#hes sooooo... claude

[lionbearfox]

im a big fan of this guy

[butwhatifidothis]

That “Edelgard fans take away her agency” thing is so funny because everything you complains about regarding Edelgard’s “santized” portrayal in fics? All that’s exactly what Edelgard-Antis do to Claude/Dimitri - especially in AM/VW fusion fics.

As someone who's read more than her fair share of AM/VW fusions I can confidently say that you are pulling that fresh out of your ass lmao

[leafuxxtea]

LISTENING TO SHADE ON LOOP, LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO 💥💥💥

[qualityrain]

lowk annoyed everytime people act like the main reason why kotaro and shinpei do those stuff is romantic jealousy like guys ik this is a romance manga but cmon. not everything is abt romance. ok. theres so many other reasons and to boil it down into romantic jealousy is so 💀

[latinokaeya-moving]

treated myself to the very short beginning section of three houses just now but i had to stop n turn off my switch when the game asked me to pick a house bc i started agonising over whether to go w edelgard first or just jump straight into the claude route

[fireemblems24]

Azure Gleam 15 (Final)

As long as this has gone on for, I'm actually bummed to finish this one.

NARRATION

Those special chapters were so weird. It's kind of funny how the plot is like, just ignoring all of that and going back to regular programming. It's like in an old kid's show when they got a dog and then the next episode - no dog anymore. Like there's kinda no point to it.

Ok, so Thales talking to yeeted Edelgard. I will never not get over how funny it is that's the path the writers decided.

Yep, we're really just jumping back into the regular plot. That is so funny. The writing in this game is a clusterfuck at times.

Ok, so we're going to the monastery to save Rhea. MUCH better than saving Bernie's dad.

TWSITD causing chaos again. I feel this route targeted them more than the other two. Like they barely existed in GW.

Everyone's worried about Rhea.

Dimitri wants to wreck TWSITD and the Empire. Let's fucking go!

MAP

No side quests again! Guys, I'm sooooo close to beating this game I can taste it. Both SB and AG have very short final chapters.

Only Claude is annoying, which tracks how this game's gone so . . .

So I've gotten all the supports for: Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, and Rodrigue. Mercedes I'm only missing Jeritza. I didn't use Annette or Ashe, so they're missing a few, but I feel I did pretty good. Hopefully I can get Mercie and Jeritza this chapter.

Ugh, so I missed the opportunity to deepen my bond with Byleth :( Maybe next time.

So in another route, Ashe had no idea what he believed in anymore. In this one, he's confident about his sense of justice.

In another route, Yuri didn't tell me his history with Varley, in this one he trusted me with it.

Ingrid is a queen. She said it's the people who suffer in war, our leaders should reach diplomatic resolutions. Too bad only Dimitri believes in those :(

Aww, Byleth refused to kill Shez during their fight because he could tell she wasn't herself. I soooo wish I'd gotten their supports.

Ok, so I ran into Raphael again and agreed that I didn't like how we were fighting (which, imo, isn't true, but I wanted to see the difference). Shez thinks Edelgard is too cruel, Claude is too haphazard, and Dimitri is too cautious. She pretty much nailed it.

No Arval in the tent :(

Linhardt just said Caspar revels in bloodshed. That's fucked up.

My heart just broke and warmed at the same time. A Kingdom general asked a Duscur general how the people from Duscur pray. He wanted to learn because he lost a lot of good soldiers from Duscur in the last battle and wanted to pray for them in the way their religion would. It's details like this that make Hopes worth it.

Haha, Dedue was fairly chill considering I attacked allies and posed a possible threat to Dimitri. He brought it up, but didn't harp on it.

BYLETH & JERALT A

Man, I'm glad I got this unlocked in time.

Byleth gave Jeralt flowers. First time in Byleth's life lol.

He's trying to communicate his feelings, thankfulness to Jeralt for being his captain and father.

Aw, it's a throwback to Byleth giving out flowers at the Academy.

Lamo, Jeralt just said Byleth may have been a student or led seminars, but isn't qualified to be a teacher.

Jeralt's like, I knew you cared, kid. But I still appreciate it.

Byleth picked the flowers out himself. It's the same kind his mother liked :(((

Jeralt used to give these flowers to Sitri.

Byleth is being so sentimental and sweet. I can just imagine a voiced Byleth saying lines like that in Houses' supports and buying more into the character.

I swear, this game made me really get Byleth more and "buy into" the character. Also, I'm going to cry so hard when Jeralt dies. I still don't really care for Jeralt, but I'm going to just feel so sad for Byleth.

DIMITRI & DEDUE A

For anyone wondering, I purposefully saved this one and Felix A. I've had them unlocked for a while.

