#because they gained their status to have power like their father so they too could have a taste of what leaving a legacy feels like

[lqveharrington]

Feelings Mutual | C.G.

summary: Your forced to hangout with Cardan at the High King’s birthday celebration. Turns out, you both make stupid decisions when drunk. And what’s the fine line between hatred and love between two being who can’t lie anyway?

pairing: Cardan Greenbriar x half fae!fem!reader

includes: drunk Cardan, drunk reader, cursing, making out, suggestiveness, no use of Y/N, barely proofread (i think that’s it)

a/n: i’m on a reading spree, and working on my projects, so this should help get me out of a huge writing slump.

In Faerie, it was uncommon for a half fae, half human being to be a princess in the court. Your father — the King of one of the many lands — wed a human woman, causing you to become the land’s princess. Of course many of the court thought that you were lesser than them; For such a creation should never hold that high of a status.

Ever since you were younger, you often attended lessons with the High King’s youngest child. At first, you sought out to befriend him and his group of friends. But you soon found out that they loathed you. Because how could a halfling ever be a worthy princess?

So you gave up trying to befriend them. You let the group taunt you for not being full fae, but what was the worst thing they could do? You still were a daughter of a very powerful king. The very king that was the closest with the High King himself.

You and your family were constantly invited to all their gatherings, and this one wasn’t an exception. It was the High King’s birthday, which meant all of Faerie was invited to Elfhame palace to celebrate such a day. The only issue with that meant your father and mother urged you to talk to Cardan and his group.

“Mother, they don’t like me.” You wring your hands together, fidgeting with your silver jewelry.

She clicked her tongue, “Nonsense. Prince Balekin spoke of how much Cardan talks about you when he comes home from your lessons.”

“Wait what?” Your eyes widen at her in disbelief. “Mother, I’m sure they’re words of hate.”

“Is it because you don’t like your dress? Are you afraid they’ll hate it?” She tugged you to stand in front of herself. “You look gorgeous, angel.”

You purse your lips at her compliment. You truly loved the dress. It was a beautiful sage color that complimented your skin tone completely, and the corset really did wonders. There were gorgeous lace details of butterflies that were a shade darker, with a slit running down one side of the dress. It was beautiful, but you feared that it was much too modern for Faerie, causing your thoughts to wander to how Cardan’s friends would insult it.

“No, I love the dress, mother.” You give her a tight lipped smile, squeeze her hands. “If you truly wish for me to find Cardan, I’ll go and be friendly so you and father can enjoy your time here.”

“Thank you.” She pressed a kiss to your forehead and a real smile etched its way onto your face.

“Be safe, alright?” Your father squeezed your shoulder before leaning down to whisper words your mother couldn’t hear. “If trouble comes, you know what I’ve taught you. You have your dagger?”

Your lips twitch in excitement, “Of course.”

“Then you’re all set then, kiddo.” He gave you one last look before resting an arm around your mother’s waist. “I’ll come find you when it’s time for us to depart.”

You nod before taking a small bow. You watched them leave and make their way to the throne, immediately engaging with the High King and Queen. They seemed happy, which made you glad that they accepted your mother as their own. Shaking your head, you took a deep breath and blew out the air in one go. Carefully, you made your way over to Cardan. Luckily, he was on his own for once.

“Cardan.” You nod in his direction, watching his dark eyes with flecks of gold suddenly gazing into yours. Without fail, his eyes roam over your body, tail whipping behind himself after gaining someone’s attention.

“Princess! Don’t you look absolutely captivating tonight.” He slurred, red wine dripping out of his glass. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

You raised a brow at the prince. From what you could recall, he didn’t live inside the palace walls. And there wasn’t a chance he could lie either. “You don’t live here.”

“I used to.” He tipped his glass up to his wine stained lips, taking in the drink whilst taking in the sight of you.

“Where are your—“ You use your hand to gesture in the air as you grab your own glass of wine from a server passing buy. Unsure of how to word your question, you sip on the wine, immediately hit by its strength. “Where are your friends, I should say.”

“Off to bother some mortal or do something stupid.” He smiles in your direction as you down your drink and reach for another. “What’s upsetting you, princess?”

“Nothing.” You tilt your head toward him, eyes flicking down from his strange stare to his stained lips. “Just want time to move faster.”

“How drunk do you want to get?” He leans closer to you, fingers itching to pull you into him.

You place a hand to his mouth and push him further away from yourself. He hums as he traces his finger over his empty wine glass.

“How many glasses have you had, Cardan?” You tip back your third drink, missing his smirk while he watches.

“Enough.”

“Enough to forget?” You turn toward the table and grab the strongest drink, carefully downing the drink.

His shadow towers over you as his breath tickles your neck, “Forget what exactly, love?”

“I hate you.” You say against Cardan’s lips, arms loosely hanging around his neck. “I hate you so much.”

He continues to push you backwards as he slams the door behind him, hands finding their place around your waist. “Feelings mutual, princess.”

Letting your hand thread through his hair, you pull him in for a more heated kiss, tugging ever so slightly at his roots. Cardan groans against your lips, pulling your body closer to his.

“This is such a stupid idea.” You unwillingly part as he drops you down on a bed — hopefully one that used to be his. You let out a small gasp as he litters soft kisses on your throat and down to your exposed collar bone. Your hands find his shoulders, pulling him impossibly closer. “Cardan—“

“Yes, love?” He slowly makes his way back up to your lips, pressing short kisses as you try to make sense of the situation. He stops attacking you with his lips, staring and waiting for you to continue.

You shake your head, eyes glassy with drunkenness as you meet his gaze. “Kiss me.”

“You’re too perfect for me.” He groans again, tasting the red wine from your lips as he kisses you harder. “God, I hate you.” Cardan mumbles as he lets his hands wander over your body, refraining from the more private areas at the moment.

Cardan allows you to wander over his own body, feeling you fidget with the hem of his shirt. Letting your hands slip underneath his shirt, you let out a small sigh before flipping the both of you over. You quickly toss your dagger onto the floor before meeting his lips again, the kiss heightening all your profound feelings.

As minutes turned into an hour more, you both fell into a pit of no return. The shared kisses were intensified, and without either party having a clear mind or being sober, neither could stop the motions that lulled them both to sleep very late into night.

It wasn’t until early afternoon that the pair awoke to the sounds of pounding at the door and a splitting headache.

“Your highness, your father is looking for you.” The voice called from outside the wooden doors, causing you to groan and bury your head into the warmth emitting from your bed.

A beat passed before the pounding occurred once more.

“Your highness—!”

“In a minute!” Cardan shouted, eyes shut from the dizziness and hangover. “For fucks sake…”

Your eyes widen at the voice, head rushing up before falling back down at the impact of a jaw. “Shit, that hurt.” You mutter, wincing when you felt the hangover hit you. Slowly, you remove yourself from Cardan’s arm, slightly frowning when you saw him rubbing his jaw. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to slam into you…”

“I think that’s the least of our concerns.” He grumbled, glaring at the door again.

He pushed himself up from the bed, eyes raking over your appearance. He smirked over at you before leaning against the headboard. You crease your brows before looking down and realizing whose clothes you were in — crossing your arms over the loose shirt.

“Princess, I think your father will be a little disappointed in you.”

“Why is that?” You roll your eyes at him, keeping one arm over Cardan’s shirt while running your free hand through your hair.

Your bored gaze meet his amused one, watching him tilt his head. You look away as you weren’t necessarily hiding the fact that you were eyeing his bare chest either.

He pulled you into his chest, despite your halfhearted protests. “Because you have hickeys all over your skin.” Cardan presses a kiss to your cheek, causing your breath to hitch.

All the memories from last name came rushing in, warmth filling your body at the thoughts. Your eyes flit to your dress and dagger scattered across his floor, still thinking of the punishment to come.

However, you did not regret him.

“I don’t think we drank enough last night.” You twist in his arms, lips barely touching his.

“I don’t think so.” He lands a soft kiss to your lips. “I still hate you, love.”

“Feelings mutual.” You straddle over his hips and rest your forehead on his, both your heads still pounding from last night’s activities.

©lqveharrington - all rights reserved. do not copy, translate or share my work on other media platforms

[drusill-a]

[WWDitS finale spoilers]

Aside from the obvious – the gross shipbaiting and mocking naive viewers who dared to believe an m/m dynamic could be treated as anything other than the butt of the joke – my biggest issue with the WWDitS finale is that it’s an ending that could have made sense… but at most after s2. Back then, we were still watching a story about characters who didn’t share any particular bonds (except for Nadja/Laszlo) and who were entirely static, unaffected by the things they experienced.

The thing is, the creators themselves realized you can’t build a long-running story on that formula – eventually, the characters had to evolve at least a little, and their relationships had to deepen so viewers would have any reason to root for them. And so Guillermo’s position in the group began to change – first, he earned their minimal respect, then a very solid place, until finally, in season 5, all the other characters had reached a point where they didn’t even hide that they genuinely cared about him a lot. The same happened with Colin, who at first was completely left out by the other housemates but gradually earned an equal spot in the group and developed that stupid yet sweet bond with Laszlo (erasing those memories was, imo, one of the writers’ biggest mistakes). Laszlo showed himself capable of empathy, which he proved again in s5 by helping Guillermo, and even Nadja, who used to completely disregard everyone’s feelings, had several moments in later seasons where she openly cared – at least in her own way –  about the others.

