#and maybe that's what julian was trying to do with this commentary

[demilypyro]

There's a thought/theory/whatever I've long had about a specific pair of episodes from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ever since I was a teen, and I'm putting this post out there to see if anybody else had the same thought.

I think Julian Bashir from Deep Space Nine, especially his plotline about having been genetically altered at a young age, is a commentary on neurodivergency.

Bashir is characterized as being highly intelligent, albeit lacking in social insight. He excels in academic matters but frequently finds himself floundering around women, being led by the nose by more charismatic people, and not picking up what other people are putting down. This alone would make him the average stereotypical TV depiction of an autistic person, but what I want to focus on is the episode that provides a canonical reason for these traits: the season 5 episode Doctor Bashir, I Presume.

In this episode it's revealed, or retconned really, that Bashir owes his intelligence to genetic tempering. Bashir originally suffered from a learning disability. He was not as intelligent as other children his age, falling far behind his peers, and his parents resorted to illegally altering his genes to "cure" that disability. As a result he instead became exceedingly intelligent. In essence, it took away a symptom that made his life more difficult, and traded it for one that made him more functional.

That episode on its own isn't a super strong nod towards autism. Though it does establish that Bashir is at least neurodivergent, it's more a discussion on eugenics and the theoretical ethics of removing disabilities through genetics. What I really want to focus on is the sort-of-sequel to this episode, and the only other episode that really focuses on these themes: the season 6 episode "Statistical Probabilities." In this episode, Bashir sets out to help other people who underwent genetic alteration, but for whom the treatments didn't go as well. The people he meets all display symptoms of one neurodivergency or another. One of them is very hyperactive and lacks empathy, another is very childlike despite being an old man, and another is entirely unresponsive.

For me, as someone who grew up in special education, I couldn't help but recognize some of the people I knew. To me, the metaphor was clear: "genetic alteration" was really just sci-fi talk for neurodivergency. Julian was the savant, the high-functioning autistic person who successfully integrated into society, because his neurodivergency gave him intelligence and insight that made him useful. And the others weren't as lucky, struggling to lead normal lives because their symptoms impeded their ability to function by themselves.

Bashir spends the episode trying to prove that the other genetically altered people have something to offer society, that there is a place for them. It felt very on the nose to me. But no one I've seen talk about this pair of episodes ever seemed to have taken from them what I took from them. I can't find anyone else online who interpreted the episodes the same way. Maybe my perspective is very particular, as someone who spent so much time in special education growing up, and who has personally struggled with finding a place where I can offer something to others. But idk. Am I seeing allegories that aren't there? What do yall think?

[deepspacedukat]

I was going to add a comment to your post about ST:PIC, but I felt maybe this was too long and personal of a comment. And I don't even need a response if you don't feel like giving one. But I wanted to say, I understand, at least a little. When the DS9 episode with Jadzia's same sex kiss aired the first time on live TV, I was watching, and my mother turned it off and said it was disgusting. It's not like I was a little kid either - I was a teenager. I didn't see the end of that episode until it was streaming on Netfix decades later. My mother watched TOS when she was younger, so you would think that she would've understood that Star Trek likes being on the cutting edge of social commentary.

Anyway that was almost 30 years ago and I wish the real world had changed more in that time. I'll also add that my mom turning off the TV that day didn't stop me from eventually thinking that both Bashir and Jadzia were the best looking actors on the show. That weren't Romulans.

Thank you so much for sending me this, my friend. 💜 I hope you’re okay with me responding to this publicly (if you’re not, please let me know and I’ll take it down asap). Seriously, this message and all the other responses I’ve gotten have been really positive, so thank you! 💖

I’ve been trying to think of a reply to this beyond a simple ‘thank you,’ because I definitely want to make sure what I say is meaningful (especially given the personal nature of your message). Because this message 100000% deserves a meaningful response. This is a really important topic.

It’s nice to know I’m not alone. I mean, obviously, I’m sorry you had to go through that, of course, but thank you for taking the time to tell me about your experience. Moments like both yours and mine aren’t pleasant, but they do serve to illustrate a couple points.

I’m gonna pop them under a readmore. This is just a little dig for a silver lining to all this. Feel free to ignore if you like. I just felt rambly and had a few thoughts bouncing around in my head.

1.) Reassuring Non-Uniqueness - Almost anything you go through has been gone through before. I’m not downplaying anyone’s experiences by any means! Own your story! It’s your own! Your experiences are important! What I do mean is that if you’re looking for a solution to a problem you’re facing, there are likely a lot of people who can tell you what they did/how they faced a similar problem. You can learn from their experiences and take comfort in the fact that someone knows how you’re feeling (or at least have a pretty good idea of what you’re going through). You’re never alone. There are people who’ve been where you are and who will stand with you. (Also, you can make some pretty awesome friends in the process.)

2.) Failure To Replicate - Hatred and bigotry are obviously bad things. Do I even need to say that? Hopefully, people know that already. For the sake of my sanity, I’m going to assume people do know that. Once you get to a certain point, you start to realize that if you’re recognizing hatred/intolerance in your parents that you don’t share, while the hatred is bad, by simply recognizing that you don’t share it, that means their attempts to teach you to be intolerant like them have failed. Instead of raising their kids to be exactly like them, the goal of every good parent should be to raise their kids to be good people. As long as people keep failing to raise their kids to be hateful like them, the number of kind people in the world will keep growing. [insert “Task Failed Successfully” meme here]

I know this isn’t like...a super comprehensive essay, but I did want to toss out my two cents in case it helps someone.

...Also, on a less serious note: You’re very right, Julian and Jadzia are both SUPER ATTRACTIVE. *giggles in bisexual*

[hlcynsouls]

& FOR HALLOWEEN JULIAN → @violentdesires CHOSE FOR CAMILLA :

👾 — a scare attempt ! ( this one once again got away from me , apologies hsdgfs )

AFTER SEVERAL MILLENNIA , it's not easy to get got her . camilla can count on one hand the number of things that actually scare her , and only one might might be reasonably provoked and appropriately timed in some way . ( well , two , but — she's absolutely not going there , mentally . not today . ) and his grumpiness may want some ( well-earned , in fairness ) revenge for her recent bugging — but he's not mean . at least not to her . ( she thought . ) safe to say , camilla expected some shit when he invited her over for halloween . the entrance door opening by itself ? fun , but cheesy . the eerie quiet ? empty hallways ? flickering lights ? great for the gothic castle vibes . the scratching below the antique floorboards ? at least tells her where to go , so she decides to go along with whatever practical joke this is . " hello? " she draws out the last vowel . " anybody home ? " an answer is not expected , and merely comes in the form of a squeaky door opening at the end of the hall . " ... cute . "

THE sitting room is empty and nothing seems out of place from the last time she was here . she tries a few potential candidates for jump scares — the mirror , the fireplace , a few cabinets — but nothing . the only new addition to the room is a little elf doll with a plastic head and a speaker in its wide , cheerful grin . camilla picks it up and finds a little string attached to it — upon pulling , it releases a tinny giggle , but doesn't do anything else of note . aaaalrighty . she gently puts it back into place for the next unsuspecting haunted house visitor , and moves on , guided by scratching and the occasional rumble . all the rooms she's being lead to are the same — unchanged , with the addition of the little elf doll . camilla wonders out loud if julian got them at a factory outlet or some shit , but once again receives no answer .

ONLY after a good while of this does the complete silence start to bother her — shouldn't he be bored by now ? she'd have expected more ... taunting , sort of . commentary , maybe . just something ... more . it can't be that fun to watch her waltz through his place with a frown and an attitude , from wherever her friend must be lurking . " not that i'm not happy about my own personal horror film , but this is getting boring . it's a nice try , but how about we go get some pizza instead ? " the demon waits a moment for an exasperated sigh and acquiescence to her wishes , but once again , no dice . fine . but if this was a horror movie , no one would bother waiting for the second act any longer .

THE wine ( slash blood ) cellar seems a good bet for whatever might be the next stage , though . the lights don't work here at all , and camilla moves a few steps down before turning on the flashlight on her phone . it's full — and she means full — of the creepy elf dolls . sitting on every shelf , on the floor , in between bottles of wine and blood . suddenly , one starts cackling — and then like a chain reaction , they all do . it's a creepy cacophony of squeaks , and okay , fine , camilla can admit ... it weirds her out . it's not scary , but distinctly uncomfortable in an almost exciting way . her pulse spikes ; she gets the nice tingles a good horror movie causes . on the same beat , the dolls fall silent — it makes the thump ! of the door falling shut behind her echo thrice as loud . tense anticipation runs through her ( okay , now what ? ) and despite expecting something , she is not prepared when she takes a step and suddenly something cold wraps around her ankle in the dark .

A high screech — more shock than fear , she'd insist — followed immediately by a surprised laugh , followed by : " fuck you , " directed at the sin's grinning face between the stairs .

[thetoxicgamer]

Star Wars Outlaws has an “ever present” GTA style wanted system

As Ubisoft reveals even more information about what might be one of the greatest Star Wars games ever, Star Wars Outlaws is slated to include a wanted system that sounds a lot like something Rockstar will create for GTA and Red Dead Redemption. However, the future of Star Wars Outlaws remains to be seen. “So this is the wanted system,” creative director Julian Gerighty says over developer-narrated footage. “It’s something that’s going to be ever-present within the game. If you are caught or challenge the Empire you’re going to start to get wanted, and if you continue, you persist, and you do even more actions that wanted level’s just going to go up. “At the highest levels, the Empire will throw a huge amount of resistance and forces in your way. You’re best off trying to avoid it as much as possible,” Gerighty adds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3j0oDwQWmU This sounds an awful lot like the wanted systems popularized by Rockstar in Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption (sorry, Scarface: The World is Yours) to me. I’m under the impression it’ll have the more long-standing impact of a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 over the quick one-and-done star system of GTA 5 – but that’s just a hunch going off the term “ever-present.” Getting chased by the Empire’s goons before it ramps up to AT-STs, AT-ATs, and maybe even Star Destroyers (I’m dreaming I know) sounds like an absolute blast to be honest, and while the jury’s still out on Ubisoft’s open-world take on a galaxy far, far away, the initial gameplay did look quite promising. You can also check out the 10 minutes of Star Wars Outlaws gameplay without developer commentary if you want, but even then all any of us can think about is the sexy droid – yes, I really did just type that. While we all wait for the 2024 release of Star Wars Outlaws we’ve got a look at the best single-player games currently available on PC, alongside the best open-world games too. Read the full article

[stayxlix]

CHAPTER 4 LET’S GAURRR!

Ooh ‘the eighth’ sounds sexy Welcome back to season 3 ( or 2?) of Julian’s play-by-play commentary hehe🤭 Sorry in advance for how long this ask is gonna be.

“You will come across many soulmates in your current lifetime. But that doesn't mean you will get to keep them.” WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?😃Pls don’t raise my blood pressure from the get-go. Anyways concept photos ate as always. Bottom left one is my favourite. The minsung one is kinda unsettling tho… foreshadowing maybe👀

Btw Minho best not give me a hard time this chapter I literally do NOT have the capacity to deal with his beef rn. Idk why I think mc will win Jeongin over tho. But hey, we’ll see! I’m literally weak with excitement!! Oh and 15k + wordcount is crazy btw I’m so proud of you <3

“Out of all of the memories he had ever made, Felix had pushed most of them away. He buried them so deep that sometimes, he wondered if he would even be able to recall them if he tried.” *takes a long breath* that… hit home.

Wait so Chanlix are all the way from district 2?? Damn. This concerns me so much because the life they have now in district 6 must be lowkey paradise compared to what they probably had before. I’ve been wondering if the rebels have family. But we’ll see.

“…using Jeongin's homemade "thunder bombs" 퉤 퉤 퉤! 소리꾼! (TWE TWE TWE SORRIKUN)

“Not everyone had as much to offer as Minho, who was beyond skilled in his knowledge of healing.” Now I feel bad for going off on him in my reaction vid :((((( Also ngl Hyunjin's perception is impressive. The way he's already figured mc and lix out. Could never be me💀 I'm so blind when it comes to this kind of thing.

Hold on….“Remember what we all agreed on, before you get too attached.”

HOLD ON…. “The same thought that had been replaying over and over again in his head since he saw that damn family crest around your neck.”

I HOPE THEY’RE NOT PLANNING TO KILL ME HELP– I really hope they didn't make a pact to end me💀💀✋

“So what if he wanted to know how you looked with your lips wrapped around his *[dinky-donk]* instead.” I have so many inappropriate things to say…. (This was WILD)

“Felix wasn't like Jisung, who could charm his way into convincing whatever semi-interested human being he stumbled across in god knows where to fuck him.” You sure about that bro? Let’s not forget chapter 1😃

“Terrified for this moment to end because once it did, you would be forced to come to terms with the permanence of the decision you had made tonight, and what it meant for not only your future, but the future of every innocent person that you passed by, sleeping soundly without any idea that a war had just begun.” SO WELL WRITTEN! SAURRR WELL WRITTEN MWUAH

“and then, to your surprise, he left your side without a word.” UHM???? EXCUSE YOU???

