#ar: it is NOT COMPLETELY OUT YET - only Act 1 is finished

[your-local-grinning-cat]

-Gifts you a holy mole- 🪽

🙀

Oh my Gods…

Hermes himself just gifted me with… the Mole Pope!

A Mope!

Or purrhaps a Pole?

A SAD, MOPE-Y POLE DANCER!!!!!

I couldn’t find a sad pole dancer… so let’s pretend this one failing is sad too 😿

[scoutception]

Yet again ranking the 5 animes I’ve watched most recently

After losing the will to just sit down and watch it for quite a while, I’ve finally gotten through 5 anime series yet again, and, as is tradition for me by now, I’ve decided to just type out my thoughts and rankings of them, with my first two posts of this nature being here and here. As usual, this is just my personal thoughts, and the only other thing worth noting before I start is that, unlike last time, I do think everything listed here is at least decent on its own. With that, I’ll just get to it. 5. Robotics;Notes

Number of episodes: 22. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation. Robotics;Notes is an adaptation of a visual novel, which I actually just wrote a review on, which can be found here. Long story short, it’s the third entry in the Science Adventure series, the same series Steins;Gate is part of, unknown to most people, with Robotics;Notes technically being the sequel to it. Originally aired in 2012, the same year as the visual novel was released, and made by Production I.G, Robotics;Notes is in an interesting middle ground between the acclaimed and popular Steins;Gate animes and the downright awful and obscure Chaos;Head and Chaos;Child animes, and until 2020 was the only option those who didn’t speak Japanese had to experience it at all. Since I went into so much detail in said visual novel review, I’m mostly going to focus on how the anime holds up both by itself and as an adaptation. Ever since its creation nearly ten years ago, the dream of the Chuo Tanegashima High Robotics Research Club has been to finish Gunbuild-1, a lifesize recreation of Gunvarrel, the titular mecha of an insanely popular anime that’s credited with starting a “robot boom” within Japan, and the club’s current president, Akiho Senomiya, the little sister of the club’s founder, Misaki Senomiya, is extremely determined to see this dream achieved. Unfortunately for her, the club has fallen on hard times, with its funding being cut, its advisor being completely unreliable, and the few other members it has, namely Kaito Yashio, Subaru Hidaka, Junna Daitoku, and Kona Furugoori, aka Frau Koujiro, being quite difficult in their own ways, and often more than Akiho can handle. While Akiho puts her all into finally bringing the club to greatness, the otherwise apathetic Kaito finds himself involved with a mysterious AI called Airi, who exists within the augmented reality app IRUO. Airi’s creator, the deceased Kou Kimijima, turns out to have also created several AR annotations scattered throughout Tanegashima, titled the Kimijima Reports, which warn of a grand conspiracy that will utterly devastate humanity if unopposed. I’m not the most unbiased viewer, since I had played, and enjoyed, the visual novel months before watching this anime, but generally, it’s actually an enjoyable time. Some of Robotics;Notes’ biggest strengths were always its cast of characters and lighter tone, and for the most part, the anime preserves both well, keeping it mostly silly, but endearing early on. The artstyle actually matches up fairly well with the VN’s CGs, and the dub, which I watched just to spice things up, since I already knew the Japanese voice cast was quite good, is overall solid, with Clifford Chapin as Kaito, Lindsay Seidel as Akiho, and Monica Rial as Junna especially sticking out to me. As an adaptation, on the other hand, it falls short in quite a few places, namely when it comes to characterization. While obviously, no adaptation could feasibly fit in every detail from its source material, the Steins;Gate anime managed to preserve almost all of its cast’s characterization, whereas in Robotics;Notes, several characters lose prominent details to their backstories or personal conflicts, or act differently in scenes unrelated to that, making quite a few of them come off different. While instances of the latter case, such as Junna coming off as less shy and hesitant, don’t necessarily worsen anything for the most part, the former definitely does, as it makes the affected characters much less developed and interesting. Nobody suffers from this worse than Kaito himself, who loses most of his backstory, motivations, and arc, to the point of one of his best moments being changed from something intentional to completely accidental, with the end result making him come off as a completely different character, and an inferior one, at that. Additionally, around episode 16, the anime starts diverging pretty significantly from the VN, and not in ways that are improvements, to the point it even leaves a few otherwise preserved scenes in earlier episodes without context. Overall, I can imagine the Robotics;Notes anime still being a decent, if unremarkable watch on its own, and was certainly an interesting and fun way to reexperience the story, and definitely fares better than many visual novel adaptations, but I can’t quite say I’d recommend it. If Robotics;Notes interests you, the visual novel is very much preferred. 4. Nichijou

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming options: Funimation. Here we have one of the most acclaimed anime comedies out there, an adaptation of Keiichi Arawi’s surreal sketch comedy manga series, produced by Kyoto Animation, a name that’ll be showing up here again later. Nichijou mainly focuses on two different trios of characters. There’s the ordinary high school girls Yuuko Aioi, a rather dim and reckless girl with terrible luck, Mio Naganohara, the most relatively normal one of the cast, whenever she’s not having explosive freak outs that involve beating people up, and Mai Minakami, a stoic girl who enjoys messing with people just for their reactions. On the other hand, there’s the far less ordinary Shinonome Laboratories trio of Professor Shinonome, an 8 year old girl who happens to be capable of building incredibly advanced machines, Nano Shinonome, a robot built by the Professor who desperately desires a normal girl more than anything, and Sakamoto, their pet cat who, thanks to a special scarf also made by the Professor, is capable of talking. The series focuses on their would-be ordinary lives, were it not for the seemingly daily chaos they get involved in, from witnessing the school principal wrestle a wild deer, to being trapped in an elevator for hours, to the school science teacher attempting to capture Nano for study. It also follows the antics of several other side characters, such Koujiro Sasahara, the seemingly upper class student who is actually just the son of a family of farmers, to Misato Tachibana, a very typical tsundere towards Sasahara, whose tsun side manifests as assaulting him with military-grade weapons, to little effect, to the equally quirky teachers of their school. Needless to say, it’s a very silly and chaotic series, and that’s exactly what makes it so memorable. The humor is pretty hit and miss in the first half of the series, but from episode 14 onwards, they thoroughly master it, with every episode having at least a few scenes that got me laughing. Beyond the silliness, though, the series actually has a lot of heart to it. There’s a few moments that change up the status quo, or even develop the characters just a bit, and some scenes are surprisingly sweet, if still played for laughs more often than not. There’s also a lot of continuity, which in later episodes often provide the punchlines to some of the best gags, which definitely encourages watching the whole series. The Japanese voice acting is fittingly crazy for each character, and the animation fits perfectly, as while the character designs are quite simple, there’s many would be mundane moments that have contrasting overly impressive and exaggerated animation that makes them very memorable. All in all, Nichijou is a very enjoyable series once it finds its groove, and about the only reason its not higher on my rankings is just because pure comedies aren’t really one of my favorite genres. Still, if you ever want a good laugh, you can’t go wrong with this. 3. Soul Eater

Number of episodes: 51. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Funimation. Soul Eater is yet another adaptation, this time of a manga by Atsushi Ōkubo, produced by Studio Bones, who also did the Fullmetal Alchemist animes, and is quite similar to the original FMA series in that it outpaced the manga and, rather than simply overloading itself with filler, decided to go in an entirely different direction by the end. The Death Weapon Meister Academy is a school founded by Death himself, dedicated to the training of Meisters, who wield Weapons, humans with the ability to shapeshift into weapons, for the purpose of destroying Kishin Eggs, evil beings who have consumed the souls of others, and pose the risk of transforming into extremely dangerous demons. Any Meister who can collect the souls of these corrupted beings, as well as the soul of a Witch, can transform their Weapon into a Death Scythe, the personal arms of Death. Among the students of the DWMA are seven Meisters and Weapons who stand out in particular: the teams of Maka Albarn, a kind hearted and responsible, though temperamental, girl, her Weapon, Soul “Eater” Evans, a laidback and snarky wannabe “cool” guy, Black Star, a prideful and loudmouthed ninja who’s seemingly always out to make a spectacle of himself, regardless of how it hampers him, his Weapon, Tsubaki, a humble and levelheaded woman, Death the Kid, the son of Death and one of the top students in the cool, held back only by a crippling obsession with symmetry, and his Weapons, Liz and Patty Thompson. While these seven gradually come together as a team, a Witch named Medusa begins to put an ambitious and destructive plan into motion, one involving her “child”, Crona, and the strange, insanity inducing black blood that courses through their veins. Soul Eater has a lot going for it. A likeable and crazy cast of characters, even the side ones, like the maniacal Doctor Stein, or the surprisingly goofy and casual Death, or the tragic Crona, or the hilariously egotistical Excalibur, to a lot of fun action scenes, to its great animation and overall unique visual design, including the sun and moon having giant, creepy laughing faces. It has a lighthearted, comedic tone that doesn’t detract from the serious moments, and the main characters get some pretty good development as the series goes on. The dub is also great, with Laura Bailey as Maka, Micah Solusod as Soul, Brittney Karbowski as Black Star, and Todd Haberkorn as Death the Kid especially sticking out to me. In general, I don’t have a lot of significant criticisms, besides how the story is handled once the villainous organization Arachnophobia is introduced, which is also about where it begins to deviate from the manga. Most of the villains part of it never really feel like a threat, and the story becomes much more simple and typical compared to how the manga went, and when the ending arrives, it just kinda, happens, with several notable subplots just kinda left unfinished. It definitely feels like an underwhelming ending, and is a big reason why I place this lower on the list, but Soul Eater is still a pretty entertaining watch that’s worth a try if you want a decently lengthy, but not horribly long shonen. 2. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Number of episodes: 28. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation. Here we have the big one, an extremely memetic and famous series by Kyoto Animation, based on a series of light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa, a series that was finally completed back in November 2020 after its start in 2003. Kyon is a lazy and down to earth high school student who wishes for little more for himself than an uneventful, normal high school life- a hope that’s abruptly shattered when, on a whim, he becomes involved with Haruhi Suzumiya, an eccentric, hyperactive, and thoroughly self centered girl, who claims to have no interest in ordinary humans, and instead wishes to discover things thoroughly unusual, such as aliens, time travelers, or espers, and forces Kyon to form a club, the SOS Brigade, with her to achieve this. Haruhi quickly pulls three other students into the brigade, those being Yuki Nagato, a stoic and quiet bookworm, Mikuru Asahina, a shy and passive girl often subjected to humiliation and abuse by Haruhi, and Itsuki Koizumi, a calm transfer student who acts extremely subservient to Haruhi. While Kyon initially writes off the club as an unreasonable use of his time, his fellow members reveal an unexpected truth to him: the subjects of Haruhi’s fascinations actually do exist. Yuki is an alien, of a sort, created and controlled by an entity known as the Data Overmind, Mikuru is a time traveler from some point in the future, and Itsuki is an esper, and member of an organization of similar people. All three of them have been sent to observe the oblivious Haruhi, who appears to have the unconscious ability to change reality itself according to her desires, and is at threat of remaking the entire world if not placated. With Haruhi apparently having taken a unique interest in Kyon, he finds himself taken along for all sorts of supernatural adventures spawned from Haruhi’s whims. There’s a lot I could go on about regarding Haruhi, but in the interest of not turning this into a full on rant, I’ll keep shortish. It’s more or less an insane mishmash of several different genres, from slice of life, to science fiction, to fantasy, just depending on what each individual story feels like being. The episodes are mostly adapted from the early light novels, mostly the multiple stories from the third and fifth novels, The Boredom and The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya, respectively. It’s not often you’ll have any idea just what to expect from each individual episode, which makes the series very chaotic, but interesting. The characters are likeable and memorable, including the side characters, and the sheer ridiculousness of what goes on makes for many amusing moments. At the same time, the series is surprisingly complex, with many possible interpretations of its characters and the events they go through, furthered by the antics Kyoto Animation pulled when it was originally airing, such as airing the episodes out of chronological order, meaning the plot would often jump from the middle of an arc to something else. The end result is a very unique and enjoyable product, helped by the fantastic dub, with the actors capturing each character perfectly, from Crispin Freeman as the grounded and snarky Kyon, to Wendee Lee as the aggressively energetic Haruhi, to Stephanie Sheh as the gentle, yet secretive Mikuru. That said, there is one pretty disappointing part of it all, and that’s the second season, mostly thanks to the infamous Endless Eight arc, an eight part arc that’s more or less the same things happening over and over, with only the first and last episodes having anything noticeably different. Regardless of its own uniqueness, more than half the season is taken over by this, and something that may have worked if cut down to three or four episodes instead singlehandedly killed off the series’ goodwill. About the only redeeming factor of the second season is the five part adaptation of The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, which has some of the funniest moments in the whole series. Overall, Haruhi is still a very fun series, and I’m really gonna have to watch its movie, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, one of these days. 1. Trigun

Number of episodes: 26. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation, Hulu. Finishing off this list is an adaptation of a manga series by Yasuhiro Nightow, produced by Madhouse and another adaptation that overtook its source material. Compared to how Soul Eater handled it, however, Trigun went down much, much better, to the point Nightow himself had nothing but praise for how the anime turned out, and the series is generally considered one of the best animes of the late 90′s. On the harsh desert planet of Gunsmoke lives a wandering gunslinger known as Vash the Stampede, the “Humanoid Typhoon” with a large handgun known to leave tremendous destruction in his wake, who amassed a bounty of $$60,000,000,000 after destroying the city of July, leading to an endless trail of bounty hunters out to collect the price on his head. In the middle of all this, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, two representatives of an insurance society which is often forced to pay for damages caused by Vash, track him down for the purposes of minimizing the chaos he causes. Upon catching up with him, however, the duo discovers that, contrary to his reputation, Vash is a kindhearted goof, and self proclaimed hunter of love and peace, who absolutely refuses to ever take another person’s life, even at great personal risk to himself. Vash continues his travels carefree, helping out whoever he can, with the occasional assistance of Meryl and Milly, as well as a traveling priest known as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, only to one day have an encounter with a mysterious and cruel man known as Legato Bluesummers. Vash soon learns that Legato has hired a group of assassins known as the Gung-Ho Guns to kill Vash, and leave a trail of bodies wherever they go, seemingly for the sole purpose of tormenting Vash. As Vash hunts down Legato, he is gradually forced to face his past, and consider whether he can truly stay committed to his pacifist ideals. In general, Trigun is just a very, very well made series. It has a likeable and developed cast of characters, with special mention going to Vash, who is a very compelling and sympathetic character, and Wolfwood, who makes a great foil to Vash with very interesting development of his own, with characters outside of the main cast being memorable as well, from Legato himself, to even some of the more minor villains, such as the varied members of the Gung-Ho Guns, or Brilliant Dynamites Neon, who makes an inexplicably strong impression for a one off villain not even important to the overall plot. The space western setting is quite good, and the designs are great, with many villains having distinctive looks that further help them make an impression. The action is great, and the animation is also quite good, and has that 90′s anime charm. The dub, while a bit rough around the edges, is generally solid too. From Lia Sargent as the ditzy but kind Milly, to Dorothy Elias Fahn as the hotheaded Meryl, to Jeff Nimoy as the weary Wolfwood, to Richard Cansino as the calculating and disturbing Legato, with special mention needing to go to Johnny Yong Bosch as Vash. Despite it actually being his first voice acting role ever, he does a great job in portraying the many sides to Vash, and absolutely sells many of the biggest moments in the story. Speaking of which, the series started quite lighthearted and wacky, with the first four episodes actually being filler, but gets gradually darker as it goes on. The earlier episodes are still quite enjoyable on their own, though, and manage to slowly reveal new aspects to Vash in each one, before finally setting his nature in stone in episode 5. What really sells the series and makes it so memorable, however, are the themes it explores, of the practicality of unwavering pacifism, and whether taking a life, whether for heinous crimes committed without remorse, or with the purpose of protecting others, is ever justifiable. While quite a few series have touched dilemmas like this before, what makes Trigun stand out with it is the emphasis placed upon it throughout the whole series, with many episodes touching upon it in some regard. It genuinely fairly looks at the different sides of it all, and the consequences of each, with many emotional moments coming from it as a result. While the manga did ultimately take a very different turn from the anime, the anime actually preserves several of the most important plot moments, and manages to come to a satisfactory conclusion of its own regarding the themes. Ultimately, Trigun makes for a very fun and interesting watch that I highly recommend. And with that, my ranking is complete. With the exception of Robotics;Notes, I can pretty confidently recommend every show on this list. Got some more shows I plan to get through soon, so another ranking like this may be soon in the making. Either way, till next time. -Scout

[osakaso5]

La Danse Macabre

Episode 31

Chapter Index

31-1: At Rebellion's Base (1)

Libel: .......

Libel: ...Rebellion's base. It feels like I haven't been here in ages. 

- - - -

Libel: Who are you people!? How do you know all this!?

Kuon: .......

Kuon: Actually...

Kuon: I was once a Celestial myself, a very long time ago. 

- - - -

Libel: .......

Libel: I'll save you, Arme...

[Door opens]

- - - -

Arme: Ah, welcome home, Libel.

Libel: Yeah, I'm ba--

Libel: Aack!?

Libel: Arme!?

Arme: Yes! It's me!

Qual: You're late. I can't believe you made us wait, after we made it all the way over here.

Libel: ......!?

Libel: Q-Qual!?

Qual: Hmph, you look as foolish as I remember.

Arme: Why are you acting so hostile towards him, Qual!?

Libel: W-what's going on..? Why are you with Rebellion..!

Cura: Pfft..!

Cura: Gyahahahaha!

Libel: Cura...

Cura: Wheeze... It's been so long since the last time I saw you make that face. Holy crap, it's funny.

Libel: .......

Cura: Phew... my bad. In any case, I'm glad you made it here safe.

Libel: ...T-tell me what's going on already...

Cura: Ah, I don't actually know either. The kid's the one who contacted us...

Cura: We went to get him, and lo and behold, Qual was with him.

Qual: ...Thank you for the reception. 

Cura: We all decided they'd explain everything once you return, so I haven't heard anything from them yet.  

Libel: ...I see.

Qual: Let's get to it. Cura, may we borrow a council room of yours?

Cura: I dunno if you could call it that, but follow me.

Arme: Then, I'll...

Libel: No--

Qual: No, you should wait out here, Arme. There's something I need to discuss with these two only.

Libel: ......!

Arme: Hmm... Is that so?

Arme: I'll feel a bit lonely by myself, but I presume this discussion is not for my ears, yes?

Qual: ...Yes. Just trust me. I won't do anything that might harm our friendship in any way.

Arme: ...Very well! I'll wait!

Libel: ....... 

- - - -

Cura: That's horrible...

Cura: The Celestial was a magic weapon all along... Made for mass slaughter...

Qual: Yes. Have you witnessed anything strange while with him?

Cura: .......! 

- - - -

Cura: I wonder if they managed to get away...

Cura: ......! Coff... coff...

Cura: Huh? Blood..? What's going on here..? 

- - - -

Cura: So that's what that was...

- - - -

Fuga: I don't get it. I don't get what you're trying to say...

Fuga: I can't be like you, Libel...

Fuga: .......! Coff... coff...

Cura: Hey, what's wrong!? ...You're coughing up blood! Get some sleep, Fuga...

Fuga: ........ 

----

Cura: ...And Fuga, too...

Cura: H-hey, Libel! Are you feeling okay? You've been hanging closer to the boy than the rest of us.

Libel: Yeah, I'm completely fine.

Cura: Huh? That's weird. Maybe it depends on the person?

Libel: It could have something to do with genetics.

Qual: .......

Qual: ...You don't seem very shocked by all this, Libel.

Libel: Yeah... Someone else told me before you did. I was hoping they were lying...

