#ghost coup d’etat

[kseniyagreen]

Have you thought about the heartbreaking extent to which Li Lianhua is the only person who actually sees Di Feisheng?

And how mirrored they are in this too.

Li Lianhua is trying so hard to become a ghost, invisible. But it doesn't work out for him. He becomes a celebrity already in the role of healer Li Lianhua, and finds himself drawn into the thick of things. He is entwined with social connections.

Di Feisheng comes from the "mountain of corpses". And he tries his best to be as real as possible in the world of the living. Don’t depend on anyone, be invulnerable, don’t care about other people’s opinions of himself.

And he becomes the strongest man, but his autonomy almost leads him to the worst hell possible.

Because it is Di Feisheng , not Li Lianhua, is the one who lives like a ghost.

And when he disappears, no one looks for him, no one except Li Lianhua.

Di Feisheng never cared about his social role, but society itself assigned him a role - the role of a villain. But Li Lianhua always saw him - even when he was Li Xiangyi and decided to enter into an alliance with him. And then, when Di Feisheng publicly collaborated with Shang Gudao Li Lianhua was the only one who wondered - what reasons could Di Feisheng have?

Li Lianhua was the only one who began to look for him even on the threshold of the coup d’etat, and decided to ask for help from the person he least wanted to see at all, and ultimately forced all his numerous social connections to work to save Di Feisheng .

Di Feisheng could conquer the world, but only through Li Lianhua is he able to feel contact with this world at all.

Therefore, I decided to believe in a more positive version of the ending. I have nothing against tragedies. But to awaken the hero to life in order to then take away the only thing that makes him alive would be pure sadism.

[rockhyrax]

Spectacle Radio ep.117 :: 06.06.24 :: ****A Bloody Moon in the Great English Outdoors

This time with guests Anne Sofie Nørskov and Sam Bornstein talking about the soundtrack to their new film Erase the Record and sharing some of their favorites in the mix with the usual chaos of the Spectacle slate.

Goma & Little Temple - Notti’s Dream #1 (Funky Forest) Killer’s Moon Sam Bornstein - Breakdown (Erase the Record) Alan Birkenshaw & Jane Lester - My Dream (Killer’s Moon) Funky Forest Theme Nill & O Adotado - Shirley Chisholm (Raw Session) American Hunter Josy Nowack - Break You Down (The Future Is Woman) Takashi Inagaki - Wall Anhell69 Brenda Hutchinson, Clive Smith, & Slava Tsukerman - Liquid Sky 14 The Uncle Henny Penny Show (The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood) Giovanni Fusco - L’Avventura Theme … Sam Bornstein - Erase the Record Theme Magnet - Lullaby (The Wicker Man) Eduard Artemyev - Solaris XI Warm Blood The Way It Is - In a Strange Place Yo La Tengo - Sea Urchins (The Sound of Science) Matt Farley - My Goldfish Dead (Local Legends) Burst City The Circle Jerks - Coup d’Etat (Repo Man) Bully Boys Band - Putney Swope Window to Paris Brenda Hutchinson, Clive Smith, & Slava Tsukerman - Liquid Sky 18 Zbigniew Preisner - Dekalog IV Part 2 Sam Bornstein - Letter to Zoey (Erase the Record) Eduard Artemyev - Solaris VI … Anne Linnet - Time Out (Time Out) Goma & Little Temple - Notti’s Dream #2 (Funky Forest) Robert Joy - End Titles from Faustus Bidgood Mark Reeder (B-Movie: Lust and Sound in West Berlin) The Plastics - Copy (Downtown 81) Raymond Scott - Portofino (The Century of the Self) Gottfried Hüngsberg - World on a Wire Edgar Froese - Snake Bath (Kamikaze ’89) Saeko Suzuki - Life King (No Life King) Los Van Van - Tokyo Decadence Grey Gerstin - Demo 5_2-_24 The Grid (The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood) Isao Tomita - Arabesque (Jack Horkheimer / Star Hustler) Joanna Bruzdowicz - Theme from Vagabond Jacques Dutronc - Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi (City of Ghosts) Yo La Tengo - Sea Urchins (The Sound of Science) The Red Krayola - In My Baby’s Ruth (Raw Session)

[waffliesinyoface]

okay so, foreword: i havent actually finished Atelier Ryza 2, i don’t even have the full party yet, so some of this might be actually brought up and/or contradicted at some point and I just haven’t gotten to it yet. But will that stop me? No.

putting this under a readmore because, uh. I meant to just type up one or two paragraphs but then it got away from me!! Whoops!!! This might be completely incomprehensible to people who haven’t played Atelier Ryza but if you haven’t noticed I’m insane and this blog is my tool for screaming into the void.

alright, so, in the time* of Atelier Ryza, alchemy is a forgotten art. Initially, I was like “Oh, it’s probably just not a thing on Kurken Island, because it’s a small farming town in the middle of fucking nowhere, but then in the second game Ryza moves to the capital city and nobody knows what the fuck it is. When you explore the ruins of various fallen civilizations, it’s referred to as “The Art That Transcends Human Knowledge” by ghosts of fallen explorers. It has been lost for a long, long time. 

*(i’m not sure if the atelier games are set in alternate time periods or alternate universes or alternate continents or what, but afaik, with the exception of Pamela, they don’t interact outside of their respective series)

The only other person in the trilogy to know what alchemy is is Empel, who was explicitly the Royal Alchemist of a kingdom in the past. They don’t say which it was, but I’m like 99% sure this is a Van Hohenheim situation where he's like. Stupidly fucking old. I don’t think it was the Klint Kingdom specifically, because he’s still looking for the gates to the underworld, and if he were a high ranking member in their society, he would’ve known where they were? But given the Klint Kingdom was the last major civilization before Ryza’s time, and nobody knows what alchemy is now, I’m willing to bet he predates them.

Given his animosity for anything involving the Klint Kingdom though – him refusing to use the recipe for the prosthetic because they made it, the way he takes pleasure in atomizing any Klint ruins he finds in the Underworld (in the DLC), etc – I’m going to bet that he feels responsible for them, in some way.

Canonically, what we know is that at some point in the past, he was the Royal Alchemist of an unspecified kingdom. He made some explosives for someone without knowing what they were going to do, got implicated in the coup d’etat they attempted with those explosives, and has been wandering since then. At this point, he’s likely not as naive anymore, but he’s not exactly bitter yet. 

Here’s where we get into speculation: based on his appearance/personality/fundamental desire to help people, I’m willing to bet that he was an actual teacher at some point. He stumbled onto the Klint Kingdom in its early stages, saw that they didn’t have alchemy, so he taught people how to use it so that they could better their lives. (Like, for example, giving them the ability to desalinate sea water and make it drinkable.) The Klint Kingdom becomes a major alchemical power. Which means they use it for everything - not just tools, but weapons, and armor, and portals to other worlds. He doesn’t just hate the Klints for colonizing the Underworld, he hates them because he made it possible for them to do that. 

There’s a time period between the end of the Klint Kingdom and when he met Lila. Given the way he reacted to their recipe for a prosthetic arm, I’m willing to bet he wasn’t just wandering around in that time. Alchemy caused the coup d’etat that led to his exile? Alchemy led to both the rise and fall of Klint? Fuck alchemy. No one gets to learn it anymore. He’ll go to every castle, every library, every fortress he can find, and burn it all to the ground. Clearly, humans can’t be trusted with this. 

There’s a possible play on words in japanese, even – alchemy is 錬金術 - renkinjutsu - whereas “forbidden technique” is 禁術 - kinjutsu. So, you could theoretically* write alchemy as 錬禁術 ? IE: swap out the kanji for gold with the one for forbidden. I don’t think they ever actually do that, but like. The potential is there.

(*i only know a tiny smattering of japanese, forgive me if this actually mangles the pronunciation)

At this point, Empel is like. Extremely bitter. Yeah, he’ll go around saving people when shit hits the fan, but he’s not going to be friends with them. If people ask, he’ll tell them he’s an alchemist, but he doesn’t explain what that means. People see him use bombs and he’s like “its magic. don’t worry about it.” He distances himself from townsfolk, he has contingency plans for getting run out of town, etc. Whether that’s because he thinks people are scumbags or because he thinks of himself as poison who deserves it is up to interpretation.