“But that wasn't the only reason.” PURRR MC GO GET THAT *[retracted for the sake of modesty]*

“…and sometimes Jisung who just likes to be wherever Minho is.” You’re so real for this BAHAH💀💀

“He took a few steps closer, inviting himself into your personal space once again.” TRYING TO KEEP IT TOGETHER RN BUT I’M SLOWLY LOSING MY SANITY

“Oh, I dont know. The fact that you can't seem to keep your tongue out of my mouth?” I LOVE MC WITH EVERY BONE IN MY BODY UGH JCKVJDNSL

“After all, every time you'd kissed, he had been the one to initiate it.” THAT’S THE THING!! TELL THE MF!

“Felix was the king of sending mixed signals and you had half a mind to call him out for it…” DO. IT.

“Felix brought his hands up to rest against the wall on either side of you, closing you in.” I don’t want to keep reading I cannot keep reading I’ll d!e if I keep reading I-

my sweet Jules🥹💕💕💕 can I first just say that your enthusiasm for this story is so much more appreciated than you will ever know. like words cannot even BEGIN to express how i felt when I saw your asks pop into my inbox yesterday, but i will do my very best. i’m finally sitting down for the evening to answer these (and have been looking forward to it for two whole days) so lets get started..(i'll make sure to comment as much as i can without revealing any spoilers🤭)

"I HOPE THEY’RE NOT PLANNING TO KILL ME HELP– I really hope they didn't make a pact to end me"

and already i'm reminding myself..NO SPOILERS

“...Hyunjin’s perceptive is impressive...”

especially when it comes to lix.🫢 and don’t feel too bad about going off on minho just yet….

“You sure about that bro? Let’s not forget chapter 1”

i’m💀 omg lix doesn’t see himself this way alright.😂😭 (however right you may be)

it means so much to me that you always take the time to mention the concept photos and i will never ever forget when you said that each chapter has a different color that you associate with it. that touched my heart more than you will ever know.🥹🤍 and the word count honestly at the rate I was going I was terrified it was going to be something like 18k lmao but thankfully we were able to condense a bit.😂

THE THUNDEROUS LYRICS.😂 ty for including this lmao i HAD to include a thunderous reference somewhere because it may or may not be my fav skz song of all time and I will fight anyone who tries to tell me it isn’t a masterpiece

"SO WELL WRITTEN! SAURRR WELL WRITTEN MWUAH"

(ily lmao) this was a last minute addition like an hour before i posted the chapter🤭 so the fact that you included it here made me giggle. and if i’m being honest our mc really has become very special to me too. i had absolutely no idea when i first started writing this story how attached i was going to become to her but i really have grown to hold a special place for her in my heart so once again thank you for this.💕💕💕

going to head on over to part 2 now....(mostly because i need to cut myself off or i will spend all night on this one ask alone because there is so much to unpack with your commentaries and you know i absolutely love you for that<33)

[bbgmessi]

I havé alor go questions so bare with me lol:

So obvi this is an o!erling blog (we love our bbg haaland) but what other headcanons do you have for the rest of man city? I see o!foden and a!grealish making sense to me. I see Alvarez as a cute little alpha and maybe Silva as dad alpha type I loved the way erling swung him around after the header against Bayern it’s giving child that is now bigger than the parent/ bigger younger sibling vibes. but what’s your opinion on those players and others?

I’m trying to figure out how they would’ve reacted to foden and his appendicitis like are they worried for their omega? Would it reaffirm that they’re weaker/more fragile? Would erling subconsciously be upset with him for being sick (even though it’s not his fault everything that happens to one omega affects them all bc they’re under a microscope especially since erling is so atypical as an omega).

Would erling be close to other omegas or does his legend/next big thing status get in the way ? How do betas interact w the alphas ans omegas on there team? Are there a/betas (like betas who are more dominant) and o/betas in your world ?

What would the team think of haaland never missing a game? Would he himself keep pushing even when he’s hurt to beat the stereotype? Would alphas on the team be mad he’s getting so much playing time and negate all the hard work he’s done? Or are they more progressive and supportive of him? Is there like an antagonistic alpha who would always start shit ?

In your omegaverse do the omegas have separate locker rooms and bathrooms? Would it be like male female then on the inside there are more doors that sat alpha beta omega ? Or are there 3 separate bathrooms for every secondary gender regardless of biological male or female?

(ok so this is a super long response s lol) anon i have a secret. and it’s . i’m just making all this up as i go lol!!!!! i change my world and players dynamic for the scenario and story i currently want to tell, like you said alpha jack but i’ve written him as an omega because something about the way he’s regarded as such a himbo and erling is so criticized for his looks and not even his performance reads so… woman coded to me so it makes sense to me for them to be lesbians, but alpha jack could work in so many scenarios too it all just depends on what i’m feeling lol (except erling bc he’s my poor little meow meow and i feel like it’d just be so cliche to make the giant man an alpha… and i’m him)

and like phil could rly be an omega, he had a child super young which fits really well into omegaverse and like him trying to find his place in the little group of man city omegas… but also tiny alpha phil trying to fight to prove himself despite his size… different social commentary but both so valid!!! and it’s the same for julian!! he could be a tiny alpha, trying to find his place, or a sweet omega trying to figure out the english society and all that!! everything kinda depends hahaha, but i agree with silva as a dad alpha, erling just being so excitable he forgets he’s so strong he can lift people up like that but silva just had to be like:)

and also… hm phil’s appendix surgery… idk i don’t feel like it’s super big of a deal bc it’s pretty routine surgery? but if i’m not doing masc lesbian omegas omega erling i could do like pick me omega erling where he’s so desperate not to fall from the public and peps good graces he’ll do anything and he thinks that includes scoffing a little when phil is out injured even though he can’t help it… maybe there was all ready weird tension between them from the beginning bc pep uses his attention like a weapon and chooses who to focus on and lately its been erling and phil is jealous

to me it’s super important to like… use individuality to tell the story, like erling is an omega but that doesn’t mean he’s suddenly a super motherly person etc he’s just a person who faces different hardships just like any other omega is different but the same so i don’t think i’d write a!betas and o!betas bc it feels like a way to assign dominance and submissive roles to like everyone on a societal level and it feels counterintuitive for me like people are still… people… and individuals who can be different, their status gives them certain outlooks and things but it’s also not… changing who they are personality wise… idk if this makes sense but yeah

but erling and other omegas could go either way, like does he try to distance himself because he thinks that will allow himself a way into the world of the alphas of football? if he’s just quiet enough about the harassment and all maybe they’ll accept him??? or does he lean into other omegas… it’s up to you!!

now i’m feeling really repetitive lol but it’s the same about the alphas on the team, anyone can be the bad or good guy, maybe they’re upset he’s doing so incredibly well maybe they’re supportive i’m not sure… i could go either way depending on if i want angst or smth else, they’re kinda like tools to tell a story for me

and i like to think separate locker rooms for omegas at least but also maybe it differs from country to country and like situation to situation, maybe more progressive countries have joint bathrooms and locker rooms but they can also be harmful places but the separation can be isolating… but yeah i literally make it all up as i go so sorry if i’m ever inconsistent lol

[camelotsheart]

Can we please discuss how Julian Murphy thinks that the most important moment of the show is one that parallels Merlin and Arthur to a romantic couple.

[a-stitch-in-time-and-space]

some (not new) ideas I’m throwing at the wall vis-a-vis gender and star trek (esp in ds9)

Note: We’re eeeeever so slowly moving into times in which “transgender” - as useful a phrase as it is - isn’t the catch-all it’s been for the past 15 or so years, mainly with an understanding that gender is an infinite, fascinating playground that is affected by culture and time. I’m partially using transgender/trans here, and partially terms like nb, genderqueer, femme, and masc as well as “gender transgressive” which is useful to describe, well... transgressive gender.

However I wish I could jump into the future to see what terminology exists then...

I do think there’s something interesting in certain transphobic media, esp the kind that deals with crossdressing-for-laughs (vs drag, which is ofc community-based), because even though it’s usually done mockingly by cisgender heterosexual guys, it reveals how undeniably queer certain ideas are, even if that queering is done in a punch-down sort of way

surprise, this is about Profit and Lace, specifically in how it introduces the idea of transgressive gender in Quark and in Rom, accidentally building off Pel’s story in Rules of Acquisition.

surface story is yeah: Quark makes an ugly woman, with a dose of misogynistic haha women and their hormones amirite (and that opening *shudders*), but what is fascinating is how easily Quark is able to access what we’d today call gender affirming surgery in a future where you can be altered to look like all kinds of different species. 

all this handwringing about regret and “staying in your gender” (which isn’t how it woooorks for a lot of us) and not allowing consent over our own bodies and the patronizing, ahistorical, unscientific, slew of unwanted commentary from everyone and their mums, it’s just... not there. they know Quark is going to reverse the surgery the second the jig is up and Julian still just does it, because sure, got a moment to spare.

you wanna have boobs? yeah, go on. you wanna have boobs and still be considered a man? uh-huh, that’s cool - wow, Rom makes a wonderful “woman,” don’t you think? (and Leeta’s.. kind of in support of that!) 

I’ve argued a fair few times that Rom is trans/nb/femme/genderqueer by Ferengi standards (that is, gender is measured by business-sense/lobes and is its own kind of binary -- also on that note... their mother is trans/nb/genderqueer by that measurement too). It’s a really fascinating overlap between financial class and gender as a caste system (which affects both Ishka and Rom in different ways), which also exists on earth irl today, even though that intersectionality doesn’t  get discussed enough outside of queer circles.

I think Quark fits that standard as well, but he’s fighting it a lot harder than Rom is. The central tension of Quark’s series long arc is his attempts to be A Good Ferengi Male and failing over and over and when he occasionally succeeds, how he doesn’t often feel good about that. He blames a lot of this on the Federation, but by all accounts it was in him to begin with, although he used to be able to cover it up more easily.

Quark desperately wants to get it right, but a lot of the time he’s clearly masking. Sometimes he really enjoys it though, it’s not like with Rom where he has no sense for business, so much as it takes effort.

meanwhile Pel (whom I HC as masc) doesn’t have access to the kinds of surgeries that are so easy to get in the Federation, which puts her in danger - much like not having access puts us in danger today. I'm sort of torn on the headcanon that she either gets her lobes enlarged via the same surgical procedure (which, again, is so no big deal in the future) or because she’s in the gamma quadrant, she’s able to reimagine gender without having to change herself physically - which many trans/nb/genderqueer or otherwise gendered/non-gendered people also don’t want to do.

I also think it’s interesting that Quark-as-a-woman who is dressed in clothes (gasp) is fetishized, because she’s oh so transgressive -- exactly what happens to us today and one reason why so many trans people end up in sex work (of any kind - here’s me adding: get that money however you can and want to, siblings, much love and support). 

I bet there are underground sexual “deviancy” shops that sell fake lobes to imagine your female is actually the man of the house, or even lobe-enhancement that some females take to “pass” although they were actually designed for helping out your small-lobed son “perform business better”

(all of my talk of lobes: here’s the reminder that lobes in Ferengi culture are sexual characteristics)

bottom line, the tension between cisgender (heterosexual) people trying desperately to maintain a binary system of understanding gender and how they play in genderqueer sandpits is always interesting for me to watch. 

on the one hand they’ll argue there are innate social behaviours that exist in women (and they exist across species) - the way Quark has to learn to walk for example, or even - interestingly - that when Ishka starts dressing, her style is very different from men’s dress (maybe inspired by an older version of Ferengi culture where females weren’t so oppressed? - Ishka as transfemme? She could notice that she and Rom have the same likes and she buys him - gasp buys with her own money!! - a lovely dress and one of those massive lobe-earring/necklace things (lobe-lace?), so they match) - and innate social behaviours that exist in men

on the other hand they will unknowingly present a future in which the distinctions between woman and man are so immaterial that you can access any kind of physical surgery you want - in the Federation that is, and differently defined throughout different species on different planets. I always liked the idea that the further away from the “paradise” of earth you get, the more diverse the gender distinctions become but in a lot of these places they also practise rigid systems, like on Ferenginar. I can imagine some majority-human planet worshipping the old ways of the 20th century and enforcing that colonialist gender binary, urgh, can you imagine....

You wonder what things like “assigned gender and sex at birth” might mean in a future where there’s no social capital involved in assigning those kinds of things, if anything.

 And so, Profit and Lace is -- still not a good episode. I remember one of the DS9 writers talking about how unexpectedly well it’s aged and it absolutely has not. It’s misogynistic and transphobic, but I think also very important in the canon of Star Trek’s accidental gender-exploration (Star Trek’s accidental gender-exploration sounds like the title of an article....)

sometimes you find the best gold nuggets in the trash.

and on that note: time to spin the wheel and headcanon that O’Brien was (using today’s terminology) assigned female at birth and decided he liked the sound of being a boy when he was thirteen (his parents like: “for your birthday we got you gender reassignment! and you can always change your mind.”)

also I wrote it above, but Rom and Ishka wearing matching outfits and it being equally shocking is *chefs kiss* (esp with Rom as Nagus)

[simonfarnabyslegs]

What would the ghosts’ reaction if their was a history fair at button house and there are so many people in period costumes from their time period?

robin

- fucking with whatever technology people have set up (lamps, fans, food truck heating mechanisms, etc.)

