#and I’ve seen some claims that people can be royal by wanting their own destiny but letting others choose

[rotomartsblog]

The reason EAH is a children’s franchise is because only a child who Doesn’t Understand Things could possibly consider Royal being the right stance

[glorytoukraine2022]

Hey everyone! I’m back with another analysis! This time I’m going to do a comparison of reformed villains from Elena of Avalor and Tangled the Series. The main reformed villains I will be comparing is Cassandra, to four reformed villains from the two aforementioned shows. If you’re a fan of both shows, you probably might know who they are.

First up, will be Cassandra vs Varian. I know this is an obvious choice I’m starting off with, but given that these two are from the same show, they’re the easiest to analyze. TTS does everything it can to push comparisons between Varian and Cassandra and make them seem like parallels. However, these two couldn’t be more different.

Varian didn’t want to turn to crime. He only became a criminal because he was pushed to it. When Varian lost his dad, he asked for help not only from Rapunzel, but the entire kingdom as a whole. But because of a false rumor going around the kingdom claiming that Varian had attacked Rapunzel. Rapunzel never cleared the rumor, nor did she follow up on Varian’s request for help. The King sent guards to chase Varian out of his home in order to cover up the destruction of the rocks, isolating Varian from society and any possible aid. Varian was still wron, but he literally had no other options left.

Cassandra, however? She was faced with no such situation. Her life was pretty stable when she stole the moonstone. Was it perfect? No, but if she was so unhappy, than she could have left anytime. She was even offered an opportunity to become a warrior of the kingdom of Ingvarr, but chose to stay because of her friendship with Rapunzel.

Like Varian, Cassandra too was mistreated by Rapunzel. I don’t blame either of them for wanting to leave her. Yet the show didn’t use any of these valid reasons as her motive for Cassandra stealing the moonstone. Instead, they decided to have Cassandra victim-blame Rapunzel for her own kidnaping.

The entirety of season 3, we see Cassandra gaslighting an abuse victim. Gothel didn’t kidnap Rapunze because she loved her more than Cassandra. She only cared about her magic hair.

Varian realized his actions were wrong long before the events of season 3, but nobody in Corona gave him a chance, leading to him turning to a Terrorist Leader. But when the Saporians revealed that they were going to destroy Completely using Varian’s chemicals, Varian turned against the Saporians to save Corona and it’s citizens, despite how the kingdom mistreated him, because it was the right thing to do. Cassandr, on the other hand, was about to rip the Sundrop straight from Rapunzel, despite her clearly being in pain.

For my next comparison, it will be Cassandra vs. Victor and Carla Delgado. One could argue that Cassandra saw the power of the moonstone as a power conduit and a means of respect, similarly to how Victor and Carla saw being Malvagos. However, given that TTS does seem to give a clear or specific reason for Cassandra’s theft of the stone, it’s honestly hard to say if power, respect or anything, for that matter, is Cassandra’s motive. “Destiny“, is also given as a motivation, but it’s hard to tell. Whereas Victor and Carla’s motivations for becoming Malvagos is clearly stated that they saw it as a means to gain power, in order to gain respect, which, quite frankly, makes more sense than anything that came out of Cassandra’s mouth throughout her entire villain arc.

Yes, Cassandra and Carla were both abandoned by their naristsstic, power-hungry mothers, but the way each of them reacted to it couldn’t have been more different. When Ash betrayed Victor and Carla by turning Victor to stone, Carla was devastated, and who wouldn’t be? Yet in that moment she saw her mother for who she truly was and turned against her, standing by her father when he needed her.

Now Cassandra? Let’s see, she went on a rampage to hurt her friends and others innocent people and ATTACKED her father. See the difference? One could argue that Cassandra was four when Gothel abandoned her whereas Carla was 19, but Cassandr’s memory of Gothel’s abandonment was repressed until Zhan Tiri showed it to her in The House of Yesterday’s Tomorow. Even though it happened when Cassandra was at a young age, when she remembered it, she was a 24 year old woma, and should have handled it with the maturity of a young adult.

Nobody is saying that Cassandra isn’t allowed to feel hurt. Nobody is saying she isn’t allowed to react badly. That she isn’t allowed to confront her father on the truth if she feels that he kept it from her. But you’d think she’d react in a mature manner. That she’d be willing to hear her father out and talk to him about it rather than straight out attack him!

Carla clearly wanted her mother in her life. She wanted a relationship with her. Cassandra also clearly wanted to be raised by her birth mother, but their mothers made their own choices. Ash and Gothel chose to abandon their daughters for selfish purposes. They can’t change who their mothers are, as much as they might want to. The difference is, only Carla has the maturity to realize that. She also realizes that she has her father, who loves and cares about her more than anything in the whole wide world. Cassandra disregards all of this.

From what we know about Victor and Carla’s childhoods’ Victor had fun days at the palace racing Esteban down the halls, playing hide and seek and cooking with him and Elena. Carla had fun cooking with her father as a child. But some of their lines from “Don’t Look Now”, tell us that their childhoods weren’t exactly peachy. According to Victor, if you had seen him as a child, he would have “always had a frown” because he was put down by others and was “treated like a clown” whenever he tried to stand up. And let’s not forget that him and his family were banished by Shuriki while Victor was still in his teens.

According to Carla, she and Victor were “always on the move“ and that the only thing that never changed was that she would “always feel alone.” The reasons she and Victor could never settle down was probably because they survived as theives and con-artists. If they were alwlays on the move, than Carla probably nevertheless had the chance to make friends growing up. And we’re suppoesd to feel sorry for CASSANDRA?!

While it’s possible she might have felt looked down upon like Victor, Cassandra had a pretty stable life growing up. Growing up inside a CASTLE! She was even allowed to train for the Royal Guard at age six! Victor and Carla had to resort to becoming con artists for a living, and Cassandra is pouting just because she didn’t get the job she wanted?!

When Carla nearly fell to her death after she was knocked over a ledge, Victor was terrified that he was going to lose Carla right then and there, causing him to realize that power wasn’t worth the price of losing his daughter. This gave him the incentive and courage to stand up to Ash for Carla’s safety, and end dark pursuits right then and there. Ash responded to this by turning him into stone. Heartbroken and angered by Ash’s betrayal, and realizing her mother’s true nature, Carla stands against Ash and reforms as well.

Victor and Carla may have once believed that power would gain them the respect they’ve always wanted, but in the end, realized that they never needed power. All they ever truly needed to be happy was love and family. Each other. That’s what I call a true, remarkable redemption. Cassandra didn’t seem to learn or realize anything based on her experience. To this day, I still don’t understand just what new insights and changes resulted from Cassandra’s “redemption.” All Zhan Tiri did was take the moonstone from her. There should have been more than that to her redemption.

Now, last, but not least, Cassandra vs Esteban. Now, I saved this one for last, because Esteban is the one I’ve heard people compare Cassandra to, and while I understand where they are coming from, I still have my objections. I’ve heard people compare Esteban to Cassandra based on the fact that they both had a desire to be noticed. While I understand this comparison, I still feel like Esteban is the more sympathetic of the two.

As much as Esteban wanted to be listened to, he always loved his family deeply. But he always made the mistake of trusting the wrong people, first Shuriki, then Ash, and then the Four Shades. He trusted them, only for them to go after the people he loved and wanted to listen to him in the first place. Cassandra wanted to be listen to, but she didn’t care if it cost her everyone that had ever cared about her. We see this early on in season 1, during “Challenge of the Brave”, when she tries to sabotage Rapunzel’s chances in “Challenge of the Brave” by stealing her weapon of choice, and in “Great Expotations“, when she breaks her promise to Varian that she would be his assistant at the Science Expo if he completed her Handmaiden duties for her, just so she could be on guard duty.

Both Cassandra and Esteban are ambitius and have sought to undermine their family/friends if given the oppourtunity, but I felt that Esteban was always more misunderstood whereas Cassandra was just willing to screw over anybody in her way. Think about it, even after Esteban joined up with Ash, he NEVER EVER wanted to hurt his family, and was always going out of his way to protect them and migiate harm. Cassandra, on the other hand? Went on a killing spree to murder her friends and cause as much destruction as possible.

I have also heard people comparing their redemptions and complaining about how they were both “last minute.” While I would agree in regards to Cassandra, I would NOT say the same about Esteban. As I pointed out in previous paragraph, Cassandra was still hell bent on hurting Rapunzel before Zhan Tiri grabbed the moonstone. Just before that scene, Esteban had just sung a duet with Elsa about how remorseful he feels for everything he’s done and all the people he’s hurt.

Iv’e also heard people comparing their “deaths”, claiming that Cassandra dying was a self sacrifice. NO. I REPEAT. Cassandra’s death in the TTS finale was NOT a self sacrifice! A self sacrifice is when you knowingly put yourself in harm’s way for someone or something else, knowing that you’ll be killed, or seriously injured in the process. Esteban teleporting in front of Elena to take Cahu’s time grain, was a self sacrific. Anna choosing to save Elsa from Hans in Frozen was a self sacrifice. Cassandr’s death was NOT self sacrifice. Cassandra and Rapunzel didn’t believe they were going to die or suffer any consequences by uniting the stones. The only person who they bellived would die was the person who United the stones, that person being Zhan Tiri. Cassandra’s actions were not self sacrificial, in any way, shape or form. What Esteban did for Elena in that moment was more powerful than anything Cassandra did in the finale.

All of these people I talked about above were better villains than Cassandr, with much better motivations, and are More worthy of redemption as have becom better people than she ever will be. If Cassandra ever grows in the futur, sh’ll be lucky if she ever gets at least half to where all these wonderful people are today.

I’m sorry if this analysis isn’t as good as my others so far. I stayed up until 3:40 AM writing this, so I apologize for any sloppiness or spelling mistakes you might see. I still hope you enjoyed my thoughts!

[minart-was-taken]

Sort of continuation of this, but it also does stand on it’s own!

Title: A small problem Characters: Ravio, Wind, Minish and Legend Includes threats of violence “Tags:” First meetings - No-one is sure what they’re doing but that’s ok - Zelda shows up!

Enjoy!

Ravio was speechless, a little scared, but most powerfully: mesmerized. Two kids, clearly younger than him and both with bright blond locks that rivaled the sun, were engaged in combat.

Although fists were flying, neither had landed a single hit. When the older one, who he had dubbed Mr. Sailor, threw a hit, the younger one, Mr. Small, would live up to his nickname and shrink to a very small size.

He’d then unshrink, throw a hit himself, and miss as the other pulled quite the leap to get away.

Ravio was simply waiting for one of them to land a hit, and for the situation to escalate badly, as he was too afraid to intervene.

Another crack followed then, they were starting to give Ravio a headache.

From it appeared a pink haired boy, tallest of the people present. He blinked in surprise, glancing around.

His appearance seemed to distract the coat wearing boy, who ended up getting decked in the face and fell over shouting “SHIT!” very loudly.

“Oh my.” Signed the newest arrival, looking at the situation before him with wide eyes. “Am I interrupting something?”

“I’m glad you are.” Ravio responded, walking over to the seemingly sane one, although staying from stabbing range just in case. “I’ve been trying to get these two to stop fighting for ages!”

“No you haven’t!” Grumbled the kid slowly getting himself back from the ground, while the smaller one stood smugly nearby.

“Do I look like someone who could stop a fist fight with force?” Ravio pointed out. “Neither of you listened to reason, so I simply was waiting for an opening.”

“An opening for what?”

He hadn’t had a proper plan. “Why would I tell that? You might fight again and I don’t want you to know what to expect.” However they did not have to know about that.

“Why were they fighting?” the pink one asked.

“He started it.” Coat boy complained.

“Ah. Uhm.” Ravio scratched the back of his head: “From what I could tell, I was simply talking to Mr. Sailor here, then the small one appeared from the bushes and kicked him in the back of the knee.”

“But why?”

“I’m not quite sure.” Ravio confessed.

The stranger tilted his head, confused, before turning to look at the small smug one. “Could you tell us now?”

The very small one scoffed, but signaled for them to follow.

They were in the yard of a small house, and near the window was a little patch of what looked more like weeds than anything else. The kid pointed at one of the weeds that had been very slightly stood upon.

The pink haired one understood, his fist meeting his palm in understanding. “It’s not nice to trample on other people’s plants, Mr. Sailor.”

Coat boy crossed his arms. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I just appeared right there! I would’ve moved if I knew I was standing on a plant.”

“It’s just a big misunderstanding then.” The pink one nodded, kneeling down to be the smallest one’s height. “Next time try to tell him to move before kicking him, okay?”

Mr. Small looked unimpressed, but nodded.

Ravio was just confused as to why anyone would care about such an useless patch of plants. The only valuable thing lost here was a possible alliance between the two small ones.

Kids, oh so dumb. Ravio smiled to himself.

“When you said you appeared-” the Pink one spoke again, standing up and turning to the sailor. “Was it like how I did?”

Mr. Sailor nodded. “Yeah. One moment I was just hammering some nails and suddenly I’m here. Being kicked in the back of my knee. By the smallest bokoblin I’ve ever seen.”

The small one raised a fist, but the pink one grabbed it mid air, and held it still. The small one seemed shocked that someone could- Or more likely- Would try and stop him.

“Oh sorry, I meant rat.” Said the sailor, sticking his tongue out.

“Please stop antagonizing the small child with a sword.” Ravio said in a hushed voice.

The small one was too entranced by having been stopped to care, simply staring at the pink one with wide eyes.

“Huh. What a strange situation.” The pink one continued, ignoring the general chaos. “Well, I suppose if we’re all in it, we should get to know one another. My name is Link. Spelt L-I-N-K”

The smallest one pointed at himself, all the while Mr. Sailor gasped: “Wait- That’s my name too.”

Ravio felt himself tense up a bit, what he had been suspecting was indeed going on, wasn’t it?

The house that looked eerily like the one Link lived in, then there was the clear fact he was in Hyrule, and that there were people who looked eerily like Link but weren’t him…

Oh great goddess of lorule, take him back home please. This is not ideal.

“Hm…” The pink one pondered. “This seems like it’d mean something significant.”

You think? Ravio raised a brow, before shaking off the questioning look to smile politely like a good salesman. “Link isn’t the most common name, so I have to agree.”

He walked closer to the pink one, mostly certain he wouldn’t stab him. With a hand on his back, he continued. ���The only Link I know of is the legendary hero of hyrule! It’d be ridiculous for him to be here, though, wouldn’t it?”

“I am he.” Mr. Sailor said.

The tall one blinked at that. “But.. So am I?”

The smallest one dug through his pockets, and pulled out a small note, handing it to Ravio.

Ravio read it out loud to everyone: “Link is the hero of Hyrule, and is allowed to do what he sees fit in order to keep the country safe. Signed, Princess Zelda.”

“...We can’t all be heroes of Hyrule.” Mr. Sailor complained. “And I know for one that I’m not lying, so.”

“There isn’t just one, though.” Ravio spoke up. “Legends speak of a hero in green who appeared centuries ago, perhaps he too had someone before him, and there was someone after.”

“Centuries, though.” Mr. Sailor pointed out, “Do I look a hundred years old to you?”

The smallest one nodded, but Ravio shook his head.

“I’ve heard of stranger things than time travel, in these lands.” Ravio stated.

“I suppose it is a plausible theory.” The pink one pondered, hand on chin. “I know I’m not lying either.”

“And the small one has a letter from the princess.”

“It could be forged.” The sailor pointed out.

Ravio wanted to point out he could tell a forgery from the real thing pretty easily, and had seen enough of Hilda’s writing to know how the royal family conducts it’s deeds. However, that’d make him seem kind of suspicious. “We could go and find out?” Ravio decided to ask instead.

“How?”

“This is clearly the small one’s home, if these are his plants. So this is his Hyrule.” Ravio explained. “Let’s go to the castle, and if the kid is allowed in, it means it’s not forged.”

“I suppose that’s a fair plan.” The pink replied. “And since neither of us are apparently lying, if the letter is real, then- Er, what’s your name?”

“I’m Ravio.” He responded, “The greatest merchant around.”

“Okay- It’s nice to meet you.” The pink one smiled. “Then if all of us are Link like we claim, Ravio’s theory was right.”

“Or some form of it.” Ravio specified.

The pink one nodded. “Very well, little one, could you take us to the castle?”

The smallest one pouted, but began leading the way.

“Holy fuck!” The sailor gasped, looking at the castle once it appeared in the horizon, standing tall yet- A little smaller than Ravio had expected.

The smallest one grinned smugly, walking at a pace more akin to jogging to stay in front of the taller people.

“It’s quite small.” The pink one commented.

“I do agree.” Ravio nodded. “The one I’ve seen is certainly larger.”

“It looks funny.” The pink one smiled, maybe even a little smug.

Ravio took note of it, but did not comment on it.

“So.” The pink one continued. “Your name is Ravio?”

“Like I said, yes.” He nodded. “Are you interested in my wares? I don’t have much on me due to the sudden departure but-”

“Not Link.” He stopped Ravio. “Yet you look a tad like us.”

Ravio blinked, breathing hitched. He missed his hood, but he had been in lorule- He doesn’t need that in Lorule! In Lorule he’s one of a kind!

“I suppose destiny can have a bit of a slip up here and there?” Ravio suggested. Sorry Link, he’d have to steal your identity for a bit here. “I assure you, however, just because I cannot wield a blade does not make me completely useless.”

The pink one simply kept smiling. “Very well, then.”

He hadn’t bought it, had he? Ravio yelled internally, but tried to keep the relaxed facade up.

The castle town was very cute, the sailor looking around with wide eyes, looking like he was taking many internal notes.

What caught Ravio’s eye however, happened a bit later. The smallest showed the letter to a guard by the castle gates, the guard simply sighed, said: “Follow me,” and started walking further into the castle grounds.

“That’s a lot to process.” The pink one spoke again. Ravio had to agree.

They were led to a room to wait- A waiting room, you could say- For the princess to get ready for guests. It matched all the Hyrule castles Ravio had seen, that being one. Stone brick all about, a polished but a little cold interior, with the triforce ever present in all decor.

There were paintings present as well. They seemed to capture the curiosity of all visitors, much to the delight of the smallest one’s ego.

Ravio focused at first on one depicting the princess, she looked similar to the Zelda of the Hyrule he knew, but clearly another person entirely.

He then chose to take a look at the others in their impromptu party, and found the pink one standing under a portrait of  what was likely another hero of courage, this one standing tall with a flowing white cape, and a small red bird on his shoulder.

The sight awakened a memory in Ravio, and he found himself suddenly plunged into a mystery.

There was a mural in his Link’s hyrule castle, one depicting the hero prior to him. Zelda had joked to him and Hilda about how she had read the hero actually had pink hair, but the artists took creative liberties and made it dark blond instead.

This couldn’t be the man who sealed Ganon away, was it? Certainly there had been more than one pink haired Link.

Then again, they seemed to be in a situation which included traveling through space and time. Guess that might as well be a detail.

A guard soon showed up, expressing that the princess was ready.

They headed to the throne room. It was bold, large and voices echoed within it. The large windows made it feel slightly less like a scary space, but it did still make him grow a bit uneasy.

In Front of the aforementioned throne, stood the princess, with a bright but curious smile.

“Link, I didn’t know you had made friends!”

The small one tried to hide in his cape, but was unsuccessful.

“It’s very nice to meet you all.” Zelda smiled brightly, as the boys bowed. Ravio hadn’t been sure if that was to be expected, but the smallest one did have a blade and seemed to be satisfied with them bowing, so perhaps it was a good choice.

The pink one took charge soon after, explaining the predicament they found themselves in. Or at least, theorized they did.

“Oh my.” Zelda gasped. “The hero’s spirit will reincarnate this much?! That’s quite saddening.”

“Has the legend of the hero not existed for long here?” The pink one asked.

“We only know of one before Link here.” Zelda explained. “The hero who arrived from the skies to seal away the great evil, so that humanity could return to the lands below.” She said, clearly quoting something.

“...I guess the seal didn’t last.” Zelda added sadly.

The small one rushed over to her, and offered his hand to her. She took hold of it, and smiled with thankfulness in her eyes at the kid.

“Well, if any of you are like Link here, Hyrule is in good hands.” She smiled again. “I wish I could help more though. I’m not sure at all what could be going on, or what to do about it.”

“Do you have time travel items, or something? Getting home would be nice.” The sailor asked.

“I can ask for research on the topic to be conducted.” Zelda nodded. “Until then, you may stay at the castle, if you’d like.”

“Thank you very much, your highness.” The pink- Okay, he needed a nickname, Ravio decided. Whether he was the legendary hero or not, calling him Mr. Legend should help butter the guy up for possible sales, anyway.

With that, they were led to a guest room. Ravio was both deeply glad they hadn’t been paired up, as every pairing seemed like a bad idea, but was also absolutely terrified of sharing a room with three swordsmen he barely knew. They were also given instructions on how to get to both the castle library and the town’s library. Information which Ravio decided to make use of the next day.

It was fine really, and the beds were very comfortable! It seemed the spirit of the hero made them all sleepy as hell, as well. So getting stabbed seemed unlikely. However one thing still kept Ravio up that night.

“Bunnies, dark hair…” Mr. Legend had signed to him, when it was just the two of them, the sun having started to settle for the night “It reminds me of a place.”

“Oh, heh. A place, huh?” Ravio chuckled nervously. He didn’t like being put on the spot without a plan.

“It was a dreadful place.” Mr. Legend stated. “I hope you’re not related to it in some way.”

“I sure hope so too?” Ravio stumbled to find the words:“It sounds much worse than Hyrule. Love this place, the grass is very green. Smells great.”

“I hope so too.” Mr. Legend smiled, a strange dead look in his eyes. “I don’t want to take another life.”

Then he just started talking about how he liked apples.

So, it would’ve been stranger if Ravio wasn’t having trouble sleeping!

Oh, goddesses above, help him.

