#ariana gemelli

[emiko-matsui]

lou wilson putting his whole acting pussy into the 'you lied' speech and it fascinates me how you can do so intense emotional acting, one of his best performances, while we can also actively see him holding in laughter. multifaceted KING

[counterspelling]

The Ravening War 1.01

[staysaneathome]

The Start of the Ravening War

The Ravening War starts with the death of Queen Pamela Rocks, first of her name, beloved matriarch of the realm and of her family. A fructeran who knew the truth of her adopted home’s motto well before she married into it, found not killed but splattered all over the interior of the disguised carriage she was travelling in, arousing the wrath of five, of a thousand, grieving their mother/queen.

No, no, that’s late, far too late. Here, try again.

The Ravening War starts when a little radish is driven to fits of screaming at the sight of bladed teeth and viscera when he falls and scrapes his knee. His parents drag him to the nearest Bulbian church, where religious icons are pressed to his face and hands and body until the edges break flesh and the pain starts anew. The young radish learns that the only way to make it stop is to pretend it worked. To give praise to a light he has never truly known nor understood the warmth of, never questioning anything for that is how the pain comes back. That those who bestow such pain upon a little boy have power. That they have the power to ensure it never happens to them.

No, no, that is too early. What about this?

The Ravening War starts when a widow-to-be emerges from her toilette, all traces of her vomiting carefully hidden. She realizes she had been tricked, the heavy drinking, the promises that her old friend took herbs that ensured his impotency, the tisane that he swore would ensure her own. That she is trapped in the prison he has made of her own body, an eternal blackmail victim regardless if the child dies or lives, but oh, she is surprised by how much she wants the child to. To be a queen is to be a mother, after all, to sire the next generation of rulers. But queens are not blackmail victims. She will need to talk to someone.

Tangential, much too tangential. Perhaps this way?

The Ravening War starts when a tiny chili pepper watches as her big brother is beaten into the dirt by his friends. He refuses to take up with the strange adults (is it adults? All those different faces, yet the same eyes every time) who pay kids to watch and listen, and now he is paying for it. She sees how he’s made small, made broken, when he seemed so big and strong before. She flings herself at his attackers in a whirl of teeth and nails and screeching, manages to drive off two through sheer fury alone. The strange adult watching smiles. He can use this.

A tragedy to be sure, but not the start of a war. What about that?

The Ravening War starts when a young meatlander fidgets in the toga of the Ceresian Senate, not quite able to hide behind the spaghetti of his venerable grandfather. He is loved dearly by both sides of his disparate family, but the force of his mother’s personality has made him a shy boy, desperate for direction, for purpose. He has been sent here to learn the ways of his grandfather, to learn how to smile and to charm and to speak in the Senate. The senator smiles as she shakes his sweaty hand in greeting, as he blushes at the waft of her perfume. This will be even easier than she thought.

A dalliance, but again, hardly the start of a war. Perhaps here?

The Ravening War starts when a small boy watches his father get melted in the middle of the square. He is squeezed between legs, can only see the way the air distorts with heat and a vague figure flailing on a hook, but he can hear the screams. Dear Bulb, can he hear the screams. He’s almost transfixed by them, but not enough to not notice the guards, wading through the crowd, heads down and searching, like they’re looking for someone small. Looking for him. He runs and runs and runs, tears greasing his cheeks as he vanishes into the alleys he grew up in.

No, not that, but getting closer. How about—?

The Ravening War starts when a handmaiden reassures a hyperventilating bride on her wedding day that she was, of course, born to be queen. She is a silly girl, a naive one, who has fallen in love with the man she is to be wed to, but that’s alright. She is a du Pêche, soon to be a Cardoon, and above all else that means she has breeding. She has poise, she has manners, she has charm, there is no one else more suited to be Queen than she. Amangeaux will make new friends in this court soon, and if all else fails, Chutney will always be there for her mistress, to comfort and guide her. She promises.

Still not quite right. What about—?