- ends up hanging out around some wwi and wwii reenactors outside until the cap finds his way to that group and makes it about war instead of just bros being dudes

- if anyone's brought any dogs he's probably gonna go hang out with a dog or two outside as well (there's always at least one dog at any kind of historical event, i've found. i don't know why. but every time i go to a living history museum or a festival, there are dogs. which i love.)

humphrey

- someone put this man's head on his body because he deserves to witness more than just the shoes!!!

- he really seems to me like someone who appreciates fashion (probably because of his spiel about shoes, and the fact that he's a very well dressed tudor gentleman), so he'd enjoy seeing all the different clothes and hairstyles from all the different periods.

- watches people doing a wine tasting under a big tent. sniffs all the glasses offered by the attendants for attendees to drink, just to see what they smell like or if he can even smell them. makes a lot of comments about the wines like some kind of connoisseur before admitting at some point before leaving the tent that he knows nothing about wine whatsoever.

- walks past the tudor booths and wonders why nobody's eating the peacock (some wealthy people in the tudor era ate whole peacocks and had them sitting on the table looking very much like they did when they were alive), until someone knocks it over and he learns it's just a decoration and it's made of styrofoam. then his reaction's probably just a, "oh! huh. weird."

mary

- sees someone outside dressed in a brightly coloured jester's outfit breathing fire or juggling or doing some kind of contortionist act and deems it witchcraft

- checks out what's going on in the kitchen or in the food trucks and is impressed but confused by the technology and increased speed and efficiency of food preparation, as well as by all the dishes she isn't familiar with.

- watches a group of school children in costumes or festival t-shirts learn how to weave baskets, then excitedly follows their class to a tapestry making demonstration on a reconstructed loom.

kitty

- hangs out with humphrey in the wine tasting area and listens to his commentary, smiling and nodding. he finally admits he doesn't know anything about wine and she just goes, "oh."

- picks one handsome man to fixate on and talk about how handsome he is the whole time, but then spends most of her time complimenting alison on the dress she wore for the event or oohing and ahing at a bunch of other ladies' dresses.

- spends some time making up her own little songs set to the music played by the chamber orchestra.

thomas

- sees a woman he says looks like isabelle (she in fact looks nothing like isabelle, but she is pretty) in a regency lady's dress and follows her acting all dramatically depressed the whole time because she can neither see nor hear him. yet another beautiful woman who cannot return his affection. *siiiiiiigh*

- spots two people in star trek costumes and is Very Confused. alison explains to him that it's a thing. at every historical festival or ren faire there's always at least one small group of star trek cosplayers. they think it's funny. it kind of is. he's not amused.

- listens to the chamber orchestra inside playing a soft, sad song and tries to make it into some dramatic, poetic, brooding moment, but is thwarted by the ghigeon (ghost pigeon) flying past him too quickly, which makes him scream.

fanny

- sees a woman wearing a regency dandy's outfit, or a woman in medieval armour and is quite offended, but manages to keep it down to a disgusted look and an "i never!" whilst the captain or humphrey or pat or somebody walk past like, "oh i thought she looked nice. and she looks like she's having a great time :)"

- sees some victorian and edwardian ladies having lunch and LOSES IT at their posture/the way they're eating.

- develops an intense and hella awkward crush on some random visitor dude in a victorian suit

the captain

- spends approximately five minutes with the soldiers before determining they're NOTHING like soldiers. gets quite offended, and leaves.

- ogles some strong looking men down by the lake who are offering leisurely afternoon boat rides.

- develops a crush on the same random victorian fair attendee as fanny

pat

- stares longingly at all the food, knowing he'll never get to try it. then sees something that grosses him out (probably from one of the tudor booths) and decides maybe it's not so depressing after all that he can't try the food.

- watches the group of school children learning to weave baskets with mary, and offers some tips even though he knows they can't hear him.

- finds his way over to where the cap is watching the men rowing their boats on the lake (cue the captain acting very suspicious at having been caught staring at these strong handsome men on their boats) and reminisces about how he used to teach the scouts how to paddle canoes and one year held a race to see which team could row across the lake the fastest. the captain tells him that on their days off his troops used to do something similar.

julian

- ogling ladies, obviously. trying to guess who's wearing bum rolls or bustles and who isn't (jokes on him, most of them are wearing some form of backside padding).

- peeks into what he assumes to be dressing rooms for the booths selling historical clothing; it's actually the toilets. he still hasn't learned his lesson.

- sees people placing bets on some form of scaled down race or games of strength and gets wrapped up in that for the rest of the day.

the plague ghosts

- blissfully unaware of what's going on upstairs and outside.

- bonus points if they see alison walk downstairs to get something dressed in some kind of fancy dress and none of them even think twice.

- (crowd noise upstairs) "did you hear something?" "no." "okay. probably nothing then."

[fangirleaconmigo]

Descarada's Masterpost

You can call me Des or Bex, either one. I write witcher fic and meta. I multiship. You can see almost any ship cross the dash if you wait long enough.

I rb any and all Witcher canons (shows/books/games/give me a post about the musical and I’ll rb that too).

JOIN MY FREE NEWSLETTER for updates on my writing and to get it all first.

Meta Posts:

Geralt x Jaskier in the books masterpost (I Can't Believe it's Not Fanon series)

Should You Read the Witcher Books?

Social commentary in the witcher (race, class, gender, sexuality in the witcher books)

Abortion in The Witcher Books

How Witchers Subvert Blue Collar Stereotypes

my tagged posts on the witcher books

Characters profiles:

Geralt of Rivia masterpost

Yennefer of Vengerberg tag

Dandelion (Jaskier) tag

Ciri tag

Eskel

Milva

Aiden

Valdo Marx

Fics:

WORKS IN PROGRESS

I Will Bring You Ruin Masterpost (Prince!Jaskier x Gladiator/Bedwarmer Geralt AU)

Posada Remix (WIP) Explicit. (Geraskier) Book!Geralt falls through a portal in Netflix land and meets Jaskier in Posada. Spoiler alert: he loves him. 

Keep Me Forever (WIP) Explicit. (Jaskier/Eskel -> poly witchers) Eskel has fallen hard for a sex worker named Dandelion. He brings his new love to Kaer Morhen for the winter.  Will Dandelion be able to thaw the frosty reception he receives from Geralt and Lambert? Spoiler alert: you’d better believe he can.

COMPLETED WORKS

Refuge in Lettenhove. (Geraskier, explicit, 65,556 words) It takes losing Jaskier for Geralt to understand that he loves him, but he thinks he has little hope of making amends. He has lost track of Jaskier and is on the run, protecting Ciri from Nilfgaard. Exhausted, afraid, and wounded, they seek refuge in the court of an unknown noble/resistance leader. When this leader turns out to be Julian Alfred Pankratz, Geralt thinks that maybe there is such a thing as second chances. However, his Lordship is acting as though he’s never seen Geralt before in his life.

Roses are Red (Geraskier, Rated Teen. 1,759) Soft drunk Geralt makes first love confession. He also composes a terrible poem for a very confused Jaskier. In Vino Veritas.

Offerings (Geraskier, Rated Teen. 2683) Secondary Title: Was Anybody Going to Tell Me That Geralt was Courting Me? Or Was I Just Supposed to Find it Out From This Random Herbalist Myself? Geralt has been gifting Jaskier with random bits of herbs and twigs. He isn't going to question it. In fact, he starts hoarding them, as embarrassing as that is. Then one day, he visits an herbalists and finds out that these herbs mean a whole lot more than he realized.

Two Drops of Water (Geralt/Eskel, Explicit, 3,536) Eskel has injured himself, and Geralt must help him undress. It brings up memories of their first kiss, and they learn a few new things about each other.

Cherries (Jaskier/Eskel, Rated Teen, 4495) Modern AU with magic. The witchers own a dive diner as a front. Despite their best efforts at making it inhospitable, a young socialite named Jaskier is obsessed with the place. (Probably bc Eskel keeps sneaking him extra cherries on his waffles)

I Lied (Geraskier, Explicit. 4,854) Geralt learns that Jaskier sleeps with men. Oddly enough he gets angry. Jaskier thinks Geralt is judging him. But maybe the issue is something else entirely. Hmmm I wonder what it could be? This is just funny miscommunication, different love languages, moronsexuals, then smut.

The Song of Geralt (Geraskier, Explicit, 5,012 words) The vibe in this fic is inspired by The Song of Achilles, so it is written in the first person. I know. Just try it I promise. Geralt has taken potions to suppress his sex drive since he was a child. (In this AU, they require witchers to do this.) However, one night, he gets the wrong potion and is suddenly, desperately, painfully aroused for the first time in his life. Jaskier can help with that. This one is yearning and soft and if I did my job well, achingly tender.

Marbles (Geraskier, Explicit, 5608 words) Geralt is hexed with a curse that takes his memories. One day, he runs into someone that he suspects is very important to him.

It's Hard to Be The Bard (Eskel x Jaskier, Teen and up, 7203 words) Fame is complicated in a world with soulmate marks. Some of Jaskier's more aggressive fans have found ways to exploit his soulmate marks to get a piece of him. Eskel walks into a tavern one night, and Jaskier mistakes him for one of them.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33844378/chapters/84143392

I Know The Kindest Thing (Lambert x Jaskier x Geralt x Eskel, Mature, 8,112 words) Vampire AU. Lambert lures a human back to the mansion he shares with Geralt and Eskel. But it turns out that the human bard he brings back is too ill and scrawny to feed from. They decide to 'rescue' him instead. Sexy shenanigans and found family ensues.

Paying Attention (Geraskier, Explicit. 10,887) This is a sweet friends to lovers. Jaskier is feral and loving. He gives Geralt a tender, sexy, first experience bottoming.

It’s a Trap (Geraskier, Rated Teen, 11,092) Jaskier is a professor at Oxenfurt and enjoys a reputation as the continent’s foremost expert on witchers. Geralt believes he is being plagued by a curse, and asks for his help. When Jaskier visits the grumpy witcher's home and meets his daughter Ciri, the pieces fall together. He is instantly charmed by the devoted father, and resolves to court him.

Uncommon. (Jaskier/Eskel, Explicit, 11,185) When Eskel meets Dandelion, the gorgeous sex worker willing to service him, it seems too good to be true. Dandelion does have a secret, but it’s not what Eskel thinks. There is the inappropriate use of axii, but think of it as a trust exercise. Consent is explicit and enthusiastic.

Eskel is Magic. (Jaskier/Eskel, Explicit, 11,218) Jaskier’s assignment on his first day as a scribe is to copy the anti-witcher hate tract Monstrum. He’s never met a witcher, but the words bother him. Just before the pamphlets are to be distributed, he comes upon a witcher with a goat, who needs his help. As you might imagine, this changes everything.

The Real Me (Jaskier/Eskel, Explicit, 41,420) This work is a continuation of Uncommon. Eskel returns to the brothel to accompany Dandelion on a visit to Kaer Morhen. But it's a long road ahead, and Eskel has only seen Dandelion at his best. Dandelion worries that if Eskel sees the feral petty little shit he is inside, the witcher won't feel the same. Will their infatuation grow into love? Or will it sputter out before Dandelion can darken the door of the old keep?

You Have Until Midnight (Jaskier/Eskel, Explicit, 62,970) Cinderella- esque fairytale AU. Jaskier works in the Kaer Morhen stables and pines for Eskel. There is a masquerade approaching where Eskel will choose a spouse. Jaskier knows he cannot attend as a guest and would never be accepted as an appropriate match for the witcher. But then he is faced with an unexpected opportunity. One lovely night. One dance. That’s not too much to ask, right?

The RockRose and the Thistle (Geraskier, Explicit, 60,722) After the mountain, Geralt finds Jaskier to apologize.  But an apology isn’t going to be enough. Geralt is going to have to be open and honest about what he feels. 

As he’s figuring out how to do that, he takes a job to kill a bruxa. What he doesn’t know is that it’s a trap. He’s fallen into the clutches of a king who wants to kill him to harvest witcher parts.  Jaskier learns of the deception and has to race against time to save the man he loves.

[arsenicxarcana]

Gimme all you've got on directors cut of We Are Not Friends!! I am in big need! If you asked spare some crumbs please (only if you want to tho!"

Reblog this if you want readers to come into your ask box and ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines.  Or, send in a ⭐star⭐  to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!

bestie that was 2 years ago amid the beginning of a major historical event and the resulting maladaptive hyperfixation

i was originally just gonna spitball but then i went and skimmed the whole fic so these comments are relatively chronological

also longue as fuck

i'm sorry to anyone "keep reading" doesn't work for

it was originally supposed to be a oneshot a la don't feed the animals and idle hands, it obviously didnt stay there

the ptsd flashback in ch 12 was written a lot earlier than you think and came up a lot earlier than i expected

that event is also fairly recent - after the priestess went fishing the devil spent the magic accumulated over lucio's stay in the realms to rip a hole through dimensions and get the fuck out

(we don't know how he managed to end up in vesuvia, maybe using lucio's intense I Want To Go Home feelings as a focus point)

he may have crawled out of the basement in the rowdy raven which means when barth says "i dont know where he came from" it doesn't JUST mean "that guys from out of town"

the devil spends most of the fic as this image:

lucio did once have a tab, if he were to pay it barth would be able to renovate the raven at least three times

any assets he may have had in vesuvia belong to nadia/the state, now, but he may have ferreted money away in other places during his conquesting years - not that he knows where it is, anymore

unbeknownst to either disaster boy, the coliseum is no longer standing - nadia had it knocked down to put a library there a while ago

lucio spent 3 years as a goat and 40+ years as a man, and yet in a pinch it's the goat that comes back

i was definitely going for a "what do you want?" "your soul" "a bagel" "noooo" "... two bagels" type deal here (cause the devil hungy:

A meat pasty, still warm.