So, when he sees Ryza and co. getting their asses handed to them by a giant weasel, he’s obviously gonna help out, right? Just throw one bomb at it, then carry on. No reason to stick around, no reason to get attached, etc. But then... Ryza comes back and asks about alchemy. He sends her off on a fetch quest to get her out of his hair, and this doesn’t even dissuade her a little bit. She’s bright and cheerful and a friendly face who doesn’t immediately regard him with suspicion so he’s not going to tell her to piss off, but he’s not exactly open with her either. So he “teaches” her alchemy. He doesn’t have the heart to tell her no, but surely if she thinks she just doesn’t have the aptitude for it then she’ll give up and go on her way. (Gameplay wise, this just leads into the minigame, but I like to imagine that in-universe it’s a little more complicated than that.) He doesn’t actually explain how to synthesize anything, he just makes a green supplement and says “Okay your turn.”

But Ryza apparently does have a natural talent for understanding the process intuitively, and succeeds. As a teacher, he’s thrilled. She has talent. She could be great. The satisfaction of seeing a pupil do good. But as a person? He can’t. 

His official explanation for why he can’t teach her any more is that his arm doesn’t work and therefore he can’t do anything other than simple alchemy, so she should just learn as she goes. But he doesn’t need to be able to do it to teach it, teaching is largely theoretical. The real reason he doesn’t teach her is because she’s bright, and cheerful, and friendly, and he doesn’t want to taint her. He doesn’t want her to inherit his legacy. She’s got talent and drive and passion and (in his mind) unlike him, she is a good person. So aside from a few pointers and tips, he refuses to actually teach her his methods.

When she makes the prosthetic for him he’s initially furious because he knows that recipe, he knows where she got it from, and he’s despairing because it means she’s following in the footsteps of the Klint Kingdom and it’s all his fault because even that was too much. And then Lila essentially slaps him and tells him to stop being such a fucking dumbass, because no, she’s not. It doesn’t matter where the knowledge came from, she made it because she wants to help people, and it’s what you do with it that matters.

This is both her telling him that he doesn’t have to worry about the tragedies of the past coming about again because Ryza’s not the kind of person who’d let that happen, and also telling him that it’s not his fault. He wanted to help people, and it blew up in his face, but that doesn’t stop him from being a good person too. So shut the fuck up, fix your arm, and stop sulking, you big baby. (she loves him, but he is. frustrating. at times.)

At the end of the game, when you get the core of the queen and can make the red stone, he forgets himself and gets excited because imagine the possibilities. The Klint Kingdom used that to make so many of the relics of antiquity, after all. (My justification for why he didn’t know how they pulled it off was because even if he was the progenitor of alchemy for the kingdom, they still went on to research independently after he taught them.) So for a moment, he forgets what happened in the past, and goes mad science mode. 

BUT. RYZA’S A GOOD PERSON. Recreating the marvels of the Klint Kingdom with the same power source? The thing made from the queen after devouring large swaths of land (and people)? Absolutely not. If she used it to try and recreate the tech of that era, it would mean the tech would be dependent on the same source. You can’t do alchemy without gathering materials, and if the things she makes require that as a material, the pattern would repeat again, and the mistakes of the past would be repeated. 

She’ll use it to fix the power source on Kurken Island, but only because it needs to be fixed right now, and that’s what it runs on. But it’s only a stopgap measure until she can figure out how to make something better. No one else knows what the generator runs on, no one else will know how it was done, and it won’t happen again because she’s going to make something better her own way. So the Klint Kingdom had fancy artifacts? Fuck it, who needs ‘em.

If he had taught her alchemy, she might have fallen for the same pitfalls that past alchemists were prone to, because it clearly already works. But she’s spent months coming up with her own recipes, her own methods, so the idea of falling back on someone else’s work, especially when it leads to this? Nope. Not gonna happen. The student has surpassed the teacher. And Empel couldn’t be more proud.

[cozycoffeereads]

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant: In this suspense novel, Cooper and his young daughter Finch have been living an isolated life in the Appalachians for eight years, haunted by the ghosts of their past.

Dead Silence by S.A. Barne: In this novel, a spaceship crew boards a luxury spaceship that was reported lost 20 years ago, only to find the nightmare hasn’t ended. Goodreads describes this book as “Titanic meets The Shining,” and I feel like that’s enough to convince anyone to read this.

Adams 101 series: Adams 101 is a collection of 42 books that are a beginner’s guide to a variety of topics such as psychology, genetics, history, philosophy, etc.

1984 by George Orwell: A classic dystopian novel that follows Winston Smith, who works for the Ministry of Truth and is starting to question the system he works for.

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson: Ted Severson meets Lily Kintner on a long flight to Boston and has an instant connection. While drinking, Ted confesses his marriage is failing and his wife is cheating. Ted jokes about killing his wife for what she’s done, and Lily makes an offer to help. Back in Boston, their twisted bond intensifies as they plot the death of his wife, but Lily is keeping some secrets.

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau: A coming-of-age novel in 1970’s Baltimore that follows 14-year-old Mary Jane. She comes from a strict household where she cooks, cleans, goes to church, reads, and listens to Broadway show tunes with her family. During the summer, she takes a job as a nanny for a psychiatrist who is helping a rock star get clean. While working for the family, Mary Jane’s horizons are broadened and is thrown into a world of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.

The Selection by Kiera Cass: In this novel, 35 girls are given the chance to leave their hardships behind and compete to become the wife of Prince Maxon. America Singer is chosen, but she is reluctant to go because she just wants to be with her secret love, Aspen. Everything changes when she meets Prince Maxon. This is a series, and all the books are on Kindle Unlimited.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell: As allegations are made against the teacher Vanessa was involved with when she was 15, she is struggling to accept that she was sexually abused. Check trigger warnings before reading.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty: My absolute favorite series. Nahri is a con woman in 18th-century Egypt who doesn’t believe in magic. When she accidentally summons a djinn during a fake ceremony, she is swept away into a magical world where she is forced to face the reality that magic is real.

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali: The night before Roya and Bahman’s marriage, chaos ensues as a coup d’etat takes place. Roya searches everywhere for Bahman but didn’t find him. 60 years have passed and Roya has finally found Bahman and can ask the questions that have weighed heavy on her heart.

Every Last Secret A.R. Torre: I love a good domestic thriller. Cat Winthorpe has it all. The perfect husband, a big home, and popularity. Everything was going as planned until a new couple moves next door and shakes things up. Neena Ryder isn’t like Cat. She’s rough around the edges, her husband could use work, and she itching to move up the ladder. As Cat and Neena become friends, Neena’s jealousy grows and she becomes fixated on Cat’s husband, William. She sees William as a way to get the life she wants and soon becomes obsessed.

Everything I know About Love by Dolly Alderton: A memoir about everything that encompasses growing up and navigating your 20s

Winter World by A.G. Riddle: The world is experiencing an Ice Age and humanity is facing extinction. Scientists, scrambling to find answers, discover an object near the Sun. NASA sends scientists to make contact with it. What is it? Is it causing the ice age? This whole series is on Kindle Unlimited.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Lewis Stevenson: This gothic novella takes place in London and follows the main protagonist named Gabriel John Utterson who is trying to figure out the strange relationship between his friend Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde.

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney: Married couple Amelia and Adam win a weekend trip to Scotland and decide to go as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage. They didn’t win this trip though, it was planned. Someone is lying.

Check out my new book blog!