[another-rogue-trevelyan]

If you liked Dragon Age Masterlist

If you’re anything like me, you’re into niche market, high fantasy, single player RPGs, preferably with a historical setting and romance options. So if you’re looking for a new game, here I am with some suggestions!

Sorted by studio:

Bethesda:

Oblivion (2006)

“In the shadow of evil, a hero will rise from the ashes of a fallen empire. The gates have been opened, and the battle has begun. Only one thing can save the world from Mehrunes Dagon and the demonic hordes of Oblivion. The true heir of the Septim line must be found and restored to the Imperial throne. The fate of the world rests in the hands of one. Find him, and shut the jaws of Oblivion.”

The Elder Scrolls series were my gateway into RPGs and hold a special place in my heart. Oblivion features a wide open world, immersive combat, and the ability to customize race, class, and gender.

Skyrim (2011)

“The Empire of Tamriel is on the edge. The High King of Skyrim has been murdered. Alliances form as claims to the throne are made. In the midst of this conflict, a far more dangerous, ancient evil is awakened. Dragons, long lost to the passages of the Elder Scrolls, have returned to Tamriel. The future of Skyrim, even the Empire itself, hangs in the balance as they wait for the prophesized Dragonborn to come; a hero born with the power of The Voice, and the only one who can stand amongst the dragons.”

I have sunk so many hours into this game and still have not experienced all there is to experience. Just like Oblivion, Skyrim offers the ability to customize your character and find a play style that suits you. A huge open world offers tons of opportunity for exploration and questing. You could play this game many, many hours and not even touch the main quest if you wanted to.

BioWare:

Mass Effect Legendary Edition (2021)

Just do it. Just fucking do it I’m still sobbing I’ve never had a game wreck me in this way. I might possibly like it more than Dragon Age which feels sacrilegious to say but it was so good. You follow Commander Shepard (customizable) for three whole games and the choices have serious consequences. Also, romance. Truthfully this might be the most well written storyline I’ve ever seen in a video game. Also, same studio as Dragon Age.

CD Projekt:

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (2015)

I’ll let the website description speak for itself, but Witcher III was good enough that I didn’t mind being forced to play as a man (those who know me know that I exclusively prefer to play women and often dislike games where I can’t do so)! The characters that make up this story are captivating and suck you into their world, leaving you with some tough choices to make. Also, bonus points for romance! (Yen is one of my all time favorite characters, Triss never stood a chance for me. Sorry Triss fans 😂)

Larian:

Divinity Original Sin 2 (2017)

“The Divine is dead. The Void approaches. And the powers lying dormant within you are soon to awaken. Choose your role in a BAFTA-winning story, and explore a world that reacts to who you are, and the choices you make. With five races to choose from, and an adventure playable solo or as a party of up to four, lay waste to an oppressive order in a world afraid of magic. Become the God the world so desperately needs.”

Full disclosure, I have not finished playing this one yet and will update when I do, but what I’ve played so far has been great! A classic, turn-based RPG that allows you a wide range of character customization. I find this game incredibly satisfying to be a rogue (my preferred class) because it lets me live my dream of throwing knives at people. Also, romance!

Baldur’s Gate III beta (2020)

“An ancient evil has returned to Baldur's Gate, intent on devouring it from the inside out. The fate of Faerûn lies in your hands. Alone, you may resist. But together, you can overcome. Gather your party.”

Fair warning, as of my most recent update to this post (March 30th, 2021) this game is still in a beta phase, which means it is NOT complete and has aspects that are missing, glitchy, or subject to change. With that being said, I’m so obsessed. It’s so, so good already and is only getting better. Another wide open world to explore with a group of companions with strong and sometimes clashing personalities, choices are abundant in this game and will affect how your party members think of you. This game so far gives me the feeling that choices are complicated and aren’t always easy to tell which is morally right, which I personally love. Also, I can be a sarcastic ass with a good heart, which is always fun. Astarion basically owns me now, but if you can resist him there are plentiful other romance choices as well! Customization is already a wider range than I’ve seen in most RPGs and they haven’t even finished the character creator yet, which has me SO excited for the finished product. Also - good hair?!??!! I love it!

Lionhead:

Fable III (2010)

“Lead a revolution to take control of Albion, fight alongside your people, and experience love and loss while preparing to defend the kingdom against a looming threat. Your choices as ruler will lead to consequences felt across the entire land.”

I’ll be honest, this one isn’t my favorite on the list, but was good enough to still make it! This game allows you to choose between playing as the prince or the princess on a quest to save your kingdom from itself, and then a greater threat as well. The game takes place in a kingdom loosely modeled after industrial England, and what did score it some major points were (SPOILER WARNING - skip the purple if you don’t want to know!) that the last act of the game lets you play as the monarch, where you are forced to make some tough decisions in order to save your kingdom. It is very easy to back yourself into a corner, pinch pennies in order to fund the army and save the kingdom, but make your citizens hate you because of it. You’re gonna have to be very, very careful, which is something I did really enjoy about this game. (I’ve heard Fable II was better, and that’s also on my list to try, will update in the future!)

Nintendo:

Fire Emblem Three Houses (2019)

“War is coming to the continent of Fódlan. Here, order is maintained by the Church of Seiros, which hosts the prestigious Officer’s Academy within its headquarters. You are invited to teach one of its three mighty houses, each comprised of students brimming with personality and represented by a royal from one of three territories. As their professor, you must lead your students in their academic lives and in turn-based, tactical RPG battles wrought with strategic, new twists to overcome. Which house, and which path, will you choose?”

Currently playing this one and I’m so addicted! This one is slightly outside of my usual taste but it has made me interested in playing more games like it. The player controls Byleth (you can rename them if you wish), who becomes a professor of combat and battle tactics despite their young age at a monastery and finds themself in charge of a house of students. Battles are tactics and strategy based and classes are highly customizable. I sunk like 30 hours into this game in the last three days. I won’t say more about the plot to avoid spoilers, but it’s been a ton of fun and also has slow burn romance

Spiders:

Greedfall (2019)

This game destroyed my soul in the best way and when I finished it I immediately started a new game to play it again. You play as Lady or Lord De Sardet, Legate of the Congregation of Merchants and effectively the right hand of your cousin, who has been appointed governor of your new colony on the island. While I enjoy the combat in this game, which allows you the choice between one handed, two handed, magic, and pistols or rifles (save that ammo for when you really need it!), this game focuses heavily on diplomacy and relations. Be careful what information you give to whom and how you treat every decision. The enemies you make early on might be people you need on your side later. I also love that choices aren’t always clearly right or wrong, and often are more complicated than they first appear. Even the best intentions can sometimes go awry.

Ubisoft:

Assassin’s Creed, Syndicate (2015)

“London, 1868. In the heart of the Industrial Revolution, lead your underworld organization and grow your influence to fight those who exploit the less privileged in the name of progress”

Another one that I’ll admit, I haven’t finished, and is definitely the odd one out on the list because it’s set in Victorian England, but I was having fun with what I had played so far before Greedfall distracted me. In this game, you alternate between controlling twins Jacob and Evie Frye as you explore and liberate London while meeting famous historical figures and running a gang on the side.

Assassin’s Creed, Origins (2017)

“Ancient Egypt, a land of majesty and intrigue, is disappearing in a ruthless fight for power. Unveil dark secrets and forgotten myths as you go back to the one founding moment: The Origins of the Assassin’s Brotherhood.”

In the spirit of honesty, I haven’t started this one yet, but I am so confident that I’m gonna love it when I do that it’s here anyway. I’ve purchased it, and will get to it soon, I swear! In the meantime, I wanted to put it here because I’m confident some of you will enjoy it. Will come back with a review once I know more.

Assassin’s Creed, Odyssey (2018)

“Write your own epic odyssey and become a legendary Spartan hero in Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey, an inspiring adventure where you must forge your destiny and define your own path in a world on the brink of tearing itself apart. Influence how history unfolds as you experience a rich and ever-changing world shaped by your decisions.”

Y’all this game owned my soul for a while. I’ve sunk so many hours into it. You have a choice to play as either Kassandra or Alexios and navigate the wonders of Ancient Greece. The world is stunning, the choices are important, and this game took a big step for the assassins creed series in becoming a true RPG. I can’t recommend this one enough, you should absolutely go for it!

Assassin’s Creed, Valhalla (2020)

“Become Eivor, a legendary Viking warrior. Explore England's Dark Ages as you raid your enemies, grow your settlement, and build your political power in the quest to earn a place among the gods in Valhalla.”

This game is brand new, hot off the press, and has already been a massive hit. I have only JUST started playing it and am about an hour in, but so far so good! It’s here on my recommendations list because of its wild popularity and because I’ve already enjoyed other games in this series, so I feel confident that some of my fellow dragon age fans will enjoy it. Will update again once I get further in.

Other games on my To Be Played list (otherwise known as things I don’t want to recommend because I know almost nothing about them but will update here after I know more)

-Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2

-Horizon Zero Dawn

-Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag

-Fable 1 and 2

-Kingdoms of Amalur

-Breath of the Wild

-Crimson Desert (not out yet but I’m intrigued)

[zechleton]

Ranting and Raving About Magic in 2022

I haven’t written about Magic in ages, so what better way could there be to get back into the habit that a stream of consciousness spiel about the 2022 announcement?

Strap in, folks, because this is going to be long and poorly edited.

Actually, it’s not that long, about 1500 words. It might feel longer, though.

Neo-Tokyo or something idk

As one of the five people on r/magictcg that didn’t want to return to Kamigawa in standard set, I have to admit this one looks surprisingly awesome. The couple of pieces of art Wizard shared looked fantastic, as usual, and I’m a sucker for that blue/pink colour scheme. I’m not a huge fan of time travel as a story telling device but since the Magic story has always served the card game, using tropes I don’t enjoy is far from a deal-breaker. Yeah – I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

Someone Made Elspeth an Offer she Couldn’t Refuse

Obviously, we know much less about this set. Still, it sounds right up my alley. I’m curious how Wizards is going to make Magic meets The Godfather work, but the good kind of curious. On top of that, I’d really like to have some more shard-based commanders on Arena for Brawl, and I assume we’re the “three-colour demon crime families” isn’t referring to clans (triome?) again after leaving Ikoria behind. Also, come on, how can you not love the sound of demon crime families?

Glory, Glory, Dom United!

There is a part of me that gets nervous about nebulous concepts like design space whenever we go back to an old plane again. All these crossovers (more on those later) take on a different appearance when viewed through an “are they running out of ideas” lens. Still, Dominaria was fantastic, by far the best “return to” set – though I’m hoping Innistrad claims that throne in a few weeks. With that in mind, I’m expecting Wizards to knock it out of the park with DU, just like they did with Dominaria.

The Nostalgia Wars

I might scoff somewhat at Magic’s storyline sometimes, but I’ve read the stuff that people think is good. I own both collections of the Artifacts Cycle. They all pale in comparison to good fantasy, but they’re not bad, and they hold a special place in my heart from when I was more invested in stuff like lore and story. The point of that ramble? 2022, more than ever, is Wizards’ mining the seemingly neverending mineral that is nerd nostalgia. It further adds to my “are they running out of ideas” worry, but I can’t say the nostalgia hit/psychological manipulation isn’t working on me. Hell, Return to Return to Innistrad has me more excited than any set for a couple of years now so I guess I’m part of the problem.

Uncaring

The phrase “not for you” is thrown around distrubingly often in Magic circles nowadays. Unfinity, however, is decidedly not for me. And that’s fine.

Dungeons And Dragons Battle for Baldur’s Gate Commander Legends I Think That’s The Whole Title But Maybe I Missed a bit I’m not Sure

Yikes, what a mouthful. I hate the title, both its length and unwieldiness. I don’t really have much interest in the set either. Commander Legends was a neat idea with a lot of flaws. Adding crossover flavour from another IP I have little-to-no interest in isn’t helping matters, though I appreciate that Adventures in the Forgotten Realms was super popular. For me, AFR was pretty much just a core set without any of the usual references to sets I do know and care about. Another “not for me” release.

Double Trouble

Hmm. I’m torn here. As a primarily limited-focused player, Masters sets have been some of my favourites ever. Original Modern Masters is still one of my in my top five sets of all time, and I have fond memories of almost all of the others, too.

Original Double Masters, though, was a victim of apathy brought on by the never-ending deluge of Magic product being released nowadays. I have never even seen a booster of this product, much less opened one. Without looking it up, I can’t even tell you if it was hurt by the pandemic or not, because there’s just way too much fucking stuff nowadays. I don’t know what else to say.

Oh, hang on. Was this the set with a $100 VIP Booster? Hahaha, fuck off.

Jump Around

The original Jumpstart was surprisingly enjoyable on Arena. I never wanted to play it more than a few times, and sometimes you got packs that relied entirely on your opponent getting mana screwed, but those few times I played it were pretty fun. I think putting stuff like obvious eternal format staples like Alosaurus Shepherd in a set like this is some extremely anti-consumer bullshit, but as a play experience it was an interesting mesh of draft and sealed. Not as much fun as either of those, but close enough that the novelty carried it into the “pretty fun, actually” camp. I expect more of the same – I’ll probably do a few runs if I have gems or gold spare.

Universes Beyond: Warhammer 40K Commander et al

Really, this is the bit about all the crossover stuff.

Another vomit inducing title and one that has left me with some introspection to do. Like many people, I find a lot of this crossover stuff distasteful, but I can’t really say why. The fact that the Street Fighter one – an IP I have some amount of investment in – seems less egregious than Warhammer of D&D makes me think that I don’t necessarily object to crossovers on principal. Does my dislike come from the fact that, so far, all of the other crossovers don’t involve properties I care about? Maybe. Even the mechanically unique line of text that pissed off so many people when the Walking Dead set came out doesn’t bother me that much, because Commander is a format I can take or leave.

The Fortnite one rubs me a different wrong way, though. Partly, it’s the sheer fucking inevitability of it all. Of course a popular part of the nerd sphere will have a crossover with Fortnite because that’s just the world in which we live. Partly it makes me feel old, uncool, and excluded, like all the other crossovers I don’t care about, sure. But there’s something more visceral about Fortnite. It’s fucking everywhere and I resent feeling like I have to have an opinion about it. Still, I don’t really have strong opinions about most of the other crossovers, so why this one? I really don’t know. Maybe this is one “this isn’t for you” too many from a game that has been part of my life for over 20 years.

I haven’t bought a single Secret Lair, but I’m generally willing to accept that they’re a bonus product that isn’t needed by anyone but is wanted by some. Hell, if they put out Secret Lair: Snapcaster Mage with good art (at last), I could probably te tempted into picking one up. It would be against my better judgement, though. Something about all these “not necessary but also don’t miss out, aren’t they cool, spend more money please” products rubs me the wrong way. Playing Magic and hating capitalism are difficult interests to reconcile. That’s it. That’s the tagline for this article.

Oh, right, it’s just a blog. Never mind.

Oh, God. The Fornite Secret Lair is going to be the Snapcaster Mage one, isn’t it?

Then there’s Lord of The Rings. My pal Kristen will be thrilled about this, was my first thought. I’m less enthusiastic (shocker, right?), but at least LOTR makes sense as a thing to crossover with. I mean, apart from the obvious business sense. It doesn’t have any guns and it isn’t an obnoxiously ubiquitous battle royale FPS, so that already puts it ahead of two of the other three crossovers. Indeed, without LOTR, you can make a reasonable case that MTG would never exist in the first place. Personally, I view LOTR in the same way I view The Beatles – they were important, and worthy of respect, but have been surpassed in every way since.

And the movies are better than the books. There I said it.

Regardless, this one is fine, actually. I still don’t particularly care for crossovers in general, especially as the setting for a standard set, but at least it makes sense this time.

Shut up Already

Alright, I hear you. I know a lot of that was negative towards the end, but I want to reiterate that a lot of the stuff happening in standard sets next year is really exciting, if a little unoriginal. The crossover/sellout stuff and the interminable deluge of FOMO-driven products is worrying and disappointing, but I guess we just have to try and ignore the ever-increasing number of “not for you” products and focus on the stuff we do like. Seriously, Neon Destiny looks amazing, and I don’t even like anime.

[rist-ix]

The prophecy arc in sparked was cause for some controversy, so I’ll do my best to clean this up here. Spoiler warning obviously for the finale.

First, the cut together prophecy so y'all don't have to look for it:

-

At last, King Oritel's trusted advisor, Hagen the Blacksmith, has returned from his quest to the gate of the stars. The witches may have destroyed the grand lenses, but the astronomers' records have survived. And from beyond the grave, they bless us with their knowledge.

The witches’ power can be broken, they foretell us, by a company of six warriors, fighting for the light beyond these times of darkness. It is the sliver of hope the King and Queen have longed for. There is no doubt now that the Company of Light will be victorious, with such obvious signs from the Stars. 

What will become of Valtor, one might wonder, their most trusted weapon, once the witches are defeated? The astronomers’ studies have concluded that he can, in fact, exist outside of them. For the Flame is eternal, and even its stolen, corrupted sparks can never be extinguished. And the witches cannot command him through the veil of death. Surely, their spawn will rain new, unforeseen kinds of terror upon us all, in vengeance for his creators.

But the stars favor Domino once more. And so the late astronomers have given us one final prophecy.

Valtor will die.

Our recent failures to kill him have a simple, obvious reason: none of us are chosen. Only a true wielder of the Dragon's power could hope to destroy Valtor, fire against fire. And the astronomers have divined the time of his demise as well:

When the witches are torn from this world, at last, the power of the Dragon Fire will burn across dimensions in a glory once thought lost. Its faithful guardian will destroy the last traces of the Ancestresses, and slay the demonic beast they call their child. Our brave, beloved princess shall claim its spark as her trophy, and its body will rest in forgotten catacombs, deep beneath the earth. 

-

Everything that was written in the chronicle deserves to be treated with a grain of salt, last but not least because it was written by an unreliable narrator: Lord Bartelby. I have no idea what his canon personality is like, but in my fic he's this zealous royalist (and somewhat nationalist) dragon flame stan. Most of the entry in the chronicle are his own words, the actual prophecy is rather short. I've marked it in purple above.

The second point that should have tipped Valtor off was the fact that the predictions, and especially Bartelby's interpretation, were already proven flawed:

He assumed Domino was going to go into a new golden age, and instead it was completely destroyed.

He assumed Daphne would be the one the stars referred to, but she was killed just four weeks later.

He assumed the company of light would be victorious, but half of them are either dead or in exile after the fall of Domino.

Valtor knows all this, but because he's a firm believer in destiny and the stars, and also emotionally impacted, he doesn’t pick up on these red flags. And since he's your POV character, neither did most of you!

(Gotcha!)

Let's cut out Bartelby's fangirling over Daphne and the rest of his speech, and look at the prophecy itself.

The witches power can be broken, by a company of six warriors, fighting for the light beyond these times of darkness.

This, on first glance to them, is referring to the company of light. (Duh.) Six people who fight for the light beyond the darkness, aka a better future, yadda yadda. And it’s not incorrect: the company of light did indeed defeat the witches, which lead to them being banished to obsidian.

But it’s not the only interpretation. Those who have watched the movie, or — like me — binged the wiki entries instead, will know that the Winx are dubbed the new company of light by the end. The witches weren’t really defeated by their predecessors after all, only their power was broken. The real defeating will be done by the Winx (conveniently also a group of six ppl) over the course of two movies.

Knowing this, the part “fighting for the light beyond these times of darkness” takes on a new meaning. It’s not “fighting for the light at the end of the tunnel” anymore, but “fighting for good, but long after these current dark times” aka 20 years later. 

So Bartelby got the timing wrong, in his interpretation.

Another thing he got wrong? Thinking the second part of the prophecy meant Valtor would die. Because it’s never this explicitly stated. If you pay attention to the writing style, you can kinda tell which parts are the original, translated predictions, and which parts are his interpretation. “Valtor will die” doesn’t fit with the flowery rest of the prophecy, it’s safe to assume Bartelby just skipped ahead to the point with that line.

The only actual quote from the astronomers in that entire paragraph is this:

When the witches are torn from this world, at last, the power of the Dragon Fire will burn across dimensions in a glory once thought lost. Its faithful guardian will destroy the last traces of the Ancestresses, and slay the demonic beast they call their child. Our brave, beloved princess shall claim its spark as her trophy, and its body will rest in forgotten catacombs, deep beneath the earth. 

We have in part 1:

the witches are torn from this world (dead/trapped in obsidian)

Dimension-crossing dragon fire (Bloom being send to earth and returning to Magix (bringing the “glory thought lost” — the royal family was assumed extinct, after all)

Then, in part two:

destroying the ancestresses traces

Slaying their demonic beast child 

And this is where Bartelby's, and by extension Valtor's big mistake is! They assume the guardian fairy would destroy the witches “last traces” by killing Valtor. But the two points are not necessarily related. 

Bloom does destroy the witches' traces, but she does so by eradicating their power over Valtor. And she certainly slays his demonic form, in a way. It vanishes almost instantly, probably never to be seen again.

(And what happens *ahem* after counts as slaying too, in my book. Girl is gonna give him a heart attack one of these days)

If you want to be petty, you can argue that she does actually kill a demonic child of the witches later on - Mandragora, a character from the movie. That's Close Enough for the stars.

A big reason for Valtor and Bartelby interpreting this part as Valtor's death is the wording of the next sentence.

The Princess will claim Valtor’s spark of dragon fire (aka his life force, aka his heart)

His body will rest in underground catacombs, IMPLYING that he will be buried there and forgotten

And well. All this does happen, doesn’t it? She officially wins Valtor's heart and love for herself, and together, they find some well deserved rest in the catacombs. In other words, they Take A Nap. 

Eat THIS Bartelby.

[expensiveglasses]

Charming chapter 6

Summary: Prince Jungkook was as infuriating as he was beautiful. In line to one day be king, he requested your guidance in the ways of his people. In turn he will make you laugh, give your family fine gifts, and become an invaluable friend. Unfortunately, he will also make you fall in love with him. But the most unfortunate thing of all was his betrothal…to Snow White

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Fantasy, Angst, Snow white/au

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: 4590

Warnings: This is the chapter the warnings have been about. It’s a heavier chapter in the second half dealing with “death” and attempted suicide. Nothing is graphically described, but if you are sensitive to that subject matter, you may want to avoid the last few paragraphs.  