Dedue is worried because Dimitri keeps sleeping at his desk. He's grateful or else he'd get sore.

Of course, he had bad dreams about the past.

Ohhhh! Not the tragedy, but arriving home after. Cool to learn some tidbits about that part too.

A child cursed Dimitri after the funeral because his dad died in Duscur and was furious with Dimitri for not killing Dedue, but hanging out with him instead.

Dimitri just ignored him.

Then Dimitri talks about his duty to those who died, and asks Dedue what he would do if Dimitri begged for vengeance while he was dying. OFC, Dedue says he'd do it even if he died.

Then Dimitri asks the opposite, what would Dedue do if Dimitri begged him to live for his own happiness? Dedue said he couldn't.

"I cannot know happiness without you by my side." :(((((((

He'd seek revenge, for his own sake, not Dimitri's.

Dimitri's like, nothing I'd say would change your mind?

Dedue just flips the subject, asking if Dimitri can't just live for himself, and ofc Dimitri says no, he can't.

But imagines another life traveling around as a merc with Dedue or living as a farmer. Dedue's like, why not go?

Dimitri says obviously I can't do that.

So Dedue's like get some sleep.

It worries Dedue every time he sees Dimitri asleep like that at his desk bc he's worried Dimitri died. But Dimitri's like, not why you're here. It won't happen.

Dimitri's like, if I died, that wouldn't go well, so I'll listen.

GUYS. DIMITRI'S GOING TO SLEEP. SOMEONE TALKED HIM INTO SLEEPING. THE POWER OF DEDUE.

They're married, your honor.

DIMITRI & FELIX A

Starts with Dimitri apologizing and promising revenge, killing all of TWSITD no matter the cost.

Felix walks in, Dimitri almost calls him Glenn, but corrects, and apologizes again except to Felix for seeing that.

Felix is like "I've seen all there is of you to see." So, uh, what does that mean?

Dimitri explains that he suffers from a "waking dream," saying he sees the dead like they're real.

Then talks about the violent revenge the dead scream at him.

Felix asks when this all started. Dimitri says 6 years, but the voices started 4 years ago during his first battle? Not sure those numbers line up with lore and age, but I don't know how old they are this time. Anyways, started with Duscur, got worse when Rufus tried to have Dimitri killed by sending him to battle.

The man he killed that freaked Felix out was someone from Duscur, and the voices cheered when he killed the guy.

Felix is like, do you really think Glenn and Lambert would torture you like that? Telling Dimitri he's the one doing it, not them.

Dimitri's like, even if that's true, I can't forgive myself.

Felix talks about how if Dimitri loses his path, he's taking everyone down with him (so Houses, sans AM) and says "keep the whole removing their heads thing in check yeah?"

Felix says it'll be their secret.

"are you offering to let me unburden my heart to you when the time calls for it?" - Dimitri to Felix. Guys, I'm dying a little.

Dimitri credits Felix with the reason he hasn't descended into madness, and asks Felix to continue being his right-hand man.

Hahahah, OMG, Felix picked Dimitri up and is physically carrying him to bed. Dimitri is nearly laughing because he's so much taller than Felix his feet are dragging the floor.

Felix calls him a "sack of muscle" lol

Dimitri carried Felix like this when Felix twisted his ankle. And now is calling this a workout. Dimitri's still massively entertained.

They are also married.

Man, so Dedue got Dimitri to fucking sleep, and Felix got him to laugh.

Ok, this game is really Dimilix, the game. I swear a shipper on deck wrote this. It may also be why Felix was one of the few Blue Lions to survive SB. Writers' bias.

My shipping heart is so happy with both supports.

ASHE & FLAYN B

This is their final support.

They're fishing together. She's trying to reel in a big fish, but it's not working. Ashe gives her tips. And she got it!

Though, it seems like it was a bit of a struggle.

Flayn swore she'd not let go no matter what. Ashe says sometimes it's best to not let go, and suddenly understands Seteth. But still compliments her on her determination.

Flayn thinks her mother would be proud of her for catching this, which is part of the reason Flayn loves fishing.

She flirts with Ashe a bit too lol.

And now she's drooling over the fish.

Ashe says Flayn enjoys him of his sister and really had fun.

But then panics thinking of Flayn in the kitchen lol.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE B

Constance compliments Annette's performance in battle.

Constance is a legendary alumni at the school in Faerghus.

Stories include turning bossy noble kids into horses. And she started using it everywhere.

She argued magical theory with teachers and won.

These make me love Constance, not going to lie.

Annette is nervous being around someone so famous. Constance calls Annette one of the most talented women in the Kingdom.

Constance loves a book Annette work, but it's mostly a cook book, so Annette doesn't make much of it.

Annette wrote a magical cookbook, and Constance is all about it.