Libel: But I guess not.

Qual: ......? There's someone else who knows the truth..?

Cura: This is bloodcurdling stuff. I had no idea every moment we spent with the kid could've been our last...

Qual: Master Misericorde said that Arme's negative emotions affect the intensity of the curse.

Qual: The fact that you've spent such long amounts of time with him and not suffered greater consequences...

Qual: ...Most likely means that having you around puts him at ease. ...As much as that annoys me.

Libel: ....... 

31-2: At Rebellion's Base (2)

Cura: Well, what do we do, Libel? If Qual here is telling the truth, that  means we're in danger around the boy.

Cura: Plus, the Celestial isn't someone  we can use for negotiations. If anything,  having him in their enemy's territory is just  what they want. Our original plan has gone  completely out the window.

Libel: ...I have an even clearer idea of what we need to do now.

Libel: I'll free Arme of the Celestial's curse.

Qual: ........

Libel: It'll destroy the system he was borne out of entirely. We need the Ark to lose access to their biggest weapon.

Libel: That way, none of this can happen ever again.

Cura: ...Uh, yeah, I suppose... You've got a point.

Cura: As long as the Ark's got weapons like this, we can't fight or negotiate jack...

Cura: Only the highest ranking members of the church know about the Celestial, right? I guess that means  we need to do something about them...

Libel: We'll bring about a world without the curse. ...A completely new world.

Cura: A new world, eh. It's got a nice ring to it...

Cura: Still... It's pretty damn convenient that your desire to free the world and the kid would go hand- in-hand...

Libel: It's not just a desire. I believe that the new world will need someone like Arme.

Qual: ...I'll help.

Libel: ...Qual.

Qual: I fight for Arme. As a friend would.

Qual: In order to secure him the freedom he wants, removing his curse is a necessity.

Qual: That, and there shouldn't be any more children like him. ...This is a personal wish of mine.

Qual: We have a common goal.

Cura: You feel kinda different from before...

Qual: Perhaps I do.

Qual: The one we should go after is Master Eternea. He's the ruler of Nerve. If anyone knows how to remove the curse, it's him.

Qual: Let's persuade him. Peacefully or otherwise.

Cura: ...You sure about this? Since you're part of the church, won't defying them land you in hot water?

Qual: I don't care. I've decided to fight for Arme. My position couldn't matter less to me.

Cura: You sure did flip from one extreme to the other...

Libel: Do you have a plan?

Qual: We march our way in.

Libel: Sounds fun.

Cura: Hold on, are you serious? I thought you'd take a more delicate approach than that, Qual.

Qual: When we escaped from the Ark, I destroyed their security systems. I had planned to return there eventually.

Qual: Right now is the ideal moment for invasion, as long as our numbers are kept small.

Cura: Sounds reckless to me...

Cura: I'm starting to think you and Qual might have a lot in common, Libel...

Libel: ...Qual.

Qual: What do you expect me to do with that hand?

Libel: Shake it. Or are handshakes  not a thing on the Ark?

Libel: Let's fight together.

Qual: Hmph.

Qual: Don't get the wrong idea... I don't give a damn about the people down here. I'm only doing this for Ar--

Libel: .......

Libel: You hear that, Cura?

Cura: Yep, I sure did. Almost couldn't believe my ears.

Qual: What?

Libel: I didn't know some people actually say stuff like "don't get the wrong idea" in situations like these.

Cura: Yeah, that was super lame...

Libel: Say it one more time, Qual. That's not a phrase we get to hear a lot down here.

Qual: You scum... I'll kill you... 

- - - -

Cura: ...What about the kid?

Libel: Qual is explaining everything to him.

Cura: He's not gonna talk about the curse though, is he?

Libel: No. We shouldn't put undue stress on Arme. Qual and I could both agree on that.

Cura: ...Got it.

Libel: ........

Libel: Cura. About Fuga...

Cura: Ah... Don't bother, I heard  what happened when you called.

Libel: I can't let that be the only time we talk about him.

Libel: His death was my fault.

Cura: ...Yeah, it was. Your strength is probably the biggest thing that  drove him to the edge.

Libel: ........

Cura: I'm not telling you to let it go. You shouldn't.

Cura: His death should bother you for the rest of your life.

Cura: And don't you dare break down. Staying strong is the only way you'll ever make it up to him.

Libel: Yeah... I'll do that.

Cura: Good. Also...

Cura: I won't be coming to the Ark with you. Being around the kid would put my life in danger.

Libel: That's fine.

Cura: I can't go dying right now. Not for Fuga, or any of the other comrades we've lost.

Cura: My job is to live and continue what they couldn't finish.

Libel: If anything happens to me, I'm leaving you in charge.

Cura: Stupid. ...Nobody could  ever replace you.

Cura: Don't you dare die, Libel.

Libel: ........ 

To be continued...

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Tues[day] 16 September 1834

7 25/..

12 1/4

very good one last night – fine b[u]t hazy morn[in]g F[ahrenheit] 57 1/4° at 8 35/.. a.m. – at my desk at 8 1/2 –

Kind let[ter] to M- [Mariana] gl[a]d she h[a]d found but by means ov[e]r w[hi]ch I h[a]d no control th[a]t ‘I h[a]d writ[ten] even less

‘oft[ene]r to th[o]se who are perpet[uall]y heap[in]g up[on] me kind[ne]ss aft[e]r kind[ne]ss, and whose ver[y] situat[io]n in life ma[ke]s

‘th[e]m suppos[e]d to be the 1st obj[ec]ts of my consid[eratio]n’ - … if ‘n[o]t mo[re] heart, I h[a]d comm[o]n sense th[a]n

‘to val[ue] the th[in]gs of th[i]s world accord[in]g to the scale w[hi]ch h[a]s been laid d[o]wn for me – H[a]d you bel[ieve]d me

‘oft[ene]r, and kn[o]wn me bet[ter], it w[oul]d ha[ve] sav[e]d us b[o]th m[u]ch pain – B[u]t if heav[e]n h[a]s will[e]d it oth[er]wise,

‘let us n[o]t compl[ai]n – the fin[a]l ruler of ev[en]ts is wiser th[a]n we – I am deep[l]y sensib[le] of all

‘y[ou]r affect[io]n; b[u]t, fr[om] the mom[en]t of y[ou]r hav[in]g delib[eratel]y told me y[ou]r determinat[io]n, and the lead[in]g argum[en]ts

‘w[hi]ch ga[ve] rise to it, my chief endeav[ou]r w[a]s to be convinc[e]d and reconcil[e]d – Mary! you trust[e]d me

‘too lit[tle] for happ[ine]ss – Rem[em[b[e]r th[i]s, and be comfort[e]d – cheer up – trust me, you ha[ve] m[u]ch to hope –

‘m[u]ch mo[re] th[a]n you seem aware – the prosp[ec]t will bright[e]r by and by – I ha[ve] nev[e]r fail[in]g consol[atio]n

‘or the th[ou]ght, th[a]t you will be happ[ie]r in oth[e]rs, th[a]n you c[oul]d ha[ve] been in me – confide[en]ce w[a]s

‘too m[u]ch shak[e]n on b[o]th sides – Mary! the last blow on mine, w[a]s too severe – Be

‘comfort[e]d – be assur[e]d, th[a]t you ha[ve] act[e]d wise[l]y for us b[o]th – viol[en]t changes are gen[erall]y irksome

‘to all p[ar]ties at 1st; b[u]t, rememb[erin]g wh[a]t I mys[elf] ha[ve] suffer[e]d, I do n[o]t eas[il]y desp[ai]r for anyone –

‘I do n[o]t feel inclin[e]d to say m[u]ch on the subj[ec]t of our meet[in]g – the reflect[io]ns to w[hi]ch it w[oul]d gi[ve]

‘rise, c[oul]d on[l]y be painful – Do as you th[in]k best’ – Hope ‘h[e]r niece’ will exceed h[e]r

all h[e]r expectat[io]ns – ‘I can eas[il]y ent[e]r int[o] y[ou]r motive for call[in]g h[e]r Percy’ – pleas[e]d at the th[ou]ght

of h[e]r go[in]g to the Rhine next y[ea]r – on[l]y anx[iou]s ab[ou]t h[e]r choice of a compan[io]n – ment[io]n Geneva as a

fine town ‘hav[in]g man[y] lit[erar]y and econom[i]c advent[age]s’ and th[a]t a fam[il]y of 2 or 3 might live in

affl[ue]nce at Rolle for £250 a y[ea]r – date the latt[e]r 1/2 p[age] 3,  Mon[day] 15 Sept[embe]r and say it shall go [as] last

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might, the herald of the sm[all] parc[e]l (stays, 6 laces, p[ai]r of Earrings fr[om] Geneva and b[oo]k, Coxes’

pict[ure] of It[al]y borr[owe]d edit[io]n of 1815, too old when last at Lawton Dec[embe]r 1833) to be s[e]nt off by me of today’s mails –

‘I f[ou]nd my a[un]t m[u]ch the sa[me] as I left h[e]r, and Mr. Sund[erlan]d told me, he th[ou]ght her gen[era]l health qui[te]

‘as good - b[u]t she is uncert[ai]n - th[i]s seas[o]n of th[e] y[ea]r, or rath[e]r lat[e]r, h[a]s gen[erall]y tir[e]d h[e]r ver[y] m[u]ch

‘and I fear, if she gets ov[e]r the wint[e]r at all, it will be ver[y] indiffer[entl]y – she suffers a

‘gr[ea]t deal, yet her cheerful[ne]ss does n[o]t forsake her – She desires me to gi[ve] her love, and say

‘how gl[a]d she shall be to hear you are bet[ter] – the 30 shil[lin]gs for Th[oma]s Beech’s gr[ea]tcoat

‘are p[ai]d, and I will pl[a]ce th[i]s sum to y[ou]r acc[oun]t – If you do n[o]t feel qui[te] sure of my und[er]-

‘-stand[in]g all y[ou]r wishes ab[ou]t mon[e]y matt[e]rs, tell me mo[re] partic[ularl]y wh[a]t you w[oul]d ha[ve] me

‘do - G[o]d bless you, my d[eare]st Mary! Ever ver[y] espec[iall]y y[ou]rs AL- [Anne Lister] – nice en[ou]gh let[ter] to

L[ad]y S- [Stuart] will consid[e]r ab[ou]t the fourgon ‘when I am mo[re] ab[le] to fix up[on] my next line of route’ – ‘I am perf[ectl]y astonish[e]d th[a]t I h[a]d y[ou]r let[ter] 12 days ago, and th[a]t I h[a]d been at ho[me] a fortn[i]ght

‘on Sat[urday] – I kno[w] n[o]t how the ti[me] h[a]s slipp[e]d away – I ha[ve] been so busy ab[ou]t my law-concern,

‘etc. etc. the days ha[ve] seem[e]d like mom[en]ts; and I ha[ve] s[in]ce been out of the h[ou]se – yet I ha[ve] oft[e]n

‘th[ou]ght of you, and wond[ere] how you w[oul]d set[tle] all th[]se disag[reablenes]s I w[a]s so griev[e]d to hear of…….

ment[io]n let[ter] fr[om] Vere – shall go and see h[e]r one of th[e]se days – at pres[en]t can ma[ke] no plans –

‘my poor aunt suffers a martyrdom; yet still she lives, and may live for sev[era]l m[on]ths –

‘It is a gr[ea]t comf[or]t to me to see h[e]r so pleas[e]d at my hav[in]g g[o]t a lit[tle] fr[ie]nd to ta[ke] ca[re] of me

‘in my trav[e]ls – I hope you will tell Miss Tate - B[u]t, d[eare]st L[ad]y St[uar]t, it w[a]s wh[a]t you s[ai]d th[a]t I ha[ve]

‘nev[e]r forgott[e]n; and it is you th[a]t I shall alw[a]ys th[in]k of, and thank w[i]t hall my heart –

wr[ote] th[i]s morn[in]g und[e]r the seal – ‘I do hope to hear fr[om] you soon, if it be only one line to tell

‘me you are bet[ter], and ha[ve] settl[e]d th[in]gs mo[re] comf[ortabl]y th[a]n you expect[e]d – Do n[o]t troub[le] y[ou]rs[elf] one

‘inst[an]t ab[ou]t a frank – I shall be delight[e]d to see a Norfolk postmark – I shall troub[le]

‘L[or]d St[uar]t w[i]th a note to L[ad]y St[uar]t de R- [Rothesay] and a lit[tle] no[te] to d[ea]r Charlotte ab[ou]t the parc[e]l fr[om]

‘Paris - Ev[e]r, d[eare]st L[ad]y St[uar]t, ver[y] truly and affect[ionatel]y y[ou]rs A. [Anne] Lister’ - Gen[era]l acc[oun]t of my journ[e]y to

L[ad]y S- [Stuart] de R- [Rothesay] hop[e]d for so[me] comm[issio]n in Paris - perh[aps] she doubt[e]d my abil[itie]s - c[oul]d n[o]t doubt how

hap[py] I sh[oul]d ha[ve] been to do my best – ‘I h[a]d a lit[tle] fr[ien]d w[i]th me wh[o]se good care soon set me

‘ab[ov]e Mr. Freeman’s medicines; and we h[a]d so[me] delightful wander[in]gs am[on]g the Savoy m[oun]t[ai]ns – I do

confess th[a]t my ‘bowels yearned’ tow[ar]ds M[on]t Blanc; b[u]t he w[a]s a lit[tle] surly, and the 2 Savoy and

‘avocats who attempt[e]d his summ[i]t, and s[ai]d, tho’ unbeliev[e]d by any, they reach[e]d it, were

‘gl[a]d en[ou]gh to get d[o]wn ag[ai]n – they h[a]d no reg[ula]r guides, on[l]y 1/2 a doz[en] peasants, two of wh[o]m

‘h[a]d made the ascent bef[ore] – and, h[a]d they been a few h[ou]rs lat[e]r, w[oul]d prob[abl]y ha[ve] been lost –

‘we made wh[a]t is call[e]d the gr[a]nd tour of M[on]t Bl[an]c’ ….. cross[e]d the Gr[ea]t and lit[tle] S[ain]y Bernard…

we h[a]d no  Gollis-work – the lit[tle] Inns ver[y] fair[l]y comf[orta]ble ‘exc[ept] one in the vil[lage] de Ferret

‘where th[e]re were on[l]y 2 bedr[oo]ms for the wid[ow] and h[e]r 8 child[re]n. one manserv[an]t and 2 guides, our 2

‘selves, and 2 sick inf[an]ts the poor wom[a]n h[a]d tak[e]n to nurse, tout compris, at 6 fr[an]cs each

‘p[e]r m[ou]th – we ret[urne]d by the Savoy lakes and Chamberi – saw the pass of the Echelles, and the gr[a]nde

‘Chartreuse - sp[en]t 2 or 3 days at Lyons – tho’ man[y] of the h[ou]ses damaged or destr[oye]d in Apr[il] are

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‘alread[y] repair[e]d or rebuilt, th[e]re are still too man[y] traces of the émente - Sev[era]l opul[en]t  

‘manufact[orie]s ha[ve] left the town, and set up th[ei]r establ[ishmen]ts elsewhere - th[e]re are 3 large ones just complet[e]d

‘at Voiron now communicat[e]d w[i]th Echelles by a fine new r[oa]d of 3 posts - th[e]re are sev[era]l new

‘r[oa]ds finish[e]d and in prog[ress] - th[a]t by S[ain]t Etienne io[ene]d 2 y[ea]rs ago (miss[in]g Lyons) saves 3 days’ journey to

‘Marseilles’ – 2 or 3 days at S[ain]t Etienne and 2 or 3 at Clerm[on]t – ‘the view fr[om] the Puy de Dome,

‘is one of the m[o]st interest[in]g and extraord[inar]y I ha[ve] ev[e]r seen. – a vast assembl[a]ge of cones of extinct

‘volca[noe]s – a vast coulée (sea) of lava - b[u]t the heat w[a]s so excess[ive] in walk[in]g up, and the air

‘is cold at the top, I on[l]y st[ai]d ab[ou]t 1/2 an h[ou]r – Do tell the girls, they nev[e]r saw s[u]ch a dirty fig[ure]

‘as I w[a]s on com[in]g out of the fine silv[e]r mines (op[ene]d 2 or 3 y[ea]rs ago) n[ea]r Pont de Gibaud - B[u]t

‘the coal-mine of Firminy, n[ea]r S[ain]t Etienne, astonish[e]d me m[o]st – It is exact[l]y like a comm[o]n

‘st[one] quarry, (open to the day, and work[e]d in the sa[me] way) b[u]t the rock is coal of excell[en]t qual[it]y –

‘It is on[l]y 3 y[ea]rs th[a]t it h[a]s been work[e]d in th[i]s way, and is the on[l]y coal-mine kn[o]wn of the kind –

‘the miners at the silv[e]r mine were chief[l]y Germans – Be the gov[ernmen]t wh[a]t it may, I nev[e]r saw

‘so gr[ea]t an app[earan]ce of improvem[en]t and prosper[it]y in the count[r]y – the écoles des mines ha[ve] done an

‘infin[it]y of good to the mining int[ere]sts of the count[r]y’ - din[e]d w[i]th L[ad]y CL- [Charlotte Lindsay] and the Berrys – ‘and w[a]s deligth[e]d w[i]th my

‘vis[i]t – all were in good sp[iri]ts, and were ver[y] agreeab[le], and k[i]nd – I h[a]d nev[e]r seen so m[u]ch of L[ad]y Charl[otte]’

(Lindsay) ‘who says th[in]gs so nice[l]y, and wh[o]se man[ner]s are so interest[in]g, she made qui[te] an impress[io]n

‘up[on] me – Miss Berry is really wond[er]ful – Thank you ver[y] m[u]ch for giv[in]g me th[ei]r addr[ess] – I w[a]s

‘qui[te] gl[a]d to improve so nice an acquaint[an]ce - unexpect[e]d pleas[ure] to see L[or]d St[uar]t – ‘wh[a]t

‘an enviab[le] tour in Norway! I wish a [I] knew a lit[tle] mo[re] ab[ou]t it – If I live, I mean to go

‘th[e]re one of th[e]se days – my a[un]t, as to gen[era]l health, is m[u]ch the sa[me] as when I left h[e]r - b[u]t she

‘suffers a martyrd[o]m fr[om] rheumat[i]c pains; and her medic[a]l men fear she can[no]t long survive

‘the wint[e]r – I enclose a lit[tle] no[te] for Charlotte - Bel[ieve] me, d[ea]r L[ad]y St[uar]t, alw[a]ys ver[y] truly y[ou]rs A. [Anne] Lister’

th[e]n wr[ote] on 1/4 sh[ee]t the foll[owin]g ‘Shibd[e]n hall - Mon[day] 15 Oct[obe]r 1834. My d[ea]r Charlotte – I s[e]nd you a ver[y] lit[lte] no[te], the herald

of a ver[y] lit[tle] parc[e]l, w[hi]ch Miss Berry w[a]s so good as prom[ise] to bring fr[om] Paris – I told L[ad]y St[uar]t, it w[a]s for you –

‘I alw[a]ys th[ou]ght of giv[in]g you so[me] sm[all] rememb[ran]ce on y[ou]r entrée int[o] the gr[ea]t world – I wish[e]d it to be so[me]th[in]g useful,

‘and on[l]y hope I ha[ve] chos[e]n well, and th[a]t you will like the watch for its own sake, and for mine – I hope you

‘are all enjoy[in]g yours[elf], and look[in]g qui[te] rosy and well at Highcliffe – I sh[oul]d n[o]t kno[w] it ag[ai]n – If you still

‘hunt for fossils, and care as m[u]ch as ev[e]r for the collect[io]n, you can fancy how disap[pointe]d I w[a]s to f[i]nd, on

‘reach[in]g here, th[a]t all my fine specimens fr[om] Auvergne silv[e]r-mines, and man[y] oth[e]rs th[a]t were pack[e]d

‘in the carr[ia]ge tool-box, were lost in Lond[on], thrown away as lumber, I suppo[se], by the c[oa]chmakers’ men, who th[ou]ght

‘antiattrit[io]n better worth – I oft[e]n th[ou]ght of you among the high alps of Savoy, and wish[e]d you were w[i]th me –

‘wh[a]t sketch[in]g for Louisa! Gi[ve] my love to h[e]r – I shall alw[a]ys feel ver[y] m[u]ch interest[e]d for you both; and

‘bel[ieve] me, my d[ea]r Charlotte, y[ou]r ver[y] sincere and affect[iona]te fr[ie]nd A. [Anne] Lister – my kind rememb[rance]s to Miss Hyriott’ –

w[e]nt d[o]wn to br[eak]f[a]st at 11 1/4 and s[e]nt off th[e]n by Geo[rge] my let[ter] to ‘Mrs. Lawton the Rev[eren]d M. Miller’s Scarborough’ –

br[eak]f[a]st – Mr. Parker s[e]nt the lease of ‘Lidgit’ to Mr. Lamplengh Wickham Hird for A- [Adney] to r[ea]d ov[e]r – she r[ea]d it al[ou]d to me –

the game reserv[e]d as in my leases - on[l]y allow[e]d to ha[ve] 7DW. und[e]r plough – penalty £10 p[e]r DW. - n[o]t to cut or

prune timb[e]r – 34DW. - n[o]t to und[er]let exc[ept] w[i]th writ[ten] leave – Rent £100, term 10 y[ea]rs – asleep 1/2 h[ou]r – at my desk at 1 5/..

