#especially when he was making a very dangerous plan to overthrow a very dangerous leader while having two kits in the nursery

[hinterland-clans]

now all of me thinks less of you (all of me wants all of you)

[lampmanliveblogs]

”Feisty witches make the best leaders,” Terra says. She follows this up by giving Raine a boop on the nose and saying how she especially likes Raine. That’s funny considering events involving the leader of the Bard Coven and Terra in some thirty years or so.

So my prediction before was kinda half-right. Raine did lose the game, lost their scholarship, and did transfer to Hexside as I thought. But Eda didn’t win the game, she lost. In fact everyone lost. But Terra spoke to Principal Faust and sorted things out. I imagine that conversation involved very little talking, and more of her sending him bouquets of poisonous & carnivorous flowers alongside a card informing him of the situation.

Oh, and the Raine’s Rhapsody/Eda’s Requiem leitmotif returns once again.

Also, I guess Saint Epiderm is up on The Knee. And since Saint Epiderm was supposed to be a bit fancier, a bit more elite, it kinda makes sense for the school t be in a location with lots of magical power.

This screenshot is here because I thought it was cute.

This is also really cute. Slightly less cute was Luz somewhat uncanny drawing of Eda & Raine, but still, this is still a really nice, wholesome moment to end the episode on.

…is what I would say if there wasn’t a minute left.

We cut to the castle, where Terra is feeding Raine their daily dose of brain detergent.

Raine, as per usual, blows on on their tea to cool it down, which produces a whistling sound, just like we saw earlier when they used it to modify Eda’s juice and alter its taste.

…

Hol up-

Oh look, Raine found one of Darius' little mini abominations wandering around! It must’ve gotten lost inside that wall, the poor thing. I hope it wasn’t carrying around sensitive information in that letter! It could be very bad if that got into the hands of some traitors planning on overthrowing the Emperor.

Alright, so first things first THIS IS WHAT MY SISTER HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT ALL THIS TIME! FINALLY! The identity of the traitors revealed!

There’s suddenly a lot of things to talk about, so let’s break it down.

(for context, I watched to the end of the scene, but I chose this screenshot because of the information)

Raine has been using their whistle magic to counter Terra’s tea. How long have they been doing that? Ever since the beginning? If so, then what happened at the Coven Day Parade was all an act, which I could believe. Raine does say they don’t want to put Eda in danger again (because they love her and Eda also has kids to take care of), so the act would’ve been both to keep Eda safe and to make sure Terra & Belos didn’t catch on to that Raine wasn’t under their control like they thought.

Then we  have Darius. Raine and Darius obviously didn’t know about each other before the events of Eda’ s Requiem. If they did, Raine wouldn’t have tried to have Darius (and I guess Eberwolf was there too), ah… permanently incapacitated via the use of Eda’s curse.

Speaking of Eberwolf, is he(?) in on this? I’m thinking maybe not? Because he and Darius went to capture the traitor (Raine). But if they were both also traitors, then they wouldn’t have captured Raine, they would've teamed up with them. Unless… Kikimora did appear unexpectedly, which might’ve been what messed up their plans.

(I think I might go back to Eda’s Requiem and Follies at the Coven Day Parade and rewatch those scenes to look for clues. I don’t have the time right now)

Regardless, Darius and Raine are now working together to try and stop Belos’ evil plans. Darius has managed to figure out at least part of the plan. I was right that it involves draining magic through the coven sigils and that it’s channeled through the coven head witches (although it doesn’t specify that it has to be the head witches, just nine strong witches).

The magic power will be directed or channeled to the spell center, which is where the door is being moved to. This will do… something.

The eclipse is also important. Maybe.

When Raine asks if there is any way to counter the draining spell, Darius suggests Eda. Eda’s curse messes with magic, true, something Darius would know from experience… though I’m not 100% exactly what it is he thinks they could do. Raine & Eda together could use bard magic to spread the curse, but there have got to be several thousand witches, if not more coming to this thing. Maybe if they got close to the spell center and could disrupt the flow of magic somehow…

I suppose it doesn’t matter because Raine refuses to involve Eda. They might still have to resort to that plan once the Day of Unity does roll around. We’ll see.

The episode ends with Raine looking out over the head of the Titan, which reminds me of the image from the outro with Luz looking at the head.

I need to be up pretty early tomorrow for work, so I don’t have time to do my usual rewatch right now. Although to be honest, I think I caught most of the important stuff the first time through. And if there was something I missed, you guys will let me know.

Anyway, I’ll do a little follow-up post tomorrow talking about my thoughts on the episode overall. See you then!

[ecto-american]

From the mouth of a criminal justice graduate: Has Danny committed treason?

If you want the short answer: No, Danny has never committed treason.

Longer answer is under the cut

First, let us define treason.

There are two ways to define it: federally and on a state level.

Federally, treason is defined within Article III, Section 3 of the US Constitution. It specifically states that reason is specifically limited to essentially war-related crimes, such as starting a war against the US or helping their enemies, such as giving them aid. Starting a war basically boils down to a group of armed people that are attempting to overthrow the government or resist their laws, and this also applies to conspiracy to those crimes (or you're actively making plans to commit those crimes.

This definition was expanded in 2001 with the Patriot Act. The relevant information here is that it mostly just gave more freedoms to prevent terrorism from happening, such as mentioning more modern technology and methods and increasing punishments for terrorism. The general gist of the definition is the same.

By state, I'm going to go by Illinois, because I personally believe that's the state Amity Park is in. However, as a general rule, most states just follow the same rules as the federal definition, they just have different punishment lengths (like how long you’d spend in prison and the amount in fines you’d pay). This is the case in Illinois, it's basically the same only they added that people who do all these war crimes “knowingly” which is semi-important in this case since Danny does a lot of things unknowingly.

As a general rule, think of treason as: Somebody who wants to overthrow their government to the point of making serious plans or actively doing it, or by helping government enemies by providing them aid and protection.

So what crimes has Danny committed? I'm only really going to go over three major things honestly.

Breaking and Entering, Robbery, Theft, etc:

In Control Freaks, Danny breaks into multiple jewelry stores under the control of Freakshow. However, since this was against Danny's will, this would likely fall under a situation of a crime under duress. This essentially means that you did a crime against your will because you were in danger. This is something that Danny would have to prove in a court of law, which is semi-debatable. Either way, even if Danny is found guilty of this: this is not treason.

Assault with a deadly weapon/Attempted Murder, especially towards a political figure:

I'm going to classify Danny's ghost powers as a deadly weapon, because I think that's a very fair assessment to make. The incident I'm specifically going to talk about is the Mayor, because that's what I see a lot of people bringing up when they talk about how Danny's committed treason. And I can see how people think that. But is it treason? Short answer is no.

Basically, I think where a lot of people get confused on this point is that in England and many previous British-controlled areas, the assassination of a political figure would be treason, but that’s not the case in America. While after JFK's assassination, it did become a federal offense to basically assassinate anybody who was acting as President or Vice President, as well as members of Congress. However, this does not mean that this is treason. It just means that it's a federal level crime as opposed to a state level crime (which is typically what murder falls under), and it does not fall under treason. It’s just a federal level of murder.

“But isn't treason somebody who wants to overthrow the government or planning on it? How does assassinating a political figure not count?” you may be wondering, and that's a very good question. The distinction here falls under the fact that while the motives are often political, it doesn't really directly lead to an attempted overthrowing of the government. It's not the best example, but a much better example of treason would be bombing the White House while multiple members of Congress, or while the President + Vice President are both in there AS WELL AS having intentions and plans to kind of storm the building and take over. The key part of treason is that they want to overthrow the government; not just hurt people.

But also on this note: based on all of this that I’ve said, Vlad has arguably committed treason against the Ghost King if we apply these same definitions. This is because Vlad purposefully took steps to overthrow the GZ government; he’s implied to that he had plans to step in and take over due to his search to get the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire, seems to have recruited others for his cause (specifically the Fright Knight, Valerie and Danny as these are all people he got involved, even though Danny and Valerie weren’t really fully in the know), and Vlad specifically took steps to make sure Pariah Dark was locked away.

Everything within the Ultimate Enemy:

I kind of put this as a whole broad category, but if there was anything within DP to suggest that Danny committed treason, it would likely be this episode with Dan's timeline. But it's still not treason, and we know this because Dan clearly does not show any signs of being a leader. If he had committed treason, he would likely be in charge of dystopia future, but from what it seems, he just creates chaos and destruction. To commit treason is to essentially overthrow the government, and Dan doesn't really do or say anything to even imply that he's in charge of the human world. He just seems to be responsible for pain and suffering. Which again; even if he killed all the current Illinois state leadership, a key part of treason is wanting to essentially replace the government (very simplistic way of putting it honestly but the best real comparison I can give). Dan doesn't seem to be replacing the government.

[earth16comicswire]

Administrator Sly Moore conspires against Darth Vader

Administrator Sly Moore has been in Emperor Palpatine’s inner circle when he was still Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. A cunning political figure hailing from the planet Umbara and who is Force-Sensitive, Moore is dangerous, possibly much more so than the Emperor’s other right-hand person, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda.

When Darth Vader was punished by Emperor Palpatine for his side quest of finding out more information about his son, Luke Skywalker, Moore was one of the allies the Emperor ordered to eliminate the former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. After Ochi of Bestoon, a Sith assassin, thought that he had defeated Vader on the volcanic planet of Mustafar, the Administrator felt that she had to pick up the pieces due to knowing that Vader could not be kept down that easily. After Vader got off Mustafar with Ochi as his prisoner, Moore was on board a Star Destroyer pursuing Vader and sending an entire fleet of TIE Fighters after him. However, the Sith quickly defeated the TIEs thanks to his skills as a pilot, his abilities in the Force, and a giant space creature enroute to the planet Exegol.

After she, Vader, and Ochi witness the Emperor’s true power and his plans involving Exegol, Moore also witnesses the Emperor’s armored enforcer being restored. However, this has the administrator concerned and by the end of “Darth Vader no.13,” she is revealed to have conspired with IG-88 and a secret group of followers to finally kill Vader.

Warning Spoilers Ahead

“Star Wars: Darth Vader no. 14” begins on the Imperial throne world of Coruscant where two Imperial cadets are in awe at how Darth Vader survived his ordeal on Mustafar by just being held together by Separatist droid parts. They comment that Vader is basically unstoppable. As Vader strides triumphantly with his new right hand man Ochi of Bestoon at his side, Administrator Sly Moore is not at all impressed.

Seeing her disappointment, Emperor Palpatine instigates jealousy within the Umbaran when he asks if she is satisfied with Vader being restored to full function and health. Sly admits that she failed to defeat Vader which the Emperor agrees and then chuckles as he walks away from her. To make matters worse, as the Umbara follows the Emperor, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda tells her that she is needed at the Prescreen Department. Moore quickly learns that due to her failure, she has been demoted to Sub-administrator. The Umbaran looks on as Amedda and Palpatine take the turbolift toward the Imperial Palace. Several Imperial officers and stormtroopers look on at the now Sub-administrator Moore.

As I continue to read this series, I continue to praise Greg Pak as one of the many writers who knows how to write Star Wars along with Charles Soule. In this issue, the story’s main focus is on Sly Moore and the ongoing battle for supremacy within the Emperor’s inner circle. The inner conflict within the Galactic Empire is nothing new in Star Wars. We have seen plenty of Imperials conspire against each other or their allies. For example, there have been several past stories where the Grand Moff Tarkin has traded blows with Darth Vader. In addition, there have been previous comic issues where the Emperor has sent potential new enforcers or apprentices to kill Vader so that he can replace him. Furthermore, there have been other stories in the Star Wars Legends lore, like “Shadows of the Empire, '' where Vader has deep animosity for the Emperor’s ally and leader of the Black Sun criminal syndicate, the Falleen Prince Xizor. In this latest “Vader” issue, Paks narration and dialogue between the characters are a reminder of how the Sith operate with each other and their allies. I also feel that Pak’s inclusion of the subtle infighting within the Emperor’s inner circle is a reminder of the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis with Wise.

While toiling away at the Prescreen Department with two Imperial officers, the now Sub-administrator Moore discovers that a high-ranking Imperial has been given an invitation to attend the auction of the carbonite frozen Han Solo from Crimson Dawn. Moore also hears the name “Skywalker” and sees this as a potential opportunity to enact revenge on Darth Vader.

Moore begins to put her plan into motion by heading to the repair block where Vader was fully restored back in “Darth Vader no. 12” so that she can get the schematics on his machine-infused anatomy. Mas Amedda catches her and the two discuss their roles within the Emperor’s inner circle and how they serve the Sith and do not have the power to “indulge in their pleasures.” Sly being sly tells Amedda to pretend that he did not catch her while she, unbeknownst to the Grand Vizier, creates a holodisk containing the schematics on Vader’s anatomy.

It is here that we learn how bounty hunter assassin droid IG-88 was able to track down Vader and temporarily have the upper hand on him during their fight in the last issue. It was Moore and her fellow conspirators who provided the assassin droid and his army of droids with the disk.

Toward the end of the comic, we are left off at the part where IG-88 meets with Moore and her followers. The droid tries to terminate his bounty contract since Vader defeated him during their last encounter. Much to Moore’s horror, Vader sneaks behind IG-88 and slices the droid with his crimson-colored lightsaber. Moore and her followers flee from the Sith Lord while they try to kill him. Moore also tries using the same mechanism IG-88 used to defeat Vader but ultimately, Vader overpowers her.

With no choice and admitting defeat, the Umbaran bargains with Vader by mentioning the Crimson Dawn invitation to the auction of Han Solo and also how Luke (who would not be far behind to rescue the smuggler) could potentially kill Vader. Sly makes a promise with the Sith Lord to purchase Solo for Vader so that the Sith could not only take Solo but also potentially fight Luke. The two come to a compromise on the plan. However, at the auction, things go south when Jabba the Hutt and his fellow Hutt, Bokku (who has allied with Vader) outbid Sly. The administrator is puzzled as to why Bokku, who is allied with Vader, is bidding against her. Ochi responds that it is the Hutt’s way to humiliate her and himself which in turn would expose her weakness to the Emperor.The assassin further explains that although Sly was very power with uniting her allies to defeat Vader, the Sith Lord is too powerful to let that happen. The end of this issue leaves off toward where “War of the Bounty Hunters no. 2” ended but with Vader inviting himself to the auction by force choking several Crimson Dawn guards.

As I mentioned before, the character of Administrator Sly Moore is very dangerous and shrewd. Greg Pak brought this character to life. Before the “Vader” comic, Moore was just a character who stood on the sidelines with a brooding expression in the “Star Wars” prequel films. Pak’s take on Sly Moore is a high ranking Imperial official who is an opportunist and a quick study. She is willing to do whatever it takes when an opening presents itself to execute her plan. She also is no push over when it comes to executing that plan by mentioning Luke Skywalker being the only person who could kill Vader and take his place. This shows that she is as much of a manipulator as the Emperor. In the end of the day, it doesn't matter who dies in the fight between Vader and Luke (who she may or may not know are father and son). One way or another, whoever dies, she would probably go for the killing bow.

I also like the direction Vader is going in this arc also. Yes, he knows that Luke is his son however, it seems that the Emperor wants to use that in order for him to have one less Skywalker to worry about. The Emperor is hell bent on manipulating Vader to kill Luke or vice versa since having an enforcer strong in the Force would serve his agenda. Especially if the Emperor was able to seduce someone as powerful as Anakin to the Dark Side. It will be interesting to see if Vader really is set on killing Luke or if this is just a ruse to get the Emperor off his scent of his own plans which involve having his son rule at his side.

The art by Raffaele Lenco and the coloring by Jason Keith played just as huge of a role as Pak’s writing did in bringing Sly Moore to life. The drawings of Sly Moore show the stark differences between her time as administrator in the Galactic Republic to her time as administrator for the Empire. When she was administrator for the Republic, she was wearing a silver, or lighter, gown while under the Empire, she was wearing an all black short trench coat with black slacks and boots. In addition to her clothing, Moore’s facial features are further darkened and chiseled, possibly to show her age throughout the 23-years she has been in service to Palpatine. But I also think that those additional lines and shading on her face make her far more brooding than she did in the prequel films.

Overall, the “War of the Bounty Hunters” arc has been the blockbuster of the summer that has rocked the Skywalker Saga in the Disney era. There hasn’t been such an arc since the Shadows of the Empire that has changed the landscape and expanded the Star Wars Universe. With the inclusion of Han Solo’s ex girlfriend Qi’ra, from “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” pulling the strings by gathering all entities in the galaxy, there is no way that it would be a “Star Wars” blockbuster without Darth Vader. Greg Pak’s post “Empire Strikes Back” Vader is ruthless, determined, and cold-blooded. From what I read, he knows that he cannot take on the Emperor alone but he also knows that Luke could very well defeat him. With that, Vader has no choice but to kill Luke or at least defeat him enough so that he could have one less potentially powerful enemy to worry about. Or, as I mentioned before, Vader is likely playing possum and secretly wants to have Luke at his side (which he actually does) so that they can overthrow the Emperor.

“Star Wars: Darth Vader no.14” is now out wherever comic books are sold.

Writer: Greg Pak

Artist: Raffaele Ienco

Colorist: Jason Keith

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagnna

Publisher: Marvel Synopsis: “The Blade Behind the Curtain" For decades, no figure has stood as close to theEmperor with so much mystery surrounding her. Who is theUmbaran? What is her role within the Empire and in the War of the Bounty Hunters? And what happens when she emerges from the darkness to challenge Darth Vaderhimself? Featuring an unprecedented look at the inner workings of the Emperor inner circle – and the return of IG-88!

[darkdisrepair]

Chicago PD Alignment Chart

so i’m bored and have always thought this would be interesting to do. here follows the chart i came up with, along with an explanation of why i put the characters where they are. unfortunately there were only 9 squares, so vanessa wasn’t on this. 

analysis below, descriptions in italics taken from http://easydamus.com/alignment.html. pronouns may not be correct :)

GOOD:

the three i chose for “good” are the ones who have always worked to be better, to do better. they fight for the city (and in jay’s case the country) to make it better. they have always been very clear in their dedication to the truth. 

lawful good (kim):  

“A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.”

i think this describes kim well. sometimes she is so set in the law that it can get her in trouble, like with her first CI, but it is all with good intentions. she does have flaws because she might not know when to stretch the rules, but she’s learning.

neutral good (jay):

“A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them.”

this is especially accurate for jay. he’s just trying to do his best and help those he can. he has a bit of a savior thing going on, but sometimes he struggles to follow through, as exemplified with camilla. overall, though, he always has good intentions.

chaotic good (kevin): 

“A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society.”

after the season 7 finale, i think this alignment is very appropriate to kevin. he wants the best for everyone but isn’t afraid to question the rules in order to bring about questions of racism within the chicago police department. some may see this as a weakness (the site actually listed it as such) but i think it’s one of the most powerful things about him.

NEUTRAL:

as we go down the list, the edgier people get :)

lawful neutral (antonio):

“A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs [him]. Order and organization are paramount to [him]. [He] may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.”

antonio definitely firmly believes in the code of law. he was almost always the voice of reason within the group and always reminded them of the lines. this got him in trouble with voight but he always stayed true to that... until the end. which is partially why he isn’t “lawful good”, because he did let his morals slip toward the end of his time on the show.

true neutral (hailey):

“A neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. She doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil-after all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, she's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way.”

originally i had hailey in the “good” category, but the more i thought about it, the more i realized that she doesn’t actually fall as solidly good as some of the others, especially post-season seven. her choices toward the end show that she has not committed fully to executing justice as a lawful or good person would- she’s willing to toe the line. 

chaotic neutral (erin):  

“A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer).”

erin is motivated by good (seen by the fact that she is a cop) but she is often driven by her own motivations, or even the motivations of others, like voight or her mother. she doesn’t strive to create chaos, but it tends to revolve around her anyway.

“EVIL”:

i say evil in the most relative way. none of these characters are evil- they’re police officers who work to improve the world. these descriptions require editing because i think all of these characters come from a place that isn’t quite evil, but a willingness to tread the line.

lawful evil (adam):

“A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. (...) He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank. He is loath to break laws or promises.

(...) Some lawful evil villains have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). They imagine that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains.”

adam cares about the law, but he is willing to break from his morals if it means he will protect someone he cares about (as shown by how he puts his career on the line for antonio). he is a little bit of a bad boy, but one who prefers to follow the rules whenever possible.

neutral evil (olinksy):

“A neutral evil villain does whatever she can get away with. She is out for herself, pure and simple. She sheds no tears for those she kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience. She has no love of order and holds no illusion that following laws, traditions, or codes would make her any better or more noble. On the other hand, she doesn't have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has.