[hardynwa]

Naira redesign: ‘You will suffer’ – Fr Mbaka issues ultimatum to Buhari, Emefiele

Charismatic Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has issued a stern warning to President Muhammadu Buhari over the continuous detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. DAILY POST reports that Mbaka returned to his Adoration Ministry in January, months after he was suspended and sent to the monastery by the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Calistus Onaga. In what could be considered a major message to the nation since he returned, the fiery priest, on Sunday, warned Buhari of dire consequences if his government continued to keep Kanu. He spoke while addressing thousands of his Adoration members. He did not spare the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over the scarcity of the new naira notes. Mbaka said if Buhari and Emefiele did not take immediate measures, they would suffer. He said, “It is only in Nigeria that the court can set somebody free and the government will say ‘No’, keep that person. “We pray for the full release of Nnamdi Kanu; Ndigbo are suffering for what they know nothing about; students, workers will not go to work; everywhere is locked up on Mondays; our leaders don’t care; it does not concern them; how can you say it does not concern you? But you are a leader; you must care. “God set someone free and you say the person won’t be free, what God will do to you, you will regret your decision. “Why the judiciary? There are three arms of government- the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, and one arm will say the other is useless. I ask in the name of God and by the power of the Holy Ghost, that our leaders should release Nnamdi Kanu. “We cannot be distracted by new currency and fuel scarcity and there is a problem- the judiciary is dying. If the court can acquit someone and the government will say ‘No’, then the country is finished. It is a coup d’etat against the judiciary and as a man of God, I stand to say, release him. “Do the needful; our people are suffering, a lot of suffering in the country, perpetuated by our so-called leaders; I am not a politician, I am a prophet of God. My job is to speak when God is angry, I will represent the voice of God in anger, when God is happy, I will speak and represent the voice of God in joy. The poor masses are suffering. “If holding that young man will cripple this country, why not release him; Nnamdi Kanu’s case is like a trigger in the gun; you must be careful how you touch the trigger when a gun is loaded. “Don’t tell anybody he is a nobody; he represents a people and the court has said release him; why not release him, especially for health reasons? “I have to render my voice so that when tomorrow the leaders begin to suffer calamity, they will not ask ‘what did Fr. Mbaka say’.” On the naira swap, he said there was no justification for the sufferings the citizens were going through. Mbaka said, “People will suffer to make money and still suffer to take their money and there is still a country; tomorrow you will say Fr. Mbaka said; why do you force me to say something? I am giving both the President and the CBN governor a mandate from heaven, if they don’t want to react immediately and stop this self-imposed wicked suffering on the people, they will suffer. “What a rubbish; why do you multiply misery; people are sleeping in the bank to get their money; in which country has it ever happened? People are now selling money; not dollars; it is easier now to get dollars than to get naira; parents cannot have money to buy foodstuff for their children; I don’t know how many will be alive by the time the so-called new currency will come out. The new currency is not even good, the design very poor, the colour separation rubbish; “And everybody is talking election, election. Will dead men do the election? Men of God you better open your mouths; I have come back from monastery to see my people in suffering, in agony; it is time to tell Pharoah, ‘let my people go’,” he warned. He lamented that parents now spent their nights either in ATMs or in filling stations, stressing “you are killing people; what kidnappers are not doing; you are doing worse. People cannot access healthcare, by the time the doctor gets alert, the person is dead.” He said 99 percent of the population was ignorant of the new naira policy, describing it as “evil in the land. If you are not ready with the new naira, why not push out the old naira?” He said he was saddened that upon his return from the monastery, more Nigerians had lost their jobs. “Do you think that if this situation continues, that Nigerians will do election?” He queried. “What is happening now is a coup d’etat on democracy. But who will say it? To buy pure water, will you do a cash transfer? Why mess up Nigeria because you people are going? Why didn’t you start it all the while? 8 years was enough for you people to stabilise it, wickedness. No job, no food, no house. “The present government, I want to ask you, change, or you people will cry, what you are inviting, you cannot face it. “The Hausas are crying; the Fulani are crying; the Yorubas are crying; the Igbos are crying; the Niger Delta people are crying; the Middle Belt are crying, who are you now leading?” DAILY POST reports that this is not the first time Fr. Mbaka is coming hard on President Muhammadu Buhari administration. In April 2021, Mbaka had called for the impeachment of President Buhari over the rising insecurity in the country. However, the presidency later accused him of demanding for contracts. Read the full article

[dead-florist]

hehehehe address

[transgenderledyba]

Top three songs?

Hmm, that’s a toughie. Right now, though, it’s

1. “Oxidation and Dream Monsters” by GHOST

2. “Amygdala’s Rag Doll” by GHOST

3. “Coup d’Etat” by GHOST

Are you sensing a theme? 😂

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Oh please for the kissing prompts, I'd love to see 13 with Lambert/Aiden

13. A distracted kiss / a kiss in passing.

Lambert had attended this Gwent tournament in Hengfors for the last thirty-eight years and won the majority of them. After the first twenty years, the organisers had toyed with cancelling it because there was really no hope in anyone else claiming the winner’s pot, but they made an absolute mint with drinks and more than one fool-hardy idiot believed a witcher couldn’t truly be that good at Gwent. They paid with their hard-earned cash.

This year, Lambert expected it to be no different. Enter the tournament, drink some booze, leave with the big cash prize to set him up properly for the rest of the season. Except, this year, Lambert had someone to worry about. The Cat from Ellander. Aiden. They had completed a contract together the year before and since then Lambert had continued to run into the maniac in the weirdest of places. Usually when there was trouble afoot—an assassination, a robbery, a shift in a region’s power balance. Aiden could never be pinned to it, of course, but Lambert was fairly sure the wily bastard was behind more than one coup d’etat in the townships of the northern kingdoms.

He was attractive, too. Which was rather frustrating. Tall, lean, with that stupidly understated armour that showed off muscular biceps, and a broad, toothy smile that promised mischief and mayhem if you were to fall in with its owner. He was funny, witty, intelligent in enough quantities to draw and keep Lambert’s attention. Lambert didn’t have a fucking crapshoot in hell, obviously. Aiden had much higher standards.

But, more importantly, Aiden also happened to be a mean Gwent player.

When Lambert had spotted him across the hall, he had returned Aiden’s jovial wave with a stern glare. “If you cheat, I’ll tell them.”

“Oh, come now, wolf,” Aiden said, spreading his arms magnanimously, “since when have you ever known me to cheat at anything.”

Aiden followed Lambert up through the heats into the knockout stages, but managed to avoid facing Lambert until the final. It was meant to be the best of three, but somehow Aiden managed to draw in the third round, leading to a tie breaking fourth. Lambert could feel sweat gathering under his arms and on his brow as he glanced down at his hand. If he played conservatively in the first few hands, then he could take Aiden in the final one. It was close. Three more cards left apiece. Aiden could have saved his best play ‘til last, Lambert held his breath and—

Aiden had weather cards. Weather cards. What an absolute fucking amateur. How had he got this far?

Lambert annihilated his front row, throwing his final card down with a triumphant, “ha!” The referee leaned forward, scratching the score down on his quill, and declared Lambert the overall winner of the tournament. Lambert rose and threw his hands in the air. “Victory is mine. In your face, cat, in your—.”

He didn’t get to finish. Aiden stood and swooped in. Their mouths met and Aiden took advantage of Lambert’s slack jaw to sweep his tongue inside. Lucky those big arms were strong too, because Lambert somehow lost his footing on the entirely flat floorboards and almost took the playing cards down with him. “So,” Aiden said, pulling back only far enough to speak, his breath still ghosting over Lambert’s lower lip, “now I’ve got your attention. Fancy a shag?”

Lambert blinked. Once, twice, three times in quick succession. Had Aiden thrown the game? Had he entered this entire tournament just to—? And he wanted—? What the—?! Lambert glanced at the card table, and the winner’s purse as it rattled against the wood. “Well, I guess you’ve paid upfront,” he said, reflecting Aiden’s smirk right back at him, “but you owe me a rematch after. No way I’m having you go around saying you let me win.”

The smile that Aiden flashed was so fucking predatory that Lambert’s insides turned to mush in the very best way.

[nextplayerup]

y’all, don’t get your hopes up about colorbars/broadcast illusion/insecta aposate/coup d’etat, this is either gonna turn out to be a) a hack or b) a screw up on Spotify’s part. reasons:

- mosh glaringly obvious thing is the cover art. It’s absolute ass. not Ghost’s style at all, looks like it was made in ibisPaint by an 11 year old in their creepypasta phase.

- they couldn’t upload broadcast illusion in the first place because of Fukase. doubt anything has changed.

- Ghost wouldn’t wanna touch communications like that. not in 2022. not ever. They’ve stated that they hate it.

- also the lack of instrumentals?? not very ghost-like at all

- feel like they would make a community post announcing it if they did add songs, especially a song as popular as broadcast illusion, but there hasn’t been anything new there for more than a month.

- none of these songs are on Apple Music, even though Apple Music has a history of being screwy. They literally have a random ass lofi song under Ghost’s name that doesn’t seem to be theirs.

Hopefully they’ll find out about it soon and be able to clear things up, cuz of their lack of social media it might be hard but I’m sure they’ll notice eventually lmao

[kinmusics]

Might I request a playlist for Fluglemeyer, from the song "Cuckoo" by Rob Cantor, with themes of clocks, clock-making, and/or time? I generally like most types of music, but with Cuckoo and The Death of the Cog already in the playlist I have started, alt-rock seems an appropriate genre of music for this kin playlist.