And of course, that’s how we got the romantic subtext between Guillermo and Nandor. Over all those seasons – from s3 up until s6 – I was certain it was a classic will they, won’t they dynamic that would end with them getting together. I just couldn’t believe the writers would spend the last 4 seasons making their relationship more equal and showing Nandor’s journey to realizing Guillermo genuinely mattered to him, only to do nothing with it – or worse, regress them back by three seasons. But the late s6 Nandor’s “no homo” attitude has very little in common with the Nandor from seasons 4 and 5, who was openly pining and lusting after Guillermo.

From Guillermo’s perspective, this ending is an absolute tragedy – even the end of the previous episode gave him much more hope. Maybe he’d lost his lifelong dream and still hadn’t found a new purpose, but he had found a family and a place in the world, with a potential chance to build something meaningful with Nandor in the future. I don’t understand why this episode had to undo all of that – to show us that none of his friends really listen to him, that the power dynamic with Nandor will always be uneven, and that ultimately he wasted 16 years, and no one would really care that much if he left. Considering how great Guillermo’s development was, especially in gaining confidence from s4 onward, this ending feels so unfair and insulting to his character.

I feel like the writers’ biggest mistakes have been forcing a return to the status quo after every season. After the breakup in s3, the characters should have stayed apart for at least an episode or two. Colin should have remembered that Laszlo raised him, and they should’ve kept their funny, fucked-up father-son relationship until the end of the show. Guillermo should’ve been a real vampire for at least a full season—or, in my opinion, permanently—because, as it turns out, the writers had absolutely no idea what to do with his character once he lost that goal. Relationships that had evolved shouldn’t be randomly reset by a couple of seasons just because the writers couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort to write anything new for them.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too – if the writers were so dead-set on giving us an  ending that says “nothing in these characters’ lives matters, and nothing will ever change,” they should have made the show half as long and spared viewers the trouble of getting invested in character and relationship arcs that ultimately went nowhere.

This is a comedy show that was supposed to make people feel better. After this finale, I feel mocked by the creators for believing that the queer ship they sold me for 4 seasons had a chance of being treated equally to an m/f ship. I’m also sad because the characters were regressed and left stuck in eternal limbo, and generally I feel ridiculed because the writers openly made fun of us for getting emotionally invested in the story they wrote for us.

And maybe the biggest crime of these last few episodes was that they weren’t even remotely funny—so you can’t even say they prioritized comedy over character development, because it failed on that front too.

[normal-thoughts-official]

here is the thing

when i started playing bg3, i didn't expect wyll to be so devoted to karlach. her devotion to him is a given; the guy risked his life to save her when they had literally just met. of course he matters so much to her

but wyll matched that same devotion right back, as if she had been the one to save him, even though karlach never really got the chance to do anything of that magnitude back for him

but then i think about it

mizora's punishment plays directly into wyll's worst trauma. to be suddenly branded as demonic, so people will always look at him and see that first. like his father did. like the whole city, everyone who ever knew him, did. no amount of good deeds will ever be enough to compensate for his association with evil; his soul will burn in hell and he will not be welcome anywhere because he's a greedy warlock who made his choice. i don't know if that is actually true, but he certainly thinks it to be, if anything, from his assumption that the people of the grove (whose lives he had just saved, and who had known him for at least a few days as nothing but a kind hero who looked out for them) would be unable to look past his appearance and wouldn't want him near them

and mind, mizora clearly wants wyll to stay isolated. why else would she forbid him from explaining the circumstances of his pact? what could she possibly gain from that, other than making sure he can never dispel the notion that he made a deal with the devil simply for power?

so it makes sense that that, more even than the non-consensual body modification, was the punishment. to put his warlock status on display, so that people would immediately be offput by him - and even if they aren't, he will be sure they are

his own father couldn't stand to look at him, and that was back when he had just lost an eye

but the first thing karlach tells him is this:

"Thank you for seeing me for who I really am. And... I think I can see you for who you really are, too. A hero"

obviously, it's common sense for her to see him like this after he just saved her life at great, and at the time unknown, personal cost. but it would also have been common sense for his father to know that the son he himself raised and who's nothing if not a paragon of kindness and duty wouldn't just decide to sell his soul for power out of the blue one fine day. or that, if he keeps trying to say something but can't, then there might be more to the story. for fuck's sake, he lost an eye. and yet, ulder didn't. wyll's association with the demonic was enough to dispel everything about his personhood, his values, and his actions. and now said association was branded, quite literally, on his forehead

and karlach's suffered so much at the hands of devils. just like with the other tieflings, he expects her to be unsettled by him, at the very least

but then she says that she looks at him and sees only a hero. the man who saved her. the man who cared enough to listen and do what was right. the man who sacrificed something for her, who had to make a choice no one should have to make

he had saved an entire city when he first made the pact, and yet not one soul in it was able to see that. see him

but karlach did

karlach does

and not only that. not only is she the first person in perhaps his whole life to put more weight to wyll's personhood and actions than to mizora's; but she knew he needed to hear that. she says it like someone who's trying to offer a comfort in a hopeless situation, which is exactly what she's doing. she knows that he is afraid of being rejected

and of course she does

she is the one who comes closest to fully understanding him.

can you imagine being wyll and seeing karlach's story play out in dizzyingly rapid succession in your mind? had a pretty good, happy life, then in the span of one day everything changed when she was associated with the demonic. she lost everything and everyone she ever had. from then on, she only knew one thing: to fight. no rest and no friends and no breaks, just endless, senseless fighting. her body was changed against her will. she hadn't been touched in a positive way in ten years. even fucking mizora was there

that's his story, too

sure, he might not have been literally unable to touch people, but neither was karlach when she was in hell. he's been completely alone except for mizora for the last seven years, at least in the ways that matter. nothing in his life was constant, except for the fighting and the humiliation at a devil's hand. and the loneliness

of course he thinks it's a trick. it hits too close to home

and of course he can't help but listen anyway. because wyll is nothing if not compassionate, and he's just watched a tldr of his own pain inflicted on someone else

so when karlach says that she still sees him as himself first?

he is reminded that she gets it

for the first time in seven years, he is not alone, and he is understood

of course he would do anything to keep her in his life, just as she would

in a way, she did save him, too.

(slightly late meta submission for @thekindredcollective's wyllstravaganza2024, day 19: bond)

[hollowed-theory-hall]

What’s your opinion on Umbridge?

Besides evil; someone once mentioned that her rules and actions like the “hem-hem” could be a form of OCD and re-reading the series… it honestly could be.

Personally I think she was too 1 dimensional (but so are many antagonists).

Like, I think Umbridge is as hated as she is becouse unlike Voldemort and the Death Eaters, she's a kind of evil that hits closer to most people. Most people probably never met a Voldemort, but they likely have encountered an Umbridge. That's why I think the fandom treats her the way we do. her evil just feels real in a way that's easier to comprehend.

That being said, personally, I don't headcanon her as having OCD or anything similar. Becouse I don't think she actually cares about order or the ministry's law. Order is her excuse for seeking control. We see her pursue order as a means of controlling people, but if she could pursue power and control without order, she would. Like, she doesn't actually care about Hogwarts education standards, or Fudge, or the laws of the ministry.

Hell, she breaks these same laws herself multiple times. I mean, she sent dementors in secret after Harry because she knows she isn't allowed. She's willing to use Unforgivables because she doesn't actually care about law and order. She cares about her own personal power. I know most of the fandom considers her "lawful evil" which, she is, but only because it serves her in the books. If the law didn't serve her, she wouldn't have been lawful.

She uses the law, order, and hierarchy of the ministry as a ladder and a shield. These aren't things she actually believes in beyond their usefulness to her.

We see in book 7 how she easily throws her family (pretending to be a Selwyn), Fudge, and literally anyone else under the bus to become part of the new regime becouse that's where she can gain more power, even if the new regime is chaos. So, no, I don't think she has OCD.

If you read her backstory on Pottermore, she actually has more to her, I just think she's often misunderstood, since, as I said, I don't think she really cares about upholding the law. She cares to do so only becouse the law serves her.

Like, her background is that she has a muggle mother and a wizard father who worked as a lowly maintenance wizard in the ministry. Her brother was born a squib. To her, all her family is a disgrace. Not because they were unloving, or even poor or magicless — they had no power. They held no influence or respect, and that's what Umbridge always wanted:

In spite of her best efforts to secure the affections of one of her superiors (she never cared particularly which of them it was, but knew that her own status and security would be advanced with a powerful husband), Dolores never succeeded in marrying.

(From Pottermore)

She only cares for her own status in everything she does. She watched her father, mother, and brother be treated like literal dirt by the wizarding world and the ministry. Umbridge wants to be recognized, to show everyone how great she is and how wrong everyone was to think lowly of her because of her family.

She has all the blood purity ideals and anti-creature stances becouse of her family too. She blames her father for not doing what she does to gain respect. She blames him for marrying a muggle and dirtying their blood. Umbridge bought into this ideology, I think. I think she really does see her family and herself as lesser, dirtier, and she's been overcompensating for years.

That's why she hushes up anyone who dares mention her family. Why she does everything she can to appeal to the people who have the power and be of use to them. She wants the respect and recognition her family was denied.

Whenever she was asked (usually by workmates who did not like her) ‘are you related to that Umbridge who used to mop the floors here?’ she would smile her sweetest, laugh, and deny any connection whatsoever, claiming that her deceased father had been a distinguished member of the Wizengamot. Nasty things tended to happen to people who asked about Orford, or anything that Dolores did not like talking about, and people who wanted to remain on her good side pretended to believe her version of her ancestry.