Some neutral evil villains hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil for its own sake. Most often, such villains are devoted to evil deities or secret societies.”

olinsky understands the police department. he knows what will work and what doesn’t. he’s willing to break these rules when he knows that following them won’t get him anywhere. the “secret socities” could be considered his relationship with voight, along with his shared knowledge of who killed bingham. he doesn’t seek to break the rules, but will.

chaotic evil (voight):

“A chaotic evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. He is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal. If he is committed to the spread of evil and chaos, he is even worse. Thankfully, his plans are haphazard, and any groups he joins or forms are poorly organized. Typically, chaotic evil people can be made to work together only by force, and their leader lasts only as long as he can thwart attempts to topple or assassinate him.”

if voight were not a police officer, he would be extremely dangerous. but since he is a sergeant, he is not quite as dangerous. yes, he is hotheaded when it comes to defending the people/cases he cares about. he knows how to get what he needs and will do it, whatever the cost. like many chaotic evil figures, he is pursued by people who seek to overthrow him (the ivory tower).

~

what do you think? i’d love to discuss!

[thanatosbananatos]

The Ultimate EruHan Meta

Oh boy.  

So, I feel that first, I must preface this long-ass meta:

First, bless your heart if you read this.

Second, this is just for funsies. Yeah, for some reason, I find this kind of shit enthralling!  I have no idea why.  Regardless, this is not meant to shit on EruRi shippers, LeviHan shippers, or anyone in-between.  This is simply something I've been wanting to do.  Erwin and Hanji have a very underrated relationship, and I've wanted to highlight it for a long time. Years.

I also use “she” pronouns in this meta, but I think Hanji can have whatever pronouns.  Isayama has said it doesn't matter to the story, so run wild.

This ship is incredibly important to me, and I hope to share my feelings with the fandom in a light besides incessant fangirling and stupid art.

OK.  Let's do it.

I have read through the series thus far (right now, it's late April of 2019) completely in Japanese, and I've done my best to read through English translations of each chapter as well.  Why Japanese?  Well, I'm an elitist.

Just kidding.

There's actually a very specific reason that I prefer the Japanese to the English, and it has to do with the linguistic structure of the languages.  In English, there are certain things that we cannot change in our writing to emphasize something--the word “I,” for instance, is always “I,” and “you” is always “you.”  Right now, as I type this, I realize how limited the written English language is.  I can only show you emphasis by bolding or italicizing the words, and even then, there are things left up to interpretation.  

Japanese is quite a bit different, and though there is plenty of ambiguity used in this language (trust me, I've done studies lol), there are also parts that are more specific than in English.  There are, for example, numerous ways to say “I,” “you,” and other pronouns depending on the speaker, the listener, and other circumstances.  

It's because of this that I prefer Japanese dubs and prints of anime and manga, respectively.

The last time I went to Japan, I came home with the first 14 volumes of Attack on Titan in Japanese, and this was the shit that dragged me into EruHan.

As is the case with most Americans, I assume, I saw the anime before I read the manga, but it was not until I read the manga that I started to ship Erwin and Hanji.  Why?

I'll explain the details later, but one of the biggest reasons is that the bulk of their interactions occur in what will be season two and beyond.

However, they do have really important interactions in season one, aka chapters 1 through 33 of the manga.  Those moments serve as a great base for what to eventually expect in the latter chapters, when all of the heartbreaking shit happens. c':

We never know for sure how Erwin and Hanji met, but we know that at some point, Erwin came to trust Hanji enough to consider her to be a competent Squad Leader, and eventually considered her as one of his right-hand men, along with Mike, and after a few years, Levi, too.  Hanji's squad has a specific focus:  to study Titans as closely as possible.  It seems like a pretty dangerous job, but Hanji is a dangerous person in general.  

Erwin is generally known as a strategist both in canon and in the fandom, but for a strategist to do their job, they have to have facts to base their plans on.  As we learn later, Hanji is the source of those facts.

One of the most glanced-over scenes in the entire first season is when Erwin and Hanji are leading the Corps back to the wall after failing to secure Annie in her Titan form.  Hanji questions Erwin's decision to send Levi off only after making him refill on gas and blades; Erwin reveals that his plan was based on Hanji's information in the first place.  

In other words, Hanji is someone that Erwin trusts implicitly.  

But, we see the same thing with Hanji toward Erwin when they corner Annie in Stohess.

If you recall, Erwin and Levi are with Nile and the other Police soldiers during the rampage--Erwin left Hanji to call the shots.  Again, proof of trust in her abilities as a leader.  

However, I find it hard to believe that Hanji would have followed Erwin's plan if it had been anyone else besides Erwin that proposed it.  Why?

Think of how much destruction the fight in Stohess caused.  It's almost inexcusable, considering that in the end, Annie seals herself up and is useless as a test subject to Hanji and her squad.  Hanji's first job is actually not a soldier, but a scientist; however, she trusted Erwin enough to not only agree to his plan to stop Annie at all costs, but also enough to be the one to carry out the dirty work.  

Additionally, Hanji questions EVERYTHING.  As a scientist, it's only second nature.  I've admittedly seen a lot of people shitting on Hanji for questioning Erwin from time to time, but NEVER should it be interpreted as insubordination or disrespect.  Rather, Hanji is trying to acquire more information from Erwin to gain knowledge of as many perspectives as possible.  And, by questioning Erwin, Hanji serves as a double-check system.  Levi tends to follow Erwin blindly, whereas Hanji will question him almost as a test--as if to ask, “You sure? You thought it through?  OK, then let's go.”

When thinking of all of this in anime context, there's one more thing I'd like to point out:

The first OVA, Ilse's Notebook.

In this particular OVA, most of the focus is on Hanji (thank god), and it expands upon what is briefly shown in the manga when Hanji, Levi, and his squad find the journal lying around.  The OVA starts with Hanji basically drooling over the idea of capturing a Titan--and no, it's not just because she's obsessed with the Titans themselves, but because she's obsessed with answering the many unanswered questions in their world, of which, the Titans are often the subject.  However, when she confronts Erwin with the idea of capturing one, he turns her down--according to the dialogue, this isn't the first time they have this discussion, either.

But, perhaps you noticed Hanji's argument to Erwin?  When he mentions the lives they've lost in the Corps?

“Without making any sacrifices, we can't gain anything!”

Doesn't that sound familiar?  

“Someone who can't throw something away can't change anything!”  

Armin said something similar--do you remember whose ideals he based his quote on?

Erwin's.

But, maybe, also Hanji's?

It is entirely possible that Hanji and Erwin have had the same thinking from the start, or that one of them influenced the other.  

We don't really know for sure, since we've yet to receive Hanji's backstory (Will it even happen?  Sigh), but regardless, they think similarly.  OK.  That's a thing.

As I mentioned previously, the bulk of their very important and often overlooked interactions are from season two (i.e. the Clash of the Titans arc) and onward in the manga/anime, up until...that thing called the serum bowl that none of us like to talk about.

If you recall, at the tail end of season one, Erwin was briefly arrested by the Military Police, then released.  Once again, you'll notice that Hanji is the one calling the shots, along with Mike.  Erwin has effectively split them up (presumably Erwin, I'm actually not sure if it's confirmed that he was the one to send Mike's squad to watch the 104th?), with Mike doing the physical work, and Hanji being left to the strategic end of things--to a point.  I mean, it's not as if Erwin is completely out of commission at that point (unlike Levi lmao). Instead, he's working on his “big” project--to overthrow the government and get those traitors out of here--from more of a behind-the-scenes perspective.  So he surely knew that things would get crazy on Hanji and co.'s end, yet he trusted her to follow through and lead the Corps while he worked separately for a while.  

He doesn't think to check in on her, either, until the report about Wall Rose and the traitors finds him.  I'm sure he didn't quite predict all that, especially because Reiner himself was flying by the seat of his pants lmao.  He hears that Hanji and company suffered injuries, and that Eren has been taken away, along with Ymir, so obviously, being the Commander and all that jazz, he goes to check in on the Corps soldiers atop the wall.  Until he arrives, Hanji does not move--it's only when she hears Erwin's arrival that she moves, and it's to talk strategy.  

This admittedly brings up something else I want to talk about with them: both Erwin and Hanji are so goddamn willing to put everything and everyone else first besides their own well being.  

I know a lot of EruHan writers play with this trope, but we didn't even have to add it in.  It's there.  All the time.  

I think Erwin is especially obvious, considering how far he was willing to go to reach his goals, and his dream.  However, Hanji is the same way when it comes to obtaining knowledge.  And, both of them want to win.  They are fighting to win.  In season three, Erwin refers to himself as a gambler--the same is definitely true for Hanji, if not even more so.

So, Hanji gets her ass in gear long enough to tell Erwin what she can, and once again, using the information Hanji gave him, and not straying from it once, Erwin formulates a plan, and the Corps sets off.

Erwin did not stray from her information, used it to fuel the plan, and lost his arm in the process.

Flash-forward to Erwin in the hospital.  Beardwin.  

Wait, no omg.

Go back to when they brought him back to the hospital.

We don't see that, right?  No, we don't.

But you know who else would've been in the hospital receiving treatment for burns and possible concussion, etc.?

Hanji.

Hanji probably saw the direct results of her instructions to Erwin.

Now flash-forward to Beardwin.

Remember, back about forty years ago when you first started reading this meta? Remember what I mentioned how the Japanese language has different types of pronouns?  It also has different kinds of politeness.    

In the Japanese version of the scene where Beardwin does the creepy-ass smile, Hanji enters the room speaking pretty casually, like “hey what's up Erwin--oh shit Pyxis is here too” might as well have been the actual translation.  Her speech goes from casual to formal the second she sees Pyxis. Of course, up to this point, Hanji had always used casual speech with Erwin, but the stark contrast to how she speaks to Pyxis, who is a pretty easy-going guy around the Corps veterans, just drives home the fact that they are familiar with one another. 

In addition, we once again see Hanji give Erwin information, and boy howdy.  Does he take it and run with it.

So begins the Uprising arc.

This is the arc that just pushed me face-first into EruHan, to be perfectly honest.

This is also the arc where the language usage is the most important.

At this point, the three veterans (Erwin, Levi, and Hanji) are split up for a little while.  Levi and Hanji are sent to watch over the 104th while Erwin does his thing (again).  However, Hanji has a little “side project”--she is still keeping watch over Pastor Nick, until the Central Police murder him.  She and Levi torture them, and that's a thing.

Due to the heavy focus on Historia and Eren, things are kind of quiet for the vets for a while, until Eren remembers some information from a dream, and yet again, Hanji brings that information to Erwin for him to put to good use.

This is one of the most important scenes in the arc, and for this ship.

First, note how calmly Erwin receives the flustered Hanji.  He offers her food and water without question and immediately listens. (An aside:  Erwin is probably one of the most patient characters in the series.)  After explaining everything, Hanji then asks Erwin, “What should we do?” (Another aside:  Don't forget how much these vets trust Erwin.  Ever.)

Erwin's at least one step ahead of everyone at all times, of course, so he has an answer, but part of that answer is pretty startling: Erwin names Hanji as the next Commander of the Survey Corps.  He then promptly leaves, with Hanji staring after him (be still my heart) and is soon arrested once again.

This is a scene that I can't help but dissect, simply because there's just so much there.

I'm also going to be bitter for the rest of my life that the anime strayed so much from the manga in this arc generally, but that's not the focus right now.

So, okay, remember the pronouns example I gave earlier?

Hanji uses “watashi,” Levi uses “ore,” Armin uses “boku,” etc.  Most of the characters are very consistent with pronoun usage, and most of them default to either “watashi,” simply because they are in the military, methinks.  

Erwin, however (and unsurprisingly), is one of the characters who changes his pronoun usage.  In fact, he is the one who changes it the most that I've seen so far in the series.  He switches frequently between just two, “ore” and “watashi,” but what does this mean, exactly?  What is there to gain from knowing the details behind his pronoun usage?

We see Erwin using “watashi” most frequently in two situations: he uses it in formal situations as the “Commander” towards people like Zackley, Pyxis, etc., and he uses it when speaking with a “softer” demeanor, such as early interactions with Eren.  

Erwin uses “ore” as a Commander might--with authority.  It also seems to be his go-to generally--in other words, if he did not have any social obligations to worry about, no public faces to protect, he would use “ore.”

So, toward Levi, Erwin uses “ore” pretty much exclusively.  After all, though he respects Levi, he has no reason to be gentle or keep face--in other words, no reason to use “watashi.”

However, toward Hanji, Erwin almost always uses “watashi.” (I should also note, he uses “omae” with “ore” and “kimi” with “watashi” accordingly.)  The speech is more familiar, gentler almost.  I wouldn't have given it much thought if it weren't for the one time he does use “ore” toward Hanji.

That time happens to be when he names her the next Commander of the Survey Corps.

So, why the change?

If you recall, that scene takes place with them talking one on one about the note that Eren has left for Hanji to read regarding his memories of a conversation between Ymir and Bertholdt.  Erwin eventually has summons--ones that he is sure will lead to his arrest, and he then names Hanji his successor.  

To me, after seeing all of their interactions, I think that Erwin definitely shows some favoritism toward Hanji and holds a soft spot for her.  After all, if you think back to the OVA, Hanji was the one to really prove herself and stand toe to toe with him.  I think he admires such stubbornness, for reasons we can only speculate now.  

When I think about how he previously had spoken to Hanji, it was always so...intimate?  Like, “I value this person and their opinions.  We are close.”  Using “ore” breaks that down and instead builds a wall between them.  It's like he was saying, “I'm serious.  This isn't a joke.  You have to listen to me this time.”

It's worth noting that I've spoken to a few other Japanese fans about this part, both EruHan shippers and not, and everyone seems to agree that it seems like he did it for the sake of seeming authoritative, to make sure that this time, Hanji would listen without questioning him.

Of course, after the fact, Hanji questions it.

And I think that just drives my point home.

If you think back, or rather, forward in the manga, we see Hanji get handed a lot of shit--from Eren, the general populace, supposed allies.  After one particular event, where Eren grabs Hanji and treats her like a piece of trash rather than his own Commander, Hanji escapes with humor, but behind closed doors, she feels frustrated and lost.  

“Erwin, this was your one mistake...  Why did you make me the Commander...?”

Erwin did not want Hanji to double-check him.  He did not want her to question him like she normally did.  He just wanted her to listen to him and take the order, so she did.  So it's even more natural for her to doubt it now.  She didn't get that chance in the first place--Erwin took it away from her, and she let him, because she trusted him explicitly.  

We hear about it constantly with Erwin and Levi, but don't forget:

Erwin and Hanji's relationship is also built on trust.

So, let's go back to after the political arc--they decide to go back to Shiganshina, and we have what has come to be known as the serum bowl.  Yay!  Sounds fun, right?

NO.  FUCK THE SERUM BOWL.

But it's important to dissect for the sake of this fucking essay.  

I'm gonna skip straight to the good stuff--it comes down to a choice between saving Armin or Erwin.  Levi is pretty much set on giving it to Armin--until a soldier brings Erwin's body back, and he's clinging to life.  Eren and Mikasa get hysterical, they fight, and it looks like Mikasa is gonna straight up become THE Ackermann, until someone interrupts them.  

It's Hanji, and she's injured and all alone.  At this point, she's lost Moblit and part of her vision, and now she could lose Erwin, too.  This person she trusts and respects probably more than anyone in the world might die.  I think it affected her on more than just a personal level too, obviously--the Commander she entrusted her life and well-being to is on the brink of death, and she is supposed to somehow take his place.  

Hanji obviously takes Levi's side, insisting that Erwin should  be the one who gets the serum and a second lease on life.  She pulls Mikasa away, holding her closely, and tells her that she understands what she's feeling, what it's like to lose someone you care about.  

But, “Erwin is the hope of humanity.”

Those are Hanji's words.  They're heavy.  So fucking heavy.  

If you questioned the respect and trust and love in their relationship (even just platonically) before, at that point, you really can't anymore, unless you decide to be in complete denial.

However, if you're caught up with the manga, you know how it goes--Erwin pulls a last minute “stunt,” then retires (cough) as Armin is given the serum and transforms into a Titan.  Levi chooses Armin in order to let Erwin die as a human and not as a monster, and tries to talk himself through the choice out loud.  

Hanji, however, has her eyes only on Erwin, and she is with him until his last moments of...pre-retirement...

Okay, but here's a thing I really want to point out.

Flocke, the dumb bastard who brought Erwin's life back (he's not dumb for doing that, btw), is the one who brings up the notion that it should be Erwin who receives the serum, because only Erwin had the capability of becoming a monster who could save them.  That thought scared Levi, who held and continues to hold Erwin in very high esteem, and is what essentially pressed him into giving Armin the serum instead.  

Do you think that thought scared Hanji?

Though we never hear one way or the other, I really don't think so.

When has Hanji ever feared the Titans?  

No, it's not even just that--Hanji saw the Titans as equals.  She saw them as just a different kind of human, really.  

Think back to Sawney and Bean, wayyyyy way back.  Think about how she recognized their personalities, respected them, and loved them as the way that they were.  And she had no idea what the truth behind them was.  She had no idea at that time that they were humans.  

Think about how she treated Eren as a Titan shifter (before he started being ...whatever he is now).  She respected him, was kind to him, and she didn't even know him.

I think it's safe to say that  her relationship with Erwin would not have really changed.  She would have probably respected him even more than before.

...There's honestly so much more I could say about the ship on micro-levels, but I wanted to hit these big points because not only are many of them lost in translation, but they are highly underappreciated.  I get tired of seeing them left out of the main fandom, when it's such a delightful, wholesome ship that has plenty to work with in both canon and AUs.

But, if you're interested in hearing the smaller things, hmu.  I think about this ship all the damn time.  Everyone should have some level of appreciation for it.  

--Cat

[mysaldate]

On the topic of BSD mental issues..

Because a lot of people in this fandom just LOVE to bestow their own mental problems on characters and even go so far as to claim not a single BSD character is mentally alright, I went on a little rant to debunk this bulshit of a claim. If you’re one of those who support the “everyone is mentally ill because I said so” theory, don’t even bother reading this, please, and save us both the time.

If you do read, however, please keep in mind those are just my opinions and analysis and why I personally find the claim that everyone is mentally ill bulshit. You’re free to believe what you want but I’ve had multiple people come spurting out insults at me simply for not believing every single character is mentally diasbled.

First, our beloved ADA Atsushi - He's actually doing really well. Sure, he's not 100% ok but we were given no serious childhood trauma impacts (except for flashbacks that don't really... do anything to him mentally except for motivating him to do better which is, you know, not a sign of mental illness), he doesn't have self-destructive tendencies, he doesn't feel like he owes the society anything but he doesn't slip to nihilism either. His motivations are humane and sane and relatable. I mean, if anyone told you your friends would be in mortal danger if you stay with them, wouldn't you try to get away from them too? Dazai - Ok, Dazai is far from stable. He still handles his issues surprisingly well though and his constant suicide attempts are really played off as a joke, which is not the best way to handle them but it takes a lot of seriousness from it and kind of makes it hard to believe it's what he actually wants to do with his life. Especially since there are times where he goes out of his way to make sure he stays alive (Dead Apple being just one example). Kunikida - Arguably one of the most stable characters in the show. Some people claim he has OCD but have you ever seen an actual OCD patient? His love for schedules and hard time when they can't be kept is something that runs in my family and nobody has ever been diagnosed with OCD. People need to realize that having your life planned out is not a mental illness. Yosano - I'm a little more benevolent about Yosano, especially since she has a more psychotic side to her and she seems actually damaged by her childhood but I stiil stand my point that she is doing extremely well for someone who supposedly has a mental illness. It's almost as if the "insane" side of her was purposedly overblown for comedic purposes. Ranpo - I know a lot of people say he's autistic but I don't agree with that hc. Why? Well, I have a classmate who's not autistic and she's exactly like him. She's smart, almost genius, has great deduce skills and brilliant crime-solving abilities (tested multiple times with Black Stories or whatever that game is called in english) but she is unable to live on her own. She knows close to nothing about real life, skills used for everyday functioning and as for public transport, she only learnt how to use it recently and she's almost 19 years old. I also have an autistic friend who specifically said he'd find it insulting to hear that Ranpo is supposedly autistic. Tanizaki - I'm not sure what to say here, Tanizaki is a normal guy. Nothing special about him. He's willing to go great lengths for his little sister but I think anyone with younger siblings can relate to that. At least anyone who cares for their younger siblings. Kenji - Go on and tell me how Kenji of all people has a mental illness, I dare you. And if you pull out his cheeriness, you're obviously just too depressed to fathom that some people might actually enjoy life. Fukuzawa - Again, one of the most stable characters in the series. Say what you will but he's not unstable and his ability to stay calm at almost any situation except for when his kids are in danger is just further proof of this. Kyouka - I'd say she might have issues. My afforementioned autistic classmate pointed out that she feels autistic to him so there's that. Also her childhood visibly screwed her over. However, she's still surprisingly stable and normal despite all of that so while she might have some issues, they are greatly balanced by her strong will and natural personality. Naomi - I wouldn't say Naomi is 100% ok in the head but not to a point where I'd claim an actual mental illness. Sure, I'm not a doctor but nor is anyone who diagnoses her with whatever it is they diagnose her with. Haruno - And exactly what is wrong about Haruno? She's cute, positive, cheery, hard-working and supportive. And she gets scared in situations that invoke this. Literally NOTHING weird.