Trigger warnings are TW: Major character “death” TW: Thoughts of suicide TW: Attempted suicide.  

. .

A month had passed since Else’s wedding and the summer was slowly coming to an end. It made it easier to do chores when the air was cooler; more pleasant to sit outside and do the washing. Though you’d mostly neglected that for the last few weeks.

You hadn’t seen your friend as much since her marriage and so you’d spent even more time with the dwarfs and Snow in their cottage. The prince joined most nights, bringing food and humor with him. You’d quickly learned he was a master of terrible jokes and couldn’t help but like him all the more for it.

This morning your mother had sent you in search of berries. She claimed to want to make preserves, but you were wise enough to know she just wanted to go see a friend and gossip. You didn’t mind so much as you chose to dawdle around the edge of the forest, plucking blueberries from bushes and placing them in your basket.

You saw the prince making his way towards you long before he reached you. The sight of him made your insides feel funny, like little wings sweeping delicately against your ribcage and you bent down to survey a raspberry bush, plucking eagerly at the juicy red fruit.

“Good morning.” The prince greeted as he reached your side and you stood straight to gaze up at him.

“Good morning, Jungkook. You’re out very early today; normally I don’t see you until evening.”

“I finished my lessons early today.” He grinned, something mischievous in his twinkling eyes, and you felt that perhaps he’d snuck out before actually finishing his training.

“I hope you won’t get a tongue lashing for this.” You teased, moving further up the path towards a strawberry bush and plucking one to try. “Mmm, they’re amazing right now. Would you like to try one?”

You moved to take another bite of yours, but the prince was faster, grabbing your wrist and pulling the berry towards his mouth, allowing plump lips to encircle the rest of the berry and separate it from its calyx.

For a moment, everything stilled, your heart thumping wildly in your chest as his fingers remained delicately around your wrist. His gaze was wild; heated on yours as he stepped towards you. Heart racing, you let the end of the strawberry fall from your finger tips and onto the ground.

“Sweet.” He murmured, licking the juice from the corner of his mouth and your vision was pulled toward the sight before you quickly looked away.

The prince paused before stepping back, staring down at the strawberry bush and into your own basket. “You’re picking berries this morning? May I help?”

“Yes, of course.” You nodded, turning back to the strawberry bush and plucking fresh fruit to drop into your basket. “There’s more in the forest.” You signaled, beginning to walk and he followed after you.

“What were you studying today?” You asked as you began to pick from new bushes. Jungkook stood nearby, loading his hand with blueberries.

“Foreign politics and language specifically. These are topics that I studied in school as well, but my father wants me polished in the policies of our own kingdom, of course.”

“Are foreign policies of other lands so different from our own?” You asked, walking closer to him so he could drop the berries in his hands into your basket.

“It depends on the country.” He mused, crouching low to pick from more difficult spots. “The ones nearby are very similar, but across waters it begins to diversify greatly. Of course, all people are human at their core, intrinsically the same if we’re all torn down to the beginnings, but traditions and belief systems vary. It’s good to have a working knowledge of any land we may come to have dealings with.”

“Ah, the duties of a king.” You smiled softly as he stood to his full height beside you. The prince drifted closer to you as you weaved your way deeper into the forest. Close enough that you could feel the graze of his sleeve against yours, smell the fresh saffron against his tunic.

“Duty, I find, is a very inconvenient thing.” He looked at you and you pondered his words curiously.

“What do you mean?” You inquired gently, slowing your pace to match his.

“Always to be bound to one’s duty, never to allow the heart to decide.”

You paused a moment. “And what does the heart wish for?” You whispered, looking up at him. He’d come to a stop and you stilled as well, turning to face him.

“I think you know.” He returned just as softly. The weight of his words was heavy to bear; it brought with it a joy you’d felt was impossible. You had hoped he would say something like that; that he’d been feeling what you were feeling. You were flush with warmth at the admission. 

“But your heart cannot have its desires?”

He smiled sadly, eyes softening as he looked at you. “Duty, you see. It seems it bends for no one.”

“I wish it would.” You admit timidly and he sighed, taking your hand carefully in his own.

“As do I.”

“Snow says we mustn’t worry now, after all, the future continues and we do not know what it holds.” You smiled, feigning an optimism you didn’t really feel. If even a prince could not choose for himself, why should you feel things could be any different for you?

At least you knew you weren’t the only one wishing.

“Should we go see her?” Jungkook smiled and you nodded. He released your hand and you strode ahead of him, leading him further into the forest and eventually into the clearing that held the dwarf’s cottage.

Snow was not alone when you arrived; however, and the two of you stood startled in the doorway as you took notice of her with a young man by the hearth of the fire. They looked up at the two of you as the door swung open and Snow smiled, coming to pull you into a hug.

“You’ve come!” She cried happily. “I was so hoping you would. I wanted to introduce you both to my friend, Diterich. He’s the one I told you of, who saved me.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, your majesty.” Diterich said, bowing low. “Ma’am.” He said, inclining his head towards you and you smiled in return.

He was a handsome young man, dark, shaggy blonde hair and bright green eyes. He was well built and had a bow strapped to his back; you wondered if that was his profession. He was certainly not close to Snow in rank, but he held himself as though he were made for something more than his station in life and you liked that quiet confidence. You supposed Snow did too, based on the way she looked at him.

Love sick. It made your heart ache for her and you looked carefully over at Jungkook. Destiny had not been kind to any of you.

“I’ve heard of your kindness to my friend.” Jungkook said, “When everything is well again, you should be rewarded.”

Diterich shook his head, staring down at Snow, the same look of love she’d bestowed on him, and smiled. “With all due respect, your majesty, I didn’t do it for reward.”

“I like you all the better for it.” Jungkook smiled. “How did you come to find her, though?”

“Snow sent me a communication through letter. One of the dwarfs found me in Snow’s kingdom, at her direction, and delivered it personally. I am indebted to him. It has given me much comfort to see her safe and well. I am only sorry I could not bring her some of her clothes.”

Snow waved his comment away. “It is a small inconvenience. Besides, I am far happier to have your company than to have all my dresses back. All three of you. Will you be staying for supper?”

She looked to both Jungkook and yourself and you smiled with a shrug. “It’s still so early in the day so it’s hard to say, but I imagine I’ll be able to spare some time this evening.”

“I should hope so! By the way, did you happen to notice if there are any gooseberry bushes nearby? I want to make a pie tomorrow.”

You nodded, pointing out the window. “Yes, in fact, there are some just before the tree line. Over there.”

“Wonderful!” Snow cried, clapping her hands together. “Then tomorrow you can expect some pie.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” You said.

“Snow has said you’ve been friends since childhood.” Jungkook said suddenly, “but I never did ask how the two of you had met.”

He inspected them with the same interest you had and you wondered if he could see what you could. The prince was intelligent, so you imagined the shared looks of longing had not been missed. Diterich looked to Snow before answering.

“We met as children. My father was a huntsman in their court and I was raised to take his place. As children, we would play in the castle together. We got into trouble a lot,” he grinned, “a princess wasn’t meant to be wrestling with a common boy. Kindred spirits, my mother would say. When my father passed, I took his place as a huntsman in the royal court. Youngest in Vildüngan history.”

His chest puffed as he said it and you smiled. “Your family must be very proud.”

He nodded, expression dropping suddenly. “My mother and sister are all I have left. They’re in hiding, though. As am I. The queen found out about the pig’s heart and ordered my head. It’s why I came here; to warn Snow.”

You looked to the princess in alarm, but she smiled at you with all the serenity of one whose life isn’t in perpetual danger. “She doesn’t know I’m here.” Snow assured, squeezing your arm. “All is well.”

“We need to start thinking of ways to get you back to your kingdom. You’re its rightful heir!” Jungkook insisted and she tutted, moving away from the hearth of the fire and towards the kitchen to keep her hands busy.

“It will all work out somehow, I have faith.” She replied flippantly and Jungkook looked angry.

“Why won’t you take this seriously?” He chastised. “She wants you dead and is actively seeking your heart. Let my father help, we can do something; go against her.”

“No.” She insisted, turning sharply to look at him. “I don’t want anyone else to be pulled into this. No one need inconvenience or injure themselves on my behalf. I’m already uneasy with how many people are involved; how many lives are directly affected because of this…I won’t have anymore.”

“But,” Jungkook began once more but was silenced as she frowned at him.

“I said no, Jungkook.”

The prince sighed, rubbing at his forehead in frustration. “Fine, I can’t make you take your safety more seriously. I must return home.” He bowed before turning towards the door and you looked from Snow back to Jungkook before following him out into the clearing, basket full of berries swinging from your arm.

“Jungkook!” You called, rushing to his side. He didn’t slow so you walked with him through the forest in silence. Just as the trees were thinning, Jungkook slowed his pace, sighing loudly.

“I’m afraid I won’t be seeing you again until the day after next.” At your questioning look, he proceeded. “My father and I are expecting foreign dignitaries this evening and we will play host until tomorrow evening as well. I won’t have time to spare while they’re here.”

“Duty, as you say.” You smiled. He returned your soft smile, nodding and reaching for your hand.

“I will be seeing you.” He said, leaving a soft kiss on the back of your hand before making his way back up to the castle. . .

Your mother was in the garden when you returned, cutting cucumbers from their stalks. She looked up as you came through the gate, waving you over.

“Why did it take so long to pick berries?” Your mother asked with a frown, taking the basket from your arms.

“I went to say hello to the dwarfs while I was in the area.”  You said, bending down beside her and helping to dig up carrots at her direction.

“You’re there too often these days; what business does a young woman have visiting 7 old men so often? Aren’t they in the mines at this time of day anyway?”

You sighed, brushing hair from your face as you dropped a couple carrots into the basket beside your mother. “Well, now that Else is married I don’t always have anyone to visit.”

Your mother frowned. “Perhaps you should think of getting married soon.” She said and you looked up at her startled.

“Get married? It’s not that easy, mother. I’m not even being courted.”

She gave you a look, eyes shifting over to the house. “If you gave a little more effort where prudent, perhaps that wouldn’t be a problem.”

You sighed, shaking your head and pulling another carrot from the dirt. “I’m not in love with Peter.” You whispered.

Your mother laughed, wiping her hands on her skirt. “Love? We don’t have that luxury, my dear. You know that.” She stood, hands extended for the basket full of vegetables and you handed it up to her before standing and grabbing your own basket with berries. “I expect you here all day tomorrow. You’ve been neglecting your duties and it’s time you start preparing to run a house of your own. Time waits for no one, you know.”

She walked into the house and you watched after her, chewing on your bottom lip as you willed the tears of frustration back. You wiped your hands on the apron over your dress before walking into the house and out of the sun.

Peter and your father were in the corner, both working with new fabrics. Peter looked up at you, offering you a small smile before returning to his work and you sighed softly to yourself. Why couldn’t you just love him? . .

Your hands were sore. You’d been at the river all morning with your mother washing linen. It had been your job to beat the linen with a poss-stick as your mother insisted that’s what youth was for. You wondered if you’d ever be able to move again. What good was youth if it was wasted away on chores?

Hands feeling like they might just fall off, you wrung out the last of the fabrics before dropping it in your basket and heaving this onto your hip. Your mother chatted aimlessly as you walked from the riverside and around the edge of the forest towards your home.

You cast your eyes up towards the castle as it came into view around the bend of the trees and wondered idly what Jungkook was doing today. You knew he was entertaining foreign dignitaries, of course, but you couldn’t even imagine what that entailed. Perhaps they were holed up in some room discussing trade.

“Can you imagine living there?” Your mother asked, taking note of your gaze. You sighed, looking from her and back to the castle.

“Only in our dreams, mother.”

She hummed, shifting her own laundry basket in her arms. “If we lived in a place like that, I imagine we could have someone else tend to our washing. Our cooking, too. What must their food be like, hmm?”

You chuckled, kicking a pebble across the dirt path. “I suppose we’ll never know. Grand, I imagine, though. Warm potatoes and bread, sweet dessert’s whenever we ask for them. I would eat everything and die happy if I were them.”

“Thanks to the prince, we can have some share in their prosperity.” Your mother commented and you could see her looking at you from the corner of her eye. “He’s been very generous, as of late.”

You nodded; eyes trained on the dirt path beneath your feet. “Yes, he has been very kind.”

“He was never so kind when he was a boy. I wonder at the change.” She remarked and you wondered if she suspected more than she let on. She’d never seen the two of you together; aside from when he and his father had visited your home a few months ago.

“Perhaps he had a very good education.” You said as the roof of your home came into view. “Rumor has it he went to a school for training.”

“Rumor, you say?” She asked and you nodded, pushing through the gate in front of your house.

Conversation stopped then as the two of you went about hanging the laundry from the lines and working in the garden. Peter and your father were working on mending clothing in the home, so you didn’t feel like discussing the king and his son in their presence. It seemed your mother was also of the same mind set.

As the sun waned and the evening became cooler, Peter left your home with goodbyes and well wishes. You were only just finishing supper when the wind outside began to howl. Your father peaked his head outside the door and you watched as you ladled stew into bowls.

“A storm is approaching.” He commented softly. “I must make sure the animals are secured.” He left the home to the small stable behind your house and you listened as the wind whistled loudly from outside the walls.

“We’ve not had rain in a while.” Your mother said, helping you to bring the food to the small table. “It will be good for the crops.”

The storm raged loudly through the night, rain pounding against the timber frame of your home. It was difficult to sleep with all the noise; thunder and lightning bursting loudly across the sky. You could hear your father snoring from the small room next to yours and it soon lulled you into a fitful sleep. . .

Mornings after a storm were your favorite. The calm as opposition to the fierce raging of wind the night before a reminder that brighter days always followed the rain. You’d managed to convince your mother to allow you to check on the dwarfs this morning. You imagined they were mostly protected from the elements in their place among the trees. Even so.

After a quick breakfast of pottage, you dressed and made your way towards the forest. The sun was already sitting comfortably in the sky, illuminating the crystal blue sky and you listened happily to the sounds of birds singing as you walked through the fields.

You found, to your surprise, the prince already waiting by the forests edge. He sat upon a boulder; legs draped out in front of him as he pulled blades of grass apart as distraction. He looked up as your footsteps roused his attention, smile spreading across his lips.

“Y/N.” He beamed, standing and coming to meet you.

“I’m surprised to see you so early!” You exclaimed. “Won’t your father be missing you?”

“Actually, he and our guests drank well into the evening. They will be spending the next few hours recovering in bed.” He said with a roguish grin and you chuckled, making your way into the forest.

The prince followed quickly. “Did you not drink yourself, your majesty?” You teased and he smiled at you.

“I did, but only a little. I knew I wanted to use the opportunity to see you.”

You looked away with a small chuckle, smoothing hair away from your face.

“Well, here I am.” You smiled. Before you could continue, there was a heavy rustling in the trees and both you and Jungkook stopped, watching with unease as something came crashing through the branches.

To your surprise; it was the dwarfs who came rushing into sight and they stopped suddenly, panting before you.

“Y/N, your majesty!” Doc gasped, clutching at his rounded belly as he took deep steadying breaths. The panic in his tone was palpable and your back straightened in alarm.

“What’s wrong?” You asked. Jungkook seemed just as tense from their unusual greeting and you waited with baited breath for your friends to continue.

“It’s Snow.” Doc finally said and your alarm rose.

“What of her?” The prince asked sharply and all eyes turned to him. The dwarfs were still breathing heavily from their run; disrupting the usual quiet of the forest.

“Your majesty!” Sleepy blubbered, hardly able to contain himself. “Snow has died.”

“What?!” You gasped, eyes swiveling desperately to each face, each as stricken as the next.

“How?!” The prince demanded and Doc was quick to try and calm the atmosphere.

“She has not died.” He pacified. Your chest was so tight you thought it might burst. How could someone possibly die and not die all at the same time? “She’s been put under a spell; a sleeping spell.”

“I don’t understand.” Jungkook said tersely. You’d never seen him look so distraught.

“Allow me to explain.” Doc continued, “An old hag came to the cottage when we were away. She had a basket of apples. I’m unsure how, but Snow came to acquire one.”

“It was poisoned and that foolish girl took a bite.” Grumpy cried furiously.

Doc tried once more to continue, but Happy spoke first. “We chased the hag, but it was difficult in the storm. Chased her up the mountain but she slipped and fell off. It was the queen, your majesty. It was her stepmother.”

“Did you capture her?” Jungkook asked angrily, back ramrod straight as he paced back and forth. “Did you tie her up to be tried for her crimes?”

“No need,” Bashful said, shaking his head. “The queen is dead. She died from the fall.”

“What of Snow?” You rasped, “where is she?”

“That’s why we were coming for you, your majesty.” Doc said once again. “It was old magic the queen used; ancient. Unless she can find true loves kiss, she’ll remain asleep forever. We can take you to her.”

“True loves kiss?” Jungkook asked, voice cracking in his grief.

The dwarfs nodded. “It’s the only cure.” Sneezy bemoaned. “That’s why we came to find you, your majesty.”

“Me?” Jungkook asked, looking to you and back to the dwarfs.

They looked to you; gazes filled with pity before Doc spoke once more. “You are her betrothed, your majesty. If not you, then who?”

The pain in your chest was severe. Fracturing from the loss of a friend; ripping apart as the prospect of losing the one man you truly loved loomed like a shadow over you.

“What do I have to do?” He whispered and you looked up at him.

“True loves kiss.” Dopey murmured, eyes shifting over to you sadly and then back to the prince.

It was silent for what felt like eternity, the gravity of the situation sinking in and you felt buried under the weight of it; the forest floor waiting to accept you. The prince looked to you, tears already in his eyes, but your own vision of him quickly blurred.

“I have to try.” Jungkook choked and you could feel your heart break a little more, “she’s one of my closest friends. I can’t sit back and do nothing; I couldn’t live with myself. I have to try.”

“I understand.” You murmured. “What if you’re able to wake her?”

Jungkook paused, his eyelashes fluttering closed, a line drawing between his eyes. “Let’s not think about it right now. I have to go.” He gave you one last glance before darting further into the forest with the dwarfs and out of sight. Was it possible to die from a broken heart? You were sure the question had been asked before…you were also sure the answer was yes. Your heart ached in a way you’d never imagined it could.

The love of your life was running to the side of another woman, and though you knew his reasoning was righteous and sound, you ached for the inevitable outcome. A prince was meant to be with a princess. This was no fairy tale, not for you, at least. You can’t always have what you want.

But as you stood there in the grass, surrounded by your broken dreams, you mourned what you could never have had. Even if Snow had not eaten the apple, even had she not been born at all, you would never have been given your heart’s desire; your class was decided before you were born and you would do well to remember it.

When Snow awoke, as she inevitably would, you would be left to watch them marry. Worse still, your father would likely be commissioned to make Jungkook’s wedding clothes and you would be expected to help. That was a bitter truth you could not swallow. To carry the wedding clothing of the man you were desperately in love with…only for him to wear them with someone else.  

You could not do it.

Your feet began to take you before your mind could catch up. The dwarves’ home, tucked delicately between the trees and the stream. The lighting surrounding the cottage was dim despite the morning hour, the house dark in the absence of the once warm lighting; filled with the dwarfs and Snow’s laughter and song.

Now it felt as empty as your heart. The evening turned chilly, the storm from yesterday taking with it the sun from the late summer and you shivered at the thresh hold, lifting your hand carefully to push against the door.

With a soft creak, the door swung open and you glanced inside. In their haste, everything had been left exactly as it was. An uncooked gooseberry pie sat on the counter top, flour strewn across. The fire in the fire place had long gone out. And there, by the table, an apple with one bite.

You stood in the door way a moment, staring down at the beautiful red skin of the nearly pristine apple. Contemplating. You could not bear to face a future without him in it.

With three quick strides, you picked up the apple and ran from the house, seeking out the privacy the trees afforded you. Not far from the home, in a particularly dense part of the forest, you stood staring down at the beautiful, red fruit.

A choice, so simple yet so difficult. One bite; you knew that’s all it would take…but was it really worth it? The light was fading fast this deep in the forest and you shivered, looking around in the darkness.

You thought of Jungkook again, of his handsome, smiling face. His kind and gentle heart, his loyalty and good nature. Was he with Snow White now? Had she already woken up? He was no longer your Jungkook; forever the kingdoms Jungkook and your heart wept.

You wouldn’t even be missed.

Staring down at the apple you closed your eyes, breathing slowly out of your nose before bringing it to your lips and taking a bite. It was bitter, acidic, and it burned. You coughed, dropping the apple to the ground and fell to your knees, spluttering, eyes watering as your tongue swelled and you felt your blood turn to ice in your veins.

Everything hurt, your limbs felt like they were made of fire, burning, burning, burning and then black.

.

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Here’s the second to last chapter! The 7th is already finished and in editing. I hope you loved this chapter as much as I loved writing it and I can’t wait to hear from you! <3

Next

Previous

Copyright © 2019 by Taeken-My-Heart. All rights reserved.

[fan-fantasies]

Weakness

A/N: hey guys! I hope you like this piece for Sigtryggr! There will be some spoilers for season 4 so don’t read if you haven’t seen past like episode 5 or 6. Destiny is all! -Heather

Summary: you’ve had a secret relationship with Sigtryggr for a while but the feeling of being hidden starts to eat away at you. Plus, you have a big secret you’ve been meaning to tell him. But what happens when you hear him saying that a wife and kids makes a man weak? Will there be hope for your relationship or will victory always come first?

Pairing: Sigtryggr x Reader

Warnings: mentions of death, pregnancy, general angst

Masterlist

Part Two

You sat in the young queen’s chamber in the palace at Winchester. You thumbed through the luxurious clothes and jewels that she had collected. The halls outside the door were quiet but you knew that wasn’t going to last.