(From Pottermore)

She is very similar to Peter Pettigrew in that respect:

You weren’t about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore’s nose, for a wreck of a wizard who’d lost all of his power, were you? You’d want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn’t you?

(PoA, Ch19)

She wants to be backed by the biggest bully because that's where she believes the respect and power are. She isn't a woman of order but a power-hungry control freak with self-worth issues. Her search for control and order are means to exercise her power and influence, not her actual goals. Her hate of who she calls "half-breeds" is an extension of her shame in her family and herself.

That was always my read of her character, at least.

[teatraps]

Gotta rant about Edgar Valden rq

Cause seriously, his character is so cool to me. Like, you have the basic rundown. Rich kid ran away from home because he was dissatisfied with his life there. But then, all of that ends up just being a red herring. The “dissatisfaction” which always came off as him just being in his own head and looking down on others because he thinks he’s better than them gets flipped on its head with his 3rd letter. All of his trash talk makes so much more sense. He wasn’t just saying he didn’t care about other people’s opinions or money or fame because he was super self absorbed. He was saying that because he knew first hand the damage chasing money, fame, and power can cause. Really thinking about it, his father basically killed his entire family for status. And then, with the slight implication that Edgar’s dad knew what Sarai was doing to Edgar the whole time, he let his son get groomed by a man for over a decade and kept him on a payroll. Now, it’s vague about what Sarai did to Edgar, but it was obviously bad enough to deteriorate his mental health to the point of having hallucinations. All that, and his dad never got rid of Sarai. Never fired him. Nothing. Which makes sense, because having a super talented artist in the family looks good for their status. Probably covered up all the controversy their family had too. Why would his dad care? He couldn’t care enough to let his wife rest to get better from her illness, or to actually look for his youngest child when she went missing.

For the little we do know about Sarai, we know he taught Edgar that praise is the highest form of love. Again, playing into the idea that Edgar was brought up to try and appease others and try to get status and fame. This is even kinda hinted at in his very first letter when he tells Ella that he’s going to become a famous artist, a goal he ends up feeling disillusioned to. The fact he still kept painting even after no longer wanting fame and recognition shows his love for painting was rooted in something much deeper than that. Then, referencing back to his deductions where he says that life is beautiful and the brush can preserve that beauty, it shows exactly what it was that keeps him going with art. He thinks life is beautiful. A simple reason, but a lovely one nonetheless. He cherishes the beautiful moments like the time he had with his mother or Ella.

This also could change what he even meant by looking for inspiration when going to the manor. When he talks about how he finds no inspiration in his home, it’s not something as simple as everything is just boring. He talks about how the culture of the aristocracy is just straight up draining for him. The greed. The constant push for more money and status, even at the cost of loved ones. The shallowness. There’s no beauty in it, he can’t find inspiration in it. Even as he signs off his farewell letter, he implies he would never go back home. He’s not just running off on some little trip to find inspiration and go home right after. He was straight up cutting off the life he once knew because it wasn’t really a life at all. As he puts it, he was just another decoration for his dad. For most of his life, he was kind of treated as less than human. More like a party trick for his dad to show off and gain their family more status.

And while we don’t know much about his role in game 5, the context of the game makes him stand out a lot. Outside of the fact that Edgar wasn’t in a faction at the start and the only character truly confirmed dead, his goals are also completely different from the rest of the group and he thematically differs from the others. Every other character is in some way trying to fix some “issue” with themself to try to assimilate into a group they were ostracized from (I say issue in quotes because it’s usually something out of their control that they honestly shouldn’t have been blamed for). Chloe trying to become Vera to be accepted, Jose trying to get his first officer title back and rejoin the aristocracy (or his alcoholism in order to maintain his station as a first officer in the first place), Kevin trying to prove to himself that he’s reached a point where he could’ve protected Angelina so he can face her tribe, and Patricia trying to rid herself of her curse in order to be accepted into her mother’s village. Meanwhile, there’s Edgar who was wanted by his community, but not taken care of by them. All five of them have a similar goal, to get some form of community and support, but Edgar is in a much different position from the rest of his team since he is more confident in himself and who he is. It’s never been called into question, and I don’t think that’s a negative trait either since every time someone in game 5 tries to correct their “flaw” it causes more harm than good. From Chloe killing her sister who was innocent, to Jose accidentally poisoning Kevin who was innocent, Patricia killing Edgar even though he didn’t do anything to her, and even Kevin being self destructive in drinking the poison. Not to mention three out of four of them feel regret and unfulfilled after they do it (and the one I’m not counting is Patricia because it’s not fully confirmed, but tbh there are things that foreshadow her not feeling fulfilled either so you could make it four out of four). Edgar, at least on the surface, didn’t internalize that there was something wrong with him that made the people around him treat him like trash, mainly because he was always desired by the people around him. These people still weren’t good for him though, leading to the lack of inspiration they give him. As he says, he’s looking for “fresh colors” and Edgar only refers to colors when he’s talking about someone he cared for (his mom = green, Ella = white, Sarai = red). Edgar looking for fresh colors could probably roughly translate to looking for new companionship with people that actually care about him.

If I really wanted to get into the internalizing thing tho, I’d probably say his willingness to sacrifice himself probably comes from…

1. Being so used to getting treated like a tool his entire life he thinks it’s the standard to a degree (hence why he’ll complain about having to play hero roles but still gets them regularly anyway)

2. Being unable to truly repent to Patricia because he can’t bring himself to apologize for killing Sarai (and he shouldn’t tbh, especially considering that was like his first act of true autonomy)

3. And lastly, just not really having anywhere to go after the manor. His goalpost ended at the manor while the other four saw it more as a stepping stone to get to other places.

And that’s not even getting into his overall lore relevance because let’s not act like he didn’t imply the Deross family are family friends of the Valden family in his 3rd letter. PLUS he has ties to Barriere.

He’s always got this slightly hopeful air to him, like he still believes there’s something out there that can bring him the happiness and love he once had. It’s honestly just a really nice breather from the usual doom and gloom of idv’s storyline (granted his story is still depressing asf, but for idv standards it’s pretty happy. Like his 3rd letter where he just goes no contact with his dad is probably one of the healthiest things I’ve ever seen an idv character do). Even in the end, he gets the ending he wanted. He finds the inspiration he was looking for, but tbh I don’t think it was death that he was trying to achieve. His deaths are always portrayed as sacrifices specifically. It’s usually not something he really wants to do. Runaway didn’t want to risk his life and put himself in danger with mir, but he does it because he doesn’t want to abandon the followers to a cult. Censer didn’t want to die, he still really wanted to see his creator’s wish come true, but he accepts death if it will bring it closer to coming true. Even in his experiment file, Orpheus says Edgar accepted it at the end, so he decides to accept it at the end of the game. Most likely for some greater goal that hasn’t been revealed yet since Orpheus was hella vague in his experiment file.

I could honestly go on and on about how well executed his whole character is too. With how well they played into double entendres with his words and used a lot of art metaphors to hide his actual character so on the surface you wouldn’t clock it immediately. Or the carefully picked art references they used in his trailer that all tie into his character really well (I still think he has one of the best trailers to date). To even the way his birthday letters are released. Keeping his perspective on game 5 hidden despite probably having the most reliable account, instead having other characters describe him to play into the misdirection.

I could literally talk for hours about Edgar Valden, he is the idv character of all time and I love him sm

[raventreehall]

no one wants to talk about the theon and littlefinger parallels fine I'LL TALK ABOUT THEM. they're both social inferiors in a foster family that they desperately wanted to join but are prevented from doing so which leads to all sorts of complexes!!!

littlefinger didn't really do anything wrong in seeking out catelyn's hand and dueling brandon, he only misread his importance to the tullys and tried to functionally be part of the family that he had been raised in. but that was not allowed to him because of his low birth, just as theon was always relegated to an outsider role within the stark household because he was a hostage. (also note theon's boyhood dream of marrying sansa and ned accepting him as his son; littlefinger's obsession with catelyn seems to actually have catelyn at its core rather than just being a projection of a desire to be accepted within house tully, but who knows, his obsession with cat could actually be the product of an obsession with house tully and his general ambitions to increase his social status). they both had such intense 'i hate you'/'i want to be you' emotions knocking around in their heads as a result of this that they ended up killing—or trying to convince people that they killed—their foster siblings! (i know there's a lot more complexity with the littlefinger and lysa situation, but i think this parallel is really interesting)

littlefinger also had to work for years in gulltown/king's landing to rise through the ranks, to in a way 'regain his standing' to what it was when he was a ward of hoster tully's. throughout his childhood he was constantly around lysa, catelyn, and edmure—all of whom were destined to become lords and ladies of great houses—and was raised like their brother, but after he is banished he struggles to hold even half the status that his foster siblings enjoy naturally. theon goes through a little bit of a similar rude awakening when he arrives back at pyke expecting his father to hail him as his heir returned only to find out balon could not care less about him and likes asha way more, and he takes winterfell to try to prove to balon and the rest of the ironborn that he should be respected. interestingly, we have seen both theon and littlefinger's homecomings on page and they both come across as complete outsiders in the places were they were born, acting above their station because of the circumstances they got used to during their fostering—while this leads to theon trying to reject the starks and gain acceptance from his birth family in acok, in asos when littlefinger goes home to the fingers he wants to get to the eyrie (and to one of the tullys) as quickly as possible

they share some behaviors/character traits, too. littlefinger is noted to dress well, he pays a lot for clothes made of fine fabrics, while we know that theon likes to do the same. littlefinger certainly does this to prove that he is rich and powerful and has made it, showing that he can pay for the same things that any great lord can, which is probably born from more than a little resentment towards hoster for taking him out of the luxury of riverrun and sending him back home to the fingers. similarly, theon dresses elaborately to set himself apart in winterfell, to impress people, and to make himself known, and again this is born from resentment and insecurity (seen best when he goes back to pyke and stresses about what to wear in front of balon). they're also both arrogant and flippant, with a tendency to smile/make jokes too much, perhaps to try to further resist and disparage the social order they feel restricted by

finally there's catelyn: theon looks to her as a quasi-mother figure while he's in winterfell and littlefinger looks to catelyn as a lover, but both of these are impossible and end up being rejected. there's no evidence that catelyn was, like, especially mean to theon, they seem to get on fine in agot, but he was her husband's hostage and we know that she does mistrust him. this attitude is obviously a result of her not trusting the greyjoys because they're reavers/rose against the crown in open rebellion, but it is also no doubt informed by her previous experiences with petyr! it would make sense for her to be wary of a foster son getting close to her children after what happened to her as a kid