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wr[ote] my no[te] to C. St[uar]t and at 2 1/2 h[a]d writ[ten] so far of today, and h[a]d fold[e]d and seal[e]d up in envelope my no[te]

4 p[ages] of 1/2 sh[ee]t to ‘The Lady St[uar]t de Rothesay’ enclos[in]g in the sa[me] my no[te] to ‘the hon[oura]ble Miss Stuar]t’

and enclo[e]d th[e]se and my no[te] to ‘The hon[oura]ble L[ad]y St[uar]t Whitehall’ und[e]rcov[e]r to ‘Lord St[uar]t de Rothesay

3 Carlt[o]n h[ou]se terrace London’ – s[e]nt the ab[ov]e let[ter]s at 7 p.m. by Geo[rge] – A- [Adney] and I out at 2 3/4

to Brearley hill to meet Holt ab[ou]t gett[in]g wat[e]r for John Bott[omle]y and ab[ou]t sink[in]g pit to enab[le] me

to look aft[e]r Mr. Rawson – gett[in]g the wat[e]r will cost ab[ou]t £16 to £20 sink[in]g and driv[in]g at 3/. to 3/6 p[e]r y[ar]d

ab[ou]t 100 y[ar]ds – ord[ere]d th[i]s job to be advertis[e]d next week for lett[in]g as als[o] the pit sink[in]g – H- [Holt] th[in]ks

the pit will cost ab[ou]t 40/. p[e]r y[ar]d sink[in]g ab[ou]t 100 y[ar]ds deep to the low[e]r bed – saw the place n[ea]r the

upp[e]r gateway just ab[ov]e Conery wood in the Park farm well f[iel]d – w[i]th a sm[all] fire engine m[i]ght

get coal th[e]re for man[y] y[ea]rs – eas[il]y road[e]d al[on]g the f[ee]t of Bairstow, out just bel[ow] Whiskum cot[tage]

int[o] the new bank to H[alifa]x – pit to be oblong 8ft. x 5.4 .:. ab[ou]t n[o]t qui[te] s[ai]d S. W. [Samuel Washington] tonight, 5 sq[uare]

y[ar]ds stuff will co[me] out at each y[ar]d depth of sink[in]g – 5 x 100 = 500 y[ar]ds of stuff cart[in]g d[o]wn

to the f[ee]t of the wall oppos[i]te the h[ou]se = ab[ou]t £20 – the wat[e]r of dirt band (36 y[ar]ds band) and four-

-score y[ar]ds band to be gath[ere]d up in sink[in]g and turn[e]d the conery clough separ[atel]y or n[o]t to the h[ou]se –

H- [Holt] s[ai]d the coal w[oul]d sell at 8d. at the pits’ m[ou]th – and [no] turnip[ke] to H[alifa]x w[oul]d ma[ke] a penny

a load diff[eren]ce – Rawson sells at 9 1/2d. in the town – we sh[oul]d sell at 9d. – w[oul]d av[era]ge 5 1/2 corves

or loads p[e]r sq[uare] y[ar]d – 20 loads or one score w[oul]d sell for 13/4 at the pits mouth –

 gett[in]g  .   .                             4.6        13.4 – 8 = 5/4                                        say 1s.3d. p[e]r sq[uare] y[ar]d profit .:.

pull[in]g and bank[in]g              2.6      

                                                              say 3d. p[e]r load profit                          1 ac[re] or 4840 y[ar]ds = £242+ £60.10s.0d.

Tools                                          1.0      

Taxes                                          8.0     or 1/4 1/2 p[e]r sq[uare] y[ar]d profit                                              = £302 p[e]r ac[re]

 fr[om] Brearley hill A- [Adney] met me at Whiskum cot[tage] – th[e]nce d[o]wn the o[ld] b[ank] to H[alifa]x to the Bowling

foundry for fire-grates for n[or]th parl[ou]r n[or]th ch[ambe]r and tentr[oo]m – th[e]n to Miss Hebden’s – good acc[oun]t

of Charlotte Booth – th[e]n to Whitley’s – br[ou]ght ho[me] vol[ume] 3 [octavo] Lyell’s geol[og]y and Busby’s Journ[a]l am[on]g

the viney[ar]ds of Spain and Portug[a]l – and pamphl[e]t by Jo[h]n Travers on the Tea duties – th[e]n to Thorps’

ab[ou]t acorns and plant[in]g sett[in]g Bairstow w[i]th th[e]m – ho[me] up t he o[ld] b[ank] at 6 55/.. – din[ner] at 7 – coff[ee] – h[a]d

Washington – noth[in]g to be made of Mrs. Machin ab[ou]t the sale of h[e]r 11DW. of coal – b[u]t

W- [Washington] told he w[oul]d call ag[ai]n on Sat[urday] – A- [Adney] and I sat talk[in]g and read[in]g the newspap[e]r Geo[rge] br[ou]ght

b[a]ck th[i]s ev[enin]g – w[i]th my a[un]t fr[om] 9 3/4 to 10 3/4 – wr[ote] all b[u]t the 3 first lines of th[i]s p[age] till 11 1/2 p.m.

at w[hi]ch h[ou]r F[ahrenheit] 59 1/2° in my study – ver[y] fine day – no[te] fr[om] Mr. Wilkins[o]n Heath to say the front pew in the north gall[er]y nearest to the west gall[er]y was at lib[ert]y rent 1 guin[ea] a y[ea]r

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #47 Heracles

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re finishing off the Fate Stay/Night servants and starting on the berserkers with Heracles! This mountain of a man is could have easily been a pure Barbarian, but I went with one level of sorcerer for some extra defenses and mobility.

Check out the build’s summary here, or read the complete breakdown below the cut!

Race and Background

Heracles is half god, so being an Aasimar is pretty obvious. However, your stepmom really doesn’t like you, and that Madness Enhancement took a toll on your noggin, so you’re more of a Fallen Aasimar. You get +1 Strength and +2 Charisma, 60′ of Darkvision, Celestial Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, Healing Hands to heal a creature by your level (use this on yourself for a healing factor), and the Light Bearer feature, allowing you to cast the Light cantrip with your Charisma. 

Heracles lived a very storied life, but we already know Jason’s going to show up eventuall, so let’s focus on his Argonaut days. Heracles is a Marine, giving him proficiency in Athletics and Survival. The Steady feat lets Heracles move twice as long at a normal pace before making a forced march, and he can always find a safe route to bring a boat to shore, if such a route exists. I’m not sure if they ever mention the argonaut’s exact roles on the boat, but picturing the berserker as the Argo’s navigator is hilarious.

Stats

Your highest stat is Strength: you are the strongest in the world after all. After that is Constitution, you’re very good at not dying, and your health will help with that. You have mad hops, so Dexterity is going to be third. (I know strength is the jumping stat in D&D, but it feels dexterity-ish.) You aren’t that charming, but you are absolutely terrifying, so next is Charisma. After that is Wisdom and Intelligence. You’ll see this is a running theme in berserkers.

Class Levels

1. Barbarian 1: Shocking no one, you’re a barbarian. At first level, you have proficiency in Strength and Constitution saves, as well as Intimidation and Animal Handling. A giant, screaming slab of meat is scary for most people, and a good portion of your labors involved dealing with animals in one way or another. 

Barbarians can Rage, giving them all sorts of strength-based advantages and resistance to basic physical attacks as long as you avoid heavy armor. Speaking of armor, you also get Unarmored Defense at this level, granting you a boosted AC based on your dexterity and constitution.

2. Sorcerer 1: Switching classes for the first and only time, first level sorcerers gain their Sorcerous Origin. You are a Divine Soul sorcerer, meaning that despite the family drama, you’re Favored by the Gods. This gives you an extra spell, (Cure Wounds for a stronger healing factor) the ability to pick spells from both the sorcerer and cleric lists, and once per short rest you can add 2d4 to a failed save or attack throw. This is super important for you because your wisdom is low, and it’s not getting any higher. The only thing worse than a barely controllable mountain of rage helping you is a barely controllable mountain of rage that isn’t helping you.

For spells, grab Resistance for further save enhancement, Thaumaturgy to save your vocal chords while screaming, Booming Blade and Lightning Lure as gifts from dear old dad, Jump for some extra mobility, and Protection from Evil and Good to maybe get your stepmom off your back.

3. Barbarian 2: Second level barbarians get Reckless Attack, giving yourself advantage for a turn in exchange for giving anyone hitting you advantage until your next turn. When your skin’s that tough, you don’t really care about leaving an opening. Your Danger Sense gives you advantage on dex saves against effects you can see. It’s more like you’re tough enough to shrug off whatever’s hitting you than you actually dodging.

Third level Aasimar also get a Necrotic Shroud, an action that transforms you into a monstrous form for a minute. Creatures near you need to make a charisma save or become frightened, and once per turn you can add necrotic damage equal to your level to an attack.

4. Barbarian 3: Third level barbarians set down their Primal Path. The path of the zealot gives you Divine Fury, letting you add 1d6 plus half your barbarian level in radiant damage to your first hit each turn. Even like this, there’s still a bit of divinity in you. You also become a Warrior of the Gods; resurrections spells don’t require material components to work on you. We haven’t reached the point where your immortality kicks in yet, but this will keep you alive until we get there.

5. Barbarian 4: Your first ASI is going to boost your Constitution, for more health, AC, and concentration.

6. Barbarian 5: Fifth level barbarians gain an Extra Attack, letting you make one more attack with each attack action. Your NP adds a couple more in, but we’ll take what we can get. Your Fast Movement also gives you 10′ of extra movement when not wearing heavy armor. You can only jump as far as your normal movement limit, so this will help you make some truly impressive leaps. Or just chase down the poor bastard who’s threatening Ilya.

7. Barbarian 6: The zealot’s Fanatical Focus lets you reroll a failed save while raging, once per rage. The only saves you’re really good at are strength and constitution, so we’ll take whatever we can get.

8. Barbarian 7: Your Feral Instinct gives you advantage on initiative rolls, and you can rage at the start of combat to ignore being surprised. You’re not the one who gets attacked, you’re the one who does the attacking.

9. Barbarian 8: Use your next ASI for more Strength. To be the strongest in the world, you have to be the strongest you can be.

10. Barbarian 9: Your Brutal Critical adds an extra die when you deal critical damage to a creature. You’ve got a big sword, let’s make it even bigger.

11. Barbarian 10: Your Zealous Presence lets you inspire other party members as well. Once per long rest you can use your bonus action to give 10 other creatures advantage on  attacks and saves until your next turn. You’re so good at not dying, you can even help other people avoid doing so.

12. Barbarian 11: Your guts finally kicks in at this level. Relentless Rage prevents you from dropping to 0 HP if you make a DC 10 Constitution save. on  a success, you don’t die, and the save’s DC increases by 5 until you take a break. Appropriately enough, with your current Constitution you can pull this off three times per rest, meaning you’ve gone from no bond CE to one bond CE in a single level.

13. Barbarian 12: At twelfth level, max out your Strength. If you want to get even stronger, I’d suggest convincing your DM to let you start worshiping Iroas. Or Ares, if you want to keep it in the family.

14. Barbarian 13: Thirteenth level barbarians gain a second bonus die for their Brutal Critical. You might think about switching to a greataxe at this point to take the most advantage of your extra dice. Consistency is good, being able to crush your enemies in a single blow is better.

15. Barbarian 14: Congratulations! You aren’t killed when you die now! Your Rage Beyond Death lets you put off unconsciousness and death until the end of your rage. Now your ability to survive only depends on how much hitting you can fit into one minute.

16. Barbarian 15: Remember what I just said about hitting? Now it’s not a problem. Your Persistent Rage means your rage doesn’t stop until you choose to. You can now survive a full minute after you die, no strings attached.

17. Barbarian 16: We’re switching things up for this penultimate ASI. Grab the Tough feat for 34 extra HP now, and another two extra HP each time you level up. You have a lot of not dying options, but discretion is the better part of valor.

18. Barbarian 17: Your Brutal Critical increases to an extra third die when you crit. This shouldn’t surprise you by now, but you hitting people really, really hurts. If the stars align (or you’re working with Merlin), you might be able to put some weaker servants in the ground with a single turn’s worth of crits by this point.

19. Barbarian 18: You are the strongest in the world, and it’s time to start acting like it. Your Indomitable Might means that every strength check you make always turns out to be at least your Strength Score, i.e. 20. Unlike reliable talent, this affects the total, not just the roll. A 20 every time is still really good though. Maybe now you’ll be able to open that jar of pickles Ilya’s been complaining about.

20. Barbarian 19: Your capstone level leaves you with one last ASI. Grab some more Constitution for more health and a higher chance at passing your Relentless Rage saves.

Pros: I’m not sure if you noticed that thing I said at level 18, but you deal a lot of damage when you swing that big chunk of metal around. You’re also really hard to kill: You have a ton of HP to chew through, and even when you die, you don’t die, and when you do die, it still takes about a minute to properly kick in. You’d think that toughness and damage would put you in Mighty Glacier territory, but on top of all that you’re not slow either. You’re just a bit faster than most people, and you have Jump to boost you into places you wouldn’t think you could reach. Anything that has to get within sword’s reach of you to fight you is pretty screwed.

Cons: Anything that can stay out of your reach can completely screw you over though. Your longest range attack is Lightning Lure, and that only has a range of 15′. Also, your mental saves are terrible, and there’s only so much your features can protect you from in one go. 

Finally, that one sorcerer level we took for extra save power also means you’re technically not the strongest you could be. The final level of barbarian would have given you an additional 4 points to strength and constitution. You don’t do too many attacks in one go, so the strength isn’t the end of the world, and the extra health would give you even more longevity.

However, I stand by the sorcerer multiclass. The extra points on your saves can be applied to your weak points, rather than just focused on things you’re already good at, and you can enjoy the benefit at level 2, rather than 20. You does your best work between 0 and 1 HP anyway.

Overall, this build and what you want to do with it are simple: just hit the red until they’re dead, and everything will work out fine. Also: don’t let Jason talk you into doing anything.

Next up: It’s a lovely morning in Camelot, and you are a horrible knight.

[theradioghost]

So I’ve realized recently that I actually really really like podcasts when my audio processing isn’t acting up (thanks tma!) and was wondering what recs you have for completed podcasts. I’m cool with basically any genre and theme, though I would appreciate a warning for tragedy. Thanks for your time!

Of course! I’ll put this one under a cut just so the length is a bit less ridiculous.

Some of my favorite completed shows are

Wolf 359 – a scifi comedy about four squabbling coworkers on a malfunctioning, isolated space station which then takes a hard right into a spectacular, heartwrenching drama. Not a tragedy, but many tears are shed when listening. Probably one of the best podcasts out there tbqh.

Ars Paradoxica – a modern physicist accidentally invents time travel, landing her back at the start of the Cold War and changing the course of history forever. The creators literally described it as “a tragedy” and they weren’t lying, although the finale is sort of hopefully bittersweet.

The Hidden Almanac – a grouchy professor in a plague doctor mask offers bite-sized pieces of history and hagiography from his fantastical world as well as gardening advice, occasionally interrupted and/or dragged off on unwilling shenanigans by his tequila-loving accidental necromancer best friend coworker. Fantasy writer/artist Ursula Vernon and her husband put this 4-minute show out three times a week for SEVEN YEARS, and it’s funny and cozy and poetic and can be found in full here, as there are too many episodes for most podcatchers to display.

Alice Isn’t Dead – lesbian Americana road-trip horror. A cross-country trucker searches for her missing wife while monsters and conspiracies pursue her across the vast empty and abandoned spaces of America. Actually also exists in novel form.

The Bright Sessions – records from the office of Dr. Bright, a therapist who specializes in people with strange and secret abilities. However, her patients aren’t the only ones with secrets. Personally this show never completely absorbed me like some others did, but the character writing is genuinely amazing. The story obviously also deals a lot with mental illness and some other difficult topics and content.

Our Fair City – the eight-season saga of the inhabitants of a post-apocalyptic underground city ruled over by the remnants of an insurance company, featuring mole people, lightning-harvesting sky sailors, giant ants, and a found family of mad scientists among others. Part comedy, part drama, all anticapitalist satire. You kind of have to give it a couple of seasons to find its stride (this was one of the very first shows in the podcast-based audio drama revival) but it is absolutely worth it. Disclaimer that while I am on the final season of the show I have not quite finished it yet.

Jarnsaxa Rising – a unique scifi-fantasy hybrid, in which a vengeful Norse giantess escapes imprisonment with the goal of destroying the gods and bringing about Ragnarok, only to find herself in a post-climate-change dystopian future.

Glasgow Ghost Stories – a Scottish woman begins noticing the many ghosts inhabiting the streets of her city; but the ghosts have begun to notice her too, and not all of them are friendly. Pigeons are involved.

Big Data – an odd little heist comedy about a rogue journalist investigating a spectacular crime in which the “seven keys to the internet” are stolen, leading to a story about hacking in which no actual hacking is involved. There are two fun side notes to it: one, everything that happens in it could technically happen in real life. Two, it involves an absurd amount of cameos from other well-known podcasts (and also Taika Waititi?), which you don’t need to get to follow the story but which make it kind of hilarious on a whole other level when you listen to those shows.

I Am In Eskew – a surreal, intense, disturbingly poetic horror about a man trapped in a shifting, malevolent, impossible city, and a woman on the outside trying to find him. Extremely good but I do recommend thoroughly checking the trigger warnings on this one. (Surprisingly non-tragic finale, although not a typical “happy ending.”)

The Alexandria Archives – half comedy and half horror, in the form of a late-night radio show at Alexandria University, on the edge of North Carolina’s Great Dismal Swamp. Half of each episode is a standalone cosmic horror story set in and around the town of Alexandria. The other half features the antics of the university’s students, including the host MW and her friends who are definitely Canadian exchange students, and not a vampire hiding from his ex and a bunch of stranded space pirates. (A little goofy? Yes, but I love it a ton for all its faults anyway. Also, some of the short stories are genuinely terrifying.)

and also, some completed miniseries!!