The Ravening War starts when a spymaster wearing the flesh of her ex-mentor hears whispers in the streets of a count who would unify Fructera and Vegetania. Unification would mean ease of travel, a significant expansion of her network, the chance to walk among the court of Greenhold in her true form and have all those pompous nobles bow in deference to the royal spymaster. For all Karna is a spymaster, she is still a twelve year old girl, still prone to getting swept up by the promising ideals of men who could give her more, prone to setting her whole heart on a goal and doing whatever she must to see it through. It will be her downfall someday.

Closer but no cigar. Maybe—?

The Ravening War starts when a senator sprays her favorite negligee down with scent and folds it delicately to be placed in a package. It’s a shame she won’t get to wear it again, but she can always flutter her eyelashes at Focaccia, and she will have three nicer ones by the end of the week. It’s a kindness, truly, to give the boy a scrap of hope, a memento of something he will never truly have. And with the work she has done on him, she has no doubt her little Deli will prove to be one of the most valuable pieces the Sanctus Putris will have on the board, his loyalty and eagerness to please translating making him a useful pawn to fulfill their goals and prevent the end of days.

No, no, that’s way out. Why not—?

The Ravening War starts when a bishop overhears an old chorister remark at length about how King Cardoon has his great grandmother’s taste in spouses. The bishop, preparing for his responsibilities ministering to the new king and queen, engages the member of his flock in conversation, where the old woman’s knowledge sparks an interest in genealogy. Soon there are intricate charts of lineage and birthright spread out in the bishop’s quarters, and though he does not realize it, the head gardener is getting paid very well indeed to look the other way when Father Charlock goes to gather herbs for His Majesty’s tea.

Not yet but getting warmer. Perhaps—?

The Ravening War starts when a cheesy sellsword walks into the Chieftess of the Beef Clans. The buffoon stutters apologies and pleas for mercy, relying more on Provolone coming over to attempt to smooth ruffled feathers, the Chieftess’ son far more proficient in soothing his mother’s wrath. From there the conversation turns to needing to hire guards, a carriage to Comida, and by the end of the day the two of them are on strawberries riding to Fructera. Colton Gouda touches the emblem of pressed palms and a feather deep in his pocket. He’s fulfilled his part—now it’s up to his fellows to do the same.

No, no, it’s almost but doesn’t get everything, not at all. Here, tell it this way:

The Ravening War starts when a drunken tomato makes a wild claim, fueled by ire at the lack of deference from his perceived inferiors. He is made all the more furious, all the more resolved by their refusal to recognize his rightful place as king, and so even once sober, rallies his countrymen to fight for his birthright. He truly does not know what ruin this stupid, shortsighted, selfish decision will bring.

Hardly better than all the rest, but it will do. With so many machinations in play, how could it ever come down to a single event?

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

Oh to be Thane Delissandro Katzon, standing amongst your almost girlfriend, your ex almost girlfriend and your ex husband, fighting a gigantic vortex of spinning blades.

[hollyevolving]

Lou's face is that of a man who KNEW he should have been prepared, but was NOT.

[star-wrld]

if ariana gemelli used her milf powers for good instead of evil the ravening war would have never happened

[lunylune]

Summary:

And the end, Deli told his mom, how Gemelli had died. At that, his mom nearly snarled. "So neither of us will get the satisfaction to punch that hag in the face then."

And Deli couldn't help it. He laughed, full on cackled. He gasped with it, doubling over.

It wasn't until he felt his mom's strong arm around his shoulder that he realized he was crying again. Fuck. He clung to his mom again, feeling her hands shake as she held him.

[acourtoffeyandfables]

[islandoforder]

the absolute hysterics at “slam it down big style” the perfect one two of a acoc ref and the sudden and unexpected sex joke

[pucaantaibhse]

Do you think Karna’s devotion to Deli, having started from her crush on him when she was young, ever reminds him of his situation with Senator Gemelli when he first became involved with the FDA?