[destinysbounty]

Huh. I just dug up an old fan-theory i came up with back when i was like 15. And while its definitely way too weak to hold up against any real scrutiny, it at the very least makes for some mildly interesting fanfic fodder so i thought id share it with the greater fandom hivemind.

(Dont come at me about the holes in this theory btw, i was practically a baby when i came up with this and it was one of my first attempts at theory-crafting. Trust me, ive come a long way since then)

Anyway, the theory goes like this:

While in the lighthouse, Dr. Julien builds a replica of his son. But try as he might to get it to turn on, it never actually works. Whatever special spark brought the first Zane to life is inexplicably absent from this one. So he locks it away in his basement, and never gives it the light of day again. This is the reason Dr. Julien never told Zane about Echo, or brought him with them - because at the time, Echo wasnt even functional. Wouldnt even turn on. Was nothing more than a lifeless shell collecting rust in the basement.

So how, then, did Echo become sentient by season 6? Great question! But uhh heres where the theory kinda starts to go off the rails. So buckle up, folks.

Basically the theory goes that when Zane died at the end of s3, his soul still lingered in Ninjago. And his disembodied spirit eventually found itself drawn to a vessel that was similar to the one he'd lost - one his father had built yet long abandoned. But his new body lacked the memory storage contained within his old one, and his resurrection effectively gave him almost complete amnesia. All he could remember was his name and his purpose (to protect those who cannot protect themselves).

Meanwhile, when Titanium Zane says hes a replica, hes actually completely right about that. Some fragments of his code left behind from his visit to the Digiverse gained sentience and inherited Zane's elemental power, creating the Zane we know and love today.

But the original Zane, the one that died fighting the Overlord, actually ended up becoming Echo Zane. Which then would have explained why Zane had so many holes in his memories after being resurrected, and why his sixth sense became much less active as well - he was only made from fragments of the real Zane's code, after all.

Now, as the big smart grownup i am today, i can look back at this theory my baby self had crafted and poke about a million holes into it. But...idk, i always feel nostalgic about this theory in spite of all that. Not just bc it was one of my first fan theories ever, but also bc it would have such fascinating narrative implications if true.

Like, the idea of Mr. E being Echo? Well, if we apply that to the concept of Echo being the Original Zane, then his hatred for Current Zane takes on a whole new dimension. It also gives me a lot of emotions about the whole Ice Emperor situation, as well as Zane's apparent discomfort towards his own statue.

And what kind of position does that put the rest of the gang in? If they had to choose between saving one or the other - the Zane who died for you, or the Zane who lives for you - which one would they choose? Could they choose? How long do you have to love a replica before it starts to feel more authentic than the original? And in that case, who becomes the 'real' zane? The one you love, or the one you lost?

Again. This theory has more holes in it than the Titanic. Cut me some slack, i was an idiot child and also a novice at making theories. But giving credit where its due, i do think it at least raises some interesting concepts. And Ive always casually wondered what would happen if it turned out to be true.

Like i said. Fanfic fodder.

[horizon-verizon]

It might be an unpopular opinion but I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope Daenerys and Jon don’t end up together in the books. Not only because Jon’s stans viciously hate Daenerys and steal her storyline to give it to Jon, but Jonerys as a ship is very status quo heteropatriarchal, and it will only thrive through Daenerys sacrificing many aspects of herself to elevate Jon and let him thrive.

In order to be with Jon and lessen herself as a “threat” to him, Daenerys will give up her claim to the Iron Throne. She will go to his family, home, and land, to help fight for his people (rather than him going to hers). She will acclimate to his lifestyle and family, and so will her people, again rather than the other way around. He won’t have to share his sword or direwolf with her, but she’ll have to share her dragons—her children—with him. His birth is a big reason why she is exiled, and rather than him contending with it, Daenerys will be forced to make apologies for her father’s behavior and concessions for it as well. She will burn the Iron Throne, but Jon will not have to burn his own throne (and when he does give it up, it’ll be for his brother Bran, not for Daenerys). Jon has his own family, but Daenerys doesn’t.

They will be in his terrain, not hers, terrain he is far more familiar with. Daenerys will have to do more to show loyalty to his family than he will to show loyalty to her chosen/found family, especially because of the stigma surrounding her parentage. If they do get married, Daenerys’s name and status will only help legitimize Jon as a Targaryen even more, whereas Jon will give her nothing, no advantage or boon.

Jon won’t be able to win against the Others without Daenerys, whereas Daenerys doesn’t need Jon to take back her throne (in fact, he is an obstacle to her getting that throne and will be the reason she gives up on it). Choosing between love and duty to family will be harder for Daenerys than for Jon, because Jon won’t be giving anything up by being with her. If Daenerys doesn’t share and sacrifice all of these things about herself, and instead expects Jon to do so, then Daenerys will always be seen as the Mad Queen/daughter of the Mad King, and as unacceptable/unfit for Jon.

Jonerys shippers often lie and claim that they are equals, but them being equals is 1) not true and 2) actually a huge insult to Daenerys. They’re not equals because Daenerys is going to give up much more to be with Jon than the other way around, which imparts a power imbalance in the relationship and enables Jon to gain further concessions from Daenerys when the time comes (which he will do, it is guaranteed), and secondly because Daenerys in her current stage has been a queen regnant for so long. The man she marries must be her consort, not her equal.

Ruling as “equals” with a man reduces the power and autonomy Daenerys has and undermine her authority, forcing her to share with Jon, rather than her being the final authority and Jon being the consort. Westeros is a patriarchal society, a sovereign is regarded as holding supreme dominion over the state, while a husband is deemed to hold supreme dominion over his wife. Some may see this as better than her situation with Drogo or Hizdahr, but the reason Daenerys will be able to defeat Hizdahr and what freed her from Drogo and the obligation to marry is the fact that she could be THE regnant, and not have to power share with a husband. Jon is also not the type of man who wants to settle for being an obedient consort.

Jon has always wanted to rule, he wanted it even when he knew Robb would inherit Winterfell, and in his dreams of ruling Winterfell when Stannis offers it to him, Val is his consort, not his equal. Hence, this goes back to the first point too. Under the guise of “being equals,” Jon will demand more and more from Daenerys until she is the de facto consort and he the regnant/authority. Those who want Jon to be like Jaehaerys I are implicitly admitting to this as well: Jaehaerys knew Daenerys was his heir, but planned on lessening her power and making her the de facto consort to Aemon the Pale Prince, so that Aemon could be the real authority and regnant. Jonerys takes away from all the parallels and similarities GRRM has written between Daenerys and Aegon the Conqueror.

The politics in Daenerys’s arc are incredibly significant. The revolution she’s spearheaded and the changes she’s made and institutions she’s built show her potential as a queen regnant. If Daenerys married one of her queensguard or warriors like Jhogo, it would still hammer home the subversiveness and enable Daenerys to remain the sole ruler, instead of having to marry a man who is a danger to her life and political power. Jhogo is introduced by stopping Viserys from hitting Daenerys by wrapping his whip around his throat, he’s the first one to lay his arakh at her feet after she hatches three dragons and emerges unharmed from the flames and called her “blood of my blood”, and he’s utterly devoted to Daenerys, serving her as loyally as he would a man and he will do anything for her, even when it contradicts Dothraki culture.

I appreciate the comprehensive list for why Jonerys can't work, anon, I've been thinking about bk!Jon here and there recently. And much of what you say makes a lot of sense, esp:

Choosing between love and duty to family will be harder for Daenerys than for Jon, because Jon won’t be giving anything up by being with her. If Daenerys doesn’t share and sacrifice all of these things about herself, and instead expects Jon to do so, then Daenerys will always be seen as the Mad Queen/daughter of the Mad King, and as unacceptable/unfit for Jon.

And:

Daenerys will have to do more to show loyalty to his family than he will to show loyalty to her chosen/found family, especially because of the stigma surrounding her parentage.

I came to a similar conclusion but more because Dany has lived in a foreign places her entire life and all her current loved ones (except Barristan Selmy) are "Easterners" who've never lived under the Faith religion. Basically, xenophobia.