The Tower – a gorgeous experimental audio drama in which a young woman decides to climb the mysterious Tower, from which no one ever returns.

Time:Bombs – a comedy by the folks who made Wolf 359 about a bomb disposal squad on New Year’s Eve, trying to survive their leader’s obsession with breaking a record.

They Say a Lot of Things – upon discovering that she can interact with a dropped tape recorder, the ghost of a young girl tells her story, interwoven with the stories of those who have passed through the abandoned house that she cannot leave over the years that she’s haunted it.

Podcaster A. R. Olivieri specializes in microfiction miniseries, ranging from scifi to experimental to fantasy. (Side note, a lot of his work crosses over with the still-running scifi podcast Girl In Space, but you don’t need to have listened to GIS to understand what’s going on in his shows.)

Nym’s Nebulous Notions – a self-declared investigative journalist decides to check out a mysterious SOS signal and finds herself on a mysteriously abandoned ship – or so she thinks. Arguably a tragedy, although not necessarily in the way you might think.

Palimpsest – technically not finished, but each season of this anthology makes up a complete 10-part story, and seasons 1 and 2 are complete. Season 1 is a ghost story about a woman who is suspicious about strange happenings in her new home and her odd new neighbors. Season 2 is a turn-of-the-century dark urban fantasy about a girl who escapes her career criminal mother’s house, taking a job as the companion to what her new employer claims is an imprisoned faerie princess. (Season 3 is ongoing and is about a codebreaker who begins seeing ghosts on London’s streets during the Blitz.) It’s a heartbreaking sort of show, albeit in a very beautiful and moving way.

The Details is a short piece about an office worker who goes in to negotiate for a promotion and finds himself negotiating with the devil himself instead. The number of genuinely surprising and excellent twists it packs into just 45 minutes is really fun.

The London Necropolis Railway – a really underappreciated little fantasy-mystery about a recently-dead detective who refuses to board the train scheduled to take her to the afterlife until one of its hapless employees helps her solve her supernatural murder.

Janus Descending – a scifi horror told in two intertwining perspectives, one in reverse order and one in chronological order, about two scientists who land on a remote planet to investigate the ruins of its lost civilization, only to encounter the thing that killed the former inhabitants. A fantastic story told in a really clever and unique way, but stamp a big old tragedy warning all OVER this one, although because of the structure you technically know how it’s going to end right from the start – what makes this show so good is how you get there. It will make you cry, though.

… and also my show, Midnight Radio, which is about lesbian romance, small towns, old radio shows, the good and bad sides of nostalgia, and ghost stories.

[crystalelemental]

Ranking the Legendary Heroes - Water

Ah, the cursed season.  The season of additional movement, impossible to tank powerhouses, and unparalleled support.  God I fucking hate this season.

Let’s be clear, all of those things count in AI hands.  In your hands, it’s a cute little gimmick, but on defense teams, it’s all just bastardry.  Anyway, 7 Water legends, ranked by combat potential and effectiveness in Arena.

7) Ryoma.  Hey, if you ever wanted to know what a completely useless unit looks like, here you go.  Flying unit, no adjusted BST, only effect from the weapon is DC, B-slot is just Wrath for some reason.  I guess it’s not all bad.  Guidance is still good, and he has that as a C-skill, so like...that’s something to fodder him for.  At least his refine will be good?

6) Eirika.  Listen, I love Eirika, but oh my god with this.  Her weapon has some interesting effects, but only if she’s near more enemies than allies.  So away from team support again, great.  Sped up cooldown charge and extra defense is nice, but overall insufficient to manage her Book 2 cav BST.  Lunar Brace with Luna is hilarious as a gimmick, but that’s all it is, a gimmick.  Yes, you negate all their defense, and hit for her raw attack stat in damage, OHKOing pretty much everything in the game.  Was it worth it to run a unit so thoroughly outclassed?  No.  It was not.  Great speed and the ability to just deal absolute damage is cute, but she lacks any defensive presence, running Galeforce makes Lunar Brace worthless and takes away her entire niche, and Eliwood still exists in the common pool.  Sorry Eirika.  I love you, but there’s a reason you’re not finished as a merge project yet.

5) Fjorm.  Believe it or not, I think Fjorm has usefulness, even now.  It’s not...good usefulness, but it counts.  Ice Mirror is just a shitty Negating Fang, but it does work against ranged foes, which means it works against some of the other Water legends.  Sure, she’s going to deal 0 damage to Chrom and Leif’s second attack will blow her face off.  Sure, across seasons, Alm and Celica will annihilate her, and I doubt she can handle Julia either.  But she’s trying okay? 

4) Leif.  Okay, and like the flick of a switch, we have gone from utter disappointment to absolute horror.  Everything past this point should be considered one of the best units in the game without question, and a reason why Water season is outright intolerable.  Let’s start with our good pal Leif.  Leif is #4, technically the exact halfway point, not because he has any particular flaws, but because he’s not as disgusting as everyone else.  Leif is stupid good.  Brave Bow effect, and a signature special that gives him a second action, but restricts his movement to one.  Yeah, that’ll definitely stop him blowing my asshole out, thanks game.  Leif is stupid versatile, too.  Death Blow 4 with a Lull for max damage?  Push skill or Fury 4 with Escape Route to hit and run really effectively?  Close Counter/Vantage for dual phase bullshit?  Leif is stupid good.  Which makes it all the more horrifying he’s only number goddamn four.

3) Dimitri.  The most recent newcomer, and already making his awful, awful mark on the meta.  I don’t like Dimitri, his toolkit is ridiculous.  Speed-based damage reduction built into the weapon, on top of +5 to all stats, all for the low low price of being above 25% HP, the easiest HP threshold to maintain.  And that’s just the weapon.  Atrocity gives him omni-Smoke and Seal effect, for -5 to unit and all units in 2 spaces after combat.  Oh, and also it does Pulse Smoke.  Oh, and also, he gets true damage based on 25% of his attack stat, which cannot be reduced in any way.  Because balance!  Oh, and we threw in Odd Tempest, which is an infantry and flying skill that gives them an extra movement every odd-numbered turn.  Because why not!  Seriously, why only eliminate the use of armor units in the game when you can also render cavalry completely ineffective?  Just slap this shit on a melee dancer and bam, what the fuck is Duo Sigurd?  Dimitri is obscenity incarnate, a living monolith to everything wrong with powercreep in this game.  The only respite we have is that he can’t run Null Follow-Up, so a unit like L!Edelgard can, and will, body him.  Celica and a fast Julia also handle him well thanks to his low Res, but your options are limited even with cross-seasonal comparison.  Dimitri’s just disgusting and I hate his legendary form so much.  And again, this is only #3.

2) Chrom.  Listen.  Fuck this guy.  No one pisses me off quite like Chrom.  I think it’s the armor effectiveness.  If he didn’t have that, we could talk.  But no, he got armor effectiveness on top of getting like -9 attack and defense on foes all the time.  He’s excellently min-maxed, but has a superboon in speed that actually makes fast Chrom a thing, because god wasn’t dead enough, we had to dig up the corpse and shit on it.  I’ve been Chrom beat L!Edelgard, a unit with color advantage and massive defense.  I’ve seen Chrom beat a +10 Cecilia with her weapon refine.  Double Triangle disadvantage, and he not only survived her Close Foil boosted retaliation, but annihilated her outright.  What actually stops something like this?  When your biggest, toughest green units are bodied because of armor effectiveness, and double weapon triangle disadvantage isn’t enough to OHKO him or stop him from killing you, what works?  What actually stop him?  Well, nothing.  Nothing stops him.  Not even necessarily getting to him first, because Close Counter.  Now even your melee units who got to him first somehow get bopped.  Not that this is all her runs.  Attack/Speed Push 4 for the speedy builds works great.  Mirror Impact shuts down faster mages who could’ve been a threat.  And for all of this, we haven’t even touched on the strongest aspect of Chrom.  To Change Fate.  His signature assist skill, which not only acts as a Reposition that gives him a second action (but inflicts Isolation, which is totally relevant because he can’t just move again and have that status wear off or anything), but gives him Attack +6 afterwards.  As alluded to with Lucina, movement assists that score for Arena are the most devastating thing in the world, and Chrom is proof positive of that.  Oh, but as an added fuck you?  It’s 500SP.  That’s right!  Chrom can score 185BST without even needing a 300SP C-skill!  So if you were looking forward to the day L!Chrom is score crept, keep dreaming, because he’s going to be here forever.  And yet somehow, despite all of this, he’s only #2.  What unspeakable horror could possibly outrank this garbage?

1) Azura.  Take a look at the last three entries.  Now go check the best legendary units across every other season.  Azura is better than all of them combined.  Because she is all of them combined.

Azura is not a fighter.  Not that she can’t kill when needed, but she’s not meant to.  No, she’s support.  A dancer, specifically.  But hey, we’ve had tons of dancers, what’s the big deal?  Sure, she gives infantry and flying units an extra space of movement, and takes any buff in one stat and applies them to every other stat after dancing so not even Panic can stop it.  What’s the big deal?  Well, it’s that every single top threat in every single season is enabled by Azura.  Any level of power they have on their own is jacked up exponentially by her presence.  What was just L!Alm or L!Celica needing to be avoided now becomes a round of The Most Dangerous Game, as Azura can, at any time, send them hurtling toward your team with an easy +6 to all stats, and if they get the drop on you you’re dead already.  L!Chrom used To Change Fate, but didn’t quite reach your allies?  That’s okay, she danced him, now he has three more movement, and now he can, and will, kill something.  Leif got his special off, but at least his attacks are over and he only killed two of my units.  Oh, right, Wings of Mercy, now he’s killed a third, haha fuck me.  Oh hai Legendary Dimitri.

Every top meta threat, in every game mode, is made worse with Azura present.  She is, to this day, the single greatest instance of powercreep in the entire game.  Nothing has even come close.  Surtr was more immediately obnoxious at the time, but a few good red counters get added and you make Null Follow-Up more common, and he’s suddenly not so bad.  L!Azura, though?  We introduced Lulls to counter her visible buffing bullshit, and she’s still supreme.  We included Isolation effects, and she’s still chosen over other dancers due to the power of her effects.  Even now, as new, powerful dancers like Peony and Triandra are added, they have to face competition from Azura.  Peony escapes this by being essential to scoring for AR, but Triandra?  What luck is she going to have?  Why run a less impressive dance to mitigate lift loss when you do lose matches, when you can just bring Azura for a higher win-rate that loses you nothing?  Even as they’re actively trying to bring in other dancers with unique effects and abilities, it doesn’t even come close to the level of devastation L!Azura inflicted on this game.

“But she only scores 170BST, she can’t be that reliable!”  Actually...that’ll do you just fine.  Especially with two matched blessing legendary units.  Especially with Dimitri or Chrom, who score like 185BST.  That’s plenty to even maintain T21, all you need are two higher scoring allies with that blessing and you’re easily hitting 756+ matches to maintain.  Score creep may some day phase her out of the meta, but I can promise you, it won’t be soon enough, nor severe enough.  All but the top-most matches will still spam her.  We will never be free from Original Sin.  Azura isn’t just the best Water legendary unit.  She is the best unit in the entire game.  She’s so dominant that having a forced blessing doesn’t even stop her being run, to this day, on most AR-D teams.  A mode she’s not even optimized for, she still runs.  That alone should tell you how ridiculous she is.  And with each new threat?  With each skill buff to infantry and flying units?  She only gets stronger and stronger.

[mythologyfolklore]

Ares and Athena through the years - Ch. 01

Chapter one: You're weird.

(Ares and Athena meet for the first time. Things get awkward.)

.

Ares was excited.

A new goddess had joined the Olympians and he would get a new sister!

Well, not really sister, as she had another mother. (That ticked him off a little; what could another woman have, that metera¹ didn't have double? After all, she was married to father! Then again, Ares was certain that there was no love between his parents.)

But he decided, that he wouldn't blame his new sister. After all, it wasn't her fault, that she had another mother, right? Right.

Ares wondered, what she was like.

He hadn't met her yet, but metera had said, that today he would!

He already had a few sisters: the Horai (Eunomia, Dike and Eirene) and his little sisters Eileithyia (who was still a toddler) and Hebe (who was still a baby).

They loved him and surely his new sister would love him too.

Metera had said she was a war goddess – just like he was going to be a war god! Maybe they could have some awesome fights and he would impress her with his strength!

Although … mum had said she was already grown up. How was she grown-up? When father had informed them of her impending arrival, he had said, that she was younger than him!

But that would mean … no, he would not finish that thought.

And metera liked her, right? If she liked her, everything would be okay.

The little boy couldn't wait to meet his new sister!

They would play and he would protect her from all the bad guys, he would!

It was already noon. When would he finally meet her? He was getting more restless, then he already was normally.

“Ares, sit still and eat your ambrosia!”, Hera scolded her son and Ares tried, he really did! But he was just too excited!

“Metera, when will I meet my new sister?”, he wanted to know.

Hera sighed; her son was just always so impatient!

It wasn't that she didn't like Athena (on the contrary, her mother Metis had been Hera's friend, to whom she owed a lot, and Athena was almost her spitting image).

But Ares was too excited for his own good: Athena was completely different from him and Hera knew her son would be disappointed in the end. Her poor little boy.

“You will meet her in the afternoon, okay?”, she promised and fondly stroked his black and red hair. The Queen of the Gods loved her son, she really did. But sometimes she was just overwhelmed and couldn't handle his ungovernable temper.

After lunch, Iris came to inform the boy to wait for his new sister in the training hall. Before she could even end her message, he was already off, dashing through the palace.

Finally he came to the gymnasion (why did it have to be the gymnasion? He didn't want to run around naked!²) and waited. But after a while he got bored, so he started doing a few exercises. Sure, he was really good at throwing spears, but practise was important.

He also tried swinging a sword, that actually belonged to his father, but was still too big for him. But the voice in his head (because he had one of those) told him how to do it, so it wasn't actually that difficult.

The pre-teen hadn't noticed, that someone had entered the room, until one of his spears missed its mark and was caught by someone's bare hand.

Ares froze, when he saw the two gods standing in the doorway.

It was a tall woman, the one who had caught his weapon so effortlessly, and …

He paled and began to apologise profusely, because he hadn't meant to hurt anyone and holy shit, he was so frightened of his father!

But instead of yelling at him, Zeus just reprimanded his son: “Ares, how often have I told you, that these weapons are not meant for children! You are way too young to handle those!”

It took all of Ares' courage to not tremble in fear in front of the stranger next to his father.

Calm down, the voice in his head whispered. Think of your role in the play. Play your act.

Right. Play the act.

So he swallowed his fear and got his innocent, huffy child on: “But father, I got bored. And it's not like you ever have time for me or show me how to handle those! Besides, apart from that one spear, I was doing really well!”

Zeus was about to object, but the woman next to him put a hand on his shoulder.

“It's fine, father. No one got hurt after all.”

Then she gave Ares his spear back. “Next time, let an adult teach you how to use these, before something like this happens again.”

I am an adult!, the voice in Ares' head huffed.

But Ares wasn't listening. “Father, who is that?”

Zeus sighed in frustration: “Well, this is not how I planned this to go down. Ares, meet your new sister, Pallas Athena. Athena, this is your older brother Ares.”

She smiled gently: “Hello, brother.”

The King of the Gods scratched his head. “Well, I have work to do. You two have fun, I'll be back soon!” Then he was gone.

Meanwhile, Ares stared at the newcomer. This was his new sister?

He stood on his toes and still could only just about reach to the height of her chest.

“Whooooh, you're so tall!”, he marvelled, his blood-red eyes growing even larger.

.

Athena chuckled: “Yes, I am.”

“And you look so strange! Your eyes! They are so blue! Like, really blue! Like the sea! And hey, did I already say that you're tall?”

“Yes, b-”

“I want to be tall like that too! No, taller! I want to be taller than you! Then I will be tallest and everyone will stare at how tall I am, because I will be so tall and strong!”

“I'm sure you will be”, Athena assured him kindly.

“And when I'm tall and strong, I will protect metra and all my siblings and everyone will like me!”

“Of course, Ares”, Athena agreed, even though she wasn't that sure.

But children needed to have dreams and she didn't want to upset her new brother, especially not in their first meeting. Even though she was technically younger, she still wanted to be his big sister, the best in the world. She wanted to be there for him and teach him everything she knew. Well, maybe not everything, but the things he needed to know. She wanted to be his role model, his teacher and just someone worth looking up to.

So she smiled, listened to the 12-year-old's ramblings and agreed, where it was due.

But there were a few things, that irked her.

“Do the others not like you?”

His face darkened. “No. They say I'm insane. What does that even mean?”

Athena bit her lip, but explained: “'Insane' is another word for 'crazy'. But don't worry, I don't think that you're-”

“I'm not crazy!”, the boy protested, “I can't help, that I have a voice in my head!”

Her eyes widened.

A voice in his head … ? Now she was concerned.

Because of that, and …

“Can I ask you something?”

Ares looked a little apprehensive, but consented.

Athena suddenly found, that she had trouble expressing, what she wanted to know. But her curiosity was overwhelming, so she tried to put this as tactfully as possible (which was hard, she knew how boys reacted to what she was about to ask).

“Earlier, when you first noticed me and our father, I couldn't help but notice, that you were rather … uncomfortable.”

Afraid. A word no boy or man liked to hear about himself. But it was so obvious, that he had been positively frightened – of Zeus.

Why was he so afraid of his own father?! That was not normal!

Unfortunately, Ares seemed to get exactly what she meant.

He gritted his teeth. Shit.

“You mean 'scared', don't you? I wasn't scared! Boys and men don't get scared! That's pathetic!”

Athena frowned. “Not really. Sometimes it is, but more than often it isn't.”

.

That took Ares by surprise. “What? I don't get it.”

She sighed: “How about we sit down and I explain it to you?”

This really weirded him out (and agitated him, he was not gonna lie), but he humoured her.

.

The blue-eyed goddess and he sat down and she began to explain.

Unfortunately, she noticed after a while, that the boy had stopped listening after a while and now was drifting off.

“Ares!”, Athena said sharply and he startled awake.

“Sorry, sorry!”, he apologised hastily, “But I didn't understand a word and-”

“Calm down, I'm not angry”, she tried to soothe him, “But next time let me know, if you can't keep up. It's kind of hurtful, when you're trying to explain something and the other just dozes off.”

He looked really down.

Fantastic. This was not how she had imagined this to go down.

After some awkward silence, he spoke up again: “Your question from earlier …”

“You don't have to answer it, if you don't want to”, she said.

He sighed in relief: “Good. Because I don't.”

“But if you ever feel ready … if you want to talk to someone, I'm here for you, okay?”

Ares tilted his head. “You're weird.”

Athena smiled lopsidedly. “So are you, brother.”

.

---

.

1) Metera - Greek for "mother" (I hope this is right, because I don't speak Greek) 😅 Edit: I corrected it from “metra” to “metera”, because a Greek reader was so kind as to point the mistake out to me. 2) Gymnasion actually means "place of the naked" (gymnos = naked), because students (male only) usually wore little to no clothing, while performing their gymnastics and other sportive exercises. 😅

[qualquercoisa945]

But We Can Dance The Way We Did (Part 1)

AO3 Link

Title Inspiration- Secret by The Pierces (Story) and Heaven Knows by Five For Fighting (Chapter)

yeah it's a multi chapter but at least it's not a 6 parter. sorry y'all, love doesn't discriminate will take a while to be done on a different note, this is a two parter named Two Can Keep A Secret If One Of Them Is Dead. i know most of the fandom thinks the queens just popped up in the 21st century, but the idea of the queens having lives in the modern world is too good for me not to work with. that said, i hope you enjoy this look into kitty and cleves's lives

tw warnings- fears of abandonment

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"The things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect." -Luna Lovegood

Kath was fifteen when she’d first had to confront a part of her past she actually missed.