You jumped as the door opened revealing Sigtryggr. He closed the door behind him and flashed you a sweet smile.

“I thought I might find you here, hidden away from the celebrations,” he said. He sat next to you on the bed and took your hand in his.

“I’ve had my fill of ale for a while. I’m just waiting for the Saxons to come and reclaim their fallen kingdom,” you admitted. He gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. 

“And when they come, we will talk. I wish for no more bloodshed than has already occurred. If they want to fight, then we will fight, but I’m hoping it will not come to that.” 

“But what if-” 

“There’s nothing to worry about, my love. No harm will come to you,” he said. 

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” you whispered. He placed a sweet kiss on your forehead and sighed. 

“You know that this life is not guaranteed. Death can take us at any moment. Try not to worry about something you cannot control. The Gods will not lead us astray,” he told you. You conceded with a nod and a sad smile. 

The thought of losing him was always too much to bare but loving him was worth every moment of anxiety. No one knew that the two of you were together for your safety, or so he claimed. You had picked him up after his defeat in Ireland and helped him come to a new land and find wealth. You knew that other Danes talked about the two of you, often calling you his whore. 

Maybe that was true. You were not his wife, you had given him no children. There was no commitment to you other than knowing that he would find you most nights and slip into your bed. 

He left you that evening to go back and plan strategies for when the Saxons would return. And return they did. They stormed the gates and were met with defeat. You stayed within the palace walls but you could hear the cheers of the men returning from the walls. The boy king was thinking irrationally and you had seen firsthand how that can lead to a man’s demise. 

“(Y/N), Sigtryggr is asking for you,” one of his warriors called to you. You made your way to the main hall where you found the ever-happy man that held your heart. 

“You called for me?” The words had no sooner left your mouth when you were pulled into his arms and into a passionate kiss. You responded immediately by wrapping your hands in his hair and giving it a tug. He growled in response and nipped at your bottom lip. Victory always excited him and you knew where this was going. 

He sat you up on a table and stood between your legs. His hand traveled between your bodies but you were both snapped back to reality when you heard someone clear their throat. Sigtryggr pulled away from you immediately and left you feeling cold. 

Haesten stood there with a huge grin on his face. 

“Please, don’t stop on my account,” he chuckled. “I always knew there was something special about you.” He pointed to you and winked. You stood up and brushed your dress down. 

“What is it, Haesten?” Sigtryggr asked, standing in front of you to shield you from the other man’s hungry gaze. 

“The Saxons are planning to fire the walls, burn this place to the ground. We need to do something to prevent that from happening,” he said. Sigtryggr nodded and paused to think. 

“We show him his heir. We show him what he has to lose if he burns this place down. That should hold them off long enough to prep the walls for a fire attack. Haesten, go to the gate and start the preparations. I’ll get the boy.” Haesten nodded and left. Sigtryggr turned to you and pressed a kiss to your lips. “This isn’t over.” 

“I know,” you smiled. “Go. Negotiate. Show everyone what a fantastic leader you are. Be strong.” 

“You are my strength,” he whispered with his forehead pressed to yours. He kissed you once more before going off to fetch Edward’s heir. You left the hall shortly after and nearly shrieked when someone grabbed your arm. 

“Haesten? What are you doing?” You asked. 

“Does he know?” He questioned. 

“Know what?” You yanked your arm from his grasp and took a step back. 

“About the babe,” he said gesturing to your stomach. You arms quickly wrapped around your torso to cover your belly. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you gasped. 

“It’s the tits.” He winked before walking away. Something had been feeling off lately and you wondered if he was right. You cradled your stomach and tried to calm your heartbeat. How would Sigtryggr react? Most Danes wanted to have as many children to carry on their name as possible but he was different. He never showed interest in having a wife, never mind a child. 

You decided that you wanted to see what happened with Edward and the heir so you went to the wall. You stood hidden away from wandering eyes as you watched Sigtryggr stand before the Saxon king with the two boys. 

Edward approached with his men behind him.

“Give me my children or I will find yours and take their eyes,” Edward threatened.

“I have no children. Nor a wife. This is why I’m stronger than you,” Sigtryggr replied. Your heart sank into your stomach when you heard his words. You realized then that he would never make you his wife nor would he want the child growing inside of you.

You heard nothing else that was said, it was as if time was frozen. You rushed from the ramparts and back to the palace. Haesten saw you leave and he almost felt bad. Almost.

You gathered some of your things from the room you settled in and threw them in a bag. You armed yourself a dagger and your ax before setting off to find food for your journey. You had heard of other Danes living in East Anglia so you figured that would be your best bet. You’d even settle with Saxons if that meant you could keep you and your babe safe.

You knew you had to hide somewhere until you could leave under nightfall. Sigtryggr would certainly be looking for you to finish what was started earlier but you couldn’t bare to face him. You couldn’t be the cause of his weakness.

You grabbed bread and fruit, shoving them into your bag. You had to figure out how to get out without anyone seeing you. You’d just have to lay in wait for your opportunity.

You found refuge in a small abandoned house near the gate. You didn’t have to wait long before smoke was filling the air. You heard pounding at the gate before it was broken down. Fighting soon began right outside the door of your little safehouse. You waited until the fighting had progressed inward to take your leave.

You slowly opened the door, peering out to make sure no one was looking. Satisfied that everyone was preoccupied with the fight, you ran. You ran through the gate and past the bodies laying lifeless on the ground. You saw horses tied to a tree and figured stealing one wouldn’t do too much damage.

You were unfamiliar with the area but you knew that you’d find a village eventually. From there you could find a way to other Danes.

You didn’t look back at the smoke filled kingdom. You knew that there was nothing but pain there for you. So you rode through the night, only stopping to water your horse and eat something to keep your strength up.

You eventually stumbled upon a nunnery. The women were weary of you at first but you promised you meant them no harm, you were just seeking safe passage.

They fed you and allowed you to rest there for a bit before directing you to the nearest Dane settlement. Apparently they had been living in agreed peace for some time much to your surprise. You decided to stay with the nuns for a bit longer, not ready to face your own people.

Back in Winchester, the dust had settled and the smoke cleared. Sigtryggr and the royal siblings were working to come to a deal that satisfied all sides. Unable to come to a compromise for the first few hours, they decided to take a break.

Sigtryggr went first to the queen’s chamber where he thought you might be. When he didn’t find you there, he went to the reading room. Empty, he sought out a warrior who he knew you were familiar with.

“Can you fetch (Y/N) for me?” He asked.

“I haven’t seen her, lord,” the man told him.

“Well can you try to find her for me?” Sigtryggr signed. The man nodded and set off to find you. Sigtryggr sat on a bench with his head in his hands. He wasn’t sure he was ready to be the Dane to break the feud between Saxon and Dane. He needed you to calm him down, to reassure him that he was doing the right thing.

“You seem uneasy, lord,” Haesten said as he entered the room. Sigtryggr ignored him- he didn’t have the energy to deal with Haesten right now. “Missing your wife? Oh wait, you don’t have a wife.”

“What are you on about?” Sigtryggr finally asked.

“(Y/N), I assumed you knew she had left by now. I don’t think she took too kindly to your little speech earlier,” Haesten chuckled.

“She left the palace?”

“She left Winchester, lord. Took your babe with her too,” the gruff man smirked. Sigtryggr felt like he was going to be sick.

“You knew and you let her leave?!” Sigtryggr charged at Haesten and pinned him to the wall.

“She’s not my responsibility. She’s not my wife, nor is she yours.” Sigtryggr let the man go as he stormed out of the room. He went into the garden and found Uhtred who was talking with Edward and Aethelflaed.

“Uhtred, I need your help. You know the land, I need you to help me find someone. Forget Ethelwich. Keep it. I will keep my land in Wales and a portion of East Anglia if you accompany me, Uhtred,” Sigtryggr said. The three looked at each other and nodded.

“Yes, this sounds agreeable,” Edward answered.

“Then we shall abandon Winchester at once. Uhtred, find a horse and meet me at the gates. I won’t let her get away.”

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The Last Kingdom Taglist: @cornervase

Sigtryggr Taglist: @ivarinleatherpants​

[phoenix-downer]

Royalty AU

For SoKai Week Day 4 - AU Day

So a month or so ago I shared an excerpt from a Royalty AU I’m working on. This is the prologue and first chapter from that AU, which includes the excerpt, but I’m excited to finally be able to share it with you all! I’m hoping to eventually post the whole thing, but for now, enjoy!

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Prologue

Once upon a time, the many worlds were one great World. The people could move freely between one realm and the next, coming and going as they pleased. But then a great catastrophe split them apart and made the one World the many worlds. The truth was all but lost, living on only in legend and fairytale. All until a brave explorer from Radiant Garden journeyed into the stars to seek his fortune and found another world instead.

New pathways were opened; new means of travel invented. And before long, the worlds were connected once more, and the explorer declared ruler over all. He appointed ruling families over each of the worlds to ensure the subjects of his kingdom were treated fairly and justly.

He was loved by all, and the day of his passing proved to be a time of great mourning. But his daughter proved to be a worthy successor to his name, and so was her son, until a long dynasty of kings and queens had ruled over the worlds, their family name synonymous with greatness and Radiant Garden, their home world, their flourishing capital.

Along with this dynasty came cultural changes and new traditions. Before long it was customary for the heir of the ruling family to choose a spouse from among the ruling families of the other worlds. In this way the family line continued on, bringing in people from many different worlds under the explorer’s great name.

And so as soon as the newest heir to the throne was born, a little princess named Kairi, the other ruling families began their jostling and competing anew for favor from the royal family in the hopes that their young sons would someday join her side as husband and king.

One such family had an heir only a year older than the princess. His name was Riku, and from a young age the princess took a liking to him and to his bodyguard. Even though Sora was a year younger than Riku, his family had served Destiny Island’s royal family for generations as their knights and protectors, so it was only natural that the young Sora would carry on his parent’s legacy and protect Riku. The two were inseparable, and on Riku’s many visits to Radiant Garden to see the princess, Sora was always by the prince’s side.

As the years passed and the three children grew older, an air of resignation settled over the other worlds. Riku’s place at Kairi’s side seemed all but guaranteed. He and Sora were with her every moment their families could spare them, and whispers and rumors of a royal marriage flitted from one eager ear to the next.

But then tragedy such as the worlds had not known since their sundering struck. Strange creatures of darkness emerged from the shadows to steal the hearts of the people and then the hearts of the worlds. And one fateful night, they came to Destiny Islands.

Prince Riku fought bravely with Sora by his side to defend their homeland, but the creatures were powerful indeed.  In the end, not even Riku’s Keyblade, the prized weapon of Destiny Island’s ruling family, was enough to defeat the darkness. And so the world was engulfed, and its people lost along with it.

Princess Kairi was fourteen years old, only four years away from being able to marry. Girls her age were encouraged to celebrate their youth and indulge their fancies before settling down into the responsibilities of marriage and adult life, but Kairi wanted no part in such frivolities.

Her usual cheerful manner mellowed into something more serious, more somber, and she wore tomboyish clothes and insisted on learning how to wield the royal family’s Keyblade. It reacted to the strength of her heart, changing shape and design till it matched her tastes, proving she was the true heir to its power.

“No more worlds will fall to darkness,” she vowed, and the deep heaviness in her eyes, which once had been full of life and light, had everyone whispering.

“See how she loved Prince Riku!” they said to each other. “See how she mourns his loss!”

Of the lost prince’s knight not much was said at all, for the people cared little about those who had no royal blood running through their veins.

Soon the whispers turned to speculation, because now that the obvious choice for the princess’s hand was no longer a contester, hopes long dormant for the futures of young sons reawakened, and the jostling began again.

The princess would have no part of it. Any time the subject of marriage was broached, she was either silent or insisted she would not marry. This brought her parents great grief, as without a husband there would be no heir, and without an heir, no claim to the throne, for she was their only child. And so the months turned into a year, and then into two years, and then three, and before long her eighteenth birthday was at hand.

“The future of the kingdom is at stake!” her father the king cried in a fit of exasperation one evening over dinner. “You must marry!”

“I won’t!” Kairi slathered her dinner rolls with enough butter to make her mother scowl. “I don’t need a husband. I can rule just fine without one.” She stuffed the rolls in her mouth and glared at her father, violet eyes flashing and temper flaring.

“Your ability to rule is not what is in question, dear,” her mother said. “Our concerns lie with what happens after you leave this world and join our ancestors in the land of Kingdom Hearts.”

“I have cousins,” she said, wiping her mouth with her napkin. “One of them or their children or their children’s children can rule after me.”

“Isn’t there anyone at all who holds your interest?” her father pleaded, gripping the edge of the table. “What about that fellow you met the other day, Prince Hans was it—”

Kairi set her glass down with so much force its contents nearly splashed out. “No. Absolutely not.”

“But surely there’s someone who suits you?” her mother asked.

“There was,” Kairi corrected. “There was someone who would have suited me just fine, but he’s gone now.” A wistful look entered her eyes, and she rested her chin on her hand and sighed.

“Prince Riku?” her mother asked, but Kairi was silent.

“Kairi,” her father said, more gently this time, “we know how you feel about the loss of Riku, but you are young. You can find love again.”

“But I don’t want to,” she said. “All of the princes I’ve met weren’t right for me at all. And I don’t think I was right for them, either.”

“Then we’ll just have to keep searching,” her father said.

“Kairi, what if we held a ball for your birthday and invited the princes from every world to attend?” her mother asked. It hadn’t escaped her notice how much her daughter liked to dance. “That way you have a chance to meet them in a less formal setting.”

Kairi played with a strand of her red hair. “I do like dancing,” she said slowly.

“And there won’t be any pressure,” her mother quickly said. “This is just so you can meet more eligible boys.”

Kairi chewed her lip. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to meet more people. At the very least, it’ll be good for figuring out who’s best suited for fighting.” She giggled. “Maybe I can challenge some of them to a joust, even.”

Her father groaned, because ever since Destiny Islands had fallen, it was battle this, strategy that. Not even a ball for her birthday was enough to get her mind off the conflict and the creatures of darkness that had claimed her friends. No other worlds had fallen to darkness since then, but the threat loomed over everyone and tragedy had only been prevented through painstaking measures.

“Then is it decided?” her mother asked, and she nodded.

How little any of them knew just how much their lives were about to change.

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Chapter 1 - The Masquerade Ball

“A fox mask? Very clever, dear,” Kairi’s mother said as she took her own mask, an elegant swan with luxurious feathers, off the dressing table and put it on. “It suits you well.”

Kairi grinned and lifted her mask up, the faux fur tickling her cheeks. “I don’t want anyone to be able to recognize me until the right moment.”

“And a masquerade is just the right thing for that. Maybe you’ll get to know some of these princes as yourself instead of as the princess of our lands.”

“That’s the idea,” Kairi said, putting the mask back on and readjusting it over her hair. She’d suggested the ball be a masquerade, and thankfully her mother had agreed.

The truth was, she missed the easy intimacy she’d shared with Sora and Riku, even coming up on four years since their loss. If just one other guy would treat her, not like royalty, but like Kairi, then maybe, just maybe, she might—

The sharp pang in her chest told her no. But it was too late to cancel the ball now; the guests would be arriving soon. The early birds probably had already. Kairi tugged at the poofy skirt of her dress and sighed. It was just the right shade of pink that looked good with red hair, but it was stifling compared to her battle clothes.

She summoned her Keyblade. It was a good match for the dress, elegant and graceful with its colorful flowers and ocean waves. Her eyes lingered on the little paopu charm hanging on its keychain, another reminder of what she’d lost.

Paopu fruit wasn’t native to Radiant Garden. But it was to Destiny Islands, and all the advisors in her father’s court had raised their eyebrows when they’d first seen it. For a Keyblade reflected its bearer’s heart, and something about Destiny Islands was dear to hers, they’d all said.

Not something, someone, but there was no use telling them that. They thought her Keyblade would change once enough time had passed, but it hadn’t. It still looked the same as the very first time she’d summoned it.

“Kairi, dear? Is everything alright?” her mother asked, breaking her out of her reverie.

“Yes,” she said, hastily letting her Keyblade disappear. She let her mother fuss over her just a little bit longer, and then it was time to go greet the guests.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Would you like to dance again?” asked Kairi’s… very enthusiastic dance partner. He wore a weasel mask and had curly blond hair that popped out all over the edges. Going by his size, tone, and manner, he couldn’t be older than fourteen. He was very sweet, but Kairi was about ready to duck into a side room for a break. She made a big show of panting and fanning herself to make it seem like she was exhausted so as to spare his feelings.

“Sorry, but I think I’ll sit this one out.” She nodded towards the refreshments table halfway across the ballroom. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll—”

“I can go get something for you!” he said, and with that he was off. Kairi groaned. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. She’d lost count of the number of partners she’d danced with after the tenth guy. Even with her mask on it seemed like half the guests had already figured out who she was.

“Would it be rude to hide?” she wondered aloud to herself as she stared after the boy.

“Not if you have a partner in crime,” came a deep voice in response. Kairi turned to face the newcomer, because her mask made it nearly impossible to use her peripheral vision.

He was taller than Weasel Boy and wore a yellow leopard mask and well-fitted suit. His hair was slicked back, and Kairi was drawn to his smile. It was contagious, and she couldn’t help but return it.

“And you are?” she asked, tugging at a strand of hair that had escaped from her disguise.

He pointed at his mask. “A leopard. I know, I know, it looks like a cheetah, but—”

“Does not.” She took a step closer and stood on her tiptoes so she could poke one of the spots. “See? They’re too big to be a cheetah’s. Clearly a leopard.”

His smile grew even wider. “At least someone around here has the right idea.”

Kairi grinned. Part of the reason she’d wanted a masquerade in the first place was because she liked animals so much.

“And who do you think I am?” she asked. A test, to see how he would answer, to see if he was just like all the others.

He was silent for a moment. “A fox,” he finally answered. “Though if it’s okay with you, I think I’ll call you Miss Fox.” He looked in the direction of the refreshments table. “Looks like Mr. Weasel will be making his grand return soon. If you’re still wanting to hide, now would be a good time to escape.”

“Well, Mr. Leopard, take me away,” she said, giggling as she offered her hand. He took it, and off they went, winding through the crowd with ease and getting lost amongst the throng of masks and colorful costumes. His grip was strong, the skin on his hands rough and calloused. Probably from holding a weapon – perhaps this mysterious stranger was a warrior of some kind.

He led them away from everyone else and into the garden outside. The evening breeze was a welcome relief from the stuffiness of her dress and mask, and she sat down on the smooth marble of the fountain. A sculpture of one of her ancestors held a koi that spat a steady stream of water into its basin, and Kairi dipped her hand into the cool liquid.

“Now that we’re away from prying eyes…. Who are you, really?” she asked, running her fingers through the water. “I feel like I’ve met you before.”

“Maybe you have, princess,” he said softly.

Drat. So he did know who she was. Still, it was hard to ignore the way her heart had sped up at the change in his voice.

“Are you a prince?” she asked.

“I’m a leopard,” he said as he examined the nearby rosebushes, searching for something.

Kairi chewed her lip. His tone made it clear he didn’t wish to discuss the matter any further, but she really did want to know who he was. It was only fair, since he knew her identity.

“How do you know who I am?” she asked as he turned his attention to the next flowerbed.

“The mask doesn’t hide your hair.”

Kairi sighed. She should have worn a veil or hood if she’d really wanted her identity to stay a secret. “What, is my hair color famous now?” she asked. Red hair wasn’t that unusual, even it was a trademark of the royal family.

He paused, bent over a group of snapdragons. “Your beauty is spoken of throughout the worlds, yes.”

“Is it really?” This was news to her. Maybe that explained the increase in suitors lately.

“Yes. And they say you grow prettier every day,” he said.

“What else do they say about me?” she asked, trying to keep her voice casual as she flicked water onto the koi statue.

He straightened and turned to her. “That you’re becoming a great warrior. That you’re shaping up to be a worthy successor of your father. And… that you refuse to marry despite your parents’ wishes.”

She thought she saw his lips twitch at that, but then he turned away and resumed his search.

“Well, the last one is certainly true,” she muttered, her hand going to her necklace and fiddling with it. “This whole ball is a ploy by my parents to find me a husband.”

“What, you don’t want to get married?” His tone was inquisitive, almost disbelieving.

She sighed. “Not to any of the princes they have in mind, no. None of them suit me, and I’m not right for them at all, either.”

She thought of the latest meeting with Prince Hans. Nope, not her type. Not her type at all.

“So you aren’t against marriage, just against marrying the wrong person,” he said, running his fingers across the velvety leaf of a Lamb’s Ear before turning his attention to the next group of flowers.

“Exactly,” Kairi said. Why could this stranger understand when her own parents couldn’t?

“Was there ever… was there ever a right person?” he asked.

She was taken aback by the boldness of his question. He had no right to know such things, and yet… she found herself compelled to open up to him.

“Yes. But he’s… he’s gone.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and his voice was far heavier than she was expecting it to be.

“It happened several years ago,” she said, as if that somehow lessened the pain. Everyone expected the wound to have healed, but no matter how much time had passed, she still couldn’t get over his loss.

“And yet your voice betrays you, princess,” he said, his voice low. “There were rumors, you know. Rumors about a prince—”

“He wasn’t a prince,” she said. Why did everyone always think it was Riku? It was true, Riku was her friend, but he was like a brother to her. And yet everyone always thought he was the one she—

“He wasn’t?” the stranger asked, his voice slow and deliberate with just a touch of surprise.

“No. His friend was. He was training to be a knight.”

“A knight?” he asked, his voice going up a few pitches.

“Do you have something against knights?” Kairi asked, raising her eyebrow. Too bad he couldn’t see it through her mask. It was true, the other royals tended to be snobby about class, but… for whatever reason, she’d hoped for better from him.