Largely, I agree on Daenerys never "sharing" power with a man because yes her regnant authority alone allows her to be able to assure both her/her people's safety AND make sure her institutional-change momentum keeps going. I just wonder why she would be seen as a threat to Jon? Is it in the event that his parentage is revealed and, similar to Daemon Blackfyre (or what's said abt him), Jon's supporters push for him to make moves to "protect" himself? Daenerys is a force onto herself, so she'd be a threat to any possible male descendant, true, but what does Jon materially have other than his maleness that could force Dany to even consider giving up her claim? Although even this would likely end-prevent all possible romances between them.

Even with all that, I have the suspicion Jon will become very...odd and threatening after his resurrection. Too much so to remain a part of any higher authority for long, so I don't think Jonerys will really stick even of there are some stirrings toward romance b/t them. Without her, I also don't think Jon could hold a position of authority for himself bc he'd be too, again, "odd" and likely very vengeful and angry...although I guess in this world this would at first be seen & misinterpreted as a positive trait for men to portray "strength", so idk. Whereas Dany is literally the Lady of Light, it feels too much like they are opposites or at least will have opposing vibes and feelings and values upon meeting. Of course, things could change on Jon's end, but WoW will appear to feature Jon's reluctance to give up any control after what happened to him in his betrayal.

I could also say that Jon wanting Val as his consort jives since Val is not a regnant Queen, but she is still a unique authority amongst her people and has her own "name"; being a Westerosi-style "consort" is not for her. However, I have the impression that Jon wanted Winterfell as his own in a sort of fantasy of power as part of his boyish desires to escape his bastardry, similar to how he admired Daeron I, which he doesn't really revisit and reinvest in again seriously as far as I remember (I haven't reread yet so I could be just talking farts right now). But again, at the same time, we don't know the exact sequence of thoughts and actions he'll have in WoW. Whether his anger and vengefulness will borrow from these early desires to justify and build into something more, and one could def make the argument to its likelihood, esp when Jon is still very much a man of his society (Myrcella, Sansa and yes I understand why he'd feel the way he did abt Sansa, more after these parentheses) and even if he does have some sort of come-to-Jesus moment with all his flaws can one in Dany's position really be expected to put all her eggs in his basket or have faith in him when the entire trend in her life is men--intentionally or not, but usually intentionally--trying to use her up? Yeah, her better bet is someone who has proven their devotion time and time again.

Still, as a romance thing, her and Jhogo specifically doesn't appeal to me emotionally, either. Mostly because I have never seen into his head or followed his experiences. He is substantive character, don't get me wrong, but he has a particular side role and I've never cared for attachment-central character romances, male-male, female-female-, nor female-male/male-female. For politics and the bigger picture sake, absolutely, he's a good choice for Dany. Or any of her Queensguard of appropriate enough age, some warrior separate enough from the Targaryen lineage. Would I swoon or wax poetic about it, though? Nah, I'd more logically appreciate such a tie, even as I worry what it might mean for any sort of court she'd create where she doesn't take a Westerosi lord husband (which again, I don't think she should really do either unless he's so low in noble status [like Cole] he nor his family can do basically nothing to her OR/AND bc, again, that xenophobia similar to what happened with Daeron II marrying Myriah Martell) which always leads me to the depressing conclusion that Westeros just isn't the ideal place for Dany even if they unknowingly need her.

Hope this was all legible and coherent, I was doing stream of conscious, writing on the fly. George needs to finish & release this damn book. Yes yes we shouldn't rush--doesn't mean I don't wish to be proven right abt some things and wrong abt others.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

This one guy I talked to on AO3 said that Emilie shouldn't be brought back because Adrien has already moved on from her death, but I'm not so sure about that. Other people think she should be revived so she can be her own character and not just someone else's sad backstory, and so Adrien has one good parent, of course. What do you think?

I think that it depends on the story you want to tell. There are cases to be made for bringing her back and cases to be made for letting her die. In the context of canon, I find not bringing her back to be fing stupid because it makes everything feel pointless. We obviously don't know the wish yet, but why let Gabe make the wish at all if he's not going to restore Emilie? Making a different wish isn't him being a good guy at the end. It's still him playing god, he's just now using his god powers to abandon his son for no logical reason. What loving father happily leaves his son an orphan???

Yeah, Gabriel saved Nathalie. I don't care. Nathalie chose to use the peacock to support Gabriel in his plan to terrorize Paris. That wasn't some noble sacrifice on her part! She didn't deserve to be saved any more than Gabriel did. Of the three dying/dead parental figures (I really don't know Emilie's status) Emilie is the only one who was never tempted by the dark side if we ignore the uncomfortable implications of how they got the peacock in the first place/Adrien's childhood isolation and just embrace the canon narrative that Emilie was a good and loving mother who was Too Pure For This World.

Meanwhile, Nathalie was a terrible mother figure! She supported Gabriel's awful treatment of Adrien for four seasons and then spent all of season five gently prodding Gabriel to change/tell Adrien the truth while leaving Adrien completely in the dark to everything that was happening. If Gabriel hasn't won, then Adrien would have lost both his father and Nathalie who knew that they were dying, but never gave Adrien a chance to say goodbye because Nathalie never stopped putting Gabriel first in almost every way that mattered. Adrien still doesn't know that he could have been allowed say goodbye to his father because Gabriel's death was entirely predictable.

Along similar lines, I don't think that Nathalie was wrong to undo Gabriel's senticommands, but it is deeply messed up that she was happily doing it in secret and never once considered giving Adrien a chance to consent. A loving parent should find the idea of controlling their child deeply upsetting. She should have been tempted to tell Adrien the truth, especially since she knew that she was dying, but we never see her consider that.

She also does nothing to get Adrien's slave collar away from Gabriel or to stop Gabriel from terrorizing Paris even though we have a scene where she literally pins Gabriel to a table. Her turn to "good" did nothing but maintain the status quo because she continued to support Gabriel in all the ways that truly matter. She never really protects Adrien. She does not deserve to be Adrien's new mother. #BringEmilieBack!!!

All of that is assuming that Gabriel's wish saved Nathalie while sacrificing himself and Emilie. If so, then that is literally the most boring way to go about letting the wish happen. You could have just as easily had Gabriel lose and have Ladybug know a way to save Nathalie via Guardian magic. The end result would have been the same.

If Gabriel had chosen to give up on the wish entirely? Then Emilie not coming back would be a satisfying ending. I personally really like Gabriel being defeated and the heroes then bringing Emilie back. Very much a spite move for me, plus it's a nice way to lessen the sting of Gabriel's defeat. Adrien losing his father, but gaining his mother feels really satisfying to me, especially if Emilie gets to serve Gabriel divorce papers. Got your wish, old man. Now suffer for it.

No matter the case, saying that Emilie shouldn't be brought back because Adrien has moved on is bad logic as it implies that Emilie is only worth bringing back if Adrien say he wants her back, as if she's a beloved childhood toy that someone broke long ago. It also implies that Adrien wouldn't want her back just because he's accepted her loss. Those are two very different things. Imo, one of the show's failings is the fact that Adrien is denied the right to grieve as if that makes him a better person. A better show would show healthy grief vs unhealthy grief (Adrien vs Gabe). She's been gone less than a year when the story starts. Everyone processes grief different, but that's really fast to move on from the death of a parent.

[o-cute-blood-o]

Name:Antonio Huxley

Gender: Male

Age: 5 years old (over 90 years old)

Height: 120cm

Likes: roses, alcohol, coffee, cold places, night, my hat, knife, apple, autumn, cats, guinea pigs, being recognized, loneliness, being alive

Dislikes: The Huxley family, Applesft, curling irons, permed things, ties (Antonio thinks ties are like hanging ropes), crowded and noisy environments

Personality: He is very cold and only cares about revenge. He thinks that human beings are vicious and fragile, so he is not willing to communicate with too many people. He has no friends at all. It seems that Antonio has been surrounded by hatred for too long and can't express many emotions. Antonio is very inferior and fragile deep in his heart, because this is the emotion he least wants to show to others, so he uses his indifference and hatred to bury these emotions deep in his heart, but these emotions cannot be completely covered up and they are occasionally exposed unintentionally.

Story Mission: Antonio and Kid work together to kill the Huxley family children in the school. After the mission, Kid can get a destroyed Applesft company badge, which means that the two of them can trust each other completely. As long as Kid needs it, Antonio will contribute everything he knows to him.

What can he do in the kindergarten: Although he is obsessed with revenge, Antonio also likes to wander around the kindergarten when no one is there and get some interesting information. If Kid can gain his trust, Antonio will tell Kid more about how to kill kindergarten children, and will naturally provide some services (maybe a knife or a bottle of poison) and does not need to pay for it because he hopes Kid will use these things on Huxley's group of children. (If he doesn't do that, he won't mind using them on other children)

Why does Antonio hate the members of the Huxley family? Because he believes that a member of the Huxley family killed his mother and he was also killed. In fact, there is another reason: Antonio was taken to the Huxley family by his father when he was five years old.

But everyone there was not nice to him... That group of people looked down on his illegitimate status, and his nominal brothers and sisters often abused him, for example, they stole their mother's curling irons and burned his arms and thighs (these burns could not heal at all, these injuries

Scars covered his entire body, making it impossible for him to wear short sleeves.)