Annette tries to give Mercedes credit because she's the cook.

They both want to get to know each other better.

This was really them geeking out over each other, magic, and Mercedes' cooking.

MERCEDES & JERITZA A

It came down to the lack fucking minute, but I got it. Thank you, Shez, for cooking the perfect dinner.

Jeritza finds and old letter from Mercedes' mother. Or, rather, she wrote Jeritza a letter after Mercie told her that they found him.

They both want to live with him after the war, but he says no.

He can't face her because of his past actions. Doesn't seem Mercie holds it against him. And says neither will her mother.

Then Jeritza talks about the Death Knight persona.

Mercie's like, naw, because you're fine right now.

Jeritza still doesn't give in though. He insists he must pay for his crimes, which he thinks he never can. He wants to get judged by the law, which, honestly, respect.

Mercie decides to support his decisions, even though it makes her sad, and that they'll be waiting for him. No matter how long. Even if they're both old ladies.

I really loved that support. Seeing Mercie support Jeritza's decision, seeing Jeritza take responsibility for his actions. All around good support.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE A

Glad I got this one. I think Seteth/Shez A is the only other support still within reach.

Constance wants Annette's help conducting an experiment outside. Annette knows how Constance's mood changes when she goes outside. Annette's happy to help.

Obviously now Constance is being down on herself.

Annette volunteered before learning the experiment. Thankfully it's just to try and get all the cats from the area.

It fails :( I want a spell like that.

Constance is obviously moping, Annette gives her a pep talk, but it probably useless bc they're outside.

It attracted bugs, and Constance says the cockroach is a better sorceresses than her lamo. Then they attract angry birds lol.

Once back inside, Constance realizes her spell does sort of work, but they just didn't know how to get cats.

Aww, I really liked that support chain.

FINAL BATTLE

How can anyone not tell something is wrong with Edelgard?

It's so weird how they just ignore the special chapters.

Thales is making her fight.

Sylvain said he'll skip the class reunion if this is what they're like.

Ingrid is roaring to go after Thales.

No sign of Claude. Dimitri's trusting him, but I don't know about that. I wonder if he betrays you here too. Though Dimitri makes a good point that if Faerghus falls, Claude's ass is next.

On, cool image! Dimitri giving a speech. It's like a moment in Lord of the Rings before Aragorn and co march on Mordor.

I like this! Dimitri's talking about severing the past and moving on into tomorrow. Good to hear him talking like that.

I only got 40 points too. Guess Claude was the odd one out, getting more points for his battle than the other two.

Kyrona made an appearance.

Felt good to kill Varley for once.

Getting ready to face Thales now. Dimitri about to get his revenge against TWSITD. Feels good.

Shez is reassuring Dimitri that he's not alone. That his friends are here to help. :)

I think I just killed Kyrona for good this time.

Time to kick Thales' ass. Much better than killing Rhea. Again.

We also got to defeat Edelgard. Having a hard time feeling bad about that.

This battle is pure chaos. But in a fun way.

Oh, did I beat Thales? I'm at a cut scene. Shez stopped Edelgard; and Dimitri's marching to kick Thales' ass.

Haha, he just ignored Thales magic like it was nothing. What a fucking badass.

He's not even saying anything, just breathing, and the voice acting is still on point.

Edelgard remembered Dimitri? So he didn't kill her. And outside Rhea, Claude and the Blue Lions are waiting. And sun is about to come up.

This felt WAY more complete than the other two. I was expecting MUCH worse. Maybe if I played the other two first I'd be more surprised, but they set the bar stupid low.

We defeated the Empire, defeated TWSITD - I don't know what would even be left?

I love how hard the narration tries to make it sound like the Empire has a fart's chance in the wind anymore. It's just clean up now.

MVP time. It'll eventually turn into the Dimitri show like SB did Hubert and GW did Lorenz. I suspect it'll take longer though bc I wanted to use the other Blue Lions a lot.

Actually, I lie, it happened like the second I got Dimitri and not just Shez. I think I may just be a stan lol. He's also just so damn strong he killed so much easier and faster than anyone else.

You can tell the chapter Dimitri was missing for since Felix and Ingrid kept trading MVP. Then back to Dimitri.

Hey! Rodrigue got one!

I'm excited for Dimitri's letter. Still wish we got paired endings here though.

Dimitri feels reassured with Shez by his side. He's also the only one who asked Shez to stay in the Kingdom. It's nothing spectacular, but it was sweet.

I'm also a bit sad to see this one end. No more Fodlan unless I replay, but I guess there's still supports I didn't unlock.

Guys, I can't believe I finished. Now I'm finally "free" to play whatever games I want.