“No, it’s just that I—” He paused and cleared his throat. “I thought the royal family only allows its heirs to marry members of other ruling families.”

She shrugged. “It does, but I don’t care. As soon as I’m queen, I’m changing the rules.”

“You haven’t given up hope, then,” he said. “You think he’s still alive.”

Kairi’s hand went to her heart. “Yes. Because… because I can… oh, forget it,” she said, her cheeks flushing. She was grateful the mask was hiding her face right now.

He smiled sadly and held out a purple flower, plucked right from the garden around them.

“You should listen to your heart, Kairi. It’s never lead you wrong before, and it sure hasn’t now.”

An aster. Her favorite flower. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. The deep voice, the slicked back hair, the disguise concealing his face—she hadn’t realized. She hadn’t known. But the moment he’d said her name—

Heart pounding, fingers trembling, she stood and reached for his mask. He lowered his head so she could more easily inch it off his face. First his nose was visible, then his cheeks. His features were more angular now, the plumpness of childhood almost completely gone, but as soon as she saw his eyes, she knew. They were as beautiful as ever, no, maybe even more beautiful – blue as the sky, but hinting at a depth of experience and wisdom that hadn’t been in them before.

He’d changed in their years apart. But his smile – well, that would always be the same. She smiled back and touched his face. His skin was dry and rough, like he’d spent hours and hours outside in the wind.

“You’re alive,” she said softly. “You’re really here. This isn’t a dream.”

He closed his eyes and melted into her touch. Her fingers traced a path across his cheek, and he took a deep breath and sighed. She found a small scar that hadn’t been there before, a little dent on his forehead. Frowning, she ran her thumb across it, wondering how it had happened.

“All this time, I believed you were alive,” she said. “And yet— I wouldn’t listen to my own heart. Everyone told me you were dead, and I—”

His eyes opened. “Who told you to doubt yourself?” he asked, catching her hand and putting his over it, the ridges of his fingertips brushing over her own. “Who told you to doubt me?”

“I… I was afraid—”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. I’ll always come back to you, Kairi. I promise.”

She fought back the tears. She’d dreamed of this moment, but she’d never thought it would actually come true.

He reached for her mask and gently tugged it off, a look of awe and then wonder filling his eyes. “The rumors were true,” he said, almost reverently. He ran his hand through her hair, brushing the parts that had gotten tousled out of her eyes.

The mask was no longer there to hide her face from him. What did he see in it? Were her feelings on full display?

She had the sudden urge to tousle his hair. It didn’t seem right for it to be slicked back like that. So she did, running her fingers through it in a way she only could have imagined before. His hair was softer than she thought it would be, its strands smooth and silky. As each spike returned to its rightful place, he looked less like a stranger and more like the Sora she knew.

“Sora, what happened?” she asked presently. Happy as she was to have him back, she still wanted to know the reason for his long absence.

“There’s a lot I have to tell you, but now’s not the time,” he said, grabbing her hand. “We need to find Riku first.”

“Riku’s alive?” she asked as he led her past flowering shrubs and rose bushes and back towards the castle. She’d hoped, once she’d found out about Sora—

“Yes. He’s here, but—”

“Princess!” a thundering voice called as they reached the outskirts of the party. A dozen heads turned Kairi’s way, and she ducked behind Sora and sighed.

“Drat, I’ve been spotted,” she muttered.

“Sorry, I should have let you put your mask back on first.”

Well, they had two options: they could try to run away, or they could face things head on.

Kairi was tired of running. She was tired of hiding. So she clung to Sora’s hand and dragged him through the gathering throng and back inside the ballroom instead.

“Kairi, what are you—”

“Trust me,” she commanded, and he didn’t say anything. Which meant they could hear the whispering and murmuring that much more clearly as she parted the crowds with her mere presence. Fancy ball clothes or not, she was still heir to the throne, and the people knew it.

“Who is he?”

“I’ve never seen him before.”

“Is he a prince?”

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t look like royalty.”

“Why is the princess with him?”

“She shouldn’t mingle with commoners.”

“Are they promised to each other?”

“She has good taste if they are. He’s handsome.”

“If she weren’t dragging him along like a drowned rat, I’d make a move myself.”

“Why him though?”

“Well, even our princess has needs.”

Kairi shot the gossiper a glare. “You will not speak about me or my fiancé that way.”

That got him to shut up. “My apologies, princess.”

“Kairi, w-what?” Sora sputtered. She turned to look at him, and his eyes were wide.

“I told you. Once I’m queen, I’m changing the law. It won’t matter. Nothing will stop us from being together.” She resumed their march to her parents.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said, tugging back. “You can’t just—”

“Oh yes I can. We’re engaged, got it?”

“But I didn’t even propose!”

“Well, I just did. Who says we have to do things the old-fashioned way?”

He stopped again, and that forced her to stop, too. “But I just got back. Don’t you think this is a little fast? You don’t even know where I’ve been or what I’ve been doing—”

“None of that matters. All I care about is that you’re here.”

He squeezed her hand. “Kairi, please. We have to talk.”

She hesitated. The way he was looking at her right now, he must be very serious about this, and Sora had been so rarely serious in their happy childhood days spent together that she knew this must be important.

But before she could offer to take him somewhere private, her parents spotted them from the top of the grand staircase. At some point they had taken off their masks, maybe because enough people had figured out who they were anyway. Her father’s mouth had dropped open, and her mother looked as if she’d just seen a ghost.

“Sora? Is that really you?” she called down.

Sora’s face broke into a grin. “It sure is, Your Majesty,” he said, letting go of Kairi’s hand so he could bow. “Knight and Personal Guardian of His Royal Highness, Prince Riku, reporting for duty.”

Well, it was now or never. Kairi grabbed a hold of his hand and led him up the plush red velvet stairs.

“Is Prince Riku with you?” her father called.

Sora glanced around and frowned as he and Kairi continued their ascent. “He is, but he must be, er, a little busy at the moment—”

Her mother pulled a lacey handkerchief out and dabbed her eyes with it. “Oh thank goodness! Both you and Riku safe! But how?”

“It’s a long story, Your Majesties. We ended up in this place called Traverse Town, a haven for people whose worlds have been lost to darkness, and then—”

Her father waved his hands as they reached the top of the staircase. “Well, never mind about all that. We can discuss it later. Kairi, this is great news, don’t you think? You and Riku can marry now, just like you always wanted!”

Sora coughed and shifted next to her, and Kairi cleared her throat.

“Actually, father, the man I want to marry is before you now.”

Multiple emotions warred across her father’s face at this. Her mother, on the other hand, didn’t seem terribly surprised.

“Sora?” he asked incredulously. “He’s not even a knight yet, let alone royalty!”

Sora scratched his cheek. “About that, Your Majesty, Riku did knight me, otherwise I wouldn’t have used the title for myself. I passed all the tests, and—”

“No. I forbid it!” her father cried. “You must marry a man from one of the ruling families! That is the law and it cannot be changed!”

Kairi glared at him. “I don’t care what the law says. I’m going to marry Sora!”

Her father’s face turned red at her outburst. “Enough! You will not marry a commoner, and that is that!”

“Sora’s not a commoner, he’s a knight! Besides, that law is old and stupid and I don’t care what it says! If you won’t let me marry Sora, then I won’t marry anyone at all!”

The ballroom, which had been deathly quiet in the wake of her argument with her father, let out a collective gasp.

She turned and looked at them all. “You heard me right. There is one man in all the worlds it would please me to marry.” She took Sora’s hand in hers and smiled at him. “Sora will be my husband, if he’ll have me.”

Sora’s hand was sweaty, and he took a deep breath and swallowed. “I—”

Her father interrupted him before he could answer, a vein bulging in his forehead. “If you accept my daughter’s proposal, then she will have to give up the throne! Think about her future, Sora!”

Her mother put her hand on his shoulder. “Dear, isn’t it best if we—”

“Fine!” Kairi said, sick of all of this. Sick of the nagging. Sick of being told she couldn’t marry who she wanted. Sick of being told she had to marry some man she didn’t love, all for the sake of keeping up appearances. “I’m gonna marry Sora, and no one can stop me! I’ll… I’ll give up the crown if I have to! At least this way I’ll be happy! At least this way I’ll get to be with a man that I—”

Her father held up his hand. “Enough. We will discuss this more in private.”

Before he could continue what he was about to say, the room went dark. Kairi whipped her head around to see what the disturbance was.

There, in the center of the ballroom, surrounded by green smoke, was a tall, elegant woman dressed in black and purple robes and wielding a staff. A large raven was perched on her shoulder, and as a smile curved across her lips, a sick feeling settled over Kairi’s stomach.

“My oh my, what have we here?” she said at last, her voice smooth as silk. “A royal ball for a royal princess?”

Kairi gripped Sora’s hand tighter. The way the woman’s icy gaze had fixated on her made her stomach flip. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her father whispering to one of the guards and her mother gesture for another one to come over.

The woman chuckled as she surveyed the people frozen around her, and her laughter was icy, chilling. “Look at everyone here tonight! All the nobles from all the lands! Truly the event of the year!” She looked at Kairi again, and Kairi’s blood ran cold.

“Who are you?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady despite her racing heart.

“My name is Maleficent, Your Royal Highness, and it’s a shame I wasn’t invited to attend.”

[vethyourhalflingmother]

Elaina, Syldor, and their Twins: I Ramble About Character and Relationship Headcanons Like I’m Writing A Fucking Academic Essay

***SPOILERS FOR CAMPAIGN ONE OF CRITICAL ROLE***

**THIS POST IS VERY LONG. NO, I DON’T KNOW WHAT CONCISE MEANS**

PART ONE: WHAT WE KNOW

As viewers, we do not know much about the details of the relationship between Vax and Vex’s parents, Elaina and Syldor, and we actually don’t know that much about the twins’ relationships with each of their parents (although there are some key moments that give us certain hints). Therefore, most of this is based on my own headcanons and impressions, which I will attempt to explain, but this is the disclaimer that ultimately this is my own interpretation and everyone is entitled to see view it all how they want to see it.

Now, that said, I am going to start by going over what we know. 

Vax and Vex’s history summaries, which appeared at the beginning of early Critical Role episodes, give us the most information about their parents. 

Vax’s says,

“Along with twin sister Vex'ahlia, Vax was born by a chance encounter between elven royalty and human peasantry. Raised by their mother in their early years, the twins were eventually sent off to their father in the elven capital of Syngorn. But their cool reception among the elves there never warmed, and their time in the capital didn't last. The siblings stole away one autumn night and set out on the open road.” (source)

and Vex’s tells the same story, 

“Born of a human mother and an elven father—who only later in life took an interest in their existence—, Vex'ahlia and her twin brother Vax'ildan quickly realized the only people they could truly rely on in this world were each other.

It was at the age of ten when the two were taken from their mother, and brought to live in Syngorn, the isolated elven city for which their father was an ambassador. He quietly took them in, but always kept an icy distance, and after too many years of disdainful looks, the pair decided to leave his indifference behind, and set out on their own.” (source)

However, this isn’t the entire story. (Most of my source for the following information comes from Heredity and Hats, and I recommend watching the twins’ entire conversation with their father, their step-mother (Devana), and their sister (Velora), from roughly here until here).

Firstly, we learn the Syldor Vessar, the twins’ father isn’t exactly royalty; he’s an ambassador with substantial rank and privilege, but not as much as an actual royal, which is implied when he tells them that he can only get them one meeting with Syngorn’s leader, the High Warden - he’s probably more like a nobleman, which I’ll go into more about later. This also explains why he was out of such a closed off city in the first place. 

Secondly, it is unclear how involved Syldor and Elaina’s relationship was, probably because the twins themselves don’t know. There’s some implication that it was a brief fling or a one-night stand, from the language “a chance encounter” and how Vex crudely describes her and her brother’s conception as Syldor “fuck[ing] some random woman in a city [he] passed through.”

Thirdly, it is also unclear how Syldor came to take care of the twins. At times (like in Vax’s summary, and in some of Vex’s mentions of her mother), it is suggested that Elaina sent the twins to Syldor, whereas in the twins’ conversation with Syldor in Heredity and Hats, it is suggested that he took the twins from her (Vax’s line about leaving them to be with their mother when she died strongly suggests this). 

Fourthly, we know that Elaina was a peasant seamstress from Byroden who was killed when Thordak the Cinder King destroyed the town (when the twins were roughly 12 years old, probably before they ran away from Syldor - one of the artbooks supposedly puts the twins at 13 or 14 when they left Syngorn, but since I don’t have a copy myself, I’m not sure). This tells us quite a bit; both Vex and Vax’s summaries mention the racial difference between their parents, and in Heredity and Hats, Syldor brings up his people’s bigotry against humans and half-elves and how his life is easier when the twins aren’t part of it. Vax’s also mentions their class differences. And because Elaina is dead, we don’t see her until Vax dies himself - where we get one line of her saying that she’s proud of him. 

PART TWO: BASIC ASSUMPTIONS ON WHICH MORE COMPLEX INTERPRETATIONS ARE BUILT

Now that those facts are on the table, what do they mean for my interpretation and subsequent headcanons? In order to get into that, we have to start with my more basic assumptions based on the above information. 

To start at the beginning, Vex is likely right when she says Syldor was passing through Byroden and had a quick fling with Elaina. He probably didn’t know that he got her pregnant. It’s altogether possible that he stopped in this little town for one night on his way to do some ambassadorial duties and didn’t think twice about it until he passed through again and heard a rumor about some half-elf children, and I headcanon that’s what happen. (That said, they could’ve had a short fling as well, though I doubt there was any love. Syldor clearly looks down on humans, and Elaina’s class likely doubled that bigotry.) 

As for a timeline about when the Syldor first heard he may have bastard children and when he decided to interfere, I don’t have a specific one, but I feel like he probably spent a long time debating about it - and how it would affect his personal and professional life. As mentioned above, Vax’s summary implies that Syldor is royalty, but his status is more complicated than that. It does have special privileges, and I know because in Syngorn is childbaring is very regulated (as described in Matt Mercer’s Tal’Dorei Campaign Guide, children have to be approved by the government before conception, and unapproved children, even full-blooded elves, are sent to live outside the city). As an ambassador Syldor probably gets special passes on certain things, like leaving the city in general, and bringing back illegal wines and children to Syngorn and claiming they’re gifts that just can’t be turned down from the city’s allies. 

Ultimately, he either fell prey to his own arrogance about the importance of his bloodline or he felt guilty. I’m inclined to believe it’s a mixture of both emotions, though probably more guilt, since Syldor expresses that he cares about the twins in some capacity - just not nearly as much as children deserve from their father.  

Now, for Elaina, at this point, I have a considerably less clear picture of her than I do Syldor, just due to lack of information. However, I’ve seen a few interpretations that don’t particularly do it for me, such as her being lovelorn and entirely passive. I don’t tend to like that because 1) her children are both very active in their own destinies, including their romantic lives, and 2) that’s a pretty stereotypical position for her to be in, especially given that Syldor has a lot of a status over her. But when I was developing Elaina, I had to sift through some deeper stuff before I started deciding what she would be, as a character in my head, rather than just what she wasn’t. 

Which brings me to a more complex question that ended up being fundamental to my personal interpretation of Syldor and Elaina, both together and as individuals: did Elaina send the twins with Syldor or did Syldor take the twins from Elaina? 

PART THREE: ADDRESSING THE NUANCE

So. I already said that Liam contradicts himself on this wording. The real world explanation for that is likely that he wasn’t thinking about the difference, or that the twins’ backstory became clearer once they played more, which are both incredibly valid possibilities. But I am an English major, and if you’ve followed my blog for awhile, you know I like to pick on little details for fun. And this little detail has some interesting implications.

The difference between Elaina sending the twins with Syldor and Syldor taking them is a matter of both Elaina’s personal choice and Syldor’s use of force. But’s not so simple as she definitely gave them of her own will or Syldor definitely made her - and this isn’t just due to lack of information, it’s also because I get the impression that the twins themselves view the situation differently. 

I don’t have sources on hand, but I got the feeling that Vex felt more like Elaina gave them over to Syldor too willingly, whereas Vax’s frustration with the situation was only directed at Syldor (perhaps because he holds his mother in high esteem, or maybe because he really does believe she did what she could to try & keep them/was forced to give them up against her will). Perhaps at a later date, I will write something else going into the twins’ perspectives on their parents and general heritage, but since that’s a whole other can of worms, I’m going to leave it there for now. 

The point is, my understanding was that the twins were not unified in their thoughts of moving from mom to dad, and what I took from that was, well it was probably a very nuanced situation. 

Elaina obviously cared for her children. There’s evidence. As mentioned above, Vax would’ve rather died with her than live in Syngorn. They went back to try and find her after they ran away. The Raven Queen used her to ease Vax’s passing. But that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t give them up to Syldor. She was a peasant. The twins imply that they were poor growing up - this, combined with their time on their own after Syngorn, seem to be why Vex is as concerned with money as she is. If Syldor said, “I could give them a life where money wasn’t a worry,” I would think she’d take it under consideration.

I don’t think she would be eager to send her children into the unknown with a man she barely knows, especially not one that also looks down his nose at her, though. Perhaps if she were desperate, but there’s no indication that the twins were starving, and they did have a house and clothes (as Vax dramatically recalls at one point when he thinks he’s dying), and Elaina did have a job as a seamstress. Obviously, I can’t say for certain that she wasn’t completely desperate, but my impression is that she wasn’t. 

The other factor is how willing she is to just let things happen to her. If she was quite passive, then perhaps she would hand them over simply due to her lack of ability to stand up for herself. But very early into this, I started formulating an Elaina that was very headstrong and fierce and took control of her own destiny. This, to me, felt true to the part of her we know most about: her children. And ultimately, it’s the kind of thing that turns a flat character into one with more substance - it’s not an easy decision for her.

So that is the Elaina who sees the merit of Syldor’s suggestion, but also the Elaina who wants to refuse it. Why doesn’t she? Because Syldor is a man (elf? you know what I mean) with power, something I’m sure she’d known from the moment she met him. It isn’t as if men like Syldor hide that shit. Do I think he outright threatened to beat her down if she didn’t hand over the twins? No, not at all. But an implication of how... traumatic it would be for the twins if he stopped asking nicely could work well enough coupled with promises of good futures for them. Or it might not even be that overt; maybe he could’ve  just demand a decision from her without giving her time to think, or time to talk to the twins about what they want. And so now not only is it not easy, but maybe it’s not even entirely her own. There’s another layer to her and the situation. 

Therefore, in my mind, when Elaina watches the twins leave, she roiling with all sorts of emotions - anger, loss, apprehension, anxiety, maybe even a small bud of hope - but most immediately, regret. My version of Elaina, more than anything, curses herself over her decision to let the twins go, until the moment her house catches fire. 

PART FOUR: SYLDOR, A CHARACTER SUMMARY

Syldor Vessar is an asshole. He was probably an asshole to Elaina, though I doubt they talked much. He’s a bad father. He brought the twins into an environment he knew would be hostile to them and then neglected them. Then he tried to hide behind the excuse of “well, I did all I could.” However, I see a lot of asshole fathers portrayed in fiction that remind me of cartoon villains with black and white perspectives and iron fists. But Syldor’s a different brand.  Because Syldor says that he cares and that he’s proud of the twins. He gives them access to the High Warden. He admits to some of his wrong doings. And on some level, that stuff is probably true and genuine. I think he believes he did all he could. He knows he wasn’t the best father, but clearly he didn’t see himself as bad enough to not have another child. He probably assumes he can do better by Velora. And maybe he can, with a full-blooded elf, with a daughter he actually considers his own. But maybe not. To me, it looks like Syldor’s love is extremely conditional. From what Vax and Vex imply, the conditions are how pointy your ears are, how much money you have in your pocket, and how well you can conform. 

PART FIVE: ELAINA, A CHARACTER SUMMARY

I’ve said most of this already, but Elaina is my tragedy that really tried to resist being a tragedy. As far as her life prior to Syldor, I like to think she was doing her best to enjoy life in order to balance all the damn work she had to do. I like to think she was popular in Byroden, and that she had lots of acquaintances but few really close friends. I like to think she had one night a week where she went to the tavern and got piss drunk. I like to think that she spat at the men who told her to smile. I like to think that he needlework was some of the best in the region, which is a small prize, but one of her to be proud of. I like to think that she slept with more than just Syldor. 

And I like to think that she kept all that fervor when she had the twins, but that she repurposed it a little to better suit them. I like to think she made up wild stories and told them to the twins every night. I like to think she wasn’t a great cook, but that her meals still had that something special that only mothers can add. I like to think she instilled the sense of goodness in the twins that follows what is right, not what is the law. And I like to think that she sparked something in them that led them to be champions of literal gods. That she was more than just a footnote to encourage their vengeance against a dragon they were going to kill anyway and more than just a random woman Syldor fucking Vessar fucked.  

Because to me, it feels like she did mean much more than can be said, at least to her children.

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW G1 CLIMAX 29 FINAL Review (Aug 12th 2019, Tokyo, Nippon Budokan)

Yota Tsuji & Ren Narita vs. Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks  ***½

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Jeff Cobb vs. Lance Archer, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru  **½


Will Ospreay & Roppongi 3K vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & Chase Owens ***1/4

Juice Robinson & Toa Henare vs. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino  **½

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi  ***1/4

Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & KENTA vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny & Bad Luck Fale  ***

Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.  ****1/4

G1 CLIMAX 29 FINAL: Kota Ibushi (A Block Champion) vs. Jay White (B Block Champion)  *****

Photos.

The 29th annual G1 Climax climaxed with an excellent and beyond newsworthy show, which capped off the best Tournament in history. In notable happenings from a jam-packed Nippon Budokan; The L.A. Dojo Young Lions of Connors and Fredericks were victories over the New Japan Dojo Lions of Tsuji and Narita in a great little opener. This was a physically intense, and heated 9:53 encounter, in which it was made apparent that New Japan’s future is incredibly bright with these guys on the rise. Connors locked Tsuji in a Boston Crab for a mighty struggle, before Yota had to tap. Jon Moxley put Juice Robinson through a table in the post match of their brief doubles match, to undoubtedly set up an impending rematch for the US. Title. 