And hitting his eyes with a baseball (his original pupil color was blue, and the other eye that was hit by the baseball turned green after the pupil color was injured)

Antonio may not have been in this family for a long time, but every day is a nightmare. The adults in the family have seen all these things but never responded, including his father.

Antonio did not like his origin. He hated his father the most, but he would never forgive the Huxley family.

Antonio also left here. (At this time, the members of Huxley killed his mother and destroyed him.) After his father passed away, he transferred this unrelieved hatred to the Huxley family.

As long as Antonio sees them, he will hate them so much that his teeth will itch and even the scars on his body will start to ache and itch.

The ability of immortality is indeed powerful, but Antonio doesn't think so. The pain he feels is several times that of others.

His healing ability after death is amazing. If he is still alive, his healing ability is still at the level of ordinary people, and he may not be able to heal. In this situation where he needs to wait for death slowly, Antonio will commit suicide immediately. Although this ability prevents his body from growing, at least he doesn't care and feels free. . .

trivia:

Antonio is asexual

Antonio murdered 18 people in more than 90 years, all of whom were members of the Huxley family. As a five-year-old child, his strength was too little to kill so many people.

Antonio is very interested in knives

Antonio likes to drink a lot of alcohol at night and often vomits.

Antonio can only cook some very simple dishes.

[cafejulii]

How Albert, William, and Louis Reflect The Holy Trinity in Christianity

(a 3 part analysis series that I had made year ago on another social media platform but would like to post here because why not)

P1: Albert

To begin with, Albert represents God the Father, the God of the Old Testament, who was the one responsible for creating the events that would eventually lead to Salvation History (the redemptive act of God within human history that ultimately leads to eternal salvation).

Even though Albert is not the main character in Yuumori, it can be argued that the entirety of the story would have not been possible without him, as he was the one responsible for the series of events that allowed for William gain status among the nobility so that he may later dismantle the class system from within, offering William his authority, status, and wealth - "everything [he would] need to fulfill [his] aspiration." He, of course, had done this will the full intent to eventually die for the sin of his country (aka the creation of the class system in the first place) so that salvation may be brought upon mistreated citizens of Great Britain.

Similarly, God the Father bestowed his power and knowledge onto Christ, so that he may eventually go on to fulfill his role in Salvation History by eventually sending his only son (and technically a part of himself) to die for the sins of humanity, absolving them of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve that plagued each and every soul brought forth since them, preventing them from meeting true unification/salvation with God after the death of the mortal flesh.

Albert is also akin to God the Father as he is the most outwardly rageful character in yuumori, specifically during the very beginning of the story, simply due to the sheer savagery he was witnessing daily from his own family that he was forced to remain complacent in. Despite being a child, he was brutally aware of how his family directly contributed to the mass corruption of Great Britain and how this resulted in strings of violence and mistreatment among the population, especially the poor.

Genesis chapter 6, it is stated "the earth was corrupt before God; and the Earth was filled with violence", an aspect of humanity that led God to loathe how humanity interacted amongst each other, despite the fact it was not long after he had initially created it (chronically speaking in regards to the biblical narrative of course). He too was forced to bear witness to his own creation led itself into destruction, as overt interference would inherently stifle the nature of free will he had promised to humanity at The Beginning.

Due to this, Both Albert and God the Father ordered those responsible to be purged from the earth as they both believed that their actions had gone past the point of any redemption; a cleansing must be done. God had done so by sending the Great Flood, and Albert by killing the members of his family and then setting the estate on fire, however, within their rage they had spared lives of the last remaining human beings who could bring about a new start to the society, a better one. Within the Bible, that was Noah and his family, within Yuumori, this concept is represented by the survival of William and Louis.

Elaborating further, as Yuumori progressed it became rare to see Albert go directly on combat missions in comparison to the rest of the members of the Moriarty plan, as his job was more to gather information on the ranks of Parliament, overseeing information from both the LOC and the rest of society. Albert also tried to keep tabs on William's mental state as best as he could in the moments leading up to the Final Problem.

This is reflective of God the Father, as in the New Testament, he was not as interactive with His people but regardless, he knew of the actions of both the followers of Christ and the Pharisees, as he is both omnipresent and omniscient. God also made sure to keep tabs on Jesus leading up to his death, specifically during the Agony in the Garden.

Looking back at this analysis, I cannot help but wish I had written it after Albert had expressed how truly anguished he was following the events of the tower bridge, as he was forced to be imprisoned before the very place where he witnessed William's "last moments." To my vague memory of one of the gospels, I recall an earthquake happening the very moment that Christ had perished; a tribute to his despair of being forced to witness the murder of his own son through his omniscience/omnipresence. Just another small note I'd like to make.

Anyway that is all for now <3

disclaimer: I am an ex-christian, however, I had been raised in the faith and just happened to keep a large interest in scripture despite the fact I have departed from the church. Do correct me if there is any misinformation.

[johanirae]

Dion's heartbreaking backstory

Finished the game last night and pieced together Dion Lesage's backstory. It's really tragic and also shows how good a person he was to rise above it all, when the same backstory could have easily been one for a villain.

Spoilers for the whole game below

He was initially born in what may be a loving family. His biological mother is not present in the game, only mentioned by his stepmother Annabella as being a "whore who weighed her child's worth in gil". (Note however that Annabella is a raging blood supremacist who at one point called Jill, an actual princess, a 'savage' just because she was from a foreign land, so who the heck knows what qualifies as "whore" in her books) However, his early life wasn't too harsh. He had good relations with his father, who then ruled the kingdom fairly. Dion was also educated with the full expectation that he will one day rule the empire.

However, following the fall of Phoenix Tower, Annabella married into his family and became Dion's stepmother and empress. She cut off his education and started pouring poison into the emperor's ear that Dion aimed to betray him. It's also implied that she had a hand in making him join the military, under the guise of utilising his status as Bahamut Dominant. I believe she did this for two goals: 1) Gain as much power as possible through conquests 2) Kill Dion. It is shown in the game that extensive use of fully primed Eikon powers proves detrimental to the dominant's health. Not to mention constant combat with other fully primed eikons. The earlier Dion dies, the earlier her own son Olivier can rise uncontested to the throne.

Through these years, his only companion had been his tutor Harpocrates (whom was dismissed by Annabella due to his egalitarian beliefs) and childfriend friend, later lover Sir Terence. He is never able to share their love in public due to a difference in social status. (Although it's a great joy for me to discover that their problems seems to have nothing to do with homophobia, which seems absent in this world).

Given a backstory like this, it's so easy for Dion to sink into darkness and evil, but throughout his story in FFXVI, he has a strong belief that rulers should do right by their people. He has a strong sense of honor and justice. Even after realising the machinations of Annabella and Ultima, he never tried to blame others for his actions. Sadly, it's this very same sense of honor that led him to join the final fight, even if it costed him his own life.

I like to think that in the end he finally got to join Sir Terence on the other side and achieve the happiness that was so denied him ;_;

[jellyfitzjelly]

Please do write that fanfic of Ruyi and Ling Yunche. Both of them deserve the whole world 😭

Anon sorry for leaving you hanging I swear I am working on it! It's an AU where Ruyi marries Yunche instead of Hongli! Here is the beginning of my fic! I might actually post it as a standalone... Under a cut because it's long lol.

Ling Yunche looks between the doors of the Cold Palace every night when he’s on duty, and watches the fairy crying in the moonlight. She reminds him of the beautiful and tragic fox demon of his hometown’s folk song, condemned to cry forever under the moon with no possibility to join her human lover in the underworld. He misses his village so much. The capital is big and foreign to him, and the palace is a whole world contained within high red walls. He is blessed to have his sweetheart and his childhood friend here with him. They form Yunche’s own world, a cocoon of familiarity and warmth.

The beautiful, sorrowful girl looks terribly lonely in comparison.

He hears the other guards talk about her. She’s an Ula-Nara, the precious daughter of a powerful Manchu family now fallen. Her aunt was the lofty empress of the Forbidden City, but she is now locked away in her palace and disgraced. They say the favorite son of the Emperor wanted to marry her, courting his parents’ wrath. The Emperor was so enraged he ordered to have her thrown in the Cold Palace, even though she does not belong here. Yunche finds her lover a very weak man. Who wouldn’t feel chivalrous looking at that delicate face? And yet he lets her rot here, bending like tall weed in the wind to his parents’ will and marrying the women they have prepared for him. He should have eloped with her, he reasons, and escaped the capital. She must be heartbroken to have placed her love in such a fickle man. He always makes a prayer for her to find a better man, though he grimly knows that beautiful women have tragic fates more often than not. His Yanwan is certainly not as beautiful as this fairy, but she is his and she sings like a goddess. They have loved each other since they could remember. Her father was a joyous though incompetent man, spoiling her rotten when he was still alive. Yunche chases away the memories, not wishing to start thinking of his own parents, buried in his hometown. He has grown up a wild child with no parents to love him. But one day, he promises himself, he shall have a family again.

If the heavens have eyes, they will grant this beautiful girl a family too.

He watches her every night, hearing her quiet sobs. This time though, she turns around and in the semi-darkness, the moonlight is reflected in her eyes like precious jewels. Yunche should do the sensible thing and close the doors lest the girl starts screaming, but his hands refuse to obey him. The fairy approaches him slowly, the simplicity of her attire highlighting the porcelain of her skin and the delicate features of her face. It is as if the statue of a goddess had suddenly gained a life of its own.

“Who is this?” the beauty calls quietly.