Another bolt of red agony snapped through his skull, only fading after he was strangely compelled to lean up and grab another one.

canon didn't say he was good at swimming until way after i'd written him being hydrophobic, but in fairness you kinda become hydrophobic if you know the water is consistently full of murder

if arsenic had used the mask to track him, they still would have easily found him bc it would be using the devil's energy

the skulls are an important part of this family, Julian!

pushing a dislocated shoulder back into place is vaguely a callback to my ancient invader zim fic

bright gold magic is a signifier of the fool (you can see this in the golden chain representing his blood bond w/ mc in an earlier fic), arsenic's magic was green pre-resurrection

on a related note i let lucio have molten gold during his breakdown as a sort of nod to the "lucio is the fool" theory before i'd fully decided to reject it - maybe his magic is just like that

mazelinka's magic soup being "deep gold" was just me not being able to think of a good color, maybe arsenic made this one for them

the headaches pre-reveal are what happens when two consciousnesses try to occupy the same space without either of them being fully cognizant of it

after that it's mostly just the devil being a dick

lucio being a magical heat sink was my theory on why he's "magical deadweight" in canon despite having the blood of a powerful magician in his veins

(i haven't caught back up to his route so idk what their reasoning is)

the leeches did help!! the devil definitely monches one to get that power back and bc he has zero standards

my one regret about the bodysharing is that arsenic was too efficient in locking him up before i could do more Shenanigans with it

i don't actually know what the devil was yelling at them while they were getting the magic out, but it was probably some form of ancient swear

if lucio drew another card in the deck it would be the devil because thats how things work (unless ofc his card went missing when he broke out)

the devil means lucio, here - helping/trusting/taking care of him

"Not that. Helping me? Trusting me? Taking care of me??"

but he's thinking about both of them here

"I hurt you." His attention was on him again. "I will hurt you."

the devil absorbed the Sleep Magic so it was just hot soup he drank, and yes, he may have underestimated how hot fresh soup is on a mortal's tongue

he also gets to pretend to sleep, much like jules

the devil's initial reaction to jules' confession was kind of a kneejerk subconscious lucio, how would YOU respond to this, oh that bad, and so he switches tactics to how he knows one is Supposed to react

absolutely would've fucked like rabbits if he opened the door

this is still my fave part of his escape because pls imagine the devil tripping over himself, the center of gravity is Wrong and these legs are Wrong

In a fit of desperation he let himself pull back, leaning into that feeling of being moved by something else - he felt his hooves slip on the hardwood, spindly limbs supporting them twisting and crumbling beneath him, threatening to pitch him across the floor - stumbling and catching himself on a wall he couldn’t see, pulling himself forward again on human feet and a human mind.

he may have punted portia here

One managed to remain standing, and as they grabbed for him he changed tacks and leapt on top of them, using their body as a springboard to fling himself further along the deck.

and the devil's mask acting as a link to the Outside

For a moment his reflection shifted and disappeared into darkness, accompanied by muffled, worried voices.

“ --fetch me a goddamn lifeboat before my IDIOT FIANCE kills himself playing HERO-- ”

the mind palace flooding is what happens when you're hurtling across the ocean at mach 5 and the other personality is trying to take control so now you're fucking drowning

this is a big goddamn lie bc it's lucio that's coming out on top

“This vessel is growing weaker by the day, Julian. I don’t know how much longer he’ll last me.” The Devil sighed, examining his vessel’s claws in lieu of his own, expression contorted into a mockery of pity. “Sooner or later, he’ll fall apart. Slowly, painfully, piece by piece until nothing of him is left. Surely you don’t want to witness this?”

the healing scene was originally actually going to succeed, however, i realized that's kind of a stretch for the devil's magic

the priestess ofc has been hunting him for years, but the connection only got stronger recently - before, nadia wouldn't have seen or felt anything quite so vividly

the devil talking over nadia was inspired by venom talking over the doctor in venom 1

this part was originally amidst crying on the ground time

What the hell was he supposed to do now? Was he supposed to stick with the plan? He couldn’t face either of them now. If he found the boat, where was he supposed to go?

i considered having lucio grab his floppy ears instead, but lucio knows how animals work, you don't do that

He snarled and shifted his grip to one set of horns instead, yanking his head up towards him, almost eye to eye.

people on twitter would have seen me in process of writing this part

“I shall be a perfect gentleman.”

“No you won’t.” The former Count huffed.

except like this because of sleep deprivation

“I shall be a perfect gentleman.”

“No you shall'nt.” The former Count huffed.

i had also considered making the devil be Smol (not necessarily a baby) as a side effect of the bond, but went with the sick and dying look to go w/ lucio's death themes

if i was SMART i would have broken ch 19 up into more than one chapter because goddamn

i had "lucio saves the devil's life" thing in mind ever since "you owe me your miserable life" was said, though i'm p sure he would have been fine, but then again, he's half-mortal so

i'm still disappointed in myself for not doing more with the "lucio becomes more archetype, devil becomes more human" last unicorn concept

there's stuff i wanna say about ch 20 BUT i think i was gonna cover it in a wanf tale,,

i don't remember how i was originally going to resolve things, but Weaponized Friendship was not the 1st on the list

no i have no idea how asra convinced muriel to attend julian's wedding with a GODDAMN DEMON cameo but he's never going to any other wedding ever again

i'm still down for anyone wanting to rewrite or give me pointers on rewriting the wedding to be more jewish

obviously this fic predated the tale with nevivon, so i was thinking it was just A Sea Town, but this means at least half if not most of the non-vesuvian party guests were grandmas and they partied the fuck out

(another wanf tale will cover Actual Nevivon)

[oldsmobile-hotdogs]

Questions for crossover jatp ghosts crossover fic: I hope Julian and the sunset curve boys talk about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Yugoslav wars that happened when they were alive + Bill Cilnton. I wonder what pat and the band would talk about considering that they would of been kids when pat died? Do you think Julie would think of Les Mis and Hamilton cos Thomas and Kitty are from about the same time period as those musicals? I hope Julie calls Fanny Mary poppins.

Anon, or "Mimi", or "Lulu", or, heck, maybe even "Carl Birtles": Update: Not Carl Birtles. Carl Birtles sent me an ask and is cool, actually.

Stop. Right now. I'd say stop while you're ahead, but you are so far away from ahead at this point it's laughable.

For everyone confused, this is that "commenter from AO3" I joked about making a 2017-esque story time video about.

A couple days ago I uploaded the first chapter of a Julie and the Phantoms/BBC Ghosts crossover fic.

You know what? I’m gonna promo it here bc it’s my callout post and I can shill if I want to: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30681704/chapters/76661471

It was generally very well received and I've had a blast interacting with readers.

Except for this.

Honestly, there's so much to get into, so I’m putting it under a cut:

This was their first correspondence (email notif bc I deleted the comment, the deletion to be explained later):

(Funnily enough, the links very much do not work on AO3, making the comment only more jarring)

I gave you *so much* benefit of the doubt when I saw this comment, and assumed that maybe you're an ESL user, just very enthusiastic to share ideas, and I pretty much said so in my reply, but know that at that point I'd already had friends- who fucking know about this, don't you dare think you're getting me alone- tell me that you were being very demanding.

Below was my reply (another email notif):

I'm gonna be honest, I think I responded really well to what I was given, and now that I'd replied, I was pretty certain the situation was dealt with. You, evidently, didn't agree, as shown by your reply to my reply:

A word of advice: when replying to someone, at least pretend like you read what they wrote.

At this point I'm left wondering two things:

What do they expect from me, if a general reply is not it?

How much more shit do they have waiting to tell me to put in my- reminder, JATP/BBC Ghosts crossover, rated T, comedic- fic?

In order to avoid finding out either, I freeze the thread on AO3. I'm liveblogging all of this on Discord.

It's then that I notice that the username on AO3 isn't clickable, so even if I wanted to block or report them I couldn't. I assume, therefore, that they've deactivated, and since them seeing their comments gone and getting angry was the only thing stopping me deleting the comments, I delete the comments.

It's also at this point I see "Mimi" never left kudos. I guess I don't deserve praise until I mention "Bill Cilnton".

There's relative calm for a short amount of time, until I get another comment:

This one is much kinder than the others and doesn't mention any specific, weird, historical events, so the extent to which I think this is "Mimi" is debatable, but bestie I'm weirded out enough that anything that even uses the enter bar unnecessarily and misses out conjunctive words like "because" and "and" is going to activate fight or flight. Update: Carl Birtles is not Mimi or Lulu. Carl was just being genuinely kind and I misinterpreted it and that's on me.

However, "Carl"'s case is not helped by the fact I can't click his account either, that AO3 offers me the ability to report it as spam, and that guess who replies to "Carl"'s comment: Update: Carl, having done nothing wrong as he has, is therefore also a victim in the situation that is being replied to by Lulu. It would seem Lulu is trying to correct??? some of Carl's commentary.

You must think I didn't get a 7 on my English Literature GCSE because you seem to underestimate my ability to compare two texts.

So clearly this is "Mimi", who has also just replied to "Carl". "Lulu" is also deactivated, and I've fallen off the end of my tether, let alone reached it, at this point so I mark it as spam. "Carl" gets to stay bc he said the idea for the crossover was good. Update: Carl also gets to continue to stay because I have it on good faith that he's a stand-up dude.

So at this point you've readily admitted through your inability to shake up your writing style to using at least one sockpuppet to convince me to talk about the "Yugoslav wars".

If "Carl Birtles" is the real(-est) of them, and "Mimi" and "Lulu" are the sockpuppets, by the way, I have questions and ideas about what you do on your free evenings and I want them neither confirmed nor answered. Update: This is slanderous and I want to apologise wholeheartedly to Carl for making assumptions about him and judging his character. Once again, he is not Mimi or Lulu. He's just a normal, cool guy.

And now you come to me, on the day of my daughter's wedding on a different platform, leave me an anon ask in the exact same format as you're so fond of, and expect any different ??

Well, yeah, then I guess I'll give you special treatment this time.

Here's exactly why I will never include anything you have told me to include:

Julian and the Phantoms discussing the Berlin Wall would be highly inappropriate for the largely fluffy, cracky tone of my fanfiction, especially given how recently the event occurred, how many Eastern Germans still experience prejudice to this day because they were born within the old borders of the DDR, and because of how nuanced this, essentially proxy war, was and how ill-informed a huge amount of the world is on the actual factors in play during this time and the Cold War in general.

Julian and the Phantoms will not discuss Yugoslavia dissolving, nor the fallout and conflict that resulted, because it was genocidal. There is nowhere I can fit Julian, pantsted, casually asking Luke “hey do you remember when the Herzegovinas were killed en masse by the Serbs?” Not gonna happen.

They won’t discuss Bill Clinton because all of them know who the current world leaders are: they don’t have amnesia, they’re ghosts. The fic is also rated T, so it would be inappropriate to make any explicit reference to “sexual relations”. None of them play saxophone.

Julie wouldn’t think of Les Mis or Hamilton because Thomas is Regency, not French Revolution, and Kitty is Georgian, not Colonial.

Julie won’t be calling Fanny Mary Poppins because she is perpetually stuck in a white dress, doesn’t wear a hat, doesn’t own an umbrella or a purse and was not the nanny or housekeeper of Button House.

The ghosts will not discuss the marvels of modern transportation or how long it would’ve taken to cross the Atlantic on dinghy because the ghosts have seen Friends. The house irl is on a flight path. They know airplanes exist. Alison and Mike pulled up in a car.

I will probably have the phantoms and Willie talk to Pat and Julian about being from the ‘80s and ‘90s. That I will actually probably do.

The Captain will not mention FD Roosevelt because, again, they all know who the current world leaders are, and I doubt he expects a ‘90s pop punk band to have any insider knowledge on the man.

It was interesting to think of the phantoms’ grandparents having been alive during WW2. I wasn’t lying. But there is nearly nothing I can do with this information.

But above all: both sets of ghosts have already adapted to modern life. Because the shows are shorter, and meant to actually be able to fit jokes in them.

If you want to see any of this, write your own damn fic. I don’t own the concept of a JATP/BBC Ghosts crossover.

What you will not do, “consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel”-nim, is hound me on multiple accounts and then change platform to hound me again. I’m absolutely not having it.

I have never received an interaction quite like this before, and I cannot help but wonder if this is because this is my first work in the Ghosts/HH/Them There/Six Idiots/Yonderland/Bill fandom: that this is where you primarily camp out.

So it’s at this point I ask the Them There/Six Idiots fandom if they have/if they know anyone who has had a run-in with this person or thinks they may have, or if anyone perhaps even knows who this is? Maybe I’m just one of many. Maybe this is a necessary fandom evil I was unaware of.