Next up is our dear Port Mafia Akutagawa - No denying it, Aku has serious issues. Again though, he's doing far better than most people with similar problems but that could just be due to him letting his frustrations out via murder. Chuuya - No issue found here. Sure, he's a little short-tempered but that's about it. A lot of people are short-tempered without being mentally ill. And he could be portrayed with some serious issues due to his origin and past. Gin - Do we even know enough about her to diagnoze her? All we know is that she's silent, a little shy and that she's always on odds with Tachihara. Make me a diagnosis from that. Higuchi - Aside from her massive crush on Aku, there's nothing weird about her. She probably picked the wrong job but she's willing to work hard anyway to earn her place there,, which is not exactly typical for people with mental illnesses. Hirotsu - STABLE PERSON. Just... what else is there to him? He is literally the voice of reason who commands the black lizard solely because he can actually keep them under control. Geez, there is literally nothing linking him to any mental problem! Kajii - This guy's got issues, no denying it. And I won't even say he could do worse because obviously he could but he's fairly close to being the insanest (is that a word?) he can get. Kouyou - Oh look, ANOTHER completely stable person. I mean, come on, she's been an executive since Dazai and Chuuya were 15, that's seven years. Clearly she couldn't hold her position if she weren't stable. Not to mention, we saw her being stable in stressing situations so. many. times. Elise - She's an ability. No comment. Mori - Yes, he has his issues. But he's the hypercompetent Mafia boss who stayed in charge for a very long time already and there's no sign of anyone overthrowing him any time soon, nor planning to because he's just a great leader, something he couldn't be if he was mentally ill. Oda - Do I even need to elaborate on this? Oda is very probably the sanest person we got, one who sees the wrongs of his past and does his best to overcome them and repent, all of which goes without him being depressed or self-loathing in the slightest. Randou - This has been talked about a lot. Randou is sensitive and impulsive and sometimes acts on emotions rather than rationallity. None of that makes him a mentally ill person. It just makes him a person, a human being we can all relate to. Ace - Ace is a selfish human being who thinks too highly of himself and is manipulative and abusive. Is that a problem? Yes, obviously. Is that a mental illness? Not necessarily and more likely no than yes. He does things for his personal gain and everything went his way for far too long for him to expect it to go any other way. And as we all know, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutelly. Q - Does anyone really think Q is sane?

Now for the group that so many people dislike it’s honestly sad, the Guild Francis - Francis is, first and foremost, a very loving husband and father. He goes on this insane mission to Japan to obtain a mystical object he believes is real but never got any deffinite proof of. Is he naive? Perhaps so. And after he loses, he gets depressed and broken because he finds out his wedding ring disappeared, probably because his wife did something. That breaks him. And honestly? He has every right to break down. It's understandable and human and it does not make him mentally ill. Louisa - While yes, she is very shy and some argue she has some sort of anxiety disorder, all of this can be explained by the fact that she's practically a child. She's 18 dammit. Who could leave their home country at 18 only with an organization of older people, who also all seem very sure of themselves, while having no combat ability and nothing to really bring to the table? If she were mentally weak, there's no way she'd go looking for Francis after his fall, it's actually more likely she'd hurry back home, probably with tears and fear of being arrested if she were to stay in Japan for longer. Margaret - Name me one thing that makes you think Margaret of all people would have a mental issue. One thing. Most of her screentime is her being a vegetable. And while that is certainly a health problem, not a mental health one. Nathaniel - Hey, he was completely ok before meeting Fyodor. Being religious is not a mental health problem and f you if you say otherwise. John - Again, nothing unstable about John. He's not even that selfish, doing what he can to support his family and even picking up the remainings of the Guild to keep the people together and give them new hope because, y'know, hope is very important to people. Lovecraft - He's not even human. You can't apply human mental health logic to him. Herman - We've seen him for how much... 2 minutes total? And even from just that, he seemed like a calm and composed guy. No sign of mental problems whatsoever. Mark - He's hyper, that's what people say at least. But is he really? Kind of hard to believe when all we've seen of him is two scenes of adrenalin rush, one scene where he tries to lift the spirits of his coworkers and one scene where he just decides to go back home because this adventure is obviously over. No sign of mental illness here either. Lucy - A little more visible traumatic impact than with Atsushi and some abandonment issues, which are completely understandable and relatable. Not necessarily a mental illness. Poe - Ok so Poe doesn't feel well in company of others and he is a little psychotic when he gets too into his self-assigned role but 1) introverts are not mentally ill and 2) it's completely natural to get carried away when we witness the person we believe wronged us getting some karma back.

The one group that appeared for such a short time, yet everyone seems to love them, the Rats Fyodor - The most obvious god complex, clearly. He's not sane but he's stable so there's that. Nobody says he's ok, he's clearly not. But he's composed and smart enough to not let his issues control him. Ivan - Part of his brain is literally gone. He's not ok. he can't be. And unless part of your brain is missing too, you physically can't relate to him. Pushkin - Actually a stable, understandable character. Weak men are known through all of history to be the causes of major drama simply because their complexes over being weak lead to them finding joy in torturing the strong. It's not a mental illness, it's just bad character. Oguri - Clearly, Ogugu has issues. Call it survivor's guilt or PTSD or whatever you want, he has issues. Nobody is denying that. Still, he's doing fairly well when not desperatelly trying to seem evil.

I do not feel like doing the Hunting Dogs for the sole reason of me not liking them enough to focus on their mental states but they are pretty much lab rats, artificially enhanced humans and that alone should be enough to explain why I don’t believe in applying normal psychology to them. As for the Decay of Angels, there’s still much more to learn about them so I won’t get into that just yet. And when it comes to the governmental agents, I haven’t read the novels so I only know a bit about Ango and I honestly don’t see how anyone could think Ango has a mental illness.

I repeat again, these are my opinions, based on my experiences and what I’ve studied about mental illnesses (because believe it or not, I study about these things quite a lot). It doesn’t fit except for Tumblr romanticised versions of them and even those are iffy. You’re free to agree and disagree with all of this or with just certain parts but please don’t feel required to share your thoughts, I frankly don’t much care.

With that I bid you goodbye, at least until another thing prompts me to make a long-ass analysis almost nobody will read, nor care for.

[empirelead-a]

HERE IT IS! A COMPLETE UPDATE OF KUVIRA’S BIOGRAPHY! Be sure to read through it  or skimmed through it because I realize it’s really really long. 😬😬😬

Born in a village far off from Omashu and in the middle of nowhere, Kuvira had been nothing but a great burden to both of her parents who found themselves stuck in a loveless marriage after she was conceived out of wedlock during a drunken one-night stand. They paid very little mind to her throughout her childhood, spending most of their days neglecting her where she can almost feel their resentment; they blame her for trapping them in a place they wish to leave and for their dreams to be in shambles. Throughout her time in the village, Kuvira had hardly ever got along with the other villagers and experienced difficulties in conveying her feelings. Things also took a sudden turn when she discovered she’s an earthbender at the age of seven – which is considered to be late – the first bender in over twenty years. Her parents, however, weren’t thrill for the fact their daughter was a bender and were forced to keep a closer eye on her by the other villagers who feared her newfound abilities, believing she’s a curse who brought bad omen—all of them have an Equalist mindset.

Not too long after, Kuvira immediately showed signs of poor control over her bending abilities due to she’s without proper guidance and her lack of control quickly became more prominent as time went by; things would wind up getting damaged, but unbeknownst to them all, her bending responds to her emotions she had trouble in showing. Embarrassed and shame by the others, her parents began taking matters into their own hands when they ignorantly tried to suppress her abilities which all ranged from isolation to punishing her by other means. However, an incident shook her parents up when it nearly resulted in her mother’s death, and after that episode, the two can no longer handle her and could no longer even watch over her in fear of their own lives, and wishing to be free from the child they never asked for. On that very night, they up and left without a word…leaving Kuvira behind. She was left alone and forced to watch over herself since no other villagers dares to go near her. She survived off on scraps and stole food when no one was looking.

One particular day, Kuvira stumbled upon a woman she never seen before in the village. She saw how fancy the woman dressed compare to herself and the other villagers, sneaking up behind her and managed to steal a pouch of money out of the woman’s pocket. She managed to run off without being noticed, getting back to the safety of her house she was still holed up in, but unfortunately, her luck quickly ran out when the woman she stole from found her. Scared, she impulsively earthbent at the woman who easily evaded the attack with her own earthbending. Kuvira became more fearful of the consequences that lies before her and she immediately handed back what she stole from the woman, making her apology, but to her great surprise, the woman brushed the incident aside with a laugh. She, then, introduced herself as Suyin Beifong who was at the village to take a quick break before heading on home after getting a business trip done in Omashu.

After the introduction, Suyin treated Kuvira to lunch. Curious and wondering why she was all alone, Suyin began prodding the younger girl with questions who kept on avoiding to answer them. Eventually, she reluctantly told the older woman her entire story when the topic wouldn’t be left alone: abandoned by her parents who never loved her and were afraid of her. Horrified at what she just heard, it didn’t take long for Suyin to make the decision to take the girl out oof the village where she could already see prejudices rising against benders and knew all too well Dai Li agents could come at any time. And with that, Kuvira left the village with the woman who promised to help her in any way, seeing the potential she holds.

Indeed, Kuvira’s talents flourished under Suyin’s guidance even though she had a rough start, nonetheless she excelled at everything that was taught to her; not only that, she was also taught how to freely express herself, especially when joining the dancing troupe—her mentor never giving up on her, patient with her always. At the age of twelve, she finally began her metalbending training which proved to be more difficult than earthbending. She became frustrated every time she failed to bend the meteorite, but it wasn’t until she finally succeeded when Suyin locked her in a metal box and bending her way out to freedom, it was the same way Suyin was taught to metalbend…and the same way Toph discovered metalbending. At the age of fifteen, she joined the city’s security force team and was promoted as captain at the age of eighteen.

Kuvira have always been quite close with the Beifong Family, having a unique bond with each member. She enjoys Huan’s company who also taught her the ways of metal sculpting and values his quiet nature, going to him when things becomes overwhelming and wanting everything to be still. While Suyin’s her bending teacher, her husband – Baatar Senior – taught her everything she knew in reading and writing, along with basic math and going to him when things becomes too much to handle with his wife. She sees Opal as a little sister, often protecting her from danger and enjoyed rough housing with the twins. But Baatar Junior has always been the one she’s been the closest to, he’s the first friend she ever made—eventually they became romantic partners at eighteen years of age, though kept their relationship a secret from the others. Despite all of this, deep down, Kuvira still knew well enough she isn’t part of the family and as she grew older and aware, she couldn’t help it but to be bitter.

Unfortunately, things with the Beifongs soured when the Earth Kingdom fell into disarray and was on the verge of collapse, chaos spreading across the nation. Wishing to help the people, Kuvira was shocked upon realizing Suyin doesn’t have the intention in helping their nation and refused to step up when the world leaders urgently asked her to. An argument ensued between them when Kuvira tried to convince her to help, but she was quickly shot down and was told not to debate further. Angry, she became disillusioned by the woman she looked up to, never taking responsibilities for the wrongs she did, and finally seeing her for who she really is: a coward. On that same night, Kuvira made the decision to leave Zaofu and hatched a plan to conspire against her mentor, roping Baatar along with her. Within two weeks, she managed to recruit a number of people, along with Varrick and Zhu Li, into her plan. Suyin discovered the plans on the day Kuvira and the others were due to depart, refusing to step down when demanded. In result, she was banished from Zaofu and was ordered to never return, but before leaving, Kuvira vowed she will return—not as the same person Suyin once knew.

The Siege of Ba Sing Se was lead by Kuvira, driving out the bandits and agents of the Red Lotus who ran amok throughout the city, restoring order back to the capital. Her heroic action and good deeds got the attention from the world leaders who made the decision to appoint her the position Suyin refused to take, making her an interim president of the Earth Kingdom. She was also tasked with the job to drive off the bandits roaming around the country, hunting down remaining members of the Red Lotus, and leading the unification campaign—uniting all of the states as one. The title of the Great Uniter was soon given to her by the people of Omashu after she overthrew their tyrannical king. They all proclaimed their loyalty to her, her followers grew each day.

For three years, Kuvira’s intentions were well and started off as good, but over time, things started changing and her entire worldview became different; no longer was she naïve and ignorant to everything. During her travels throughout the nation, she noticed the unjust her people faced and the abuse her people went through, discovering the problems within the Earth Kingdom runs deeper than she thought—problems that began even before the Red Lotus arrival. No longer can she sit idly by, Kuvira took more things into her hands and had taken many drastic actions for the good of her people, not afraid to get her hands bloodied. Sometime around her third year as the Great Uniter, words of the reeducation camps spread, mercy is not shown to her enemies and traitors if they ever crossed the line or did her incredibly wrong. On Prince Wu’s coronation day, Kuvira turned her back on him and the world leaders, overthrowing Prince Wu who’s next in line to take the throne of the now renamed Earth Empire. She would challenge anyone who dares to threaten the peace she brought, warning them she will not hesitate to take action.

After leaving the United Republic, Kuvira immediately embarked her way to Zaofu while having Varrick experiment on spirit vines where it was discovered they could weaponize the vines. When Varrick refused to create a superweapon, she’d threatened his life and ordered him to continue on his work. When she arrived at Zaofu with Baatar and Bolin by her side, the three of them marched into Suyin’s office where she was already waiting for them with her family by her side. Things between them were obviously tense, more so when Kuvira tried to make a negotiation; one where Suyin furiously refused, not wanting to play this game. In return, Kuvira gave the older woman an entire day to give up or face the consequences before she made her leave. On that same very day, she was betrayed by both Bolin and Varrick who attempted to leave. Later that night, her former mentor snuck into her camp and attempted to assassinate her while she slept only to quickly discover she had been tricked when Kuvira anticipated what she’s going to do before ordering her guards to take Suyin and her twins away. That following morning, she and Korra met outside of the city, but when things didn’t go as planned, a fight ensued between them. If Kuvira loses, she’ll let the others go and leave Zaofu alone, and if she wins, Korra must leave and Zaofu will officially be a part of the Earth Empire. In the end, Kuvira bested Korra.

The next move Kuvira made was returning to the United Republic to restore it back into the Earth Empire, making a claim that the land was stolen. Within two weeks, she and of her army marched to the United Republic with the Colossus – a mecha standing at least twenty-four story tall – her fiancé built with a spirit cannon attached to its arm. She nearly succeeded when she sunk several of the United Forces ships, President Raiko gave up and agreed to her terms, however, before things could go any further, Korra and her friends kidnapped Baatar.

Korra radioed to Kuvira, presenting her a new term after she informed the other she has Baatar hostage, saying if she ever wants to see him again then she must leave the United Republic alone and return to the Earth Empire empty handed. Conflicted for a moment, Kuvira finally made a difficult decision when she agreed to the term…only to quickly raise the spirit cannon and aimed it at the warehouse they’re in, taking the shot. She masked her emotions soon after, choosing not to grieve now before continuing on her invasion without Baatar by her side. She’s now hardened at that very moment, knowing she can’t give up now.

She soon became more unstable upon discovering Korra and the others survived the blast. She became unstable, reckless, and more prone to making impulsive decisions, going onto a deep end and allowed her emotions to run wild with anger. At the end, she failed her emotion when the Colossus crumbled when Korra and her friends managed to cut their way into the machine, resulting in a final battle between the Avatar and the Great Uniter. The two survived the fall after the Colossus fell, Kuvira ran off only to discover the spirit cannon was still intact and made one final move before pulling the trigger, a move she came to quickly regret when she’s unable to shut the machine off and the ray’s power amplified with energy due to the cannon being wrapped in raw spirit vines. Korra saved her life, taking a risk when she jumped in front of her and deflected the blast which resulted in the creation of a new spirit portal which they both fell into. For a moment, Kuvira believed she’s dead after awakening and broke down in front of Korra, revealing bits of her past. Upon being shown compassion, she saw the errors of her actions and made the decision to give in, exiting the spirit portal with the Avatar and announced the Earth Empire is no more. She was, then, cuffed and taken to prison.

Locked away far from the outskirts of the United Republic, Kuvira spent those two months pondering on deeply where she’d often think about her past. She thought all of the things that had led her here in this very moment, spiraling into a deep state of anger and bitterness which was apparent when Korra came to visit her. While she does show her remorse of the bad she’d committed, she does not regret the cause she led over the course of those three years—the actual good she had done for the people of the now, once again, named Earth Kingdom. She even expressed those feelings to the court, boldly claiming that she wasn’t guilty for her good cause and reminded everyone of how she’d done more than anyone else combined, and refused to bend the knee to the Republic to say something she doesn’t believe in. Her words, however, didn’t sit well to the others and was ordered to be taken back to prison because her case could continue, running into Suyin who was perhaps the angriest of them all. The older woman gave her former student the last say before leaving without looking back.

Unbeknownst to them all, one of Kuvira’s commanders – Guan – refused to let the Earth Empire fall and have been secretly running it in her place with the remaining army who refused to stand down as well. Reports of his presence became known by the others who believed he was planning to march to Gaoling to put a stop to the first democratic election. Knowing too well things with Guan may go badly and Korra decided to pay Kuvira another visit for advice. After hearing her commander has taken control in her place, Kuvira suggested coming along to put a stop to Guan, knowing he’s dangerous. At first, the Avatar refused to allow Kuvira to come along until realizing there was no other plan to stop him. The very next day, Kuvira was given a temporary release to assist Team Avatar where her presence was obviously unwanted.

When arriving in Gaoling, Guan’s forces are already there. Kuvira attempted to talk him down, turning to her former forces and asked them to step down as well, but neither of them heeded to her words—listening only to Guan. Having to see this, she challenged him to a duel, but when he refused, she made an attack on him and demanded for him to give him after she managed to overpower him, choking him in the air. Before things can escalate further, Kuvira was knocked out via the belt she wore which shocked her. When she later awoke, she was placed in a special cage and was told by the others she’ll be sent back to Republic City.

Korra and Wu left immediately afterwards in search of Toph, wanting her to go against Guan in the election. It wasn’t long until Guan’s forces broke into the airship before it could take off, attacking Kuvira and the rest of Team Avatar. The three of them were brought to Guan’s camp, strapped onto a chair where Doctor Sheng is planning to use her invention on them: a brainwashing machine. However, Kuvira was lucky enough to manage to break free and escaped to safety, but the same can’t be said to Asami, Bolin, and Mako who she had to leave behind. She made a call to Suyin when she’s far from Guan’s camp.

When Suyin arrived with Opal and the twins, Korra and Wu arrived as well with Toph in tow who reluctantly agree to run in the election against Guan. Suyin made her mistrust to Kuvira known and gave her a warning, telling her she won’t hesitate to take action if she does anything that may be even slightly suspicious. Kuvira silently agreed to her words, knowing time can’t be wasted any further. Before they can leave, Guan and his forces arrived along with Asami, Bolin, and Mako, they’ve all been brainwashed successfully. They managed to escape, grabbing Asami, but in result, Wu was captured.

Traveling to Zaofu was a silent ride, realizing Guan is more dangerous with Sheng by his side with her invention. The silent ride was also tense between Kuvira and Suyin which can obviously be felt in the air. Once they finally arrived at Zaofu, she was immediately taken to a guarded room by Suyin’s order where she found herself running into Baatar. Shocked to finally see him again, she made her apologies to him and asked for his help to stop Guan. He refused, heartbroken and no longer trusts her, leaving her and retreated back to his room, only convinced when Korra asked for his help. He and Kuvira ended up working immediately, working on recreating Sheng’s machine the entire day until it was completed. Asami was brought into the room where they tried to reverse the brainwashing effects, but to no avail, they failed many times.

Guessing, Kuvira figured the only way to help Asami and the others was to test on a subject who hasn’t fallen victim to the original brainwashing machine, volunteering herself to test out her theory. She was propelled into a series of flashbacks of her past, seeing everything from her childhood to her teenage years and to her time as the Great Uniter, seeing everything that was wrong with her until she was soon brought back when she heard Suyin’s voice calling out to her. Asami was soon brought back into the room for another attempt where it was successful this time around. The happy moment was cut after they have all been informed Guan has won the election. After informing the situation to Zhu Li, Kuvira was told to return to the United Republic. Before she was to be escorted back into her room, she told Baatar how much she regretted for what she did to him and wished she didn’t have to throw their future away, and that their happiness mattered. Then telling him she truly loves him, her feelings for him has always been true.