“I am Ling Yunche, guard of the Cold Palace!” he whispers back. “And you, beautiful fairy, who are you?”

She looks at him, blinking in obvious surprise. He wants to smash his forehead against the heavy doors, cursing his foolishness.

“Beautiful fairy?” she repeats, confused, her brows furrowing.

“Oh, forgive me! You must be a ghost, rather than a fairy,” he jests to hide his mortification.

Her chuckle is a delightful sound, and her smile is as sweet as honey and as bright as the sun in summer. What possessed her man to abandon her?

“I am Ula-Nara Qinying, daughter of Naerbu.”

“So it is true? You are the woman the fourth prince wanted to marry?”

He sees her face contorts in hurt, and he curses himself once again for his blunder.

“Hey,” he continues, eager not to leave her with a dreadful impression of him, “if you need anything, call for me. I shall do what I can.”

“Thank you, Ling Yunche,” she smiles.

After that they speak leisurely when he is on duty at night, and familiarity has yet to succeed in making her startling beauty fade. He shares his cheap wine with her, and tries to make her laugh. She must be a fairy in disguise, he muses. She loves music and poetry, though she cannot dance; she loves to embroider swallows on her younger sister’s handkerchiefs; she likes to look at the moon when it is full. He never knew such a woman existed. Regularly he wonders how unlucky she is to have given her heart to such an ungrateful man. He never visits her, nor enquires after her. He lives his luxurious life, and has forgotten his sweetheart.

Finally, she is allowed to go back to her parents. She still looks heartbroken, but she gives him a smile as she thanks him for taking care of her. He does not see her again, though he regularly dreams of the fairy sobbing under the moonlight.

Yunche is promoted a week later, and he tells himself that perhaps her man is not so much of a cad as he believed him to be.

[zallanimana]

One piece swap au, but it's more like what if this character had to fulfill this character's role

Buggy : shanks

Shanks : Mihawk

Mihawk : Crocodile

Buggy

Shanks must be too stressed with his father captain execution, Rayleigh didn't want to burden him with more information after Roger told him something important. So Rayleigh tells Buggy the story and promise about Joyboy to apologize and motivate him, giving Buggy a new purpose in his life. Creating a world where he will guide the new Joy boy to become the pirate king and fulfill his dream

The way he built that world was by controlling the underground world after the pirate era began, ensuring balance was maintained by being the ruler of everything. He tries to gain as much power and attention as possible to make it easier for more new people to set sail, filling the world with predictable chaos.

Information about how to become the pirate king was already widespread, but he also made sure that the little knowledge about the Void Century was spread hidden throughout the ocean. Many people start to learn about the darkness hidden by the world government, and most of those people are under it to protect them from being eliminated

What is on his back is not only peace but also knowledge and history, he is more focus about preparing the world to be ready to accept the reality of the Void Century rather than ensuring that no blood is spilled. For him, chaos is fine as long as it can be controlled and does not destroy large areas

Most people who follow him do so because they have a business relationship, not friendship or care for others.

Shanks

After learning the truth about his blood, Shanks began to lose his way in this world, he just wandered from one place to another, avoiding people who knew him.

He seeks power because... there is nothing else he can seek after the death of his captain, his life is filled with the color red with the corpses of those he challenged or challenged him. At first he gets temporary pleasure while climbing to become the strongest swordsman

But over time people started to stop challenging him and instead tried to catch him for the crimes he committed, the marines were sent to kill him relentlessly for a long time. He was so tired of those useless weaklings that when they offered him the position of warlord he just accepted it

Mihawk's his rival has always been the only challenge that keeps coming and truly has the strength to prove himself. Until one day the man stopped looking for her, pursuing a new goal just like his brother. In the end the title of strongest swordsman was given to him by technically sense

The rest of his time is spent chasing down rookie pirates who get too cocky and crushing their dreams with harsh reality

Mihawk

After losing hundreds of times to his rival Mihawk to gain the position of warlord, he began to fall as he questioned whether his dream could be achieved. Dreams of building a utopia for everyone he cares about

The competition for the title of strongest swordsman was initially quite fun until it wasn't anymore, He just lived alone and built few connections until one day he heard about an ancient weapon.His life began to have only one goal, which was to get it.

He built a criminal organization and used his status as a warlord to cover up the operation, unconsciously forgetting his rival and focusing on the goal that he think will fulfil his dream

[artemismoorea03]

Little Badger, Big Badger

Vlad’s obsession is family, something he is seriously lacking. To make matters worse his core is already convinced that Daniel is his son, and being away from his son is causing him a lot of emotional turmoil and pain. The more he ignores it the worse he treats Daniel when he sees him again, and the more Daniel distances himself.

But after all that Vlad has said and done, forgiveness is a million miles away... right?

Vlad Masters was many things; a leader, genius, evil mastermind, most powerful halfa in the ghost zone, and Mayor of Amity Park. Other than the occasional hiccups in his life things had gone fairly well. Sure, the accident when he was in his twenties was inconvenient, and his status from human to halfa was a long and painful one but it was far from the only painful thing he had experienced.

Even before the accident things had been… difficult.

His father was determined, undermining and cruel - demanding he be a soldier as he once was or at least be something useful instead of a ‘white collar sleazebag’. His mother was absent most of the time both physically and emotionally and when she was there she was constantly annoyed with anything that had to do with Vlad and his sister. 

That’s right - sister.

His sister had been the only light in his life in the gray, a few years younger than him but as bright as a star. After he got infected by ecto-acne he distanced himself from her considerably which hurt his core but was for the best. His sister was… fragile, but fragile in a different way compared to their parents. There wasn’t a bit of aggression, hostility or cruelty to her, a stark contrast to Vlad. A heart of gold and kind hands which healed others instead of hurting them. But she was sensitive and often got too attached to those who only hurt her.

Abusive relationships, cruel partners, and lack of caring for her safety because she wanted to fix the ones she loved often put her in harm's way. Vlad thought that by separating himself he was going to help protect her from him. So shortly after he fully ‘changed’ into the halfa he was now he cut all ties with his wonderful little sister and his awful parents.

His core and obsession suffered at this choice, it was so young and so fragile that it latched onto the last connections he had and the newest connection it formed. Maddie, Jack and Daniel Fenton. 

He still despised Jack Fenton for the accident, his calculations, his haste to finish their project, his mistakes had cost him everything but it didn’t change that he still cared about him deep down. Maddie - he knew it was a foolish dream to imagine he could take her from Jack, even when he knew how she felt about him in college, if being married to the bumbling oaf for 20 years wasn’t enough to change her mind he sure as sugar wouldn’t be. Then Daniel… an absolutely amazing child who was like him. He died too young and his core was still new. It needed a connection, a bond, an older core to learn from and Vlad was desperate to be that mentor.

But his years alone made him aggressive, his core and obsessions lashed out when they saw Jack and gained an attachment to Daniel. He messed up and as a result he hurt his chances of forming that bond with Daniel.

It hurt.

Vlad had hurt him.

He had never wanted to do that.

Vlad thought that would be the last of it, that if he couldn’t have Daniel, Maddie or Jack then he would make his own family but that didn’t work. Because part of the whole ‘being dead thing’ also meant biological children were impossible and cloning wasn’t working no matter how hard he tried! So he grew more hostile. More desperate. More afraid.

He became Mayor of Amity Park partially to spite Daniel but to also teach him, both a life lesson about picking powerful enemies and also to keep an eye on the boy in case things got out of hand within the city limits. It was enough - at least for a while. But he could already feel his obsession reaching and crying out for more.

Family.

Family.

Nights made the feelings harder to ignore. Harder to push off. Harder to push though, the constant nagging to check on Daniel and insure that he wasn’t harmed or working too hard was infuriating. Thankfully, on this night it seemed as though fate had plans of its own.

It started with a soft and almost hesitant knock, pulling Vlad’s attention away from his tea which had long since gone cold. He had been glaring at it for hours to try to get the nagging pull of his core to cease, and while it clearly hadn’t worked on the knock would at least provide a small distraction.

Vlad got out of his chair, placing the tea on his coffee table as he walked through the house as the person knocked a second time, this time more confident. It made Vlad raise a brow as he walked to the door and pulled it open with mild annoyance, the scent of rain assaulting his nose and rain immediately splashing into the house as it hit the path outside his door. He hadn’t even noticed the sudden onslaught of precipitation.

He looked down at the person standing in front of him, blinking in surprise as he looked at the familiar teen. Black hair was soaked down, white t-shirt clinging to his painfully thin body, jeans drenched up to the knees, and a type of exhaustion that felt wrong on a face so young. Daniel’s eyes met his for a moment, too blue to be natural and much harder to hide than they had been when they first met. Then his eyes looked down and he rubbed his arm.

“Daniel? What are you doing here? It’s late.” He said, though the time was the least of Vlad's concerns. The last time Daniel and Vlad had been face to face he had been attempting to destroy Danielle (or ‘Elle’ as he heard she had gone by since that day). They were far from on ‘friendly’ terms, yet he was here.

“Can… can we talk?”

Vlad blinked, looking at Daniel in confusion. “Just… talk?”

Daniel nodded, refusing to look at him still. “Yeah...”

Vlad went to tell him to just say what he needed to say then leave but his core seemed to almost beg for him to hug Daniel. Plus, this was a great chance to try to fix things. There might never be a chance like this again.

He couldn’t let it slip through his fingers.