In probably the most talked about thing coming out of the show, KENTA turned on Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI, in their Six Man against the Bullet Club Tonga squad, and joined the nefarious B.C. The match was good, but the angle that followed more than elevated this. After jumping off the apron when refusing an Ishii tag, KENTA hit the ring, laying his supposed tag partner out with a Busaiku Knee, followed by the Go 2 Sleep to allow Tama Tonga to get the pin at 8:35. Before KENTA could cut a promo, explaining his actions, his ‘good friend’ Katsuyori Shibata hit the ring like a man possessed and destroyed him with some stiff strikes. The Bullet Club tried to intervene, but Shibata sent them packing, and landed a devastating corner dropkick to KENTA’s face. He locked on a rear naked choke, then went for the PK, but Jado nailed him in the back with his kendo stick, which allowed KENTA to lock his own choke in, then nail Shibata with his own PK. KENTA then sat, cross legged, on Shibata’s chest, as the Bullet Club celebrated their new recruit. This was an amazing angle, probably the best I’ve seen in some years, and the crowd were going crazy for all of this. Obviously, Shibata’s physical involvement (his first of any kind since April 2017) will provoke a lot of discussion as to what happens with him next. The logical conclusion to jump to is a Shibata/KENTA match for WK14, but given the severity of the injury he received (it nearly cost him his life), it could be unlikely we will see him back in the ring. But we shall see. It’s also worth noting that all involved were very careful not to hit Shibata anywhere near the head. My guess is the Bullet Club beating down a retired wrestler, one who is retired because of a serious injury, was to get them over as evil dicks who stooped to new lows. Regardless of where this goes from here, Shibata looked great out there, and it was an unbelievable, and unforgettable moment.

The previous angle was going to leave a lot to follow, but with this being New Japan, they certainly managed to. Suzuki and ZSJ were victorious over the Okada/Tanahashi dream team, in an excellent doubles clash next. This was an all-action contest, which had a great closing stretch. The story here was Zack vs. Tana and Suzuki vs. Okada, both of which are likely to be the top matches at Royal Quest in London on August 31st. The finish saw ZSJ and Tanahashi brawling on the outside, whilst in the ring Okada and Suzuki nailed each other with hard forearms. The King dodged an Okada dropkick, nailed a PK, then went for the Gotch Piledriver, but Tanahashi broke it up with a Sling Blade. Suzuki took an Okada dropkick to the back, then blocked a Rainmaker, and countered another dropkick attempt into an unbelievable la mistica (think about that), and transitioned into a choke. Once he had put Okada sufficiently to sleep, Suzuki turned it into the Gotch Piledriver, as Zack had Tana tied up in submissions, to cleanly pin the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at the 15:27 mark, and firmly stake his claim as the next challenger for the belt. Suzuki looked great here, having quietly waited in the weeds having been snubbed a G1 spot, waiting for the perfect time to strike, and found it here. Suzuki tells Okada it must be pretty embarrassing to lose to a guy not deemed good enough to be in the G1, then informs him he’s coming for his Title. Everything about this was tremendous.

But as tremendous as it all was, it paled in comparison to the absolute wrestling masterpiece that was the G1 Climax Final. Look, I know some people hate Jay White. I know people hate all the heel stuff, all the interference and shenanigans, but that is something New Japan have always done, and will always do. There’s literally never been a period of NJPW history that hasn’t had some no good son of a bitch heel at the top of the card, using nefarious tactics to win. Now yes, I agree that it all gets a bit much when you have three guys in one Block doing this, but only one of those guys is a main eventer, and that’s Jay. And at the end of the day, all of that cheating and chicanery paid off here, helping to weave a masterful story. White came out with the entire Bullet Club, but Red Shoes kicked all of them bar Gedo out of ringside. Not long after, Gedo was ejected too, meaning Switch Blade had to go it alone (nudge, nudge). Jay slowly, and meticulously, worked over Ibushi’s injured left ankle that he helped to destroy the night before, but Ibushi would always battle back. It wasn’t long before Gedo made his way out again, after Jay escaped a Lawn Dart attempt, and bumped Kota into Red Shoes. Jay chop blocked Ibushi’s knee, then Gedo held him down whilst Jay nailed his injured leg with two chair shots, then locked in the TTO, as Gedo rolled Red Shoes back in. After an epic, and totally believable struggle (Jay had beaten Juice Robinson the exact same way in Yokohama), Ibushi finally made the ropes, which popped Budokan. White tries the Sleeper Suplex, but Ibushi escapes by hitting a (one-legged) moonsault kick, finally hit the lawn dart, and scored a near fall with the dead lift German off the ropes. Ibushi tries the Last Ride, but Jay frees himself by hammering Ibushi’s ankle, and slaps Ibushi hard across the face. This brought out “psycho Ibushi”, who devastated White with a flurry of hard strikes. Ibushi goes for the wind-up lariat, but White hits a snap Dragon Screw out of nowhere, tries another, but Kota finally hits his big Lariat for the double down. A (one-legged) Last Ride gets a near fall for Ibushi, who then looks for Boma Ye, but Jay does his collapse gimmick to avoid it. White distracts the referee as Gedo comes in with the brass knucks, but Kota K.O.’s him with a head kick. The distraction allows Jay to hit the Sleeper Suplex, but Ibushi popped up and hit a Boma Ye to the back of White’s head as Budokan goes crazy. Red Shoes instructs Rocky Romero at the English Commentary booth to dispose of the unconscious Gedo, which he duly does, and we’re now down to just the two finalists. Kota finally hits the Boma Ye to the face, then tries Kamigoye, but again White hammers away at the ankle. Ibushi fights back, flooring Jay with two big head kicks, then tries Kamigoye, but White, the master strategist, reverses it into Blade Runner to the horror of the crowd. He’s too beat up to make the cover though, so lifts Ibsuhi up to hit the cross-arm Bloody Sunday, but Kota frees himself with a big headbutt and hits the straight jacket German, rolls through into a Kamigoye attempt, but Jay escapes by hitting two massive Sleeper Suplexes, dumping Kota right on top of his head both times. Jay hits the cross-armed Bloody Sunday, as you can hear everyone in Budokan lose their collective minds at the prospect of White being on the cusp of victory. This was such an amazing atmosphere. White goes for Blade Runner, but Ibushi escapes by hitting a standing Kamigoye, then dodges another Blade Runner attempt, and hits a jumping version. Kota holds on to the wrists and finally waffles White with Kamigoye for one of the greatest near falls you’ll ever see. Kota drops the knee pad and hits a second Kamigoye to end a phenomenal match at 31:01, vanquish the evil heel, and win the whole G1. Wow.

I absolutely loved this. It was just perfect, classic storytelling. Good overcoming evil. White cap vs. black cap. It was just one guy, who everybody wanted to win, against another who nobody wanted to win, it was simple and incredibly effective, and it lead to probably my favourite match of the entire year (it’s either this or the BOSJ Final, but they’re both completely different types of matches). Ibushi looked like the biggest star in the company here, as he becomes the first man to ever win the BOSJ, the New Japan Cup, and now the G1 Climax, and earns his shot at whomever will be IWGP Heavyweight Champion come Wrestle Kingdom. Honestly, it’s going to take some doing to surpass this tournament, and New Japan (and Gedo) surprise us once again by offering us a whole bunch of new directions and scenarios that we never knew we needed. It’s pretty damn great being a New Japan fan in 2019. Long may they reign.

NDT

[fuwafuwamedb]

Adopted Princess (Child Mordred and King Arthur)

“Merlin!”

Merlin jumped a little, pausing as the queen to Arthur came walking through the door. The woman looked tired, stressed out. Her eyes were going around the room a little as though she were looking for something.

“Merlin,” Guinevere greeted again. “Have you seen Arthur? I told him that I wanted to discuss some things in relation to the knights and… um…”

Her words were cut off as she caught sight of Morgana’s latest handiwork. Thankfully, for whatever purpose, he had been able to find the child before the corruption could sink in. However, to be quite honest, he wasn’t sure what to do with the small child.

Young, able to speak, but only in the most basic of senses, the child seemed much like the king himself, although very obviously a girl.

“Who is this?”

Merlin sucked in a breath, stepping between the young girl and the king’s woman.

“She’s just a-“

“I can see the king’s eye color,” Guinevere cooed, bouncing forward on her feet like so. Her skirts swayed, her smile grew fonder as she leaned this way and that, trying to see around him. “Hello little one. You must be why the king has been so quiet lately.”

Merlin bit his lip, moving forward and turning the woman around.

They didn’t need this right now.

Morgana was expanding her territory. The people were becoming wary about the darkness that was sinking into parts of the land. Visions were coming to those of the forests who spoke few words and only of riddles.

The king was concerned over his death, one that had been breathed by a young boy who had been grievously attacked on the way to the kingdom.

Telling the king of the child that had been in Morgana’s hiding place in the woods would only bring about the girl’s death. They’d be marching in the woods for days, months.

The neighboring kingdoms were already on edge with Camelot having a magician.

“I believe I saw our king in the library,” he told the woman, shooing her towards the door.

“Oh did you?”

“I did.”

“And you would never lie to me, would you, Merlin?”

Merlin nodded, smiling to himself. “I would never lie to you. I have seen our king in the library before.”

“But have you seen him there presently?”

Ah, a woman after his own heart. What a monster. Merlin chuckled a bit, unable to help himself. “I suppose it’s been a while. Anyone could have moved around.”

“Mhmm.”

“Indeed.”

Guinevere wrapped those arms around his shoulders, leaning up towards him. “You know, the knights have all told me that you’ve been wandering into the neighboring villages and visiting many of the women in the area.”

“A magician performing abstinence? Ah, you wound me. I’m always falling for pretty faces. Do not tell our king though, I do believe he may insist on keeping me locked away. Protect the women from possibly having baby magicians or something.”

“As though you’d be so willing to allow such a thing to happen.”

He was pretty good at keeping himself contained and controlled. His eyes were closed, a lighter chuckle escaping him now. “Ah, Guinevere, my queen. As though I would do anything like that. I have great self control. My talents with magic have forced me to be this way. All of my actions are fully controlled and-“

And she was no longer touching him.

In fact, she was not even in front of him.

Glancing behind himself, Merlin could see that the child was gone too. She’d taken the small girl and gone.

He hurried out into the hallways, rushing towards the libraries. Each one was emptier than the last. He inquired with those in the hallways, but no one had seen the two either.

Where…

Where would the queen take-

He turned, running as fast as he could through the halls. He could hear the knights eating, their queen with them, but one glance in told him that the woman did not have the child with her anymore. The child would have been near her. The knights would have had questions.

His king would have questions!

Further, he went, rushing around another corner and seeing the throne room up ahead. The doors were open, there was a murmuring coming from behind them.

“So your name is Mordred?”

Merlin stopped short, hearing a small yes.

Tiny, like the sound of a wee child in the village nearby.

“My name is King Arthur,” the blond introduced, kneeling a bit before the throne as he kept the girl sitting in his usual seat. “Have you heard of me before?”

The girl nodded.

“That’s good. Does your mother have the same eyes as you?”

The girl shook her head.

“Then… perhaps your father?”

The girl pointed at him.

It was a move that was enough to sentence the girl to death. He’d seen it before. The illegitimate children of the king were sentenced to death. They were forced into the army or forced to commit suicide. Murmurings of these deeds were all too commonplace for royals.

What’s more, a child that took so much after the king and not the queen?

“I’m your father?” The king asked.

Mordred nodded.

He could sense the tension. It was thick and unrelenting. A grim sentence was falling upon the girl and she was merely the one digging her own grave. Barely able to speak and already the world would choose to knock her down and force a death sentence upon her.

“If I’m your father, then Guinevere must be your mother.”

The girl shook her head.

“Where is your mother?”

The girl shrugged.

“Does she know you’re here?”

Another shrug.

“Do you want to see your mother again?”

A head shake.

Well, at least he had done something right in telling the child that her mother would probably just kill her if she went back. Mordred had understood something, knowing and accepting that there was going returning to that abandoned cabin in the woods.

“Why don’t you stay here and remain with my queen and I? Guinevere has wanted a child for a while.”

“…I don’t…” The rest of her words were impossible to hear.

“Hmm?”

Merlin leaned in a little more as Arthur hummed in an inability to hear as well.

Those little fists tightened on the skirts of the dress that Merlin had tossed her into. Her face was scrunching up a little. “…I… don’t like dresses…”

“Ah, do you want some trousers?”

She nodded.

Arthur smiled. “Well, then I suppose we’ll just have to find you some trousers.”

“…” Another low murmur.

Arthur was laughing a little, nodding. “As a king, I do have pudding in the palace. I’m sure if we ask my queen, she can bring you some later.”

Mordred nodded, motioning for him to lean in closer.

The king grinned as she murmured to him.

“Ah- Merlin is always ornery. He’s a good magician and an even better friend, but if he sneaks out again, please let me know. The villagers nearby have been complaining about him.”

SHE WAS TATTLING!

Merlin brushed off his robes, waltzing into the room and finding the king turning.

“Arthur! You found my apprentice!”

“Your apprentice?”

“With eyes like those, would you be surprised?”

Arthur itched his chin a bit, “…you have a point. You do have a thing for green eyes.”

“Stronger response to magic. Very destiny oriented people, those green eyed ones are.” Merlin patted his legs. “Come on, Mordred.”

Mordred glared at him.

“She doesn’t seem to like you,” Arthur noted.

“We’re getting used to one another.”

More like, he was making sure she had a proper fear of the death that could come her way due to the bloodline mixture running thick through those damn veins. She didn’t need to be telling the king that Morgana Le Fay had-

“Would you like to stay with me or Merlin?”

Merlin paused.

“King!”

Arthur shrugged, glancing over at him. “I’m sorry, old friend, but I don’t think you’re quite responsible enough for a child. Guinevere told me explicitly not to surrender her back to you anyway.”

“Arthur!”

“It’ll be fine, won’t it?” The king was picking the child up, holding her carefully in his arms as he glanced over at him. “I think we’ll have her be Guinevere’s. She has been longing for someone to care for and she is fond of Mordred already.”

“Guinefear?” Mordred asked.

“She will be your mother,” Arthur told her, smiling proudly. “You may call her mother from here on out.”

“She said dresses.”

Another laugh from the king. “I’ll talk to her. Your mother likes trousers too. I’ve seen her skip off into the villages with them now and then. I imagine that habit of hers will probably become yours as well.”

“Arthur,” Merlin stepped forward. “I don’t know how to tell you about this, but…”

He hesitated, noting the girl clinging to the king.

One moment.

It would merely take one moment to tell him that Mordred was his offspring, from a night between himself and his mortal enemy. That Mordred could end up being his undoing. It would only take a moment and it would mean the end of Mordred. The king could run her through and no one would be the wiser.

No one would mourn.

No one would see any loss.

Not even Le Fay.

“What is it, Merlin?” the king looked over at him.

“Your um… going to require a lot of time with her in order to bond properly.” Merlin told him. “It may be best to take a few days from the kingdom to allow the people to see you with Guinevere and Mordred in the village.”

“That’s true. It would make claiming her as my child more appropriate.”

Arthur grinned to the girl.

“Do you mind being my child?”

Mordred stared at him.

“Mordred?”

“Father,” she breathed, hugging him.

“There we go.” The king grinned to him. “Sorry about your apprentice, Merlin.”

“It’ll be fine. Enjoy your time with Mordred.”

The king grinned a little, murmuring about pudding and trousers as they headed for the doors.

Merlin glanced after them, sighing.

He would need to investigate and find Morgana before it was too late and she noticed her child in the palace.

The witch would bring about the end of them all through Mordred otherwise.

[innuendostudios]

[edit: the video was false-flagged as “hatespeech” on YouTube, so I have swapped the embed with a mirror on Vimeo. I will swap them back when I get the YouTube version reinstated/replaced in a re-edited form.]

It would not be possible to continue The Alt-Right Playbook without sitting down and defining fascism, so here we are. I know I said the next one would be shorter, and I was proven a damned liar. Maybe the next one! As ever, keep this series, and all my other videos, coming out steadily by backing me on Patreon.

Transcript below the cut.

"Fascism" is a term I've heard thrown around since I was a kid, but, most of the time, idiomatically. "Fascist" is what you called your Type A, passive-aggressive roommate: "Stop being such a fascist, Debra." Through osmosis, I knew its literal meaning was among a cluster of related words: Authoritarianism, totalitarianism, white supremacy, nationalism, dictatorship. But, for much of my life, if you pressed me to define any of these words, I could have only said, "You know, Nazis. Hitler, the Gestapo... you know, Nazis!"

This colloquializing of fascism, and its association with the cultural shorthand for pure evil, makes it very hard to discuss as an ideology, because even using the word, "fascism," sounds both hyperbolic and like a punch below the belt. To call a person, group, or idea "fascist" is to exaggerate for the purpose of dragging them.

Counterintuitively, this prevents us from criticizing fascist groups, even though most everyone agrees fascism is terrible, because, saying it, you sound ridiculous. You’re talking about Indiana Jones villains. So I'm going to be using the word, "fascism," kind of a lot in this video, hoping that we can semantically satiate it just enough that its connotative meanings - irreverent sarcasm and the envisioning of stormtroopers - are dulled to the point that we can talk about fascism as a system of beliefs, and as a mode of political organizing, and about who practices it today.

Our work necessitates a conversation about fascism; specifically, white fascism.

(Fascism, fascism, fascism.)

I. Fascism

Central to fascism is the belief that some people are more deserving of power than others, and that society’s appropriate structure is a hierarchy where increasingly smaller groups of betters rule over the lessers. This is not unique to fascism; this is the organizing principle of many social systems.

The difference between systems is whom each hierarchy says should be at the top. In a feudal monarchy, the top is the king and his family, and they get there by royal bloodline. In a capitalist free market (*cough*), people earn their place at the top by success in business. In fascism, the ones at the top should be “us,” whomever “us” happens to be, and they should get there by any means available.

The most succinct definition of fascism comes from Roger Griffin: “palingenetic ultranationalism,” a wonderful term because it fits a great many ideas into only two roots and a bunch of affixes, and a terrible one because both words need definitions of their own. (That’s not how efficiency works, Rog!)

So, OK: Palingenesis is the idea of rebirth, with some frankly Biblical overtones. The word “palingenesis” is used to refer to reincarnation, or the remaking of the world after Judgment Day. In terms of fascism, it is the notion that “we,” as a unified people, are ancient, that our former glory has waned, and that we are due to rise again. The implications that this rebirth will come by purging the world in fire with boiling seas and a blood-red sky are not entirely accidental. It is the granting of “us” with mythological importance.

Nationalism is, in the broadest sense, thinking of oneself through the lens of national identity. A single person holds a lot of identities: White, male, gamer, New Englander, cyclist, sports racer, and so on. Nationalism is the lens through which thinking of oneself as, for instance, American, is distinct from being Canadian, Liberian, Chilean, and that putting stock in this distinction is desirable. This can play out a lot of ways: Nationalism can be a colonized people forming an identity distinct from the ruling class and arguing that this people should have its own state, as in the American or Haitian Revolutions; Black nationalism has argued, at times, that Black Americans, while coexisting with other Americans, should maintain a distinct identity rather than be assimilated into white culture; and where Black nationalism has also sometimes argued for the repatriation of Black Americans to African nations, white nationalism typically argues that whites should have a nation of their own, not by returning to Europe, but by removing non-whites from the US (something Native Americans have opinions about). This would be an example of ultranationalism: The emphasizing of national identity as among the most, if not the most, important.

(These are not rare traits, and I want to stress that it is not the presence but the confluence of them that gives fascism its character.)

So, palingenetic ultranationalism: The belief that the nation is of the utmost importance, that the people running the nation should be a narrowly defined “us,” and that “we” should rule because it’s, more or less, our destiny.

The religiosity of this framing is intentional. Most hierarchical systems will make some case for why society should be structured a certain way: The king has been groomed for his role since birth, Steve Jobs did real good at the business factory. Fascism suspends the need for explanation: We belong at the top because we just do. Destiny. When pressed, fascists will offer pseudo-rational justifications for why they should be in charge which fall apart under the barest scrutiny, but debunking these claims is largely ineffective because, while they follow the cadences of reasoned argument, they’re operating on the level of emotion, faith, and a sense of belonging.

There’s a reason fascist regimes rely heavily on propaganda: Propaganda traffics not in arguments but in symbols. For the Nazis, it was the German soldier; for the Soviets, it was the worker. Propaganda relies on inspiring imagery that evokes cherished aspects of the culture, like the family or the countryside - “the babe in his cradle is closing his eyes, the blossom embraces the bee” - and ties those images to fascist ideals - “but soon, says a whisper, arise, arise, tomorrow belongs to me.” All of this is meant to make one swell with pride in such a way that it’s very hard to think about what is actually being said. Racist caricatures of Black and Jewish people - or whomever is “not us” in a given system - serve the same purpose by evoking hatred, or fear of what might happen to “us” if “they” were in control.

Jason Stanley calls this “affective override,” the moment where emotion shuts down critical thinking. If you’ve ever had a conversation with a conservative about, like, healthcare or something, and after a few exchanges they’re chest-beating about how “this is the nation of freedom and choice, the greatest nation that ever was, and I’m not going to let you take from me my god-given…” you’ve seen this in action. Fascism depends on this passionate fervor because it can’t convincingly pretend to be rational. The reason why one particular “us” should be at the top of the hierarchy, or why there should even be a hierarchy in the first place, is arbitrary. It’s that way because a particular “us” wants it that way.

II. Authority

We usually associate fascism with the image of state violence, be it the punishing of The Other, the policing of citizens, or the conquering of other nations, and, while this is almost always the case, fascism is not, as a rule, militant. In practice, fascists are not authoritarians or pacifists. For that matter, they're not capitalists or anti-capitalists. They're not statists or anarchists. They're not monarchists, oligarchists, or plutocrats. They are Whatever Puts Us In Power-ists.