In hindsight, a dance class was an awfully fitting way for it to happen. Even if hip-hop was a far cry from the dancing styles from back then.

She’d always been a dancer- music in general was one of her passions, and she’d found herself trying out just about any style she had a chance to.

Dance studios were some of the few places her anxiety seemed to ease up a little. Even now, sat in a corner while watching people interact, she couldn’t help but feel that pre-dance excitement, even if, she conceded, it would’ve been better if she wasn’t on her own.

“‘Scuse me?” Those two words, spoken in an accent that, while she didn’t hear too often in this life, she was all too familiar with, snapped her out of her reverie and brought her to look up. She was met with a tall girl, she’d guess maybe a couple of years older than her, with short black hair and gentle brown eyes that held a familiar friendly gleam to them-

No.

It couldn’t be her.

Could it?

She shook herself out of her train of thought when she realised she had yet to reply. “Sorry, yeah?”

The girl gave a broad grin, sitting down beside her. “Name’s Anna,” shit, “nice t’meet you. Are you here on your own?”

Kath gave her a soft, slightly anxious smile. “Yeah, first class ‘n stuff. I’m Katherine, but most people just call me Kath or Kat.”

“Pretty name.” Anna mused, and for a moment Kath thought she sounded wistful, almost nostalgic. But then she kept going, back to her previous casual tone. “First class for me too. You wanna be partners if we gotta do dances in pairs?”

Kath watched as Anna held her hand out for a handshake, and for a moment she almost refused. There was still a chance she wasn’t her, and if it wasn’t, things could be come awkward really fast.

But regardless, and perhaps against her better judgement, she shook her hand. “You’re on.”

Anna gave her that same broad grin, one that was becoming increasingly familiar for the (maybe) second time, and Kath couldn’t help but smile softly in response.

But then the teacher came inside, and their conversation was cut short as they started warm up.

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

The first thing Anna did upon getting home was to race to her bedroom so she could flop onto her bed and scream into her pillow until her throat felt hoarse.

It was only once she’d had to cough because of how bad her throat was getting that she stopped, flipping around to lay on her back instead of her stomach.

The third thing she did was reach for her phone, haphazardly thrown on her bedside table, and call Bessie- the one person she’d told about everything, since she would be the only one who get it. At least, at the time, she was.

As usual, she picked up within a couple moments. In the background, she could vaguely make out the sound of a zipper being closed, and then a familiar voice with the barest hint of a German accent. “Hey Anna, just finished practice, I’ll be heading home soon. What’s up?”

“Can you try and hurry?” Anna surprised herself with the vulnerability in her voice- she sounded nothing like the usual calm and slightly-arrogant personality she wore, instead sounding anxious, almost fearful.

And by Bessie’s tone, she’d noticed too. “Did something happen?”

“Kind of? Nothing bad, but it was still a lot and I just, need someone here right now.”

“I’m on my way. Do you want me to keep talking to you?”

“No, I’ll be alright, I think.” Anna promised, sitting up and pulling one of her blankets tight around herself, effectively cocooning herself in it. “Just keep an eye on your phone, yeah?”

“I got it. I’ll be there as soon as possible, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

Click.

Anna let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding once the call was over, pulling  the blanket tighter around herself as she reached for her laptop, putting on the first video that popped up on her Youtube feed and mildly interested her while her mind wandered.

She couldn’t help but worry that Bessie would think she was just imagining things. They’d stuck by each other’s sides since they were kids and Anna was showing Bessie around their school after she had moved there from England, being there for each other when no one else was. And considering neither of their parents were particularly present anyways, the moment they’d turned 18, they’d both moved to England, sharing a flat. Bessie was more family than her parents ever were, and the mere idea of losing her support was utterly terrifying.

Yet at the same time, she felt so dumb for ever doubting Bessie wouldn’t support her. And it turned into even more of an emotional conflict with the newest addition of (possibly) Kitty being back.

Because Anna would be lying if she said she didn’t still hold a stupidly large amount of guilt for what had happened to the girl she was now (hopefully) able to call a friend again. She wished she could’ve satisfied Henry, she wished she could’ve stopped the marriage, she wished she’d been able to help Kitty more, to protect her-

But wishing doesn’t get you anywhere. That was something she was more aware of than she would’ve liked.

She snapped out of her reverie by the sound of the door closing and a soft call of her name. “In my room!” She called in response, pausing the video and letting out a soft sigh as she waited to Bessie to come in.

That wait was just barely a few moments long, and soon Bessie was in her room, a bag full of snacks on one hand and her leather jacket pressed tight to her stomach. “Oh, Anna…” Her voice was soft, a drastic contrast to the usual sarcastic tone it bore, as she set the bag down by the bed and sat down beside Anna, letting the latter lean back against her with her head resting on her shoulder as she wrapped her arm around her waist. “Now, why don’t you tell me what happened, yeah?”

Anna gave a soft sigh. “So I started hip-hop classes today, right. And I get there and there’s this girl sitting in the corner by herself and I just-”

“You thought she was Katherine.” Bessie completed softly, pulling Anna closer when she nodded. “Oh, liebling, I’m sorry-”

“But here’s the thing, her name’s actually Katherine!” Anna finally let out, shifting to look into Bessie’s shocked eyes. “And- and I know that’s a weak connection in and of itself, but she sounded and acted and looked so much like her and I just…” She let out a tired, defeated sigh, leaning back against Bessie. “I think it might actually be her. And… you know how I feel about what happened, Bess, what if I’m right? Because, I want to be, I want to be with her again, but at the same time… I could’ve done more, I should’ve done more, I dunno if she would want me to be ar-”

“‘Nough of that.” Bessie’s light squeeze and soft yet firm words caused Anna to stop in her ramblings, looking at her. “I get it. We both have regrets on her past lives, and wished we could’ve done more for people we cared about back then. But it’s done. It’s all over, so dwelling on it isn’t gonna do anyone any good. If you are right, and I do hope you are, then all you can do is be there for her, if she wants you to.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“It’ll suck ass,” Bessie conceded, reaching up to lightly trace patterns on Anna’s back, “but you’ll just have to deal with it. Not much else you can do about it, I’m afraid.”

Anna let out a soft sigh, nodding slowly. “Yeah, I guess.” She mumbled out, pausing for a moment before pressing herself closer to Bessie. “Thank you for watching out for me.” She added softly, the barest hint of a smile passing by her face.

“Always, meine schwester.” Bessie promised with a soft tone, before it turned playful as she shifted to meet Anna’s eyes with a playful grin. “Now, how does a movie marathon and snacks sound?”

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

Later that night, Bessie found herself laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling as memories from that afternoon raced through her mind.

For as long as she could remember, her and Anna had been there for one another. One of her earliest memories had been Anna showing her around in their kindergarten, speaking in an English that wasn’t quite fluent, which, in hindsight, was to be expected when it was just her second language and she was barely even 3 years old.

And as the years went on, they stuck by one another’s side. With their parents nearly always on business trips or filming somewhere, they were often left to be taken care of by other people, and kids at school weren’t always genuine in their attempts to befriend them. So they were each other’s anchors, the only constants in the whirlwinds their lives were.

And then they each realized who they were the reincarnation of. With Anna calling Bessie in a near panic as she went on and on, and the realization dawning on Bessie herself not long after. If anything, the whole ordeal had brought them closer- as far as they were aware, they were the only ones who understood.

And now, there was a chance that Katherine Howard was back.

She’d heard of her, of course she had- her and Anna had been close in their past lives, so it was to be expected, and she knew Anna wanted her back more than anything. And she’d sworn to herself to never wish against Anna’s happiness, but… She couldn’t help but hope for Anna to be wrong, even with the gnawing guilt she felt upon those thoughts.

Because she knew Anna loved Katherine, and she couldn’t help but fear that maybe, just maybe, Anna would let go of her for Katherine. And that scared her more than words could say.

She shook her head for what felt like the millionth time that afternoon, sitting up and letting out a soft huff. She should know better than this, damn it! Why was she working herself up over stuff that was so incredibly unlikely?

With a quiet groan, she flopped back onto the bed, shifting onto her side and curling up around herself. It was going to be a long night, she could already tell.

[for-the-dales]

Chapter 3: Cullen

Chapter 1 (Leliana):  https://for-the-dales.tumblr.com/post/185692342364/the-path-forward-chapter-1-leliana

           In the three days since the explosion, Cullen still hadn’t managed to identify all of the dead. The first priority had of course been ensuring the safety of the survivors. Scouts had been working in shifts to hunt down demons still in the valley. Soldiers that could stand had been deployed to dispatch them, but only in large groups. They had to cover each other; they couldn’t afford to lose any more people. Josephine’s help had been invaluable in identifying the dead and writing to the families. Cullen was writing out another note of condolence when a young page appeared inside his tent and stood at attention.

           “Commander, the… survivor is awake.”

           “Thank you, let Seeker Pentaghast know I will meet her shortly in the Chantry.”

           The young boy saluted and quickly turned on his heel to deliver the message. Cullen had heard the pause in the boy’s voice. The survivor. People around Haven were already beginning to use a different name. Cullen had expressly forbade his soldiers to use this new title, not until she woke up. But that moment was here now. This would be an interesting conversation. Cullen tidied his desk and left for the chantry. Word had already spread through camp that the woman, Ellana, was awake. Crowds were gathering around her hut, barely even trying to stay quiet. The crowds made room for Cullen to pass through but just barely. Cullen briefly considering ordering the people to disperse, but he didn’t really think it would help. As soon as he left they would regroup. Everyone wanted to see her.

           The Herald of Andraste.

           As soon as he reached the relative privacy of the chantry he closed the door behind him and rested his head against it. He could already feel a headache coming on. He breathed. In and out. Counted to five. Counted to ten. One more breath. Cullen sighed and pushed himself off the door and turned to walk to the room that they had been using as a command center. Leliana stood behind him. Cullen would never admit to jumping, just a little.

           “Commander.”

           Cullen eyed the spymaster, “Leliana.”

           It wasn’t that Cullen didn’t trust Leliana. He did, he would trust her with his life. She was the best at what she did. That didn’t stop him from always being slightly unnerved by her presence. She had a knack for knowing everything and that made him nervous. It was the same feeling he had experienced when he was young and his mother used his full name. Leliana inspired the same knot in his stomach. She smiled at the commander in a way that made Cullen think she knew exactly what he had been thinking, then turned and walked towards the room at the far end of the Chantry. She didn’t look back to make sure Cullen was following. He was. Cassandra and Josephine were already there, joined, to Cullen’s annoyance, by Chancellor Roderick.

           “Have you gone completely mad? She should be taken to Val Royeaux immediately,” Roderick bellowed, “to be tried by whoever becomes Divine!”

           Cassandra shook her head, “I do not believe she is guilty.”

           Roderick scoffed and continued, “The elf failed, Seeker. The Breach is still in the sky. For all you know, she intended it this way!”

           Cassandra’s voice stayed calm but Cullen could see the little lines emerging at the side of her eyes, “I do not believe that.”

           “That is not for you to decide!”

           Cullen shook his head, arguing with that man was not a fight they could win. The former Templar was the first to hear the knock at the door. It was slight at first, but then a second more insistent knock followed.

           Cullen’s brow creased before he called, “Come in.”

           The door opened and Cullen got his first look at the survivor. Ellana, he reminded himself. She was taller than many of the elves Cullen had met in the circle, likely the same height as Josephine. Her face devoted most of its space to her large unusually green eyes and a long, straight nose that seemed to descend more from her lower brow than the middle of her face. Many of the elves Cullen had known would do things to hide how different they looked from humans, but not this woman. Her dark curls were pulled back away from her face in an intricate braid that proudly showed off her features. Her eyes and nose were highlighted by the branching lines of her tattoos that covered almost her entire forehead and nose. A line from the bottom of the nose extended over her lips and down to a smaller design on her chin. From there more roots branched down her neck in complex designs. The lines on her high, prominent cheekbones seemed to point directly to her large drooped ears laden with little earrings, some of which had little chains connecting them. She was dressed now in what Cullen guessed was likely daily Dalish garb. The leather looked sturdy and functional, but the green cloak that wrapped around her had more intricate gold detailing with little gold pins that kept it close to her in certain places, allowing it to drape in a way that made it seem that this piece was more sentimental than necessary. The cloak also made her look slightly larger than she really was. Her inhumanely long fingers were laced loosely in front of her. She smiled gently and Cullen realized he’d been staring.

           “Hello, I apologize for interrupting, but I understand you all wanted to speak with me.”

           “Chain her!” Chancellor Roderick shouted, “I want her prepared for travel to the capital for trial!”

           Cassandra shouted louder, “Disregard that and leave us!”

           The guards listened to Cassandra. Ellana watched it all quietly. Chancellor Roderick blustered for a moment before hissing, “You walk a dangerous line, Seeker.”

           Cassandra stood even taller and said, “The Breach is stable, but it is still a threat. I will not ignore it.”

           “Someone was behind the explosion at the Conclave.” Leliana said, “Someone Most Holy did not expect. Perhaps they died with the others, or have allies who yet live.”

           Roderick looked like Leliana had struck him, “I am a suspect?”

           “You,” Leliana confirmed, “and many others.”

           “But notthe prisoner?”

           “I heard the voices in the temple. The Divine called to her help.” Cassandra turned then to look at Ellana.

           Roderick sputtered on, “So her survival, that thing on her hand- all a coincidence?”

           Cassandra’s eyes never left Ellana’s, “Providence.” Cassandra finally turned back to Roderick, “The Maker sent her to us in our darkest hour.”

           The elven woman’s ears twitched slightly and for the first time she looked a little unnerved. She just stared at Cassandra silently. Leliana’s voice softened slightly when addressing Ellana, “The Breach remains and your mark is our only hope of closing it.”

           “That is not for you to decide!” Roderick bellowed.

           Cassandra calmly walked to a shelf in the back of the room and picked up a heavy tome. She stared at it for a moment before gripping the edges firmly and slamming it down on the table. She was deadly calm and asked Roderick, “You know what this is, Chancellor? A writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act.”

           No one breathed for a moment before she finished solemnly, “As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn.”

           She advanced on Roderick and continued, “We will close the Breach. We will find those responsible. And we will restore order. With or without your approval.”

           Roderick stared at Cassandra in shock for a moment before turning to leave, only pausing to glare at Ellana. The door slammed heavy behind him. No one breathed for a moment.

           “So,” Ellana said, “we are saving the world then?”

           Cassandra sighed, “That is the idea. Will you help us?”

           “Of course I will.”

           The slightest bit of relief showed on Cassandra’s face when she extended her hand to Ellana, who quickly took hold firmly. The seekers posture relaxed some before she turned towards Cullen and Josephine. Cullen breathed for the first time since he walked into the room. Cassandra introduced Cullen first.

           “May I present Commander Cullen, the leader of our forces.”

           Cullen grimaced and remembered all of the horrible letters he’d had to send in the past three days, “Such as they are. We lost many soldiers in the valley. I fear we will lose many more before this is over.”

           Ellana looked at him sadly and said softly, “Ar Abelas. May Falon’Din guide them.”

           It had been a long time since Cullen had heard anyone speak elven, not since he was in the Circle at Lake Callahan. From what he knew of the Dalish he certainly hadn’t expect her to ask her gods for anything on behalf of human. He could only sputter out a quiet, “Thank you.”

           Cassandra moved on to Josephine next, “This is lady Josephine Montilyet, our ambassador and chief diplomat.”

           “Andaran atish’an.”

           Josephine had been practicing getting the pronunciation right for the past two days for this moment, but following a native speaker it still sounded a little clunky. Ellana didn’t seem to mind, “Enaste. Do you speak elven?”

           “I’m afraid you’ve just heard the entirety of it.”

           Finally Cassandra turned to Leliana, “And of course you know Sister Leliana.”

           Leliana shifted slightly and said, “My position here involves a certain degree of-“

           “She is our spymaster.” Cassandra interrupted.

           Leliana rolled her eyes, “Yes. Tactfully put Cassandra.”

           Ellana looked around the room again and smiled, “It is a pleasure to meet you all.”

           Cassandra spoke again, “I have spoken with Solas, he believes a second attempt to close the Breach might succeed, provided the mark has more power. The same level of power used to open it in the first place.”

           Leliana nodded, “Which means we must approach the rebel mages for help.”

           Cullen shook his head, “And I still disagree. The Templars could serve just as well.”

           Cassandra turned to Cullen, “I understand your reservations but we need power, Commander. Enough magic poured into that mark-”

           “Could destroy us all.” Cullen closed his eyes and saw the pillars of light coming out of the chantry in Kirkwall, his headache worsened when he opened his eyes again, “I was a Templar. I know what they’re capable of.”

           “Unfortunately,” Josephine spoke up before the argument could continue, “Neither group will even speak to us yet. Word has already spread to the Chantry of what has happened here… and what some are calling you.” The last sentence was directed at Ellana.

           “What are they calling me?”

           Cassandra answered her, “The Herald of Andraste.”

           Ellana went still. Cullen saw her ears twitch slightly again and he was beginning to think it was a tell. Ellana spoke slowly and carefully, “That is an interesting idea. May I ask why?”

           “People saw what you did at the temple, how you stopped the Breach from growing. They have also heard about the woman seen in the rift when we first found you.” Cassandra paused then, “They believe that was Andraste.”

           Ellana’s face was blank while she stared at Cassandra. Cullen finally asked, “How do you feel about the title?”

           Ellana slowly pulled her eyes away from Cassandra to look at him, “I believe… they have the wrong impression.”

           Cullen chuckled slightly and Ellana’s shoulders lost some of their tension, “I’m sure the Chantry would agree.”

           Leliana did not laugh, “The people are desperate for a sign of hope. For some, you are that sign.”

           “And to others,” Josephine added, “A symbol of everything that has gone wrong.”

           The woman seemed genuinely kind and willing to help, and Cullen sympathized with the amount of change being thrown at her in one sitting, but one question wouldn’t leave Cullen alone, “If I may, why were you even attending the Conclave? The mage and Templar conflict seems to primarily affect, well, humans.”

           Cullen could sense Josephine glaring at him. Ellana’s ears dropped slightly before she answered, “I’m sure it seems like that to you all. Unfortunately, however, that is not the case. The world is in a state of chaos because of the conflict, and chaos gives people leave to act on their worst impulses. Violence against The People has risen exponentially since the onset of the war.” Ellana paused a moment to gather herself before continuing, “One month ago a group of Templars attacked a Dalish clan, accusing them of harboring maleficarum. They murdered almost the entire clan. They left only the children alive, but they did not leave until they-”

           Ellana had to stop again and looked at the ceiling, no one in the room breathed, “They… clipped the children’s ears. Cut them almost in half.”

           “Maker.” Cullen muttered and closed his eyes. What had happened to the Order?

           Ellana continued, “The Elithem Sul’anasha Istimaethoriel decided that we could no longer ignore the war and hope that the Clans would be able to find a way to hide until it was over. She sent me to speak to your Divine on behalf of The People.” She turned to Josephine then, “Speaking of which, as soon as possible I would like to send word back to her that I am alright. If word has not reached her yet of what has happened it will soon, and I do not want her to worry.”

           Josephine nodded quickly, “Of course. I am so sorry. I did not realize that the situation had grown so dangerous for your people.”

           “I was heartbroken when I heard about what happened, but not surprised.” Ellana shook her head, “When people are treated like animals, it becomes simpler to slaughter them as such.”