Mr. Fluglemeyer, thank you so much for introducing me to the joy that is steampunk music. I honestly have been looking for this type of music for so long, just never able to really place the genre!! Also, similar to the other playlists like this, there’s only the YouTube link because multiple songs were unavailable on Spotify. Enjoy! - Mod Faolán

[YouTube]

1. The Watchmaker's Apprentice - The Clockwork Quartet

2. Time - Ingimar Oddsson

3. Brass Goggles - Steam Powered Giraffe

4. Cruel Clocks - cover by Jubyphonic

5. Hello, Again - cover by Jubyphonic

6. A Passage in Time - Authority Zero

7. The Last Steampunk Waltz - Ghostfire

8. Coup d’Etat - Ghost and Pals

[hyperfics-ation]

6 Underground ficlet Part II

Word Count: 1,315

Read Part I here

While yeah, it sucked you had to stay behind when the team went off on their mini mission to Sicily because according to One “someone has to watch the dog”, at least you got a phone call from Six about how well it went. 

You were dying to ask about Four. 

Did he say anything about you? Was he thinking about you? 

Did he miss you?

You were certain Six found you absolutely insufferable, but he took it all in stride saying he’d pass along a message for you. 

“Tell him to bring me back a souvenir. I will accept food or alcohol,” you joked. 

Six laughed. “Yeah, and do you want that with a bouquet of roses too?” he teased

“Haha. Shut up,” you replied flatly, rolling your eyes, fighting a smile. “Call me when you leave Italy.” 

 And then he never did. 

You waited. And waited. 

Surprisingly enough, Four called you. At first, you were exhilarated just to hear his voice. Then he delivered the worst possible news and suddenly you just wanted the conversation to be over. 

You didn’t sleep after that. You couldn’t. 

All you could do was wait for the team to return. 

As soon as the jet touched down you were there. 

One steadfastly avoided looking in your direction. He brushed right past you and headed straight for his trailer. There was work to be done...and he was determined to throw himself into it before he fell into a pit of self loathing so deep there was no escape. 

…

Fact number one: There was no body to bury.

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” you sniffled, curling further into yourself. 

Four pressed a wad of tissues into your hand which you gratefully accepted. 

He didn’t know what to say. 

Fact two: You hadn’t even known Six's real name. 

How were you supposed to mourn someone if you didn’t even know their name?

Your world had shrunk exponentially when you cut all ties to your old life. And it was still shrinking.

…

One stood in the way of you boarding the jet. 

You struggled to shoulder past him. He refused to budge. 

You bared your teeth in anger. “I’m not fucking staying behind again. Get the fuck out of my way!” 

The other ghosts stood behind you, not yet boarded, waiting to see how this played out. 

One's eyes scanned your own, the wheels turning in his head. “Who’s going to watch Wally if you come with us? Think about it Zero. If you leave him alone here for who knows how long, that’s animal abuse,” he tried to rationalize in that condescending tone of his. 

“I’ll fucking take him with me! Now move! I’m coming with you!” you shouted at him as frustrated tears streamed down your face. 

One had his arms around you in an attempt to push you back, but at this point he was basically hugging you to him. “You can’t come with us. You have to stay here, kid. Where I know you'll be safe.” He had dropped the condescending tone and if you didn’t know any better, you say he sounded a little vulnerable right then. 

Of all people, it was the new guy who convinced you to stay behind. 

Seven placed a hand on your shoulder, gave you one long hard look and said, “I’ll look out for everyone, don’t you worry. I’m a sniper. It’s what I do.” 

There was a long pause as a battle raged inside you. 

Begrudgingly, you nodded your assent and backed away from the jet’s entrance. The other ghosts parted to let you by. Four lingered behind while they boarded. 

It was just the two of you on the tarmac. 

You took in the sight of him as though it was the last time you’d have the chance to do so. He was so heart achingly beautiful. You didn’t want to forget for a single moment what he looked like. 

“I guess this is goodbye,” he murmured, smiling weakly. 

You roughly wiped away the drying tears on your face. “For now. Just for now.” 

He adjusted his grip on his bag. “I’ll call you when I can.”

You nodded, glancing away. “And I’ll be watching the news for when you finally take this bad guy down.”

He grew quiet. Shuffled his feet. 

“Hey.” He reached for you and you gladly fell into his embrace. 

“You better come back in one piece,” you mumbled into his chest. 

He pecked a kiss on the top of your head and smirked. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m a professional.” 

“Let’s get a move on! This coup isn’t going to d’etat itself!” One yelled from the jet’s interior. 

You both chuckled, letting each other go. 

“Two must be rolling her eyes so hard right now,” Four said. 

You punched his shoulder playfully, “Go break a leg already.”

…

The next time Four called you, he surprised you with four seemingly innocuous words.

“My name is Billy.”

There was no “hi” or any other form of greeting when you picked up the phone on the first ring. Just those four words you didn’t know what to make of. 

You had been completely absorbed in the news coverage on the Turgistan coup for hours, eyes glued to the computer screen. 

They had done it. One’s crazy plan had actually worked. 

Your chest glowed with pride. 

Then came the phone call. 

My. Name. Is. Billy. 

Billy. 

His name rang in your ears.

"...But what about the rules?" you asked, clearly flustered. 

Your face felt hot. Here and now you finally had his name. Here he offered you a secret you coveted and now it felt like everything about your friendship was changing. 

"Fuck the rules," he laughed breathlessly. 

Exhilarated, you laughed too. "My name is Y/N." 

...

You met the ghost’s on the tarmac when they returned from Turgistan and the first thing you noticed when you laid eyes on Four again was his arm in a sling. 

Your eyes bugged out of your skull.

"I said break a leg! Not break an arm!" you fretted. "Shit, are you ok Billy?" 

You watched his eyes light up with elated disbelief as the sound of his real name left your lips and then he was dropping his bag and surging forward to wrap his arms around you. 

“I thought I was never going to see you again,” he murmured by your ear. 

Your heart seized. 

“For a minute there I thought I was a goner. All I could think about was you. But I didn’t even know your name and if I died I never would. It was scary,” he admitted. “Before all this I didn’t have a lot of people in my life who cared about me…”

When he started to trail off, you couldn’t control yourself and you blurted out without thinking, “Do you want to go steady with me?”

Billy snorted before pulling away so he could look at you.

“Have you been watching those old shows One keeps around?” he teased. 

You glowered at him for a long moment before the expression weakened into something softer. He seemed a little taken aback by the change. 

You gazed at him from beneath you eyelashes. 

“Be with me,” you pleaded quietly. 

He cupped your face gently and met your gaze dead on. “I’d love to.”

“Hey! Get a room!” Five, or Amelia according to Billy, poked fun at them with a wide grin. 

“They grow up so fast,” you heard One say. 

“I think they’re cute together,” Seven countered. 

The other ghosts chuckled as they headed to the haunted house. 

Billy turned his attention back to you and cocked his head. “How do you feel about going somewhere warm until the next mission?” 

Your entire face lit up. “I’d love to,” you echoed his earlier words with a grin.

@theadventuroushermit 

[viciousgracearc]

LYANNA STARK AS THE KNIGHT OF THE LAUGHING TREE + RHAEGAR & THE PROPHECY

REPOST FROM HERE. I tend to deviate from the popular fan theory and show “plot-twist” that Rhaegar and Lyanna were in love and that she eloped with him, thus igniting Robert's Rebellion. I also do not subscribe to the show’s BS saying Robert’s Rebellion was founded on a “lie” because Robert's Rebellion was founded on many things, not just Lyanna’s disappearance, but also the murder of Rickard and Brandon Stark (and company) and the call of Aerys for Jon Arryn to break guest right traditions and bring him Robert and Eddard's heads. These things are not lies and played fundamental roles in fueling the rebellion, which was initially started by Jon Arryn rousing The Vale into revolt (it was only ever called Robert’s Rebellion once the rebellion itself was already in full-swing or nearing its conclusion).

Anyway, this headcanon is essentially riding the back of the theory that Lyanna Stark was the Knight of the Laughing Tree. Not only did her initial defense of Howland Reed foreshadow this theory, but it also made the most sense based on what we know of the knight themself.  Brandon was too muscular to be the knight, Eddard could not possibly be the knight for the same reason,  and Benjen was too young. The knight could only be a Stark, and therefore could only be Lyanna. There are a lot of other reasons why this headcanon makes the most sense  (i.e. it thematically makes for a stronger story) but that’s a discussion for another time.