Her words didn’t sit well with Suyin who went after her and stopped her in her tracks, telling her angrily she has no right to even be saying those things and believed she was lying; saying she hasn’t changed and is still the same. No longer can she take the verbal abuse any longer, Kuvira made a retort of her own and saying how she’s here to own up her mistakes, how she’s doing everything to change; adding how the only one who hasn’t change was Suyin, how it seems the older woman has yet to own everything up and how she’s always hiding away like a coward she always has been. In return, Suyin made her last say when she coldly told the guards to take her away and how she regrets taking her in. And Kuvira told her she would never have to see her again.

That night, it was discovered Kuvira had disappeared into the night after finding the guards unconscious. She couldn’t be found in the outskirts of Zaofu, many believed she played them all and betrayed them.

In truth, Kuvira left Zaofu and made her way back to Gaoling where she snuck into the town and into Guan’s office without getting detected by anyone. She made her presence known to Guan, saying that she wasn’t here to stop him and was only here to return to the Earth Empire. Guan made him adamant that he won’t hand her over control, though she has no plan to return to power and made a proposition, saying how she wishes for her memories to be wiped away, in return, she would be a dutiful servant to his control. Guan gleefully agreed to her terms and immediately set the plan to motion, leading her to Sheng’s lab. While distracted, Kuvira’s nature has been revealed when she attacked them from behind, but Guan had already anticipated her move and ordered for Bolin and Mako to attack her who came bursting into the lab.

Korra found Kuvira during the midst of battle, finding things to be suspicious and didn’t believe she betray them from the start and immediately sprung into action with the others upon seeing that she’s in danger and knew all too well it’s a battle she can’t fight alone in. They all fought the remaining Earth Empire soldiers and captured those who tried to escape when things started falling apart. Kuvira went after Guan who ran off when he knew this war is over, though she managed to catch up to him and overpowered him easily, enraged at the things he committed and for going against her, for doing things behind her back and not standing down when she initially told him to. She was ready to end him right there once and for all, however Suyin who came along with Korra attempted to talk her down from killing him and let him face justice instead. Infuriated, Kuvira simply said she’s doing something everyone’s too afraid to do, something that should’ve been done long ago and how she’s the only one who ever done something. Finally, Suyin admitted that she wasn’t wrong and how she should’ve done something to help long ago – maybe things wouldn’t go so awry – that she is here now to do just that, telling her killing Guan will not solve anything nor would it bring peace; that he would die as a martyr to his supporters instead and someone else may replace him. Suyin added she is here now and made a promise she’ll do more to help and will personally bring Guan down to his knees to face justice. As Kuvira began drawing blood on Guan’s throat, she eventually pulled the blades away and came into a resignation, finding no joy in ending him; no joy of her mistake that’s in her mercy. She finally surrendered and fell down onto her knees, exhausted

After Guan and Sheng’s arrest, Kuvira helped the others to restore order back to Gaoling and helped the people to restore their free-will back, along with Bolin, Mako, and Wu. The election has returned and Toph is all too happy to drop out, returning to the swamp when it was announced the people can have their elections on their own terms.

Days later after leaving Gaoling, Kuvira was once more placed in custody and sent back to prison as soon as she arrived at Republic City. Before her second trial, she began to ponder about the events that had occurred and thought about the things she had done during her reign as the Great Uniter…more deeply than before. On the day of her trial, she admitted to her guilt and her participation of the cruel things that had happened upon realizing her actions had hurt many people; albeit – something she kept to herself – she still held onto the fact good came out during those three years of the unification campaign and the love she has for her nation has always been the source of her driving force. She did all she could do for her people, but realizing she perhaps done too much for power also got far into her head and became paranoid to those who stood in her way, seeing what Guan had done opened her eyes at how little she thought about the consequences of her actions and how she should’ve watched more closely of the things that had happened behind her back. It stung a bit to know how very little control she actually had.

Her words shocked the others who weren’t expecting her to admit her guilt so quickly, so soon. The court, however, ended there so the judges could discuss her punishment and came to the decision to still lock her away…a decision she wasn’t surprised at, but was surprised she won’t be locked away for life. She took the deal, remembering the promise she made a while back at how she would take any punishment the court sees fit. After all, her crimes can never be forgotten either.

Before Kuvira was to be taken away, Suyin approached her to speak to her about all of the things she had done during her time as the Great Uniter and how she tried to fix her mistake. While she isn’t ready to forgive her, she is still willing to give her another chance and how she should’ve done more to help, something Kuvira said there’s nothing to be sorry about, what’s done is done. Understandable, things were awkward and tensed between them. Suyin brought up a suggestion, saying she could arrange for her to serve her sentence at Zaofu under house arrest with Baatar. Kuvira refused, saying she will not allow any favors and she will be abiding to the Republic’s rule. And rather than being sent far at the outskirts of the city, she was placed in a cell at Republic City, though still heavily guarded.

During her time in prison, Suyin came to visit her every once in a while along with Korra who’d come by to help rehabilitate her with several meditation sessions, seeing the problems they both share. Five years later, Kuvira has been released from prison, though not as a free woman yet. Seeing how she’s still young and a strong bender, the leaders of the world placed her under the United Forces’s watch where she will be performing hard labor work and assisting people who are in need.

[angstmongertina]

Should You Fight Them: The 7KPP Edition

This smacked me over the head today and so I had to write them all out, featuring all the current LIs, the other main delegates, and your servants, organized by kingdom. Disclaimer: These are all my opinions and are not meant to be taken seriously.

Princess Ana

Oh, we all know Ana would love to fight you, and frankly, she’ll kick your ass but she’ll enjoy doing it, especially if you have some skill. Plus, if you’re a girl, she’ll be so proud of you for even trying some stuff that she’s tried to teach you and if you get a few blows in, even better. Heck, she might even consider it foreplay. Which, hey, if you’re into that sort of thing, then all the better for you. Basically, go for it, fight Ana, but know what you’re getting yourself into.

Prince Zarad

See, the thing about Zarad is that for all he says he can’t fight people off, we all know he’s full of shit. Being disingenuous is sort of his whole schtick, meaning if you sauntered in thinking you could knock him down in a single blow, he’d probably hand you your ass without even mussing his hair. Plus, the boy is super graceful so if nothing else, he’ll be able to keep moving enough that he’d probably tire you out and then be able to come in for the final blow. On the other hand, if you have a good sense of what you’re doing and can read him/hold your own, he’d probably genuinely enjoy it, so you know what? There are definitely worse things in the world than fighting Zarad.

Lord Blain

You can absolutely kick Blain’s ass. It wouldn’t even be hard, if the play was any indication. Just get one punch in on his pretty little face and he’d be too distraught to even stop you or fight back in any way. For that matter, you’d probably have much of Corval’s support if you did, and there is absolutely no doubt that Ana and Zarad would eat popcorn and shout encouragement from the sidelines. There would be virtually no ramifications and pretty much everyone would get a kick out of it. Obliterate Lord Blain.

Prince Hamin

Man, Hamin’s another case where you technically COULD fight Hamin and frankly, some people might even appreciate you stopping his nonsense for a bit—here’s looking at you, Cordelia and Jasper, but he’s also undoubtedly trained in fighting, and especially trained in Hisean fighting, which would never in a million years be entirely sportsmanly. All in all, he could probably take you pretty easily, though to his credit, he’d probably appreciate both your chutzpah and your giving him a story to tell in the future. Basically, fight Hamin if you really want to but be wary.

Princess Cordelia

The thing about Cordelia is that while she may look like a proper princess and have the lineage of one, she was also raised in Hise and no doubt has the training of one. My dude. My pal. She may be restrained and unerringly polite but we all know that if you mess with her, she could probably hold her own and then ruin your entire life later with her usual polite smile and without ever stepping out of the bounds of propriety. A word to the wise: Do not fuck with Princess Cordelia.

Earl Emmett

Really? You want to fight Emmett, of all people? Come on, dude, I know it’d be an easy fight for anyone but what’s the point? It’d be like kicking a puppy. All he cares about is your happiness. You wouldn’t even feel good about beating him after you finished because of how unfair of a fight it is. Hell, he’d probably let you kick his ass while you’re at it, especially if you give him any indication that you think he deserves it. So yeah, sure, you could definitely do it and win, but at what cost?

Duke Lyon

With Lyon, it’s a bit tricky. On the one hand, the guy barely eats or gets his head out of a book, so I don’t think he’d be too hard to take on. Sure, he might have his height going for him but a good blow to the knees will probably bring him down to your level and then it can’t possibly be too hard. On the other hand, the boy has read A Lot and he’s probably learned something about self-defense from them, so if you let him get his bearings and actually think about things, you might have a bit more trouble, especially, I would guess, if you threaten books in any way. He’s a pretty quick thinker, after all. Basically, it’s probably doable but there’s no guarantee you’ll get out completely unscathed.

Lady Avalie

Dear god, if you have any sense of self-preservation, be careful around Avalie. She is one of the most cunning people on this entire list and definitely one of the most determined. If you don’t have a healthy fear of Lady Avalie, you’re either very brave or very foolish. Or both. Sure, she might not look all too physically imposing but I dare you to try and tell me that she can’t outthink you in the time it takes you to even plan your first move. And then she’d probably find a way to spin it to her own benefit and completely destroy you in the same breath, all with that bright sparkle and unreadable expression. Beware of Avalie.

Prince Lisle

I’m sorry, but what are you even doing? Seriously, you want to fight Lisle? Whatever did he do to you? The poor boy wouldn’t hurt a fly and is so dutiful that he puts his kingdom over his heart without blinking. I mean, yeah, he’s so proper and gentle and soft-spoken that he could probably be pretty easy to beat in a fight, especially if you fight dirty, but it’s like taking candy from a baby but worse because the baby at least might have annoyed you by crying or something and Lisle could never have done anything to you! For shame!

Princess Penelope

Look, Penelope is one of the few people on this list you should fight LESS than Lisle. How could you ever do that to her? All she wants is to make friends and you want to come to blows with her? DUDE. She’d probably just look at you and not even make any move to defend herself. Do you really think you could handle that on your conscience? And then you’d have to deal with Lisle and probably all of Wellin while we’re at it. And you know what? You’d have to deal with me as well. How DARE you even consider it. HOW DARE.

Stranger Danger Grand Duke Woodly

On one hand, Woodly is getting on there in age and doesn’t seem like the most fit person in the world, considering he seems much more inclined to getting things done by manipulation and communication. In that sense, his physical prowess won’t be the best. However, that age doubtless also comes with plenty of experience and we already know he likes messing with people just to see what happens so he probably also has that sort of mindset, as well as a group of people he could probably manipulate into protecting him. But also, I understand, it’s just so damn TEMPTING. So go ahead, give Stranger Danger that punch you’ve been tempted to deliver, but be careful; it’s probably harder than it looks.

Sayra

The thing about Sayra is that she’s cautious and knows her own strengths. This means that she may not have the same training as some people but she doubtless can hold her own if she needs to. She also has the guts to stand up for what is right, so if you so much as threaten the other servants, you will invoke her righteous wrath and if nothing else, she’ll be able to hold you off until support arrives… and it will. Do not fight Sayra unless you want the world—or, at least, the entirety of Vail Isle—to know your mistake.

Ria

Okay, let’s get one thing straight, here. How dare you even THINK about fighting Ria? What has she ever done to you except love and support you? I mean, yeah, you would almost definitely kick her ass, no matter how much background in fighting you have, but like. This is Ria we’re talking about. HOW DARE YOU? So yeah, you’d win, but at what cost? Plus, you’d have Sayra and Jasper after your ass and you’d absolutely deserve it YOU ACTUAL MONSTER.

Jasper

Excuse me, are you crazy? This is Jasper we’re talking about, your own butler. If anyone here has been unerringly on your side, doing his best to help you through anything, it’s Jasper. Also, this guy is a beast? He’s utterly unflappable. He can take on arguing/fighting delegates outside your door without breaking a sweat. The man could probably handedly destroy someone in a fisticuffs and then show up at your door without having so much as spilled a drop of tea, and you think you can take him? Think again. Besides, you’d have the narrator on your ass and given everything they know, that’s probably an absolutely terrible position to be in. Do NOT fight Jasper.

Lord Clarmont

You know what? I would say that Clarmont would definitely be able to at least hold his own against you, but it really depends on the situation. I mean, the boy is preparing to help lead a revolution against the current leaders of Revaire. He’s got to know some combat, and I doubt it’s the particularly honorable kind. On the other hand, though, Clarmont can be a total gentleman so like. If he likes you, he might just let you win, or at the very least, go a lot easier on you. Probably grinning and giving you advice as if it were a sparring match, damn the guy and his good heart. But also, he’s so sweet? Why would you fight Clarmont? Hasn’t he already gone through enough in his life? Don’t fight Clarmont.

Princess Gisette

I feel like when it comes to Gisette, the phrase “appearances can be deceiving” is very very appropriate. Sure, she might seem like a strong wind might blow her over, but she’s survived being Jarrude’s sibling for years and almost definitely has had a part in the Revairan overthrow. She has all the manipulative skills of Woodly or Avalie with no morality and the added bonus of probably being constantly underestimated. Hell, if she catches wind of what you’re planning, she might even preemptively pay someone to take you out before you’re even an actual thorn in her side. All in all, be very cautious, lest she destroy you without so much as a warning.

Jarrude Prince Jarrod

Please for the love of god, fight Jarrude. It is your moral obligation. Do it for us all. Punch him in his stupid smug face, knee him in the groin, and take him down a peg or ten. Oh, sure, the boy probably does know how to fight and absolutely has anger issues that would make him extremely violent, not to mention you might have the entire Revairan army after your ass as you try to escape, but look me in the eyes and tell me it wouldn’t be worth it. That’s right, you can’t. Because it would ABSOLUTELY be worth it. BE OUR CHAMPION AND FIGHT JARRUDE.

[pilferingapples]

Episode 5a: Green Finch and Cosette Bird

Not gonna try to Chronology this bc despite my best efforts I have NO idea what time span this is all supposed to be covering, like if it’s weeks or months or, as it appears to be, all happening in one Really Busy Week 

Before I get into it: As always , major props for the Props people, and the set design team on this show. Whatever my other issues about the series, I’ve loved the look of the places, and there’s some real nice touches in every scene. They make rewatching it all worth it just for the visuals. 

...More mixed feelings under the cut, but I did enjoy some things besides the setting!:

HELLO HELLFONT MY OLD FRIEND , what can I say,  it’s becoming a familiar (type)face , any friend in a storm

-I really enjoy this opening-- setting up that the people in Paris really ARE at about ready to riot and everyone really is angry, it’s not just Those Kids in A Bar Somewhere. It feels very A Few Pages of History, (4.1 , for those wondering!) and I’m glad it’s being given some time. 

-I am ALSO Highly Entertained that all this deep rooted and widespread social unrest is juxtaposed with flyers of THAT DASTARDLY VALJEAN. I’m sure to this Javert they’re exactly the same thing-- and I mean I am SURE because Javert tells us so directly: 

Rivet or Rivette or whatever: Uh boss we have intel on an attempt at overthrowing the government and I mean Parisians actually do that not infrequently of late so IDK  but I think we have bigger issues than your Nemeship 

Javert, Verbatim:  THERE IS NO. LARGER. ISSUE. MAN, Mark My Words, Where Ever You Find Unrest, HE Will Be At The Very Heart Of It 

THIS IS THE BEST THING THIS JAVERT HAS EVER SAID but it’s just gonna get better and I am SO here for Hilariously Overinvested In One Rando Thief Javert, he’s got basically nothing to do with Javerts Past and I do not CARE, this is hilarious

- Cutting over to Valjean and Cosette, with Cosette nursing his really oozy arm wound! I am NOT satisfied with Valjean’s “well I had to go back to the Thenardiers for  Reasons” line at ALL, especially not when Cosette was so clearly retraumatized.  I would accept a Scheme on his end, a moral argument, ANYTHING, but she’s just like “so this is awful” and he’s all “but Cosette, REASONS” . Also not satisfied with Cosette denouncing people as Evil! or Valjean signing off on it! I understand why she’s saying it from a Watsonian perspective but the show has chosen to set this up, to have the characters most associated  with redemption and recovery ready to directly condemn. This Cosette is infinitely more judgemental, and I can see why, because holy smokes this Valjean. And this is a fairly brief moment in the show but it’s just off for what this story and these characters represent.

- Meanwhile, in Some Cafe I Guess, Enjolras has some terrible lines about the upcoming revolution that make it seem like this has been a pickup game planned since all of last week and I have horrible foreshadowing of Fandom Arguments to Come. 

Also: this is not the fandom I think we are if we can’t just Nominate some Remaining Amis out of this mess of extras! I’ll go first; I nominate the bearded guy in the corner during Enjolras’ speech about Lamarque (at ~~4:43) for Bahorel, and the dark-haired guy in front of him for Joly.

-I love how grim the women’s prison is; also, Mme T trying to be as good a mother as she knows how to be even here.  (Also I know they probably should NOT be in the same prison together, but this is one of those condensations that I Get)

- I’m sure a lot of people are gonna hate it, but I actually really appreciate that this Marius is rather cold and unpleasant to Eponine post-Gorbeau, when she’s taking him to see Cosette. That is  canon!  He’s quite rude and even physically rough with her when he sees her again!  It’s an important aspect of his character; he gets caught up with his current Only Thing In The World and treats other people around him badly, it’s a running thing! Heck, this Marius is still  kinder to Eponine post-Gorbeau than his book counterpart.  I feel awful for Eponine, of course, but then I absolutely should. This is a Good Bit.  

-Thenardier escapes from prison by pretending to have Died of Dysentery--er, cholera! If they’re not gonna have Gav and the whole Escape By Night scene, this is actually a pretty clever, quick way to get Thenardier out, and build in the info about the cholera epidemic. I can never be exactly glad to lose Gavroche Scenes, but this was a pretty good way to abridge that! 

- Valjean’s arm  is better! So it’s been Some Vague Time! So he’s leaving for Mysterious Valjean Purposes (money), with a blithe “Cosette stay here, it’s safe but also don’t leave the house until I get back, also you can’t come with me because it’s dangerous, but don’t worry it’s TOTALLY safe.” If this Valjean were more the warm, loving character he should be, this might just seem awkward and badly phrased; with all that’s happened between them already and all that comes next, this just seems manipulative and cruel.

-Vajlean goes out into the streets and sees ...a drawing that doesn’t really look like him! On a wanted poster! So he tears it down. Javert’s Valjeany Sense Activates and his eyes open in his office when Valjean tears down the poster Who Knows Where. This delights me. DELIGHTS. This Javert is a hilarious parody of all Javerts and I officially love it.

-I also like Thenardier and...Montparnasse?-- and someone else..?why is this scene so dark --  in the sewers, and the cut from that to Cosette. Nice way to stress the actual real danger that Valjean’s left her in, also: good Cat Scare before Marius happens. (yeah and also Thenardier seems to be Leader of the Patron Minette, which is never my Fave Choice for an adaptation to make, but it makes sense, especially as breakneck as things are moving 

-Toussaint’s Cheerful Doomy Dooms of Doom while Valjean leaves her and Cosette to do his Secret Valjean Thing; since Enjolras has banned romantics from the barricade, guess we gotta take our cheerful death talk where we can! (also, totally canon!)

-okay, you know what, I really like Cosette’s scenes in the garden. This Cosette is doing a great job of selling me on her Extremely Young-ness. She seems young enough and unworldly enough that a Magic Boyfriend sneaking in without her noticing is Cool and Exciting and Magical instead of super unnerving.  She’s adorable. And there is really excellent framing here with the flowers and the lighting and all. It does  feel like a fairy tale, which, it really should; this is Cosette’s fairy tale romance and I’m happy for her.

...Unfortunately this Valjean is rather too much the part of the Ogre Parent and I wish Marius would just take her away.  Uhg. (also I haaaate this bgm. HAAAATE. I am not talking about it much and I know it’s probably just me but it is so obtrusive to me!) 

- Gavroche shows up, robbin’ all the randos and giving bread to a couple of genuinely unrelated street kids! I...am having such mixed feelings! I love this actor; this actor has Gavroche absolutely DOWN and I am accepting him into my heart entirely but...like...why is  this  part of the story  here,  why is there so much emphasis on him being a thief, why does he just leave the momes instead of trying to take them in, why is this show trying to make it visually clear that these aren’t his brothers? this is just..it’s the thing that keeps happening where there are a bunch of changes for no apparent reason and they don’t add up to anything new but they also aren’t the Original Thing and I can’t figure out what the point of those alterations really are (though this scene, with the extra thieving and reduced generosity, grand-total steals some of Gavroche’s heroism).  The actor is amazing but GIVE HIM HIS FULL BIT. 