Def want to replay Engage and Houses, and some non-FE stuff too. Should I get the Engage DLC?

xxx

[cxhleel108]

LITG S8 Thots for this week: Y’all funny bruh

(Me watching everyone have a meltdown over that lil “anti-cheat system” trick while my shit was sitting untouched. They going to hell for that Idk)

• Why literally every single season the bitches that’s always causing drama wanna sit and act like they don’t? Can we please get ONE real bitch to just be straight up like “yeah I like to start shit and I’ll do it again”?

• Jin romancers don’t come for me cuz I like him too but I gotta speak real!

• Outfit time!

• These are much better swimsuits in my opinion. Also GAY RIGHTS BIKINI ACHIEVED!

• Right boo.

• This I-Spy challenge idea kinda messy as hell ooooouuuu y’all ate that I can’t lie.

• Claudia sis no…that’s nasty.

• Luna, you starting to make an enemy outta me young lady.

• “This is I Spy, not I Imagine” pleasekfmdmsm ate that.

• OH I WANT IT BAE CLOCK THAT BITCH TEA!

• Omgggg the comebacks this season I can’t.

• That tired attempt at trying to get me to fight with Oakley oh boo try again! Unlike y’all, me and my nigga secure!

• Jin secretly kissing Sophie coming out of nowhere like what the???

• Girl you was literally just trying to defame my character- ok whatever.

• I know you fucking lying. Uh uh.

• Trying to get me to help send y’all to the hideaway when the both of you been testing my patience the past few days is CRAZY like no baby get somebody else to do it😭😭😭

• Outfit time again!

• Oh bitch we got the hennessyyyyy!!!! Like both these outfits eat DOWN.

• “I didn’t think what I said would cause so much drama” Oh Theo please even you don’t believe that.

• Theo flirting with me right after he just said voting for him and Clauds to go to the hideaway wouldn’t be a waste of my vote…😕

• The compliment party was a cute idea. You’re getting back in my good books Jin, congratulations!

• Anti-social Annie’s???😭😭😭

• Girl he betta be twerking with that big ole ass he got!

• Well…she get money. Her body tea. She super thick. She super pretty. Like why wouldn’t you be?

• I mean duh we won the hideaway challenge. We the only couple that’s not damn near a lost cause. Uggghh yes #BlackLove!

• Outfit time again again!

• Ok I know we all kinda tired of wearing Savage X Fenty lingerie every goddamn night but we can ignore that this time cuz 1. we tryna get FAWKED tonight and 2. these are sooooo cute I’m sorry.

• Ugh Oakley is soooo…like pull dat fucking dick out I’m not playin with you!

• Them bringing that stupid ass box back with same shit yet again oh brotherrrrr can we get something else???!!!! Like some chocolate sauce, a whip, handcuffs, hell a fucking dildo even just SOMETHING ELSE!

• He brought us a whole breakfast spread after dicking us down y’all. When we’re married by the end of this then what?

• Quite literally what else is there to expose my god. Are y’all gonna tell me y’all had a villa orgy before I got here like shit!

[panelshowsource]

If you had to pick a top three favorite episodes of any panel shows EVER, which would you choose? One of mine would have to be Terry Wogan guest hosting old NMTB, which I am dying to watch again in my lifetime. Your old-NMTB-posting reminded me just how amazing and formative those old episodes were for me. Anyway, it got me thinking… I would love to hear yours!

as long as i'm allowed to answer this totally subjectively...! because the objectively most iconic panel show episodes are probably quite different to the ones i gravitate to especially for rewatching — and especially in this difficult recent climate 🫥

this choice is almost bizarre knowing me, a huge huge huge sean lock fan, but this episode of cats does countdown — without sean! and not even golden era, probably, whatever that is in my mind — is so ridiculous and chaotic and stupid that i've watched it about 1000 times. there's something very specific about the dynamic between jimmy, jon, roisin, and joe without sean; those four have been in quite a few episodes without sean and they're like actual children without an adult in the room: jon is goofier and completely lets go of the game, jimmy throws even more to roisin (we do not talk enough about what a fucking kick jimmy gets out of her), roisin and joe's insane sibling dynamic becomes next level. anyways—this episode, which includes rly funny mascots, glory hole, the fucking hoop game and joe eating an onion and jon eating peppers???, THE UNICORN, its sheer childishness just cracks me up every time :') (if we're gonna mention the golden age, 2.02 is very iconic — from rhod killin it and always arguing with jimmy to claude to nick x susie hahaha but i have sooooo many catsdown episodes i love love love)