“Very well. Come in and kick off your shoes by the door. I will get you a towel so you’re not getting everything wet.” Vlad said, stepping to the side as Daniel walked into his house, closing the door behind him. He watched as Daniel seemed to hesitate, before starting to pull off his shoes.

Vlad took the chance to walk towards the nearest bathroom, opening the door and simply grabbing the towel from directly off of the towel rack. He carried the towel back to Daniel who continued to stand near the door, as though scared to cross further into the house. Vlad held the towel out to Daniel.

Again, Daniel eyed it interestingly before he took it and started drying off his hair.

“Come, we can sit in the kitchen. I was just about to make myself some fresh tea.” He said, leading Daniel through the house into the kitchen. Once they entered the kitchen Vlad gestured towards the bar and the barstools that were tucked neatly under it. “Have a seat, Daniel.”

“Mhm…” Daniel sat down, glancing around again while Vlad went to the stove, adjusting the kettle and turning on the stove burner.

Vlad then sighed, turning to face Daniel as he leaned against the far counter. “Mind telling me why you’re here…” He looked at the clock in the corner, “Two-twenty-one in the morning?”

Daniel swallowed thickly, seeming to hesitate as he opened his mouth, but then shut it again quickly as he curled up in on himself causing worry to pang at Vlad’s chest.

“Daniel? Did something happen at home?” He asked.

Daniel let out a shaky breath, “N-no. Home… home is fine. I-I just… I-I um… I…” He looked terrified, more fear than Vlad had ever caused this child. Though that was a given considering he was currently fighting back tears on a barstool in his kitchen. Whatever had frightened this child was scarier than Vlad.

Somebody or something had scared his kid.

Vlad hesitated, unsure what to do for a moment before he reached into a cupboard, pulling out a box of cheap sugary sweets. Specifically cosmic brownies. He opened the box, pulling an unopened package out for himself then handing one to Daniel who eyed it confused before looking up at Vlad, blinking the tears from his eyes.

“What’s this?”

“Cosmic brownie. Unfortunately it was something your father got me hooked on in our college days, I have been unable to shake the habit and always keep some in the house as well as in my office.”

Daniel opened it, then took a bite. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because nobody will ever believe you.” He said, and to his relief he heard a snort of laughter come from the teen.

“Yeah, I guess they wouldn’t. Who would believe that Mayor Masters has cosmic brownies on standby.” Daniel smirked, “You should get one of those ‘in case of emergency break glass’ cases and just put a box of cosmic brownies inside.”

Now it was Vlad's turn to chuckle, “You know, I might have to agree with you. Perhaps I could put one in each room in place of a fire extinguisher.”

Daniel laughed again, a bit harder this time. Though it didn’t last long before he took another bite of his brownie and sighed. “I um… this is going to sound stupid but I had a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?” Vlad questioned leaving the ‘a nightmare bad enough to come to me?’ part of his statement unsaid.

Daniel nodded slowly. “I um… it’s complicated and I don’t know how much I’m able to say but… there was this ghost a few months back and he… he nearly killed Mom, Dad, Jazz, Sam, Tucker and my homeroom teacher, Mr. Lancer.” His voice was quiet, his hands trembling slightly. “I-I say ‘nearly’ killed them but he kinda… h-he would have killed them if it hadn’t been for Clockwork.”

Vlad had never personally met Clockwork but he had heard of the incredibly powerful god of a ghost. He did not show himself to those who he did not want to find him. Vlad had never been able to find him, likely as a result of that ability. Though he knew that if Clockwork interfered then what Daniel had said in the beginning about how much he’d be allowed to say implied there were a lot of complicated ‘time-travel’ aspects to this situation.

“But… a-and I know you might not believe me but… y-you were kinda there too. You helped me. Despite everything that we’ve been through… you willingly helped me because I asked. B-but in my dream… in my dream that ghost won. That ghost won and killed my family and my friends and I realized that… even with all I know, a-all I’ve seen, if that happened…” Vlad saw the tears finally streak down Daniel’s cheeks, dripping onto the counter. “If anything happened to them you would still be the first person I would run to. J-just like tonight.” He sobbed.

Vlad walked over hesitantly, standing next to Daniel as his hands shook.

Daniel had gone to him? He had asked for his help and even with everything bad that had happened - all the bad things Vlad had done to him - he had come running to him. What did this mean? What did this mean? What should he do? What could he do?

“Daniel… I won’t lie to you. I don’t fully understand what you’re talking about but what I do know is that I am happy you’re here.” He said as Daniel looked up at him, almost surprised as tears streamed down his face still.

“Y-you are?”

“Yes. My obsession… is complicated, as is my situation. But I have been neglecting it for many years and as a result it has made me… aggressive, cold and hostile. Such traits that have been turned unfairly to those whom my obsession is drawn to; you and your family. I have done horrible things to you and your family and while you have no reason to forgive me I… I would like to attempt to start over.”

Daniel seemed as though he was still unsure about all of it, so Vlad let out a shaky breath, sitting on the stool next to Daniel, turning him slightly. 

“My obsession is Family, Daniel.” He explained as Daniel’s eyes widened.

Talking about an obsession was difficult for ghosts and asking about one was considered incredibly rude, so Vlad could understand why Daniel was confused by the subject. But, Vlad knew if he stopped talking now he wouldn’t finish this conversation, so instead he kept talking and didn’t give Daniel a chance to speak.

“A family, which I do not have and cannot have. My parents have never been particularly nurturing and my sister, well, I was forced to distance myself for her safety after the accident. My core attached to what I knew at the time of the accident; your parents. Then when I met you my core - for lack of a better term - imprinted on you. My obsession for a family now specifically surrounded you because my core was convinced that you were already my family. But the amount of neglect my core has suffered over the years causes some emotional turmoil and as a result I lash out and I have repeatedly hurt you and as a result-”

“-I pulled away further.”

Vlad nodded, “Yes, which as you know makes that pull stronger. Being in the same city as you has helped considerably but… I would still like to fix this. To start fresh. I want to be the kind of man you can run to in an emergency or when you feel unsafe, and while I cannot say I won’t make mistakes in the future I do promise to try to be better.”

Danny sniffled, rubbing his eyes. “I-I think I’d like that. I-I mean… I can’t promise I won’t be a pain in your ass sometimes or cross lines now and then, but I can promise to not be as much of a pain, so long as you stop trying to kill my dad and steal my mom.”

“Very well, though, I cannot promise that ‘forgiving and forgetting’ will be as easy in practice but… for you, my boy, I will try.” Vlad smiled down at Daniel, “Now then… Danny, would you like some tea?”

Danny’s gaze softened, “Tea sounds great. Thanks, Uncle Vlad.”

[inhurtandincomfort]

"Sunfall"

-🕯

Thanks for the ask! "Sunfall" is a placeholder title for a concept of a fic. I really don't have much for it, except it will be inspired by greek mythology which I have been getting into. Very loosely inspired, I should add, don't expect it to be accurate to real myths because my goodness, there is so much to learn and I am not ready to undertake the herculean task of something like PJO or EPIC lmao.

The only thing set in stone is the two main characters, a human prince and a god. This is very early days and is SUBJECT TO CHANGE, but the current idea is the God Chrysanthus, also Chrysos, Spirit of Gold, God of Light, wealth, and fortune. "A being of divine beauty with hair spun from sunlight and magnificent wings of golden feathers, it is said he grants a feather to those he favours and they will blessed with eternal prosperity."

He loved mortals and was known to frequently visit them in disguise. He fell in love with a princess Antope, and she got sick. Altering a mortals fate is not a decision to be taken lightly, but Chrysanthus brought her Ambrosia without permission. She consumed it and gained immortality, but both would be punished. The princess was cursed to become a living statue - frozen in place and time, doomed to watch the world pass by for eternity never engaging with it.

Chrysanthus, on the other hand, though still a God, was banished from Olympus to live as a mortal for for the next few centuries, with hope that one day he could be granted a second chance. This wouldn't have been so bad for him if he could wear a disguise and keep changing his life every few decades; however, the King Polycrates, father of Antiope, was furious with Chrysanthus for in an attempt to save his daughter she instead suffered a fate worse than death. He had Chrysanthus imprisoned, bound in chains deep below the palace, never to see the sunlight.

For nearly two centuries he was held there. His golden wing feathers were stolen repeatedly and gifted or sold - but without access to Ambrosia, eventually his powers weakened and so too did the power of the feathers. No longer was one feather enough for a lifetime. Eventually, the novelty wore off and he was largely left alone for decades. Kings came and kings went until the current King Ithikrates married a sorceress Hypatia, who uses his ichor in spells and his feathers in potions she calls "bottled luck". They're nowhere near as potent as a full-strength feather, but they will indeed provide a few hours of luck so may be used before important events.

This brings us to Prince Dorotheos. As the fifth son he wasn't as important as his brothers, and he always felt inferior for he lacked their strength and wisdom. He was ignored by his father and mocked by his siblings. He relies on this bottled luck just to pass his studies, much to his shame. The dungeon was always off-limits, no one but the king (and Hypatia) knows what's in there. But Dorotheos feels… an urge, to go in there. He doesn't know why, but he feels like somethings calling him. So he sneaks in there one night, and is shocked at what he discovers.

And I haven't figured out the details, but somehow it will lead to Chrysanthos being free, but needing to earn his right to return home, and Dorotheos becoming a hero in true ancient-greek-mytholgy fashion.