This experience has left me royally freaked out, as one might imagine, especially since my anxiety in general has been acting up due to it being exam season. I want to thank everyone who’s read my rambles on Discord and on here and even listened to them irl and offered support from the bottom of my heart.

I’ve enabled comment moderation on the fic. I will continue to write it, and I will put exactly what I, and only what I, want in it.

Believe it or not, I wanted to do literally anything else today.

Anon: Fucking Leave Me Alone.

Update: Just reiterating: Carl is not Mimi or Lulu. Carl is a cool dude and I want to sincerely apologise for having brought him into this mess, passing judgment on his character, and making him feel like he should stop practicing English online.

[highladyluck]

Fortuona Athaem Devi Paendrag playlist

Direct link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5KLghlM9nCF1WLKBNoLt5z?si=b1e1d244810e4ae9

26 songs, 1 hr 23 min. A character playlist for Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag, aka the High Lady, aka the Daughter of the Nine Moons, aka “Precious” but only if you’re Mat Cauthon, aka Fortuona Athaem Devi Paendrag, aka the Empress of Seanchan.

She’s a fascinating mixture of good and evil, person and tool, sympathetic and unsympathetic by turns. I tried to capture that in this playlist, which is organized roughly chronologically by her personal timeline.

There are spoilers in the playlist and commentary for Winter's Heart through A Memory of Light, since this is meant to mirror the narrative.

Track List:

1.      Second Child, Restless Child – The Oh Hellos

2.      Game of Survival – Ruelle

3.      Sit Still, Look Pretty – Daya

4.      When I Rule The World – LIZ

5.      Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival

6.      The Thief and the Moon – Shawn James

7.      Pomegranate Seeds – Julian Moon

8.      Zebra – The Magnetic Fields

9.      Jolene – Dolly Parton

10.   Maybe, This Time – OK Go

11.   Big Guns – Ruelle

12.   Fascinated – Ivy

13.   The Bullpen – Dessa

14.   Pretty Little Head – Eliza Rickman

15.   Greek God – Conan Gray

16.   Emperor’s New Clothes – Panic! At The Disco

17.   Rat Queen – The Mountain Goats

18.   Carmina Burana: O Fortuna – Carl Orff

19.   you should see me in a crown – Billie Eilish

20.   Muse with a Dagger – Taylor Castro

21.   Please Don’t Say You Love Me – Gabrielle Aplin

22.   Daisy – Ashnikko

23.   Mother’s Daughter – Miley Cyrus

24.   I Walk The Line – Halsey

25.   Glory and Gore – Lorde

26.   Trouble – Stripped – Halsey

Commentary and lyrics underneath the cut. Listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5KLghlM9nCF1WLKBNoLt5z?si=b1e1d244810e4ae9

1)      Second Child, Restless Child – The Oh Hellos

See, I was born the second child With a spirit running wild, running free

The Empress’s second child, the only one who goes across the ocean.

2)      Game of Survival – Ruelle

Are we the hunters? Or are we the prey?

"Keep this doll to remind you that I will always hear you if you say my name. If I am still alive, of course."

3)      Sit Still, Look Pretty – Daya

Oh, I don't know what you've been told But this girl right here's gonna rule the world Yeah, that's where I'm gonna be because I wanna be No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty

Tuon wishes she looked more intimidating, and threw a full-blown temper tantrum when she was told who she’d have to marry.

4)      When I Rule The World – LIZ

When I rule the world, then I'm gonna make you sweat Dog collar 'round your neck, on your knees and scrub the deck

I promise I didn't forget about the sul'dam thing. This should be as jarring as her initial POV in Winter's Heart is.

5)      Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival

I see the bad moon a-rising I see trouble on the way I see earthquakes and lightnin' I see bad times today

Such a good “Seanchan invade Ebou Dar” song! I definitely stole this from someone else’s Mat playlist, but I don’t think it’s on 8tracks anymore.

6)      The Thief and the Moon – Shawn James

Said the Thief to the Moon "I'll extinguish your light soon I'll put an end to all the light that you shed On this world in its darkened state"

I can imagine this as a Seanchan myth; covers Tuon's opinion on her prophecy & getting kidnapped.

7)      Pomegranate Seeds – Julian Moon

Kore, Kore, fauna and flora How did you get your throne? (Hey!) You made a deal You traded daffodils For a kingdom of ash and bone

Had to sneak in a reference to Tuon's middle name. Tuon's POV on her bargain with Mat.

8)      Zebra – The Magnetic Fields

so there's one thing I crave when my days become ho-hum and blah I want a zebra

Took this from my Mat/Tuon book playlist because it is truly the funniest song on there. It's a zebra in our hearts!

9)      Jolene – Dolly Parton

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I'm begging of you please don't take my man

This is very tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time, if you pay attention you can see that Tuon's particularly annoyed by/threatened by Joline Maza.

10)   Maybe, This Time – OK Go

So listen, I'm not trying to prove anything at all here But don't you think that maybe, this time, you were wrong?

Mat to Tuon after confiscating the a'dam from her.

11)   Big Guns – Ruelle

Every little move is fixed Like a game of chess The blood on your hands is thick And you're placing bets Can't hide in the den of lions

A really perfect song for Tuon's 'lion on the high plains' realization; I know technically Mat doesn't have cannon or grenades yet, but shhhh, the rapid-fire crossbows are more or less machine guns. Let me have this. Call it foreshadowing if you must.

12)   Fascinated – Ivy

Never turned out like we talked about Never could tell how to read your mind Never found out what you're all about In this lifetime, baby, you will be mine

Tuon's POV on the marriage ceremony.

13)   The Bullpen – Dessa

Forget the bull in the china shop There's a china doll in the bullpen

Returning to Ebou Dar to kick ass and take heads. This was the song that made me create this playlist, because of "china doll in the bullpen," which is such a great description of Tuon.

14)   Pretty Little Head – Eliza Rickman

Catch yourself a looker, let him go, go, go Wanna have your baby, but I'm so, so slow

Tuon misses Mat, but don’t you dare breathe a word about it. Besides, it’s just business.

15)   Greek God – Conan Gray

And since you always swear that you wanted me gone Then why don't you go get your gun? 'Cause you don't really hate me (You're a little baby) You don't wanna end me (You wanna befriend me)

The Tuon vs Rand confrontation (take two, where Tuon's actually there.) Rand has quite enough confidence, really, but most of the song really works.

16)   Emperor’s New Clothes – Panic! At The Disco

Welcome to the end of eras Ice has melted back to life Done my time and served my sentence Dress me up and watch me die

Declaring herself Empress after meeting with Rand.

17)   Rat Queen – The Mountain Goats

We who have never once tasted The stench of defeat Victory sweet as the dregs of the fast food dumpster Look how they jump when we show up Like they've just seen a monster

H/T to @anyboli, who first suggested this to me as a Tuon song. This is a good soundtrack to planning the raid on the White Tower…

18)   Carmina Burana: O Fortuna – Carl Orff

O Fortune, like the moon you are changeable[…]

I literally cannot imagine a Tuon playlist without this song. It’s White Tower raid time!

19)   you should see me in a crown – Billie Eilish

Count my cards, watch them fall Blood on a marble wall I like the way they all Scream

Yeah, this was inevitable too. I’m using it for that absolutely horrifying POV of hers where she's in the damane training room and decides it's time to plan a full-out attack on the White Tower.

20)   Muse with a Dagger – Taylor Castro

You're making fun of my people Pretend I don't hear you Cause I won't forgive myself For fueling or burning you

Tuon's thoughts on Mat in the garden. This didn't lean as as far into the dagger/knife imagery as I'd hoped for- remember, this is the blog that insists Athaem means Magic Dagger Curse- but it seemed so strangely apt for the two of them that I had to include it.

21)   Please Don’t Say You Love Me – Gabrielle Aplin

There's no need to worry when You see just where we're at Just please don't say you love me Cause I might not say it back

Her conversation with Mat in the garden.

22)   Daisy – Ashnikko

Respect a bitch, I'm a maverick Flexible, so elastic But don't you dare bend a bitch backwards

This is what you married, Mat. (The Mat POV version of this character sketch is probably Cake's Short Skirt Long Jacket.) I will not apologize for the number of #girlboss songs on this playlist.

23)   Mother’s Daughter – Miley Cyrus

Oh my gosh, she got the power Oh, look at her, she got the power So, so, so Don't fuck with my freedom I came up to get me some

The confrontation with Egwene. I see this as mostly Egwene's POV, with Tuon doing a sort of echo, the way she does in the original scene. They are fascinatingly alike here, and the way Egwene controls the scene and gets in Tuon's head- when that's Tuon's signature strategy- is amazing.

24)   I Walk The Line – Halsey

You've got a way to keep me on your side You give me cause for love that I can't hide For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide

Tuon admitting that her heart tells her to return to save Mat (and the armies of the Light).

25)   Glory and Gore – Lorde

Glory and gore go hand in hand That's why we're makin' headlines (Oh! Oh!) You could try and take us (Oh! Oh!) But victory's contagious

The Seanchan army comes back for the kill.

26)   Trouble – Stripped – Halsey

Don't forget me, don't forget me I wouldn't leave you if you'd let me Hmm, when you met me when you met me You told me you were gonna get me

Death threats are just their deranged way of flirting; if Tuon wanted Mat dead she wouldn't warn him, you know? And in that final scene with the fireworks Tuon's telling Mat that she wants him around, and he understands it as such.

[beybladefanfictions]

Ryuga’s Return - Chapter 5

(Description: AU where Ryuga survives Metal Fury but loses L-Drago. He reunites with Kenta and struggles to figure out what he’s supposed to do without Beyblade, his purpose in life for so long. Character’s thoughts are in asteriks.)

Ryuga’s POV

Holding his hood over his head, Ryuga made his way into the familiar Bey stadium. A few people gazed at him suspiciously. However, if they recognized him, they said nothing as he passed. Ryuga glanced up at the bleachers. There were a lot more empty spaces in the crowd than there normally would be, despite the fact that the tournament was soon to start. Ryuga immediately went toward the emptiest space, which just so happened to be towards the front. *Perfect.* From this angle, it was less likely that someone would see his face.

He observed the bladers in the tournament. There were only eight of them and they were all sitting on a bench in front of the stadium, waiting for the first match to be announced. Kenta was among the group. Ryuga also noticed Kyoya and two other legendary bladers. The first match was Kyoya and a kid Ryuga vaguely recognized from America. However, it was hard to tell from a distance.

“Ready?!” The crowd began counting down with the announcer. “Three… two… one… let it rip!”

The two Beyblade clashed against each other, sending up sparks.

“Go Spiral Fox!” the American kid called.

*Spiral fox,* Ryuga rolled his eyes, *What a dumb name for a Beyblade.* He watched the two Beyblades clash as the Blader DJ provided somewhat irrelevant commentary. Leone was clearly winning. It was repeatedly smacking into Spiral Fox, driving the bey backwards towards the edge of the arena. With one hard smack, Spiral Fox knocked Leone back long enough for it to slip away and flee across the stadium. Leone quickly followed.

“Leone!” Kyoya called, “Lion gale force wall!”

As the wind picked up, Ryuga was forced to hold his hood in place so it wouldn’t blow off. He growled in annoyance. The wind swirled into a tornado, flinging Spiral Fox into the sky and ending the match with a stadium out.

*Kyoya is going to be a problem, like usual,* Ryuga thought as the wind died down. The crowd cheered around him. Ryuga didn’t bother joining in: the outcome of this fight was obvious to him from the start.

“Oh, hey Ryuga.”

Ryuga stiffened at the sound of a vaguely familiar voice. He looked up. The girl that worked at the bey shop was approaching him. *What did Kenta say her name was? Madoka? That sounds right.*

"You’re here for Kenta I’m guessing?” the girl asked, sitting in the seat next to his.

“Yes…” Ryuga replied, gazing at the bladers.

Kenta and Yuki, the kid with the glasses, were up next and the two of them were making their way toward the middle of the stadium.

"Three… two… one… let it rip!”

Kenta and Yuki both launched their Beys.

“Did Kenta make you come here?” Madoka asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryuga turned to her. “Well, don't tell him I think that,” he grunted, his eyes narrowing at her.

Madoka just chuckled. “I won't, but you make it a little obvious."

“How?" Ryuga raised an eyebrow.

“You look bored.”

It was true. Despite his dramatic loss against Nemesis, the drive to fight blazed on in Ryuga’s heart, and being restricted to just watching these fights made him feel tied down and powerless. At least in this fight, Ryuga had someone to root for.

The two beys screeched as they slammed into each other, shooting up sparks. Due to the difference in the beys’ heights, Anubius was attacking Flash Sagittario’s spin track rather than its fusion wheel.

“Go Anubius!” Yuki called, swinging his arm.

Anubius suddenly retreated, rushing toward the edge of the stadium.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Kenta exclaimed. “Go Sagittario!”

Sagittario charged after Anubius. In a swift movement, Sagittario leaned forward and slammed its fusion wheel into Anubius. The blue bey was thrown into the air. Yuki yelped in surprise.

“Don’t give up, Anubius!” he called.

Anubius landed on the edge of the stadium, its spin wobbling slightly. Sagittario slammed into Anubius. The beys entered a fierce clash before Sagittario triumphed, flinging Anubius out of the stadium and bringing the blue bey to a halt.