i really love the episode of 8 out of 10 cats following jimmy's tax scandal. it's not one of my favourite panel shows in general, but the circumstances of the news and the discussion epitomised what the show was meant to be: panel show meets reality tv meets a comedy central roast. watching that live, as the news was running it so heavily that even the prime minister mentioned it, as the press and twitter were reacting to it... wild times. it holds up incredibly well — it's hilarious watching them rip him to shreds, because he deserves every word and they're having a ball doing it to him, and i really appreciate jon grounding the conversation in just how tax avoidance hurts their country and some of its hardest workers — a really interesting, engaging mix of comedy and anger and wit and disappointment and political commentary that is not only funny but strikingly relevant no matter how much time passes. like so, so many people who were so, so disappointed in jimmy, this was the foundation of his carrying the responsibility, shame, reflection, and growth that people wanted to see — and that he truly needed to. since then he's talked a lot about not only righting the wrong (in paying back what he owed in avoidance) but just how the system is so broken — and taking the least complicated, most honest road forward since.

now i want to pick 1000 different things this is why i don't make lists or rank things!!!!! while my instinct is to pick a big fat quiz, i'm actually gonna go top-level nostalgia and say this episode of buzzcocks when stephen fry was a guest. what can i say — simon, stephen, it was two intellectual, mildly bitchy homosexuals on a stacked panel including josie long, dominic cooper, and yet another skinny white rock man for simon to pretend he's not trying to flirt with. stephen saying "there is a history, in pop music, of recto-veginal insertion" and denouncing god, like, in the first 5 minutes? stephen doing the intros round?? did i mention history boys-era dominic cooper??? such a throwback!!! (not to cheat but this ep with josh groban & martin freeman is my runner up)

i want to apologise to big fat quiz, taskmaster, wilty... THE WHOLE HISTORY OF PANEL SHOWS... I WISH I COULD CHOOSE YOU ALL

[sergeifyodorov]

who is your favorite player on every team?

omg this is sucha good ask anon... under the cut for my little explanations

bruins: pasta... nails PAINTED front teeth CHIPPED glasses ON. i hate him every time he actually plays the leafs because he's so goddamn good but separated from that i enjoy his silly ass immensely

panthers: society has moved past the need for anyone to enjoy any florida panthers (bobrovsky)

leafs: im an austonhead through and through... generational goalscorer and queeny what can't he do

lightning: stamkos for symbolism reasons. bonus nikita kucherov because he's one of those larionov-type really analytical players and i love that

red wings: moritz

canadiens: juraj slafkovsky because he is just SO giant puppy and he is absolutely hilarious

sabres: dahlin for psychosexual reasons

sens: CLAUDE GIROUX!!! GINGER FRANCO ONTARIEN DILF OF ALL TIME!!!!!! NECK GUARD!!!! BISEXUAL SUBTEXT!!!!!! CLAUD!

rangers: artemi panarin (only child of divorce)

hurricanes: seth jarvis (one of very few nhlers i feel like i could have a normal human dumbass conversation with)

islanders: mat barzal (diva)

flyers: travis konecny (sexy)

devils: nico hischier (sexy)

penguins: evgeni malkin (diva)

capitals: alex ovechkin (sexy)

blue jackets: patrik laine (because there's something SOOOOO compelling about being a draft bust and also the fact that he is just kind of a weirdly blonde freak white walker lookin dude who wears interesting outfits)

jets: nik ehlers. points for being a) danish (nobody's DANISH in this league) and b) that one time sch*fele hurt that hab and ehlers protected him when everyone got into that scrum going for schiefele

avalanche: alex georgiev for punching tda

dallas stars: where do i START with the stars... robo i think

preds: JUUSE SAROS MY LEEDL GUYYYYY

blues: gonna go with brayden schenn... any relative of luke's is a friend of mine

coyotes: either clayton keller or alex kerfoot

wild: idk flower?

blackhawks: connor bedard is legitimately my little guy. i love that freak. im at practice... in chicago... CHICAGO???. went on a pilgrimage to see Him in person and it was great (leafs lost in overtime and he got 0 points)

canucks: as much as i love and appreciate my fellow gays im gonna have to go with quinnifer here. he's literally quinn hughes i don't know what you want from me

golden knights: jeichel

kings: anze kopitar <3

oilers: mcdavid... he's literally everything. cursed by god. pro gay. really good at hockey. ginger

kraken: honestly i have never thought about the kraken a single day of my entire life. who's their goalie? grubauer? i'll go grubauer

flames: naz kadri :))))))))

ducks: i know we're all supposed to have ducks opinions nowadays but im going to carefully say lukas dostal and be done with it

sharks: duclair. free of the panthers and ready to be given space in my heart

[faroreswinds]