- back to Definitely Some Cafe (it’s really well done, I just have no idea what cafe it is ? It’s full of workers, maybe this is supposed to be the Corinth?)  and a brief, foolish moment on my part of hoping there’ll be more discussion of why the rebellion is happening is Destroyed and turned to  “you rich students can go back to your families in the country but--”  THIS IS THE GHOST OF MY ASKBOX FUTURE AND I HATE IT , OH SPIRITS;  WHAT MAY I DO TO TURN THIS NIGHTMARE ASIDE

-...why isn’t this worker just...Feuilly...why are none of the workers Feuilly...

-P.sure my Joly HC is here 

either that or he’s BBC’s Merlin which might explain some things

- Awkwardness of Lost Historical Context aside, this Enjolras is growing on me (like a scruffy beard!) . He’s intense and physically affectionate and I like that in an Enjolras; I just think it’s weird that he’s hanging out with what are apparently random students who haven’t committed to the revolution frigging yet , but you know! Whatever!  

- ...I am currently kind of on the fence about this but...if they’re not gonna give the whole arc with Grantaire As Symbol of the Apathetic Bourgeois being Converted the time it needs, I ...think?  ..what they’re doing here might be a serviceable substitute?  He’s very obviously Not Got The Revolution Fever and is Doing It For His Friends, and he’s obviously super uncomfortable about it.  I like this take on that so far better than some versions I’ve seen. 

ATM, gotta say, the Amis Scene is bugging me the least. If it weren’t for the absolutely bizarre nonsense last week, I would be Pretty Okay with the Amis stuff?? WEIRD BUT TRUE.  Or maybe just a sign of how some adaptations have totally destroyed my expectations here to the point where “Enjolras isn’t actually Dracula” is Okay With Me. ANYWAY I’LL TAKE IT, A MOMENT OF LIKABLE CHARACTERIZATION. 

-The Revolutionary conversation segues with a cut to the Royalist Salon and Gillenormand, who  is NOT likeable and I’m not sure why we get this scene Here In Particular?  A contrast to the revolutionaries, I guess? But this Gillenormand continues to be very very  accurate. 

- At The House In The Garden, Valjean is back! Cosette comes to hug him! He apparently WAS worried that she wouldn’t be safe so what was with the reassurances earlier like she was being a stupid child! And most important

WHY DOES VALJEAN HAVE A BACK LACING WAISTCOAT  WHY DID HE WEAR THAT ON HIS TRIP AWAY  WHO LACED HIM UP WHILE HE WAS GONE  AAAAAAAAH 

okay I’m okay

- wait NO I’m NOT because now it’s time for the Patron Minette to come in and not-rob this place and the show completely destroys Eponine’s moment as the guardian of Marius and Cosette’s happiness!  Instead of her getting to intimidate a bunch of grown armed men into retreat, she’s attacked, threatened, and ultimately rendered  passive, her moment of heroism rendered null when no one comes to her scream, and her role in saving the Valjean house and all in the garden replaced by an actual dog.  I am really pretty furious about this! But the Character Destruction Of Eponine deserves its own post so Moving On FOR NOW...

- ...also are you telling me THIS hyper paranoid, aggressive JVJ doesn’t notice or react to screams and barking dogs 

- holy moly even kneeling Marius is almost as tall as Cosette, that’s not relevant to anything but it’s entertaining to me; it’s also Very Cute to have him comforting her by making himself smaller than her, when they’re both freaking out about her imminent maybe-move. 

- Valjean having a conversation with Eponine instead of just getting her note to move is not inherently The Worst! But the way he treats her just reinforces how cold and uncaring he is. There’s no compassion in him for a poor abused girl who could almost have been his daughter, no concern for how she might be faring, not even an awkward “hey be careful”.  Is it understandable? Yeah, sure. A lot of selfish focus is Understandable and human. But it’s not admirable, it’s not kind, it’s not the actions or attitude of a man who’s learned kindness towards the world through love, or who tries to put others first to the point that it would kill him. It makes sense, for some characters-- but it’s just not Valjean. 

-NICOLETTE IS THE HERO THIS ADAPTATION NEEDS and she’s SO happy to announce that Marius is back to talk to his awful awful Grandpa!

- The whole scene with Marius asking Gillenormand  for permission to marry is very satisfyingly awful and I have no complaints. It’s a bit abbreviated, and I wonder if people who don’t know the era will totally get that this is a question of needing adult legal approval?  but it’s not shortened beyond the amount that Adaptational Space might suggest. I’d take this little scene as a good illustration of the Gillenormand/Marius dynamic for anyone. Also: is that the Yellow Prisoner-Crafted Wallpaper???  BBC Set Design People, you’re the BEST

- I know I’ve already given kudos to the props and set people but I LOVE this little bachelor apartment that Marius and Courfeyrac are sharing, this is so great?? I’ve seen sketches from the era that look so much like this!  Give me a  moment to squeak happily about this place-- the low roof! The clothesline! The clutter! I love it! (@ about 30:00) 

- I HATE EVERYTHING ENJOLRAS  SAYS HERE THOUGH, even if I intend to meme out No Romantic Daydreamers to the FULLEST 

-Cutting back to Valjean and Cosette’s house, I also hate that Cosette defense-flinches when she wakes up! It’s been eight years! That should not still be her auto-reflex if she’s come to feel safe and loved!  My heart! 

Valjean tells her they have to move today. Valjean does NOT tell her where they’re going. Valjean gives her an hour to pack--and Cosette has to run out and ask Toussaint what the address will be and has to LIE TO TOUSSAINT about why she needs it. Valjean, there are secrets you might feel a need to keep from your daughter. WHERE SHE LIVES should not be one of them. “I’m taking you to an address no one knows and also you can’t have it ahead of time” is what kidnappers do! Watching Cosette write her note and move (terrible bgm and all) is breaking my heart--she is so alone in this house--no one is on her side, no one is there to listen to her, no one is really considering her feelings or giving her any explanations, she’s being moved around like a pet. The abuse is less florid than with the Thenardiers, but it’s still there, and I want to cry. 

The scene goes from soldiers marching outside the window of the new apartment to the funeral. Aaaand that seems like a good place to break this giant review in two. 

Randoming Fandoming:

-I’m pretty sure that at around 6:14 a woman and kid in modern clothes just wander in the background behind Marius! This is not a Complaint, these things happen to any production, but it’s fun to have spotted? 

[thedcdunce]

Nemesis

“This was a bad idea. I guess that's what happens when you let a stripper play psychiatrist.” - Nemesis

Real Name:  Lady Charis of the Adrastea

Aliases:

Charis

Gender: Female

Height: 5′ 10″

Weight: 192 lbs (87 kg)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Powers:

Kherubim Physiology

Abilities:

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)

Thievery

Swordsmanship

Weaknesses:

Mental Illness

Equipment:

Stealth Suit

Pegasus

Creation Engine Blades

Genetic Concussion Grenades

Universe: Wildstorm Universe

Origin: Formerly a lowly thief of her people, Nemesis fell in love with Majestic and trained in the arts of the Coda.

Citizenship: American

Marital Status: Single

Occupation:

Adventurer

Warrior

Education: Educated in the ways of the Coda

First Appearance: Wildcats: Nemesis #1 (November, 2005)

Powers

Kherubim Physiology: Kherubim resemble humans in appearance, but are physically far stronger and more durable and extremely long-lived, nearly immortal. However an evolutionary drawback to their near-immortality is that Kherans are almost infertile, only very rarely will a Kheran produce offspring. This effect is seen in real world natural environments, as longer living organisms will have fewer offspring than organisms with short lifespans. This is a natural check against overpopulation.

Enhanced Senses: Charis has very high levels of senses. most notably sight and hearing. She is easily at human peak as far as her ability to note detailed objects. Her hearing on the other hand is very enhanced.

Immortality: As a Kheran, Charis possesses virtual immortality. Her race is extremely long lived and she has been on Earth for literally the whole of human civilization and is showing no sign of growing old anytime soon.

Enhanced Healing

Enhanced Durability: As a Kheribum she is very very tough and durable. A regular bullet and gun will not adequately harm her and her skin could be considered super hard and dense to a normal human.

Enhanced Speed

Telekinesis

Telepathy

Enhanced Strength: As a Kheran, Charis is naturally stronger then a normal human. She can lift/press up to two tons of weight with effort and in addition to this, knows how to best apply her strength.

Empathy: As an Adrastean, she has psychic powers, the strongest of these being empathy, allowing her to sense others by sensing their feelings, as well as learn their past and secret desires among other things.

Abilities

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Charis was trained as a Coda so she is a spectacular fighter in both armed and unarmed combat.

Thievery

Swordsmanship

Weaknesses

Mental Illness: If she comes into contact the body of a murder victim, her empathetic ability causes her to experience the feelings of pain and horror of the person who died and compel her to avenge them.

Equipment

Stealth Suit: She also wears a special stealth suit that lets her create forcefields.

Force Field

Pegasus: An assault hover-bike made from the finest technologies presumably from Khera, Daemon and earth; capable of launching ranged plasma blasts or mounting pickup upon voice command.

Creation Engine Blades: When fighting, Charis wields two blades forged from shards of the Creation Engine that can cut through any material in the universe.

Genetic Concussion Grenades: Pieces of Kherubim ordinance that, once after detonation, horribly wrought ones genetic structure beyond comprehension. Agonizingly warping the recipients bodies apart as their D.N.A caustically disintegrates.

History

Nemesis was born Charis, a member of the Adrastea. They are like the normal Kherubim but they all have psychic powers. The group was originally a slave caste but became a powerful underground criminal organization.

Charis' first chronological appearance was when she met Mister Majestic on Khera. At the time, she was trying to steal his weapon so she could sell it after. After he caught her, they soon became friends and lovers, and Majestic was able to get her Coda training, something an Adrastean like Charis was normally not allowed due to intense discrimination. Unfortunately, since Charis was an Adrastea, Majestic being with her was frowned upon so they had to stay together in secret. However, their secret wasn't as well hidden as they thought. Kheran politicians, trying to make peace for their planet, chose Majestic to sleep with Zealot, an act that would unite the two most powerful factions on the planet, the Pantheon and the Coda. Majestic felt it was his duty as a Kherubim to do what he was asked of him for the sake of Khera, but the politicians would have blackmailed him by threatening to tell others about Charis if he didn't. Because of his "duty" Majestic and Charis separated, though they still loved each other. They ended up on Earth together though when their ship crashed on the planet.

Charis was part of the Coda on Earth but was betrayed by another faction, the Brotherhood of the Blade. The Brotherhood had joined with some rogue Daemonites in a plan to overthrow both their people. The first step of this plan was to kill hundreds of Coda and frame Charis. They did, leaving only Charis alive among the original Coda. After this, both Zealot and Majestic swore to hunt down Charis, not knowing that she had also sworn to avenge her sisters. The whole betrayal had taken place in Ancient Greece, and Nemesis hadn't been seen since. However, she appeared under the radar in Europe, Japan, and American under various monikers, killing Daemonite enclaves, encountering figures like Majestic and Sherlock Holmes along the way. It wasn't until 2005 that she fully showed up again.

Majestic, Zealot, and the other Wildcats with them, found Nemesis in the middle of killing some Brotherhood assassins, though the Wildcats didn't know that was who they were. She had been hunting and killing Brotherhood members since the betrayal in Greece. After she had killed them, the Wildcats tried to stop her from kidnapping a child that was with the men, but Nemesis made short work of the team. She even managed to cut Majestic with a sword. She escaped with the child but Majestic and the team eventually found her.

Before the Wildcats could arrive tough, Daemonites found Charis and Kara and managed to take them by surprise, but she was able to hold her own until Majestic arrived looking to take Kara back and to kill Charis. After surrounding herself and Kara with a forcefield, Charis blew up the building, with Daemonites and Majestic caught in the explosion. Majestic survived though and used his former relationship with Nemesis to take her down.

Majestros took both of them to a Halo Corporation building in New York City. While there, Charis revealed the truth behind her “betrayal” and also explained what was going on with the girl. The Brotherhood had been mutating humanity since they had betrayed the Coda and their people in Ancient Greece. The girl was created as an activator to trigger the mutations so Nemesis was keeping her safe so the Brotherhood couldn't use her to control humanity. Majestic and Zealot accepted her story, but before Nemesis could be released, a Brotherhood spacecraft emerged from a bleed portal and fired hundreds of projectiles into the Halo building with the Wildcats inside.

The projectiles were Scimitars, Brotherhood/Shaper hybrids, living weapons born and bred to kill. Majestros saved Nemesis at the last minute from being cut in half by a Scimitar. While Majestic was fighting some of the Scimitars, Kara was kidnapped and the Bladeship attacked. After the Brotherhood ship bombarded the building with plasma canons, Charis was the last one standing, thanks to her force field. Following the Scimitar that had captured Kara onto the ship, she came face to face with Raven, the leader of the Brotherhood. She was too late to stop him from activating the girl, and the resulting blast knocked her off the flying ship and to the ground. When she awoke, she was with Majestic, Zealot, Grifter and Savant. It was then that Majestic and Zealot called a truce with Nemesis and offered her the chance to finally avenge her slain sisters of the Coda. Majestic, Nemesis and the Wildcats battled the human mutates in New York City, while other Wildstorm teams fought mutates all over America.

Savant located the Brotherhood's battleship in space, and teleported all the Wildcats using the Halo teleportation system. On board they found that Raven had the entire population of New Jersey frozen in status pods as hostages. He was ready to kill them if the Wildcats didn't surrender. Nemesis, being a Coda warrior, was unable to surrender, and threw out some special grenades, taking out the Brotherhood and buying time for her to send the hostages back to Earth and set the ship to self-destruct. Nemesis was able to locate Kara and free her, but she was attacked by a Daemonite and was about to be shot. Grifter, deeply in lust with Nemesis, took the hit for her. Savant tried to teleport the team back, but there weren't enough beacons to get them all back, so Nemesis gave hers to Kara. She also gave Grifter a goodbye kiss and told Zealot to tell Majestros that had she not sacrificed herself, she would have showed him what he had been missing for the past three millenia.

After the Wildcats were gone, Charis faced off against Raven. Raven also had a blade forged from the material that allowed Charis' blade to cut through anything, so when they fought, it was especially dangerous. They fought and Nemesis won, but in killing Raven, she had damaged the ship and she was sucked out into open space. It was then that Majestic returned, saving her from certain death since the forcefields she had activated when she was sucked out, were losing power. Back at the Halo Corporation building in New York City, Majestros asked Charis to stay with him and be with him as well as join the Wildcats. She turned him down, and after one last kiss went on her way to more adventures. Nemesis, now armed with two indestructible blades was on her own once again.

Armageddon & Revelations

After some time the Void contacted Nemesis to inform her of the on-coming cataclysm that would bring about Armageddon. Void transports Nemesis to a future where the majority of the Earth is destroyed by powerful metahumans. Furthermore, she discovered that Majestros became a mad tyrant and sought to rebuild a "New Khera" on the ruined Earth, while becoming enemies of the Wildcats. Returning to her own time Nemesis joins forces with Savant and Backlash in an attempt to stop that dark future from happening. Ultimately their lead led to a hidden missile bunker in western Utah and discovered that the American government had been weaponizing clones of The High known as Reapers. With the silo destroyed and having killed off a escaped Reaper, Nemesis was rescued by Mister Majestic. However, on the next day she realized too late that the destruction of the silo wasn't able to prevent the inevitable apocalypse, culminating into the events of Number of the Beast.

World's End

Nemesis found herself with the Wildcats when Armageddon hit, and guiltily believed that she herself allowed the cataclysm to happen. She stayed with them for a while, battling against Majestic who had begun a new Kheran empire on the islands of Hawaii. Majestic offered for her to join him in his new empire but she refused. However, after a battle against Lord Defile and his Daemonites, Nemesis and Jodi Slayton decided to take Majestic's offer and left the Wildcats to join him.

However, it was later revealed that Nemesis and Jodi's reason for coming to "New Khera" as they were blackmailed by Majestic as he has been imprisoning Savant for the means of breeding pure Kherubim "heirs" via test tubes. Furthermore, Savant was also imprison for learning that there was something other than Armageddon that driven Majestic to go mad. After the Wildcats came to rescue the three women, Majestic attempted to stop them. Nemesis, alone, fought Majestic in order to gave time for the others to escape. As the two reluctantly fought, their fight brought them over to a active volcano in which Nemesis decides to sacrifice herself to kill her lover into the volcano. However, after the two plunge into the volcano's lava, Majestic was the first to emerge alive and believes that Nemesis didn't survive, forcing him to briefly take his anger on the Wildcats. Majestic later returned to the place of Nemesis' supposed death and had been searching vainly for her trace, but finds only her swords.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Nemesis was saved by someone when she fell into the volcano. Whoever saved her told her that she could have whatever she wanted and what she wanted most was Majestic. She came to UnLondon among the gathered heroes that were notified of the chance to leave Earth on the Authority's Carrier. Following the Carrier's departure and during the Knights of Khera's attack, Nemesis remained hidden throughout the conflict and rescued a wounded Majestic who was impaled in the neck by Sebastian. She took him to be recuperate at his Mount Rushmore hideout and chosen to keep the mute/paralyzed Majestic against his will to conceive a child she desires, which would take years or more to conceive according to their Kherubim physiology. It became apparent that Nemesis's sudden change of personality is being controlled apparently by the individual who rescued her. After the three months period of Earth's restoration, Nemesis finally became pregnant. She then decided that Majestic is in no condition to be a father, and sought the one who rescued her from the volcano to be her unborn child's father figure instead.

Fun Facts

Nemesis once fell in love with Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan, who was also the basis for one of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers character. She regretted being immortal while seeing him growing up to his old age.

It is stated in the 1939 edition of the Planetary Guide, that its author had personally met Nemesis.

Nemesis was an acquaintance of Detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.

Nemesis sailed on the RMS Titanic and fought Daemonite/Brotherhood assassins who were responsible for sinking the ship.

According to Nemesis, she actually served as the inspiration to or the actual Greek Goddess of Vengeance in ancient times.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Winner’s Curse Ch. 11

Yep this is a long one, and I’m sorry since it’s mainly an exposition chapter. But I was trying to set up familial ties and character dynamics and inner conflict so it kinda came out like this...Though I’ll admit it may not be the best, I still enjoy it and I hope you do too. Especially with the obscure references. I hope someone can guess whose children, the new characters that appear at the very end are. 

“Did you get any news last night?” Aziz sighed when he saw Jordan’s pinched frown.

It was early dawn and the small group was waking up to the smell of stale coffee, the garbage cans, and preparing to start the day.

They had been at it for four days now. Jordan, Jay in his goon disguise Calix magicked up for him, and Calix would leave to meet Uma at the castle and look around for any important documents and spy, always coming back around midnight or later when he and Lala were already fast asleep from full day of frustration and confusion.

Their days were like the blind leading the blind since Aziz didn’t know anything or anyone here, and Lala didn’t frequent the urban section of the Isle enough to know who to potential recruit or where anything was.

They did the best they could with mixed results. Asking questions like “Where is the Aladdin-hating club?” or “Do you want to overthrow tyranny?” was met with suspicion. To be fair, most questions Aziz asked were met with suspicion, even what he thought were innocent ones like the bathroom. He still hadn’t got an answer to that last one and he was a bit concerned.

They had tried following particularly bad-tempered and miserable folks to see if they could be goaded into joining a revolution, but it was clear that no matter how unhappy people were, they weren’t willing to fight against the Coven.

Yesterday, they broke through with one small lead. That lots of minor followers like the Forty Thieves and Hun soldiers, and Hook’s crew liked to go to Gaston’s bar, and tended to have loose lips about their bosses’ going-ons after three kegs of beer. Aziz was hoping in their alcohol-fueled state, they would divulge where to find big guns like Clayton or Morgana. Or at least rile them up to join their people’s revolt.

Jay stretched and yawned, and rubbed the dusty window pane that showed the backroom of Jafar’s Junk Shop. The alleyway behind it was their current sleeping place.

Aziz had wanted to ask why they didn’t just sleep inside since it had been confirmed that the Coven members rarely left Maleficent’s castle and that Jafar’s Junk Shop had been closed for weeks. There was no chance of them getting caught but he sensed that would be a sensitive topic.

There was a certain sort of sadness, nostalgia and perhaps even fear that crossed Jay’s face whenever he peered through the windows which was quite often. Usually when he thought no one was looking.