           Cullen thought he was going to be sick. He knew how vulnerable elves could be in times of conflict. He had seen it first hand in Kirkwall. During the uprising Lowtown had nearly been burned to the ground. Last he heard the Alienage still hadn’t recovered completely. He had seen the report of how many died that day, remembered the startling high amount of elves on the list. That was only one day of outright fighting. He should have seen this coming.

           “And what happened to the children? After?” Josephine asked quietly, breaking the silence.

           “They are at our temple. They are safe.”

           “Your temple?” Leliana asked, intrigued.

           Cullen could see Cassandra’s frown deepening; he knew what she thought Ellana was. He also knew Ellana’s devotion to her own religion would not please the Seeker. He turned back to Ellana, “I cannot say how sorry I am for what happened. It is further proof of how desperately we need to close the Breach and restore order.”

           Cassandra nodded, “Agreed. We have heard from a Chantry Cleric by the name of Mother Giselle. She has asked to speak to you and she is not far.”

           Leliana chimed in, “Her assistance could be invaluable, and she knows those involved far better than I do.”

           “If you believe it is wise I will depart shortly.” Ellana turned to Cassandra, “Would you accompany me Seeker?”

           Cassandra nodded curtly, “Of course.”

           Cullen looked at his comrades before looking back at Ellana, “All right then. Lets get started.”

Elvhen used

Ar Abelas: I’m sorry

Andaran Atish’an: You are welcome here

Enaste: Blessings upon your house

Elithem Sul’anasha: Chief Priest

------

Sorry for the crap ton of exposition but I think it needed to happen here. Especially since I get to introduce some friends of Ellana’s next chapter. Up next is Cassandra.

Chapter 4: https://for-the-dales.tumblr.com/post/186962234719/chapter-4-cassandra 

[homesception]

May 31, 2013 - part 1: wherein Lobac eats a cookie.

To be fair, it has been like two hundred years since my last update.  That’s a pretty good nap.  Just means I’m all the more rested to work on new stuff, right?  I mean, I need to keep a spritely pace up if I still plan on catching up to Lobac’s liveblog before said liveblog catches up to the comic.  Which for sure is still an actual thing at all, and not a bit of exclusive humor between friends.

Last time Lobac was getting into some theory crafting and analysis of the classpect system.  I didn’t have much to say about that at the time, particularly not much that wouldn’t qualify as spoilers, so iirc I was mostly just responding with random thoughts and video links, half of which are dead now.  There was a bit left over looking at the troll’s perster names, which was also good stuff, but lacking anything coherent to say about it, I’ll just gloss past the rest of that post, apart from:

Lobac said:

Thank you all for sticking around °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

As if you could ever get rid of me.  ~{@PQ}~

Moving on, we rejoin the comic with PM visiting the Black Queen to retrieve the mysterious GREEN PACKAGE, which had been impounded by agents of the Black Court as a result of a traffic violation.  The Black Queen cuts an imposing figure, and Lobac is, of course, duly imposed.

later, Lobac said:

Are those… tentacles ( ´ _ ｀) I thought only the imps were affected by the prototypings?

OH SHIT OH SHIT THAT LOOKS SO COOL HOT DAMN (゜▽゜) Wowow look at her joints! Look at all the carapace-y stuff going on there!

These days, Lobac’s soft spot for this particular sort of shiny, black, possibly betentacled monster-type aesthetic is well documented.  I’m pretty sure she would have loved the black queen’s design even if it wasn’t just objectively cool as hell, but that certainly doesn’t hurt.  I’m kind of sad that we never got a proper fight scene out of this particular version of her.

That’s not a spoiler is it?  I’m pretty sure that’s not a spoiler.

Yeah, the random objects the kids threw in the general directions of their seizuresprites are directly affecting the final boss. NOTHING COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG HERE EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE

I don’t see the problem here.  Nothing the kids could possibly put in those sprites could be at all unsettling or dangerous.

haa haa.  hee hee.  hoo hoo.

Her face is so weird though It’s Jaspers-shaped, and her eyes are constantly narrowed, I can’t even tell whether it’s in distaste or amusement

Why not both?

Andrew sure is proud of that hand’s close-up She’s not even dramatically pointing she’s literally just saying “yeah I dunno anything about that kinda shit you best go down there and ask my pretty princess, I mean, subordinate”

It is a pretty great hand, honestly.  I think this particular image gets called back to a few more times yet.

Yeah Rose! You go and fulfill your as of yet unclear vaguely Seering-related destiny

Yeah, Rose!  Get on that, maybe!

ROSE NO YOU ARE 13 THAT IS GONNA TASTE AWFUL TO YOU Heh I legitimately don’t know whether her mom would be proud of or disappointed in her if she could see her now Is this an act of defiance or emulation Just silly teenage antics, probably, but I’d like to think she misses her

Rooooooose Rose nooooooooooooooooo （ ´ω｀） Ehehe I love how the artstyle turns super silly to reflect how upset/surprised she is

These two panels constitute one of the most iconic funny moments in the comic.  It works really well.  Shoot, I should have done the post topper-edit based on these, huh?  Oh, well.  The one I already did took like four hours, mostly due to my extreme rustiness, so I’m not going back now.

Otherwise, I also like to think of Rose missing her mom here.  Maybe not admitting it to herself, but still.  I also still ascribe to the “everything Mom ever did was 110% unironic, Rose made up the whole passive aggressive conflict between them in her head, her mom wasn’t passive agressive she was just a bonkers drunk rich lady” headcannon that I think I spoke about ages ago in this very liveblog.

Anyway, yeah, this is both a hilarious joke and a fantastic little character moment for Rose.  Another contributing factor to Rose being my big early favorite with a seemingly insurmountable head start in the ‘best character’ race.

Actually, lately, since the end of the comic, she’s been gaining ground again for me?  I mean, one of the trolls definitely surpassed her for most of my Homestuck fan life, but... eh, whatever.  There’s no way I can getting into how my feelings about those characters developed over the comics life without being way more spoilery than even I’ve already been, so that kind of talk will have to wait for later.  Even if later means ‘years from now’ or ‘never’.

BOO FUCKING YAH, IT’S THE WHITE QUEEN Or Windswept Questant, for now She’s also as of yet uncorrupted by the kids’ silly sprite shenanigans

Lobac had been waiting for this reveal for a while, I think.

PM: Command John to put the carved tablet into a pyxis.

You follow the command telling you to command John to put the carved tablet in the pyxis and type, “John, put the carved tablet into the pyxis.” You successfully do that, and he successfully does that too. Everyone is friendly and cooperative.

Ah yes, you so rarely get this kind of friendly cooperation from narrators these days

It was a rather uncommonly tidy sequence, for this comic.

Shit I just remembered those typing hands we saw when trying to name Jack, the reader is like a physically present entity??? Maybe???

What prompted this thought?  The earlier black queen hand image hanging in your head, then a bit about narrators entering text, and that old bit just pops up?  It’s cool how brains work, making intuitive connections and all that.

What if we eventually zoom out to reveal a human exile commanding everyone. We’ve only been watching that human mess around up until now. The real story begins when they just suddenly go “whelp that was kinda fun. gotta look for food tho” at an incredibly dramatic moment.They turn away from the console.  And then we watch them slump through the desert for thousands of pages and their journey of introspective self-discovery is the actual story. Yes.

Shit, Lobac just predicted the whole narrative!  No point in continuing this liveblog, I guess.  “[#P%]t

Well, obviously this means that WV has an uncanny knack for distances and PM has one for sounds AR can probably track down crimes by their scent He’s like McGruff the Crime Dog, but a little less fluffy

I used to love McGruff the Crime Dog.  Until I grew up and realized he was a tool of THE MAN.

dear gOD SHE REALLY IS PUTTING JACK IN DRESSES (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ He and Slick are basically the same person, right? Oh man he is gonna stab the shit out of her one of these days

~{%|%}~

Jack Noir, more like JACK NO. NO YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OUT THERE MURDERING PEOPLE AND FROLICKING THROUGH THE STREETS WITH YOUR ASSHOLE CREW. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS IS PATHETIC o(`д´ ｡)

I’d say this is a “be careful what you wish for” moment, but I think Lobac knew exactly what she was doing here.

Ticket? Oh, this thing. Ha, ha, look at that, you are holding a ticket. How did that get in your hand? It belongs on the desk with the others. No, you are not here to pay a parking ticket. You explain to the frightening man that you are here to pick up that green parcel.

GIVE ME A C! GIVE ME A U! GIVE ME A T AND I AND E! sheeEEEE’S A CUTIE!!!!

Honestly, they’re all cuties.  the cuteness of the entire cast, even the villains mostly, in both visual depiction and personality, really is a big selling point of the whole comic.

There was a time when I wasn’t super into cute things.  I was never viscerally opposed to cuteness, never when through a virulently anti-girly-stuff phase, but these days I’m MUCH more into things being cute.  I just like cute characters!  Sure, I like things that are somber and spooky, but the best is when they’re somber and spooky AND super cute!

Like, Hollow Knight.  That whole game is like exactly my favorite aesthetic these days.  Sad and morose and dark and adorable.

But more often than not homestuck still comes pretty close to that ideal.  You just want to hug the shit out of all of these doofuses, a few stab wounds here or there be damned.  Speaking of stab wounds...

WHOOPS TENSION. THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT. I DO NOT ACTUALLY WANT YOU TO START KILLING PEOPLE OK

Maybe Lobac didn’t know what she was asking for earlier.

Wait, the crowns, what the fuck, he wants her to KILL THE KING AND QUEEN??? SHE’S JUST A MAIL LADY ヾ(´･-･｀)ノ”

How does he even know she’s desperate enough to kill people just to get one package?

The PARCEL MISTRESS departs with her mission of double agency. You wonder if she’ll actually be so foolish as to attempt to uphold her end of the lopsided bargain. You make a policy of handing out a REGISWORD and a HITLIST to just about everyone who enters your office. But you never think anyone’s actually going to GO THROUGH with it. 

What a phenomenal asshole That explains that

pretty much.  As for the box itself...

Yeeeeah you’re not actually gonna show me so, go ahead, taunt me, get it over with

PFFFFPFPFPFPFFF WHAT SOMETHING COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS APPARENTLY? NOT AS RIDICULOUS AS HIS FACE THO. Magnificent asshole cutie

Hahah, \[&P%]/

Anyway, at this point the action cuts back to the kids, and that seems a good a time as any to take a break.  I could just save this as a draft and finish the rest of lobac’s post later?  I mean, then I wouldn’t have to take extra time for another panel edit?  But I kind of want to post something now, so I guess well do this one in parts again.  part 2 scheduled for, let’s be ambitious and say may 2022

How did I ever use to have the time for this blogging shit?  I’ve been working on this for like six hours, and only got like a third of the way through one update?  I guess I was just younger then.

I’m so old now.  Time just gets away from me.

And my back hurts all the time.

[cometeclipsewriting]

Strowlers

Season 1: Episode 1

Chapter 5

AO3 Link

Summary: In a world where magic is both real and illegal, a librarian tries to help protect a young girl discovering her powers, while her girlfriend makes a device that helps to find unregistered magic users.

Full video episode can be found for free here!

“So why us?” The black man asked, one elbow braced on his leg. A pair of worn dog tags swayed as he leaned forward, his chunky scarf wrapped tight around his neck against the cool of the summer night. “We are just a group of old friends sitting around a campfire.” He said easily, the flames alighting the assortment of comrades. One woman’s eyebrows twitched up and smoothed away. “Telling stories and singing songs.” As if in response, the young man with the guitar who had been singing softly dropped his voice and stopped strumming.

“Yeah,” Whit replied, also looking at the small group, “But,” she hunched in, her voice lowering. “You’re more than that. I mean… don’t you…” She flared her hands beneath her blanket, spreading her fingers and wiggling them.

“Hey, lady,” The guitar player interjected. “Don’t you know that’s illegal?”

Whit looked askance at him, confused.

“Oh, course she knows,” the older woman interjected, amusement in her voice. She reached out a hand, and with a snap of her fingers, a sparkling light sphere rose a few inches from her fingertips.

Whit’s mouth opened in wonder, delight in seeing real magic transporting her back to a simpler time. Oh, how she wished she had this gift! She had always hoped that it would manifest, but she was much too old now. Oh, she knew the dangers, the risk of being collared. All that still didn’t mean there wasn’t a part of her who longed for it. The pinkish purple drew the eye, captivating. She knew most magic could not be seen but more something felt by other magic users. She hadn’t known that there had been magic occurring in her library that morning, but the A.R.C. agents had once they were close enough. And when they had bust in, it had exploded into physical manifestation. Wind, leaves, the chaos.

But this, this was manifest to be visible. So that she could see it. Specifically for her.

The other woman looked at her friend sternly, disapprovingly. Their leader also looked wary but the rest of the circle was laughing. “Oops,” the woman said with false contrition, chuckling and letting the magic retreat, their merriment lifting Whit’s mood.

The leader’s next question took her back to the seriousness of why she was here. “What’s the range on this tracking device?”

Shaken, Whit fumbled for an answer. “Uh, I don’t know?” She knew almost nothing about it.

“Can you find out?”

All levity faded. “You mean spy on my girlfriend?” Right now, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be in the same room as Amanda. But… she still loved her. Spying felt all sorts of wrong.

“You wanna help this girl? This Nikki?” He tilted his head, looking at her hard, gauging her responses. “You wanna help people with unfocused magic?”

“Yeah,” Whit breathed out, and started to shake her head. “But I thought…” Well, she wasn’t sure what she had thought. These people, Strowlers, they had magic! Couldn’t they do… something? “If there are people who aren’t registered, who’ve trained themselves, who can do things like I saw in the library? Then why not stand up to the government and fix it?”

All the circle made various expressions of pain, despair, sadness. Obviously, they had lost before.

The young man spoke up, “Oh you mean like, drop the whole fairy godmother bomb?” Sarcasm was prevalent in his every word.

Whit sat back, irritated with him and the faint laughter that rose from his friends. She worked her mouth, preventing herself from snapping at them. So maybe she had thought they could do something like that. Surely they could if they wanted to.

“Whit,” their leader laughed out, “There is no charmed weapons cash. We can’t go in wands blazing against the entire might of the United States Government.” Archanologists were everywhere, in all corners of society. And although A.R.C. was not technically affiliated with the government, Whit had seen just today how much control they truly had. The authorities would do whatever was told of them.

“But-“ She tried to say, but he continued.

“Plus,” He said firmly, “Do you really think we could pull this girl from her mother and carry her off?” He squinted at her as she absorbed that question.

“I’m not sure exactly what I thought,” She confessed, slumping into herself, heartsick. She supposed she had thought she could just tell these people about Nikki, and they would handle it from there. “But I know this tracker is a big deal.” She looked them all in the eyes, and she saw the humor leaving them.

The woman who had made the magic sphere turned to the leader. “Josiah,” she finally gave Whit a name in this secretive group. “Once that device is calibrated,” she said, her voice scratchy, “A.R.C. will be able to locate any of us.” The other woman put her hand over her mouth, the young man finally losing his cocky attitude. Josiah studied his friends, their steady quiet and fear. Whit realized that they lived with this every day, their worry about being discovered. As adults who had hidden their magic their whole lives, A.R.C. would brand them criminals. And they would be burned with little care to the outcome, exploited if they retained usefulness or cast aside completely.

When Josiah looked back to the woman speaker, she met his gaze, a steady, confident look. One Josiah shared. Whit felt a tingle race down her spine at that look. A decision had just been made.

Josiah held out a flat hand to the black woman, waiting expectantly. She recoiled slightly, staring at his hand, then at him. When he didn’t retreat, her face took on a resigned cast, and she reached down to a bag resting next to her.

“When you begin a story, it’s time to finish it.” The black woman slapped the cards into his hand, obviously not agreeing with whatever decision he had made. Josiah continued, his words precise and deliberate, a story in its own way. “You are going to pick a card.” Whit looked beneath her lashes. Pick a card? Like in a magician’s fake magic trick? Josiah shuffled the deck. “Only one rule though, whatever card you pick, you must find a way to incorporate it back into the story you just told us.”

Whit was thoroughly unimpressed, doing everything she could to prevent herself from rolling her eyes. What were they playing at here? She had come to them for help, and they were acting like this was a huge deal. But they wanted her to play a kid’s little story game? “What, like, make it up?” She was not here for this.

“Make it better. More right,” he explained, “You’ll know what to do.”

“But what about what really happened?” Playing pretend wasn’t going to fix this issue.

“Who says things have to be real to be true?” His eyes held hers, a faint smile on his lips. “You and I both know how many sides a story can take in its telling.” That rang with her; she did know. As a librarian, she read the evidence of that first hand.

Josiah fanned out the cards, leaning forward to offer them to her. “Draw,” he commanded, making this a significant occasion. One to be treated reverently.

Still unconvinced, Whit rolled her eyes and sighed as she leaned forward and slipped a card free. Yet, even she could feel the tension the circle radiated.

She looked down on it and felt all the built-up mysticism collapse for her. It was a picture of Josiah and this trashcan fire. The card was called The Storyteller, a numerical number eight at the top. In the card Josiah was standing, his hands raised as if he were gesturing in some grand tale. The trashcan had a strange labyrinthian symbol painted on it, one she thought she may have seen before, but was not on the real trashcan. A continuous line started in the middle and dropped to the outside of the design, looping back and forth inside itself as it got closer and closer to circle the center before leaving the pattern. It felt complete in a way, but confusing. And that was it. No secret, no real help. Irritation rose, and she flipped it around to show the group.

They all flinched, some expressing disbelief, while others wary acceptance. Whit shook her head at the momentous reaction to some stupid card. “I don’t get it.”

Josiah pressed his lips together tightly, staring at the card. He clicked his mouth open and leaned into the light, seeming to pick his words carefully before he continued. “Every story is a labyrinth.” He held up the deck of cards, showing her the same design that was on the card’s trashcan was printed on the back of the deck as well. “You begin a journey to the center, then wind your way out of it and end up somewhere new. But while you are in the center, you have a chance to change things.”

Whit looked at the card in her hand and saw that it was not quite the same as the design on the back. The card in her hand had a Shepherd's hook at the start and finish, while the design on the back started and finished with complete circles. Why the difference? And what did he mean, while in the center of a story you have the chance to change things? “How?”

“The best fictions are the ones surrounded by truth.” Whit just looked at him, confused and irritation.

The woman who had showed her the magic chimed in. “And the right story,” She whispered, stars in her eyes, “Can change the world.”

Goosebumps rippled down Whit’s arms. She slowly licked her lips, staring at the fire. She also knew that. Had seen books and stories changed everything. But her telling one around a campfire to a tiny group of people? She raised her gaze, colliding with the power of Josiah’s eyes. “Once upon a time…” He slowly started for her, leaving the words hanging for her to continue. So, she took a breath, rolled her eyes, raised the card she had drawn, and started her story again.

***

“Hi!” Whit said, looking at the black man in a warm scarf, shabby coat and dog tags who was looking around the Collaborative as if he had never seen the place before, a slightly startled look in his eyes. “Can I help you?” She nodded her head towards the table next to her. “Cup of coffee?”

He stared at her for a moment before nodding his head, “Please.” She turned and poured him a cup, using a blue ceramic camping mug she hadn’t known they had.

The man looked around enthusiastically, taking in all the different activities packed into the space. As she handed the mug to him, a patron came up and asked her, “Do we have another, uh-“ In this story, Whit already knew what he wanted.

“Looking for another power strip? Check the cooking class,” and she directed him to the wall with all the spare gadgets. She rolled back to her desk in time to see Amanda open the door. The black man stepped out of Amanda’s way, moving around her as Amanda set the take out down onto the counter.