For instance: Capitalism is a hierarchical system, and so fascists will often try to influence policy such that the capitalist hierarchy starts to resemble the desired fascist one, but only until the point that it stops suiting their needs. The “us” of fascism is always defined by essential qualities like race or heritage, qualities that don’t change. A poor person can become less poor, but a Black person can’t become less Black, so, no matter how biased and stratified capitalism becomes, so long as it is still technically possible for someone from the lower classes to rise above their station, there will come a time when fascists must leave capitalism behind in favor of a system fully without social mobility.

Similarly, if fascists have the ability to take governmental control through nonviolent means, they will often do so - remember, Mussolini took power in a coup but Hitler was elected. If democracy and nonviolence can be put to fascist ends, they will be. But instituting a system that benefits the few while the many suffer and where, by design, no one suffering is allowed to improve their situation, might as well be writing ad copy for guillotines, and that’s how you get the SS. So, yes, fascist power trends towards authoritarianism because, on a long enough timeline, it will be the only way fascism can maintain itself.

But, also, fascists and authoritarians think power, brutality, and subjugation are sexy in more or less identical ways, so, while not all authoritarians are fascists, most fascists are authoritarians. And state violence is often a way of getting people invested in a hierarchy that doesn’t directly benefit them: “You may not be at the top, but if you’re somewhere around the middle, we can employ you as military or police to keep the lower classes in line.” Many people will relinquish their rights to fascists in exchange for being “the arm of the law,” and, the more powerful the state becomes, the more vicarious power they get to wield. So long as they’re not at the bottom, they have some investment in the system continuing as is, because it authorizes them to fuck people up.

The other way fascism justifies itself to the masses is to insist that the only alternative is death. “We are a great and noble people with an illustrious history, and if we achieve our fated rebirth we will form the most glorious nation in all of history and take our rightful place as world leader, and if we fail we will be eradicated.” There is no in between. “They are coming for us, they are everywhere, we can beat them, but this is the only way.” Race war is the usual go-to, claiming Black people are savages and razing our cities to the ground is their nature, or that they want revenge for slavery (which, I mean…). Sometimes they go with a Jewish conspiracy as revenge for the Holocaust. Or both at the same time. Right now Islamophobia’s in fashion. Each depends on downplaying slavery or the Holocaust or the Crusades as the horrific acts that they were, insisting that the crimes are greatly exaggerated by history, because these are all pretty damning counterarguments to “us” being the greatest people who have ever lived.

III. Whiteness

Race is like gender and money: It’s real, but only because we make it real. But fascism necessitates the belief that whatever makes “us” us is not only extremely real, in the biological and/or spiritual sense, but that people can be ranked by it. And, when stacking the hierarchy, white fascists put themselves at the top. So: What is whiteness?

The short answer is that whiteness is whatever it needs to be. Whiteness was created to differentiate one people from the people they were oppressing. Whiteness is a means to an end. The people most fixated with the definition of whiteness are racists, but there is no anti-racist definition. Racists invented whiteness, and all white people are folded into it.

And the way white people conceive of whiteness is fundamentally different from how they conceive of other races. A common example of this phenomenon is Barack Obama: Obama had one Black parent and one white parent. But, while he can call himself the first Black President, he could never call himself a white President. (Or, well, he could call himself whatever he wanted, but white people wouldn’t agree, and no one would treat him like a white President.) White people are only white if they’re purebreeds, or if non-whiteness is far enough back in their family tree that one can pretend it isn’t there. These rules of purity don’t apply to other races: When Black and white people have children, those children are allowed to be Black, or any number of (often racist) terms for mixed-race children. But, whatever they are, they can’t be white.

This frames interracial families as an increase of one race and a decrease in whites. So, by this logic, where other races spread, whiteness has to be maintained.

White people don’t consider whiteness a race; it is the absence of race. The undiluted form of which all other races are deviations. And, if it goes, it can’t be brought back.

This is, of course, nonsense. It’s a bunch of made-up rules to justify white supremacy. There’s only so long fascists can insist, “If we don’t strike first, they’re going to kill us all,” before people start to notice that the race war they’ve been promising for a century doesn’t seem to be happening. So, then, the terms have to be updated: Now the existential threat is a generational project. Now Black people even existing near white people is the race war. They’re literally going to fuck us out of existence.

And, because whiteness is made up, it can be endlessly redefined. A tension inherent to fascism is that rather a lot of people are required to bring it into existence, but, by design, only a small number of people will run it once it exists. So, commonly, the definition of “us” is broadened while building coalitions, and gets progressively narrower the more fascist society becomes.

White fascists in the US and Europe go back and forth on whether or not Jewish people get to be white. For a while it was kiiiind of a soft yes, and now it’s tipping the other way as they gain influence. Ethnic groups formerly considered non-white, like Italians and the Irish, became white when white culture feared marginalized immigrants might ally with slaves in revolt.

Bigotry is intersectional; there aren’t a lot of single-issue bigots, people who hate Mexicans but fight for everyone else’s rights. People generally don't apply this hierarchical thinking to just one aspect of their lives. So - commonly - racism is comorbid with anti-Semitism is comorbid with misogyny is comorbid with transphobia is comorbid with homophobia is comorbid with religious intolerance. I mean, just listen to a Klansman talk about Catholics sometime, or, better yet, don’t. Any marginalized group may be inducted into the tribe to consolidate against a common enemy, but, should that enemy be defeated, the inductees become the new enemy.

We can see the history of social progress in the US as successively disenfranchised groups demanding and, sometimes, gaining their rights one by one, with reactionaries trying to beat back the tide. Transphobia is recently rampant in fascist circles and conservative politics because, with the legalization of same-sex marriage, the battle against homosexuality is thought to be lost - or, at least, at a ceasefire. This gives some cause to welcome gay transphobes into the ranks. But, should they seize enough power to strip what few protections trans people have gained recently, and the alliance is no longer useful, their gaze refocuses, and it’s last hired, first fired for the homosexuals. And then the African-Americans, and then the women, and on and on, stripping rights from social groups in the order opposite to which they were gained, like the plot of Final Destination 2.

IV. Goals

You might be thinking the endgame here is a nice, homogenous group of white men to sit at the top of the pyramid, and the white fascists would be thinking the same. But, in reality, there is no endgame. It’s not like, if the fascists get their ethnostate, they’re just gonna call it a day. It’s the flaw in obsessing over racial purity: Whiteness is defined by what it’s not. If it isn’t contrasted with something else, it ceases to be an identity. So, if the whites kick all the non-whites out of their country, suddenly the Irish and Italians aren’t white anymore. And then maybe the albinos, or the brunettes, or the Virginians, it doesn’t matter, the rules are made up. One way or another, the pyramid grows thinner.

The authoritarian mindset is one that just likes stripping rights from people. Leave authoritarians no one to strip rights from and they start stripping them from each other. (And yes, that’s what the research says.) The other outlet for this restless energy is war, invasion, colonization: Deport all the Mexicans and then follow them into Mexico. Go seeking an Other to define yourself against.

You’ve maybe noticed that these three drives - the seeking out of conflict, the need to subjugate more and more people, and the shrinking of one’s base of power - is not a recipe for success. Most hierarchical systems seek equilibrium, finding the point where the masses are just happy enough that they don’t disembowel you. But the trajectory of fascism is to make enemies, cast out allies, narrow the gene pool, and stuff your ill-gotten wealth into the military until you’re fully stocked with the kinds of weapons that ensure mutual destruction.

I’m not the first to say: white fascism is a suicide cult.

The history of fascism is one of atrocity followed by failure followed by disgrace, so modern fascists operate in a cycle of constant reinvention as they try to distance themselves from movements that came before. The ideology doesn’t change, but the rhetoric does, primarily by stealing rhetoric from the Left, because it’s, flatly, more popular. White nationalists calling themselves “identitarians” is an appropriation of progressive identity politics. The rhetoric of “white power” is an intentional bastardization of Black power movements. Even the Nazis, while installing a dictatorship, knew to call themselves socialists, and, despite German antifascism being formed predominantly by socialists and the first death camp being originally built to throw communists in, some people still believe this?

This appropriation of rhetoric is how each generation of fascists rebrands itself. “We’re not like those fascists who got hanged for what they did; we’re young, hip, and successful! Come back, baby, it’ll be different this time.”

V. The Administration

So, with all this explanation of what fascists believe and how they operate, I hope it’s clear that there is no workable definition of fascism that does not include the Alt-Right. They are, to the letter, a white fascist movement. That’s neither a diss nor an exaggeration, it’s a simple statement of fact.

So, then, to ask the trickier question: “Is the current administration fascist?” And, well, that depends on where you draw the line between “fascist” and “opportunist.”

Consider the evidence: The administration has staffed multiple fascist figureheads. It’s repeated a number of fascist slogans. It employs a nationalist thinking in which the nation should always get more out of any deal than the other participants. It holds the hierarchical belief that the President need not follow the same laws as the citizens. It relies on fear and demonization of a racial Other and portrays their mere presence in society as an invasion. It permits and makes justifications for violence against dissenters. It threatens to strip rights from opponents and members of the press. It relies on nostalgia for a mythologized past to sell a narrative of cultural rebirth. And its followers are intersectionally bigoted against women, the poor, Muslims, Black people, trans people, and queer people.

The only hesitance I feel around saying “this is fascism” centers around intent. How much of what they do and say do they believe in, and how much is just riding a wave of fascist sympathy to fuel a narcissistic lust for power and ram through policies that make them rich? But, ultimately, while there is some tactical value in this distinction - you have to deal with an opportunist differently from a true believer - in most contexts, the difference doesn’t matter.

Many will just tell you, “The correct term for ‘Nazi sympathizer’ is ‘Nazi,’” but if you won’t take that leap, consider this: Even if they have no particular plan or aptitude for creating a fascist government, any body in power that uses fascist rhetoric, lays the groundwork for future fascism, and empowers fascist movements needs to be at least viewed through the lens of fascism. Whether or not they’re fascists in their hearts is a question for historians. Whatever they are, they are, some percentage of the time, doing fascism. And, for our purposes, that's all we need to know.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Part 4 On Catholic Social Teaching: Subsidiarity, Part 1

Following the dignity of the human person and the common good, we turn to the third pillar of Catholic social teaching — subsidiarity. This pillar can be difficult for some U.S. Catholics to grasp, given the particular understanding of the human person and of human nature that we have inherited from the political thought of our country’s founders (largely Protestants and Deists).

This, once again, demonstrates the danger of making our chaotic and confused American politics — which are of very recent vintage historically and which are in a constant state of flux and devolution — into the template by which we measure the Church’s teaching. It’s the magisterium, not our favorite political tribe, pundit or ideology, that teaches us the mind of Christ. And we must learn to measure our political tribes, pundits and ideologies according to his light, not vice versa.

Here’s what I mean: I can’t tell you how many times I have talked to Catholics who say, “Of course I believe in Catholic social teaching! I believe in subsidiarity.” Which is a little bit like saying, “Of course I believe the Creed. I believe Jesus was born.” It’s true as far as it goes, but there is rather more involved.

Here’s an important point to remember: Subsidiarity is not in competition with the other pillars of Catholic social teaching. We can’t pit subsidiarity against, for example, solidarity and the common good — as, perhaps, some of us may be tempted to do, unwittingly thinking that the former secures the individual’s rights against the tyranny of big government (good thing), while the latter two pillars simply sound like code for socialism or the “nanny state” (bad things).

All the pillars of Catholic social teaching are in harmony with one another because all the pillars insist that, although we indeed live in a fallen world, nonetheless, the most basic truth about the human person is not that he is fallen, but that he is made in the image and likeness of God — and that Jesus Christ, not the Fall, is the last Word about who we truly are.

This is, again, especially tough for us Americans to swallow, since we live in a constitutional order (created by Protestants and Deists) that (certainly with a real measure of wisdom) is filled with checks and balances and designed to keep fallen man from getting too much power concentrated in too few hands. That’s true as far as it goes and has functioned well for two centuries. But Catholic social teaching is not fundamentally a political order (though it impinges on our politics) — but a theological vision of the human person made in the image and likeness of God.

And for the Catholic Tradition, our fallenness, while real, is not the most basic truth. Our origin, dignity and destiny in Christ is.

So if subsidiarity is not supposed to be a check on the Church’s teaching about the common good and solidarity, what is it?

Basically, subsidiarity is the recognition that the dignity of the human person involves the free self-governance of human beings, ordered toward the love of God and neighbor freely given. In Catholic understanding, our freedom is ordered not toward “I can do whatever I like, and you are not the boss of me,” but toward love of God and neighbor. Love, therefore — and not “Me and my tribe and my stuff and my power and my autonomy” — is the key to really grasping how to use our freedom rightly without perverting it.

Subsidiarity, practically lived out, generally comes down to this: The person or institution closest to a problem is typically the one or organization that should handle that problem. In short, as much as possible, you and I should personally be about the business of loving our neighbors, not waiting around for somebody else to do it while we focus on selfishness.

Here’s a simple illustration: Your local library finds it has a pothole in the parking lot. How do we handle that? Well, we don’t phone the White House and demand the Marines be sent in to patch the hole. Instead, somebody who works at the library might say, “I’ve got a bag of cement at home. I’ll fix it” and then asks the boss to reimburse him for labor and materials. Or those running the library might hire a contractor. Problem solved. No act of Congress required. Ordinary people have, by their own generosity, talent and resources, seen to their neighbors’ need and exercised their human dignity to perform an act of love — and thereby grow in holiness.

It will be quickly seen that the vast majority of our lives are lived by this commonsense rule. As G.K. Chesterton said:

“This is the first principle of democracy: that the essential things in men are the things they hold in common, not the things they hold separately. And the second principle is merely this: that the political instinct or desire is one of these things which they hold in common. Falling in love is more poetical than dropping into poetry. The democratic contention is that government (helping to rule the tribe) is a thing like falling in love, and not a thing like dropping into poetry. It is not something analogous to playing the church organ, painting on vellum, discovering the North Pole (that insidious habit), looping the loop, being Astronomer Royal, and so on. For these things we do not wish a man to do at all unless he does them well. It is, on the contrary, a thing analogous to writing one’s own love letters or blowing one’s own nose. These things we want a man to do for himself, even if he does them badly.”

Why? Because the dignity of the human person, that’s why. It’s why we insist our children learn to tie their own shoes, keep their own rooms clean and bit by bit claim adult control of their lives so they can live, love, work, play, worship and be a gift to the world with their time, talent and treasure. It’s an attitude to human growth and freedom that has (whether we realize it or not) nothing less than the divinization of the human person and his full participation in the life of the blessed Trinity and the communion of saints as its end point.

This is something that is, to a certain degree, deeply appreciated by American culture. Americans have an intense respect for those who “learn to stand on their own two feet,” for the “self-made man” and so forth. And that is good as far as it goes. As a parent, I most certainly do desire to see my children flourish and prosper and give back to the community that has given us all so much.

The trouble comes when we divorce the language of personal autonomy from the love of God and neighbor and allow it to become attached to a sort of Darwinian ideology of the war of all against all for survival. I want my children to grow up to be loving, personally responsible adults. I don’t want my desire for them to stand on their own two feet to become so important to me that I am willing to countenance a Hunger Games culture-of-death struggle for survival, wherein the weak are destroyed and only the strong and cunning reach adulthood and have the right to spawn like salmon and then die. Yet a vision like this is often very much what our culture holds out to us: a perverted vision of subsidiarity that boils down to “I’ve got mine. Too bad for you.”

Subsidiarity is ordered toward human flourishing, not the survival of the fittest. It deeply respects human freedom, just as good parents deeply respect their children’s freedom. The freedom it respects, however, is ordered liberty, not moral anarchy.

Therefore, the Church says (Compendium, 185):

“It is impossible to promote the dignity of the person without showing concern for the family, groups, associations, local territorial realities; in short, for that aggregate of economic, social, cultural, sports-oriented, recreational, professional and political expressions to which people spontaneously give life and which make it possible for them to achieve effective social growth.”

In other words, the Church is a not a vast, centralized, totalitarian system in which all is micromanaged by Rome and that which is not forbidden is compulsory. For the same reason, the Church desires that our secular orders mirror this. Rather than the state running everything, there are a host of “mediating institutions” — everything from bowling leagues and school boards to theater groups, Facebook groups, Boy Scouts and birdwatching societies to cooking guilds — wherein human beings self-organize without the state or the Church telling everybody what do. The Church blesses this liberty and trusts that the Holy Spirit, in his immense fertility, will draw out from these ordinary human interactions a host of gifts and graces to the world from the charisms and human abilities he himself gives to human beings.

As Pope Pius XI taught it in his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (Reconstruction of the Social Order):

“Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do. For every social activity ought of its very nature to furnish help to the members of the body social and never destroy and absorb them.”

The Church, then, emphatically lives by the conviction that Small is Beautiful and tends to side with the Little Guy, doing what God has gifted him and graced him to do — and confident that through his dedicated devotion to honest work honestly done with the gifts God has given him, the needs — both large and small — of the human community will be met in large measure. Paul’s theology concerning the body of Christ is the great image here: Each part — each cell — doing its proper job will not only support itself, but receive from and give back to the whole and live in harmony, not competition, with the other members of the body.

Subsidiarity, thus: “protects people from abuses by higher-level social authority and calls on these same authorities to help individuals and intermediate groups to fulfil their duties” (Compendium, 187). Why? Again, because of the dignity of the human person and the common good. The law is made for man, not man for the law. The person is not the means to a nice, shiny, functioning machine of government, because the person is not a means to any end. The human person is the only being in the visible universe that God has created for his or her own sake.

Certainly, systems — of government, as well as plumbing, football rules, taxation, computer programming and immigration law, to name a few — must exist. But they exist for the sake of the person, for each person and thus for all persons. Persons don’t exist for the sake of systems, and the moment a system becomes harmful to the human person, it is right and proper to alter or abolish it and create a better one. And the system which allows each person to grow in genuine freedom and dignity as a son or daughter of God is the system that’s best.

It will then be asked, “If all that is so, then what role is there for the state?” Of that, and other matters, more next time.

BY: MARK SHEA

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

[nihanovacaine]

An Unexpected Ally

The Magistrix would be relaxing in Silvermoon, nodding a greeting or two to those who recognized her. Her hands would hold a magical tome tightly, glancing into it as she walked past the crowds of people at the Royal Exchange. She stopped however, as the Magistrix saw a tall figure in her peripheral vision walk by. Curious to find out if her senses had betrayed her, the snowy-haired woman turned heel to walk toward the ebon-haired man who wore heavy axes on his back, his armor was unlike the woman often saw in the Eastern Kingdoms or Kalimdor. Runic tattoos adorned the sides of his head. His hair seemed styled in the manner of the Valajar or the the Vrykul, yet his features were strangely elven. The Blood Mage then placed the tome within her pocket dimensional satchel, putting it away.

As she approached the individual, he took notice of her. He looked down to her small statured form and began, “Hello, Little one."

The Magistrix would look up to the tall warrior and offered a smile. "Bal'adash." A hint of piqued interest was apparent in the woman’s emerald eyes.

The tall Warrior gave a soft smile, his golden, galaxy-esque eyes would scan her before he spoke softly, "Can I help ye?"

As he began, the snowy-haired woman’s features formed a smile, "No, I just thought that I'd come by and greet you. I don't suppose I've seen you around in the city."

"Ah, well greetings! I've been here only recently. Doing a wee bit of recruitment for my clan. Have had a bit more success than within the cesspool that is Orgrimmar, that's for sure." He greeted the Magistrix. The latter half of his statement had a tinge of bitterness to it.

The Magistrix’s lips thinned in response, "You've come from a faraway land. I'm glad that you've seen more success in your endeavor. But what obstacles did you run into in the Horde capital?"

"Ah, they dunnae care for my accent. Called me a...what was it? Spawn of a Dwarf who fucked an orc?" said the man, obviously still bitter as he explained.

The Magistrix would look to the ground to adjust the helm of her gilded robes. As he explained, her head rose to him, shock was written across her features. "Oh, that is...rather distasteful. I am sorry that you had to be faced with such misconduct.” She thought for a moment, the Warrior probably did not realize that she was well-travelled and spoke many languages and dialects. She rested her arms to her sides once more, “I understand you perfectly fine. But then again, I work with factions all over Azeroth."

The Warrior seemed intrigued as he asked, "Och? Do ye noo? An' tell me, tad one, what do ye think of what the Horde an' the Alliance an' their destruction of Azeroth?"

"War is meaningless at this point. We needn't go back to throttling each other like children right after unifying under one banner to quell the Legion threat." The Magistrix had firm belief in what she stated, resulting in her response being immediate.  "I am not against my Horde allies, but I do not want to go to war." Said she, as a gloved hand extended gesturing to the denizens of her city. Her gaze met his again,  "I am, however, curious as to what are -you- thoughts on the matter."

"Aye. That's what my order seeks to prevent. Senseless war. We are all children of the Pantheon, some just believe in protecting the world rather than fighting over her resoorces." said the Warrior. To which the Blood Mage replied, "Is that right? Then I see that we share the same sentiment."

"My order seeks to protect Azeroth in whatever way we can. Conventional or Otherwise. We kill when necessary, but not withoot purpose. No death we deliver is withoot warrant."  He explained to her. Nimuehdra smiled up at the man, her features softened as he spoke, "As is the motto of my base of operations and the Order I serve. I wholeheartedly concur." said she, sincerely.

The tall, Northman smiled down at the Magistrix, he was short in his speech and introduced himself. "Bassidon Havisson."

The Magistrix's emerald orbs lit up as he introduced himself. "Nimuehdra Emberfury, Magistrix and Envoy to the Scions, and leader to the Emberfury Div. It is good to make your acquaintance,

Mister Havisson."