“Yeah!” Kenta cheered, snatching his bey out of the air.

“Great job, Kenta!” Madoka called.

Kenta glanced at them. Ryuga smiled and dipped his head. Kenta smiled back before walking to the bench to wait for his next match.

“Oh, Masamune and King are up next.” Madoka was gazing at the stadium’s display screen. “That should be interesting.”

“Who?” Ryuga asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Masamune and King. You fought King on Beyster Island.”

Ryuga glanced at the screen. One of the bladers was clearly American, he had the obnoxious face of one, and the other was a kid around the same age with blue hair. Ryuga’s eyes narrowed. He did in fact recognize the kid from Beyster Island.

“Right…” Ryuga’s fist clenched. “He uses reverse rotation. L-Drago is-” Ryuga cleared his throat. “-was the only Bey that should be allowed to spin left. That kid is such a poser.”

King and his opponent started their battle. Ryuga’s gaze fixed on King’s bey which travelled around the stadium in the opposite direction of his opponent, as L-Drago had always done. King’s bey was even partly white. From a distance, Ryuga could almost mistake the thing for L-Drago.

“His bey naturally rotates left,” Madoka argued, her eyes narrowed, “How does that make King a poser?”

Ryuga trembled as he spoke. “I-he- ugh, it doesn’t matter. I beat him! L-Drago is w-was the superior bey.” Ryuga’s jaw clenched and he gripped the armrests of his seat in an attempt to stop himself from shaking. His chest began to ache.

“Oh…” Madoka’s voice softened. “You miss L-Drago…”

Ryuga glared at her. Was that pity in her gaze?! *She’s pitying me! HER pitying ME?! What kind of insult is this?!*

“That’s none of your concern,” Ryuga growled, looking away.

Thankfully, Madoka had enough sense not to question him further. Both of them gazed back at the battle. However, Ryuga couldn’t bring himself to look at the left rotating bey. It obviously wasn’t L-Drago. The sensible part of Ryuga’s mind knew that, but he couldn’t take his mind off his former Beyblade now that he had been reminded of it.

He must have zoned out for a while because when he looked back at the arena, two new bladers were fighting and somehow, neither of them were Gingka. Ryuga recognized Benkei as that one weirdly loyal follower of Kyoya’s and the white-haired kid from the helicopters.

“Where is Gingka?” Ryuga asked aloud. He didn’t even see his former greatest rival in the crowd anywhere. Surely he would show up to a tournament that so many of his friends and rivals had attended?

“I guess he didn’t sign up,” Madoka answered with a shrug.

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“I don’t know.” With a chuckle, she added, “Maybe he’s out getting burgers somewhere.”

Ryuga rolled his eyes. “That’s not worth missing a tournament for.”

“True!” Madoka exclaimed before giggling a bit. “But still, that boy would do anything for a triple or- quadruple- or whatever beef burger.”

“That much for food?” Ryuga raised an eyebrow.

“For that specific food yeah…” Madoka gazed at him for a second. “Oh yeah, you probably haven’t had a burger, have you?”

Ryuga stiffened.

However, Madoka just smiled and continued, “Don’t let Gingka figure that out. He’ll immediately drag you to the nearest burger place and make you try one.”

A shiver ran down Ryuga’s spine. “Noted,” he replied with a nod.

Madoka giggled. Ryuga smiled a bit. Though he didn't quite know what to think of Madoka, he was grateful to have someone to talk to. It took his attention away from his grief over L-Drago. However, in terms of this social stuff, Ryuga still didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t want to sound like an idiot so he fell silent. He gazed back at the arena. Benkei had won the fight and now two of the winners of the previous fights would battle. King and Kyoya stepped up.

“Oh, great, Kyoya,” Ryuga snarled the blader’s name.

“What do you have against Kyoya?” Madoka asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s going to give me away.” Ryuga held his hood in place, glaring at Kyoya and King as they started their battle.

“What do you-” Madoka froze. “Wait, are you trying to disguise yourself?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“That wasn’t obvious?” Ryuga rolled his eyes.

A gust of wind erupted from the stadium. Ryuga growled, ducking a bit and pulling his hood further over his head.

“Well, you don’t seem like the type to want to hide from people,” Madoka commented, gesturing to him.

Ryuga stiffened with anger. “I’m not hiding!” *I kind of am.*

Madoka rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Ryuga.”

Ryuga froze. *Is that her passive-aggressive way of saying she doesn’t believe me?*

“Lion gale force wall!” Kyoya called from the stadium.

Ryuga grunted. Down in the stadium, King’s reverse rotation bey was thrown into the sky and was flung around in the wind. King’s bey landed back in the stadium wobbling a bit. Leone rushed toward it. King’s bey weaved out of the way to dodge and the two beys slammed into each other from opposite directions.

“Who you rooting for?” Madoka asked, turning to Ryuga with a smile.

Ryuga thought for a moment. *What do I hate less? Kyoya or L-Drago wannabes?*

“Kyoya,” Ryuga decided, dipping his head. “Better him than that reverse rotation bey.”

Madoka’s smile faded. “Why do you insist L-Drago has to be the only left rotating bey?”

“Wasn’t that the whole reason L-Drago was the forbidden bey? The reverse rotation? Then all of a sudden there are two more and no one cares?! It makes no sense.”

“I suppose it’s weird… but Julian and King’s beys don’t…” Madoka shivered. “Steal their opponents’ power.”

Ryuga’s eyes narrowed. “So the reverse rotation is just a fancy extra feature for them. That’s what L-Drago’s most special quality has been reduced to? A trend?”

“Er… well…” Madoka looked away. *She knows I’m right.* “Do you regret it?”

“Huh?” Ryuga raised an eyebrow.

“Giving up L-Drago’s power to Kenta?” Madoka eyed him suspiciously. “Do you regret that?”

“Of course I don’t,” Ryuga sighed, his head hanging low.

*But I thought it would be my final act. I never thought I would have to live in a world without my L-Drago.* A gust of wind burst from the stadium, forcing Ryuga to hold his hood in place. There was a clinking sound. Ryuga looked up to see that King’s bey had been blown out of the stadium and stopped spinning. The crowd around him cheered. Benkei and Kenta, the next bladers, stood up and walked toward the stadium. Kenta glanced at the crowd.

“Go Kenta and Benkei!” Madoka called to them.

Ryuga nodded to Kenta. The kid nodded back then turned to the stadium and readied his bey.

“Get ready Benkei!” Kenta called, his eyes narrowed in determination. “Because I’m not going to lose here! Not with Ry-” Ryuga stiffened. Kenta put his hand over his mouth. “Not with my friends here supporting me!” he corrected, his determined gaze returning.

Ryuga let out a sigh of relief.

“I won’t let you win either!” Benkei countered, “Kyoya’s in the final battle waiting for me and I’m not about to let him down!”

“Ready?!” The blader DJ called. “Three… two… one… let it rip!”

Kenta and Benkei launched their beys.

“Sagittario!” Kenta called, “Switch to stamina mode!” Flash Sagittario’s fusion wheel shifted, making it rounder.

“Good choice,” Ryuga muttered, dipping his head.

“Hm?” Madoka turned to him, looking surprised.

“Benkei’s bey is a balance type by the looks of it,” Ryuga explained, “It will be weak to a stamina type.”

“You’re right. Dark Bull is a balance type…” Madoka looked almost impressed. “And Sagittario might need all the stamina it can get to withstand Dark Bull's attacks.”

“Dark Bull…?” Ryuga stiffened. That sounded like the kind of bey a Dark Nebula blader would use, but he couldn’t recall Benkei ever being part of that organization. “Where did he get that bey?”

“Um… Doji gave it to him a long time ago.”

“Thought so,” Ryuga grunted, his fist clenching at the memory of Doji.

He looked back at the battle. Dark Bull and Sagittario were clashing head-on, neither of them moving from their spot in the centre of the arena. Eventually, Dark Bull was thrown backwards. It wobbled slightly before regaining its balance and charging for Sagittario.

“You’ve gotten so much stronger,” Benkei mused aloud, “I can feel Ryuga’s power radiating from this new bey…”

“It’s not Ryuga’s power anymore, Benkei,” Kenta retorted, resting his hand on his chest. “It’s mine!”

Ryuga dipped his head.

“Go!” Kenta called. “Sagittario Flame- er…” He froze, his eyes wide.

*I took away his special move…* Ryuga let out a dry laugh. 

“Go now, b-b-b-bull!” Benkei exclaimed, stepping forward. “Dark Bull red horn uppercut!”

Kenta let out a yelp of alarm. Bull charged for Sagittario, jumping into the air and ramming into Sagittario in midair

“Don’t quit Sagittario!” Kenta called, staring up at his bey.

Sagittario broke free from Bull's attack, wobbling in mid-air before landing back in the arena. Kenta sighed in relief.

“It’s not over yet!” he exclaimed, gesturing toward Sagittario.

The bey raced toward Dark Bull and the two beys entered a fierce clash. Bull smacked Sagittario backward. The bey landed with a wobble, allowing Bull to charge into it.

Kenta let out a grunt. “I have to do it! Sagittario! Switch to attack mode!”

Sagittario’s fusion wheel shifted, becoming more ovular as it dashed past Dark Bull.

“What is he doing?!” Ryuga blurted out.

Bull pursued Sagittario to the edge of the stadium. Sagittario didn’t stop. It flung itself into the air, spinning faster and faster as it flew higher into the air. A ball of fire formed around Sagittario. Ryuga stiffened. *That’s the same move he used on me!*

“Go!” Kenta exclaimed, his eyes narrowed in determination. “Special move! Diving arrow!”

Sagittario shot down from the sky like a comet, slamming into Dark Bull in an explosion of light. Ryuga shielded his eyes with his arm. When the light faded, Ryuga stared in awe at the stadium. Sagittario was spinning in the centre of the stadium, while Dark Bull was nowhere in sight. Ryuga looked up. The bey dropped to the ground beside Sagittario.

“Yeah!” Kenta cheered, retrieving his bey.

Ryuga couldn’t help but smile as pride for his friend surged through him. *He’s come so far…*

Madoka let out a gasp, dragging Ryuga out of his thoughts.

“Your hood!” she exclaimed.

Ryuga’s heart skipped a beat. He pulled his hood back over his head, looking around at the crowd. No one seemed to have noticed him. He sighed in relief.

“And now the final match!” the announcer called. “Kyoya versus Kenta!”

Kyoya stepped up, immediately readying his bey. Kenta seemed frozen. Taking a step back, he held up his launcher.

“Three… two… one… let it rip!” Kenta and Kyoya launched their beys.

“Sagittario! Stamina mode!” Kenta called out immediately.

Sagittario’s fusion shifted to its rounder form before clashing into Leone. A burst of wind erupted from the arena. Ryuga held his hood in place, grunting as the wind whipped in his face. He recalled his own fight with Kyoya back in Battle Bladers. Ryuga had only been using a fraction of L-Drago’s true power during that fight yet, even so, it was still impressive that Kyoya was able to last as long as he had against L-Drago. He was a formidable opponent, no doubt about it. This wouldn’t be easy for Kenta… When Sagittario and Leone clashed, it shot bursts of energy through the stadium.

“So this is the effect of Ryuga’s power…” Kyoya mused, though it was hard to hear over the roaring wind. He raised his voice when he continued, “I may not have been able to defeat Ryuga, but the same won’t be true for his protege!” Kyoya pointed at Kenta. “Leone! King Lion Crushing Fang!”

In moments, a tornado formed in the arena, lifting Sagittario higher and higher into the air. Kenta yelped in surprise.

“Now! Go, Leone!” Leone used the edge of the stadium as a ramp to throw itself into the tornado and toward Sagittario. Kenta���s bey was suddenly enveloped in flames.

“Sagittario diving arrow!” Kenta exclaimed, swinging his arm.

“Huh?!” Kyoya gasped.

Before he could back out, however, Sagittario slammed into Leone in a burst of flame. Ryuga shielded his eyes. When the smoke cleared, Sagittario was spinning steadily in the stadium, while Leone was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s not over yet!” Kyoya exclaimed, his eyes crazed with anger.

Moments later, Leone flopped into the stadium, its spin wobbling.

Kenta let out a grunt. “Sagittario attack mode!” he called, gesturing to the bey.

Sagittario’s fusion wheel shifted before charging toward Leone, smacking into it repeatedly. Leone pushed against it. However, it could barely keep up with Sagittario’s string of attacks. Ryuga’s heart lit up. *Kenta could win this!*

Kyoya let out a roar. “Leone!” He gestured for his bey to retreat.

Leone smacked Sagittario away and charged toward the edge of the stadium. Sagittario tried to follow. Leone hovered in the air.

“King Lion Reverse Wind Strike!” Kyoya yowled.

Ryuga’s jaw clenched. *How many special moves does this guy have?!* Leone flipped upside in midair. A tornado shot from its facebolt, slamming into Sagittario. Kenta yowled in alarm. An explosion of wind wracked the stadium, making the audience yelp in shock. Ryuga squinted. Through the wind, Ryuga spotted Leone slamming Sagittario against the ground, as Sagittario struggled to push back. The ground of the stadium cracked open. Sagittario was shoved into the ground, its spin stopping with a screech. The wind died down. Leone ceased its attack, landing with a wobble beside Sagittario.