Whit stood as she had before, communicating with her girlfriend silently. The man moved to Amanda’s side, looking at her intently. He waved one hand in front of Amanda’s face, jerking Whit from the eye contact. But Amanda didn’t see him. Whit blinked, surprised. “Oooh,” Josiah breathed, pointing between the two women. “I see.”

This wasn’t how the conversation had gone. She lightly shook her head, trying to get back to how it had happened. Across the space, the computer sparked, a flame leaping to life. Suddenly Josiah stood behind the computer and slowly passed his hand over the fire. The flame lifted away and vanished. The same patron who now carried a power cord told her, “All good. Fire’s out.” The little group laughed as they had before, not observing the man who had just used magic to make the flames disappear. Whit focused on telling the story.

Soon, Whit and Amanda were nestled on the couch. Only this time, Josiah sat in the chair next to the couch, looking through her bag. Amanda told her, “They said end it.”

“The hell,” Whit lifted her hand from Amanda’s hair, “They have no right to dictate what they do with your own time.”

Amanda continued from Whit’s memory, “The people who pay for my training-“ But this time, her attention turned to where Josiah pulled out her little compact, opening it up and staring at it. Whit made a face at him, incredulous that he was just blatantly going through her things.

“You know what’s funny here?” Josiah spoke to the mirror. “She doesn’t see me. Then, she doesn’t see you either.” Whit frowned and looked at Amanda, who was continuing as if nothing had changed. Still talking about archanologists having to grow up. “Take a look,” Josiah held out the mirror to her, the symbol of her ritual. The one she did every time things got out of control. She would stare into a mirror and collect herself, serious and hidden within.

She reached out a hand and took it from him, her reflected brown eyes darkened. “You smile,” he continued, “but you don’t let anyone in.” Whit dropped the mirror and looked away, irritated that he was judging her. “Don’t let anyone see the messed-up girl behind the charm.”

Whit snapped the mirror closed and bit out, “Why are you psychoanalyzing me?” She handed the compact back to him.

“I’m not doing anything,” he told her, flipping it over and over in his fingers. “You’re the storyteller here.”

Whit burst up off the couch, “That’s bull, and you know it.” She had timed it exactly as it had happened in real life, but the words and actions were to something else. She strode away, as she had done before.

Josiah drawled, “Don’t trust anybody, and they won’t let you down huh?” He looked to where Amanda settled against the couch, a knowing look in his eyes.

Whit frowned, caught between this new narrative and the old. “What are you gonna do with your research?” She asked Amanda, following the script.

“What are you gonna do when you end up alone?” Josiah asked her, voicing a question she hadn’t ever wanted to ask herself. But it was one she had pushed down and hidden when she had wondered earlier in the night. When Amanda had made it sound like she was breaking things off with her. Now the conversation with Amanda froze, the one with Josiah seeming to have made a pocket of time that existed outside of it. The question she had scarcely allowed herself to think kept her from continuing the original conversation.

Was Whit the storyteller here? Or was Josiah somehow asking the exact right questions as she was telling her tale? Josiah rubbed his fingers over the design etched into the compact, staring at her. “If they only know what you show them…” he trailed off and held up her mirror, raising his eyebrows knowingly.

Whit shook her head and whispered, confused and a little scared, “It’s just a compact.”

Josiah raised his eyebrows again, his question not needing to be said allowed. Is that really all it is? The silence stretched for a long moment, potent with the unasked words.

Josiah broke it by asking, “What does Nikki need right now?”

The jump in thought made Whit’s brows furrow, made her lick her lips and consider the question. “If they are going to catch her and I can’t stop it?” Josiah made an agreement noise. Whit thought for a moment more and said, “She is going to need to be strong.” She thought of all those who changed after they were burned. The husks of people mechanically doing what they were told to do, or those who were burned so badly they could do nothing. Of Nikki’s father. “To retain who she is no matter what they do to her.”

Josiah looked at her closely. “And who’s the expert at putting up walls?” He asked her slowly, pointedly.

The questions sunk into Whit, altered her in a way she wasn’t sure of.

Just then, the conversation with Amanda clicked back into play. “This isn’t some fairytale,” Amanda bit out, shifting Whit slowly back to what had happened. “This is about saving people here, in the real world.” What was the difference between a fairytale and real life when it was all a story?

Josiah shifted in his seat, looking at Amanda. “Is that really what you think archanology is doing?” Whit asked softly, disbelieving.

“Yes. I damn well do think that.” Amanda punched out, every line of her rigid with the strength of her conviction.

Whit felt Josiah’s eyes on her again, but she just shook her head at Amanda. “Who are you?” She backed up and collected her jacket.

“Whit!” Amanda bit out, disbelieving. “Wait!”

Whit spun around as she had before, but this time was… different. She wasn’t angry anymore. She was sad. How had she failed to reach this coldness in Amanda? How had she missed the signs of this fervency? Or was it more likely she had just ignored them? Her philosophy of not asking questions so others wouldn’t ask questions about her. If she hadn’t walled away her emotions, and avoided all potential conflict, could they have talked about this? Discovered a way for Amanda to soften and see just what archanology was taking away from people?

Whit shook her head, looking to where Josiah still sat and played with her compact, drawing her eyes to it. No more walls, no more hiding her truth away in a mirror. “I need some space,” she told Amanda, voice trembling slightly. Amanda’s attitude changed from indignation, softening and confused. “I do love you, but I feel like we are lost in the woods without a compass.” She stepped toward Josiah and he offered up her bag.

Whit slung it over her shoulder and stared at Amanda, shaking her head slightly. This was strange, this whole conversation taking on a new cast and feel. She needed to think about, think it through.

Behind her, Amanda shut parted lips, her eyes fluttering as she looked down, expression changing to something Whit couldn’t decipher.

Whit closed the door to the Collaborative in her story. A sudden flash of her drawing the card from Josiah’s deck played in her mind, and then she opened her eyes to life.

It was morning. Pre-dawn. The sky a blue bright enough to see. She was where she had sat, wrapped in the blanket she had been in last night. Only this time she was alone. The trashcan fire was burnt to ash, the stumps where the group, the Strowlers, had been arranged were still in a circle but lacked any signs that they had been occupied at all.

She stood and threw off her blanket, confused. Had she fallen asleep somehow? And they had just left her? Or maybe she had had a mental breakdown after leaving Amanda in anger, thought she had found Strowlers, but in fact just wandered here and fallen asleep?

No. She looked down at the card in her hand. The Storyteller, the labyrinth. It had all happened, but nothing had changed. And somehow it was the next morning.

Whit looked up, and saw the main A.R.C. building in Seattle, framed through power lines and cargo cranes. Whit firmed her jaw. Her little foray into pretend hadn’t done anything. She had to get to work and figure out what to do to help Nikki.

Angrily she crossed her jacket tighter and started walking the miles she needed to cross. Looking down at the card she held, the design on the trashcan, she huffed out a breath and shook her head. What a waste of a night. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it to the side and continued to walk to the library.

[eris0330]

Hiraeth - Five

☽Pairing☾ ; BTS | Reader

☽Genre☾ ; Angst | Fluff

☽Word Count☾ ; 1.7k

☽Summary☾ Returning back to Korea after years of being under the ground, to see your parents. You wished it was all it took, to feel complete again. The aftermath of confusion, betrayal and sorrow was the reason to never come back into the boys presents. But it wasn’t until, seeing one them enter the same cafe, at the right time.

☽M. List☾ ;  1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 [ongoing]

-----------

"You're lying"

"Why would I lie about such a thing?"  

"Because it's you, Jisu. That's why." Wonho snickered in defence, standing up to watch the smirk grow on the women at his couch. His head ringing and banging as the memories returned of your last moments together, as a couple.  

"Because you were such a good boyfriend yourself-" Jisu spat, hitting right in the chest of Wonho. His stupidity to mess around with the enemy, and yet, even without your presence, he continues. "-The presents... late night phone calls with her... while you were right beside Soomi in bed, snuggled and cuddled together under the same blanket of mischief? Right?" Jisu continued to add on, while the feeling of confidence over washed by his grief and regret. The overpowering feel, of doing something so wrong, that the addiction to not get caught became too big.  

"To be fair, I don't get why she would break up with you... frankly, she wasn't any better herself" His eyes, larger and wider than before, sensing the way Jisu's aura changed from calm to bossy. Turning on his heel to lean against the cabinet, folding him arms to protect himself for whatever words would fall out of her mouth.  

"What are you talking about?" There was something inside his head, yelling him to stop. But his need to know about his ‘non-existent’ girlfriend's secret, were too sweet to not taste it. Jisu seemed pleased to catch his ears once more, like she used to do. Her legs crossed in a fine x, to prove the point of dominance.  

"I heard a little bird, that Y/N and Jimin shared a kiss on a lonely night in a hotel room...-" She whispered, but sounded like shouting in Wonho's ears. The truth of your behaviour around the boys, gave a shiver down his spine, that it didn't seem surprising to him at this point. "Some says, they even shared the same neat bed, to cause a mess together"  

A kiss, would be innocent for him, but he knew how easily lust could be involved when lips collided together. That's how you two started the relationship in a frustration of loss, care and loneliness. The feel of each other's bodies so close, and your souls matching like no other. But the thought of your warm body underneath the man of another, gave Wonho a sour taste. He knew how close you were to the boys, but you always assured him that nothing went on.  

"Was this when I was with her?" An open question, that not even himself wanted an answer to. But he knew, that he needed answers, whether he liked it or not. Jisu gave another smile, before standing up to meet his dark gaze underneath his bangs. Her fingers trailing along his tense muscles, to only shrug in the attempt of getting him fired up. It was the same tension, that even started the whole ride of kisses, moans and unforgivable actions. Could he blame you? For letting his guard down so easily, for a tempting woman like Soomi and Jisu. He should feel disgusted, to spend time with the ones who hurt you so deeply. To see your tears, and fear after every event that came. The way he used the word 'love' so easily, to make you blush of his own foolish act, to believe you were only his. It didn't make sense, to why he wasn't feeling that type of regret. What he did, was a part of his life. To never be bound, to one person. But to Wonho, it didn't matter if he were sharing his body to others. As long, you didn't with the group who only fueled your smile brighter than he could.  

"Does anyone else know she's here?" To separate the lips between sinful people, he couldn't bear the thought you were maybe, only a few metres away. To see you, to feel you, to be a part of your life, once more. To restore, what he broke. Jisu's eyes glared, but felt soft and sorrowful. She wasn't afraid to let Wonho believe a lie, whether it was the truth or not. But she loved seeing him suffer, and come to her embrace when everything came to an end. It’s the type of high, she couldn't let go.  

"Maybe? Who knows. Maybe she's back in Jimin's arms again." She sang, as the feel of Wonho's hands pushing her away from the spontaneous act. His body disappearing out of the exit, to only leave her confident body alone in his room. As they both knew, they would always find each other, right there.  

----------

"Do we really have to...?" Namjoon questioned, looking into the dark room from the hallway and the boys surrounding in a circle. The silhouette of a bed and other important furniture and the creek of moonlight shining through.  

"Someone has to. Besides, it's been like 4 years since we cleaned in there, or even more? Who knows how many times she even got herself to clean it?" Jin responded with a duster in his hands, while the light flickered on to show the feminine white bedroom come to view. Your red bed sheets and scattered clothes on the floor, with the framed picture of them all aligning the walls. It was exactly, like you left it. A twisted stomach, to the thought of either invading your privacy, or the fact that they had to face something they ignored for so long.  

"What if... we find something in there?" Taehyung added to the Pandora's box, to make their eyebrows raise in confusion and share a look in between. Scratching the back of his neck, while scanning the overview of exhaustion and personalised decorations threatening tears to fall. "You know... like... hidden stuff..." He finished, making Jin giggle lightly, while the idea of your dirty personality come to surface in the moment of being vulnerable.  

"She's not into dirty magazines... I think" Hoseok answered back, being the first to walk in. The dust around him, already tickling his nose to open the blinds. The moon merging with the light above, to add a different aura.

“I think she’s the type to read erotic novels or watch porn online” Namjoon explained bluntly, to ease the moment to bring a smile before bringing the guts to enter. It was warm, sweet and it felt like home. A place, they never thought they would feel again as they all walked in. You were lucky enough to get the biggest room, despite being the only female. But there was something about the idea, that you needed the space to feel like a woman, around the pack of testosterone.  

"Is that...?" Jungkook pointed towards a black leather strap peeking underneath the bed, with wide shocked eyes as the boys followed his finger. Their positions frozen, before Yoongi had the guts to pull it out in curiosity. The straps turning to be a body garter with clear worn out streaks following the expensive fabric.  

"Oh right!" Hoseok blurted out, zoning out of the shock to take the garter in his own hands. His eyes lighting up, to confuse the other members who clearly couldn't understand his excitement. "It's from that era! She wore this, like five times to music shows until we changed the style again" He explained with a fond smile, remembering how you were complaining about the way you could barely get it on, without breaking anything. It took you longer than expected, and always asked for Hoseok's help whenever you were in the waiting room. He didn't know why you asked him, but something made him feel grateful to be the one to do it for you. The boys vocalising an admiration and remembrance of that one era, that the fans were wilding over. But the numerous scandals, were enough to make the stylists change. Taehyung clapped his hands, to get everyone's attention once again.  

"Well, we won't ever get to clean this room if we don't start now." He commented, making Jin start his dusting and the boys following along. The scattered clothes piled into a mountain, and making sure that everything was going to be washed, whether it was used or not. Their bodies stopping from time to time, finding themselves holding onto a piece of memory in their hands. The door bell ringing loudly late evening, making them wonder who it could be. Their shared stares, confirmed no one expected guests at this time around.  

"I'll get it" Jimin spoke, as the first words since the cleaning began. He couldn't get himself to touch any of your stuff, like you were right beside him. To tell him the tiny stories, of how you got a scar, a gift or even just plain conversations between close friends. He was never over the fact you were gone, to never share the dark secrets within and had to close off from the others. Jimin knew he could tell the members, but there was also a fear, that no one would understand. His hands embracing the cold door handle, to see a familiar face appear. The dark locks surrounding the expression of confusion and grief, the smell of booze urging his nostrils before a pair of hands grabbed Jimin's collar.  

"Did you sleep with Y/N while we were together?!" The furious anger in Wonho's eyes, and strength pressing Jimin against the wall as the height difference didn't make it easier. There were a type of fear burning from Jimin’s eyes, but more of all, confusion.  

"What are you talking about??" Jimin spoke firmly, making the boys run to rescue. Frozen at the scene of two men, but even shocked at the appearance of Wonho in their entrance. His eyes blood shot, an liquor smell arousing the room he entered. His hands holding harshly onto the shirt’s collar, as the fury grew bigger. His raspy voice echoing in their ears, as he screamed to understand it all. To understand himself.  

"Don't fucking play with me kid...-" He laughed manically but exhausting, pushing harder at the shocked man in front. The tiny yelps and clothes stretching at the fists of Wonho's hands. The members around, watching the scene unfold and confused to whether what was going on. His gritted teeth blinding at the dim lights, of the anger that could explode to another level like a bomb.  

"-When I dated her. Did you and Y/N kiss-...? Did you, or did you not fuck each other in a hotel room...?!"

[miscolliding-planets]

Chapter 5: Another Galaxy

Eight(8) months later...

"Which shoots are booked for this next couple of weeks?" I asked the staff as I entered the meeting room.

"We have Bodie, of the KPop group GRITZ, flying in 2 days from now for his solo interview and photoshoot," Monica, my secretary relayed. "The next day, he will be coming back for another shoot and interview but for a different magazine, this time with Iain Yoon of Paradigm along with Blake Harithai. Oh, it will also be a street shoot," she continued. "Three days after that, Taylor Thanee booked a studio while Iain Yoon will also come for a music video shoot in one of our other studios," she fired again.

"About that..." I interrupted Melanie, "Which studios will they be using?" I asked.

"Mr.  Vajarodaya only requested for a small studio so we decided to place him on studio 1. Mr. Yoon asked for a large space where 'a greenhouse-like set' can be set up, that's why we gave him studio 3," Melanie instantly responded as she looks through her planner. "Mr. Vajarodaya also said that he will be bringing his own crew," she continued.

"How many people is on his crew?" I asked as I also checked schedule on my calendar.

"He said there will only be 10 people that will be working with him," she answered after checking.

"Right. Please make sure that they properly go through admitting procedures and keep to the guidelines," Melanie noted it on her page as she hums her acknowledgement. "What about equipment? Do we have to provide any?" I also checked with Melanie.

"We'll be providing his lighting equipment and the basic props for his set," Melanie relayed as she hands me the shoot briefs.

"Did he specify any specific light he requires? What props are needed for his set?" I asked, genuinely curious as I check the list that is on the brief.

"He wanted lamps, a wooden chair, a large wooden crate box, and a wooden ladder. As for studio lights, he needs four, with 2 of them being colored. He said he will also need a set of reflectors," she read off the list that she is also holding.

"What about the backdrop? Did he not require specific colors or textures?" I asked as I need more elaborate details since I did not see it on the brief.

Melanie checked only on her copy and was appalled that this bit was not included. "I will ask his side for more details," she assured me as she goes through her planner for the contact detail she needs.

"Get their reply, ASAP," I told Melanie as she started composing a message. I turned to the other people on the room," Danny and Gene, please make sure that all props, lighting, monitors and all other equipment are ready the day before the shoot," I addressed my tech team.

"Yes, Ma'am," they nodded their head as they go over each of the briefs for the list of needed equipments.

"Please make sure that each of the props are in place at least a few hours before the shoot begins, if not a day early," I addressed the art team next. "I need every detail of the set to be ready so we can start the shoots without a hitch. If you need anything--some help or whatnot--tell me as soon as it comes up, okay?" I demanded for their affirmation.

"Yes, ma'am," both Ares and Collette answered.

"Melanie, please also check the dressing rooms and see if they had been clean at least a few hours before the shoot starts," I interrupted Melanie's typing again.

"Sure, ma'am," she affirmed and went back to composing her message.

Remembering that the main dressing room for studio 3 is being renovated, I paused. "We're half-way through renovations on studio 3's dressing room, right?" I asked, "and, studios 1 and 3 connected by a single dressing room?" I added, not waiting for any of their responses.

"Yes, Ma'am," Melanie absent-mindedly answered.

Putting the shoot brief down, I turned to all of them. "When will the renovations end? Is there still a long way to go?"

"They had just started gutting the walls and floors after tearing down most of the existing walls. There is still a few weeks left before it can be finished according to Manny," Ares relayed.

"Is the shared dressing room big enough for the two teams to work?" I wondered.

"I heard that Paradigm will also only be working with a small team that is why we also asked if they don't mind sharing the dressing room and they agreed," Colette reassured me.

I nodded in satisfaction and began going through the shoot briefs for the main shoots as Melanie finishes composing the messages that she needs to send out, needing to go over the briefs and check each detail. Finding some key points that seem vague, I encircled some of the details that I needed to clarify. Melanie finished composing her drafts and picked up the shoot briefs that need to be gone over. I finished going over the various papers in my hand and went back to the brief for Bodie's solo shoot.

"I see that Christina's going to be Bodie's make-up artist," I pointed as I looked at the paper in my hand. I deemed it most important to address as she did not have a great track record when working with our projects, "Just please make sure that she's not gonna act up and will actually follow the concept and plan," I instructed. "Collette, please explain the concept of styling for the shoots," I started the discussion.

For Bodie's shoot, the styling puts emphasis on everyday men's fashion. So, most of the pieces are versatile, fashionable pieces that can be worn day-to-day. The outer wear ranges from colorful, artsy pieces with bold prints and designs to structured coats and blazers with unique details that can be worn in corporate settings. On the other hand, the group shoot's styling will be centered around grunge-y, street fashion. The pieces of clothing that will be used are also trendy and versatile that everything can be worn day-to-day.  I only had to interrupt a few times since I needed clarification on the points that I encircled.