But Aziz was always observing people around him. He just found it fascinating to watch people’s quirks. Those quirks were always so telling of what people, and usually hinted at something going on beneath the surface of those perfect princess smiles or in this case, the suave confidence of a thief.

From what little he knew of Jay’s relationship with his father was that though Jafar had been neglectful, Jay had idolized the man and was still having a hard time breaking away from all the lessons he had been taught and encouraged over the years such as focusing on himself and viewing relationships as a give-and-take rather than a bond of mutual trust and equality.

Perhaps Jay was remembering his childhood sitting in that junk shop with useless shiny baubles, waiting for praise to be turned away to  get something better.

But Aziz’ thoughtful imaginings of the potential inner workings of Jay’s mind soured as he saw Jay take another discreet glance around the group to see if anyone was watching, looked directly past him, and then turned to look through the window again.

Maybe Jay did know Aziz was watching but didn’t care.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone looked right through Aziz. After all, he was apparently a forgettable despite the prestige behind his parentage and what he thought were moderately sizzling good looks.

Very rarely was he featured in Auradon news. Is name was always behind more well-known princes like Chad and Ben or even behind Doug since the media loved the story of the Evil Queen’s daughter falling in love with a dwarf.

It was the same in his own kingdom. He was the third child, third for the throne. Well, second since Zahrat formally relinquished any rights to becoming sultana to Cassima. And he doubted Cassima would ever tire of the job of being Sultana.

It was not like he wanted to be Sultan, but since he was not heir to the throne, people didn’t pay much attention. He wasn’t like the other princes who had royal training for ruling and their marriages and lives planned out.

He was on his own, and his pursuits of parkour, and people-watching and the occasional theft was not that interesting enough to make him stand out.

Unless it was Jay who did it. When Jay did parkour or thievery, people immediately noticed it was he. People easily recognized his swagger and smirk.

Whereas he was a pale imitation of his father, and inferior skill set to Jay to boot.

That’s why Jordan chose him to scour the streets of the Isle without a disguise. In her words, “Aziz you’re great at blending in with a crowd, no one will even notice you. They’ll just think you’re the son of one of the forty thieves or something.”

He blended with the crowd. He looked like any other prince. Like any other thief. Forgettable.

“Day 4 of Castle Reconnaissance has brought no new results. It sucks.” Jordan sighed dramatically, and turned around to pace by the dead-end of the alleyway, tapping at the earchip Carlos had given her. “I’m going to talk Ben and Evie,and see what we should do next if results don’t come quickly.”

“Fine, can you at least give me some baklava before I head out?” Aziz asked which Jordan casually did with a snap of her fingers and a warm piece of baklava appeared in his hands.

“Oh, you’re talking to Ben and Evie. What did the say about Uma?” Jay jumped up to join her and Aziz rolled his eyes.

Jay was still admentally against Jordan’s decision to team up with Uma, and had been hoping the two would agree with him that it was a bad decision and no matter what happened, they wouldn’t help her or Harry or the rest of her crew off the Isle.

However, Ben and Evie both were of the mind to give Uma, and her crew a chance since Ben felt like she had a valid point of how he had broken his pledge to invite other kids off the Isle. Evie believed that every teen on the Isle deserved a chance to grow their potential in Auradon, and that everyone included Uma.

Aziz did agree with Jay that it was probably a bad idea to trust Uma, and an even worse one to promise her a chance to go to Auradon, but he trusted Jordan more. She wasn’t naive, and she undoubtedly was inwardly preparing herself for ways to combat an inevitable betrayal. He also knew that Jordan was still insecure about her role as leader and was probably glad to latch on to Uma who was so put-together and already a respected captain.

“Finally, you’re ready.” Lala got up from where she was polishing her spear, dangerously close to the nose of a still-sleeping Calix.

“Well, you know how it is, I’m a pampered prince. I don’t wake at sunrise like you common hunters.” Aziz faked the haughty air that Chad often used which Lala answered with an eye-roll and mock curtsey.

Surprisingly, he and Lala had settled into a comfortable rapport despite only knowing each other for a week and forced to complete a fruitless, irritating task together.

They worked efficiently together, studying potential targets to follow and ask, and shared the bond of being bored and hangry as they walked through the dusty, surprisingly cold streets. They even shared some jokes over some exceptionally dumb sidekicks getting the boot or wonderings of how one could stoicly walk around with a six arrow embedded into their shoulder like a pincushion. She called him a pampered prince and he jokingly humored her by acting the part.                        

It probably helped that Lala didn’t think much of him to treat him with hostility.

On the second day of their recruiting mission together, she made a joke, and Aziz didn’t stop himself from saying, “The jungle princess is capable of joking?”

Lala shrugged and replied, “Well, you’re not much of a threat to me. I can relax. I mean you’re so quiet and not such a loud-mouth fake like Jay or anything really. You’re like…. hmm like a sidekick. You observe. You’re not going to outshine me or be able to go up against anyone.”

“He was so quiet.” “Not a threat.” Not like Jay who always managed to draw attention. He didn’t come up with witty lines on the spot like his father.

He was like a supporting character. Friendly, smart, capable of surprising people, but not very special.

He tried. Allah knew he tried. He maintained his grades. He was great at conversation with adults, he studied up on foreign affairs and he could charm diplomats with his mom like a pro. He did tourney and he practiced as much as he could, but he didn’t want to get so over muscled as Herkie as to not being able to perform his usual flips through Agrabah’s alleyways. He loved to go to the dances, and going on adventures in the dunes with some street rats during vacation. He did all the things that fellow royals did, his father did, all the heros did.

And the secret thing was that though he had fun, he always felt like an exhausted, nervous wreck after every single event.

He was never able to stop his mind from thinking during the conversation. Thinking of what he was going to say, if what he wanted to say was stupid or lame, what if the other person got offended, what did the person mean. He would think of a bunch of conversational scenarios, ones geared toward topics he knew, and witty remarks he could use, but those never went into effect because it felt awkward to try. He didn’t want to appear like he was trying too hard.

He was only able to relax and stop those racing thoughts with people he had known for years like his family or Ben and Lonnie. But with others..he always ended up listening more than talking.

He was perfectly fine listening to people. He didn’t feel the need to add useless, extraneous remarks just so he could talk. He would talk when he had something meaningful to say. That’s why he and Jordan got along so well because when she felt like it, she could talk for hours and Aziz could listen to it.

When he listened to others talk about a school scandal, he could hear all the different views and biases and piece together what happened, he could analyze their actions and motives, and why they were reacting in a certain way. It was like a psychological puzzle, and standing behind and listening allowed him to glean more information and more pieces to add in. 

For example, everyone saw that Audrey had dyed her hair to match her mother, and assumed it was ‘save face’ after Ben publicly dumped her for Mal, pretending she was over it. Aziz had seen Queen Leah berate Audrey, and surmised that the hair dye was less a reputational pressure but at the influence of familial pressure.  

Jordan said he was an amateur psychoanalyst which amused her because she liked listening to his theories about the motives of their classmates; Yet it annoyed her when the tables turned and he tried to encourage her to talk about her feelings like a normal person. She always shut it down with, “Not now, Sherlock Freud. Analyzing me is off-limits.”

Yet in this world, he was required to contribute to the conversation or else, people would forget he was there. Being the backgrounder he was he already heard other students discuss party invitations and he was left off the list since he was ‘boring” and ‘just there.” On the other hand, he was also invited to parties for the same reason. He was so forgettable that it didn’t matter to people if he was in the room or if he wasn’t.

Rationally, he knew he wasn’t boring. He had great stories to tell, and if anyone asked, he would take them for an adventure of a lifetime in the dunes of Agrabah, and teach them tips to tame wild horses, but that wasn’t how people saw him. People usually went by first impressions, and he wasn’t interesting enough to warrant a deeper look.

Though he tried to change and be outgoing as was expected for a prince- He asked his dad for advice under the guise of flirting tips, he memorized Genie’s standup routines, he forced himself to attend every one of the Tourney teams fundraising events, games, and afterparties- But he was always outshone by the other extroverted people in the room. He could act outgoing, but it was always harder for him. It was never going to be enough compared to those who were naturally outgoing. There was always going to be someone better than him.

“Aziz,” Lala snapped her fingers in front of him, “Stop zoning out, and let’s go to the bar.” “You know where the bar is? Yesterday, you said you knew where the docks were and led us to Facilier’s shop.” Aziz said. “It smelled like sea water.” Lala defended.

“It was bayou water. I’m pretty sure bayou water should smell different than sea water.” Aziz retorted.

“Whatever. I do know where Gaston’s bar is though. I have actually been there before, and you find it by following the crowd.” Lala nodded toward what was indeed a large crowd of shuffling, drunk-looking men and women shoving each other to enter the large front entrance that boasted moose antlers in front.  

Due to their healthier bodies and sober states, Aziz and Lala were easily able to edge through the sluggish crowd and enter the vast bar area with its permanently wet and sticky floor, numerous wooden tables and roaring French-styled fireplace.

Lala didn’t slow down, tugging Aziz’ arm to go to the backroom where another door led them to a junkyard with more tables, and a hastily constructed wrestling ring with a cage.

They sat down at the nearest table, and began their wait, disinterestedly watching the current match between a Hun and the infamous Stanley that was on Gaston’s team. But their primary focus was on the patrons surrounding them, unfortunately none looked like Agrabahian or like a sea monster in cahoots with Morgana. He did spot one young woman who looked like a more sinister version of Cruella if her black and white hair and maniac smirk was anything to go by.

A few minutes went by when their silent observation was interrupted by a voluptuous yet haggard blonde barmaid with a tray of ribs that were half boiled, and what looked like mold surrounding the edges, “You’re Lala, right? Dad sent this. Good. Enjoy. Bye.”

“Oh, thank you.” Lala flusteredly broke off a bone marrow and handed it to him.

“Your dad’s here?” Aziz looked around trying to spot another Atlantean in the crowd just as everyone jumped up to cheer when the Hun body-slammed Stanley against the cage and began beating him with his own hands. “Wait..you know your dad? I thought most Vks--”

“Most Vks don’t know both their parents, it’s true. But my dad stayed around a little longer. Stop looking around like that, you look like a frantic meerkat. He’s not out here. He must have seen me when we were inside or something. I’m kinda easy to spot with the white hair and all.” Lala said, chewing a bit too nonchalantly on a bone.

“I guess he must have liked you enough for him to send-” Aziz began to say but Lala held up a hand.

“Now don’t get your little happy Auradon beliefs up. He doesn’t like me. I remind him too much of my mom. The women who tried to strangle him. If he comes out to greet us which I sincerely doubt he would ever, you’ll see the marks around his neck. He’ll give you an action-packed story of how he fought off Turblat with only his bare hands, but it wasn’t the gorilla. It was mom.”

“Oh okay,” Aziz deflated a bit. He wasn’t as naive as Lala, and Jay and Uma seemed to think he was. He couldn’t imagine villains like Jafar or the Evil Queen would find it in their selfish hearts to love their children, he was just surprised that Lala seemed to have some sort of relationship with her other parent, and what he thought was a good one with free food. “I can imagine that your dad doesn’t love you as I know most parents love their children. But he hates you specifically because you remind him of Queen La? It’s not like you’re the same.” Aziz said before sheepishly adding, “And would I know who he is? Is he a villain? Or is he just a sidekick?” 

“Ha! My mom sleeping with a sidekick? That’ll be the day. My dad’s Muviro. He came from the same tribe as her. Though they didn’t know each other then, and got exiled at different times. And I am like my mom. I look like her. I’m jealous like her.” Lala fiddled with her food.

“You’re not..” Aziz was about to protest, but he trailed off. The Core 4 had proven that they weren’t like their parents, but that didn’t mean they didn’t share the same flaws as their parents, and weren’t capable of acting like them in some moment of anger or weakness. He remembered that Lala wasn’t helping them out of a sense of moral righteousness, she was getting a wish out of this, a wish to have her own kingdom. She wasn’t one of the good guys. 

“What do you mean?” Aziz asked, automatically getting riveted with what he imagined should be an intriguing backstory.

Lala hesitated and Aziz could imagine cat-like hackles rising as she trained her slitted cat eyes at him. She looked like she was about to snap with some comment to put him in his place, but then her eyes softened as she considered his face.

She must have remembered how she didn’t consider him a threat and began to speak.

“Well my mom, and dad..um I guess. I don’t know how to say this. I know they weren’t in love. There is no such thing here. But they stayed together for a while. They had had a child before me, and my dad stayed around till I was 7. My mom usually cheated on my dad, but then she found out he dared to cheat on her too. That was bad, but what really made her snap was that he said he could do better than her. You do not tell my mom there is someone better than her. She still hates Tarzan for choosing Jane, and she considers him to be her perfect mate. And my dad, someone who is just a warrior, not a prince or anything saying he could do better than the Queen of Opar…” Lala trailed off with a pregnant pause.

“Yeah, that is a bad move.” Aziz inhaled with empathetic pain as he imagined the vicious scene.

“After that he left, and…He actually didn’t hate me then. He invited me over here to this “civilized” area away from the “nutcase.” That’s what he calls her.

“But...my mom kept saying that he was choosing the slut over us, and I thought about how he could have children with this woman. Would he think those kids were better than me like that woman was better than my mom? And that wasn’t right. I’m his firstborn daughter. I’m the one he taught how to hunt. I’m the one who knows how to specially hunt eagle feathers.

I got jealous, I stalked him and his girl around and I found out she was a prostitute, but I thought she was cheating on him. I told him and said it showed that even she thought she was better than him. He couldn’t do better than mom and I. He didn’t take that well. He said I was just like my mom. Was I planning to murder ‘the other women’ so I could have his attention too even though I thought I was better than him?” So he stopped inviting me, and..yeah.”

“But what about now? If he hates you,why is he giving you food?” Aziz asked, surprised to find that he had almost finished the ribs, mold and all.

“He said one angry La mad at him is enough, he didn’t want to deal with two. So we sometimes come here and chat. We hunt. Not much now since puberty hit, and I got my white hair and all. It’s too difficult to look at me and not see her.” Lala shrugged again, looking down at the table, clearly trying to pretend the whole matter was cool with her and she didn’t care.

Aziz didn’t know what to say. He wanted to pull her into a hug and comfort her but he knew that wasn’t the way here. She’d probably scratch his eyes out first before admitting emotion.

But still.. It was slightly infuriating to think about. Lala had only been 7 years old. It was natural, she didn’t want to be replaced by some new family. Even if her stalking was unwarranted, the intention was kind of good, what with her concern that her dad was dating another woman who thought she was better than him. Albeit in a badly worded argument.

“So what about this brother you mentioned? What did he think of all this?” Aziz tried to smoothly turn the subject to a less intense topic.

“Oh umm nothing. He died before I was born.” Lala answered.

Aziz cringed, “Sorry. I mean not sorry. I guess you didn’t miss much since you never knew him. It’s just that I have a lot of siblings so when there’s family drama, we usually like to discuss it. Or sometimes fight about it if we disagree,” He saw Lala’s confused face, “Ugh, I’ll stop talking. I’ll stop. Right now.”

“I had a lot of siblings too.” Lala said, “Two sisters, three half sisters, and three half brothers. Plus Musala. That was the one I didn’t know.” Aziz whistled, inwardly contrasting her past tense with his present, “Wow nine’s a lot. I have two older sisters, Zahrat and Cassima, well three if you count Jordan, which we all do. One younger bro, Amal and another sister, Noor. Plus a nephew. That’s Zahrat’s son.”  

Lala had a pinched smile as she listened to him talk, not because she seemed disgusted but more like she was trying to suppress it. Not that she was succeeding too well, “What do you do together?”

“Uh lots of stuff. Mainly formal banquets because we’re royalty and all, but sand dune surfing, parkour. Though that’s just Cassima and I, but we’re getting the little ones into it. Horseback racing. That’s a big one. We have running tally between all of us, and I’m winning but Zahrat is going to beat me if I don’t win another one before her.” Aziz said, surprised by how enthusiastic he sounded as he talked about them, but then he realized how little he got to talk about his home life. In Auradon, everyone was so concerned with school and fashion and latest Vk gossip/rumors no one cares to ask about home life. They just figure they know all they need to know about Agrabah and his family.

“My siblings and I used to have a tally on our hunts too. We had such fun trying to get many prey as we could in one hour. One time I even convinced Ewuare that a speckled baboon was an actual creature, and he was so determined to be the first to..” She paused, caught in the memory before dismissing it, “I know what you’re thinking. But I didn’t actually care about them. Why should I? They succumbed to the jungle, they were weak.”  

Aziz didn’t buy it. If he had his eyes closed he was sure he would have believed her lie. Her matter of factness betrayed no wistful emotion. In fact, she sounded downright annoyed at the fact that weak people existed.

But her look didn’t match her voice. Despite not looking at him, where she looked was telling. She seemed to be staring out to the wrestling ring where the Hun was still beating up Stanley, with a brick this time, but her gaze was unfocused, and her lips were pursed thoughtfully. He wondered when her siblings died-if she had memories of hunting side by side in the jungle, secure in the knowledge that she had one person to trust on this Isle of liars, murderers and thugs. 

Or alternatively, if one of the siblings died just a few months old and she secretly wondered about it growing up. “When did they die?” Aziz ventured to ask, whispering with what he hoped was the appropriate amount of reverence.

Lala visibly tensed and then relaxed, and looked at him with a calm poker face.”When I was three, no two, I think, my mom gave birth to twins. One didn’t get a name because she died within a few hours. The other was Taytu Betuvira, she was my dad’s favorite because mom allowed him name her after himself.” The pinched smile returned but Lala bit it back, “I don’t remember much of her. I think, I thought she was cute. Like a baby cub. But she died a year later from a snake bite.”

“So when I was around four, my mom tried again with Rourke for a stronger child. You know, since dad’s kept dying off. Rourke didn’t stick around. Actually, I don’t think he even knows he had a son. Anyway, that son was Ewuare. He was the best.” Lala shook her head with a fond smile, clearly forgetting her “I didn’t care about them, they're weak” statement.

“But my mom wanted more than one child, so she slept with Clayton too. She got Leopold out of him. Clayton visited the jungle more often than Rourke but only when dad wasn’t around. His visits were more for hunting than for Leopold. Leopold was my mom’s son rather than Clayton’s. Clay was Clayton’s son.

It was nice for a while. Ewuare, Leopold, Clay and I. Clayton even let us use his gun sometimes so we could get used to a different weapon. But then Leopold got mauled by Sabor three years ago. He was only 8.” Lala reflexively clenched her fist and unclenched as she talked, her face growing stony with focused anger when she got to the part about Sabor.

“By then my dad was gone, Mom cheated on Clayton with Gaston and got a girl and boy, Amina and Shaka. They were the biggest babies by far. 8 pounds each. I was around 7 I think, and by then, I was expected to pick up the slack in the hunting department. It was awful. Ewuare was a natural hunter but Leopold kept dragging us down by wandering off. I mean I guess I shouldn’t expect more from a 2 year old, but by the time I was 2, I was a very obedient child. I don’t get why she was so relaxed when training him. I-“

“What happened to Amina and Shaka?” Aziz asked, seeing Lala was getting sidetracked by her mother apparently treating her differently from the twins.

“Oh, yes. They grew up, lasted a year longer than Leopold. But Amina ended up in quicksand, and Shaka tried to help her….” Lala paused again, thinking and composing herself to continue.

“Moving on. By the time I was 10, my mom decided she got the strong, powerful child she desired with Mozonroth. Her name was Sarraounia and she was mom’s favorite because she was starting to show natural magical powers once the barrier came down. She could make little illusions out of smoke. Her favorite was to pretend she was a panther. She was obsessed with panthers.”

“Oh no.” Aziz muttered to himself, half-listening to Lala’s comments about panthers and Sarraounia.

Lala cocked her head to the side like a cat which Aziz had to muse, so many things Lala did reminded him of a cat.

How quick her moods could change from curious look to ready to hiss and attack. Even her movements were catlike, full of grace and fluidity whether she walked on her two feet or as she climbed trees on all fours. The way she arched her back and stretched in  the morning, and whenever she smirked, it didn’t look human. It looked more like a crafty feline smile.

“What no?” Lala asked.

“Mozonroth’s my uncle.” Little known fact around Auradon was that Mozonroth was Aladdin’s half brother. Aladdin’s very evil sorcerer half brother that ruled over the Black Sands and wanted to rule over Agrabah too.

Aziz should have guessed that Mozonroth had a child. If a man like Lefou could have a child, surely Mozonroth was capable of it. Especially with the alleged hotness that he had heard so much about from Aunt Eden.

“Well, I’m pretty sure he has another child somewhere. I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl though. It’s not Sarraounia. She died this year from fever.” Lala said taking a few deep inhales and exhales.