Piggybacking off of this, we also know that The World of Ice and Fire went more in-depth with the events at Harrenhal than the five main books of the series. In TWOIAF we found out that the knight was hunted down after he disappeared, and it was Rhaegar Targaryen who found the knight’s infamous shield and armor hanging from a tree.  We also found out that the mad king took the appearance of the knight as a slight to his rule, and he was very paranoid and angry, or as the kids would say these days… triggered:

King Aerys II was not a man to take any joy in mysteries, however. His Grace became convinced that the tree on the mystery knight’s shield was laughing at him […] he commanded his own knights to defeat the Knight of the Laughing Tree when the jousts resumed the next morning, so that he might be unmasked and his perfidy exposed for all to see. But the mystery knight vanished during the night, never to be seen again. This too the king took ill, certain that someone close to him had given warning to “this traitor who will not show his face.” ( Source: The World of Ice and Fire )

So how does all of this fit into this theory? For years, people have been speculating Lyanna eloped with a married man, that she was not kidnapped and she went willingly 1.) because she was in love with Rhaegar (please stop) and/or 2.) because she wanted to escape her betrothal to Robert Baratheon. And sure, we can say that she was not kidnapped. I, for one, believe that she went willingly but not for the reasons people think. The question really is: what if she did not elope with anybody? WHAT IF IT WAS A RESCUE?

Please note that this headcanon is heavily inspired by this WordPress post by ladygwynhyfvar + some additions and speculations from myself and other sources (asoiafuniversity, various forums and subreddits).

At the time of the tourney at Harrenal (281 AC), King Aerys II Targaryen was already displaying alarming signs of mental instability, so much so that his son staged the very same tourney to gather all the respectable lords from the great houses to convene and talk about a possible coup d’etat. This didn’t work due to the King’s paranoia, which only went to prove how dangerously close to falling off the deep-end he was. And going by his reaction about the KOTLT, it’s not far-fetched to assume that he hyper-fixated on the knight even after the tourney was over and considered them a threat to his reign or an agent of an enemy used to mock his rule. Aerys II could have used all his available resources to figure out who the knight was, including Varys’ spies, though I think what eventually gave it away in the end were the actions of Rhaegar himself (upon inspection of the events at Harrenhal ex-post facto).

For reasons unknown at the time, Rhaegar crowned Lyanna his Queen of Love and Beauty by the tourney’s end, offending many great lords and ladies in the process (a dumb political move, considering these were the same lords and ladies he’s persuading to support him overthrow his father). What could be the reason behind this? There are a lot of theories, including Rhaegar professing romantic interest towards Lyanna at the cost of Elia Martell’s honor, but the only logical explanation would be that Rhaegar knew Lyanna masqueraded as the Knight of the Laughing Tree. The blue flowers he laid on her lap were not signs of attraction but perhaps admiration, and an acknowledgment of some sort, because her undefeated streak on the joust went unacknowledged by virtue of her disguise. He could essentially be telling Lyanna: Here, you deserve this victory, too. And fair enough, she did. However, this very same action, though noble in its intention, caused quite a scandal. It could have very well lead to Aerys II figuring out that it was Lyanna who donned on the shield of the laughing Weirwood tree and the mismatched armor (courtesy of Benjen’s scrounging). It’s very much possible that Aerys II was unwilling to let this imagined slight go unpunished, and that he could have ordered Lyanna Stark’s arrest while she was on her way to Riverrun to attend Cat and Brandon’s wedding. Coincidentally, this would put her in Rhaegar’s path, as we learned from TWOIAF:

With the coming of the new year, the crown prince had taken to the road with half a dozen of his closest friends and confidants, on a journey that would ultimately lead him back to the riverlands, not ten leagues from Harrenhal… where Rhaegar would once again come face-to-face with Lyanna Stark of Winterfell, and with her light a fire that would consume his house and kin and all those he loved—and half the realm besides.

Any gold cloaks who could have been scouring the Riverlands looking for Lyanna Stark could have run in on the same group, and once Rhaegar had heard about Lyanna’s pending arrest  (no doubt to face the  “king’s justice”  which to Aerys II was literally synonymous to being burned alive), he could have taken the initiative of spiriting Lyanna away from harm and into the relative safety of the Red Mountains of Dorne. But wait, you may wonder: What does Rhaegar get from all of this? Why would he rescue Lyanna Stark if they weren’t “in love” as the people say? It’s pretty simple. He gets the third head of his dragon, considering that months prior, his wife almost died birthing his second child and was possibly too physically spent for a third.  

Remember that Rhaegar was obsessed with The Song of Ice and Fire, and the appeal of Lyanna Stark, who could essentially be ice embodied, might have been too great a temptation for the prophecy-consumed prince to resist. There’s also the possibility that Lyanna was a greenseer which I wrote about here, meaning that she was also aware of the prophecy and went with Rhaegar to help him fulfill it. (A lot of factors are at play here, not just Lyanna’s ability to have green dreams but her run in with the greenseer wildling and the words of the Ghost of High Heart, who she and Rhaegar met with after he’d rescued her, based on my headcanon.)

In any case, Lyanna did not go with Rhaegar because she was “in love” with him. Remember that Lyanna Stark was the same girl who said “Love is sweet,  dearest Ned. But it cannot change a man’s nature.” She disliked the prospect of infidelity and thus would never encourage, tolerate, or participate in such an act at the expense of another woman. Additionally, Lyanna cared enough about the Stark name to defend a Stark bannerman. Not a direct family member, just a bannerman, and she was willing to throw down for him. What makes anyone think she will risk her entire family to run away with a man? Even if he was Targaryen or a prince? What makes anyone think she would do anything to endanger or dishonor her family in that way?  

Severing the engagement with Robert would be something that she would want, there is no denying that (not just because she disliked being betrothed to him, but because she disliked being betrothed at all). She could have wanted to run away on her own, but to run away with a married prince? I don’t think so. The main rationale people use to prop up this theory was to paint Lyanna as a selfish character. But there was never any indication that Lyanna Stark was the selfish type, that she would risk her family’s honor life to get her way, or that she would do something so blatantly stupid (under no disguise) and would not be able to foresee the possible ramifications of her actions. Lyanna is reckless, yes, but she’s not dumb. She’s romantic and idealistic, but she’s also painted to have a strong moral and compass to possess some forethought, things people often overlook or deliberately forget so they could either shit on her character or sail their ships.

Following the greenseer theory, it’s also entirely possible that Lyanna had no knowledge of Rickard and Brandon's fates until Gerold Hightower delivered the news when he asked Rhaegar to go back to King’s Landing (an order that came from his father), right after the Battle of the Bells. Around that time, Lyanna was already pregnant. She would have wanted to go home after finding out, but she would have been forbidden to leave. This was the only time she was openly hostile towards Rhaegar, and he parted with her while she had bitter thoughts of him.

All things considered, I would like to reiterate that Rhaegar and Lyanna were not  “in love”. They were not secret lovers who annulled a legitimate marriage to get their way, the rest of the realm be damned. Lyanna felt extremely guilty that the prophecy required physical infidelity on the part of Rhaegar, but whatever “intimacy” they shared,  they did so out of a sense of duty, not lust or love. Rhaegar remained very much in love with Elia Martell until he left for King’s Landing, never to return to the Tower of Joy again. And Lyanna remained dedicated to seeing through her part in the prophecy, which she believed would ultimately result in her own death.

[taliawi]

10 Years On

I’ve been meaning to write a lengthy text marking the passing of 10 years since the eruption of the Arab uprisings, particularly Egypt’s edition. I’ve been meaning to write on it, not just as a global historical event, but as one that has greatly affected me as a person over the past years; on my position from and in relation to it. On that front, writing about the revolution, the “best and worst of times” involving both boundless hope and intense violence, to me personally is an act of restitution. This is a front in which soul searching towards personal reckoning is in operation. Just as i was personally dismantled in the years after the coup (2013-2015), my writing about this event would necessarily tie both the global picture (of the historical event) to my own subjective experience of it. 