“The-” The announcer sounded stunned. “The winner is Kyoya!”

“Sagittario!” Kenta yowled, falling to the ground on his knees.

Kyoya snatched his bey out of the air. In a moment of adrenaline, Ryuga vaulted over the railing separating the audience from the stadium and raced toward Kenta. The movement had blown his hood off. Ryuga didn’t care to notice until the sounds of terrified gasping echoed through the air.

“I-it's Ryuga?!” the announcer gasped.

Ryuga skidded to a halt.

“Ryuga?!” Kyoya exclaimed, his eyes wide.

The crowd’s eyes were all on Ryuga. He froze in place, his heart pounding out of his chest.

Kenta looked up at him, his gaze teary-eyed. “Ryuga…?”

“Kenta! Ryuga!”

Ryuga looked over his shoulder. Madoka was rushing toward the two of them. Finally working up the nerve to move, Ryuga slipped into the stadium and yanked Sagittario out of the ground.

“Come on,” Ryuga muttered as he passed Kenta and Madoka, the latter of whom was helping Kenta get to his feet.

Ryuga fought the urge to run away. He tried his best to look dignified as he speed-walked toward the exit.

“Ryuga!” Madoka called.

“Ryuga! Wait up!”

Kenta and Madoka raced after him. Ryuga avoided the gazes of the crowd by staring at Sagittario. It was covered in deep scratches. Thankfully, however, no pieces had broken off. Once the stadium was far behind him, Ryuga finally stopped, allowing Kenta and Madoka to catch up. They stopped beside him, struggling to catch their breath. Ryuga handed Kenta his bey.

Kenta let out a gasp. “Sagittario!” he yelped, grabbing it and staring in horror at the banged-up bey.

Madoka glanced at Sagittario.

“It got damaged pretty badly…” Her eyes were wide as she spoke.

“After it was just fixed! Gah, I’m so sorry, Sagittario!” Kenta’s voice descended into a sob as he clutched his broken Beyblade.

“It’s not your fault Kyoya decided to implant it into the ground,” Ryuga growled, “What a-” He bit back his next words.

“Oh, come on, I don’t think Kyoya meant to go that far,” Madoka insisted, sternly. She turned to Kenta and added gently, “Regardless, Kenta, I don’t mind repairing Sagittario again.”

Kenta looked up at her. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, it won’t take long…”

“But don’t you still have Tsubasa and Yu’s beys to fix from the Nemesis battle?”

“And Tithi, Dynamis, Chris, and Aguma’s…” Madoka shuddered. “B-but it’s not a big deal! Like I said, this is minor compared to theirs. I can fix Sagittario tonight and maybe even have time to finish with Eagle’s repairs.” She laughed even as her eyes were wide. “That would be nice. Here, I’ll take it to my workshop now.”

Madoka gestured for Kenta to follow. Ryuga and Kenta trailed after her, ending up a few paces behind her.

“I was so close…” Kenta murmured to himself.

“Hm?” Ryuga looked down at him.

“I thought a few more attacks would do it… I didn’t count on him using Reverse Wind Strike… Kyoya has so many special moves, I can’t keep track of them all!”

*Me neither, Kenta.*

“You’ll have another chance to beat him.”

“Y-yeah… that’s true.” Kenta looked up at him with a smile. “Hey, thanks for coming to watch. I really do appreciate it.”

Ryuga just nodded. *I wish I could have been part of it.* He struggled to push the thought away as he continued on.

When they got to the shop, Madoka held the door open and ushered Ryuga and Kenta inside. Kenta handed her Sagittario. Ryuga followed them down a flight of stairs to a basement of sorts. Madoka placed Sagittario down on the desk. Nearby, were six other much more broken Beyblades, including Eagle and Libra.

“Wow, you really weren’t kidding…” Kenta gazed at the torn-up Beyblades.

“Ha, yeah… It’s a lot of work for one person.” Madoka rested her hand on her forehead. “But I can handle it! No big deal!” She laughed in that nervous way again.

However, Ryuga had already tuned the two of them out. Everything in this room was related to Beyblade somehow: the broken Beyblades on the desk, the tools that would likely fix them, and the drawers nearby filled with spare parts.

Memories of the tournament raced through Ryuga’s mind. *I could’ve beaten Kyoya. I could’ve beaten everyone there, no problem, but I didn’t even have a chance. I’ll never have a chance again.* Ryuga stared at the broken Beyblades, unable to ease the longing in his heart.

“Well, we should be getting home.” Ryuga zoned back in and gazed at Kenta. “Dinner is probably going to be ready soon.”

“Actually, Kenta…” Ryuga bit his lip.

“Huh?” Kenta tilted his head to the side.

“I…” Ryuga glanced at Madoka. “Can I stay here a while longer?”

“Wha-” Madoka stiffened. “Um, okay, sure. That’s… fine.”

Ryuga dipped his head.

“Ryuga?” Kenta stared at him.

“I’ll be there later,” Ryuga insisted.

“Okay… see you then.” Kenta reluctantly began to walk away. “Bye guys!” he called, before going up the stairs.

“Bye…” Madoka waved. Once Kenta disappeared, she turned to Ryuga. “Um, I’m gonna get something from upstairs then work on those repairs. You can uh… chill here I guess.” She made her way upstairs.

Once Madoka was out of sight, Ryuga immediately began looking through the drawers full of Beyblade parts. One had just blank facebolts. Another had just spin tracks, then just fusion wheels, and just performance tips. They were all fairly bland and basic. However, Ryuga couldn't help but stare at the parts as well as the broken up Beyblades nearby.

“What are you doing?” Ryuga froze at the sound of Madoka's voice. She was coming back down the stairs, a phone in hand as she gazed at him in confusion. Ryuga slowly pushed the drawer closed.

“No, no, it's fine," Madoka replied, hopping down the steps. "Just don't break anything.”

The mechanic grabbed another chair and pulled it up in front of the desk before sitting in the chair right beside it. Ryuga took the extra chair. He went back to the drawer of spare parts, shuffling through them and placing anything that stood out to him on the desk.

“Is it okay if I put on some music?” Madoka asked, gesturing to her phone. “I work well with music.”

*Why is she asking me?*

“It’s your workshop."

“Um…” Madoka looked away. “I’ll take that as a yes. I guess.”

She put the music on and set her phone aside facedown, before starting work on Sagittario’s repairs. Ryuga kept his eyes on his own work. He took one of the performance tips, a blue one for an attack type, and attached it to a spin track of a similar colour. They likely didn’t actually go together. Then Ryuga combined the spin track with more parts that didn’t go with it: a white fusion wheel and a plastic red facebolt. All together, they created the dumbest looking Beyblade Ryuga had ever seen.

*I need a life,* Ryuga thought as he spun the Beyblade around with his fingers. Madoka looked up from her work.

“Hey, that bey looks a bit like…” She stiffened. “Oh…”

Ryuga looked at the Beyblade, his eyes going wide. He hadn’t intended it, but the makeshift Beyblade did resemble L-Drago somewhat, having the same colours and an attack type performance tip. He had even spun it to the left.

Madoka paused her music with a sigh. “You miss L-Drago that much, huh?”

Ryuga stopped the bey with his fingers. “You’re not a blader, you wouldn’t get it,” he grunted.

“You’re right, I don’t fully understand. Your fight against Nemesis was…” Ryuga winced. Madoka hesitated before continuing, “Well, I don’t have to remind you. Yet despite that, you still want to Beyblade so badly. Why?”

“Because Beyblade is…” Ryuga let out a sigh. “Was my life. It was my purpose, and watching that tournament reminded me how much I want to fight…” He stared at the makeshift Beyblade. “But I can never replace L-Drago. So I have to accept this new life.”

“Do you not like your new life?” Madoka asked, tilting her head to the side.

Ryuga clenched his jaw. “I never said that.”

Madoka was probably about to reply when a beeping sound cut them off. Ryuga glanced at his phone.

-Kenta’s Mom: Be home before dark.-

Ryuga grunted as he typed out a response.

-Ryuga: Ok-

Muting the phone, he placed it aside facedown with a grunt.

“Ugh, parents.”

“Ha, yeah.” Madoka chuckled. “They can be overbearing… Kenta’s parents, you mean?”

Ryuga nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve met them. I’m convinced they would adopt all of us if they could.” Madoka smiled and raised an eyebrow. “How long did it take for them to want to adopt you?”

“...five minutes.” Ryuga wished he was exaggerating.

“Yep, sounds about right.” Madoka continued to work on Sagittario’s repairs as she spoke, “To be honest, I’m surprised they haven’t officially adopted you.”

Ryuga stiffened. “They’d better not,” he growled.

“Well, you’re older so I’m pretty sure they would need your permission to make it official,” Madoka replied with a shrug.

Ryuga let out a sigh of relief. “Good.”

Madoka looked up at him, placing Sagittario aside. “So, uh, when are you going home exactly?”

“Am I overstaying my welcome?” Ryuga asked, standing up.

“What? N-no, I don't mind.” Madoka stood up as well, gazing up at him. “I'm just confused. Ryuga, if you don't mind me asking… Why are you here? Is it really just to play with Beyblade parts?”

Ryuga’s eyes narrowed. “I'm not playing with them.”

"Then what are you doing exactly?” Madoka asked, gesturing to the makeshift Beyblade on the desk.

“One question at a time.” Ryuga rested his hand on his forehead.

“Ugh, fine. Then answer this, wouldn't being in a place like this just depress you?” Madoka held her hands out, gesturing to the room around them. “Being surrounded by Beyblade stuff?”

“It doesn't.”

If he was honest with himself, Ryuga found this environment peaceful. Beyblade was something that was familiar to him. So even though this was a new environment, it felt familiar and almost safe to him. Ryuga sat back down.

“That Beyblade’s not going to fix itself, you know,” he grunted, returning his focus to his makeshift Beyblade.

“Huh?” Madoka looked back at Flash Sagittario. “Oh, right…”

She unpaused her music and continued working. Ryuga looked back at his makeshift Beyblade, unscrewing the facebolt and reaching for more parts from the drawers. He tried out several combinations of parts and watched them spin. Ryuga put his head down on the table. He hadn't realized until now how tired he was and the familiar whirring sound of a Bey spinning was strangely relaxing. Even the music and the sounds of Madoka fixing Sagittario beside him were somewhat peaceful now. Ryuga's eyes slowly fluttered shut.

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

Ryuga opened his eyes with a yawn, confused to find himself sitting at Madoka's desk still. He glanced at the mechanic. She was sitting next to him, her head rested on her arms beside a mostly repaired Sagittario. Ryuga gently nudged Madoka. She yelped in surprise, her head shooting up.

“Oh, hey,” she greeted with a tired smile. “Good morning.”

“When did we fall asleep?” Ryuga asked, reaching for his phone.

“I dunno…” Madoka rested her hand on her forehead. “Ugh, I do this all the time. I really need to break out of this habit.”

Ryuga couldn’t bite back a gasp: thirteen unread text messages, six missed calls. He stiffened. A cold feeling wracked his body.

“What? What’s wrong?” Madoka asked, her eyes wide.

Ryuga was completely frozen for a few seconds, his heart pounding out of his chest. Finally, he stood up.

“I have to make a call,” he explained, his voice icily calm again.

He went up the stairs and toward the shop exit as casually as he could. Closing the door behind him, Ryuga booked it behind the building. He looked at his phone. Every message and missed call were from either Kenta or his parents, all demanding to know where he was. Ryuga called Kenta. He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the kid to pick up. It went to voicemail. Ryuga grunted. He stared at Kenta's parents' contacts, a sudden shiver running down his spine.

*They're going to yell at me…* Whichever one he called, Ryuga anticipated either of Kenta's parents yelling at him for this. They had never yelled at him or Kenta before but the idea chilled him. Everyone had their limit, surely? Doji would've certainly yelled at him if Ryuga had done something like this.

*I'd rather get yelled at over a phone than to my face.* Ryuga hesitantly called Kenta's mother, unable to suppress a shiver. She immediately picked up.

“Ryuga!”

“I’M SORRY!” Ryuga didn't realize how loud he had yelled until he saw birds fly away in panic. He lowered his voice and continued, “I lost track of time and fell asleep at the shop. I won’t…” Ryuga shivered. “I won’t do it again.”

Ryuga couldn't bring himself to continue; he already sounded pathetic enough.

“The shop, okay.” Kenta's mother sighed in relief. "That’s where Kenta said you were last. Thank goodness you’re okay.”

Ryuga froze. “You’re not mad?”

“No, of course not." She sounded almost alarmed. “We were just worried something happened to you.” She fell silent for a few moments before adding, “Kenta went out looking for you a few minutes ago, will you two come home?”

“...okay.”

“Okay, I love you, sweetie.”

Before Ryuga could reply, Kenta's mother hung up. Ryuga froze. *Maybe they don’t want to control me…* His eyes narrowed. *Then what do they want from me?! Why would they care this much about me if they didn’t want something from me?!* Before Kenta, the only person that seemed to want Ryuga around was Doji, who had used him for his own dark plan. Even Kenta initially only followed him to help his other friends. But what reason did the kid’s parents have to care?! *This has to be some kind of trick…*

“Ryuga!” Madoka’s voice shook him from his thoughts. She was running toward him. “What happened?” she asked, struggling to catch her breath.