“My mom didn’t sleep with only one magical Agrabahian man though. She accidentally had a one night stand with Jafar.” Lala paused, clearly waiting for his reaction.

Aziz’s eyebrows shot up to hide behind his bangs, “So that’s how you know Jay.”

“Not that well. I was 13 and Jay was like 15 and even then he was arrogant and annoying. He kept trying to steal my teeth momentos, and pretended he could fight animals. He still keeps insisting that he is just as good a hunter as I am.” Lala huffed with annoyance at the memory.

“Jafar just came over to the cave to make sure my mom wouldn’t give him parental responsibilities of anything. Not that it mattered. My mom got sick with the yellow fever that was going around here, and almost died. I almost died trying to take care of her and getting the yellow fever. The baby came out dead so that was that.”

“Did Jay get to see it?” Aziz asked, starting to wonder if Jay’s pushed friendliness towards Lala was some sort of attempted almost sibling camaraderie.

“It was a she, and no. Jafar didn’t want to have anything to do with her.”

Aziz realized that she mentioned all her siblings’ deaths, but one. It was obvious she skipped over it, and he knew it must have been something terrible if she was glossing over it completely, but his curiosity urged him to know.

He stopped, opened his mouth and then closed it, and opened before finally asking, “What happened to Ewuare?”

Lala looked away, blinking rapidly, “He died four months ago. My jealousy struck again.”

Aziz waited as Lala pulled herself together after that cryptic comment.

“Like I said Ewuare was the best. He was smart, and fast, and such a good hunter. Such a good hunter. He always knew the right time to strike, and he was determined. My mom sometimes...she’d say Ewuare was better than I am in not getting scratched or I was better than him in hand to hand combat. She was trying to make us compete so we’d work harder. And Ewuare didn’t care who was better at what. But I-I got jealous.”

“Just that week, we got ambushed by coyotes and Ewaure got an awful bite on his shoulder, and I was happy. I knew it was going to leave a huge scar and Mom couldn’t hold my scars over me. So when we managed to fight them off, I continued hunting and let him Ewuare walk home alone. I let him because- “He was the magnificent Ewaure,”- he could heal himself.” Lala turned to face the wrestling ring as her nails dug into the splintered wooden table surface as if she was holding onto a liferaft to keep from drowning in emotion.

“..I-I was wrong. He didn’t get a scar. The coyote bit some vital veins and.. and he bled out as he walked….”

Without thinking, Aziz asked “How did you feel?” and Lala slowly  turned to give him a stony stare, her jaw clenched tightly and her eyes filled with unbidden tears.

The tiny voice in his head that sometimes sounded like Jordan berated him, “Not now, Sherlock Freud. Analyzing is off-limits.”

“I mean..um” Aziz stammered, and started talking about the first thing that came to his head, “Uh I get having a little sibling who's obsessed with big dangerous cats. Amal and Noor love our tiger, Rajah. They have these little posters and stuffed tigers all over their rooms. Noor pretended she was a tiger for a whole year and would only communicate in purrs and growls.”

Lala looked down at the table, and looked up, breathing shallowly in a clear attempt to keep grief at bay. At least she looked grateful for the topic change more than annoyed since she eagerly grasped at the opportunity to move on from Ewuare’s death. 

“Sarrounia was just as obsessed with panthers which made it pretty easy to train her. I would tell her all panthers had to know how to climb a tree properly so she would stop ignoring me and listen. And she was very eager to mimic cat sounds.” Lala followed it by a very realistic imitation of a leopard’s rasping yowl that caused Aziz to jolt back and nearby patrons stopped their cheering to stare at her.

Aziz laughed nervously from the sudden surprise, “Can you speak leopard?”

“No. I just sound like one. It scares other animals, and people.” Lala nodded satisfied with herself, and made a point to growl at a hefty looking pirate who was still staring curiously at her. “You’ll have to teach me that sometime. I tried to copy Rajah’s growling but I suck at it. I’m much better at speaking monkey.” Aziz said.

“You speak monkey? You’re a prince that speaks monkey?” Lala looked at him in disbelief, her lips quirking up in her usual feline grin as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea.  

“Yes. Fluently.” Aziz smiled smugly when Lala began to laugh at his talent, continuing to talk with some mock-indignation, “Though some of my classmates did think I was weird when I started to talk to some monkeys that broke out of the Auradon Zoo which is such a double standard. How come princesses can sing to the birds and the racoons without judgement but when I talk to monkeys in their own language..”

Aziz trailed off seeing that Lala was caught up in the hilarity of the fact he spoke fluent Monkey to listen to him. So he allowed himself the chance to observe her without fear of a berating glare. He was surprised to hear how it breathy her laugh was, ending with a snort after each gasp.

As he looked at her another figure caught his eye and made his heart jump into his throat.

He had seen that face many times in Uncle Genie’s magic “flashback shows.” Though the face was a little dirtier and a little bit bigger as if the man had been sampling one too many baklavas these days. 

There was no doubt that it was Abis Mal in the flesh. A helpful clue was the presence of a skeletal thin man that Aziz instinctively knew was Abis’ lazy and constantly annoyed assistant Haroud Hazi Bin.

“There’s Abis Ma!” Aziz hissed, jumping out of his chair to follow the bald bandit and his servant that were heading towards the alleyways.

As the pair left, two slender shadowy figures peeled away from western side of Gaston’s backyard wrestling ring. The dark side where no moonlight illuminated the area giving all manner of people the privacy to drink, to fuck and do what have they.

The two figures sat down where Aziz and Lala had been, licking their dark paws, their eyes glinting with fiendish delight.

“What would we have here, brother? A chance for a family reunion..” The female purred, her sharp teeth glinted brightly in contrast to her night black fur.

“Yes. Mozonroth and Marcellus should have a chance to kill the child of that infuriating Aladdin.” The male smirked, his shendyt fluttering in the night air caught the attention of a pirate’s kid who tried to grab it only to be scratched by the wearer.

“And not only the child of Aladdin, but...any other do gooder who helped him get here. It’s clear he didn’t come on his own.” The girl added, sharpening the claws of her right hand with her left.

The male laughed heartily, “Imagine how they’re going to lacerate him. This is going to be delightful to watch.”

Note on names: Like Ranavalalona, all the names are taken or slightly modified from real life African rulers like Taytu Betul of the Ethiopian Empire, Musa of the Mali Empire, Amina queen of the Zazzau city state, Shaka of the Zulu Kingdom, Ewuare of the Benin empire, and Sarraounia, the sorceress queen of Azna who was heavily associated with panthers. The only exception is Leopold named after King Leopold of Belgium who was a vicious colonizer of Congo and whose bloody hand would probably been respected by villains. 

[merilly-chan]

About Ven wielding Missing Ache

I've seen many people analyze the newest KHUx update and it seems like more and more people are jumping on the "Ven is the evil traitor" train. While I cannot prove this theory wrong and won't attempt to do so either since such an endeavor would be futile with Nomura and how far the story currently is in JP, I want to present a few interpretations on why they chose Missing Ache for Ven. ●Ventus' name obviously means 'wind' and an attribute associated with it that he displays is speed. He's faster than Aqua and Terra and his attacks are also swift and agile. Since the new union leaders all seem to wield Keyblades which are available to the player so far, it is only natural that Ven should wield a Keyblade befitting his name and fighting style. Not to mention that the image for the gems needed for leveling up the Keyblade is a wing, which is often a sign for wind and speed. That leaves us with three Keyblades that are solely speed-based: Sleeping Lion, Lady Luck and Missing Ache. Sleeping Lion is a Keyblade mostly associated with Leon, Lady Luck is a Keyblade which has a tight connection to Wonderland and Missing Ache originates from 358/2 Days and can be wielded by Roxas and Xion. ●As you can see, Sleeping Lion and Lady Luck aren't the most optimal choices for a speed attribute Keyblade for Ven out of the three we have since his connection to either Wonderland as a Disney world or Leon is rather weak. On the other hand, his bond with Roxas is inevitably fairly strong due to Sora and he's even the reason Roxas looks the way he does. (Duh.) His heart may have even stayed with him for a while if the Ultimania is to be trusted. So Missing Ache is the best choice from a standpoint which simply associates his name/trait and his connection to the characters and the Keyblades. But does it mean he's necessarily the traitor? No. ●Missing Ache may be a mostly reverse medal Keyblade in KHUx but the reason for that could be fairly simple. It's a Days Keyblade. Roxas was part of Organization XIII during that time it could be acquired and regardless of his own tendency, it is connected to the villains of the series. So it is no surprise that they would choose Missing Ache as a Keyblade which focuses on reverse medals. (Of course KHUx plays before Days but it still has its debut in Days which was released before KHUx.) Wielding that Keyblade has nothing to do with the wielder's innate darkness as far as we know at this point, considering many other Keyblades also use reverse slots. We also can't forget that Roxas's base element is light and he is not exactly an antagonist either. Yet, he can still wield Missing Ache just the same without being a vicious villain. I also want to address another theory because I feel like some are 100% certain Ven is actually evil and a traitor. ●There is the distinct possibility that there is no traitor at all. The only evidence there is one is a missing page of the Book of Prophecies which was written by the Master of Masters. People are taking the contents of that book as face value as though there is no possibility at all that the MoM could have lied. The reason would be fairly simple here, too. It creates doubt. The first time the traitor was mentioned was already within the Foretellers-arc and it was one of the main reasons they started distrusting one another and fought against each other. It was one of the reasons the war even happened. But was there actually a traitor among them? We cannot know for sure because the only evidence is that book written by a single person who could have instigated the whole thing to cause a war and follow his own agenda by doing so. The same could be said about the new union leaders. How can we be sure that Strelitzia was murdered by one of them? It could have been a whole other person who murdered her for the sake of either obtaining the book from her and/or in order to plant someone else into their ranks. Possibly without them even being aware that they are being made a pawn. I won't dive further into this because it's pure speculation at this point and we know too little to think about motives or intentions. ●If there is a traitor, they may not be the villain. First of all, the word 'traitor' sounds negative at first but even Axel was also called a traitor for defecting from Organization XIII and then helped Sora in the end. The same could be assumed for KHUx. If we consider the MoM the villain who provided a rulebook to follow, anyone who would diverge from that path could be labeled as a traitor without them having bad intentions toward anyone in particular but rather trying to help 'the good side'. One such example would be Brain. He essentially said he will become the virus which will destroy the system. Virus also sounds relatively bad because we often automatically link it to diseases and computer viruses which steal information or otherwise damage the computer and in consequence us users. But it's a matter of perspective. Let's take an example of an older movie. In Independence Day, the aliens were the aggressors threatening Earth and its populace, and in order to bypass an inpenetrable barrier, they implanted a virus into their system and hence saved the Earth by destroying the attackers. In that case, a virus was used to achieve something good for the heroes, ensuring their survival. As you can see, what sounds negative at first can actually become positive depending on how you look at it. Who's to say the system that was created for them isn't evil and won't lead to disaster? What if the so-called traitor decides to betray the rulebook and the rest because it would have disastrous consequences to follow it? We can already see that this rulebook isn't all sunshine and rainbows and already lead to a conflict whether to follow it. I am personally not too inclined to trust the Master of Masters yet and anyone labeled a traitor in the book he wrote may actually fight for keeping everyone safe. (Without taking this "Darkness" fellow into account just yet.) I know some people are desperate for dark, gloomy tropes because they believe in the one-sided mindset that everything is always better and more profound when it's tragic, twisted and grim dark. But I personally don't see a viable reason to turn a ten year-old into an evil, psychotic kid just to have something become twisted and for the sole purpose of a short-lived shock value. Especially because many assume he would be acting of his own free will and with evil intent instead of being used. Character development only makes sense if there is a necessity and overthrowing a character we've known for 9 years into a complete opposite is, in my opinion, just a cheap method to create a pseudo-depth to a character who was fine to begin with. Of course there are a lot of blank spaces and we know too little about Ven before his memory loss to say he was the cinnamon roll he is in BBS and beyond. Naturally, there is a possibility that he could have a much more sinister nature. As I said, I'm not denying the possibility that those theories are true. But some of these speculations and interpretations are just as vague as mine are. Mainly because they focus a whole lot on Vanitas as well. Once again, I can't say he won't play a role. But it's also possible that fans are overanalyzing it. Vanitas was born out of the darkness of Ven's heart. So of course his nature will encompass what the series has established as emotions nurturing said darkness. But there is no precedence and therefore it's hard to clearly say that just because Vanitas exists the way he does that Ven has been less pure in the past. We have nothing to compare it to. Maybe the same would happen for most other characters as well if they would have their hearts divided. After all, the Heartless are also highly dangerous and are hearts consumed by darkness. We know that darkness exists in every heart except for those of the Princesses of Heart, so Ven is no exception. A person which only has access to the darkness of the heart would likely still only have that negativity to feed on, regardless of how big its part in the original heart was. I'm not trying to claim what is right and what is wrong. Nomura makes some unpredictable decisions at times so it's hard to say what will happen. I just wish that people will not cling to their theories too much or I fear the same will happen as with KH3. Theories are immensely interesting to me and I enjoy other fans' interpretations but depending on how much they work on it, the harder it becomes for some to let go of it and accept a different development due to headcanons and the subjective opinion that this development is for the better. (Which we won't know because we don't know Nomura's plans.) I'm not saying that people were only disappointed because their headcanons weren't fulfilled, but we can't deny that they tend to fuel our expectations for what we perceive to be the ideal development. KH3 does have major flaws, but I dare presume that some overly negative opinions are also caused by overblown expectations because we had plenty of time to come up with all manner of intricate plans. (Which are by no means worse, but sometimes not better either just because they're very detailed.) It's best to remain open for the idea that Ven may just be a cinnamon roll or that his role as a traitor isn't due to a vile motivation but simply to save his friends. I won't discourage anyone from preferring the other options, I'm just saying it might not be as shocking and character changing as some believe. Wanting friends doesn't mean he'll kill everyone just to get some, to put it drastically. I think it's great that people love Vanitas and want to include him more, but I also have to remind people that the backstory in the novel still isn't canon. Books cannot throw around canon and non-canon, sometimes even flat out contradicting, content and pick out whatever aids their case. Fans might not like to hear it, but even if Nomura should have mentioned certain aspects are canon, it doesn't mean everything else is. The moment a novel based on another source contradicts what is established in the source, it cannot be canon anymore. (And I'm not talking about content which fills holes and could have possibly happened/expands the story, but about serious contradictions.) Which doesn't mean that it doesn't contain things that actually happened but overall, it cannot be declared as canon as a whole. All in all, I'd like to present possibilities which provide harmless explanations why certain things are designed the way they are. There doesn't always have to be a dark secret and not every cheerful character needs to be corrupted for the angst-loving part of the fanbase. If people wish for that it is up to them. I won't deny them that pleasure. I just don't want to see anyone attacking Nomura if he doesn't cater to that headcanon. I know most of the people theorizing about this are perfectly harmless and aware of this and are just eager to explore all manner of interesting possibilities. Which is an admirable passion I am not against seeing. I actually think it's great that there are theories like these because they provide interesting material for discussions. I am just more careful about setting on one theory above any other, simply because KHUx has mostly given us questions instead of answers so far. Everything is possible at this point, which is why I want to remain open for as much as possible. The points above are not meant to disprove anything the other theories are suggesting. They are merely a showcase how certain terms can also be interpreted and that there are alternative explanations.

[kamino-ink]

Hireath | Han Jisung

✧  hireath - a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return

✧ Genre: Fantasy!au, fluff, hella angst proceed with tissues

✧ Summary: you and jisung have always been side by side, training dutifully to become knights as to protect your kingdom of mirstone. when the plan to overthrow ylanta’s king and queen involves your skills as knights, you are both put to the test in every way imaginable.

✧ Word Count: 2.2k

✧ Other installments in the series: woojin, chan, hyunjin, changbin, jeongin, minho, felix, seungmin

                                         ✧

han jisung is, simply put, your other half in every way imaginable

it was as if the gods had planned for the two of you to become as inseparable as you are to this day, as you were born at the exact same time on the exact same day - and your houses were right next to each other

not to mention your parents were childhood friends as well

the pair of you grew up side by side, playing in puddles of icky mud and climbing to the very top of the trees in the forest behind your houses, much to your families’ displeasure

due to the high status of both of your families, many expected you to follow in your father’s footsteps and become a renowned aristocrat with jisung one day rising to become an artist known for his pieces around the world

but you and jisung had very, very different plans, since the very beginning

this diverging plan emerged on a stormy afternoon, the two of you had been chasing each other throughout the streets of the bustling city when a sudden ‘boom!’ erupted, nearly sending you both flying into a brick wall

but someone had caught your smaller bodies with quick, cat-like reflexes

that someone was one of the knights in your home kingdom

his armor was stained a stunning blue and white mix of colors, the distinct emblem of the royal family carved into the steel plating

the knight glanced over your shaking bodies once, twice, and then once more before he concluded no external damage had come to either of you

before jisung could open his mouth to ask the knight any questions sure to be running through his active brain, the lanky man had already started to take off towards the town square where the boom had come from, blending in with the plethora of other knights ready to defend their people from harm

that was the day both of you mutually decided that, one day, you both would become the strongest, most dedicated knights in the entire kingdom

the two of you stuck by each other’s sides all the time, even now you stood straight next to one another, clad in the blue and white armor you had come to admire for many years now

while you both were still quite young, no one could doubt how strong you both were and how much you excelled as a duo on the battlefield

while both of you were incredibly strong, jisung was the one who had mastered strategy-making and long-ranged weapons; meanwhile you had mastered the art of guerilla warfare, which was obvious by how muscular your body had become over the years

while jisung was essentially the louder, more rambunctious of the two of you, he had more brains and you held more brawns, even if you were the one who had to convince the boy to not try and slip jelly cubes into one of the general’s drinks while she wasn’t looking

you balanced each other out, it was as simple as that

“I know that you two are confident in your abilities to carry out this mission, but I beg of you - please be careful, if not for me, for the princess.” seungmin, one of the general’s sons pleaded to you and jisung, his usually stoic expression fading into one of worry at the carefree smiles planted onto your lips

“aww, is little seungmin worried about his best friends in the whole wide world?” jisung cooed teasingly to the younger boy while you ruffled his hair, causing the boy to let out a whine of annoyance and affection

“don’t sweat it, the two of us can do this no problem. its just a stealth mission through the mountains across the border, right? we got this.” you try to reassure your close friend, offering him a wide smile to try and lift his spirits

thing is, you were just as worried, if not more, about this particular mission

you and jisung had never tracked across miles of mountains before, and especially not into enemy territory that was growing more and more weary of invasion with each passing day

while the court wizard of ylanta, minho, was doing his best to deter the royal family from suspecting any sort of plan against them, there were still rumors

and rumors were enough for any sort of leader to be on guard more than usual

even though you damn well knew that the two boys you called your best friends, along with the princess now stranded in ylanta for her wedding, could sense your growing weariness, you refused to verbalize your concerns

“i’m sure our darling princess will be happy to see you two again since she’s stuck up there,” seungmin tried to lighten the mood, smiling at the thought of their friend group being able to reunite, “just make sure to stay low, stay hidden - tho-”

“those bastards won’t hesitate to shoot us down, we know, genius.” the blonde beside you finished the statement, patting seungmin’s shoulder reassuringly as he met your worried gaze

“we’ll be fine, don’t worry so much.”

that same night you and jisung had set out on your long journey through mirstone , taking a pair of horses for a majority of the way before you hit the mountain range that was between mirstone and ylanta’s borders

but by the time you reached the bottom of the rocky slopes, you had to bid farewell to your horses, knowing the poor creatures wouldn’t be able to stand the chilly temperatures and dangerous slopes ahead

so you and jisung shrugged on the bags onto your backs, letting out pitiful grunts at the sheer weight of the leather material now weighing your bodies down a bit more than either of you expected

the first stop didn’t turn out to be so bad; you had made a good track so far, walking at least five miles through the spiky range of tall mountains; a feat only you two could accomplish alone

if another squadron had been sent to make the journey along with you both, there was no way you would’ve made it so far, and so quietly

see, only three of the fifteen miles of mountains stretched into mirstone - the rest went on through a subsection of ylanta

so it would be no surprise if you were met with enemy solders at one point or another, hence why sending only two of the best knights was surely the best decision the strategists could’ve made at the time

“you want some of my beef stick?” jisung asked you, watching carefully as you sadly rubbed your belly; you could only bring a certain amount of rations, and for the most part it included little to no real meat, in fear that a wild bear would smell the meal and try to take it from you two

still you snuck in two beef sticks to keep you energized on the first day, as it was the longest part of the journey. you had eaten yours already during the horseback ride, but jisung had proved as smart as ever, choosing to instead eat his beef stick before bed so that he would feel more energized in the morning

“no way, you need to eat all of it - I already ate mine.” you pushed away his kind offering, blushing a crimson red when your stomach decides to let out an ungodly sound akin to a lion’s growl

jisung rolled his eyes and leaned in closer to you, stuffing part of the ration into your mouth before you could protest

“chew, y/n.” he insisted, smirking cockily when you huff and take a bite of his ration, pulling away and continuing to chew on the tough beef with puffed cheeks. “atta girl, that’s my cute little chipmunk~” he cooed teasingly, pursing his lips and pinching your cheeks

you can’t help but feel your cheeks (which were still being pinched) heat up at his gentle yet still teasing touch, the pads of his fingertips warm against your chilly skin

once he pulls away you end up chewing on the beef stick until you finish, then continue to sit close to each other in favor of not freezing to death on your first night in the mountains

jisung digs into his pack for a moment and then pulls out a pair of furry blankets, throwing one over both of your legs and the other over your shoulders before he shimmied underneath them right beside you

“do you remember the time I got stuck in a tree during training?” you ask him suddenly, feeling his lips twitch into a knowing smirk against the side of your head

“I do. you tried to impress one of the visitors from that little town - arbington, I think?” he ponders aloud, but continues after your hum of approval. “yeah, he owns a menagerie or whatever and you thought he was sooo cute~”

“shut up jisung… he was cute.”