is GW's direction really that crazy when you think about it? feels more like people are just salty that Claude didn't team up with their faves on his route because people look at Claude as a third party that validates their side. But what I saw in Hopes fit what I thought about Claude from Houses Claude does whatever he feels most benefits his goals at the moment regardless of morals. He teams up with Faerghus when he feels it benefits him most, he teams up with the Church when he feels it benefits him most, he teams up with the Empire when he feels it benefits him most and he throws his allies to the dogs when he feels it benefits him most. Like in Houses, Claude tells Dimi before leaving in Azure Moon that this is how he operates and that he only makes moves that he thinks benefit him. That's the story trying to communicate how Claude and Dimi are different. Do fans think he's just trying to be cute or that his words mean nothing? Claude's not a man of rigid principles, he's an opportunist. He, the other characters and supplementary material repeat that same message about him over and over again too. like Claude's not supposed to be a uniformly kind person, he's friendly and pleasant to talk to but someone that can be amoral or moral depending on the circumstances. And in GW, an alliance with Edelgard was more personally beneficial to him than trying to team up with Faerghus. They have the bigger force, they're paying Leicester significant reparations, they're getting stability at his southern border and they want to eliminate the same threat.

I mean.... It kinda is a crazy direction.

The issue isn't just the differences between Hopes!Claude and Houses!Claude. That could be a whole other explanation on its own, but since you have framed it as in-character, let's go over the other reason why it is a poor direction on its own.

The biggest issue, anon, is that Hopes!Claude... is an idiot.

Nothing he does or says makes much sense when you add up all the worldbuilding elements together into one big pile.

For example, he decides to side with Edelgard and wipe out the Church. He believes this will end the war quicker, and remove Edelgard's justification for war. And if that justification is gone, then Edelgard will have no choice but to cease her aggressions, or else the war is no longer justified.

However, this logic ignores sooooo many things. The first is that Edelgard publicly declares that the Kingdom and Alliance are false nations that only exist due to meddling forces. That should be a red flag right there and then. Not only that, but Edelgard invaded his nation and beelined for the capital. That should have been another red flag. If Edelgard didn't wish to take over the Alliance, she would have had no need to go for the throat.

Claude even admits that Edelgard might not stop her war. He should know that someone may not stop a war just because it is no longer "justified". And yet, he continues to side with her.

Here is another one. Claude puts a lot of blame on the Church for... basically everything wrong with Foldan. Forced marriages. Fierce border protections. The existence of nobility. The lack of freedom for nobles. I mean, just everything and anything you can think of, in his eyes it is the fault of Rhea and her Church.

But how can he come to that conclusion? Does he live under a rock? Is he not the leader of the Alliance? Does he not know that Edmund, within his own Alliance territory, makes trades with other nations outside of Foldan? When he went to school, did he not see how people of Duscur, Brigid, and Almyra got places in the classroom? How a woman from overseas got to be a Knight of Seiros? Even if he only spent two weeks there, surely he saw something, no?

He is also a prince of another nation. A nation with no Church, and no Crests. And they still have a King and nobility of their own. So why is he blaming the Church for such things? He literally is from another nation.

Hopes!Claude feels like he was written by a young author who is just starting out. There is no logic to his thinking. He just hates the Church because the writers needed him to.

And what makes it worse is that Claude is supposed to be the smart one. He is lauded as the brilliant tactician. The guy who thinks 5 steps ahead in every chess match. But he comes across as the most ignorant of the three lords, who cannot see past his own nose.

So yes, this is why is it a crazy direction. It's not just because of any misalignment of his character from Houses. It's because within Hopes itself, Claude is just a moron that it is hard to take him and his thought processes seriously.

[polish-art-tournament]

between-the-tournaments minigame 1

have you submitted your favourite polish art pieces for the new tournament already? are you a little bored waiting for it to begin? GREAT NEWS there's a minigame for you (and there will be two more. maybe three)

i present: two paintings and two collections of paintings associated with poland but not by polish artists (one could argue in bacciarelli's case but shhh) - vote for the one you like best!

Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci: one of the most valuable paintings exhibited in Poland, subject of a very rude comment by our (former) (stupid) minister of culture, also subject of many many arguments between Polish people whether the animal is an ermine or a weasel, a classic

Canaletto's paintings of Warsaw: detailed af, after the destruction of the city in World War 2 they were used as a reference during the rebuilding of the Old Town, simply iconic

Bacciarelli's portraits of his contemporaries as well as Polish historical figures: Bacciarelli spent over 50 years of his life in Warsaw and was a professor at the University and is considered one of the fathers of Polish national/historical art style, and his descendands lived in Poland, sooooo one could argue his art is Polish art and could feature in the main tournament, but idk. I guess if enough people submit him to the new tournament I will include him? but for now here he is

Beach in Pourville by Claude Monet: the only Monet painting in Poland afaik, mostly famous for its theft from the museum in Poznań in 2000 (found in 2010)

have fun! next minigame will be posted on saturday

[rosewoodconch]

RWCH Readathon: Day 19

Princess in Practice - Chapter 4

Im tired so this will be chaos sorry

I sooooo feel that yearning to just snuggle up warm in her blankets

Lets go chat to our bestie king alex huh?

