel realized it or not, he leaned right into her touch. She used her thumbs to pull down on his lower eyelids as she glanced between both his eyes, his lavender irises now shimmered with flecks of pink and red.

"What on earth…" she gasped softly at the sight. It was both alluring, creating some feeling deep in her, like she was magnetized to him, and also frightening because something was going on.

"Briar…"

The way he said her name sent a chill up her spine, and not in the scary way. She suddenly jabbed him hard in the side to knock him back to himself. The man kneeled over in pain before the brunette swiftly moved to Charlotte.

The Captain almost bit her before she managed to grab hold of her head to check her eyes too. Blue with pink and red, but a lot more of it.

"Unhand me!" The rose snapped as she jerked her head away.

Briar knew she wouldn't have to check the last woman to know she was probably afflicted too. She quickly scanned the room before her eyes settled on a wine glass, the other one broken next to it. She lunged across the room to snatch it up and took a sniff.

Disgustingly sweet.

"What were you talking about?" She spun back around to the women.

"What?" Charlotte snapped.

"Your conversation! How did this fight happen?" Briar pointed between the fighting women with the glass.

"What is going on…" Nozel groaned, looking angry now that some of his senses were returning to him.

"You!" Briar pointed at Cybil who squeaked. "What were you discussing?"

"W-we were talking about Yami…"

"Okay??"

"And how I didn't think Charlotte was a good match for him…"

"Oh and you're any better?!" Charlotte called angrily.

"Better than you!"

The pair were once again hurling insults at one another.

"They both like Yami…" Briar thought out loud as the gears started turning in her brain. She was really scared of the conclusion she was coming to.

"Nozel, watch them!" Briar pointed at him as she put the glass down and rushed for the door.

"What is happening!?" He called after her.

"I'll be back, it's urgent!" She was already rushing down the hall, back towards the ballroom.

As she hurried through the decorated archway she didn't see too much of a difference yet. People were still idly chatting and dancing, though the crowds appear to have thinned out quite a bit….

"Where is it…" she looked around, ignoring the odd looks she was getting from others as she pushed through crowds to make it back to the wine table, its surface now covered in even more half empty glasses. But she cared less about that at the moment and more about…

Her hands grabbed hold of a large flower pot. Her wide eyes staring in disbelief at it. The once white roses were now blooming a brilliant shade of shimmering pink.

"Damn it!" She cursed and spun around to look at the people all going about their business behind her.

"Love potion…"

[birlwrites]

okay my question is how close are/were walburga & orion to their kids? how well can they read regulus? (jusy in general but also specifically in the scene at the breakfast table. like, orion taught regulus how to occlude, right? so can he tell when he is?)

i've been going off the assumption that for most wizard kids, there's smthing like elementary school to help teach them to read & write etc before hogwarts when they're ready to start learning magicTM, & then the uber wealthy just hire tutors. so that gives me the thought that wizarding parents in general are just like, more involved in their kids' lives pre-hogwarts. & that + the fact that orion & walburga don't really... have things to do? like they're lord & lady but it's not like they have subjects to look after or snything… so how present were they in sirius & regulus' lives?

sorry if this is ramble-y, this probably should've been 2 different asks but i'm just really curious about if you've thought about any of it

walburga and orion are not what i would call super attuned to their kids' emotional state? like, not to put too fine a point on it, but regulus has not really been Relaxed around either of his parents since he was very young. he's always monitoring his behavior and actions very closely. in that scene, they get the sense that he is balancing the interests of the death eaters with 'ok but also barty is my friend so maybe Don't Kill Him Please.'

if regulus had been in the dining room when he'd started occluding, orion would have clocked it immediately, but since he was out on the stairs, there was no moment of bringing up the shields that orion could see

like, orion and walburga have been somewhat involved in their kids' lives, but regulus has been very conscious of the fact that he needs to Act A Certain Way around adults and non-family-members since he was little, and this includes his parents, although it didn't include his cousins until he was a little older, as bellatrix is bellatrix and regulus would let the people around him set the level of formality for the interaction. and sirius is sirius of course (he's never been as reserved as regulus, but he's also a great liar, so i'd hesitate to say that orion and walburga could read him any better than they can read regulus - sirius is very good at emotional/mental/verbal sleight of hand)

regulus and sirius learned purely academic/theoretical subjects from tutors, but their parents handled a lot of their magical training - obviously there was the family specialty, and dark arts in general, and occlumency, but also families like the blacks don't wait until hogwarts to start teaching their kids magic with wands, and so that was just kind of folded in along with the dark arts

they didn't really start with the tutors until they were, like, kindergarten-aged, or rather until sirius was kindergarten-aged and regulus was Not Going To Be Left Out

in addition, they had to learn about Society Stuff, and whoever was heir at the moment had to learn about Lord Stuff, which were handled by walburga and orion respectively. regulus used to spend more time practicing general dark arts (not the family specialty) than sirius did, as sirius had to learn Lord Stuff and walburga, keeping regulus busy, was like 'ah yes dark arts will hold his interest and prevent him from being upset about sirius doing things without him'

orion does actually have stuff to do - as the head of house black, he manages the entire family's finances, and he's also a member of the wizengamot. but yeah that's about it as far as formal obligations go lmao, plus when regulus was REALLY little (young enough that he doesn't remember this at all) orion was heir black and hadn't started taking on any of arcturus's responsibilities yet, so orion and walburga really had jack shit to do

so regulus and sirius spent a lot of time learning from their parents, but they didn't spend a lot of leisure time with them - there was always Something To Be Achieved in their interaction with their parents