“Nothing,” Ryuga grunted, putting his phone in his pocket. “I just told Kenta’s mother where I was.”

“Oh, yeah, his parents were probably pretty worried about you.”

“Clearly.” Ryuga began to walk away. Madoka followed, walking by his side and looking up at him.

“Well, uh, parents can be like that,” she replied with a shrug.

“They’re not my parents. I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

Ryuga froze. *Why did I tell HER that?* He stopped in front of the bey shop, letting out a sigh. *I suppose I have nothing to lose by telling her this.*

“Why they care so much. It doesn’t make sense.”

“How does it not make sense? They might not be your biological parents but you are living with them now and you’re close to Kenta. Is it really surprising his parents think of you as a second son?”

Ryuga looked away, unable to come up with an answer.

“Ryuga!” Kenta’s voice called.

Ryuga looked up to see his friend rushing toward him from a distance. *There he is.*

[coinofstone]

2x11 The Witch's Quickening

Hey Arthur, remember last time you were on a manhunt in Camelot and it led you to Morgana's chambers, and she talked you out of searching them and later admitted that she'd been hiding a fugitive in there? Have you learned NOTHING

And Merlin too, he doesn't like, double back and confront Morgana or suggest Arthur do that?

Why is Arthur yelling at Merlin so much in this? Who wrote this episode.

::Coin watch the show instead of playing on her phone challenge::

Morgana being manipulated by a nine year old

Why is Arthur insulting the food as if Merlin cooked it himself? Every other meal he brings up is from the palace kitchens but on this occasion Merlin cooked himself? Ok.

Even the fkin dragon is OOC in this ep

Morgana is so much more intelligent than this.

Gaius needs to bring this to Uther in the throne room like a member of the public? He couldn't get a private audience with the king? Ok.

I really don't remember this episode being so terrible, maybe I'm in a bad mood.

You know, not for nothing, but from Mordred's perspective Merlin is being an absolute dick, not only siding with the oppressor but actively working to sabotage their plans and hurt their people. As we, the audience, are privy to the reasons behind this, WE don't necessarily questions Merlin's actions, WE know he's after the crystal because he's trying to prevent Mordred and Morgana from teaming up and bringing harm to Arthur - that's all good and well but like... Merlin could never bring himself to kill Mordred because he's just a boy, but yet he's allowed the boy to go off and become somewhat radicalized (I say 'somewhat' because honestly, it's not all that radical to plot to overthrow the king that has been waging a genocidal war against your people for twenty fucking years) without ever trying to bring him into the fold. If Merlin had explained his and Arthur's destinies to the boy, made an argument for waiting out Uther's reign in the hope that Arthur's reign will bring peace and magic back to Camelot, but which may not happen if he sees his father killed by sorcerers, and explained his reasons for hiding who he is from Morgana, regardless of Mordred's ultimate destiny to be Arthur's doom, Merlin would've at least had a shot at cultivating an alliance or at very least an understanding between them. Instead, all Mordred sees is this supremely powerful sorcerer who isn't even a druid, serving the very people that would bring an end to their entire race if they could. Although, it seems as tho Mordred has forgotten who exactly snuck him out of the castle and back to the druid camp in three first place. Makes you wonder if Morgana never explained to him that she was believed to have been kidnapped when they found her with the druids last time, and that she went along with that lie for her own safety.

Tl;dr: communication is important kids!

Do I even need to point out how much sense Morgana's little tiff with Uther did not make? Or her sudden distrust of Gwen? If anything she should think Gwen would be an ally considering a) her father was killed by Uther, as an innocent victim of Uther's war on magic, b) Gwen was party to Morgana's previous involvement in aiding and abetting a druid fugitive, c) Gwen L-I-T-E-R-A-L-L-Y sacrificed herself to save Morgana from Hengist's men, the is zero reason to question Guinevere's loyalty to Morgana, and d) Gwen has never said a WORD against sorcery or hinted at any kind of prejudice against druids or anyone with magic.

I looked up the writing credit for this, it's Jake Michie who is also credited with some fantastic episodes like Lancelot, Beauty and the beast, and the Lamia to name a few. It was directed by Alice Troughton who has also done some good eps, including other eps written by Jake Michie, so like I really don't understand what went wrong here.

Oh God there's a commentary track on this episode. I don't wannnnnaaaaaa but maybe I'll learn something, like why it turned out the way it did.

Commentary by Julian Murphy, Alice Troughton, and Katie. I do not have high hopes.

Katie right off the bat explaining shit that's important to note, God I love her on these tracks. Apparently, this was one of the last things to be shot (Merlin films everything out of order and films several episodes concurrently, depending on filming location.) and it was being shot while three other episodes were being wrapped up - so they had FOUR episodes filming concurrently and a lot of THIS episode was directed by Julian Murphy, and Jeremy shot some of it as well. This COULD explain a lot of the inconsistency, but I question how much since Julian seems to be involved in filming lots of scenes in lots of episodes. But I guess it's possible that just that on top of the rush to finish and the pressure of so many spinning plates in the air right at the end. They've just said that for this episode they had the least amount of days to shoot it out of all the episodes they've done, which is partly why they had so much going at once. It's as good a reason as any to explain it being so off, but I don't really see that explaining the wildly off characterization.

Katie going on the whole thing about Alvarr-as-revolutionary and Alice picks up on Morgana's sort of desire to be in that position and they're having a quite meaningful discussion then Julian:I think she just thinks he's hot 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Katie says the script changed a lot even as it was filming, and that things were being changed as it was filmed so I'm kind of thinking for whatever reason this entire thing was a mess and that's why it came across looking so disjointed to me.

At least Julian realize the soup scene was terrible.

Idk why they're ganging up on Katie over the chemistry between her and Alvarr. She says she wasn't playing it that way and that she wasn't feeling it and they're just like "yea uh huh sure."

They're talking about having two units filming like a few feet away from each other in the forest, while there is another two units going in France.

Julian says they had added Alvarr's girlfriend in because they wanted to dramatize his charisma and calculation... but it's not manipulation - ?????????? Someone get the man a dictionary. 'We added a random blonde in four him to kiss so that the audience knows he's got a girl already, who sees him working his charm on Morgana and comments on it 'you played her well', but Alvarr isn't actually manipulative' ??????????

They've just pointed out two entire significant beats within a sequence that was constructed on set and off script. Arthur's confrontation with Alvarr in the forest and Merlin's slow motion tracking the crystal to show its got a powerful draw. The more they describe the specifics of filming the more it sounds like an utter disaster which kind of makes me feel bad for being so harsh on the episode.

I keep having to rewind to focus on what they're saying and I feel like I've been watching this episode for about 4 hours.

Awkward bit of prop-exposure there. Trying to work out what LK could even stand for.

Idk everyone's really happy with this scene between Morgana and Uther and I'm still sitting here thinking the dialogue was utterly ridiculous.

They talked about changing that final scene, where Uther clearly knows/suspects it was Morgana who helped Alvarr escape, so that it doesn't prematurely push the story too far ahead. They cut a look Morgana gives Merlin which, rightfully so, because it would've been too much too soon. The ending to this episode still feels wholly unsatisfying to me. I understand the little tag with the dragon yelling for Merlin to release him, I don't mean that, but the ending to the main story where Alvarr just escapes and Uther not only accepts that but also accepts that Morgana must've helped him. Overall Uther's been entirely sort of neutered throughout this episode, which I understand that partially has to do with it being Morgana, but like, in previous episodes when she's been so defiant against him, he's had her by the throat and locked her in a dungeon overnight. So I just doubt understand him being so subdued here, especially since he directly threatened her when he found pr Mordred escaped, and now another druid's escaped and he essentially knows she was involved given how she spoke to him, yet he doesn't do anything? Just wildly inconsistent behavior.

Anyway apologies for overanalyzing this episode, I realize I tore it apart pretty thoroughly during the commentary and the post became quite long. I wish there was a way to add a cut on mobile but there isn't. I'll have the S2 finale post up in a few hours - I might hold off on posting until I've watched the extras, I didn't do that for S1 but then I felt the extras didn't quite warrant a whole post on their own, so I might just tack on any thoughts I have to the 2x12 post. We'll see.

[cynicalclassicist]

Eugenius III and Julian

So I had an idea for meta-stuff involving Eugenius III, my ace atheist version of a Legendary King of Scotland.

Now in Medieval Histories they had a habit of playing around with the history, giving mythologised versions of historical figures, adding local legends. In one such myth Constantine's mother was the daughter of British King Coel, who married Constantius. In reality she might have just been a stable-maid and there is some debate over the nature of her relationship with Constantine's father, may not have even been married fully... in any case they seem to have divorced as Constantius needed wife better for his status.

So, Constantine is big figure in the Matter of Britain, the second British King to become ruler of Rome, the first being Brennius, brother of Belinus. The third was Arthur, keeping to prophecy stuff. Constantine was first proclaimed Emperor in York, Britain, in 306 on his father’s death.

So. Julian was Constantine’s nephew, the last of the dynasty, son of Julius Constantius, one of Constantine’s half-brothers. On Constantine’s death in 337 he was a victim of the purges with his eldest son, though Julian, a child at the time, was spared, having been born in 331.

Finally of Constantine’s sons just Constantius II was left. In 360 Julian’s troops proclaimed him Emperor in Paris, leading to a civil war with his cousin... who died in 361, naming Julian his successor.

Julian was the last Pagan Roman Emperor, trying to restore Paganism, or his own branch of theology. He was married to his first cousin Helena, daughter of Constantine. However their marriage was childless, there were apparently some miscarriages and by the time her husband became Emperor she seems to have died.

Julian died in 363 while campaigning in Persia, allegedly Saint Mercurius killed him, according to vision by Saint Basil. His successors were Christian and finally the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD by Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the state religion.

So. Fitting in with Medieval mythologising of history I imagine Eugenius seeing some sort of... play or account where Julian is a scheming malcontent-type who plots his uncle’s death in order to seize power. Maybe lusts after his cousin, hoping to marry her to enhance his claim, before rebelling against his cousin. And Julian says how much he hates Christianity and how he wishes to return the Empire to Paganism.

Eugenius sees this as an attack on him, considering it’s kind of an open secret he had his uncle Goranus murdered. And Eugenius is a sort of antitheistic Epicurean, even if officially in the closet about it.

So he tries to write a piece on Julian himself and his tutor points out he's just done basically the same thing, having Julian spend ages bashing Christianity and that Julian wasn’t even Epicurean really. Julian belonged to a rather obscure branch of philosophy that seemed to believe in blood-worship. As I found out in my Later Roman Empire course at University, part of the problem was that Julian was pushing a strange and minority interpretation of religion which barely anyone could understand so it couldn’t really take off.

And then his tutor says he's obsessing over writing a self-insert historical piece when he has more important things to do anyway.

Also in another little touch Eugenius might write Julian as uninterested in women and gets asked if that was really backed up by any proper evidence. Julian had no children but that’s about it. There are ideas his lack of children might have had deliberate reasons.

Going from the Wikipedia page on Helena:

The "Funeral Oration upon the Emperor Julian" by Libanius elaborates on the subject of Julian's chastity: "This was the pleasure our emperor reaped from the length of the nights, whilst others were following the business of Venus. But he was so far from inquiring where there was a fair daughter, or wife, that had he not once been tied by Juno with the bond of marriage, he would have ended his days knowing nothing of sexual intercourse but by name. But as it was he regretted his wife, yet did not touch another woman, either before or after her; being by his constitution enabled to be continent, and his constant occupation in the art of soothsaying concurring to require this restraint. ... Being exhorted by his relations to marry, that he might get children for heirs to his power, "It was out of fear of this very thing," replied he, "that I have neglected to do so, lest they, succeeding by hereditary right, should turn out bad and ruin the state, experiencing the same fate with Phaethon." Thus did he regard his own want of children as a lighter calamity than the chance of mischief to the provinces." This is from Libanius, "Funeral Oration upon the Emperor Julian". 1888 translation.

But Eugenius wants to push Julian into his ideas of good kingship and tries to push him as having similar orientation to him. Considering his distrust of religion I imagine he’d really dislike Constantine for bringing Christianity to the Empire and would favour Julian for trying to reverse his uncle’s decision. Might allude to Edward Gibbon’s end in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that Christianity weakened the Empire by making the people less concerned about their life now.

Yet ultimately he is ending up doing the same thing, forcing a kind of inaccurate portrait of Julian to favour his ideas.

Of course you can see a meta-commentary with what author is doing with Eugenius III. Eugenius himself is hugely anachronistic in his ideas. But it’s Arthuriana, it’s supposed to be anachronistic anyway.

Just a fun thought.

I’m not sure what Eugenius writes his Julian as. Could be like a play, not unlike Julian writing his piece The Caesars, where he mocks Christianity and his uncle as they arrive among the Gods. Or could be history. Or could be fictionalised autobiography of Julian.

He might say no-one would believe this was written by Julian, saying it would be like if Claudius wrote a history of his life which was buried in Britain, hinting at a famous work. Might allude to Gore Vidal’s Julian as well, which was criticized by historian Robert Browning for crediting its subject with sexual exploits for which there is no evidence.

@hiddenhistoryofwesteros​ @cukibola​ @epic-summaries​