Granted there’s a lot of differences there, the situation with Gemelli seeming to have involved more purposeful manipulation, but it’s interesting to think about.

[helpimstuckinafandom]

"Involved in a romance that I shouldn't be" DEFINE SHOULDN'T BE DELI

[pinkwhalepjs]

I LOVE that the collapse of several character relationships this episode comes down to class at the heart of things. The three who were born small folk have infinitely less agency in their own lives. They rise and fall at the whims of the powerful people they serve.

Amangeaux may see Karna as a daughter figure but as she begs her to let her go Karna can clearly see that her biological son is infinitely more important to Amangeaux than Karna could ever be. Amangeaux doesn’t want to play at being queen anymore and it is Karna who must suffer for it. She then attaches herself to Senator Ariana Gemelli and then again to Delissandro. She is dependent on them and lives ultimately at their whim. She may even love Deli but she must know that their relationship can never truly be one of equals. It is part of the tragedy of her character that she seems to always to some extent yearn for those she serves, admiring and caring for them in a way that is unlikely to be returned in full. And even more so that she seems an unwilling servant of the Hungry One who takes of her flesh in return for power and continued life. Unfortunately a good parallel for her relationships to her fellow mortals.

And this is what breaks apart Collin and Deli too. Collin was born to live in fear of what high born can do to those who cross them. He poignantly rebukes Deli that he does not doubt he will be a great leader of the Meatlands, but he is no leader Collin would swear to. He is a cruel and uncaring lord like the rest. He cares not for the innocent he condemns to death on his road to glory. Collin returns to the home of the man he killed because this life matters to him and he knows it does not to Delissandro even though he took it for his sake. Collin grows sick of being an instrument in the same sort of uncaring violence that killed his own family. He leaves behind the blades he swore in service to Delissandro. His anger is much quieter than Deli’s blusterous rage. It feels more directed at himself than at Deli. How could he have deluded himself into seeing this man as a friend and equal all these years? A man who doesn’t even know who he is after all those years by his side.

Raphaniel is the most scattered and broken because he began to think of himself as no longer a member of the small folk. But he forgot that he lives and dies at the mercy of his superiors still and that which is given him can just as easily if not far more easily be taken away. To gain power takes a lifetime but to lose it takes an instant. He scrambles again and again until it destroys his mind and body to gain some foothold of power or at least some sense that he serves some higher purpose but is met at every turn with empty sound. He was born cursed with visions of something terrible beyond but finds perhaps more horrible than the sense that there is something special wrong with him alone is the growing sense in his old age that his life and acts may in the end be meaningless entirely and when he dies he will leave behind just as little mark as any other poor born radish.

[jerreeeeeee]

ohh i missed it the first time but when ariana gemelli is hornily grilling deli for info on the meatlands he mentions that the conflict between the meat clans lead to the death of his “other mother,” presumably his ceresian parent

[lunylune]

Summary:

And that was what hit him, only then. Only then all alone in the outlands, well into his twenties, the past dead, his future killed. It hit him what exactly happened to him. As he laid there, looking at the stars, he remembered the clouds above Pangranos, city so bright that the stars hid. He remembered the touches to his arm long before they had officially started their hidden relationship. The glances sent his way he had not been able to read back then. The things she would tell him, ask him.

She had been his aunt... He had trusted her, admired her, loved her...

He had been a boy, his mother just died and his other mother had been inconsolable. And now... After everything, his aunt was dead too. Deli left. He was alone, following in his mother's footsteps to the outlands. If only he could meet her here... He missed him mom.

[intersectionalityamazon]

ALSO ARIANA GEMELLI IS HIS AUNT EXCUSE ME???

Rewatching episode 1 of The Ravening War and noticed we have never addressed that Deli’s Ceresian mom was assassinated!?! and this death was why he left the Meatlands to go to Pangranos initially?! THIS IS HUGE. No wonder Deli doesn’t blink at killing important peoples’ family and then talking to them- he may very well have known his Breadmom’s killer 🤯