Through writing, i also also wish to address the historical event, where we are at the moment, or rather, how we see it in retrospect; how it is talked and written about a decade after. So many ghosts and shadows are still perched over the memory of the revolution denying us from seeing it clearly. We are still within a fog that we need to pass and get out of in order to address this event with objective clarity. For too many among its participants, myself included, the revolution embodied a dream whose sky is the limit. We thought we were changing the world (and in a way we did), but among the effects of such an idea is that nothing among its resulting outcomes were enough to deem it successful. We wanted too much to the extent that whatever happened was never enough. 

For example, too many among the discourse and talking points of (tone-setting) major news outlets on the anniversary reveled in judgements on whether the revolution failed or succeeded, and if it was worth it in the first place. This is wrong. The revolution was a massive social and political event that has literally affected and intersected with every aspect of our lives. What do we mean when we say that the revolution failed? Which aspect exactly do we address when we say “the revolution”? For example, the musical scene only flourished since. The several Me Too movements that took place over the years addressing harrasment and sexual violence were a positive outcome not unrelated to the revolution. Nothing before January 25th remained the same after, only very few things remained in place since. 

This discourse, then, is not helpful. It obstructs us from being able to sort things out and understand where and how things have changed since, aside from the massive crackdown by the millitary on speech and bodies, public space, political organization and its de facto control of the state, media and economy. Yes, the revolution was defeated on the ground, but this defeat is not permanent and it certainly doesn’t represent the full import of how the revolution changed and continues to transform our reality. 

One example of this is narrative. Major news and political outlets still talk about July 2013 unashamedly as a coup d’etat (unlike, for example, the July 1952 revolution/coup). It’s not a matter of debate. The world knows (although perhaps this is too simplistic to state) that what happened in 2011 was a progressive wave by the people of the region to overturn the grim conditions that were set by our past, from which we thought there was no escape. Another example of this is memory, a recurring talking point during this anniversary, triggered obviously by the regime’s early attempts to erase the memory of the revolution post-2013. But by now, we know with certainty that they haven’t been able to do so. Social media channels still retain a depository of archival material that demonstrate how impossible it is for the regime to rewrite the past. Despite the regime’s might and technological reach in terms of censuring voices and detaining dissidents, we continue to mourn every year, and remember. We continue to converge as masses, albeit in virtual squares. The material and archival history of the revolution was not and cannot be erased. It is not uncommon for revolutions to suffer such seeming defeat. A friend of mine recently pointed out how the Russian revolutionary forces in 1905 were entirely wiped out, on a scale not unlike 2013, before the Bolshevic revolution, 12 years later, toppled and eradicated the regime in 1917. One among the best commentaries i read on social media, shared by a friend, that “10 years is enough time for us to bury the dead.” It referred to Marx who quoted Jesus urging one of his followers who asked for time to mourn and bury his father, urging him to come instead and “let the dead bury their dead.” 10 years after, we are still mourning our dead, unable to see how the revolution lives on. 

[lover-of-midnight]

The last dragon - Chapter 9

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M M/M Fandoms: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game) Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski Merlin (TV) Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion Leon/Morgana (Merlin) Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Gwen & Morgana (Merlin) Characters: Merlin (Merlin) Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Kilgharrah (Merlin) Uther Pendragon (Merlin) Morgana (Merlin) Gwen (Merlin) Jaskier | Dandelion Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg Additional Tags: Fae Jaskier | Dandelion alternative universe Pre-Relationship Established Relationship Established Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion Mild Language Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin) tired Merlin Tired Jaskier injured geralt Notes: I just want to say thank you to my amazing beta @aalizazareth for beating this story. I appreciated it so much.

Arthur closed his eyes with a groan. His hands went to his temples and for a moment, he looked thoroughly defeated.

“I know,” he said tiredly, hands shifting to rub a chafed wrist. “I just don’t know what to do about it.”

Merlin pattered around slightly in the back of the chamber, unsure of whether he should move closer to be part of the discussion.

Jaskier’s eyes zeroed in on the manservant. “Come, sit down. You are part of this discussion.” There was a sternness to him that made Merlin immediately gravitate to them.

Geralt looked quietly at everyone. He generally tried to stay as far from politics as he could. The air within felt slightly tense, and he wished he could be back in the woods.

“Well,” Jaskier resumed, endeavouring to keep his voice gentle, “let us try and sort some things out first. Arthur, why do you not remove the King?”

Why wouldn't a prince do what was best for his kingdom first?

Arthur was silent for a moment. “He is my father. I can’t just go and kill him,” he said, in a quiet voice.

“Well, you have to do something.” For the first time, Geralt spoke up. His golden eyes bore into Arthur’s. “You will do wrong to your people if you don’t.”

Arthur knew things in the kingdom were getting to a point which made it dangerous to keep this up.

“You can always try a coup d’etat,” Jaskier pointed out softly.

Merlin was next to speak up, asking, while his eyes wandered around the room, “If I may, what is a coup d’etat?”

“It is basically to remove the existing government from power,” Jaskier answered easily. “It normally happens violently, but there is a way to do it without things getting messy.”

“I have four members on the council who are willing to lay their loyalties down to me,” Arthur whispered to the room. “The rest are still thinking about it.”

Ever since he found out about Morgana, he had been going through every book on the law he could find. Why did people love violence? The last thing he wanted was to kill Uther, who despite everything, remained his father.

“That’s good, how many people does he have on his council?” Jaskier prompted. If the number was relatively low, it would be easier to get the support they needed. Just a little bit over half was needed.

“Fifteen. I still need the support of at least four more people.” Arthur's eyes closed, and he looked in deep thought.

They all fell into a slightly uncomfortable silence. Geralt was the first to break it.

“So, where is this dragon we keep hearing about?” he asked, seeing Merlin, out of the corner of his eye, grow pale.

“Dragon?” Arthur had a sharp note to his voice.

Merlin could feel the anger rising within, and he wished he could kill Geralt, but he knew he could not. “There is a dragon in the lowest part of the castle. Your father captured him at the end of the great purge.”

Merlin struggled to keep his breathing even. Well, it was time to come clean about his magic.

Arthur took a deep breath before he asked: “Merlin, how do you know this?” His eyes narrowed down on his manservant, and he almost felt bad for asking, seeing as Merlin looked like he saw a ghost. Fear in Merlin’s eyes left him uneasy.

“He called me down shortly after I came to Camelot.” Merlin did not try to make eye contact.

Arthur looked over at the two guests, who were quietly watching the exchange. “Would you mind if we talk about this later?” he asked Geralt and Jaskier, a slight strain to his voice.

Geralt gave him a sympathetic look. He knew how it felt to have secrets kept from him, even when they were important.

“Listen, and hear what he truly is saying,” he advised Arthur.

How long did it take him to truly learn that? His golden eyes strayed to Jaskier. With a soft tap against his hand, both were out the door before anything more could be said.

Merlin fiddled slightly with his hands, wishing he could move around the room as they talked, but he knew Arthur did not like it. Arthur took a few deep, audible breaths.

“Merlin, why did the dragon call for you?” Arthur made sure to keep his voice even, aware he sometimes had a temper, just like his father’s.

“He called me down,” Merlin said, after a moment of silence, “because he wanted to talk to me about our destiny.”

Arthur silently waited for Merlin to continue, but after a few seconds, he prompted slightly: “What destiny?”

He knew that Merlin liked to call him ‘dense’ sometimes, but how else would a dragon make contact with someone without the use of magic?

“I have to protect you so that you can make it safely to the throne.” Merlin could feel the slight shake of his hands. “He said you would be the one and future king, you would unite all of Albion.”

Arthur crouched in front of Merlin. “Let’s not be funny here Merlin, but how do you protect me, when you are such a klutz with weapons?” He knew it was not the time for banter, but if it helped Merlin relax slightly, all was well.

Merlin bit his lip. Arthur's eyes were trained directly onto his. Merlin tried to take a breath.

“Magic.” The words were out of his mouth before he could think about anything else. Merlin's eyes settled on the floor. He did not want to see the betrayal in Arthur’s eyes.

“Why did you never tell me?” Arthur asked.

The question hit Merlin hard. Arthur sounded closed off, yet Merlin knew that Arthur would only bury it until he was ready to handle it.

“I never wanted to force you to choose between your father and me. And after Morgana told you, I could see that you were running yourself down, and I did not want to add more stress.” Merlin sank to his knees in front of Arthur and whispered, “I am sorry Arthur.”