I genuinely imagine him exactly like the dad from rapunzel

Jamies gift still makes me sad even now, more so after the later books

Ugh i want a cupcake now

The phantom heartbeat of saskia in the basement... Edgar Allen Poe reference???

I like that the fairytale references get darker throughout - now referencing the Telltale heart rather than cinderella, growing up with her

Hanna and Midori stay the best characters in the whole series fight me

These portraits in this hallway have such an amazing visual

The motto of the Maravish family again is so perfectly intuned to the themes we've already been introduced to

Shoutout to claude i guess scary man

To fail the family is an unforgivable act

Thats a bit much my dude

I get it

But chill

Lottie, YOU HAVE A CONSTANT DUTY WEIGHING YOU DOWN

Jamie! Lottie thinking jamie was claude sneaking up on her... hmm connie youre too smart for us

Them getting praise from the king is wonderful

Girl what do you mean you dont know what it means to stay vigilant.

I know its like a whole theme in this book BUT CMON

Put her second to put her first

To be honest tho. Jamies one makes sense. He'll have to prioritise Lottie in order to protect both girls.

For lottie its harder to wrap her head around

God this chapter feels long

Jamie calling her out for saying "yes your majesty" is lowkey hilarious and i love him

And again... his gift. Jamie makes me so sad. Not in a, im upset at him, but oh my god i cant wait for him to get away from here and have therapy.

But also, from his perspective, of course it would upset him. Hes not allowed to have a life outside of Ellie, and her gift is a reminder of what his life should have been

This is a bit of a sad start isnt it?

I wanna meet ollie 😭😭😭

[sillypiratelife]

Watching the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and for some reason I think that Sanji would feel identified and cry so hard with it?

Here's how I see it:

The main villain, Claude Frollo, is the father (figure) of the protagonist. He's a cruel and manipulative man who groomed Quasimodo by making him think that he was a monster and no one could ever love him. Frollo is also a bellicose man who uses his power to bring chaos and horror in the name of "goodness". He doesn't tolerate disobedience and would gladly burn entire cities to get what he wants.

The way Frollo can only see Quasimodo for his usefulness, like a weapon or a soldier.

THE FEAR TO BE PUNISHED. AUCH.

FOR FEELING.

Quasimodo taking to visual representation the feeling of having something wrong with you, of feeling unworthy of love or unlovable, of thinking you're defected while also wishing to escape your confinement.

I personally think Sanji frames his own life like a joke sometimes to deal with the trauma and the abuse of his past. It's fitting then, that the movie is framed in a carnival sense of irony.

I also think that there's an interesting parallel in terms of meta-textuality. The story within the story, the role of the storyteller, those are things you can find both in Sanji's past and in the movie. Sanji and Quasimodo being both popular figures within their own cultures...

Maybe it's something about a man who grew up thinking he was a monster and a mother that got sacrificed while she was trying to protect her son.

Something about the kindness of gargoyles reminding me of the Baratie?? The way they interact is very funny, idk. They're so silly and fight so much and worry and try sooo hard to push Quasimodo to live his life instead of just staying for his job. They want him to go out, to chase his dreams.

Quasimodo and Sanji taking the passive role out of misplaced guilt and sense of loyalty.

All of this completely ignoring the fact that the movie is set in France lol, but okay.

The songs would absolutely get Sanji. He'd deny everything, he'd get defensive, he would do anything to deflect the attention.

There's a whole conversation to be had about the way the Romani people are portrayed and the discrimination they suffer, but for now I'll just say that the strawhat crew would feel identified in them, for several reasons.

The unfairness of the system, the corruption and cruelty, the torture (!!!) and the war and the balance between Phoebus' righteousness and Claude Frollo's rotten heart— you know what I mean.

THE FESTIVAL. THE COURT OF MIRACLES. THE COMPARISON WITH THE WAY OF LIFE OF PIRATES AND THEIR JOY.

But this is about Sanji, right?

He'd fall immediately for Esmeralda. Which is expected. Her character is perfect to depict the relationship between Sanji and women. The edge of (over)sexualization around them mixed with the rejection Quasimodo feels by the way they mock him, mixed even more with the way he's absolutely starving for love and affection. He wants acceptance, kindness and physical intimacy.

Esmeralda really personifies it all. All Sanji wants and needs. She apologizes for her mistake and frees Quasimodo by comparing his situation to her people, the Romani. She fights for him and stands for him against the representative of justice in the city. Bold and powerful and so skilled in a fight. Insane as hell and sooooo beautiful.