“not as cute as me though, duh.”

“obviously.”

“but I was the only one able to come up and bring you down; you refused to accept help from anyone but your best friend.” he giggles

you laugh and roll your eyes, snuggling up closer to him for warmth

and then you both fall asleep, curled up into each other with your legs tangled together under the warmth of the blanket

the next two days were relatively the same; you would walk through the mountains for a few miles, sneak past outposts with ylantian guards, and camp out next to one another

“hey y/n,” jisung speaks after some time of comfortable silence, walking ahead of you by a few inches, but nothing too far, “after this mission - after we win the war...” he trails off, dipping his head down in thought, a strand of his blonde hair swaying in front of his eyes

you tilt your head thoughtfully, mimicking his actions. “what’s wrong, ji?”

he takes a deep, shaky breath, suddenly stopping in his tracks to turn on his heels, now completely facing you

“ji-?”

“y/n, come live with me. somewhere, anywhere - seungmin already agreed to have a talk with the princess once this is all said and done,” he blurts out, his voice wavering, “I - I don’t want to keep doing shit like this, where I could possibly see you die in front of me. I couldn't - I could never live with myself if that happened, chipmunk.” he pleads with you, his gaze flickering all over your stunned expression as he waits for you to speak

“jisung - I... of course i’ll come live with you. I would follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked me to.” you giggle at his expression which now clearly reflects yours merely moments ago

“wait, are you serious?” he breathes out, his lips parting to say more

then an arrow flies through the air, whizzing past your face and piercing the boy in his shoulder

you immediately place your body in front of his as fast as you possibly can, whisking out a pair of war axes from the hoops of your belt. meanwhile the injured boy hisses in pain, but doesn’t pull the arrow out, as he knows too well that you both could potentially be in for a long fight without medical attention - he didn’t want to risk bleeding too much from the wound in his shoulder

then, from the outskirts of the mountains, just out of view, a horde of ylantian solders start to creep from the shadowy crevices, decorated with heavy armor and giant battle axes as well as crossbows

suddenly a flurry of arrows fly at you both, some of them puncturing your lower legs, thighs, and arms

these soldiers weren’t shooting to kill; yet

“the king and queen send their regards - oh, and...” one of the soliders tep forward from his rocky perch, carelessly swinging a silver sword around as he smirked at your bleeding bodies, “before you both die, I figure you might want to know that we have your princess in captivity. she’ll be executed tomorrow at sunrise. terribly sorry.”

you feel your heart drop in your chest, and by the strangled grunt from jisung’s throat, you can tell he is as horrified as you are

“now, let’s see how much the two best knights of mirstone can take before they topple over.”

as the horde of shouting soldiers start to make their way towards you both, clearly already celebrating their victory, you find your hand searching for jisung’s; nearly crying out in relief when it intertwines with yours

“I - I love you squirrel.” you whimper softly, squeezing his hand as another arrow whizzes into your chest

“I love you too, chipmunk.” jisung whispers just loud enough for you to hear, a single tear rolling down his cheek at the endless sight of experienced enemies still hurtling your direction

there was no way to win this fight, and both of you knew that

but you both knew that at least you would die together, fighting until the very end for your country

for your kingdom, mirstone

for your friends, seungmin and the princess

for each other, for jisung, for y/n

and so, still holding hands, you both stood back to back, raising your weapons to your enemies

                                         ✧

[diarrheaworldstarhiphop]

Last week (July 2017 -Prat) a Trump administration official decided to inform the news media that the CIA program to arm and train anti-Assad Syrian forces had been terminated. It was welcome news amid a deepening U.S. military commitment reflecting the intention to remain in the country for years to come. As my recent article in TAC documented, the net result of the program since late 2011 has been to provide arms to al Qaeda terrorists and their jihadist and other extremist allies, which had rapidly come to dominate the military effort against the Assad regime.

The Trump administration’s decision to acknowledge explicitly its decision to end the program invites a more systematic analysis of why and how such a program, which was so clearly undermining a fundamental U.S. national-security interest, could have gotten started and continue for so long. The preliminary version of the program that began in late 2011 is easier to explain than its more direct form two years later, which had continued (at least formally) until now.

One of the keys to understanding its origins is that the program was launched not because of a threat to U.S. security, but because of a perceived opportunity. That is always a danger sign, prompting powerful national-security bureaucrats to begin thinking about a “win” for the United States. (Think Vietnam and Iraq.)  

The opportunity in this case was the rise of opposition protests against the Assad regime in spring 2011 and the belief among national security officials that Assad could not survive. The national-security team saw a shortcut to the goal. Former Obama administration official Derek Chollet recalled in his book The Long Game that Obama’s advisers were all talking about a “managed transition” and urging Obama to publicly demand that Assad step down, according to Chollet. What that meant to Obama’s advisers was bringing pressure from outside, including providing arms to the opposition.

That was wishful thinking not only in regard to the willingness of an Alawite-dominated regime to hand over power to its sectarian foes, but in regard to the assumed Iranian willingness to go along with toppling the regime. Not one of Obama’s advisers had sufficient understanding of regional dynamics to warn the President that Iran would not allow their Syrian ally to be overthrown by an opposition supported by Sunni states and the United States.

But the decisive factor in pushing the administration toward action was the pressure from U.S. Sunni allies in the region—Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar—which began in autumn 2011 to press Obama to help build and equip an opposition army. Turkey was the leader in this regard, calling for Washington to agree to provide heavy weaponry—including anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles—to the rebel troops that didn’t even exist yet, and even offering to invade Syria to overthrow the regime if the U.S. would guarantee air cover.  

In the ideology of the national security elite—especially its Democratic wing—regional alliances are essential building blocks of what is styled as the U.S.-sponsored global “rules-based order.” In practice, however, they have served as instruments for the advancement of the power and prestige of the national security bureaucracies themselves. The payoffs of U.S. alliances in the Middle East have centered on the military bases in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar that allow the Pentagon and the military brass to plan and execute military operations that guarantee extraordinary levels of military spending. But enormous Saudi arms purchases and the financing of any covert operations the CIA doesn’t wish to acknowledge to Congress have long been prime benefits for those powerful organizations and their senior officials.

Then CIA Director David Petraeus was particularly interested in ginning up a covert operation to arm and train the Syrian opposition. With the security bureaucracies supporting the allies’ desire to unseat Assad, Hillary Clinton, whose sympathies and political strategy always lay with the war, eagerly took the lead to take the lead in the administration on arming the rebels and calling for a “no fly zone,” which the Turks badly wanted.  

Despite this set of interrelated factors pulling the administration toward a policy of regime change, Obama said no to heavy weapons, a no-fly zone, and an official U.S. role in arms supply. What he did agree to, however, was a covert CIA operation designed by Petraeus to load weapons from Libyan government stocks in Benghazi on ships and arrange for them to be shipped to the war zone. It was Obama’s way of placating all of the actors pushing for an aggressive policy of regime change in Syria without being publicly committed to regime change.  

That program, which began in October 2011, was halted abruptly by the attack on the embassy annex in September 2012. But by that time the Obama administration already knew that the weapons were falling into the hands of al Qaeda’s Syrian franchise al Nusra Front, as administration official revealed to the New York Times. Meanwhile the Saudis, Turks and Qataris were pushing arms to groups with military arrangements with al Qaeda’s al Nusra Front at a feverish pace, and the Saudis had begun making deals in Eastern Europe for the heavy weapons, clearly intending to equip a large conventional army.

The danger signals of a policy gone horribly wrong could hardly have been clearer. But at that moment in the summer and fall of 2012, Clinton and Petraeus began a new push for the CIA taking on the role of arming its own hand-picked “moderate” groups. Clinton argued in a White House meeting that the United States needed to have “skin in the game” in order to persuade its Sunni allies to steer weapons away from the terrorists.  

But Obama fended off that proposal, citing the blowback from the U.S. Afghanistan adventure.  While the debate continued in late 2012 and early 2013, the CIA did a series of studies—evidently ordered by the White House—of past efforts to build up insurgent armies from scratch. The conclusions were not encouraging, as someone defending Obama’s position in the debate leaked to the Times.  

But then in early December 2012, Obama made a fatal political error: He introduced a “red line”—the use of a chemical weapon in Syria. Sure enough, within weeks the first rebel allegation of a regime sarin attack was made in Homs. And although the Obama administration quickly investigated and found that it involved tear gas, it was soon followed by a series of new claims of regime chemical attacks in March and April 2013, in which the evidence was very murky at best.

Of course Obama’s national security team, in concert with the Sunni allies, pounced on the opportunity to push even harder for a new U.S. program of direct military aid to the “moderates.” Obama sought to avoid being sucked deeper into the Syria conflict; the administration even got the intelligence community to issue an unusually inconclusive intelligence finding on the alleged chemical weapons attacks in late April.

But for a second time, Obama also agreed to a CIA program of helping to arm the anti-Assad forces; it was a way of placating his own national security apparatus and U.S. allies while avoiding an open commitment to the war. And when nothing happened in the secret program for weeks, Obama’s national security team used an alleged crisis in the war to tighten the pressure on him to move more decisively. Secretary of State John Kerry and unhappy CIA officials arranged for a rebel commander to call into a White House meeting with the claim that Syrian and Hezbollah forces were threatening to bring about the collapse of the entire anti-Assad war.  

Kerry warned that Obama would be blamed by U.S. allies for the outcome and proposed missile strikes on Assad’s forces. Within days, the White House ordered a new intelligence assessment that expressed “high confidence” that the Syrian regime had used sarin repeatedly and immediately made its conclusion public. And simultaneously the White House announced publicly for the first time that the U.S. would provide direct assistance to the opposition and leaked it to the Times that it would involve military assistance.

So at the very moment when Washington should have been exerting pressure on its allies to stop pouring arms into an anti-Assad war that was systematically building up al Qaeda’s power and influence in the country, the Obama administration was caving in to those allies. The reason was simple: Powerful national security bureaucracies were threatening to blame Obama for the failure of their heroic effort to save the anti-Assad war.

The lesson of the entire affair is clear: A malignant alliance between powerful national security bureaucracies and the Middle Eastern allies with whom they enjoy mutually profitable relations are pressuring the White House to approve actions that threaten the real interests of the American people—including strengthening terrorists. The only way to reverse that situation is to direct public attention to that malignant alliance of interests, which has thus far gotten a free ride.

[silvertonguedslavicwitch]

Πειρασμός | Peirasmós

Chapter 4 : Series of Betrayal

After so many months of residing in Kattegat, serving as nothing more than a thrall to the princes of the household, this was finally the first time she had the treatment she once received before. The other thralls were careful not to braid her hair too tight as she wasn't a viking like them. She was a foreigner, a princess who just so happened to hold a high price and value to some. They had a mild practice of braids back in her homeland, but none like them. However, she grew to be enthralled by their braids, seeing the numerous variety they were able to weave through.

After washing herself up, she leaned against the chair that was placed before a mirror that she found sorted somewhere in between the chest that she received earlier. She noticed, the people of Kattegat did not possess such trinket. They used the water for reflection purposes instead. Which was quite dangerous, if she had a say in it. Throughout her time there, she was always surrounded by dirt and had to clean herself twice more than she was used to. Now, she was returning to her former flair. She decided to wear the proud green coloured dress that symbolizes her defiance, somewhat. It wasn't that bright of a colour but nonetheless, brighter than anything she's seen they wore. The jewelries and crowns that laid before her was arranged neatly. Her hazel hues never left its gaze, as she watched the emerald stone gleam in the late evening. As soon as the crown rested comfortably on her head, was when she blinked after a while of being in a daze.

Donning herself decently with the previous preparation, she glanced at her reflection one last time before walking out. Erika looked like herself again. But she didn't feel it. Which came to her as an entirely vague feeling, because she saw the small void left behind. She felt empty. Walking out from her room, she almost bumped into Margrethe, who just came out of Hvitserk's room. She paid her no attention as she ignored her presence before gliding towards the main hall. The affairs between the two brothers and the blonde thrall wasn't unknown to anyone in Kattegat. They weren't exactly masters at being discreet. By the time she arrived, everyone was already there, with the exception of Hvitserk, who no doubt came sauntering a few minutes later with his disheveled state.

“You cleaned up well.” Sigurd noted, a genuine smile playing by his lips. Sigurd was sometimes rude to Ivar but it wasn't without a reason. He was neglected as a child whereas Ivar was dotted upon. It wasn't as if Ivar was the golden child there, so the raven haired princess understood his clear distaste towards his youngest brother. He was, perhaps, the only brother who bothered to learn more about the art and culture of the world. He played music and was highly fascinated by her stories that she told regarding her homeland, and even Wessex.

As a child, she didn't stay in one place for long due to the frights of being assassinated by those who wished to overthrow their family's dynasty. Her parents left the world early, both killed by their trusted advisor, leaving a 6 year old Erika caring for her younger brother, Alek. They probably would have not survived the day if it wasn't due to a loyal minister who sneaked them out and reached out to their contacts. She was given to King Ecbert, the current King of Wessex and Mercia, who raised her up well with no expense spared. Her younger brother, who is now the current King, was given to their mother's sister in Sicily. However, he returned with large forces as a child, led by their minister to retook their home and has been ruling it ever since. Erika never had a desire to rule over their kingdom, not once. She doesn't see herself as a leader, nor a follower. She was a warrior, a fighter. Who will live her life accordingly to what she believes.

While waiting for her brother's arrival, she was pushed into her own memory lane. She remembered being spared by Ragnar when she was 10, because King Ecbert sent her to King Aelle in Northumbria to preside her growth while he was away. He had covered her with a blanket and came back as soon as the other vikings emptied the house. She asked for a name and he gave it to her. Ever since then, she saw herself as an individual who was given a second chance at life. Which was why she intends to make the most and best of it. It was until then, that her brother had graced the room with his presence. A smile adorning his handsome features as he embraced his sister. “Brother.” It has only been months but she has missed him dearly.

Before her departure to Algeciras from Wessex, when he visited her in England, was the first time she saw him in person after being separated for 20 years. They had to grow far from each other, for reasons she now understood. After their brief reunion, both Russians took their respective seats by the table. “I heard you wish for me to spare some of my soldiers at your expense. In return for my sister's safe return.” Despite being younger than her, the 21 year old prince was very mature and wise when needs to be. It was supposedly a given since he has governed over their kingdom since a young age.

The nod he received from Bjorn made him raise his eyebrows. “I have another proposal to adjourn, instead. A better outcome for you Northmen.” She wasn't sure what it was that he was planning but she trusts her brother to do the best possible thing. Which was a huge mistake on her side as what comes out from his mouth was not what she expected. “An alliance.” Bjorn lets out a strangled laugh, but Alek didn't seem to be laughing alongside his brothers. The fact that both siblings had the gift on speaking their language made it easier for both sides. Soon, the eldest Ragnarsson stopped his jest and beckoned for her brother to proceed. “Alliances can break any time. It has been broken even before the dawn of time. Why would this one be any different?” Erika just had to voice her opinion on this matter, because she just had to.

“It depends on both sides of the party, sister. If both could offer the same stance, it should withhold.” While she could not disagree with his words, she disapproved greatly. The difference between the alliance they had with the Saxons and the Northmen would prove to be very distinct. “I will give you aid in going after King Aelle of Northumbria, to avenge your father. However, this alliance should not die as soon as both of us has no need for each other no longer. And so, I will offer you the one I hold dear most, in return for none of you will go raiding our small lands in the East no more, and what comes next of it if you followed your father's dream on conquering other kingdoms.” She didn't know where this direction was going but stood silent despite her inner self threatening to bust itself there. The brothers seemed to be interested in this said proposal, especially Bjorn and Ubbe. “And what is it that you hold dear most, your Highness?” His answer caught her off guard.

“My sister.”

What?

“Before you ask why I would give her away so easily, I will tell you my reasons. My sister is the eldest child, despite being a daughter and not a son to both our parents, inherited the privileges given to first borns, in our custom and tradition. She relinquished her claim to the throne, in favor of me. As of now, she is only the Princess of Novgorod and Sicily, befitting her current status. She also holds command over our Rurik army as their commander. But, I do not wish to marry, thus making my sister my successor to the throne, after my departure. She will then hold control over everything that governs our rights. Her children will be the future successors after her. If you were to marry her, one of you would be prince to both kingdoms we have now. That is more than you could find yourself wanting. Even greater, when one of you will end up becoming King after my death when Erika becomes Queen. And your children will be heirs to more than what you could imagine having now. Isn't that much more valuable than one or two army?” She cannot believe what was coming out from her own beloved brother's mouth. Was he selling her out just like that with no regard of asking?

“Am I allowed a say in this?” It comes back to a conversation- or argument, where none but the two of them were able to understand. They were conversing in their native tongue. “Yes.” The fuming royal gripped the steel knife on her right hand, which would have been dangerous to anyone who walks over her temperament, at the moment. “You said you would never force me to do something I don’t wish to do. You said you would never force anything upon me.” Through her gritted teeth, her jaws clenched itself tightly as the scowl masked over her delicate features. “I did. But did you not swear to do anything in your power for our kingdom? Did you not swear you would lay your life for Novgorod?” Erika hated that her own flesh and blood brother was using her words against her. “I did. I would gladly die for Novgorod.”

“Then it should not bother you to marry.” Sighing in aggravation and frustration, she loosens her grip onto the knife. “But this is another thing, Alek.. Marriage is a sacred duty. A duty I would not mind taking up upon if needed, but to a Varangian? Is that even possible? Would our Lord not be angry with me? To spite such hatred for me?” She knew she could not fight her brother, if not as a sister, she would never be able to pull a weight down on his words as King. A King she swore her fealty to in all perpetuity. “Their uncle, Rollo, the Duke of Normandy married Princess Gisla of Frankia. They also had 3 children together.. Is that not a sign for their prosperous life?” The Russian had heard of them but it was different. She could not accept this will. “He renounced his Gods and became a Christian. That alone is different.” With no more argument to throw, she found herself slumped against her seat, a sour look present across her face.

“It is settled. Now which one of your brothers will marry my sister?” She could already calculate the chances. Bjorn was already married. Ubbe was going to marry Margrethe, if she heard correctly. And Ivar was not an option, not that she thought so, because her brother wanted confirmation on heir, or heirs, soon. Their viking tradition might be different from their own, but a married man can never marry a second legally, before an annulment. Which can only be reached by the spouse's death or unconsummated marriage. Both which she was sure not abided by the likes of them. “Why not her favourite person.” Ubbe suggested and she stopped herself playing with the knife in her hand. She knew exactly where this is going. Her most ‘favourite' person would have to be a war in between two people but one of them were already out of the equation, in impotency issues, so there could only be one left. “You can't be serious..”

The third prince did not look so thrilled on being tied down so early in his life, but knowing well what he'd get in return, he wasn't really complaining. “Your wedding will take place after your quest to Northumbria. Under one condition, my sister will lead the Rurik army.” Though they find it hard to believe that, especially Ivar, who was not liking the fact that his brother is marrying a Christian, and that a woman like her will lead a large army, Bjorn made sure they were voted on and it was settled.. Unanimously. It has only been a few hours since she thought she got a grasp of her freedom and now it was taken away. Not only is she forced to wage a possible war with her ward, King Ecbert who is King Aelle's ally; who no doubt will come to his aid. But she is also forced into a marriage she did not wish for, with an individual she was sure she scorned over. Who said being a princess is easy.

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