Arthur wished he could say it was alright, but he could feel the anger brewing in the back of his mind. His heartfelt like it was breaking. He had truly thought they were friends, but at the same time, he could understand why Merlin had kept quiet.

“Give me some time to think. We will talk about this some more tonight.” Arthur patted Merlin's shoulder, and then he left the room.

Merlin groaned softly. Already, he could feel tears gathering in his eyes.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Still here

So very angsty Victor reflection story. I feel really bad for him. Inspired by Digital Dagger’s Still Here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ljegvS94qE

Musing through memories Losing my grip in the grey Numbing the senses I feel you slipping away

Victor punched two wall, reveling in the feeling of splinters crushed against his skin yet it only made the rise of tears fall faster and the wave of misery returned, bringing him to his knees.

Fighting to hold on Clinging to just one more day Love turns to ashes With all that I wish I could say

Spending every night, he would sniff the covers for her smell but there was nothing. And worse, he couldn’t remember what she smelt like. Or feel like.

I'd die to be where you are I tried to be where you are

The warmth from her side of the bed was a distant memory. A  dream. Ash was a dream.

Every night I dream you're still here The ghost by my side, so perfectly clear When I awake, you'll disappear Back to the shadows With all I hold, dear With all I hold, dear I dream you're still here

She was like a dream. He had thought ever since he first saw her. The way her inhumanly long dark hair fell down her back like waves, her ice blue eyes flashing with inspiration or determination, her glowing tan skin. He never seen such a combination of looks, on paper it shouldn’t work, but with her... she was dream.

I dream you're still here Hidden companion Phantom be still in my heart Make me a promise that Time won't erase us

That we were not lost from the start

Some days he missed her more than others. He mostly kept it together for Carla’s sake. It wouldn’t do to break down in front of her when she finally got over crying every night the first two years Ash had left. His heart had hurt more to see her violet eyes filled with tears than to think of his own feelings. She was so young, and he.. he didn’t want to disappoint her. He had promised to always keep her safe and happy. He had promised her that Mamí would come home. Telling her Ash wasn’t coming back would crush her.

I'd die to be where you are

I tried to be where you are

But today, he just had a feeling. It had been 7 years and she had sent no word. She wasn’t coming back.

Ash was dead.

I dream you're still here Ever slightly out of reach I dream you're still here But it breaks so easily I try to protect you 

Brilliant, ambitious, determined Ash was gone. It wasn’t possible. She was the last person he could see dying or being defeated. Ash would never give up, not even to death. She was that sort of woman. In fact that was one of the things Victor most admired in his wife, how she would do anything it takes to get what she wanted and no one could stand in her way.

But....

I can't let you fade I feel you slipping

He felt the weight of that realization press down on his chest all day. He had missed managed to nod and speak at the appropriate times but the weight was all he could feel. The heavy weight, and the lump in his throat that constricted his breath. Now he felt like he was in a dream. His whole body felt heavy and unsteady and his limbs ready to fly away at any second.

Victor managed to stumble to his empty bed and grip the pillow to his face to keep Carla from hearing. His lungs heaved with sobs and air that fought to win over his tired body. Hot tears streaked down his face and the overwhelming pain, sadness and hopelessness within that threatened to engulf him.

I drove by all the places we used to hang out getting wasted I thought about our last kiss, how it felt the way you tasted And even though your friends tell me you're doing fine Are you somewhere feeling lonely even though he's right beside you? When he says those words that hurt you, do you read the ones I wrote you?

Memories of when he first, quite literally bumped into Ash while running away from the Galdonian Royal guard. Late night dips in the hot springs of Córdoba. Ash standing tall and proud as a single spell wiped out all their enemies from their hideout. Them holding hands as the priest declared them man and wife. Holding Carla. Holding each other. It was all gone forever.

I feel you slipping away Every night I dream you're still here The ghost by my side, so perfectly clear When I awake, you'll disappear Back to the shadows With all I hold, dear With all I hold, dear

There was never going to be another woman like her. She was the only cunning enough to survive and thrive in this cold world and strong enough to do it beside him. He couldn’t imagine life without her. He didn’t want to.

I dream you're still here I dream you're still here (Every night I dream you're still) (Every night I dream you're still here) I dream you're still here (Every night I dream you're still) (Every night I dream you're still here)

She was the only one who understood him and knew him better than anyone. His parents had kicked to the streets after finding out his part in the Avalor coup d’etat, not once listening to his explanation and the traitorous Esteban. Ash did. Whenever he had a few nightmares, Ash didn’t comment on his unmanly sobbing. She pretended it wasn’t happening. She was very good at blocking things out when she wanted to. She would kiss him and massage his shoulders, reminding him that he was so much better than that cowardly traitor Esteban and that he will get what he so rightfully deserves. No one will hurt them again. 

If today I woke up with you right beside me

Like all of this was just some twisted dream I'd hold you closer than I ever did before And you'd never slip away And you'd never hear me say

He would never have those nights again with her.

Ever slightly out of reach (I dream you're still here) (Every night I dream you're still) (Every night I dream you're still here), But it breaks so easily.

Memories flew by in a jumbled rush but one that kept returning was their last goodbye. The one he couldn’t particularly remember because he hadn’t thought it was the last goodbye. He hadn’t taken the time to memorize her face or to hold on to her touch or kiss just a bit longer.

Just a bit more time.  

Love turns to ashes

I dream you're still here

She was back, but it wasn’t Ash. I remember the day you told me you were leaving I remember the make-up running down your face And the dreams you left behind you didn't need them Like every single wish we ever made

That’s the one realization he had come to while sitting in his jail cell.

Not only was her raven hair gone, but so was any glimpse of vulnerability or sweetness.

Not any that he could see at least. Which was exactly how he knew it wasn’t Ash. Ash never showed her weaknesses to people. But he was the one exception. That was why she loved him and he loved her. He could allow himself to trust and to love.

But he couldn’t do that anymore. Not with her. She refused to look at him with anything but disdain, it was like she had amnesia and they were back to their first meeting when she had written him off as some layabout thief.

It was like she didn’t remember him. He rather wish that she didn’t. It would make it easier to know that it was just a mistake, that he could do something to revive her memories.

But this...

He could read between the lines.

“You can go guard the prisoners. If you think you’re up to it.”

At night, she wouldn’t talk to him, just fight. She wouldn’t disclose the “ghastly” spells and secrets she had learned from Zopilote. She wouldn’t allowing him to do the spell with Carla because she thought he would mess it up. Or he would distract Carla. Or some other reason just to punish him for a failure that he didn’t even know he did. She was constantly mentioning her superior skills and training.

“I will not fail so you can be comfortable, Victor.

I will not lose just because you can’t win.”

It was like all those years between them never happened. Him comforting her and stroking her hair through her nightmares. The flirty kisses from her, and corny jokes on his side. The laughter they shared after too much beer. The nights when they couldn’t keep their hands off each other or the gloomy days tending to wounds. He remembered all those little things. Her confused face when he put food on her nose, her genuine non-evil laugh, when she would complimented him sometimes.... 

It was all gone again.

There was no explaining it. She didn’t have amnesia. She wasn’t an even more evil clone. She didn’t lose her memories. It was the real Ash. She just didn’t care about what they had before. 

A knife to his heart would have hurt less.

It was a second death but a worse one.

I wish that I could wake up with amnesia And forget about the stupid little things Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you And the memories I never can escape

He had to look at that still gorgeous face face every day and know that it wasn’t her. She didn’t love him anymore. Whatever happened during those 10 years changed her and he had to admit to himself now as he stared at the bars that he didn’t love her either. Whoever this Ash was, he didn’t love her. 

It was a small consolation all things considered. At least it made his heart ache a little less. But it just made him try harder to remember their last goodbye because though neither of them had known it then, it was truly their last goodbye.

It was all still a blur.