She'll be worthy the raging Sanji would get for the way the people wasted food throwing it at Quasimodo.

(depending on who you ship with Sanji, there is a way to compare them to Esmeralda and Phoebus, that I can assure you).

(and depending on how you see Sanji when it comes to gender and sexuality, you can talk about the role of Catholicism and religious guilt and manipulation).

Wow. This post is... long.... very long... Oops.

This is slowly developing into an au in my head. I'll leave this here and let you guys think about the potential of it all.

[qualityrain]

in 29 when satoko writes the letter to shinpei and tells him she wants to know more abt him its shinpei realising that hes a person to satoko and not a tool that he says he is in 4 when satoko opens the door to let shinpei in and her face is all red its significant because she’s trained to control how she expresses emotions and its part of being seen as being more desirable because shes a tool and an object for the kirigaya house and in 28 extra she says she wouldve been reprimanded for laughing too big so when she opens the door and shinpei hugs her she acknowledges that shes a person to him and not an object and the way the letter and this entire thing happens together is like shinpei and satoko realising that theyre not objects to each other but actual people they want to be with???? I NEED TO EAT GLASS

are you normal about firefly wedding or are you insane abt the whole being an object/tool v being a person vibe

[free-for-all-fics]

Last night I dreamt that Claude Rains was playing a totally different character. Like a kind older man named Angus, complete with thick rimmed glasses and a neutral plaid shirt and overcoat. It was like a romance movie where he was married, but his wife was getting older (she was in her mid 50’s while he was in his 60’s) and she was feeling insecure about herself, her body, and their sex life. Their bedroom wasn’t dead, but chilled out considerably compared to when they were first married in their 20’s. So she tells him that if he wants to go out and find other younger women to sleep with, she won’t be mad or upset. She loves him and wants him to feel fulfilled in the bedroom and knows he still has a fairly high libido despite his age. She just wants him to be happy. But he immediately shoots such an idea down because he could never ever ever ever entertain the thought of going to another woman for that sort of thing. His wife is his best friend, his wife of 30 or so years, and he married her because he loves her more than anyone and can’t imagine being intimate with anyone but her. He shows his wife just how much he loves her and proves to her that their sex lives haven’t changed all that much from when they were younger by taking her to bed and making love to her for hours, proving to her that they still got it. A part of her insecurity was that they never had children even though they tried many times, and now that she’s been through menopause, she can’t have them. Though he wanted children at one point, he learned to be okay with not having them because he had her in his life and she was all he needed. Just her, him, and the dog(s) make up their little happy family, and that’s enough. He doesn’t want to have children with a younger woman. Even if he outlives his wife, he can’t imagine ever remarrying. Why try again at love or another wife when he already has the best? Then he and his wife go to the eye clinic together because “Angus” has an eye exam and needs to pick out a new pair of glasses. He likes the ones he has, but you point out that the black and glass frames are sooooo thick and heavy. He should go for a plastic pair with thinner or different colored frames to better suit and bring out his eyes.

[squeaky-potat]

What drew you to dimiclade? And do you have any headcanons on how or when they get together?

AHH! A QUESTION ABOUT MY OTP!

There are so many reasons that I love dmcl but what initially drew me to them?

Simply put, Claude knowing about Dimitri’s condition. He knew that Dimitri saw/ heard voices and the guilt of the dead that weighed him down. Friends don’t know that kinda stuff. They HAD to have had intimate moments for something so personal to come up. So my HC is that they def hooked up at the momentary. They would spend long nights in the library together and those late nights would usually end in someone’s bedroom, not necessarily for sexy reasons (although later in their relationship it definitely was) but just to continue talking, or playing a game.

They also have extremely compatible personalities. They compliment each others strengths and weaknesses. (Dimitri honest to a fault, Claude being more careful with his secrets, Dimitri is more formal, Claude is more casual ect ect)

I HC that even after the 5 year time-skip that they still have feelings for each other though they aren’t too sure how the other feels… at least until Claude gives Dimi his weapon, then saying that they will see each other again … it leaves sooooo so so much for interpretation, as weapons are courting gifts in Faerghus.

I highly reccomend this fic here that @dimiclaudeblaigan wrote for me a while back: it’s how I imagine their sfw pre time skip bonding and how it impacts their post time skip relationship.

And if you’re a degen from upcountry like me, I also recommend this fic that @sailorartemiss wrote for me for the 2023 DMCL exchange, this is how I HC their early intimate moments. (WARNING VERY NSFW).

Thanks for the ask anon! I’m always happy to answer questions about my fav ship ever 💙💛