I was very satisfied with the presentation and just had to emphasize on the importance of communicating with the artists' respective styling teams. This is to prevent getting clashes of various kinds. Communication is imperative since some of these artists are in exclusive endorsement contracts which prevents them from wearing certain brands. I don't want to face disputes and lawsuits regarding breach of contracts or whatnots. The meeting ended with a reminder to everyone to thoroughly check on their respective tasks so that we can proceed with the projects smoothly. I also asked Monica to send me the message drafts she composed so I can check on them.

Everyone exit the room as soon as the meeting ended to rush to their respective departments and get started on their tasks. I gathered all the papers and briefing notes and placed them inside my notebook for safe keeping. I walked out of the meeting room and went back to my office. Rebooting my laptop from its sleep, I went on to put down the schedules. I also jotted down the most important tasks that needs to be double checked on sticky notes. It's so that I will be reminded of each task regularly. I also checked my emails and made sure that Monica has sent the drafts I was asking for. After seeing her email and name at the top of the list, I immediately opened the documents attached and get to working on editing and polishing the letters. It only took me a while to edit the pieces since Monica already did a great job on composing them. I immediately sent them back to Monica before standing up and going to the various departments to check on their progress.

3 days later...

I arrived on the set a few hours earlier than scheduled to make sure the sets are properly set up. I brought Apollo with me since I was sure that I will be staying at the studio the whole day. He also boosts the staff morale, relieving their stress in between outfit changes and shoot breaks. Right now, he's resting on a corner to avoid the crowd and be out of the way of all the movement that's happening. I watch as Gene's team setup the spotlights that are on the ceiling while Danny and his assistant, Carl, setup the studio lights. I had Gene test out the spotlights and see if all the colors work. The colored setting will be used for some of the frames. Gene next went on to setting up the monitor screens that will be used.

After making sure that there is no problem with the lights, I went to the dressing room to check on the clothes that Bodie will be wearing for the shoot. I saw Colette's team arranging the various types of clothes on racks that line one wall of the room. It has been arranged by category and color while the shoes are lined on the floor on top of their boxes. I also saw Christina setting up various kinds of makeup and tools on top of the dressing table. I also checked the changing booth to make sure that it is clean and no unwanted, miscellaneous item got lost in there. After the satisfying inspection, I came out to check if Gene was done setting up the monitoring screens. For Bodie's shoot today, he will be working with the up-and-coming photographer Todd Wasart. He's already setting up his camera and laptop, hooking it up onto the monitors with Gene.

I was about to approach Todd when I heard pounding footsteps coming my way. I had turned in time to see Bodie's lanky-yet-muscular body catapulting on me. I put my hands up to soften the blow, if not completely stop Bodie from throwing himself at me. Aside from he's quite heavy though he's thin, there is a discrepancy in height; at least from my part. You see, the man's 178cm in height, he's 5,10". On the other hand, I'm only at a whopping 153cm tall--which is equivalent to 5'0 feet. In other words, I will be smothered by him. Though I tried, my efforts are yet again proven unsuccessful since he managed to put me on a chokehold of a bear-hug.

"Oh, how I miss you, Noona!" he shouted as he laughingly lifts me off the floor.

"BODIE!! PUT. ME. DOWN!" I screeched between labored breath as he continues to hold me so tightly, tapping his shoulder. I looked behind him and saw his manager shoot me an apologetic look, like always. I waved a hello from wherever my hand is trapped and went back to tapping his shoulder, trying to do it harder.

"Nope! You have to tell me that you also miss me," he naughtily taunted as I continued to struggle and try to push myself off him. He smiled at me mischievously and proceeded to tighten his already suffocating chokehold.

"Oh gosh, Bodie! Just let me down. I can't breathe," I screeched again.

He laughed at me but still proceeded to release me from his hold. I punched him on his arm which made him exclaim in pain. "That's what you get for messing with me," I huffed as I fixed my clothes and my hair. Bodie laughed as he soothes the spot I punched. "You better not do that again, jacka**," I tutted.

Apollo came up to us and happily sniffed at Bodie before nudging him to ask for some pets. Bodie happily squatted down to give Apollo pets and hugs as he tells him, "Hey, bud! I missed you, too! Seems like the feeling's not mutual with your mama, though," he laughs.

"Shut up!" I protested as I fixed my hair and my clothes. Bodie just laughed as he continued to pet and play with Apollo. I leaned on the table behind me as I observe them rough house. Apollo is pretty close with Bodie and his group members since he had been around them ever since he was a puppy. I smiled at the sight of them and just let him mess with Apollo a little bit more. I'm certain that they've missed each other.

Apollo walked away from Bodie a few moments later, as if having enough of the rough housing and just wanting to go back to sleep. I laughed at Bodie's bewildered expression. "He says you're no fun anymore," I teased him which made him give me a fake hurt expression, causing me to laugh louder. Bodie stood up and started brushing dust off his knees. "So, you guys did decide not to re-sign with the company..." I opened the topic.

Bodie paused from dusting off his clothes. He looked at me and smiled, albeit sadly. "We had to decide which is a better option for us at the moment," he shrugged as he responded. "It's all good now. We just have to make more time and expend more effort. But, it's a nice start," he proclaimed as he went back to dusting his clothes again. He gave his shoulder one last pat before facing me again. "I'll say hello to the staff and go get my makeup done, now. I'll see you later," he hugged me and strutted to the people scattered all over the studio.

Bodie started going to each staff, giving them his greetings with a bright smile on his face. He came to each and every person he saw and politely said his 'hello's. I  pushed myself off the table and walked out of the studio to the dressing room. Bodie came in a moment later, heading straight to the makeup chair. Christina immediately worked on Bodie as I supervised her work. I just wanted to make sure that she does not overdo anything nor overstep her boundaries by coming up with her own styling plan apart from what we required of her. I'm glad to see that she stuck with what we required of her and styled Bodie the way we want. Colette gave Bodie the first outfit he'll he be wearing and Bodie went on to change. They made a few adjustments and added on accessories to complete the outfit. Bodie gave me one last smile along with a wink--as if telling me that he knows I find him fine--before walking out of the dressing room. I shook my head and strutted out of the room after him.

[lightup0nlight]

قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

(“Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): He is Allah, (the) One.”)

ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ

(“Allah the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need.”)

لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ

(“He begets not, nor was He begotten.”)

وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُ ۥ ڪُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

(“And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.”)

Some of the virtues of Surah Al-Ikhlas:

1. Its value is like reading one third of the Qur’an.

It was narrated that a man heard another man reciting (Surah Al-Ikhlas) “Say: He is Allah, (the) One” repeatedly. The next morning he came to Rasulallah (ﷺ) and informed him about it, as if he thought that it was not enough to recite.

On that Rasulallah (ﷺ) said: "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, this surah is equal to one-third of the Qur'an.” [Sahih Bukhari]

Why is Surah Al-Ikhlas considered one third of the Qur’an? Some scholars said that the Qur’an is made up of three important points: (1) explanations of Allah’s attributes, (2) explanation of His laws, and (3) stories and narrations. Because surah Al-Ikhlas is entirely about the attributes of Allah, scholars therefore said that this is why the surah is considered as one third of the Qur’an. However it does not mean that reading Surah Al-Ikhlas 3 times is equivalent to khatam Al-Qur’an (i.e. finishing the recitation of the entire Qur’an).

2. Rasulallah ﷺ would recite Surah Al-Ikhlas, and he would recite it as a cure (shifaa’), just as he would recite many other suwar of the Qur’an as a cure, because the whole of the Qur’an is a cure.

3. The surah is entirely about the attributes of Allah SWT. The surah gives us the conditions of ilaah (God that is rightful to be worshiped):

i) Allah is Ahad, the One. - Oneness of Lordship (Tawheed Ar-Rububiyyah) - Allah SWT alone has created the universe, and He alone is its Provider and Sustainer, and He has complete ownership and power over His creation. No creature shares His power in creating and managing the universe. - Oneness of Worship (Tawheed Al-Uluhiyyah) - Allah SWT alone is the absolute focus and reason of performing any act of worship by His servants, such as salah, du’a, tawakkul, and all other forms of ‘ibadah. - Oneness of His Names and Attributes (Tawheed Al-Asma wa Sifaat) - Affirming whatever Names and Attributes that Allah has affirmed for Himself, and with whatever His Messenger ﷺ described and named Him within the authentic narrations, without distorting or denying them of their meanings, nor believing them to be similar to His creations.

ii) Allah is As-Samad. He SWT is the Self-Sufficient Rabb. He SWT is above needing sustenance and any type of maintenance / preservation by His creations. But Whom all creatures need and rely on.

iii) Allah SWT is above having children, nor was He begotten. Having children would mean there would be more than one god, but He SWT is the Only One God. And any being that is begotten (born into life) is mortal who will eventually die, because his existence did not exist to begin with. However, Allah SWT is Al-Awwal (The First), He was before anything else was; and He SWT is Al-Aakhir (The Last), He remains when everything else perishes.

iv) There is none co-equal or comparable to Allah SWT. Another teacher of mine gave an example to explain this further. Imagine a super rich guy who has an extremely one-of-a-kind car, there is no other car like his on the entire planet. But at the end of the day, it is still a car. Or perhaps in the future there might be flying transportation that people would say is ‘out of this world’. But despite all the technology and creativity put into making it, they’re still transportation, there's still something that is similar to it. Everything that is created has its similarity; but there is nothing like and remotely similar to Allah SWT.

These are some of the excellence of Surah Al-Ikhlas, explaining Tawheed, the Oneness of Allah SWT. It is mandatory for a believer to uphold his belief in Tawheed, and protect the sanctity and purity of his belief. Consider this ayah and the following ahadith:

And they say: "The Most Gracious (Allah) has begotten a son." Indeed you have brought forth (said) a terrible evil thing. Whereby the heavens are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin. That they ascribe a son to the Most Gracious. But it is not suitable for (the Majesty of) the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. [Maryam 19 : 88-92]

Rasulallah ﷺ said that Allah SWT said: “'The son of Adam tells a lie against Me and he hasn't the right to do so; and he reviles me and he hasn't the right to do so. His telling a lie against Me is his saying that I will not recreate him as I created him for the first time; and his reviling Me is his saying that Allah has begotten children, while I am the self-sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, Who begets not nor was He begotten, and there is none like unto Me." [Sahih Bukhari]

Rasulallah ﷺ also said: “No one, or nothing, is more patient with harmful words he hears than Allah. Verily, they ascribe children to him, yet he gives them wellness and provision.” [Sahih Bukhari]

Allah SWT is angry towards those who ascribe children to Him, and the heavens, earth, and mountains are almost destroyed because of such statement. Allah SWT Himself said that this statement is a reviling and abusive statement towards Him, so how can a Muslim, who believes in the Oneness of Allah, who seeks the ridha and forgiveness of Allah, be so willing to wish or partake such celebrations that revile Him SWT?

This is why the stronger opinion is that we as Muslims cannot wish non-Muslims on their religious celebration days, what more to celebrate altogether, because their celebrations entail everything that is opposite of Tawheed. And anything that is opposite of Tawheed leads to the anger of Allah SWT, Rabbul-’alameen.

However it's important that we adopt tolerance and kindness because this is also part of Islam, part of being a Muslim. We look at the best of examples, and that is Rasulallah ﷺ. He ﷺ was respectful, kind, and just in his interactions with non-Muslims who were kind and non-hostile to the believers. Some of his companions RA would also gift their non-Muslim neighbours.

Tolerance is to accept and respect the difference in beliefs. They have their religions, and we have our own, and each of us practice and preserve his own belief and religion. But living in diversity doesn't mean we join in their festivities. We do not conform to their belief, just as they do not conform to ours.

Insya Allah, we will continue with the next surah in the following post. For the index of suwar that has been covered in this series, please click here. Jazakumullah khayran.

[wellhalesbells]

i’ve been getting a lot of messages lately (and unsurprisingly, considering how unrepentantly i’ve been reblogging stuff from them) from followers asking me for podcast recommendations - and i love getting those so thank you, guys! - and i thought i’d make a masterpost of what i’ve both a) finished and b) enjoyed since i’ve started bingeing them.  and, as an extra added bonus, what has canonical lgbt+ representation (since i know what you guys are into [waggles eyebrows]).

1. the bright sessions

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  this is definitely the first podcast that i’ve fallen in love with as hard as my original gateway podcast: welcome to night vale.  it’s so well-written, the characters well-drawn, the premise fascinating - atypicals, or people with some sort of special ability, in therapy - and it’s such a positive story and experience that i can’t help but feel better on days i listen to it.  it really believes in humanity and that’s such a wonderful thing in this day and age.  plus, the voice acting is killer.

2. eos 10

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  i don’t think it’s been officially confirmed that dr. dalias is, at the very least, bisexual (in fact, the official channels seem to be dancing around it, possibly so as not to spoil anything in the upcoming season), though it’s been hinted at plenty in story.  especially as i don’t know how else you can explain a supposedly “straight” male character getting called out on repeatedly thinking about a naked man during a group mind-link experience.  that aside, it is freaking hilarious.  the premise is doctors in space, one formerly drug-addicted doctor helping to stabilize a currently alcoholic one with amazing side characters including nurse jane johns and levi, a hypochondriac alien and deposed prince who seems to have a personal vendetta against wearing pants.  it’s well-acted, cleverly written and a freaking joy to listen too.  so funny and so smart, i can’t recommend it enough!

3. the penumbra podcast

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  so much queer representation it’s bananas.  this ask the creators got is actually pretty representative of their approach to the show, slyly funny and very gay.  our main character is a genderbending queer private investigator who’s lost his heart head over a sweet-smelling thief with a heart of gold and more aliases than jennifer garner, all set against a noir backdrop.  oh, and on mars.  yeah, you read all of that right.  there are a few awesome side stories as well, including a couple of horror ones (that have no effect on the main juno steel story line, so can be skipped - and the creators are VERY GOOD about warning what’s to come in the episode notes), as well as lesbian outlaws and a disabled knight.  there’s literally nothing not to love.  EXCEPT FOR HOW JUNO STEEL WON’T LET HIMSELF HAVE NICE THINGS.

4. the black tapes

hey, hi, if you’re into horror, suspense, creepery or demons, this is so very much for you.  the premise is that alex reagan, our host, begins a podcast to interview people with interesting professions.  she starts out with dr. richard strand, a paranormal investigator whose mission statement is to debunk all things paranormal.  he even has an institute that offers a one million dollar prize for proof of the paranormal, which he has never even come close to having to part with.  while alex is interviewing him, she comes across a handful of black vhs tapes: the only cases that strand hasn’t been able to definitively solve yet.  the technology to disprove these incidents simply hasn’t come far enough, in his opinion.  needless to say, she never moves on from dr. strand and the mystery of the black tapes.  each episode, alex investigates another of the black tapes and much later on realizes it’s possible that they’re all connected.  oh my god, i almost got chills just writing that, it’s so good, it’s so real, because dr. strand is such a good anchor to reality.  alex will occasionally lose her skeptic’s perspective; dr. strand does not.  and once alex starts experiencing intense insomnia, making you realize your narrator might not be so reliable?  things somehow manage to get even murkier.  i really, really adored this one.  it’s paranormal set in the most normal of normal worlds, only making it that much spookier.  or, alternatively, avoid this like the motherfucking plague.  [curtsies]  if you’re still intrigued, stop after season one.  two, if you can’t find it in yourself to get off the ride any earlier.  ZEUS HELP YOU IF YOU CONTINUE ON, I AM THE OLD MAN AT THE GAS STATION WARNING YOU TO GO BACK BEFORE YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR, ON YOUR HEAD BE IT IF YOU DECIDED NOT TO HEED IT.

5. wooden overcoats

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  okay, well, if you’ve ever watched black books?  this is kind of like black books, aka one of my all-time favorite shows.  rudyard funn is just as incapable and universally disliked as bernard black, which was all well and good when the village of piffling vale (which is very nearly a town, you know!) only had one funeral home to choose from.  unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore.  eric chapman has moved his funeral home right across the street and stolen all the business from rudyard, his embalmer (cum part-owner) and twin sister, antigone, and georgie, their assistant.  to add insult to injury, he’s charming and universally adored by everyone except those at funn funerals.  very british, very ridiculous, and very funny!  WE GET THE BODY IN THE COFFIN IN THE GROUND ON TIME.  (well, like that one time they did.  [coughs])

6. ars pardoxica

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  i listened to this one pretty slowly, for me.  it’s very much plot over character, at least in my opinion.  which is fair since there’s quite a lot of plot and set dressing to establish.  we’re following (dr.) sally grissom, a scientist from the twenty-first century who accidentally creates time travel and ends up stuck back in the 1940s.  think a bombs and eisenhower.  it was always interesting, and the paradoxes created by the time travel experiments they kept doing were fascinating (i love time travel stuff because of the paradoxes it creates) but i didn’t get really ravenous for it until season two, which is when i really felt it picked up speed.  you’ve got anthony stuck in a literal CAGE - a “blackroom” bubble set outside of time, sally trying to garden (oh god), a gang consisting of a veteran, a (former) widow and time doubles trying to bring down ODAR (the company sally used to work for, and that anthony still does) and esther sliding down the ladder of morally unsound one determined rung at a time and it makes for a REALLY grabbing audio drama, eh?

7. the strange case of starship iris

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  i’m already in love with violet liu, all right?  she’s a science officer on starship iris--well, what was starship iris.  when we first join violet, every single one of her crew mates has just died in an explosion on the pod they were traveling off ship with and the starship iris is in its last throes as well.  luckily(?) a passing ship comes along with a plan to get her to safety.  this has a real illuminae vibe to it (which is an amazing book btw) and all the characters are already so freaking likable.  it’s only on episode two and already shaping up to be a favorite!

8. the orbiting human circus (of the air)

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  if there’s a more heart-warming podcast out there, then i haven’t run across it yet.  first of all, julian koster’s voice is so vulnerable and soft that i would use myself and everyone i know and also puppies as a shield against everything terrible in the universe for him.  second, the rest of the cast - leticia especially - is just as freaking talented.  the premise is that julian is the janitor at a radio show that broadcasts from the top of the eiffel tower and has strange and impossible acts every night, from tale-telling crickets to singing saws to the orkestral, a bird that can play every orchestral instrument (except that it refuses to play the viola, because reasons).  it’s fun and cute and breaks your heart with happiness regularly and often!

9. alice isn’t dead

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  this is a horror podcast about a truck driver who is looking for her missing wife.  jasika nicole has to have one of my favorite voices around and having it be so heavily dependent on that makes me ridiculously happy.  throw in the story-telling of joseph fink, the depth and cohesiveness of his writing, and there is nothing not to love here.

10. within the wires

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  this is really sufficiently creepy considering it’s not often overtly creepy.  this is set up as a series of relaxation tapes, which progressively get more and more interested in helping the listener break out of the facility in which she’s being kept.  super chilling at times, because the voice is so calm and the action so dangerous.

11. welcome to night vale

canon lgbt+ is a ✓.  okay, well, what more can be said about this at this point?  if you’re not listening to it, you’re wrong.  why wouldn’t you want to visit a town that can’t be visited and where every conspiracy theory is real and a part of everyday life?  yeah, everyone knows about the vague yet menacing government agency, steve carlsberg, you’re not hitting on anything new there.  there’s a dog park that doesn’t allow dogs, angels that are never to be identified as angels, mountains that aren’t real, a glow cloud that--ALL HAIL and a love story so complete and perfect that it can and will utterly steal your breath at times.  go, listen, inhale.