The ebon-haired Warrior smiled, his galaxy-esque hues curved into a crescent as he chuckled. "Everyone keeps calling me Mister or Lord. These titles mean nothing to me. I am a Konungr."

The Magistrix's eyes widened for a fleeting moment. She would bow humbly and as her head rose up to glance at him again, she smiled. "It is an honor to be in the presence of such a high ranked member of the Northmen. Forgive my people, they will address you in such a manner because it is what they understand. They are being respectful, nevertheless."

To which, he shook his head, "It is nae a problem. I am nae from these lands, I shooldn't expect people to treat me as such." he would smile, "If most knew hoo I was... it'd be a completely different."

"Well, I certainly know what your rank means and entails. It is akin to royalty among our people."  She smiled in turn, "I imagine it would be, Konungr." stated she, truthfully.

A smile remained on his features, seeming somewhat content. Someone who wasn't apart of his clan that actually knew what his title meant. What it entailed. The Burden that was on his shoulders and the weight that came with it. He smiled. "Fitting for someone such as me. Thoogh, despite who I am, I was nae expecting my people to follow me."

A smile remained on her features, "The best leaders walk among their followers, Konungr Havisson. They follow you because you are willing to take on the burden of leading them to the path of honor and guide them to be just. At least, that is what I've learned from our interaction so far. Us...álfr...as your people would refer to us, think and act differently but our core values are not too different. It makes sense for you to look for those who would join your clan here."

The smile on the ebon-haired Warrior’s lips widened, "Yoo've the understanding and wisdom that would rival the All-father." he said humbly. "What a shame that fate brooght us together only now, and not when ye needed a order to follow. Nonetheless, I consider ye an ally and friend."

The Magistrix’s features would mirror his in turn, "You lavish me with high praise that is I am undeserving of, Konungr. The All-father is the all-knowing one. Perhaps it was his will to have let us meet on this eve. It was probably all according to his grand plan. Fate and Destiny are sometimes written in softened clay instead of being carved in stone. Ones who claimed to foresee the future were also sometimes wrong about it." She would raise a gloved hand to her lips and chuckled. Emerald eyes rose to his as she offered him a nod, "You honor me by referring to me as such. I will gladly work with you as an ally and extend my hand, though a tad small in comparison to yours, in friendship."

The Northman chuckled, "Then it is so. We are friends and allies then. And as such you are a friend to the Valajar and Valhalla." His ears twitched as he heard a voice within his mind, a soft smile gracing his lips as he nodded. "Forgive me, my father simply wished

to tell me something." The snowy-haired woman’s expression was gentle as he spoke to her, "I am glad to have met you to have this conversation." Eyes lined with paled eyelashes would blink twice as the Magistrix observed his movements. "I see. If I may pry, what pray tell did

he say to you? I will understand if you do not wish to share, of course. Forgive me if I am intruding."

"He was giving me a confidence boost. I have been feeling fairly doon in regards to rebuilding my Clan. I've foond some that wish to take up arms, but others that think they are safe behind their little Hooses, while the Horde an' Alliance continue to rip one another apart."

Nimuehdra extended a gloved hand,and twirled her hand as she began, "Well, in that case, here's another confidence boost. We are allies now, so should you need assistance, be not hesitant to call on the Division for aid. We will be happy to do what we can. I say so as the head of operations. We support all who see no point in meaningless warfare and would rather focus on protecting Azeroth instead of plundering it for its resources. As King Magni Bronzebeard informed us, Azeroth cried as she bled from the wound in Silithus. To fight over the seepage is...deplorable as her children."

The Northman sighed softly, "Deplorable indeed... I can feel her dying... I can feel it. It shakes every bit of my core. My family... we're connected to Azeroth unlike what others know or could even comprehend....that is why we fight. That is why we try to protect

Azeroth and her people."

Snowy, sculpted brows would furrow in concern as he expressed himself to her, "I can't begin to imagine how your people and yourself feel being connected to her as such. As I said, you have our aid should the need arise, Konungr. As her children, we must fight to protect Azeroth...even if it means to protect it from ourselves."

"I agree wholeheartedly. This was nae my father's crusade, the protect Azeroth I mean, but after the Legion...an' I saw hoo it corrupted my people...an' then seeing hoo quickly the Horde an' Alliance turned on one another, it was enoogh for me to take a stand."

"That makes perfect sense to me. It is good to see one of your people working with our own. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors." She said, adding so as to offer  support to the Northman.

"The same to ye, Nimuehdra Emberfury. Odyn's blessing upon ye." He responded, offering the Elven Mage a salute.

The  Magistrix saluted him in turn, " Be well, Konungr. May the Eternal Sun guide you where you wish to lead your clan."

"Sometime, Emberfury, I'd love for ye an' yer division to come to Myjosyndil." Offered the tall man.

"I'd be honored to have my colleagues visit, Konungr. You and your people are most welcome to our   Headquarters as well."  The Magistrix accepted, inviting him and his Clan as well.

To which, another smile spread across his features. "Then I shall see ye soon, my friend."

The Blood Mage bowed her head humbly and smiled to the tall Warrior. "Anu belore del'ana.” She looked back to the Man once again and then glanced forward, returning to her colleagues, content that she had made a rather unexpected ally.

[aion-rsa]

Charlie Jane Anders on Writing the YA Space Opera Her Teen Self Would Have Loved

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Charlie Jane Anders is making her first foray into YA with Victories Greater Than Death, a space fantasy adventure about a teen girl named Tina who happens to be the clone of a legendary alien captain and is faced with saving the universe from an alien organization known as the Compassion (good branding, I know). Luckily, Tina isn’t alone. She’s got her best friend Rachel, a group of brilliant teen humans from around the world, and what’s left of the Royal Fleet, a Starfleet-like space organization on its last leg.

While the Compassion may be Tina’s main nemesis, she also has the internal struggle of living up to the very high expectations set by both the members of the Royal Fleet and herself. Raised by her adopted mother on Earth, Tina has always known the story of her out-of-this-world origin, and that she would one day be called upon to claim the memories of the alien captain she was cloned from and use them to save the universe. When things don’t go according to plan, Tina may have to learn to embrace a different kind of destiny—or die trying. You know, classic teen stuff.

Victories Greater Than Death is set in a vivid and diverse world, and is only the beginning of a planned sci-fi adventure trilogy. If you’re a fan of Star Trek or other space operas, Victories Greater Than Death is both familiar and probably not quite like any other fictional world you have seen or read. I had the chance to talk to Anders about what it was like to imagine this vibrant and hopeful world to life.

Den of Geek: Your first two books, All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night were adult novels. Why did you decide to write a YA novel with Victories Greater Than Death?

Charlie Jane Anders: I’ve been a big fan of YA for as long as I can remember. A lot of the most interesting stuff happening right now is happening in YA. I really loved The Hunger Games books, and there are so many great YAs coming out right now, like Legendborn by Tracy Deonn and Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger.

One thing that made me feel like now is the time for me to do a YA was just noticing that YA had taken a turn more towards fun, action adventure stories. The one that comes to mind is Warcross by Marie Lu. A lot of people who don’t keep up with YA think that YA is all dystopias all the time, like Hunger Games or like a bunch of other books that came out after Hunger Games, but really for the last at least three or four years, there’s been a ton of YA that’s just about a group of kids having an amazing adventure.

Warcross is just a book about gaming and it’s like e-sports, but it’s in virtual reality and it’s just kids competing in a tournament. That’s the whole book. Somebody is trying to sabotage the tournament, but it’s just really fun and fast-paced and exciting and entertaining. I was like, “You know, I feel like the kind of books that I loved when I was a kid, not just even books for teenagers, but books for adults, the fun, fast-paced adventure stories that I really love are happening in YA right now.”

I’ve always wanted to do my own space opera thing that’s along the lines of Star Trek or Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy, and I felt like YA was a place that I could do that and actually have a lot of fun with it. Once I got into it, I started thinking about my teenage self and what my teenage self would have wanted in a book. What my teenage self really wanted was a book about escape and getting away from this planet and going off and living among the stars.

You mentioned in a recent episode of your Our Opinions Are Correct podcast that, when you set out to write Victories Greater Than Death, you laid out a bunch of YA books on the floor of your apartment to study the voice and pacing and other structural elements of YA.

Yeah, I had a pile of YA books and I was like, “OK, how many of these are in third person? How many of them are in first person? How many go back and forth? How many of them are present versus past tense? How long are the chapters? How do they work into the good pacing and tone and stuff?” I found a real range. It’s actually interesting that there’s many different ways to write YA that are successful, but the fast-paced, short chapters and the emotional immediacy and the “something is happening” are [usually important].

On any page you open it to, something interesting is happening. Some of the books had a snarky tone or a self-mocking narrator. Some of them had a narrator who was just really angry or really determined. Just looking at the writing style helped me to think about it. Then I had a moment or I had many moments where I was like, “I want to write in a YA style and tone, but I also really want this book to be the book that if you had liked All the Birds in the Sky and you wanted a young adult book by that author, this is what you would get.”

I wanted it to be recognizably by me and have some of the same feel and the whimsicalness and the whimsy and the lightness that people seem to respond to in All the Birds in the Sky—that kind of humor and that kind of feel. I really tried to find the YA version of that voice, I guess. My voice.

You have this great group of teen humans in the book that become the heart of the story and they’re from all over the planet. How did you go about choosing which teens you wanted to have representing the youth of Earth?

It was really important to me to have kids come from all over the world for a few reasons. First of all, I mean, originally I was like, “Oh, maybe Tina, the main character, maybe she just goes up into space with a group of teens from her own high school.” But I don’t know, every way I tried to write that, it just didn’t seem as interesting. It felt a little bit boring.

I liked the idea of teens coming from all over the planet because then you could have teens who are geniuses in their own right and who’ve been selected through the process that we have in the book. I feel like if you are going to get the best and brightest, they should come from all over. I also feel like when you’re having humans interact with humanoid aliens, one of the dangers is that you start projecting onto these humanoid aliens in a way that makes them representatives of real ethnic groups on earth.

You see that in Star Trek a lot. I think that one way that you can get away from that is by really representing the actual diversity of humans and making the aliens of aliens as alien as you can. Making the aliens really alien and making sure that, instead of having aliens who represent Asians, you have Asian people, you know? I really wanted to do that. The thing is, I didn’t want these characters to be just along for the ride.

I didn’t want them to be just random teenagers who happened to get swept up in Tina’s adventure. I wanted them to have their own reasons for leaving Earth. A lot of the thought that went into it was like, “OK, what’s an interesting, compelling little backstory that gives this person a reason to be like, ‘I’m leaving the planet now’? Like, ‘Oh, this flying pizza tray just fell out of the sky and landed in front of me and I’m being told that I will leave home forever if I get on it.'”

Stuff like Wang Yiwei just had a giant fight with his girlfriend and she broke up with him and he’s just like, “Well, screw it. I’m leaving the planet now.” That made sense to me and then he has other reasons once he’s in space for wanting to be in space. He’s gets really obsessed with a lot of stuff that he’s learning in space. I just wanted the characters to have their own origin stories that were more distinct.

It felt like having them make this choice to get on this circle, even if they don’t know what’s going to happen next, added a little bit more fun to it as well.

Yeah. I also like how there are “Chosen One” elements in this story with Tina and how her character is viewed by so many people and even sometimes by herself, but there’s also, I think a rejection of that. I like that both those things exist in one story.

Yeah. Thanks. That was something I thought a lot about. Obviously, we’re all thinking about “Chosen One” stories right now and how to do them better or how to maybe replace them with something else.

There’s a lot of moments in the book where Tina is like, “I’ll handle this. Everybody else stay back.” Or she’s like, “I’ll go down to the planet. All the other humans should stay on the ship because it’s not safe.” Or, “I’ll protect you.” She’s always like, “I’ll protect you.” To everybody. By the end of the book, hopefully there’s a moment where she realizes and everybody realizes that she’s stronger and that she’s only going to be able to win if she actually trusts her friends and relies on them and doesn’t just treat them as her sidekicks or as people that she’s going to protect or boss around. That she actually needs to let them be part of it.

I think that I’ve been in a lot of conversations about replacing the chosen one with the chosen family where you have instead of one person, who’s the special person who everybody else is their sidekick, everybody is special or everybody gets to be important in their own way. It’s more of an ensemble versus the one special person.

We get that so early with Tina and Rachel’s relationship. Rachel just really advocating for herself and being like, “Well, I want to go too. You don’t get to make this decision for me.” Their friendship is great. I’m really enjoying that so far.

Yeah. I had a lot of fun with Rachel. I think Rachel is probably my favorite character in this book. She’s one of the main characters in the second book. We get her point of view. Rachel was a lot of fun. Again, there are certain tropes that it’s so easy to fall into and in some cases, I had to really stop and think about how to not fall into them. For example, in the case of Rachel, so there was a version of the book where she gets on the ship with Tina. She comes up to the ship with Tina and she’s immediately like, “I want to go home. When can I go home? Let me go home. I’m scared. Let me go home.”

I don’t know, it turned her into a wet blanket for one thing, but also, it wasn’t as interesting and it didn’t feel real to me. When I thought about Rachel and who she is and how she wants to be and experience all this stuff, and so she’s passionate about developing her art, and what could be cooler than going into space and seeing all the cool stuff in space so she can draw it and so that she can be the first human being to draw something in space?

I was like, “Of course you would want that.” I thought it added a really good complexity to her character that she’s somebody who when there’s a bully, a kid her own age calling her names or maybe harassing her in some way, she runs and hides. But when there’s an alien monster trying to kill her, she stands her ground because it’s a different situation. People aren’t as simple as just they always run and hide or they always … People are different in different situations.

Sometimes people can handle psychological attacks differently than they would handle physical danger. I wanted to have that complexity in there.

Yeah. You mentioned the second book, this is going to be a trilogy. Was it always a trilogy?

It always was going to be a trilogy. I think part of it was just that I wanted to create a really big universe that I could explore over a few books. I spent honestly so much time coming up with very complicated backstory for the Royal Fleet and for all the different aliens in the book. There’s so much stuff that I came up with that’s not on the page at all, but it’s just in my notes. I created a Wiki for all of the world building and all the creatures and all the stuff.

I really wanted to be able to do a big story with a big mystery. There was just a lot of stuff that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get to in the first book. For example, the second book, which I just handed in a new draft of, the second book basically answers all the questions that are raised in the first book. We get to see all the stuff that was hinted at in the first book. It’s a lot of learning more about the world and understanding this mysterious thing that we find out about at the end of the first book.

Then basically everything is answered in the second book. Then there are new questions that are raised at the end, which I would say by the middle of the third book, most of those questions are going to be answered. There’s a lot to unspool there.

Yeah. You can tell how much world building you did. Actually, one of my questions was, was it hard to hold back those details? Because I feel like every time you introduce an alien, I can feel how much you know about them.

Yay. I’m so glad. I’m glad that that worked. Yeah. I mean, everything has to be about the characters. Everything has to be about moving the story forward and all the little details are just there to ground you in the world and keep you in the action.

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Are these alien ideas that you’ve had for a long time or are they ideas that you were brainstorming as you were writing this first book in this world?

I was brainstorming as I was writing. I feel like I just spent a lot of time trying to come up with aliens that I hadn’t seen before, or that felt like their own thing, that felt like they were a different idea. When I submitted the book to my agent and then eventually to Tor, I had a giant document with everything there is to know about a bunch of alien species plus the history of the galaxy and just a ton of other stuff, because I wanted the publisher to know and I wanted my agent to know there’s actual stuff here. I didn’t just come up with a bunch of random names and just throw them in there.

I’m having a lot of fun in the third book, because there’s this species called the Aribentors. They’re the people who look like skeletons kind of, and we learn a lot about them in the first book. Then we learn a little bit more in the second book, but in the third book, I’ve got a thing where the group of heroes now includes two Aribentors who hate each other.

They’re members of the same species. They belong to the same civilization, but they just each think the other is just full of shit. It’s actually really fun to have the two of them just be like, “No. You’re the one who doesn’t understand.” Because when you only meet one member of a particular species or a group, they can tell you whatever about how things work in their culture and you’re just like, “Oh, OK. That thing.”

Once you got two of them together and they can argue with each other and we can see that, “Oh yeah. Just like everybody else, different people have different viewpoints.”

It was actually really cool to read this book right after I read the ARC for First, Become Ashes because both books have characters introducing themselves along with their pronouns. When did that become a part of this?

I’m trying to remember how that came about. I think it was that I was just thinking about this universal translator that they have, the EverySpeak, how a universal translator would work. It would have to use telepathy or limited telepathy because otherwise, there’re so many languages. You think about just how many languages there are on Earth and then you’re like, “OK, now there’s like a million other worlds and they each have the same number of languages per world.”

There’s no way that you would just have a device that’s just like, “Oh, we have a database of every language in the universe and we’re just going to translate automatically.” It would have to be telepathic. So I thought, “Well, if it could do that, maybe it could prevent other kinds of misunderstandings.” One of the main misunderstandings is if you get someone’s pronoun wrong or if you misgender somebody. It just made sense that the technology would be able to do that.

I very carefully in the first book say that not everybody hears the pronoun spoken out loud. I think in the second book we get other points of view and some of the characters are not hearing the pronoun spoken out loud. It’s just that they are aware of a person’s pronoun when they meet someone. I’ll just be like, “I met up with so-and-so.” Then in parentheses I’d have their pronouns at the start.

It’s just like the translator’s letting you know their pronouns, but I didn’t think it should be the same for everybody necessarily, but I thought it was just really important. There’s a certain amount of wish fulfillment and utopianism in stories like Star Trek and like Victories Greater Than Death. I feel like one of the things that is a piece of wish fulfillment for me is just living in a world where nobody ever gets your pronoun wrong.

I loved that moment in Star Trek: Discovery where Adira tells everybody on the ship that they’re now using they/them pronouns and nobody bats an eye. Everybody’s like, “OK” That’s the whole conversation. There doesn’t have to be a giant discussion about it.

In Victories Greater That Death, characters have different greetings for different situations that reminded me of the Vulcan “Live long and prosper/Peace and long life.” Do you have a favorite of the ones you came up with?

Yeah, I really like “Clueless enemies and forgiving friends.” I think that’s still in there. I mean, I wanted the Royal Fleet to just have a lot of elements that were fun and colorful. Instead of it just being a grim “we’re all just saluting and saying jargon to each other,” it’s funny. I watched this show, The Last Ship, which has a lot of problems, but it was made I think with the cooperation of the U.S. Navy and it had extremely accurate and very well-done naval battles, which actually really helped me thinking about space battles, even though obviously a little bit different.

Part of what The Last Ship really shows is the level of the rituals and all the little observances and rituals and somewhat whimsical stuff that people do in the military. Just the thing where they don’t say, “What’s your location?” They say, “What’s your whiskey?” I think I’m getting that right. I thought, “They should have their own little rituals and their own little observances.” It should be something that’s fun that people can be like, “Oh, I’d want to be part of that, because that seems like a fun thing.” I’ve tried very hard in general to avoid the grim, “we’re just all gritting our teeth” thing all the time.

Star Trek was obviously a big touchstone for this book and world. What elements of Trek did you want to emulate or explore and which elements did you maybe want to push back against?

I definitely grew up loving Star Trek and definitely Star Trek is still super important to me, especially now. I feel like Discovery has really rekindled my love of Star Trek and I’m loving Lower Decks. [With Victories], mostly what I wanted to do was write something that nobody would be like, “Oh, you just completely just copied Star Trek.” I didn’t want it to be like oh, instead of Vulcans, there’s like Vercans or whatever. You know?

I was trying really hard to not just do the Star Trek thing up the wazoo. I think one thing that I wanted to do differently is that in Star Trek it always seems like humans are in charge of everything. The Federation is basically humans and then other groups get to be a part of it, but the humans are always the one calling the shots. I thought it was way more interesting if humans are just there—like, we have our human kids, but everybody else is an alien and aliens have been doing this thing for a long time and they’re in charge. They have their own knowledge and they have their own establishment. That was the thing that I thought was more fun or was fun to do differently.

I think to some extent when I watched Star Trek, especially the original Star Trek, but really all Star Trek, to some extent the Federation and Starfleet feel like they’re representing America. I feel like, to some extent, the show is about America and American power and influence in the world. So you have this thing of the Prime Directive. The original Star Trek has all these stories where it’s explicitly about basically proxy wars fought, except instead of fighting proxy wars in Latin American countries, as you know, we were with the Soviets, we’re fighting them on a planet with the Mugato and everything, and against the Klingons. The original Star Trek very much commented on the Cold War with the United States represented by the Federation and Starfleet. I inevitably had to think about the Royal Fleet and what it stands for.

To some extent it does, in my mind, represent America a little bit or represent the Western powers. You see some hints in the first book. I’m not going to spoil it too much, but you see some hits in the first book that the Royal Fleet has some problems and has some shortcomings. We learn a lot more about that in the second book. Part of what I love about Star Trek is that it’s so idealistic and that Starfleet is usually good and just and usually does the right thing.

But sometimes Star Trek does delve into how the Federation sometimes does the expedient thing rather than the right thing, or sometimes it makes mistakes. Picard really goes into that with the Federation basically just abandoning the Romulans and retreating into isolationism a little bit after this disaster that happens. Anyway, so basically I wanted to interrogate that a little bit more and if this space fleet, in my case, the Royal Fleet, is representative of the United States, is standing in for the United States, what do we think about that? Is it necessarily all good?

Before you go, I like to ask the people I interview what they are a fan of currently…

I’m really loving Batwoman. I like the new season a lot. I finally just finished reading The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black, who I’m going to be doing an event within a few days. That was amazing. It was so great. I love her writing so much. I love A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow and I love The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus. Those are a couple of young adult books I read recently that I was just like, “Wow. These are so amazing.”

It was so nice to talk to you.

Good to talk to you too.

Victories Greater Than Death hit bookshelves tomorrow, April 13th, and is available to pre-order now.

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