Tell me this is just a dream 'Cause I'm really not fine at all

[willfulbeautya]

lyanna as the knight of the laughing tree & R+L=J

this is basically a repost of my headcanon originally posted over at @ophidiantes​  ( permalink )  with some addendum.  i tend to deviate from the popular fan theory and show  “plot-twist”  that rhaegar and lyanna were in-love and that she eloped with him,  thus igniting robert’s rebellion.  i also do not subscribe to the show’s BS saying robert’s rebellion was founded on a  “lie”  because robert’s rebellion was founded on many things,  not just lyanna’s disappearance,  but also the murder of rickard and brandon stark  ( and company! )  and the call of aerys for jon arryn to break guest right traditions and bring him robert and eddard’s heads.  these things are not lies and played fundamental roles in fueling the rebellion,  which was initially started by jon arryn rousing the vale into revolt,  and i would go so far as to say that it was only called  “robert’s rebellion”  perhaps after the rebellion itself was already raging in full force or was already won.

anyway,  my headcanon is essentially riding the back of possibly one of the most popular fan theories to grace this fandom,  and as good as canon  ( in my opinion )  at this point:  that lyanna stark was the knight of the laughing tree.  not only did her initial defense of howland reed foreshadow this theory,  it also made the most sense based on what we know of the knight himself.  brandon was too muscular to be the knight,  eddard could not possibly be the knight for the same reason,  and benjen was too young.  the knight could only be a stark,  and could only be lyanna.  there are a lot of other reasons why this headcanon makes the most sense  ( i.e.  it thematically makes for a stronger story ),  but that’s a discussion for another time.

piggybacking off of this,  we also know that the world of ice and fire went more in-depth with the events at harrenhal than the five main books of the series.  in TWOIAF we found out that the knight was hunted down after he disappeared,  and it was rhaegar targaryen who found the knight’s infamous shield and armor hanging from a tree.  we also found out that the mad king took the appearance of the knight as a slight to his rule,  and he was very paranoid and angry,  or as the kids would say these days...   triggered:

King Aerys II was not a man to take any joy in mysteries, however. His Grace became convinced that the tree on the mystery knight’s shield was laughing at him […] he commanded his own knights to defeat the Knight of the Laughing Tree when the jousts resumed the next morning, so that he might be unmasked and his perfidy exposed for all to see. But the mystery knight vanished during the night, never to be seen again. This too the king took ill, certain that someone close to him had given warning to “this traitor who will not show his face.”  ( source: the world of ice and fire )

so!  how does all of this fit into my theory???  for literal years,  people have been out here saying lyanna eloped with a married man  ( lmao ).  that she was not kidnapped and she went willingly  1.)  because she was in-love with rhaegar  ( stop )  and/or  2.)  because she wanted to escape her betrothal to robert baratheon.  and sure,  we can say that she was not kidnapped.  i,  for one,  believe that she went willingly but not for the reasons people think.  the question really is:  what if she did not elope with anybody?  WHAT IF IT WAS A RESCUE?

at the time of the tourney at harrenal  ( 281 ac ),  king aerys was already displaying alarming signs of instability,  so much so that his son staged the very same tourney to gather all the respectable lords from the great houses to convene and talk about a possible coup d’etat.  that didn’t work due to the king’s paranoia,  which only goes to prove how dangerously close to falling off the deep-end he was.  and going by his reaction about the KOTLT,  it’s not far-fetched to assume that he hyper-fixated on the knight even after the tourney was over and considered him her a threat to his reign or an agent of an enemy used to mock his rule.  aerys could have used all his available resources to figure out who the knight was,  including varys’ spies,  though i think what eventually gave it away in the end was the actions of rhaegar himself  ( upon inspection of the events at harrenhal ex-post facto ). 

for reasons unknown at the time,  rhaegar crowned lyanna his queen of love and beauty by the tourney’s end,  offending many great lords and ladies in the process  ( a dumb political move,  considering these were the same lords and ladies he’s persuading to support him overthrow his father ).  what could be the reason behind this???  there are a lot of theories,  including rhaegar professing romantic interest towards lyanna at the cost of elia martell’s honor,  but the only logical explanation would be that rhaegar knew lyanna masqueraded as the knight of the laughing tree.  the blue flowers he laid on her lap were not signs of attraction but perhaps admiration,  and an acknowledgment of some sort,  because her undefeated streak on the joust went unacknowledged by virtue of her disguise.  he could essentially be telling lyanna:   here,  you deserve this victory,  too.  ( and fair enough,  she truly did. )  however,  this very same action,  though noble in its intention,  caused quite a scandal.  it could have very well lead to aerys figuring out that it was lyanna who donned on the shield of the laughing weirwood tree and the mismatched armor  ( courtesy of benjen ).  it’s very much possible that aerys was unwilling to let this imagined slight go unpunished,  and that he could have ordered lyanna stark’s arrest while she was on her way to riverrun to attend cat and brandon’s wedding.  coincidentally,  this would put her in rhaegar’s path,  as we learned from TWOIAF:

With the coming of the new year, the crown prince had taken to the road with half a dozen of his closest friends and confidants, on a journey that would ultimately lead him back to the riverlands, not ten leagues from Harrenhal . . . where Rhaegar would once again come face-to-face with Lyanna Stark of Winterfell, and with her light a fire that would consume his house and kin and all those he loved—and half the realm besides.

any gold cloaks who could have been scouring the riverlands looking for lyanna stark could have run in on the same group,  and once rhaegar had heard about lyanna’s pending arrest  ( no doubt to face the  “king’s justice”  which to aerys was literally synonymous to being burned alive ),  he could have taken the initiative of spiriting lyanna away from harm and into the relative safety of the red mountains of dorne.  but wait,  you may wonder:  what does rhaeger get from all of this?  why would he rescue lyanna stark if they weren’t  “in-love”?  it’s pretty simple.  he gets the third head of his dragon,  considering that months prior,  his wife almost died birthing his second child,  and was obviously too physically spent for a third.  

remember that rhaegar was obsessed with  the song of ice and fire,  and the appeal of lyanna stark,  who could essentially be ice embodied,  might have been too great a temptation for the prince to resist.  there’s also the possibility that lyanna was a greenseer which i wrote about here,  meaning that she was also aware of the prophecy and went with rhaegar to help him fulfill it.  ( a lot of factors are at play here,  not just lyanna’s ability to have green dreams but her run in with a wildling and her vision involving the ghost of high heart.  it’s also possible that rhaegar brought the ghost with him as he journeyed through the riverlands to convince lyanna to fulfill the prophecy with him ).

in any case,  lyanna did not go with rhaegar because she was  “in-love”  with him. remember that lyanna stark was the same woman who said  “love is sweet,  dearest ned.  but it cannot change a man’s nature.”  first of all,  she disliked the prospect of infidelity and thus would never encourage,  tolerate,  or participate in such an act at the expense of another woman.  second of all,  lyanna cared enough about the stark name to defend a stark bannermen.  not a direct family member,  just a bannerman,  and she was willing to throw down for him.  what makes anyone think she will risk her entire family to run away with a man?  even if he was a targaryen or a prince?  what makes anyone think she would do anything to endanger or dishonor her family in that way?  

severing the engagement with robert would be something that she would want,  there is no denying that  ( not just because she disliked being betrothed to him,  but because she disliked being betrothed at all ).  she could have wanted to run away on her own,  but to run away with a married prince?  i don’t think so.  the main rationale people use to prop up this theory was to paint lyanna as a selfish character.  but...  there was never any indication that lyanna stark was the selfish type,  that she would risk her family’s honor life to get her way,  or that she would do something so blatantly stupid  ( under no disguise! )  and would not be able to foresee the possible ramifications of her actions.  lyanna is reckless,  yes,  but she’s not dumb.  she’s romantic and idealistic,  but she’s also painted to have a strong moral compass to possess some forethought,  things people often overlook or deliberately forget so they could either shit on her character or sail their nasty ships.

following the greenseer theory,  it’s also entirely possible that lyanna had no knowledge of rickard and brandon’s fates until gerold hightower delivered the news when he asked rhaegar to go back to king’s landing,  right after the battle of the bells.  around that time,  lyanna was already pregnant.  she would have wanted to go home after finding out,  but she would have been forbidden to leave.  this was the only time she was openly hostile towards rhaegar,  and he parted with her while she had bitter thoughts of him.

all things considered,  i would like to reiterate that  rhaegar and lyanna were not  “in-love”.  they were not secret lovers who annulled a legitimate marriage to get their way,  the rest of the realm be damned.  lyanna felt extremely guilty that the prophecy required physical infidelity on the part of rhaegar,  but whatever “intimacy” they shared,  they did so out of a sense of duty,  not lust or love.  rhaegar remained very much in-love with elia martell until he left for king’s landing,  never to return to the tower of joy again.  and lyanna remained dedicated to seeing through her part in the prophecy,  which she believed would ultimately result in her own death.